Barack Obama.  The 44th President Of The United States, 11/4/08 11:00pm est.

Jamie –

I’m about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.

We just made history.

And I don’t want you to forget how we did it.

You made history every single day during this campaign — every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it’s time for change.

I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.

We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I’ll be in touch soon about what comes next.

But I want to be very clear about one thing…

All of this happened because of you.

Thank you,

Barack

      http://www.barackobama.com/live/

Dear Jamie,

Take a bow. You rewrote history for animals.

Thanks to you, 20 million animals in California will soon be spared the worst abuses of factory farms. And I’m confident that we’ll look back at Prop 2 as a pivotal moment in how our nation treats animals who are raised for food.

Early returns tonight show that more than 60% of Californians voted for Prop 2. This is a tremendous victory for animals, for The Humane Society of the United States…and for you. We were able to reach millions of California voters with our message of compassion only because you stood with us – by taking action, by donating to the campaign, and by telling those you knew in California about Prop 2 and what it would do for animals and for citizens there.

This was a momentous election for the nation. I’m so grateful and honored for everything you did to make Prop 2 a big part of the story. Please read my blog over the coming days for my take on Prop 2 and what it means for animal protection.

Sincerely,

Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States

On the other side of the country, Question 3 passed, which will ban greyhound racing in the state of Massachusetts by 2010. We have long supported the fabulous team of activists there and thank all of you who have worked so tirelessly to see this victory become a reality. Dogs who are used for racing typically spend 20 hours per day confined to cages measuring only 32 in. by 42 in. by 34 in. Many of the dogs can’t even stand completely upright. The animals are also highly susceptible to injuries, including fractures, dislocations, lacerations, and amputations. And because injured dogs are no longer of use to the industry, they are often simply killed.

Together, we can keep the momentum going!

Sincerely,

 Ingrid E. Newkirk

Peta, Humane Society Global Team Inc.

Dear Jamie,

I’ve been on the road non-stop these last few weeks, campaigning in support of a ballot measure that, if passed, will be the greatest victory for farm animals in U.S. history — a mandate with the power to alleviate animal suffering on a national scale.

And, to be perfectly honest with you, we’ve never faced a bigger fight.

Proposition 2, on the ballot in California, would give farm animals the ability to stand up, lie down, turn around, and stretch their limbs — a very modest request, but one that has sent the factory farming industry into a tailspin. It has really been the campaign of a lifetime, not only for me personally, but for The Humane Society of the United States as an organization.

You might wonder why I feel particularly passionate about Prop 2. For me, it comes down to this: Animals built to move need room to move — whether they are the dogs and cats we share our lives with, or the animals who provide us with food. It’s such a small thing, really, but it’s a giant step towards the humane society so many of us devote our lives to helping create, and I’m honored to be a part of it.

As commonsense as Prop 2 sounds, Big Agribusiness is fighting us tooth and nail — shocking, isn’t it?! I just watched their outrageous new TV attack ad — it was rife with misinformation and scare tactics, and it left me fuming. I don’t know where we’d be without the support of thousands of animal advocates like you who have given so generously to help keep our ads on the air through Election Day.

But just last night, I learned that our planned media buy may not be enough — because factory farms have added $736,000 to their existing multi-million dollar ad campaign opposing Prop 2.

We simply can’t let them have any advantage over us. That’s why I want us to match them by raising an additional $170,000 over the next few critical days, so we can answer their deceptive ads.

In short: With so much at stake, we need to increase our TV advertising buy. I know many of you have given before, but I hope you’ll consider making an emergency donation today.

We have just 12 days to the election, and hundreds of thousands of Californians are voting by mail every day.

It sickens me to watch how the fat cat companies bankrolling the “Californians for Safe Food” front group are peddling lies about Prop 2’s supposed impact on food prices. The truth? Industry economists themselves concede that farmers’ production costs will increase less than a penny per egg. 

It’s about their profit motives conflicting with the humane society you and I are working to create. 

I understand what a difficult time it is for folks. And I’ve seen the factory farming industry use every rationalization imaginable to cut costs and continue lining their pockets at the expense of millions of creatures. But they’ve reached a new low by exploiting voters’ fears during these uncertain times with such egregious misinformation.

I don’t want to even imagine what will happen if we don’t raise the funds we need to step up our campaign in its final days — and reach out to the millions of voters whose only exposure to Prop 2 might be industry doublespeak. That’s simply not an option in my book.

Now is our last shot to make history for millions of animals living in misery. We can’t afford to stop now — and millions of suffering animals can’t afford it either. Please — help us raise the $170,000 we need to match the opposition and ensure that voters in California hear the unvarnished truth about what Prop 2 means for animals and for them.

As nerve-racking as it can be to know how much is on the line, I can’t tell you how comforting and affirming it is to know that when I go out on the campaign trail, I have the force of thousands of animals advocates like you behind me. I’m energized by your commitment to animals, and moved by your letters and comments of support.

Thank you so much, Jamie.

Sincerely,

Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States

P.S. Please take action now: Contribute to YES! on Prop 2, then forward this email to friends you know who care about animals — we urgently need to fight these lies.

September 22, 2008

Dear Friend, 

I wanted to let you know that today, on behalf of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, I announced our endorsement of Barack Obama for President. Please see my blog below for more information, and help spread the word to animal lovers across the country. 

Sincerely,


Mike Markarian
President
Humane Society Legislative Fund

Humane Society Legislative Fund Endorses Obama-Biden

One of the guiding principles of the Humane Society Legislative Fund is that we evaluate candidates based on a single criterion: where they stand on animal protection policies. We don’t make decisions based on party affiliation, or any other social issue, or even how many pets they have. We care about their views and actions on the major policy debates relating to animal welfare.

