Democrats for Life of America Annual Conference and Hall of Fame Reception
On July 13 and 14 2009, Democrats for Life of America returned to Washington D.C. for our annual conference and Hall of Fame Reception. 2008's conference had been held at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
The theme of this year's conference was "Building State Chapters." State chapters leaders renewed old acquaintances and settled in over a working dinner at the Georgian Room of the Phoenix Park Hotel. The evening's three guest presenters were accessible to a nationwide audience of pro-life Democrats and other supporters via streaming interactive Internet, a first for our group. This "webinar" was sponsored by Care Net, and featured its Vice-president of Communications, Kristin Hansen, as the lead presenter. Hansen discussed the role of crisis pregnancy centers within the community and how DFLA members might best support a local center's efforts. The evening's second presenter was Casey O’Shea of 4CPartnersLLC, who spoke on how to build an effective campaign and advocacy effort at the grassroots level. In the final segment, Ben Chao of Chao Strategy Media and Message discussed the modern media environment and how to effectively promote a pro-life Democratic message. (The audio portion of the webinars were not recorded; the PPoints themselves are found in the attachments.)
We reconvened on Tuesday morning in the Wasserman conference room in the Democratic National Committee offices, another first for our group. The morning discussion included ways of expanding the base by starting and strengthening local chapters, fundraising effectively, harnessing the Internet to both get our message out and manage our chapters, and working with local and national Democratic legislators. Several surprise guests made us feel at home, including Rep. Steve Driehaus of Ohio, Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, and the Rev. E. Terri LaVelle, Staff Director of the DNC's Faith in Action Initiative.
After lunch, we and other advocates for the Pregnant Women Support Act went to Capitol Hill to meet with our respective Senators and Representatives to lobby on behalf of the bills (HR 2032 and S1032). We worked to make it clear that the DFLA and the PWSA seek to end the debate by energizing a "common ground coalition" to reduce the number of abortions nationwide, rather than trying to win what has been a polarizing debate between pro-life and pro-choice factions. This in-person effort was part of a nationwide Day of Action launched by DFLA and several of the other endorsing organizations.
Tuesday evening saw the eighth annual Hall of Fame Reception. This event hosted dozens of supportive Democrats, Congressmen and their staffers, and PWSA supporters, all there to honor the pro-life commitment of freshman Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper of Pennsylvania's Third District. Rep. Dahlkemper offered brief remarks on her early experiences as a single mother that helped shape her pro-life commitment, as well as on the historic nature of the election that brought her to Washington only six months ago.
The DFLA board members, our executive director, Kristen Day, and state chapters leaders ended the day optimistic about the future of DFLA and eager to unify our efforts in returning the Democratic Party to a position that respects life from conception through natural death.
To see pictures of the Hall of Fame Dinner, please click here.
