Page A4
^K^jortlanh (©bseruer
August 4. 2004
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
H om eless S ligh ted by B oth P arties
J udge G reg M athis
D uring the nightly parade o f
cam era tim e at the national D em o­
cratic and R epublican conventions
this sum m er, there are many groups
w hose platform s will get national
exposure and party attention. There
is one group, how ever, that will not
be sharing the stage: the hom eless.
O ver the past year, the N ational
L aw C enter on H om elessness &
Poverty estim ates that o v er 3 m il­
lion m en, w om an and children were
hom eless and the dem and for care
at hom eless shelters increased by
13 percent. W ith the reality o f
hom elessness being only a m issed
paycheck, health crisis or unpaid
bill aw ay, this crisis is one that
dem ands national attention and a
national platform .
The pundits on both sides o f the
aisle should care about and ad­
dress the hom eless problem . C on­
trary to popular belief, hom eless
by
problem.
T h e c u rren t p ro p o sals
from both m ajor political
parties and their P residen­
tial candidates appear to fall
short o f m eeting the needs
o f h o m e le ss A m erican s.
P resident B ush has largely
ignored the hom eless prob­
lem , instead giving m ore
attention to the needs o f his
w ealthy, corporate patrons.
T h e B u sh e c o n o m y has
pushed people across sev­
eral d em ographic groups
into hom elessness in num ­
bers th at hav e n o t been
seen since the 1980s. D em o­
can. W hen 44 percent o f the h om e­ cratic candidate John K erry ’s plan
less population is m ade up o f w ork­ w ould address the m iddle class
ing people, the blam e lays in the squeeze by creating good-paying
lack o f a living wage, the increase in jo b s, cutting m iddle class taxes in
poverty, a lack o f affordable h o u s­ order to raise m iddle class incom es,
ing and the inattention o f the fed ­ cut the deficit and investigate jo b s
eral governm ent to this grow ing in the new -tech, hi-tech areas. The
When at least 39
percent o f homeless
population is made
up o f children, the
urgency o f the
homeless problem
cannot be ignored. x
people are not aim less, lazy people.
A ccording to a survey o f 27 m ajor
A m erican cities such as Los A nge­
les, C h icago and W ashington, D C ,
44 percent o f the hom eless w ork, 67
percent are single parent fam ilies
and 50 percent are A frican A m eri-
D em ocrats’ plan addresses som e
o f the factors o f hom elessness, but
still fails to directly address the
problem.
By and large, the hom eless lack
the presence o f other election year
catered-to groups. T he w ide spread
political b elief is that the hom eless
do not vote. W hen survival is a
daily concern, that m indset may
not be too far from the truth. Even
in non-election years, the centrist
view is that hom eless advocacy is
too liberal and, therefore, too risky
fo r re-election purposes. The point
is, how ever, that som eone needs to
speak for the hom eless. W hen at
least 39 percent o f hom eless p o p u ­
lation is m ade up o f children, the
urgency o f the hom eless problem
cannot be ignored.
A s o u r econom y struggles to
recover from nearly four years o f
business and jo b loss, national lead­
ers m ust take notice and address
the needs o f the hom eless A m eri­
c a n s a ff e c te d by th e w re c k e d
econom y. W ith hom elessness a f­
fecting m en and w om en; A frican
A m ericans and C aucasians; veter­
ans and non-veterans; urban and
rural, the problem isobviously m ore
serious than can be solved during
national party convention good tim ­
ing. The hom eless problem can
only be addressed by giving real
tim e, effort and resources to estab ­
lishing adequate incom e, afford­
able housing and viable social ser­
vices. U ntil such tim e as R epubli­
cans and D em ocrats alike give real
consideration to these econom ic,
em ploym ent and social concerns,
too m any A m ericans w ill live w ith
the w orry o f being hom eless.
Judge Greg M athis is Chair­
man o f the Rainbow PUSH-Excel
Board and a National Board M em ­
ber o f the Southern Christian Lead­
ership Conference.
Defense of Marriage not Constitutional
Act is bad even for
opponents o f same-
sex marriage
N ancy P elosi
H ouse D emocratic L eader
E ditor’s note: Pelosi m ade the
follow ing statem ents on the House
floor in opposition o f the M arriage
Protection A ct o f 2004, w hich she
said w ould strip ju risd ictio n from
federal courts, including the U.S.
