President Obama sent an email to supporters emphasizing the importance that 2014 will make for the progress of our country. He encouraged them to chip in to support Democrats and they will be entered for a chance to meet him at the 2014 Winter Meeting at the end of February. Here's what he had to say: 

We've accomplished so much together over the last several years, and none of it would have been possible without you.

On November 4th, America will elect the last Congress I will work with as President, and I'm going to do everything I can to help support the Democrats who are going to fight for an America where everyone has a fair shot at success.

Today, I'm asking you to do the same. Chip in $10 or whatever you can to help Democrats, and when you do, you will be automatically entered to meet me in D.C. later this month.

I won't be on the ballot this fall, but these midterm elections will have an outsized impact on what we're able to get done while I'm in office.

There's so much more we can be doing to create opportunity for our family members and neighbors. We cannot afford to move back or stand still. This year has to be a year of action for all of us.

Pitch in to elect more Democrats today:

https://my.democrats.org/Enter-To-Win

Thanks,

Barack Obama

P.S. — Don't worry about your flight and hotel — if you win, those will be covered for you and a guest. Support Democrats today, and automatically enter for a chance to meet me later this month in D.C.

Medicaid expansion is one of the most important issues to face the Tennessee General Assembly in more than 20 years. This decision will affect the lives nearly a quarter of a million working men and women in Tennessee, and now is the time to make a decision — one that is based on people, not politics.

Here are the facts: If we expand our Medicaid program, hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans — will receive quality, affordable health care coverage. Tens of thousands of these individuals are children and veterans, many of them our neighbors from the National Guard who don’t qualify for full V.A. benefits.

Every week when I get back to my district, I hear from working middle-class families whose jobs don’t provide health care and who make too little to afford real coverage on their own. Medicaid expansion offers an opportunity to expand coverage to these working families who live between 100-138 percent of the poverty line — or about $31,000 a year for a family of four.

Expanding Medicaid also makes financial sense. About 15 percent of the Tennessee economy is dependent upon the health care sector. Without Medicaid expansion, dozens of hospitals are in danger of closing, meaning our state could lose thousands of jobs over the next ten years.

Drilling down deeper, we know that Tennessee currently ranks near the bottom in women’s health and infant mortality. Medicaid expansion offers a meaningful opportunity to address both these important issues.

We know that the key to a healthy baby is a healthy mother. Unfortunately, our current system ignores the needs of working class mothers, who many times don’t qualify for Medicaid coverage until they are pregnant. Medicaid expansion would extend quality health care to women before they become pregnant, meaning a healthier pregnancy and healthier baby.

It should be no surprise that Tennesseans have already made up their mind on this issue. A recent survey showed that 59 percent of Tennesseans believe we should expand the Medicaid program, while only 35 percent expressed reservations about such a move. This is because Tennesseans understand what is at stake.

They know that expanding Medicaid will help working families, women and children. They also know it will reduce the amount of uncompensated care hospitals provide, which will ultimately bring insurance premiums down for everyone — including those of us with employer provided or privately purchased coverage.

The good news is that it’s not too late for Governor Haslam to do the right thing. Tennessee Democrats know that Governor Haslam can negotiate with the federal government on Medicaid expansion. That’s why we offered budget amendments that would allow the Governor to accept federal funds for expansion, if and only if the conditions for his hybrid plan were met by the Department of Health and Human Services.

I understand there’s political pressure on Governor Haslam from the far right wing of his party. While putting this decision off may be politically popular, we owe it to the least among us to put people above all else and do the right thing.  Lives depend upon it.

Joe Armstrong represents the 15th district in the Tennessee House of Representatives. He is the Democratic Caucus Vice-Chairman, and President of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.

As our economy is continuing to recover, and new jobs are being created every day, President Obama reminds us that we still have much to do, as millions of Americans are working every day to find jobs. Until recently, people had been able to rely upon the safety net of federal unemployment insurance to help put food on the table and pay the rent.

However, Republicans in Congress have refused to extend unemployment insurance, leaving 1.7 million Americans without benefits, including more than 20,000 Marylanders. Approximately 70,000 more Americans lose their unemployment insurance each week that Congressional Republicans don’t choose to do what is right.

Once again the GOP is putting partisan politics over struggling American families. It is sad and disappointing that these lawmakers do not realize these are real people that rely upon this essential benefit as a lifeline. 

In 2012 alone, unemployment insurance lifted 2.5 million Americans out of poverty, and since 2008, 17 million children have been supported by unemployment benefits. Failing to extend benefits could slow our recovery and cost the economy 240,000 jobs this year. In 2011, the Congressional Budget Office found that funding for the unemployed was one of “the largest effects on output and employment per dollar of budgetary cost.”

And in communities of color, the need is ever greater. The unemployment rate for African-Americans – while on the decline – still remains higher than the national average. This is not acceptable. President Obama knows this, and Democrats across the country know this. Nationally, the unemployment rate among African-Americans has remained above 11% for more than four years. Renewing unemployment insurance will provide the crucial safety net that these families need to succeed.

Join me in calling on Republican Members of Congress to renew unemployment insurance. It is time to put an end to partisanship, work with Democrats and help our citizens who are searching for jobs.

Yvette Lewis is the chair of the Maryland Democratic Party.

Detroit has always been known for its sound: from our classic cars to our classic songs. These sounds define us and my generation. I still remember the first time I heard a Thunderbird driving down the street — and I still remember slow dancing in the basement listening to Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.

As a young man, me and so many in my generation learned that the most powerful sound was raising our voices together in the name of social and economic justice. Our communities faced tremendous challenges and we demanded action and results. Often we had to take our voices to the streets — marching in peaceful protest — in order to be heard, because society at the time too often silenced us.

As a State Supreme Court Justice and later as Mayor of Detroit, I was reminded time and time again that our most fundamental right — the right to vote — is the best means by which we secure all of our other civil rights. In other words, when our communities are faced with big problems, we solve them with more democracy — not less.

Unfortunately, this lesson is still not learned by many in Lansing. Michigan Republicans are trying to make it more difficult to vote and their policies have unfairly disenfranchised some communities more than others. Whether it is the overly broad application of the “emergency financial manager” law, attempts to require proof of citizenship at the polls, or obstacles to voter registration — these actions make it harder to us to have our voices heard.

Our community is now facing some unprecedented challenges and I am convinced that Detroit is poised to be remembered for a new classic sound — the sound of thousands upon thousands of voters registering and mobilizing to support candidates that support democracy as the means of healing our city and state.  

Dennis Archer served as the Mayor of Detroit from 1994 until 2001. Archer was a justice on the Michigan Supreme Court from 1986 until 1990, and most recently was President of the American Bar Association — the first African American to ever hold that position.