Gail Buckner, President of the National Federation of Democratic Women (NFDW)
Mar 09, 2022Season 2Episode 10
Fannin Co. GA Democratic Party
The North GA Blue: Getting into Good Trouble podcast covers democratic politics in North GA, the 9th Congressional District, and across the state of Georgia. The podcast is in Q&A/Interview format with various democratic politicos including county chairs, democratic operatives, politicians, and more. It is our mission to deliver crucial information to our listeners in a timely manner as we fight for community values and principles in the 3rd most Conservative district in the state. Our website is: https://www.fcdpga.com/podcasts
Our guests highlight democratic activities and actions to work toward a Blue Georgia. The 9th Congressional District spans 20 counties across the region and covers a good deal of northern GA including Blue Ridge, Morganton, Fannin, Union, Banks, Athens/Clarke, Dawson, Elbert, Forsyth, Franklin, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Pickens, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, and White counties.
Our democratic party podcast also disseminates information and interviews powerful Democrats across the state of GA working to overthrow the suppression tactics of the GOP and ensure democracy and our values, grassroots efforts, and goals remain intact.
The North GA Blue: Getting into Good Trouble podcast covers democratic politics in North GA, the 9th Congressional District, and across the state of Georgia. The podcast is in Q&A/Interview format with various democratic politicos including county chairs, democratic operatives, politicians, and more. It is our mission to deliver crucial information to our listeners in a timely manner as we fight for community values and principles in the 3rd most Conservative district in the state. Our website is: https://www.fcdpga.com/podcasts
Our guests highlight democratic activities and actions to work toward a Blue Georgia. The 9th Congressional District spans 20 counties across the region and covers a good deal of northern GA including Blue Ridge, Morganton, Fannin, Union, Banks, Athens/Clarke, Dawson, Elbert, Forsyth, Franklin, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Pickens, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, and White counties.
Our democratic party podcast also disseminates information and interviews powerful Democrats across the state of GA working to overthrow the suppression tactics of the GOP and ensure democracy and our values, grassroots efforts, and goals remain intact.
Hello and welcome back to the North Georgia Blue Podcast produced and distributed by the Fannin County Democratic Party. I'm your host Meral Clarke and we're getting into some good trouble today with our special guest, Gail Buckner, president of the National Federation of Democratic Women. Welcome to the show,Gail. We're thrilled to have you with us today.
Gail Buckner:
Well, thank you for inviting me. I am thrilled to be here.
Meral Clarke:
Oh, fantastic. Well, let's let our listeners know a little bit about you. Gail Buckner is the newly elected president congratulations by the way of the National Federation of Democratic Women. She was previously serving as third vice president of the NFDW or National Federation of Democratic Women and has served as NFDW Legislative Chair for six years. She is also the co chair of 38 Agree for Georgia, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to adding the Equal Rights Amendment or ERA to the US Constitution. Gail has served two terms as president of the Georgia Federation of Democratic Women. During her service as president, the True Blue Award and the Bouquet Award were added to the Federation. Prior to accepting the position as president of GFDW, Buckner served 16 years in the Georgia House of Representatives and one term in the Georgia Senate. She was the Democratic Party of Georgia's nominee for Secretary of State in 2006. Among her many accomplishments while serving in the General Assembly, Buckner passed legislation that created the Georgia voluntary income tax checkoff for cancer prevention and research. Georgians have now donated more than $4 million to this fund. Other legislation authored by Buckner include child endangerment by DUI, and the creation of school councils. While serving in the General Assembly Buckner received 10 Legislator of the Year Awards. She was twice recognized by the Georgia Breast Cancer Coalition, the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Science, the Technology Education Association of Georgia, and the Georgia Association of Public Health Professionals are also among those that have honored Buckner. Oh, my Gail, you've been a busy gal, haven't you? You've been a very busy lady over the past several years. Thank you for your service to all of Georgia. Congratulations on your accomplishments. And tell us more about the National Federation of Democratic Women or NFDW? What is your group's mission, focus and goals? And what does your group do to support Democratic women?
