Tentative 2016 WV Democratic Party 

State Convention Schedule

2016 WV Democratic Party State Convention Schedule
(tentative, for planning purposes only)
Charleston Civic Center

www.wvdemocrats.com

Friday, June 10, 2016
1:30pm Credentials Committee Meeting 
2:00pm Rules Committee Meeting
2:30pm Resolution Committee Meeting 

(30-minute intermission)

3:00 p.m.- Registration Open

3:00 – 6:00 pm Early Dinner Sponsor TBD 

6:30pm Convention Begins 
Invocation 
Pledge
State Party Chair Belinda Biafore, presiding

6:45pm Guest Speakers TBD

7:30pm Break Out into Congressional District Caucus 
7:45pm Congressional Caucuses Begin
1st

2nd

3rd

9:15pm Caucuses End

9:15pm Rules Committee count the votes for National Convention 
1st District Rules Committee Counts 2nd District Votes
2nd District Rules Committee Counts 3rd District Votes 
3rd District Rules Committee Counts 1st District Votes

9:30pm TBD (Maybe evening reception)

Saturday, June 11, 2016

8:00 am – 9:30am Breakfast

8:00 am – 9:30am Registration

9:45am Convention Begins
9:45am Guest Speaker

10:00am Announce Congressional District Caucus Winners 

10:15am Guest Speakers

11:00am Resolutions 
11:30am Party Platform up for adoption
12:30pm Elect 2 At-Large Reps for the Electoral College
1:30pm Adjourn

1:30pm Break for Lunch

2:30pm State Executive Committee Meeting
4:00pm National Convention Delegates Meeting;

Remember In November and VOTE!

By Robin Wood Stultz, President

West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women

Yesterday was the last day of the Republican led 2016 Legislative Session, thank goodness.

While myself and the women of the West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women are more than ready for it to be over, it’s heart breaking to try and take in all that has unfolded.

We’ve been up against a Republican attack on West Virginia workers and our families since they took the majorities in our State Senate and House of Delegates.  We’ve seen them cut wages, gut jobs and benefits and pass careless legislation that puts our homes and our rights at risk.

Our friends and families in West Virginia have suffered enough.

The GOP’s attack is fueled by discrimination, greedy wage cuts, dangerous workplace safety dismantlement, self-serving politics, and big money favors.

The selfishness of the Republican majorities is not welcome here. Our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, children and seniors, and families and friends in our beautiful Mountain State deserve better.

What the Republicans have done to our state and her people is unacceptable and tremendously disrespectful of our livelihoods and our West Virginia values.

We have not been silent. Democrats have stood in solidarity to protect our families and friends. We may not have always agreed 100%, but we have fought together.

Even though the session is over, we will not stop the fight because all West Virginians are worth fighting for. You are worth fighting for.  Our fight is just beginning, we have an election in November and we cannot afford for you to stay home. We need your help.

Democrats are who West Virginia families can depend on. We’re whom they can trust and we cannot let them down.

Join Democrats as we stand up for our friends and families in West Virginia. Join us as we fight for their safety, their jobs, their children’s education, the food on their tables and their health care.

Please join us today and work with us to turn West Virginia blue in November, not for politics, but for people. Not only do we deserve better, we deserve more.

We hope to never see this Republican attack on West Virginia workers and families ever again, and we need your help so we don’t.

Let’s remember in November and let’s vote. 

Get involved here:  West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women

Voting: It's a BIG deal!

West Virginia Young Democrat Sarah Summers shares her thoughts on registering to vote for the first time. Her enthusiasm, dedication, commitment, and pride provide lessons for all of us, whether we are 18 or 80. Thank you, Sarah.

This past Wednesday I registered to vote ... as a Democrat of course. What a feeling it is to finally have a say in issues that affect my family, my friends, and myself. 

The idea of not registering to vote never entered my mind. I was raised in a proud, hardworking Democratic family. I have been around True Blue women who have always taken me to campaigns and events. It has been engraved in me that if I don't have my say at the polls, other people will make decisions regarding everything in my life. 

