As you can imagine, Rush Limbaugh isn’t my favorite person. He’s on the wrong side of just about every issue. He often misinforms the public, and he tries to silence those who fight for progressive change.
That’s exactly what happened to me two years ago when I testified before members of Congress regarding comprehensive access to women’s health care. In an effort to silence me, Rush Limbaugh launched sexist attacks against me and women across America.
But thanks to you, my voice wasn’t silenced. Instead, I used the platform to stand up for the fights that matter: the fight for pay equity, quality education, affordable health care, and good jobs for all.
You might be wondering what Rush Limbaugh is up to lately. As it turns out, the extreme attacks on women’s access to health care didn’t just outrage women: it made his advertisers nervous.
A few days after I was attacked, the #StopRush movement started. Hundreds of national advertisers have pulled their ads since then -- and the movement has hit Rush where it hurts.
The #StopRush community monitors Limbaugh’s program every day, and lets advertisers know the offensive things he said that day.
No one expected him to face a movement this organized or persistent - but it turns out people are sick of relentless, unfair attacks. Decent folks who believe in tolerance and women’s access to health care are a formidable force when it comes to change. #StopRush is making a major impact.
Not to say that Rush’s extreme rhetoric isn’t continuing. Just this month, after first lady Michelle Obama voiced her concern and offered sympathy to the kidnapped girls’ families in Nigeria, Rush Limbaugh called her gesture “pathetic.”
But we simply can’t let hateful rhetoric distract us from the issues. That’s why I spent the last two years working on the issues I’ve fought for throughout my career. Here in California, I helped pass the California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, which was signed into law by Governor Brown in 2013 and is designed to ensure domestic workers have the same protections afforded to them that other workers enjoy.
In 2010, funded by the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, I produced an informative film to help victims of domestic violence obtain restraining orders in LA courts and represented those victims at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles. At the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking in Los Angeles, I’m one of the longest running volunteer attorneys representing victims of human trafficking. I have advocated for student loan debt relief, access to early childhood education and for raising the minimum wage.
I also campaigned for more than a dozen Democrats running in competitive U.S. House and Senate races, including U. S. Representatives Bera, Brownley, Capps, Peters and Ruiz of California and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. I fought for the reelection of President Obama in 2012, speaking at the Democratic National Convention.
Now, I hope to continue that work as a California State Senator. If you’d like to stand with me, please visit www.standforsandra.org. My election is in just two weeks - every moment counts.
I take my strength from you. To those who have stood with me these last two years, thank you. To everyone who speaks out for women, thank you.
Working together, nothing can stop us from achieving the progressive change we all want. Please stand with me in my next fight -- and I will fight for you in Sacramento.
Best,
Sandra
PS - I'll be meeting with LA Kossacks on Saturday, May 31st. RSVP to susans on kosmail to attend. Hope to see you there!
