News from around the political revolution!
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URGENT REQUEST: Right now, Our Revolution is going up against centrist Dems to make sure we pass legislation to raise the wage to $15 an hour. Will you help us grow our movement so we have the resources we need to win this crucial fight?
We've kicked-off our 2021 Movement Builder membership drive ... join us and let's organize to win the Fight for $15!
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Don’t miss this week’s National Organize to Win Call! Join Amazon workers fighting against union-busting, US Sen. Ed Markey, Florida State Rep. Anna Eskamani, and other progressive champions this Monday, February 22 at 8:30pm ET!
RSVP NOW!
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With Democrats in control of the White House and Congress, we’re launching our 2021 Movement Builder Membership Drive to win bold action on progressive priorities.
As a member of Our Revolution, you’ll be helping us have Bernie’s back as he fights for our agenda in the Senate, and hold Democrats accountable for delivering on promises to working families, like raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Our Revolution doesn’t take money from corporations or billionaires. We run on people power and rely on small donors to fund our work of fighting for progressive policies that leave no one behind.
Your recurring donation of $5 or more a month will help us support Bernie and other progressives as they stand up for working families!
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HERE’S 5 REASONS TO BECOME A “MOVEMENT BUILDER”
#1. 2021 isn’t an “off-year” for the political revolution.
While Trump might be gone, Trumpism isn’t. Your monthly gift will help us campaign - right now - to elect progressive champions who are true populists from city councils to Congress and build a firewall against the radical right.
#2. We’re the ONLY group fighting to make the Democratic Party a truly progressive party.
Sustaining members support our on-going work to elect Our Revolution activists to party leadership from coast to coast and counter the influence of corporate interests.
#3. We’re on the frontlines of expanding what’s politically possible in America.
In 2016, the establishment called our ideas “radical.” Today, because of our grassroots donors, the Fight for $15, Medicare for All, and the Green New Deal are all closer than ever to reality.
#4. We are fighting for change from the bottom-up.
Unlike groups that fundraise to support their DC operations, we are investing in building groups in every state and putting organizers on the ground to lead local fights to ban fracking, eliminate cash bail and more!
#5. Your REASON here.
Why is our political revolution important to you, your family and your community?
5 for $5 - Your recurring donation is an INVESTMENT in a progressive future. Become a 2021 Movement Builder today!
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Your monthly donation funds organizers like Corrine Daly, who helps lead Our Revolution Florida. Corrine is a civil rights activist and founder of a non-profit that fed thousands of families after Superstorm Sandy. As an Our Revolution local organizer, Corrine is helping elect progressives to key party positions within the Florida Democratic Party and mobilizing to defeat GOP bills in the state house. “Because of Our Revolution’s support, we are able to give Florida progressives the tools and training they need to transform the Democratic Party from the inside and fight against right-wing policies pushed by Trump’s lackey’s like Gov. Ron DeSantis.”
If 100 readers become sustaining donors TODAY, we can onboard another state organizer like Corrine. Will you invest in helping us organize people power state by state?
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READ MORE ABOUT OUR WORK BELOW!
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Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley was the featured guest on our Monday National Organize to Win Call. She credited our movement with winning the White House for Joe Biden and said he must now be held accountable to deliver. “The reason democracy is still breathing is because of this movement. The most marginalized met the moment and made it possible for Joe Biden to be elected. Now it’s incumbent upon him and Congress to advance bold progressive policies to meet the needs of the movement that made this victory possible.”
One of those needs is eliminating the burden of college debt, and Rep. Pressley is calling on President Biden to use his executive authority to make it happen. “Cancelling student debt is an economic justice issue, a racial justice issue — and it can be done with the stroke of a pen. This is not the time to play small. This is the time to lead.”
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President Biden has paused student debt payments during the pandemic, but pausing isn’t enough. That’s why Our Revolution supports the #CancelStudentDebt resolutions co-introduced by Reps. Pressley, Illan Omar and others that calls on Biden to use executive power to cancel $50,000 in student loan debt for federal student loan borrowers. This week the President caused a stir by saying “I will not make that happen.” The backlash has been swift. Yesterday, 17 state Attorneys General - including Minnesota AG and Our Revolution board member Keith Ellison - sent a letter to Congress in support of the Congressional resolutions. Now is the time for us to increase the pressure!
Hey Joe, STUDENT DEBT has got to GO!
Sign here if you agree!
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Our Revolution Board member Jim Hightower makes the case in his weekly column that despite Biden's history as a middle-of-the-roader, we have a moment to make historic progress — ONLY if we organize, expand our grassroots movement and keep up the pressure!
Read Jim's commentary in The Hightower Lowdown!
