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Throwing Women Under the Bus for Abolition - Again

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Dec 17th, 2012
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  1. Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty <steve@vadp.org> Thu, Dec 13, 2012 at 4:50 PM
  2. Reply-To: office@vadp.org
  3. To: xxx
  4. "
  5.  
  6.  
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  8.  
  9. UPDATE: We are over halfway to our goal!! We've raised $6,692 so far toward our $10K year-end matching challenge. Every dollar you give right now will be matched. Please take this opportunity to double your impact and help us over the finish line by clicking here to donate!
  10.  
  11. There are many reasons to oppose the death penalty -- this is Greg's:
  12.  
  13. Several years ago I met a man on death row, I was his doctor. Eddie Bell was retarded and should never have been given the death sentence (he was executed by Governor McDonnell nearly 4 years ago).
  14.  
  15. Following this encounter I vowed to do my best to eliminate mistakes like this by working to end the death penalty in Virginia. We have a long way to go but the sentencing of people to die has been markedly reduced in the last few years.
  16.  
  17. I believe in the sanctity of life, I volunteer at a pregnancy center here in Charlottesville to help guide young women towards keeping their pregnancy. I believe life is sacred and should not be taken away, and that even murderers are capable of redemption.
  18.  
  19. In this time of charity and giving, I ask that you help VADP in its mission to abolish the death penalty by donating what you can to this invaluable organization.
  20.  
  21. Greg Gelburd, family physician
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  24. If you've ever considered supporting VADP, now is the time to do it! Please make your end-of-year contribution now and help us in our fight to end capital punishment in Virginia.
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  28. You have received this email through your subscription to Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty's email list. If you did not subscribe, or would no longer like to receive email updates, unsubscribe here.
  29.  
  30.  
  31. xxx <xxx> Thu, Dec 13, 2012 at 6:25 PM
  32. To: office@vadp.org
  33. I'm deeply offended by this email and have unsubscribed.
  34.  
  35. I believe life is sacred, and so women should have access to safe, legal, and affordable abortion.
  36.  
  37. Sincerely,
  38. xxx
  39.  
  40.  
  41. Matt Sellman - VADP Office <office@vadp.org> Thu, Dec 13, 2012 at 11:02 PM
  42. Reply-To: Matt Sellman - VADP Office <office@vadp.org>
  43. To: xxx <xxx>
  44. Dear xxx,
  45.  
  46. We are a single-issue organization and our intent was in no way to endorse any other view point than that the death penalty is opposed by many people for many different reasons. This message was one of a series of perspectives that we've highlighted in the past year - along with that of a Quaker (last week), murder victim's family members, VA's former executioner, ministers, political conservatives, death penalty attorneys, etc.
  47.  
  48. I tried to be clear in the introduction to the message that this was one individual's personal reasoning, but I can see how it could be read as a larger pro-life endorsement. That is not what VADP is about and I apologize for any offense given.
  49.  
  50. I hope you'll reconsider your support for our organization.
  51.  
  52. Sincerely,
  53. Matt Sellman, Administrative Director
  54.  
  55. xxx <xxx> Thu, Dec 13, 2012 at 11:06 PM
  56. To: Matt Sellman - VADP Office <office@vadp.org>
  57. Greg's reason is qualitatively different from all the others. Because opposing abortion costs women like Savita Halappanavar their lives.
  58.  
  59. xxx
  60.  
  61. Matt Sellman - VADP Office <office@vadp.org> Thu, Dec 13, 2012 at 11:37 PM
  62. Reply-To: Matt Sellman - VADP Office <office@vadp.org>
  63. To: xxx <xxx>
  64. Fair enough, I agree.
  65.  
  66. I can't speak for him and he's on his 20 somethingth visit to Haiti giving free health care to children so I can't ask him, but I honestly don't think Greg believes abortions should be unsafe, illegal, or unavailable - I think he is on the same page as President Obama, that he prefer they be rare. Regardless, I appreciate your concern and will be more conscious of how our messaging is portrayed moving forward.