Gail Buckner:
Our main mission is to unite Democratic women and to support the goals and the values of the Democratic Party. So we do that through our local organizations, if you become a member of a local chapter, that automatically makes you a member of the State Federation, and the National Federation. So it's a great way to network with other Democratic women to learn from each other, to encourage each other. And yes, we do support Democratic women who are running for office. We have a PAC that is established as an official PAC with the FEC. And we have to file all those reports that are mandatory when you are raising federal money. So we enjoyed the opportunity to work with other Democratic women in our community and around the country.
Meral Clarke:
Well, that's terrific, and how closely do you work with the Georgia Federation of Democratic women?
Gail Buckner:
Very closely. The new president Chinita Allen is always involved in the programs that we are conducting. She's serving on our legislative committee, and June Krise GFDW's first vice president serves as chair of NFDW's awards and scholarship committee, and that's certainly one of our favorite efforts. We provide scholarships and internships for young women. They go to DC spend time with the DNC, of course now during the pandemic they are mostly working from home over the internet. But I did have the opportunity to meet in person. Our most recent intern when I attended my very first DNC executive committee meeting, Samantha Waterman was there working as an actually now a part time employee of the DNC. So that's another aspect of NFDW, we have three seats on the DNC. And it has been that way since the organization was created back in 1971. And the President of NFDW automatically by that position, serves as a member of the executive committee of the DNC.
Meral Clarke:
Well, it sounds like you've been very busy. So NFDW is the no surprise to hear this actually, is the only women's organization that holds seats on the Democratic National Committee or DNC. What does the seat offer for the women in your group? What does it mean, and especially for all the different state Federations and numerous local chapters around the state?
Gail Buckner:
Well, it means we have a seat at the table. And so when the DNC has their official meetings, our three members are there, we have the opportunity to vote on proposals that's being presented to the DNC. And at my first meeting that I attended, I did have the opportunity to sign on a resolution that was being presented by former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, that was honoring the memory of our Georgia hero, Henry Hank Aaron. So that was very special, when the DNC meets for their next meeting, which will be mid March, and will be in DC, I plan to submit five or six resolutions that NFDW has previously passed to the DNC and hopefully they will be accepted to be voted on.
Meral Clarke:
What are those resolutions?
Gail Buckner:
Well, the one that I'm really interested, first and foremost, is a resolution that we did to commend Rosalynn Carter. And we did that when the national group met in Atlanta for our national convention. We were hoping to have Mrs. Carter there. But their international funeral happened that President Carter needed to attend. So she did not get to our meeting. But then several of the Georgia members and I took her award to the Carter Center about a month later. So that was special. Another resolution I'm looking forward to presenting is a resolution where we are urging for mental health professionals to be a part of first responders so that they are equipped with the ability to possibly talk down a situation when a person's having an emotional episode. We think that can go a long way to save lives.
Meral Clarke:
I think that's a terrific idea.
Gail Buckner:
That can be a great support for police officers in that process as well. I learned something very ironic, just two days ago. I'm also sitting in participating with the League of Women Voters watching legislation going through the Georgia General Assembly, and I'm monitoring House Bill 55 that will provide workers compensation for first responders who come down with PTSD because of things they are experiencing on the job. And what I learned that was just so riveting is that a police officer is more likely to die from suicide than an incident or accident on the job. So that's riveting. These first responders have to deal with a lot.
Meral Clarke:
Yeah they do and it happens quite often, as we know from the Capitol police after the January 6 insurrection. So if this was passed, and hopefully it will be because it's so critical. Do you believe that this will help first responders across the nation or just in Georgia?
