Welcome to The Revolution Report — the weekly e-newsletter of our national grassroots organizing network!
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Don’t miss our next National Organize to Win Call on Monday, February 1st at 8:30pm EST featuring Larry Cohen, Our Revolution Chair, former Bernie 2020 co-chair Nina Turner who’s running for Congress in Ohio, Moumita Ahmed, candidate for NY City Council and other progressive activists!
RSVP HERE
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With the help of progressives, Democrats now control the White House and both houses of Congress, giving our movement an opportunity to make significant progress on our policy priorities - IF we organize!
Our Revolution’s Four-Point Plan to Win in 2021 will empower our nationwide network of grassroots groups to:
1. Hold Biden & Congress Accountable. While we applaud President Biden for using executive power to bypass Congressional gridlock, we will be holding him accountable to his campaign promises and pushing his administration for bold action on our priorities like cancelling student debt, achieving universal healthcare, and more.
2. Elect Progressive Champions. This year there will be hundreds of key state and local elections - as well as special elections like Nina Turner’s - and we’ll be supporting progressive candidates at all levels.
3. Fight for Progressive Policies. In 2020, our win rate on ballot initiatives like Medicaid expansion and paid family and medical leave was 81% — and in 2021 we’ll be fighting for even more wins on criminal justice reform, affordable housing, and other progressive priorities.
4. Build a Progressive Party. We are committed to transforming the Democratic party by electing progressives to party leadership positions - from local precinct captains to national DNC chairs - and we’ll continue our efforts to build a more progressive party in 2021.
READ MORE BELOW!
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On Monday’s National Organize to Win Call, US Rep. Ro Khanna made a strong case for ending the Senate filibuster, a relic of slavery and Jim Crow, that stands in the way of winning our legislative priorities. “Why are we holding our politics hostage to John Calhoun, who came up with the filibuster because he wanted to protect the interests of slave states? Do we want to govern ourselves, or do we want the graves of people who fought for the confederacy and supported segregation to govern modern-day America?”
Our Revolution has been working with Sen. Jeff Merkley and the Fix Our Senate coalition to reform Senate rules and end GOP obstructionism. The coalition recently ran a full page ad in the NYT.
JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN TO FIX THE SENATE!
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Our limited-edition Chairman Bernie sticker has sold out! It was designed by Lauren Rolwing, a graphic artist who’s also a leader of Our Revolution Tennessee. Lauren’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Harper's Bazaar, The Guardian, and many others.
Be on the lookout - Lauren’s planning to make more limited-edition stickers soon!
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We are pressing Joe Biden to take executive action on transformative policies, including one of the biggest threats to our democracy: corporate monopolies.
Minnesota Attorney General and Our Revolution Board Member Keith Ellison, a champion on enforcing antitrust law, gave a presentation on our Monday Organize to Win Call on how agricultural monopolies are hurting small business owners and farmers alike. “We need to stand tall for small — whether Big Ag, Big Tech, Big you-name-it — we need to break ‘em up.” One of the ways to fight back is by building a grassroots movement against monopolies and corporate power - something Our Revolution is actively engaged in. Keith also recommended his top books picks on this important issue:
Liberty from All Masters by Barry Lynn
Break ‘Em Up by Zephyr Teachout
Monopolies Suck by Sally Hubbard
Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean
Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Open Markets Institute and a leading expert on monopolies, joined us on our Monday Organize to Win Call to discuss how the concentration of corporate wealth and power is harming the lives of Americans. He talked about his recent Washington Monthly article which lays out how President Biden could use anti-monopoly laws already on the books to address pressing issues including healthcare costs, climate, and struggling rural economies. “For the last 35 years, every part of society has been captured and controlled by Big Banks, Big Retail, Big Ag, and Big Tech. All this can change under the Biden Administration, but only if we push them.”
JOIN US IN CALLING ON PRESIDENT BIDEN TO BREAK UP CORPORATE MONOPOLIES!
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Our Revolution/New York Progressive Action Network announced the endorsement of five candidates in upcoming New York City elections on its 2021 Kickoff Organize to Win Call, including Jumaane Williams, who is running for re-election as the city’s Public Advocate, and Our Revolution members Moumita Ahmed (Queens - District 24) and Maria Ordoñez (Manhattan - District 7) who are running for New York City Council. Moumita’s election is this Tuesday, Feb. 2 - sign up today to help reach out to voters in her district!
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Our Revolution Ohio is going all out to elect Nina Turner to Congress! Members turned out in force for the 5th anniversary Women's March and Rally in Cleveland last week, where Nina spoke to hundreds of attendees. On January 30th, the group will be hosting Stand Your Vote, a virtual music and activism festival where 100% of the proceeds will go towards helping Our Revolution elect progressive candidates. It’s your chance to hear awesome bands, participate in exciting workshops, and check out great art!
