NOW is the time for all of us to come to the aid...... - 1/24/08

[Smartmarriages]

This one is so important for our mission, that I'm giving it its own post.

If you've already voted from your email account, please forward this to
someone that hasn't voted and inspire them to take 5 mins and vote.

In fact, please forward this to all your email lists - we need a grassroots
groundswell!

As Patty points out, this MUST BE DONE IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS - they're
deciding now which questions to ask in the Presidential debates that will
take place in California next week. And, you can be sure that each
presidential staff is prepping their candidates on the questions - this will
get our issues before the candidates and their teams. - diane


Dear Diane,

Our Marriage Education questions at www.Politico.com
<http://www.politico.com/>  are doing very well AND it's time to move them
up to another level!

Currently, for BOTH parties, 9 of our Marriage Education questions rank in
the top 40!  This is fabulous, considering that over 4000 questions have
been submitted!  AND, this tells us that Marriage Education is a theme that
resonates with the public.

And, now is a key time to push our questions even higher up on the list, as
over the NEXT FEW DAYS the determination will be made about the questions
that will be asked of the Presidential candidates at two California debates
scheduled for the end of the month.

We'd really like to encourage SM listserv readers to vote now for our
Marriage Education questions so they'll pop up to the top tier.  We figure
that if we can get 2-3 questions into the top 10 and another 3-4 questions
in the top 20, this will force all the candidates to prepare for addressing
this issue--which is highly beneficial in itself--and having a Marriage
Education question actually be asked during the debates would give
unprecedented national exposure to the importance of Marriage Education.
This would impact our work in countless positive ways all across the
country! 

Please join in this Marriage Education endeavor--it's simple, and it's fun,
and above all: it's important!

Here's how:  Visit www.politico.com <http://www.politico.com/> and scroll
down to "Upcoming Presidential Debates" in the middle of the page.  Click on
this and you'll get to "Vote for Questions Now".  We want you to vote in
both lists--the list of questions for Republicans and the questions for
Democrats.  To do this, click first on "Republican" to see the list of
questions.  From there, click on the button above the list that says "Most
Popular", and look for the six Marriage questions (which you'll see repeated
a second time in the list, so vote for them EACH they appear!)  After you
have voted there, go back and enter the list of questions for Democrats and
vote for our Marriage Education questions in that list.  Here are the
Marriage Education questions to look for:


1)  It has been estimated that divorce in America today costs state and
Federal governments more than $100 billion annually in an array of social
services needed as a result of marital breakdown.  If you are elected
President, what steps will you take to invest this money in preventive
approaches for helping couples build healthy marriages and families?

2)  Since marital success is correlated with many measures of social
stability--such as better mental and physical health, higher productivity in
the workplace, lower crime and less violent crime--and since Marriage
Education skills are known to correlate with marital success, what
innovative measures would you propose as President to make these
relationship skills part of the birthright of every American?

3)  In an attempt to address the decades-long breakdown of families and
provide solutions to strengthen marriage and family relationships in our
nation's poorest and most desperate communities, Presidents Clinton and Bush
have supported back-to-back initiatives (Responsible Fatherhood Initiative
and Healthy Marriage Initiative).  As President, how will you continue
and/or expand upon these programs that break the cycle of poverty by
strengthening marriages and families in impoverished communities?

4)  Both parties speak about the importance of family values.  Yet, this
often fails to result in action that benefits children and families.  Since
we know the primary reason families break apart is that the relationship
between the parents breaks apart, and we know that Marriage Education and
Relationship Skills training helps couples build strong relationships, what
will you do to increase access to these programs?

5)  Data show that parents' marital stability is correlated with a variety
of positive outcomes for their children--including higher academic
achievement, lower teen pregnancy rates, lower rates of delinquency, drug
and alcohol abuse, and better overall health.  We also know that Marriage
Education fosters marital stability.  As President of the country, what
initiatives would you propose to make Marriage Education readily available?

6)  Multiple polls indicate that 90% of Americans believe that divorce is a
serious national problem. Fortunately, Marriage Education provides a way
that couples can learn the skills they need to build healthy marriages. If
you are elected President what you will do to increase access to and
participation in Marriage Education classes?
-----------------------

As I used to type in my 9th grade typing class, now is the time for all good
men (and women) to come to the aid of their party!  And, for those of us who
see the big picture about Marriage Education, I believe there has never been
such an important issue for both parties!  Please join now to raise
visibility about the important work we do to help strengthen couples and
families! 

Thanks so much!
Patty Howell, VP of Operations and Media Relations
California Healthy Marriages Coalition
<http://www.CaMarriage.com>