Gail Buckner:
Well, if the Georgia House bill gets passed, it will be impacting Georgia first responders. But we know that states look at what other states are doing. And when a legislator sees something happening in one state that they like, they'll pick it up and go with it in their state. So it has far reaching potential and NFDW's resolution asking for mental health professionals to be part of the first responders gets passed and adopted by the DNC, then that will go nationwide.
Meral Clarke:
That would be terrific. And certainly I think all first responders could benefit across the country from having mental health professionals on site. And I agree with you that it will definitely lessen the severity of many incidents. So a priority for these organizations, as you just segued into my next question is to help pass good legislation and defeat bad legislation. How does that process work within your organization and the DNC?
Gail Buckner:
We write position papers, and I introduced that process as chair of the legislative committee six years ago, and it has continued to grow. And we now do women in blue on the national level, and then the states do women in blue on the state level. So we are providing information on timely subjects that we urge our members to lobby their members of Congress, and in for those subjects, it's also appropriate for the state level to talk to their state folks, we actually provide training on how to advocate when talking to their legislators, you know, it's you can win a legislator over in less than a minute, or you can lose a legislator in less than a minute with your opening comments. And I've actually seen that happen. So we provide training on how to develop a working relationship with your elected official. And that's a very important part of the process, you have to tell these elected officials how you feel what your priorities are. And you need to remember in the process, these people are working for you, you are paying their salary, they're there to represent you. And we always encourage everyone to be extremely polite in the process. But you also need to be firm. If you don't get an answer the first time you call, give it a few days, and you call back.
Meral Clarke:
Yes, we need to be persistent in our efforts. There's there's no doubt. So how does that work on the converse with defeating bad legislation? And I'm thinking about and I just read about this, the GOP bill in the General Assembly right now to allow, basically open carry without licensure or concealed carry without any licenses, which to me is insane. What are your thoughts on that? How do we defeat bad legislation?
Gail Buckner:
Well, we have to rally others to join with us. And we have to join with others. We just have to flood the telephones, the emails, and postcards, letters. If you can go to the Capitol, send messages in from the rope line, we have to let these folks know that we are opposed to that legislation. And we have to do it in a big way. I always encourage folks to make sure that you're talking to that person who represents you, because they are going to pay closer attention to someone that they know lives in their district that will be voting for or against them, that you can also help folks advocate in their districts. You know, there's strength in numbers when you can have two dozen people standing there as opposed to two people. It makes a big impression.
Meral Clarke:
Right. It does make a big difference. And we're grateful that we have your organization to help us with that. I also wanted to touch on 38 Agree for Georgia. 100 years ago, back when I was in college, I marched for the Equal Rights Amendment, the ERA and that was long ago. Why isn't this the law of the land yet? What's going on there and tell us about your group?
Gail Buckner:
Well, 38 Agree for Georgia is a nonpartisan organization that advocates for getting the ERA ratified in the State of Georgia. Folks are surprised to find out that the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote, passed in 1920. And they are stunned to find out that Georgia adopted the 19th Amendment in 1970.
Meral Clarke:
Oh my goodness. Why am I not surprised?
Gail Buckner:
We're a little slow to come around to things like that here in the State of Georgia. But we plan to keep working on it. Because the ERA should be a nonpartisan issue. I wish I could say it should be a bipartisan issue. Though in Georgia, we have to use the terminology, nonpartisan, because we want to make sure that the elected officials on the other side of the aisle, understand that we're there to work with them, and help them understand why the Equal Rights Amendment should be ratified. So much of what has been used to oppose the Equal Rights Amendment has been proven over time. These are non issues. There was so much chatter about, well, if the Equal Rights Amendment passes, women will be drafted into the military. Women are joining the military. Women are filling roles, everywhere from flying fighter planes to working in the hospital areas. So women like the military, they are joining in droves. And we support their desire to do this work.
Meral Clarke:
Why do you suppose there's so much opposition to it?