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Our Revolution is calling on President Biden to fight corporate monopolies and support a waiver to the WTO TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) patent rule that limits access by governments to affordable COVID-19 treatments. TRIPS benefits Big Pharma by giving medicine monopolies control over where and how much vaccine is made, creating a barrier to adequate and affordable supplies. The fastest and most humane way to end the pandemic is to make COVID-19 vaccines and treatments available worldwide as quickly and affordably as possible.
SIGN THE PETITION
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A growing number of conservatives are joining progressives in the understanding that the partisan filibuster results in the gridlock that destroys our democracy.
This week, David Frum - a conservative commentator and former speechwriter for President George W. Bush - called for the elimination of the filibuster in The Atlantic. This follows a New York Times column by David Brooks calling for the filibuster to be eliminated if Republicans block Biden’s agenda.
Our Revolution is working with the Fix the Senate coalition to end the filibuster and stop a militant minority of Trump-supporting senators to obstruct policies that are popular with the vast majority of voters.
SIGN IF YOU AGREE - TIME'S UP FOR THE FILIBUSTER!
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“There is no next time. If this isn’t done in budget reconciliation it’s not going to get done at all” - that’s what Our Revolution Board Chair Larry Cohen told the Daily Beast on our fight to keep the $15 minimum wage in the COVID relief package.
Our Revolution has been working with leaders in the Congressional Progressive Caucus like Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Andy Levin to ensure the $15 wage stays in the House version of the bill. Larry noted the critical role of the CPC in the Fight for $15 - “The real difference here is the Progressive Caucus is actually acting like a real caucus. This is the first time ever.”
But even though we got $15 included in the COVID bill now, Politico is reporting that President Biden privately told a bi-partisan group governors and mayors that it “Doesn’t look like we can do it.”
Tell Biden that's BS - Don't Backtrack on the Fight for $15
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Our Revolution member Jackie Traynere, candidate for mayor of Bolingbrook, Illinois, joined our Monday Organize to Win call where she received our national endorsement. A former union organizer and 2016 Bernie delegate, Jackie serves as a Will County board member and chair of the DuPage Township Democrats. She’s running on a platform of affordable housing, lower utility costs, and fighting privatization of public services. “They sold our public water utility to a private, for-profit company. We used to pay $300 a year — we now pay $1,600 a year for water in our community.” Her election is on April 6th.
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Nina Turner - Our Revolution’s endorsed candidate for Congress - stirred up the crowd at Our Revolution South Carolina’s February Meeting devoted to Black History Month. A former professor of African-American history, Sen. Turner said that what was done to Black people lingers to this day, and the fight for equality must continue. “Pushing for justice is messy. Making a demand is not pretty. But for the courage of people making a demand, Black people would not be where we are today, even though we have many miles to go. Every great stride, every right that we’ve gained in this country has come by people pushing against the status quo and making a demand.”
Read The Huffington Post to get the latest on how Nina’s taking on the establishment in her race for Congress!
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Our Revolution is excited to endorse two progressive champions running for re-election in St. Louis this year - Ward 15 Alderwoman Megan Ellyia Green and School Board member Natalie Vowell. Both were 2016 Bernie delegates who were inspired by our movement to run for office.
Green has fought for a higher minimum wage, civilian oversight of the police department, protections for survivors of domestic violence, and responsible development with community benefits. Vowell is an advocate for more equitable school funding for the city’s poorest residents. Members of Our Revolution St. Louis have already started their Get Out the Vote campaign to help both of our progressive champions win big!
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Our Revolution Maine helped Chloe Maxmin run as a bold climate champion and oust a Republican state senate incumbent in a rural, working-class community. Read about how Chloe organized to win her district in The Nation.
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Yesterday, the Congressional Progressive Caucus joined Our Revolution and Stacey Abrams in endorsing Louisiana State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson in her race to represent Louisiana’s 2nd district in Congress. This week, Sen. Peterson introduced legislation to raise the wage to $15. The state’s low-wage workers haven’t seen an increase from $7.25 in over a decade.
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DC statehood was the focus of Our Revolution DC’s Monthly Organize to Win Meeting. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton joined the call to urge our members to keep up the pressure and demand democracy. “We’re looking much bolder this year and are making great progress with the House passing the statehood bill in June.” She addressed the possibility of a filibuster when the bill reaches the Senate. “Democrats have been reorganizing the Senate rules, and that gives me hope that the filibuster is on its last legs, which will help bills pass including statehood for DC.”
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Our Revolution Texas hosted an Emergency Online Town Hall this week about how deregulation of the energy industry led to the catastrophic conditions that left millions in the Lone Star State without electricity, water and the other basic necessities of life. US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee called in from Houston - as she was helping families in need - and demanded accountability for the “ineptitude” that caused the crisis. Dozens of people shared their hardships and their worries, including this Texas teacher: “Every day without power I thought about how my kiddos were doing. Some had literally just received coats in our coat drive a week ago. If all they had was a new jacket to weather this epic failure, I can’t imagine how greatly they and their family suffered. I hope like hell I see them in class next week.”