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  68.  
  69. Northup, Stephen A. <Stephen.Northup@troutmansanders.com> Fri, Dec 14, 2012 at 2:40 PM
  70. To: "xxx" <xxx>
  71. Cc: Matt Sellman - VADP <office@vadp.org>
  72. Dear xxx:
  73.  
  74.  
  75.  
  76. Matt Sellman has forwarded me your comment on Greg Gelburd’s fundraising message in which he placed his opposition to the death penalty within the context of what is, for him, a larger commitment to the sanctity of life. I’m sorry Greg’s message concerned you, and want to make sure you understand that our board members’ personal views on issues other than capital punishment do not reflect the views of VADP as an organization. Our members hold a wide variety of views that range across the political spectrum. The view that unites all of us is our opposition to capital punishment.
  77.  
  78.  
  79.  
  80. Thanks for your support of VADP.
  81.  
  82.  
  83.  
  84.  
  85.  
  86. Steve Northup, Executive Director
  87.  
  88. Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
  89.  
  90. P.O. Box 1122
  91.  
  92. Richmond, Virginia 23218
  93.  
  94. (804) 301-4920
  95.  
  96. www.vadp.org
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  98.  
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  100.  
  101.  
  102. IRS Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice that may be contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding any penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction(s) or tax-related matter(s) that may be addressed herein.
  103.  
  104.  
  105.  
  106. This e-mail communication (including any attachments) may contain legally privileged and confidential information intended solely for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you should immediately stop reading this message and delete it from your system. Any unauthorized reading, distribution, copying or other use of this communication (or its attachments) is strictly prohibited.
  107.  
  108. xxx <xxx> Fri, Dec 14, 2012 at 3:03 PM
  109. To: "Northup, Stephen A." <Stephen.Northup@troutmansanders.com>
  110. Cc: Matt Sellman - VADP <office@vadp.org>
  111. Dear Steve:
  112.  
  113. Thanks for your note.
  114.  
  115. Why are you explaining this to me, not everyone who received Greg's fundraising message?
  116.  
  117. It concerns me that by explicitly linking anti-abortion sentiment with anti-death penalty sentiment in your fundraising, VADP is telling members who support choice that we're not one of you. That divisiveness is counter-productive in all kinds of ways. Not every person who supports women's rights - who may have seen a loved one or friend suffer greatly from lack of access to safe and legal abortion, for instance - is going to write in to tell you so. Precisely because this is such an emotional and divisive issue, and most people want to avoid conflict. The onus is really on you to communicate VADP's position (or non-position) on this more broadly, unless what you've already communicated is exactly what you meant.
  118.  
  119. Best,
  120. xxx
  121.  
  122. Northup, Stephen A. <Stephen.Northup@troutmansanders.com> Sat, Dec 15, 2012 at 12:12 PM
  123. To: xxx <xxx>
  124. Cc: Matt Sellman - VADP <office@vadp.org>
  125. xxx – Sorry, but your comment here is not well-taken. Greg’s testimonial cannot fairly be read to exclude from VADP’s umbrella supporters who are pro-choice. In fact, many of our supporters regard themselves as pro choice, and many of our supporters regard themselves as pro life in the sense described by Greg in his message. As I said in my email to you of yesterday, the view that unites all of us is our opposition to capital punishment.
  126.  
  127.  
  128.  
  129.  
  130.  
  131. Steve Northup, Executive Director
  132.  
  133. Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
  134.  
  135. P.O. Box 1122
  136.  
  137. Richmond, Virginia 23218
  138.  
  139. (804) 301-4920
  140.  
  141. www.vadp.org
  142.  
  143.  
  144.  
  145. From: xxx [mailto:xxx]
  146. Sent: Friday, December 14, 2012 3:03 PM
  147. To: Northup, Stephen A.
  148. Cc: Matt Sellman - VADP
  149. Subject: Re: Greg Gelburd's Fundraising message
  150.  