Gail Buckner:
Well, there's a variety of reasons. Some of it stems from religious beliefs, that women should be subservient to men, and they just feel like things that take women away from the home, are not in their best interest. So we learned a long time ago, that women can multitask, we can be great homemakers, and at the same time, bring home the bacon. Those are just archaic ideas that went by the wayside a long time ago.
Meral Clarke:
And we're having to fight all these battles over and over again. Let's touch on abortion rights. And the current Republican standard that is trying to take our civil rights away from us. What are your thoughts on that?
Gail Buckner:
Well, abortion is not going away. If they take away legal abortions, then we will return to the days of when women are dying from having illegal abortions. Now, this is a choice that each woman should have the right to make. And the government does not need to be involved in that process. It will be taking us back to the Dark Ages if we lose the right in this country to have legal abortions.
Meral Clarke:
Oh, absolutely. It's a civil and human right, as far as I'm concerned. And why do you think that the right wing is so intent on taking these privileges and rights away from women in particular?
Gail Buckner:
They have their beliefs, and they see things in with their tunnel vision. They don't understand the fact that for many women needing an abortion, that is a medical procedure for that woman, which will probably save her life.
Meral Clarke:
Yes, I'm very familiar. I actually worked for Planned Parenthood, my summers off from college. It just seems like it was already settled its precedent. And now they're trying to up end it as they have been since 73, when Roe v. Wade passed, so I'm extremely worried about the right wing Supreme Court. At this point, we'll see what happens. What can we do to make a difference in that arena, and not just with abortion rights and the Equal Rights Amendment, which it's completely ridiculous that that hasn't passed or been ratified at this point. But what else can we do to ensure that our rights are not trampled upon?
Gail Buckner:
Reach out to your friends and colleagues, and ask them to join with you as you advocate for or against the legislation that's coming before the General Assembly and before the US Congress. Get them involved and engaged just like you are. Then you've got to make that a process that you participate in every day. We take the position that you call your member of Congress until the legislation passes. And if that means you have to call them every day, or every other day, then that's what you have to do. We once had a member of Congress to speak to us at a women in blue event, and he said that it takes a member of Congress receiving more than 2000 contacts about a particular subject before that issue lands on that Congressman screen.
Meral Clarke:
Wow. I didn't know it was that high. So.
Gail Buckner:
You know, I can understand that, to a point. But on the other hand, one of my favorite articles is about one woman who was able to capture the attention of a member of Congress about an insurance issue. She was persistent. She showed up at his town hall meetings, she showed up at his office, she was writing him calling him. And she did capture that member of Congress interests. And he took on her issue. We talked about having great numbers, but you can also try to be that one person who makes the difference. I think she probably was very lucky that she was talking to the right person who would listen to her. But I would love to send you that article. It's, I would love to read it. Thank you. It's a very interesting grade pass,
Meral Clarke:
Please send that to my email, which you have. So since your episode will be airing during Women's History Month, tell us what Women's History Month means to you, why it matters and why it's so critical.
Gail Buckner:
Well, it's very important to recognize women's history month, because we have come so far. Just think about, you know, the fact that women were purposely left out at the US Constitution. We weren't allowed to own property. We weren't allowed to vote. Women had to fight their way through this process to make all these things happen for us. We're standing on the shoulders of these women who had to fight so hard and many were abused, thrown in jail, force fed, beaten, treated with contempt shamed in the public square, we still have a long way to go before we have full equality in this country. But it's an encouragement to recognize these women who have worked so hard and gained so much for us. So Women's History Month is a time of reflection and inspiration.
Meral Clarke:
Let me ask you a question about the disparity in pay between women and men. There's still a significant disparity, I believe on average women make 74 cents on the dollar for every dollar a man makes. Will the Equal Rights Amendment change that, oh, what do we need to do to change that scenario?
Gail Buckner:
Well, first, let's also acknowledge that women of color make it even less Native American women and Asian women are the lowest paid groups of individuals in the workforce. So again, we just have to stay on top of it and keep fighting for this. I was very encouraged, on January the 27th, when President Biden made a public statement of his full support of adding the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. And he used the terminology, full equality for women. We've picked up on that. And that'll be our mantra from now on.