S uprem e C ourt, preventing them
from ruling on challenges to the
federal D efense o f M arriage Act.
T he bill w as later approved by a
vote o f 233 to 194.
by
This bill will im pact the very foun­
dation o f o u r g o vernm ent — it im ­
pedes the uniform ity o f federal law,
it sets a d angerous precedent, and
it does grave d am ag e to the separa­
tion o f pow ers.
I have been m arried for o v er 40
years. A nd I cannot, for the life o f
me, think how this legislation that is
on the flo o r today, the so-called
M arriage P rotection A ct, is any
protection for my m arriage. In fact,
I think it is not a protection o f the
rights o f A m ericans.
E very m em b er o f this body has
taken a solem n oath to p rotect and
d efen d th e C o n stitu tio n o f the
U nited States. T h at is o u r o ath o f
office.
All m em bers should consider pedes the uniform ity o f federal law,
that this bill has far-reaching co n ­ it sets a dangerous precedent, and
seq u en ces for the separation o f it does grave dam age to the separa­
pow ers that has been the hallm ark tion o f pow ers.
o f o ur C onstitution, o u r g overn­
W h en fo rm e r S e n a to r B arry
m ent, and o u r rights as A m erican G old w ater spoke against a court
citizens. W e m ust honor o u r oath stripping bill in 1982, he w arned his
o f office and oppose this leg isla­ colleagues in the other body that it
tion.
w as a “frontal assault on the inde­
T his court stripping bill is not pendence o f the federal courts, and
about reaffirm ing the D efense o f it is a d angerous blow to the foun­
M arriage A ct, o r even about gay dations o f a free society.” W e m ust
m arriage. The fundam ental issue in heed that w arning today.
this bill is w hether we w ant to u n ­
T his bill w ould prohibit federal
derm ine the Suprem e C ourt, the courts, including the Suprem e Court
federal jud iciary and o ur system o f o f the U nited States, from hearing
checks and balances.
cases related to the interpretation
Thisbill will impact the very foun­ and the validity under the C o n sti­
dation o f o u r governm ent — it im- tution o f the full faith and credit
provision o f the D efense o f M ar­
riage A ct, as w ell as this court strip­
ping bill.
If passed, it w ould constitute the
first tim e in the over 2 0 0 years o f our
c o u n try ’s history that C o n g ress
has enacted legislation totally elim i­
nating any federal court from co n ­
sid erin g the co n stitu tio n ality o f
fe d e ra l le g is la tio n . O n ly sta te
courts w ould be able to decide
questions related to this provision
o f a federal statute.
T h e iro n y o f th at is, if y o u r
state p a sse d a law th a t allo w ed
gay m a rria g e s, a n d y o u w an ted
to c h a lle n g e it in fe d e ra l c o u rt,
you w o u ld o n ly b e c o n fin e d to
c h a lle n g in g it in a state co u rt in
y o u r state. S o e v e n th o se w ho
w o u ld o p p o s e g a y m a r r ia g e
w o u ld not h av e re c o u rse to th e
fe d e ra l co u rts.
T o d a y , m illio n s o f A m e ric a n s
are looking for w ork, m illions m ore
d o not hav e a c c e ss to q u a lity
h e a lth c are sin ce P re s id e n t B ush
and w o m en in u n ifo rm in h a rm ’s
w ay w ith o u t the p ro p e r e q u ip ­
m en t, tra in in g , an d in te llig e n c e
to get the jo b d o n e. W e w an t
th em to b e seco n d to n o n e, an d
w e w ill m ak e sure th ey h av e w hat
th ey need. B ut w e m u st tak e the
tim e to d o that. B ut in s te a d , w h at
are w e d o in g ?
In stead , w e are g a th e rin g h ere
to talk a b o u t d is c rim in a tio n , to
talk ab o u t u n d e rm in in g th e C o n -
Marriage Protection Act
undermines Supreme Court
and our system of checks
and balances.
v
to o k o ffic e . O u r c h ild re n are not
re c e iv in g th e q u a lity o f e d u c a ­
tio n th at they d e se rv e , to have
th e o p p o rtu n ity th a t is the p ro m ­
ise o f o u r co u n try . W e are d riv ­
ing o u rs e lv e s d e e p ly into d eb t
w ith the irre sp o n s ib le and re c k ­
le ss e c o n o m ic p o lic ie s o f the
R ep u b lican s here, giv in g o u rc h il-
d re n o b lig a tio n s in s te a d o f
o p p o rtu n ity . W e h av e o u r m en
stitu tio n o f th e U n ite d S ta te s, to
talk a b o u t d ish o n o rin g th e o ath
o f o ffic e th a t w e tak e to p ro te c t
and d efen d the C o n stitu tio n . I
ag ree w ith th o se w h o say th is bill
is ‘as w ro n g as w ro n g c an b e .’ In
sh o rt, th is bill is b ad law an d b ad
p o lic y . T h a t’s w hy it w ill n o t
hav e m y su p p o rt.