I have, however, come to the realization that not everyone my age is as excited as I am about getting out to vote. For many of my friends, turning 18 is nothing sensational except that it offers a bit more freedom. I am trying to get them to see 18 in a different light. 18 is the “voting age.” It is the age we can make our voices heard at the polls. It is an age free of control, but not the kind they are thinking. 18 could possibly be the most monumental age in one’s life.

As if the idea of making our voices heard, making our own decisions, and not being treated like children anymore isn’t liberating enough, there are plenty of other reasons to become a voting citizen. Simply stated, we are extremely fortunate to have this right. There is no justification for not casting a ballot; everyone can and everyone should. 

In 1920, after decades of fighting and dying for the right, the 19^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. This Amendment declared that women deserve the same voting rights as men. Fifty years earlier, in 1870, the 15^th Amendment granted African-Americans the right to make their voices heard. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed The Voting Rights Act into law, guaranteeing there can be no discrimination toward African-Americans casting a ballot. Today, any registered voter is accepted and able to vote.

So what's your excuse?

My fellow 18-year-olds, if you don’t vote then someone else will make decisions for you. I cannot stress this point strongly enough. Decisions regarding your healthcare, education, and income; your future in general; any rights you have come to know and love, are either in your hands, or in someone else's. I could go on and on. Whether you like it or not, you cannot complain if you don’t get out and vote. 

The 2016 presidential election is our prime opportunity. I urge you to watch the news, follow politicians, and become informed. Pay attention not only to the candidates you agree with, but to the ones you disagree with as well. 

Call a friend and schedule a ride to your local precinct on Election Day. Make it a special occasion, and remind yourself how blessed you are to have this right. 

Do whatever it takes. 

In the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt: 

“Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” 

See you at the polls!    

Five weeks and two days …

West Virginia's Democratic women will gather this year at Pipestem Resort in Summers County for their annual meeting. Have you registered yet? If not, you can easily do so online, or ask your club president for a registration form.

And for a slice of what it's like to plan and prepare for the event, visit Third District Director Debbi McNeer's blog. She and her fellow Summers County members are making sure you have a memorable meeting.

Medicare turns 50!

On Thursday, July 30^th, we celebrate Medicare’s 50^th birthday.   This will be a joyful day for seniors of America!  After nearly a half century, Medicare has a lot to be proud of.  Thanks to Medicare, millions of older Americans are able to enjoy retirement without the fear of medical expenses that could bankrupt us and our families.  In this age of shrinking savings and small or nonexistent pensions, Medicare is more important than ever.

 Retirees and workers should be very concerned over the drastic changes some of our elected officials want to make that would threaten the dream we all have for a safe and secure retirement.

            

These changes would include cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and to Social Security – not to just one of these programs, but to all three!  We have some Governors actually refusing federal funds that would expand Medicaid in their states.  And when it comes to Medicare, many want to pass costs onto seniors through benefit cuts, means testing, increasing the Medicare eligibility age, or privatization.

            

All of this leads us to a clear conclusion: Medicare remains strong, and is not in any immediate financial danger.  While the long term financial future of the program is important, there is no need to rush to drastic action.  Unfortunately, too many in Washington demand harmful Medicare cuts despite all this.  They claim that they want to help seniors and ensure the program’s future.  But it makes no sense to cut benefits now unnecessarily.

            

Fortunately, we can ensure that Medicare keeps celebrating birthdays for decades to come.  And we can do it without harmful benefit cuts.

• Congress should reject proposals like the Ryan Republican budget that would cut Medicare funding by turning it into a voucher program.  It takes away traditional Medicare benefits and replaces it with a “coupon” to purchase insurance in the private marketplace.  It would end Medicare as we know it, leaving us at the mercy of private insurance companies.
  
• Congress should reject proposals that further means tests Medicare benefits.  Medicare Parts B and D are already means tested for individuals with incomes over $85,000, and couples with incomes over $170,000.  More means testing is a direct attack on the middle class.
  
• Congress should also reject proposals that shift Medicare costs to seniors.  Proposals to charge a surcharge to individuals who have Medigap do not deal with the rising costs of health care but, instead shifts costs on to beneficiaries.     Likewise, proposals to institute home health co-pays will penalize those who can least afford it – the oldest, sickest, and chronically ill.
  