You can get exclusive merchandise with the image above by hot Cleveland designer iLTHY here, and don’t forget to RSVP for the fundraiser!
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The last time Democrats controlled the White House, Joe Biden said it was impossible to use executive action to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for the over 20 million workers employed by federal contractors.
But our movement didn’t take “No” for an answer. We helped organize thousands of low-wage federal contract workers to go on strike and Fight for $15 alongside progressive champions like Bernie Sanders and Keith Ellison.
Now, we have reason to celebrate our grassroots organizing work. President Biden has announced that he will use the power of the pen to make sure taxpayer-funded companies pay at least $15 an hour. “When the President leads by example with executive action on progressive priorities, it paves the way for bold legislative action,” notes Our Revolution’s Joseph Geevarghese, who previously led the strike movement. “That means Democrats in Congress must act now to raise the federal minimum wage. As the new chair of the Senate Budget Committee, Bernie is pledging to fight to bypass GOP obstruction and our movement is going to help him get the job done.”
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Our Revolution Oregon’s 2021 Kickoff Call featured Sen. Jeff Merkley, who spoke about how he’s getting ready to introduce S.1 - For The People Act because we need “to restore a government that actually works for the people.” Our Revolution has endorsed this landmark legislation, which will enact urgent and long-overdue reforms that strengthen our democracy and that the American people overwhelmingly support — such as fighting special-interest and big money influence in our politics, expanding voting access, curbing gerrymandering, and more.
SIGN UP TO SUPPORT S.1, FOR THE PEOPLE ACT
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Our Revolution Maryland’s Organize to Win 2021 Kickoff featured four Maryland state delegates, including Our Revolution Baltimore Co-Chair Sheila Ruth. Delegate Ruth called out the injustices in our for-profit healthcare system and urged support of her bill, which would create a commission charged with developing a plan to transition to universal single-payer healthcare in Maryland by 2024. “This pandemic has shown more clearly than ever the need for universal healthcare, and I believe Maryland can do this.”
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Our Revolution’s Anna-Marta Visky attended the Medicare for All 2021 Strategy Conference hosted by Healthcare NOW and Labor For Single Payer, where she led a workshop with Public Citizen on how to get local Medicare for All resolutions passed. “The community that's mobilizing around passing local resolutions is growing at an inspiring speed.” While we work toward achieving single payer at the federal level, Our Revolution groups are organizing to pass Medicare For All resolutions in towns across America, because we know change happens from the bottom up.
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Blue Virginia wrote about Our Revolution Virginia’s January Organizing Meeting, which focused on repealing Virginia’s anti-union "Right to Work" Act. The call featured Virginia State Delegate and candidate for governor Lee Carter, chief patron of HB 1755 - the Repeal Right to Work bill. Del. Carter spoke on right to work’s racist origins and the detrimental effect it’s had on the state. “Our Right to Work laws are a large part of why Virginia has been named the worst state for workers and the most economically unequal state in the nation.” You can take action HERE.
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Joe Marchica, leader of Our Revolution Trenton Mercer, NJ and candidate for Mercer County Democratic Party Committee, has joined a coalition of progressive organizations and candidates in filing a landmark lawsuit to reform the party’s practice of designating “party line” candidates on primary ballots. “I am incredibly excited to be a part of this effort to address one of the foundational issues in New Jersey democracy.” New Jersey is the only state in the country that allows local party bosses to dictate how a primary ballot is laid out — giving an unfair advantage to candidates listed first.
READ MORE
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Jodi Clemens, a DNC Committee Member and former Iowa Regional Field Director for Bernie 2020, shared exciting news about her state central committee on our Monday Organize to Win Call. Out of 32 members elected across Iowa, 29 were new and committed to being a grassroots party focused on the needs of their communities. As a DNC committee member, one of Jodi’s priorities is to transform the Iowa caucus system to be more inclusive and accessible and “open up” Iowa’s democracy.
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Our Revolution is calling on President Biden to support progressives for open leadership positions inside the DNC, such as at-large seats and committee, caucus, and council chairs.
Sign here to tell Joe Biden to nominate progressives to the DNC! You can see the list of champions we support and nominate a champion you know!
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DEFEND DEMOCRACY - SIGN HERE AND DEMAND THE SENATE CONVICT TRUMP & BAR HIM FROM HOLDING PUBLIC OFFICE AGAIN!
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Hello Somebody! We have an incredible opportunity to send our very own Nina Turner to Congress this year!
SIGN UP HERE TO PHONEBANK!
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Don’t forget to sign-up for our next National Organize to Win Call on Monday, February 1st at 8:30pm EST!
RSVP HERE
RSVP HERE