Meral Clarke:
It just seems that we're fighting battles over and over that we've already fought. And this discrepancy in pay. Why is it taking so long to ensure equality for women, full equality for all women of all colors, and creeds?
Gail Buckner:
It's just hard to believe that here we are in 2022. And we're still talking about getting the Equal Rights Amendment ratified. It's frustrating, very frustrating. Now, I'm also part of an organization called the ERA coalition. And they adapted many years ago, the three states strategy, we've gotten up to the 35 states that had ratified, so they zeroed in on getting the next three states to ratify, which Virginia did. The Commonwealth of Virginia ratified two years ago on January the 27th. So the legislation, original legislation included a mandate that there would be a two year window between the time that the 38 state ratified and the time when the national archivist would publish the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution. There was a lot of celebration going on on January the 27th. But until that national archivists that the Virginia was 38 states to ratify, then we're still pretty much as far away as we were 50 years ago, 100 years ago.
Meral Clarke:
Right. Nothing has changed. Well, some things have changed, but certainly not everything. thing that women deserve. So what's the holdup with the archivist?
Gail Buckner:
Well, the National archivist was immediately bombarded by those who oppose adding the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. And as every state has ratified, those who oppose the ERA have been right there fighting against ratification. And Virginia worked very smart and very hard in that process. They had been working for several years, diligently working to get the ERA passed. So at the point where they knew who in their general assembly was supporting the ERA, and who was opposing the ERA, in that campaign that followed, that they worked very hard to defeat those members of their general assembly who did not support the era, which then meant they took over the Virginia House of Representatives and the Senate, they were able to then pass that legislation out of their general assembly.
Meral Clarke:
That's back when they had a blue government. Yes. Which is not the case now, unfortunately.
Gail Buckner:
Well, it'll be interesting to see how they proceed with that particular issue.
Meral Clarke:
I didn't know it was a choice for the National archivist, you know, if the 38 state has ratified, doesn't he or she have a duty? Doesn't that compel them to add that verbiage and to accept the ratification?
Gail Buckner:
Well, that's my belief, and that is the belief of the members of the National ERA coalition. But if you will remember, during the Trump administration, Bill Barr issued a statement saying that the ERA is dead.
Meral Clarke:
Being the head of the DOJ, Department of Justice at that time,
Gail Buckner:
Yes, the National Attorney General, right. So they were throwing up every roadblock that they could, I know that adding the ERA to the Constitution is a priority for the Biden administration. And there has been a lot of discussion with our members directed to Merrick Garland. We want him to withdraw that statement that was issued by the previous Attorney General Bill Barr. So if he takes on a step like that, he's got to be totally convinced that he is right in that process. It appears that what he prefers is that Congress will continue to act. Now the US House of Representatives on the 27th passed a resolution saying that the Equal Rights Amendment is now the law. So things are happening, that the sun, the moon, and the stars all lined up one day.
Meral Clarke:
Well, and Manchin and Sinema, actually, need to get into the party line, as well, because they have not been and they've been holding up very important legislation, not just the ERA but Build Back Better and Federal Voting Rights. What are your thoughts on that with the Senate not being able to pass those initiatives?
Gail Buckner:
Well, that is shameful. Yes, I agree. I know that our counterparts in West Virginia, are lobbying Senator Manchin on a regular basis. And hopefully, the day will come when he sees that he's been wrong in what he's been doing, and that he will move towards us instead away from us and help support these things. It's just riveting that voting rights are now facing what amounts to be the recreation of Jim Crow laws. So again, we just have to keep fighting and staying on top of this.
Meral Clarke:
Yes, we do. And because it's it seems to be a never ending battle across generations. So tell us more about your work with the Breast Cancer Association and all that you've done there for women suffering Well, men and women actually suffering from cancer. Tell us a little bit about that background and how you got involved.
