PFAW Member,
As we approach the final stretch before the critical 2019 Virginia election in less than two weeks and continue to press forward on Trump’s impeachment and the 2020 elections, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the absolute whirlwind of a month we’ve had – as progressives and as a nation – and to THANK YOU for your steadfast support, which makes all of our important work possible.
I’d be remiss not to first acknowledge the recent passing of Representative Elijah Cummings, a truly honorable public servant whose unshakable integrity set a standard to which all elected officials – and each and every one of us – should aspire.
Now for some important updates:
Impeachment Developments
As the impeachment inquiry into Trump pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rivals picks up steam, so does public support for impeachment. New polling from Quinnipiac shows that 55% of the public now supports the inquiry, up four percent nationwide just from last week – and Americans support impeachment and removal from office by 48-46%. And that polling was conducted before this week’s damning testimony from Ambassador Bill Taylor.
To help PFAW members better understand the impeachment investigation, earlier this month Congressman Jamie Raskin – a constitutional scholar and former PFAW Senior Fellow who now sits on both the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees – joined PFAW members for a special conference call discussing the revelations about Trump’s lawlessness. As he characterized it so well, it was a “shakedown, sellout, and a coverup.” Read more and listen to the full audio here>>
News reports also indicate the increasing discomfort of Republican senators in having to defend Trump’s behavior to their constituents and the country. Good – they should be worrying.
As Republican senators continue to put party and partisan politics over country, and abdicate their responsibility to check this president’s lawlessness, PFAW is reaffirming our commitment to hold them to account. It’s why we launched our Take Back the Senate Fund – to end Mitch McConnell’s majority control, flip control of the Senate, clear the logjam of bills, and put a stop to the Far Right nominees that McConnell has allowed to flow freely through the Senate.
Vote the Courts 2020
As we continue to stress the significance of the federal judiciary in national elections, PFAW is proud to have recently launched our “Vote the Courts 2020” campaign – designed to encourage the presidential candidates to discuss not only the significance the courts have on progressive values, but also to discuss what qualities they would seek in a person when considering whether to nominate them to the federal bench. We’ve created an activist toolkit to help members ask these important questions of presidential candidates wherever they can, and have launched a campaign video to highlight the important roles that the federal courts have on our everyday lives – including the oversight of President Trump. Watch and share the video to your social media here>>
And early signs indicate the campaign’s success – several of the 2020 candidates have discussed the types of nominees they would consider and the topic of the Supreme Court was featured during the most recent Democratic primary debate.
Historic Elections throughout the South
We should all be encouraged by the wins that progressives are making in elections across the country, but particularly in a recent election where a PFAW-endorsed candidate, Steven Reed, became the FIRST African American mayor of Montgomery, Alabama in the city’s 200 year history. A town in the deep south, a community that has been at the center of the Civil Rights Movement, has its first African American mayor! We celebrate his win and acknowledge the historical significance of this important win – we look forward to following this young, visionary leader in the years to come.
We’re also now less than two weeks away from the election in Virginia – an election PFAW continues to invest in heavily. To help elevate the campaigns of PFAW’s stellar Next Up Victory Fund endorsees, last month we held our campaign kickoff event that featured Andrew Gillum, Dolores Huerta, and former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, who each stressed the significance of the Virginia elections, particularly in the Trump era. It’s also one of the reasons why PFAW board member Alec Baldwin just wrapped up a campaign tour of swing districts in Virginia – delivering pizza and talking with volunteers, knocking on doors, and reaching out to voters.
PFAW's work to build progressive power from the ground up and have a major impact in state legislative races will be on full display this fall in Virginia, where the balance of power in the General Assembly can be tipped from red to blue by flipping just TWO SEATS in each chamber.
Alec talking with voters with candidate Amanda Pohl (AP/ Steven Helber)
Alec talks with volunteers of Amanda Pohl's campaign
Alec talking with PFAW-endorsed candidates Qasim Rashid and Joshua Cole (The Free Lance Star/Peter Cihelka)
Trump's Doral resort out for the G7, but ALL IN for Radical Right conferences!
Even as we’re pulling out all the stops for the upcoming elections and our other campaigns, our Right Wing Watch team is busy monitoring the Far Right and their efforts to re-elect Trump and realize their scary vision for America. Our tenacious team has crisscrossed the country attending the conferences, rallies, and more where the Far Right are gathering.
Just one week before Trump’s Doral golf club dominated the headline, our reporters were at the Miami resort – you know, the one which Trump tried to select to host the G7 (in flagrant violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause) – to cover the American Priority Conference, a who’s-who of far-right Trump cultists that was rife with all the anti-Muslim bigotry, racism, misogyny, and Trump worship that you’d expect.
Check out our coverage at PFAW’s Right Wing Watch here>>
The Far Right is truly putting everything they have into their efforts to protect and re-elect Trump. But, because of your support, we’re helping to lead a growing movement across the country that is rebuking the Republican brand for the toxic, divisive, and extremist that it is – instead choosing to support and elect progressive candidates that offer bold and innovative solutions to the problems facing voters across the country.
I continue to be immensely proud of the work we continue to do together and we are all so grateful to have you standing with us in these important fights.
Thank you,
Michael Keegan, President
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