It stirs controversy to get involved in candidate elections. But we believe that candidates for office and current lawmakers must be held accountable, or they will see the animal protection movement as a largely irrelevant political constituency. In order to have good laws, we need good lawmakers, and involvement in elections is an essential strategy for any serious social movement, including our cause.

While we’ve endorsed hundreds of congressional candidates for election, both Democrats and Republicans, we’ve never before endorsed a presidential candidate. We have members on the left, in the center, and on the right, and we knew it could be controversial to choose either party’s candidate for the top office in the nation. But in an era of sweeping presidential power, we must weigh in on this most important political race in the country. Standing on the sidelines is no longer an option for us.

I’m proud to announce today that the HSLF board of directors — which is comprised of both Democrats and Republicans — has voted unanimously to endorse Barack Obama for President. The Obama-Biden ticket is the better choice on animal protection, and we urge all voters who care about the humane treatment of animals, no matter what their party affiliation, to vote for them.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been a solid supporter of animal protection at both the state and federal levels. As an Illinois state senator, he backed at least a dozen animal protection laws, including those to strengthen the penalties for animal cruelty, to help animal shelters, to promote spaying and neutering, and to ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption.  In the U.S. Senate, he has consistently co-sponsored multiple bills to combat animal fighting and horse slaughter, and has supported efforts to increase funding for adequate enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, and federal laws to combat animal fighting and puppy mills.

In his response to the HSLF questionnaire, he pledged support for nearly every animal protection bill currently pending in Congress, and said he will work with executive agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to make their policies more humane. He wrote of the important role animals play in our lives, as companions in our homes, as wildlife in their own environments, and as service animals working with law enforcement and assisting persons with disabilities. He also commented on the broader links between animal cruelty and violence in society.

Obama has even on occasion highlighted animal protection issues on the campaign trail, and has spoken publicly about his support for animal protection. In reaction to the investigation showing the abuse of sick and crippled cows which earlier this year led to the largest meat recall in U.S. history, he issued a statement saying “that the mistreatment of downed cows is unacceptable and poses a serious threat to public health.” He is featured in Jana Kohl’s book about puppy mills, A Rare Breed of Love, with a photo of Obama holding Baby (shown above), the three-legged poodle rescued from an abusive puppy mill operation, and his political mentor, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), is the author of the latest federal bill to crack down on puppy mills. 

Importantly, Obama’s running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) has been a stalwart friend of animal welfare advocates in the Senate, and has received high marks year after year on the Humane Scorecard. Biden has not only supported animal protection legislation during his career, but has also led the fight on important issues. He was the co-author with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in the 108th Congress on legislation to ban the netting of dolphins by commercial tuna fishermen. He was the lead author of a bill in the 107th Congress to prohibit trophy hunting of captive exotic mammals in fenced enclosures, and he successfully passed the bill through the Senate Judiciary Committee.

On the Republican ticket, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has also supported some animal protection bills in Congress, but has been inattentive or opposed to others. He has voted for and co-sponsored legislation to stop horse slaughter, and voted to eliminate a $2 million subsidy for the luxury fur coat industry. But he has largely been absent on other issues, and has failed to co-sponsor a large number of priority bills or sign onto animal protection letters that have had broad support in the Senate.

The McCain campaign did not fill out the HSLF presidential questionnaire, and has also not issued any public statements on animal welfare issues. He was silent during the downed animal scandal and beef recall, which played out during a high-point in the primary fight. Yet he did speak at the NRA convention earlier this year, and is the keynote speaker this weekend in Columbus, Ohio, at the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance rally—an extremist organization that defends the trophy hunting of threatened polar bears and captive shooting of tame animals inside fenced pens.

While McCain’s positions on animal protection have been lukewarm, his choice of running mate cemented our decision to oppose his ticket. Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R-Alaska) retrograde policies on animal welfare and conservation have led to an all-out war on Alaska’s wolves and other creatures. Her record is so extreme that she has perhaps done more harm to animals than any other current governor in the United States.

Palin engineered a campaign of shooting predators from airplanes and helicopters, in order to artificially boost the populations of moose and caribou for trophy hunters. She offered a $150 bounty for the left foreleg of each dead wolf as an economic incentive for pilots and aerial gunners to kill more of the animals, even though Alaska voters had twice approved a ban on the practice. This year, the issue was up again for a vote of the people, and Palin led the fight against it — in fact, she helped to spend $400,000 of public funds to defeat the initiative.

What’s more, when the Bush Administration announced its decision to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, Palin filed a lawsuit to reverse that decision. She said it’s the “wrong move” to protect polar bears, even though their habitat is shrinking and ice floes are vanishing due to global warming.

The choice for animals is especially clear now that Palin is in the mix. If Palin is put in a position to succeed McCain, it could mean rolling back decades of progress on animal issues.

Voters who care about protecting wildlife from inhumane and unsporting abuses, enforcing the laws that combat large-scale cruelties like dogfighting and puppy mills, providing humane treatment of animals in agriculture, and addressing other challenges that face animals in our nation, must become active over the next six weeks to elect a president and vice president who share our values. Please spread the word, and tell friends and family members that an honest assessment of the records of the two presidential tickets leads to the inescapable conclusion that Obama-Biden is the choice for humane-minded voters.

Paid for by Humane Society Legislative Fund and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

http://www.hsus.org/