Sadly, I was not one of the thousands of Mainers who heard President Obama's speech on the recently passed health care reform bill at the Portland Expo today. I can't share a thrilling story about how I tried to get him to answer a question about Guantánamo. However (in light of his visit to our beautiful state) I can and feel compelled to remind you of the questions he still needs to answer.
Leading up to the President's visit, I received many emails from fellow advocates and organizers that rallied outside Portland Expo to deliver a message to our President. Immigrant rights advocates rallied to encourage President Obama to bring about comprehensive immigration reform. Read my blog from earlier this week about the ACLU of MAINE's position on comprehensive immigration reform. Reproductive rights advocates rallied to show support for the step forward we took for women with greater health care coverage across the country, but to remind the President that just because he and Congress threw women under the bus with respect to abortion coverage, it didn't mean women have any intention of quietly staying there. While Obama was speaking in Portland, ACLU and ACLU of MAINE members were emailing him to urge the President to hold trials for detainees at Guantánamo in our tried and true federal courts rather than the illegitimate and ineffective military commissions.
President Obama has his work cut out for him. As each of these issues develops, the ACLU of MAINE will continue to bring you updates. We may not have another opportunity to stand outside a building while the President addresses our community, but it doesn't mean we can't continue to hold him accountable for defending the Constitution.