News from the Frontlines of the Political Revolution!
HEADLINES: Budget Fight to the Finish | Time to Deliver | Big Oil Spills Under Oath | Ramping Up for Voting Rights | Electing Down Ballot Progressives! | & MUCH MORE! ★ ★ ★ Our Revolution is America’s largest independent political organization funded by the grassroots. Our individual members are the source of the power we collectively wield against the Big Money interests. Join as a recurring donor today. ★ ★ ★ BUDGET FIGHT TO THE FINISH House progressives held the line again on Thursday, thwarting a second attempt by Democratic leadership to pass the corporatists’ beloved bipartisan infrastructure bill by itself. Standing united, they kept the two bills tied together, kept our leverage, and kept the fight for the Budget Bill alive. We are up against some of the most powerful entities on earth, and getting to this point has been a heavy lift requiring strategic coordination between outside groups and our allies in Congress. It’s a battle in a larger war - Our Revolution will stay in the trenches for Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and the rest of our progressive vision until we make it a reality. The budget framework is the floor, not the ceiling. We still have a small window to fight to improve the package in the Senate. We have secured some major pieces in the budget - like universal pre-K, significant climate investment, and union-busting penalties - but we’re not giving up on expanding Medicare and lowering drug prices through this bill. Our Revolution has been going to the mat for our priorities in this bill - protesting around the country, getting arrested on Capitol Hill, bird-dogging obstructionist Dems wherever we can find them. And, we’re not stopping now.
To pass New Deal-style legislation, we need New Deal-style majorities in Congress. For both, we need a powerful movement organizing on the outside. With down-ballot elections Tuesday and the midterms just a year away, we are working for greater grassroots power in government to achieve the transformational change we need and deserve. Help us build power on the outside and the inside to counteract the influence of Big Money. Become a Movement Builder today to get our policies and candidates over the finish line. ★ ★ ★ Join us for a special voting rights edition of our live weekly broadcast this Monday, Nov. 1st at 8:30pm ET/5:30p PT. This is an important call previewing the next phase of escalation in our campaign for voting rights featuring Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR), Ben Jealous, president of People For the American Way, civil rights leader Arndrea Waters King and Texas State Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos who are on the frontlines battling against the GOP war on voters. RSVP HERE Please submit your questions for our voting rights panel HERE. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ BIG OIL SPILLS UNDER OATH At Rep. Ro Khanna’s hearing Thursday, Big Oil’s Slippery Six CEOs admitted for the first time that the climate crisis is real and their products are fueling it - putting the final nail in the coffin of climate denialism. As Ro predicted on our Live Monday Night Broadcast, the CEOs, facing “incontrovertible” evidence, are having to ‘come clean’ rather than perjure themselves like Big Tobacco execs in the 90s. Under oath, however, the oil execs denied lying about climate change despite an undercover video released this summer showing an Exxon lobbyist bragging they “distort the science.” Khanna called them out on the industry’s ongoing effort to ‘greenwash’ carbon capture as a climate solution when it’s “used to enhance oil extraction and increase CO2 emissions in the world.” “This week’s hearing is a first step in educating the broader public about how Big Oil’s money poisoned the public discourse for decades on climate change,” Our Revolution executive director Joseph Geevarghese told VICE News. “As a result of their lies, we are 30 years late in starting serious investments in renewable energy and tackling the climate crisis,” Ro told our audience Monday. “They must be held accountable.” Invest in Our Revolution today to take down corporate power. Our time is now - we’re on the right side of history, and we’re just getting started. ★ ★ ★ RAMPING UP FOR VOTING RIGHTS At our upcoming Live Monday Night Broadcast, we’ll be previewing massive actions we have planned for November as we escalate our fight for voting rights.
Since our last voting rights town hall, Our Revolution members and our allies were arrested at the White House demanding President Biden support our call to “fix or nix the filibuster” to pass crucial voting rights legislation.
The next day, Biden announced his support to carve out an exception in the filibuster for voting rights - “and maybe more.”
One year from the midterms, Republicans are waging a war against voters and Democrats are breaking their promises to voters. Our movement presses forward to save our democracy.