Gail Buckner:
Well, when you mentioned men at that moment, it reminded me I was wanting to say a little earlier to point out when we were talking about the ERA, folks need to understand adding the era to the US Constitution, benefits men, as well as women. If you will remember the first case that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued before the Supreme Court was for a man who was being denied his spousal benefits that he's guaranteed through the military. So his wife had died and then the military was denying him the spousal benefits. And she won that case her very first case. Now, with the Breast Cancer Coalition, I had the good fortune to pass legislation that created this voluntary income tax checkoff that citizens have the opportunity when they do their taxes, they can go over to that little section towards the end, and check any of the items that's listed there that they would like to donate to, they can donate as little as $1. Or they can donate their entire tax refund or even add money to it. And we've probably actually brought in more than the four to$5 million. Because over the last few years, it's been hard to get any information out of the Department of Revenue about exactly how much money has come in there. But that money goes to the Research Alliance, and they send it out in the form of grants to universities and institutions that are doing cancer research. The checkoff began targeted at breast cancer, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer. Before I left actually also served one term in the Senate. While I was there, the legislation was changed to an opened up to all forms of cancer, any one accomplishment, or any new finding relative to any form of cancer benefits all forms of cancer. It puts us a step closer in that process of actually finding a cure.
Meral Clarke:
Well, it's so important. And thank you for pointing that out. Since we are in tax season that will be very helpful for listeners. So you're involved in so many different organizations, and you're so busy. Give us the website addresses if someone wants to learn more about the work that you're doing learn more about you or learn more about your organizations. Let's start with the National Federation of Democratic women, where would you send them?
Gail Buckner:
Go to the initials of our organization. NFDW www.nfdw.com. And you can learn a lot about the organization there. All the presidents for the states and committee chairs are listed there. All of our action alerts and resolutions that we've passed in recent years are there it that's a good place to start and that you can also send your questions at info@nfdw.com.
Meral Clarke:
Fantastic. And what about your other organizations? 38 Agree for GA
Gail Buckner:
Yes, just reach out straight to me. My email address is my name GailBuckner@BellSouth.net.
Meral Clarke:
Well, thank you for sharing that with our listeners. Hopefully you won't be inundated. We'd love to hear if you get any response from that. And finally, and I ask all my guests this question, tell us a fun fact about yourself, Gail, something not related necessarily to your work, all of your hard work and all that you do for which we are immensely grateful. Tell something fun. Just about Gail.
Gail Buckner:
Well, let me think.
Meral Clarke:
That's always the hardest question.
Gail Buckner:
When did I last have some fun?
Meral Clarke:
Oh, no, we need to work on that.
Gail Buckner:
Well, we are enjoying our grandchildren. And we had a funny event. This last week, my husband and I were driving our oldest granddaughter to her dance practice the Tammy Winette song, stand by your man came on the radio. And I was just sort of singing along with it. And we were leading up to you know the big finish where she really belts out stand by your man. So I'm going wait for it. Wait for it here. Come be ready. Here it comes. And so I belted it out. And my granddaughter joined me. And we were in shock. This teenager was singing stand by your man with me.
Meral Clarke:
Oh, that's amazing. The classics never die. Right. So. Oh, that's great. Well, thank you Gail for joining us today and sharing more about your critical work to support Democratic Party policy and maintain our democracy. Personally, I want to thank you for all that you do for women across the nation. I'm Meral Clarke and on behalf of our team, I'd like to thank everyone for listening to the North Georgia Blue Podcast. To learn more about us and the work that we're doing. Please visit us online at FanninCountyGeorgiaDemocrats.com. Share the North Georgia Blue Podcast with your friends and family and be sure to subscribe and follow. And if you're enjoying our podcasts be a founding patron and friend of the show at NorthGeorgiaBlue Podcast.com/patron. Now with three different giving levels to choose from and help us continue getting into more good trouble.