Nancy Pelosi is the House Dem o­
cratic Leader.
A Family-Based Plan For Voting
Register everyone eligible to change the presidency
by
B en J ohnson D eputy C hairman
of the D emocratic N ational C ommittee
On the road with Family.
It’s your world and this is your road! Loving
the whole experience between point A and
point B. Peace of mind has no boundaries when
you’re traveling with family. American Family
Insurance. Over three generations o f drivers
have placed their trust in the auto coverage that
means more peace o f mind on the road. Give
us a call or visit us at www.amfam.com and
find out why nobody protects your auto like
family. American Family Insurance.
Check your local telephone directory tor
the agent nearest you.
Apwr»r Farmfy Mtrtufti inmjrtine» Oc'OAry and SubMtuiriM
H o m »0*lo »
W IX J 7 U
«ww »m> am oom
AMERICAN FAMILY
N S U R A N C E
AD400TO
<2004
All your protection under one roof
«
It is said that our fam ilies m ean every­
thing to us.
T h e re 's an added dim ension for this elec­
tion year. In the 2004 election, fam ilies could
be the key to preventing A m erica from w ak­
ing up to the beginning o f G eorge W. B u sh 's
second term .
O ur fam ilies are featured as the focal
point o f the D em ocratic N ational C o m m ittee’s new
Fam ily V oting Plan - a step-by-step process that
encourages fam ilies to w ork together to ensure that
every fam ily m em ber votes on E lection D ay.
W e are all too fam iliar w ith the E lection D ay fiasco
of2000.
T he stories are legendary.
T ens o f thousands o f people tried to
vote in 2000, but those votes w ere never
counted. T he election rife had problem s
that rem arkably seem ed to be draw n like
m agnets to com m unities o f color. Just
537 votes decided the last election.
If all the votes in those sam e co m m u ­
nities had been counted, th ere’s little
doubt A1 G ore w ould be in the m iddle o f
his re-election cam paign.
T h a t's now behind us, but there w ere valuable
lessons learned that we can carry into the next elec­
tion.
W hile there are still three m onths to go until E lec­
tion D ay, it is already clea r that the 2004 election
stands to be ju s t as close as 2000, w hich m eans that
each vote carries unprecedented w eight. It also m eans
o u r responsibility cannot end w ith the casting o f
individual votes.
W ith ju s t six steps, the F am ily V o tin g Plan
(w w w .dem ocrats.org/fvp ) provides a sim ple check
listfo rfam ilies.
It starts w ith registering all v o t­
ers. V erify polling places. A ssist
elderly fam ily m em bers w ith a b ­
sentee ballots o r early voting. P ro­
vide transportation for every fam ­
ily m em ber w ho needs a ride.M ake
certain family m em bers are fam iliar
w ith any new voting m achines.
C reate an aggressive E lection D ay
effort to get your fam ily to the
polls.
T aken as a w hole, the plan helps us take care o f our
fam ilies. A nd it helps fam ilies take care o f each other.
T he stakes are too high this election y ear to do
anything less. N early three m illion jo b s have been lost
and m ore than 43 m illion A m ericans are w ithout health
\ I f all the votes in those same
communities had been counted,
there's little doubt Al Gore would
be in the middle o f his re-election
campaign.
insurance.
If A m erica is going to m ove forw ard, it’s clea r we
w ill need a new direction and that new direction
begins w ith y o u r fam ily.
Ben Johnson is Deputy Secretary o f the D em o­
cratic National Committee. He served in the Carter
White House as D irector o f Consumer Programs and
served the fu ll eight years o f the Clinton Adm inistra­
tion. Johnson is one o f the highest-ranking African
Am ericans in White House history, last serving as
A ssistant to the President and D irector o f the
P resident’s Initiative fo r One America.