During the town hall, our members called for a populist revolt against GOP leaders and their failed policies and kicked-off our Power to the People campaign to demand Sen. Ted Cruz (above, on his way to Cancun during the crisis) and Gov. Greg Abbott (who appoints the “regulators”) to resign in shame, as well as jump-start our campaign to win a Texas Green New Deal.
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In response to power outages caused by extreme weather in Nebraska, fossil fuel financiers and their bought politicians are claiming “radical environmentalists” will make the situation worse by passing a Green New Deal. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts parroted that claim recently when asked to comment on the crisis in Texas. But Nebraska Democratic Party Chair and Our Revolution Board Member Jane Kleeb called him out. "He's trying to say because we have wind, that's why we're having blackouts, which is a flat-out lie." She said the real culprits are leaders who are not modernizing the power grid. "Extreme weather that we're seeing now, extreme weather that we've seen in the past is the impact of climate change. This is not just some unpredictable weather pattern."
READ MORE
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During Our Revolution Florida’s Organize to Win Call, State Rep. Anna Eskamani talked about how the GOP is trying to undermine the $15 minimum wage ballot measure that resoundingly passed in November. The Republican plan: Create carve-outs to reduce the minimum wage for prisoners, workers with felony convictions, and for employees under age 21. Rep. Eskamani is also fighting the GOP’s so-called “Combating Public Disorder” bill which restricts people's right to protest. Corrine Daly is helping lead Our Revolution Florida’s campaign to defeat both measures in Tallahassee.
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HELP US FIGHT FOR PROGRESSIVE POLICIES ACROSS THE USA - BECOME A MEMBER OF OUR REVOLUTION!
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Our Revolution Florida’s State Organizing Meeting featured Nadia Ahmad, an Our Revolution member who was just elected to the Democratic National Committee! Nadia said she’s proposing structural reforms to promote a more open and fair presidential nomination process and to increase financial transparency. Nadia recently signed-on to a letter demanding the resignation of Florida Democratic Party officials who mismanaged the party’s financial affairs that put the organization $800,000 in debt.
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Our Revolution Michigan - led by Michelle Deatrick - successfully helped to organize a slate of diverse and progressive candidates to lead the Michigan Democratic Party’s Justice Caucus - the first progressive caucus within the state party. The caucus plans to sponsor progressive initiatives as well as create space for progressive candidates and viewpoints to be heard.
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Our Revolution Kern County, California organizers Neel Sannappa and Yvette Flores spoke on our Monday Organize to Win Call about how their group is building a more progressive party in California’s Central Valley. Neel, who successfully ran for Assembly District 34 delegate in the California Democratic Party’s 2021 ADEM elections, said, “We’ve been able to accomplish so many things through party-building and taking progressive positions within the party.” Yvette explained that assembly delegate elections give progressives a chance to have a voice within the party. “Winning these positions means we can advocate for progressives and have a say on who the party leadership is. We can vote on who chairs the California Democratic Party, which has so much influence over what we can accomplish nationally.”
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Our Revolution is calling on President Biden to make sure progressives - not just corporate lobbyists - are represented in key DNC leadership positions, such as at-large seats and committee, caucus, and council chairs.
Sign here to tell Joe Biden to make sure the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is represented on the DNC! You can see the list of champions we support and nominate a champion you know!
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Become a card carrying member of the revolution and help us transform the Democratic Party from the inside out!
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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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Nina isn’t the only progressive we can send to Congress this year. We can also elect Karen Carter Peterson to fill the seat being vacated by Cedric Richmond, now a senior Biden advisor. Karen’s election is on March 20 - SIGN UP to VOLUNTEER!
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Our Revolution Colorado will feature Joe Salazar and other Colorado activists for a discussion on ranked-choice voting, clean water, and transforming the state Democratic party.
RSVP HERE
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Our Revolution Ohio will be joined by State Rep. Jeffrey Crossman, media personality David Griscom, and others to discuss ranked-choice voting and other local fights in the Buckeye State.
RSVP HERE
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Join Our Revolution Maryland, Nina Turner and newly elected Rep. Cori Bush as they host a special fundraiser for Nina’s congressional race!
DON'T MISS IT!
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Our Revolution / New York Progressive Action Network (NYPAN) is hosting a forum for New York City mayoral candidates - join us as the candidates answer questions from progressives in the Big Apple!
ASK THE NEXT MAYOR A QUESTION - RSVP HERE!
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LET'S MAKE THINGS HAPPEN - BECOME AN OUR REVOLUTION SUSTAINING MEMBER!
