Elections /
Speak Out for Animals this Primary Season
New Hampshire’s somewhat surprising presidential primary results Tuesday—with Hillary Clinton and John McCain emerging as victors—have thrown the races wide open.
Uncategorized /
Building on the momentum of 2007 in Congress
The U.S. House of Representatives will come back from winter recess next week, and the U.S. Senate the week after, to begin the second session of the 110th Congress. It’s time to look ahead at the fight for animal protection in Congress in 2008, but also look back at what we accomplished in 2007.
Elections /
Party Victors in Iowa a Study in Contrasts
Iowa's presidential party caucus results last night gave a boost to Barack Obama, a dedicated supporter of animal protection at the state and federal levels, and Mike Huckabee, the worst of the candidates on animal issues.
Elections /
The Presidential Files: Discussing the Donkeys
In advance of the Iowa caucuses—the first official event of the 2008 election season—I've been introducing you to the candidates from both sides of the political spectrum.
Elections /
The Presidential Files: Evaluating the Elephants
With the Iowa caucuses tomorrow, and the New Hampshire
primaries next week, I want to provide an overview of the Republican
presidential candidates. I’ve already
Elections /
The Presidential Files: Barack Obama and the Dog-acity of Hope
Democratic Senator Barack Obama's 2006 book, "The Audacity of Hope," is a story about his dogged optimism in the future. But it's his other work of writing—this one in response to a Humane Society Legislative Fund questionnaire—that has given dogs and other animals hope in this country.
Uncategorized /
Lobbying' is Not a Dirty Word
When I travel around the country
and visit animal shelters and rescue organizations, I see first-hand the
fantastic work that these groups do in their communities: animal adoptions,
spaying and neutering, humane education, anti-cruelty law enforcement, and much
more. But when I ask if local groups are
involved in lobbying efforts to protect animals, I often hear the same response:
“But we’re a nonprofit charity and we’re not allowed to lobby!”
Elections /
The Presidential Files: Bill Richardson's Animal Magnetism in the Land of Enchantment
When animal advocates survey the field of presidential candidates, there is a lot of parity among those who have served in Congress. Joe Biden, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, John McCain, and Barack Obama have all been supporters of animal welfare. But when you look at the three candidates who have served as governors, only one chief executive has advanced the cause of animal welfare in his home state in a meaningful way.
Elections /
The Presidential Files: Ron Paul and Michael Vick
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is on fire. He broke records last week for raising more than $6 million online in a 24-hour period. What was once a fringe campaign is now hiring more staff and opening more offices. I suspect that some animal advocates have gravitated toward Paul because of his anti-war, populist rhetoric.
Uncategorized /
Stories to Warm the Holiday Season
In the spirit of Christmas, I’m going to take a short break from presidential politics, and share a pair of stories that inspired me this year. They are stories about two members of Congress, from different political parties, who both helped American families remember their loved ones and celebrate the human-animal bond.
Talk Back /
Talk Back: Huckabee's Record
Last night, I hosted a meeting of about 50 animal advocates in Des Moines, Iowa, at the fantastic Animal Rescue League South adoption center. Iowa is only two weeks away from the nation’s first presidential caucuses, and voters in that state have a unique opportunity to influence the presidential candidates on animal protection issues.
Elections /
The Presidential Files: John Edwards on Animals and Rural America
Former Democratic Senator John Edwards has found himself in the center of the debate over factory farming. When Edwards first ran for the U.S. Senate in 1998, he defeated Republican incumbent Lauch Faircloth, who had been a large-scale, commercial hog farmer and operated in the second-largest hog-producing state. Now, Edwards is spending much of his time in the number one hog-producing state, Iowa, and is running on a platform of protecting small farmers and rural communities from the environmental pollution and economic devastation caused by agribusiness.
