Paulina Velasco sat in a yoga studio turned into a Democratic phone bank, working toward her ultimate goal of getting President Barack Obama re-elected in order to exercise what she said are her natural rights as a woman and American citizen. 

“Most people for the opposition think he hasn’t done anything but he’s done so much and he’s created so many jobs," Velasco said. "And there’s actually so many benefits through his administration, mostly for women and the economy."

Velasco is a member of the California Democratic Party and volunteers with the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club in Santa Monica to raise awareness of the issues in California. 

“I actually helped in the last campaign and we were all ‘yes we can, yes we can,’ audacity of hope, but now it’s not 'yes we can,' it's 'yes we must,'” she said.

Velasco's efforts for the day involved making calls to inform the community of Propositions 30 and 32. She urged people to vote “Yes” on Proposition 30, which the club said would protect funding for schools, and to vote against Proposition 30, which they said would allow corporate special interests to buy elections.

Though Velasco said educating people on these two issues is important for the upcoming election, she explained that getting the president re-elected is the Democratic club’s primary goal.

When asked why she believes Obama is the ideal candidate, she spoke about how important her rights as a woman are to her and how she felt Obama implements these ideals. She said she believed that as a woman, she has the right to freedom of choice in the matters of abortion. 

“It’s not about me getting an abortion," she said. "It’s about me having the choice and having the privacy with my doctor to tell me what to do."

Women have a history of fighting for their rights in the United States, and Velasco expressed her passion for the “momentum” going forward with Obama as president, for women and the country as a whole. Her freedom of choice is one right she said she is not willing to relinquish.

“For me it’s one of those things that," she said. "If a legislature can’t even say the word 'vagina,' how are they going to legislate on my body?” 

 

Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage on the 2012 election here.

Reach Contributor Tori Youngblood here.