This morning from Bernie via email:
Dear Friend -
When my Republican colleagues talk about “family values,” what they usually mean is opposition to a woman’s right to choose, opposition to contraception, opposition to gay rights, and support for abstinence-only education.
Let me give a somewhat different perspective on family values.
When a mother has a baby and is unable to spend time with that child during the first weeks and months of his or her life, that is not a family value.
When a wife is diagnosed with cancer and a husband cannot get time off of work to take care of her, that is not a family value.
When a mother is forced to send her sick child to school because she cannot afford to stay home with her, that is not a family value.
When a husband, wife, and kids, during the course of an entire year, are unable to spend any time together on vacation, that is not a family value.
The Republican agenda for families is really an attack on everything that a family is supposed to stand for.
When it comes to basic workplace protections and family benefits, workers in every other major industrialized country in the world get a better deal than workers in the United States. That should be an embarrassment to anyone who wants to talk seriously about family values in this country.
I'm running for president because I will stand for real family values. Please contribute $5 to our campaign now to help make paid family leave, sick days, and vacation days a reality for every working person in America.
It is not enough, though, to simply oppose the Republican agenda. That's why I'm proud to tell you what I think is a true agenda for family values.
Every worker in America should be guaranteed at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave. That is a family value.
It is insane that low wage workers in McDonald’s who get sick are forced to work because they cannot afford to miss work. Workers in this country must have paid sick time so they don't get coworkers or customers sick on the job. That is a family value.
Every person who works for a living must have at least 10 days of paid vacation. Making sure families can afford to take some time off, without having to worry about going broke -- that is a family value.
Let’s be clear: in terms of protecting the needs of our families, in many respects, the United States lags behind virtually every major country on earth.
Last place is no place for America. It is time to join the rest of the industrialized world by showing the people of this country that we are not just a nation that talks about family values -- but that we are a nation that is prepared to live up to these ideals by making sure that workers in this country have access to paid family leave, paid sick time and paid vacations.
Can you help me carry this message in our campaign? Please contribute $5 now.
Thank you for all of your support,
- Bernie
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