Public Employee Press

2012 ELECTION
Stand with Obama

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

District Council 37 and its national union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, unanimously endorsed President Barack Obama for reelection.

"Two distinct philosophies mark this election: Romney's 'You're on your own,' versus Obamas' 'We're in this together,' " said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. "Romney is certainly only for the 1 percent. President Obama is the only choice for the 99 percent."

AFSCME committed thousands of volunteers to help the Obama-Biden campaign.
DC 37 enlisted its Green Machine of volunteers to register new voters, phone bank, and use social media to get out the vote Nov. 6.

PEP prepared this special eight-page pull-out for members and retirees to read about the candidates, their accomplishments and the issues shaping the 2012 general election.

President Obama took office as the nation faced catastrophic challenges: two unpaid wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and economic collapse brought on by greedy Wall Street bankers who abused federal deregulation, exploited and defrauded Main Street Americans and caused the housing market and economy to spiral in free fall.

"No president, not me or any of my predecessors could have repaired all the damage in just four years," said President Bill Clinton at the Democratic National Convention. Obama accomplished much despite Republican obstructionists in Congress who openly vowed to make him a one-term president and did nothing to create jobs or rebuild the economy.

Supporting working families

The reasons AFSCME and DC 37 are supporting President Obama and the Democratic ticket are many.

Obama's stimulus package saved thousands of municipal employees' jobs. He supports the right to organize workers, fair pay for women, and, with 30 straight months of job creation, has helped put Americans back to work. Obama's health-care act gives millions protection from insurance company abuses like denying patients coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions. Moreover, Obama ended the war in Iraq and said that money could be used to rebuild America's infrastructure, its bridges, roads, highways and schools.

This PEP feature also helps readers understand the Romney-Ryan plan more fully and how it attacks labor unions and fails working families and retirees. Romney would dismantle Medicare, replace it with $6,500 vouchers and stick retirees with huge medical bills. He'd replace collective bargaining rights with pro-employer right to work for less.

Romney and Paul Ryan have flip-flopped, back-pedaled and lied about their lives, their position on critical issues and their vision for America. Their platform at best echoes ineffective, Bush-era policies and at its worst, kicks the ball down the field, leaving crucial challenges at home and abroad up to chance. Romney's no-plan plan is a setup for failure that would leave most Americans destitute.

Share this pullout section with friends, family and neighbors to help them make an educated decision on the best candidate for working families and vote on Tuesday Nov 6.

Issues	President Barack Obama	Governor Mitt Romney
Health-Care Reform	President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act-aka Obamacare-in 2010, which immediately extended coverage to 6.6 million young Americans and made healthcare available to uninsured children with pre-existing conditions. Beginning in 2014, 30 million currently uninsured Americans, including adults with pre-existing conditions, will have health-care coverage thanks to the ACA. The Supreme Court affirmed the law earlier this year.	Despite having supported his own version of Obamacare as Massachusetts governor, Romney has promised to let all 50 states opt out of Obamacare while Congress repeals the law - which would mean the return of annual and lifetime caps on coverage of pre-existing condition exclusions and skyrocketing premiums. He also supports ending the tax exclusion for employer-provided health insurance.
Economic Recovery	President Obama signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009 to spur economic growth amid the greatest recession since the Great Depression. The ARRA included $210 billion for state and local governments, which helped fund critical public services and protect public employee jobs. As of September, the United States had seen 30 straight months of job growth.	Romney was a strong opponent of the ARRA. He also penned a New York Times op-ed in 2008 titled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." He has continued to advocate for austerity measures similar to those that have kept the economy in Europe in recession. Neither Romney nor the Republican Party to date have outlined a specific economic recovery plan but if elected, Romney said he'd create 12 million jobs.
Wall Street Reform	President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010 to better regulate the financial sector and end the fast-and-loose practices that wrecked the American economy. The new law limits banks' ability to use our money in high-risk trades. It also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to crack down on abusive lending practices and protect consumers.	Romney supports repeal of the entire Dodd-Frank law and wants to deregulate Wall Street. This would allow the big banks to return to the risky practices that inflated the housing bubble only to later cause it to burst, leaving millions of American homeowners underwater.
Retirement Security	President Obama is committed to sustaining Social Security "without putting at risk current retirees.or people with disabilities; without slashing benefits for future generations" and without privatization. Obamacare added new Medicare benefits and years of solvency to the program.	The Romney-Ryan federal budget plan would turn Social Security into 401(k)-style private accounts, turn Medicare into a voucher program that would cost seniors $6,500 more each year and turn Medicaid into a block grant that would shift costs to states and recipients.
Collective Bargaining	President Obama called Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's attack on collective bargaining "an assault on unions." After a similar attempt in Ohio, he said the economic downturn should not be used as an excuse to erode bargaining rights. Obama explained, "I'm going to stand up for collective bargaining." In September, a judge struck down Walker's Act 10 that eliminated collective bargaining, calling it a violation of both state and federal law.	In 2011, Romney stood behind Ohio Senate Bill 5 "110 percent" before the citizens vetoed that law by a two-to-one margin. At a 2012 Republican primary debate, Romney vowed to sign a federal right-to-work-for-less law as president.
Focus on Working Families	President Obama's proposed 2013 budget prioritizes job creation and calls for increased investments in job training, infrastructure and manufacturing. He has fought to protect jobs in the public sector for teachers, public safety officers and others. Obama also proposes tax policies that help working families, including ending the Bush tax cuts for wealthy Americans.	The Ryan budget includes a massive new tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, paid for by cutting safety net programs, critical public services and aid to the states. Under the Romney-Ryan budget, billionaires would reap an estimated $2 million annual tax cut, millionaires would get a $246,000-a-year tax cut, while the 47 percent loathed by Romney - seniors and working families - foot the bill with the average middle class family expected to pay $2,500 more in taxes.

DISCLAIMER: This portion of the website was paid for by AFSCME’s Political Action Committee, PEOPLE, with voluntary contributions from AFSCME members and their families, and is not authorized by any candidate of candidate’s committee.