• Congress also needs to reject proposals like the Ryan Republican budget that raise the eligibility age for Medicare beneficiaries.  Proposals that have you wait two more years to get Medicare by raising the eligibility age to 67, leaves you on your own when you are most vulnerable.  You’ll either have to find a job that provides coverage, when you are at an age that most employers don’t want to hire you; pay for coverage yourself, at a time in life when your income is likely declining; or become impoverished so you are eligible for Medicaid.

Instead of these awful proposals, Congress should enact the Nelson – Caster Medicare Drug Savings Act, S. 1083 and H.R. 2005.  This legislation, which will require drug companies to provide discounts to the federal government for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, will save the government and taxpayers $121 billion over 10 years.  This is a sensible alternative that will save the Medicare program money without harming beneficiaries.

Between common sense reforms like the Medicare Drug Savings Act and the savings from the Affordable Care Act, we can feel confident about the future of Medicare as it celebrates its 50^th year and we intend to make sure it is still strong now and for our children and our grandchildren!

Ginny Moles is Senior Caucus Director for the WV Democratic Party.

Still unequal after all these years

Belinda Biafore, chair of the WV State Democratic Executive Committee, has a message for all West Virginians about an issue that, at first glance, looks like a women's issue. In reality, it ends up being everyone's problem:

It’s the beginning of April and the countdown to Equal Pay Day begins. Equal Pay Day is on Tuesday, April 14th, and women all across the United States are reminded that we are still fighting for equal pay for equal work. 

Women in the United States are only making around 78 cents to every dollar a man makes. How is this fair? It’s not, and while nationally the amount is 78 cents, here in West Virginia women’s earnings are even less than that.

In a recent study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, West Virginia ranks second to last in gender earnings ratio in the United States. West Virginia’s gender earnings ratio is 67.3 percent. Only Louisiana, at 66.7%, is lower.

We just completed the 2015 legislative session under Republican leadership that attacked wages of not just women, but all hardworking West Virginians. We need to be taking steps forward for our state, not backwards. How can we close the wage gap when we have a Republican majority that is focused on rolling us back in all aspects of our workforce?

Young men and women are the future of West Virginia. We talk about ways to keep them here at home to help our economy and build our future, but how can we expect young women to want to stay here?

Thirty cents may not seem like a lot, but it adds up when you’re providing for your family. Day after day we buy groceries, gas, and food for our children. We pay for child care and save for their college education.

We work and we provide for ourselves and our families. So why, when we work so hard, are women paid less?

Pay discrimination isn't just a women’s issue, it’s a family issue. It’s everyone’s issue.
Women have fought for centuries for equal rights, and our fight continues every single day. 

Join the Democratic Party in our fight for equal pay for equal work as we take Equal Pay Day to remember that hardworking West Virginians include hardworking West Virginia women. 

And now, a word from our sponsor …

Huh?

While it's true that the West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women doesn't have sponsors, per se, we do spend money. And therefore, from time to time, we need to raise a little money.

Where do we spend money? Travel. Annual meeting. Postage. All the various and sundry expense categories necessary for running an advocacy group.

How do we raise money? Dues – one dollar per member of your county club dues goes to the state. We make every effort to have annual meeting registration fees cover the cost of the event. The largest source of annual revenue has been and remains ad sales for our annual meeting program book. We also raffle off a handmade quilt and raise money at our Friday night auction during the meeting weekend.

We'd like to offer training sessions throughout the state on topics of interest to you. So far we've heard you want to learn more about effective use of social media and how to urge more women to run for elected office. Training = expenses.

So. We've committed to publishing a quarterly subscription-based newsletter. Our first issue went to nearly 2000 people, and subscription orders have been trickling in, but in order for Lean to the Left to be successful, we need more. We need YOU.

For less than $3 per month – just $35 – you can brag about your group, learn how other clubs are contributing to their communities, be educated, enlightened, and inspired.

Think about it. Each month, could you forego …

• a semi-fancy coffee drink?
• those impulse lottery tickets?
• a couple songs from iTunes?
• that app purchase?
• a bargain book for your Kindle or Nook?

and instead, use that money to support your West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women?

We thought you could. If you haven't clicked through to our subscription form yet, here's one more chance.

Thank you.