  151. xxx <xxx> Sat, Dec 15, 2012 at 7:40 PM
  152. To: "Northup, Stephen A." <Stephen.Northup@troutmansanders.com>
  153. Cc: Matt Sellman - VADP <office@vadp.org>
  154. Steve,
  155.  
  156. Your fundraising message quoted Greg saying: "I believe in the sanctity of life, I volunteer at a pregnancy center here in Charlottesville to help guide young women towards keeping their pregnancy. I believe life is sacred and should not be taken away, and that even murderers are capable of redemption."
  157.  
  158. I responded "I'm deeply offended by this email and have unsubscribed. I believe life is sacred, and so women should have access to safe, legal, and affordable abortion."
  159.  
  160. Matt said "I tried to be clear in the introduction to the message that this was one individual's personal reasoning, but I can see how it could be read as a larger pro-life endorsement."
  161.  
  162. Now you're saying Matt and I were both wrong. Instead of fixing the strategic communication error by telling everyone who received the message that VADP does not endorse the off-message views it expressed - which would take two minutes and solve the problem - you're pretending it never happened.
  163.  
  164. xxx
  165.  
  166. Northup, Stephen A. <Stephen.Northup@troutmansanders.com> Sun, Dec 16, 2012 at 12:03 PM
  167. To: xxx <xxx>
  168. xxx -- We'll just have to agree to disagree about the import of Greg's message.
  169.  
  170. Steve Northup
  171. (804) 301-4920
  172. Sent from my iPhone
  173.  
  174. xxx <xxx> Sun, Dec 16, 2012 at 12:08 PM
  175. To: "Northup, Stephen A." <Stephen.Northup@troutmansanders.com>
  176. Cc: Office <office@vadp.org>
  177. Steve,
  178.  
  179. There's no "have to" here. You made a mistake. You're not owning up to and correcting it. That's your choice.
  180.  
  181. xxx
  182.  
  183. Northup, Stephen A. <Stephen.Northup@troutmansanders.com> Mon, Dec 17, 2012 at 11:45 AM
  184. To: xxx <xxx>
  185. xxx – The only mistake in our communications has been your conclusion that Greg’s testimonial about how he came to oppose capital punishment told “members who support choice that we’re not one of you.” As I have said before, that is not a fair reading of his message. For all you know, Greg, like many people, may personally oppose abortion yet support a woman’s right to choose.
  186.  
  187.  
  188.  
  189. I’m sorry that Greg’s message offended you.
  190.  
  191.  
  192.  
  193. I will not respond to any further communications from you that are in the same vein as your previous emails.
  194.  
  195.  
  196.  
  197. Steve
  198.  
  199.  
  200.  
  201. From: xxx [mailto:xxx]
  202. Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2012 12:08 PM
  203. To: Northup, Stephen A.
  204. Cc: Office
  205.  
  206. xxx <xxx> Mon, Dec 17, 2012 at 12:01 PM
  207. To: "Northup, Stephen A." <Stephen.Northup@troutmansanders.com>
  208. Cc: Office <office@vadp.org>
  209. Steve,
  210.  
  211. Wow, you really want the last word.
  212.  
  213. Your office already agreed with me that Greg's message "could be read as a larger pro-life endorsement." I don't know if you realize that email does not disappear when you personally delete it. So your pretending that didn't happen does not actually change the fact that it did. Your office sent out a pro-life fundraising message and then admitted you did it.
  214.  
  215. Your refusal to fix your organization's strategic communication error - nakedly vying for pro-lifers to support death penalty abolition - is a stupid gamble. Most Americans support abortion rights (http://www.gallup.com/poll/1576/abortion.aspx).
  216.  
  217. So again, aside from being personally offensive to me as an individual, your pro-life fundraising message was a strategic communication error. Your response is to refuse to recognize and correct it. That's a deeper strategic error. Political communication requires staying on message and correcting course when you go off message (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15531180701285244).
  218.  
  219. I probably will respond to further communications from you that are in the same vein as your previous emails. Because you're wrong and you're being a jerk about it.
  220.  
  221. xxx
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