Last Saturday, I was in Des Moines with 2,500 People’s Action members at our first People’s Presidential Forum, hosted by Iowa CCI Action and Iowa Student Action.
Tens of thousands more joined us online. The Nation just called this event “2020’s most in-depth, people-powered forum.”
Four presidential candidates - Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Julián Castro and Pete Buttegieg - joined us in Iowa to talk with our members. They knew this was a “no-stump zone” where real people would expect real answers.
Onstage, they met Lilian Cheesman from Citizen Action of Wisconsin, who told them how she left a law firm to care for her mom’s Alzheimer’s dementia.
They heard from Kelvin Dunigan, a member of Iowa CCI Action, who told them how he felt humiliated, and feared for his life when was racially profiled by Des Moines police just blocks from his home.
Kelvin and Lilian are just two of the real people like you who spoke directly with candidates in Des Moines. They’re part of the many in the nation who, as The Nation’s John Nichols put it, “are tired of not getting their phone calls returned” by the rich and the powerful.
We’re just getting started: the Iowa People’s Forum is the first of four we’re hosting with leading presidential candidates in early caucus states over the next six weeks. Next up, New Hampshire on October 13th.
Each time we do this, we get closer to a candidate who will be a true champion for people’s values. We challenge them to offer their vision of a future where everybody is in, and nobody out: with good jobs, healthcare, education and a clean environment for all
We can do this, but only if we all pitch in. Every one of these forums takes tens of thousands of grassroots dollars for convention halls, sound, lights and cameras. buses, and security. Plus hundreds of hours of work by our dedicated staff.
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