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IT’S TIME TO DELIVER
Our Revolution activists were arrested this week on Capitol Hill while saying it’s Time to Deliver and pass a transformative Budget Bill. The stakes are high. The budget framework is the floor. And, we have a small window to improve it as it goes through the Senate. First, the good news. The framework includes climate spending, two years of public school (pre-K), taxes on the rich and corporations, and union-busting penalties from the PRO Act. And, Our Revolution led the policy fight which may end $86.2B in international fossil fuel subsidies. And, we fight on, alongside Bernie and House progressives, to demand Medicare expansion and drug price negotiation be included in the final Senate version of the bill. These are crucial steps to publicly-funded healthcare that tee us up for the larger fight for Medicare for All. However, some of our priorities from climate to childcare took hits through means-testing and cuts or were eliminated from the bill altogether as in the case of community college - thanks to “greedy corporations, and the lawmakers who serve them, who are betraying the values of our party and the American people,” as Rep. Ilhan Omar put it. She laid it all out in a viral Twitter thread Thursday: “If you really want to know why a provision is being killed, all you have to do is follow the money,” going on to show the Chamber of Commerce has spent $46M on lobbying this year; Big Oil, $55M; Big Pharma, $15M. “ We did not come to Congress to watch our entire agenda get torpedoed by corporate lobbyists, billionaires, and coal company owners hellbent on screwing over the American people,” she stated. “It’s time to bring to the floor a bill that prioritizes people over corporations.” BUT LET’S BE CLEAR, WE ARE NOT DONE - On Friday, Our Revolution: New York Progressive Action Network (NYPAN) honored the 9th anniversary of Hurricane Sandy’s devastating effects on Long Island by calling for bold climate action. When the clouds parted and the dust settled, Long Islanders were left with billions of dollars in damages, and they are still rebuilding. Hurricane Sandy and all the big storms since then are stark reminders about the worsening climate crisis. To withstand the next major weather event, we need big and bold investments in climate, jobs, care, and justice. That’s why our activists were out on a cold day to call on Reps. Kathleen Rice and Tom Suozzi to hold the line support the budget reconciliation bill. ★ ★ ★ Our Revolution is fighting back against the obstructionism of corporate Dems with protests and mass mobilizations. Please chip in now to help us fight back as we enter the critical final push to win the Battle over the Budget! ★ ★ ★ Our Revolution rallied with Reps. Chuy Garcia, Rashida Tlaib, and Jim McGovern at the White House Wednesday demanding Chevron Stop Silencing Activists. We called on President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland to release human rights attorney Stephen Donziger, who reported to prison Wednesday for a six-month sentence handed down to him through the first-ever corporate prosecution. This builds on actions by Our Revolution members in Maryland and New York to support Donziger and fight against the corporate takeover of our judicial system. ★ ★ ★ ORGANIZING IN OREGON
Our Revolution Oregon celebrated National Immigrants Day Thursday with immigration rights groups to rally for justice on the steps of the state capital building. “We heard stories about how the current state of US immigration policy is leaving so many behind, leaving many to work in unsafe conditions and fearful of deportation,” said Our Revolution state organizing coordinator Emma Darden. “The message to our congressional delegation was simple: The time is now to keep your promises!” ★ ★ ★ HIGHTOWER TAKES ON MONOPOLY POWER Our Revolution Boardmember and lifelong progressive leader Jim Hightower offloaded a righteous rant against monopoly power this week and he makes a lot of good points. “All across the country, in red and blue precincts alike, majorities keep saying they hate monopolies,” Hightower says, adding that “progressives should take them up on that sentiment by putting the de-monopolization of America back at the top of our political agenda.” We agree. “ As previous generations have done, we can organize and mobilize and rebel against this flagrantly anti-America, plutocratic concentration of power.” For more rabble-rousing and truth-telling by Hightower check out his latest edition of the “Hightower Lowdown.” ★ ★ ★ Solidarity is the cornerstone of the political revolution. We welcome you to become an Our Revolution member today. We are living through a period of great change, and we invite you to invest financially to help us build power and meet the challenges of our time.
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EYEING EXECUTIVE POWER ON TUESDAY
Election Day is here! And, Our Revolution political director Aaron Chappell sees a “big year” for progressives on the ballot from Boston to Cleveland, Politico reported.
With endorsed mayoral candidates, India Walton in Buffalo, Michelle Wu in Boston, Justin Bibb in Cleveland, and Aftab Pureval in Cincinnati, there are shots to clinch executive seats.
“We are seeing progressives positioned to win in major municipalities across the country,” Aaron told Politico. “We’ve been doing a lot of building at the down-ballot, we’ve been winning races on city councils, school boards, things like that. But I do think this is the first time we’ve had this kind of momentum at the top of the ballot in so many places.”
On the city council side, Our Revolution has endorsed candidates from Richie Floyd in St. Petersburg, FL to a slate in NYC that would make the most progressive and diverse legislative body ever, including Felicia Singh who could flip one of the last Republican seats on the Council.
We’ll also be working on important ballot measures on policing around America, from the Safer Cleveland initiative to the effort to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a more accountable Department of Public Safety, and the Vote No on Prop A campaign in Austin, TX.
Check out our fresh new website for a full list of our endorsed candidates heading into Election Day!
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DOING THE WORK DOWN-BALLOT
Our Revolution members are hitting the phones and canvassing neighborhoods to get out every vote possible for our candidates in Tuesday’s general election.
Our volunteers have made over 300,000 voter contacts so far for progressive champions running in New York, Ohio, Maryland, Minnesota, Virginia, and New Jersey.
Growing our elected allies is key to creating a people-powered party and delivering people-centered policy. See our Action Center below for opportunities to phone bank and knock on doors!
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The ultra-wealthy and mega-corporations have endless resources to spend against us - but we have the people!
If everyone reading this right now takes action to become a monthly donor, we can grow our movement in ways that completely shift the dynamic of this David vs. Goliath battle over who our government works for. We are taking back our Democracy, and we hope you will invest in our strategy and mission to build power for all of us.
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CA DEMS DELAY DITCHING DIRTY MONEY
The executive board of the California Democratic Party voted to forego the opportunity to ditch funding from fossil fuels, but an organized effort by progressive party chairs pushes forward.
R.L. Miller, who helped create the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge during her time as chair of the state party’s environmental caucus, told the LA Times folks are furious.
“We wanted to send a signal to the world just before COP26 that (CADEMS) is devoted to doing the right thing,” Miller said. “And, instead this is the message - the fierce urgency of appointing another committee.”
BECOME A MEMBER AND HELP US HOLD DEMOCRATS ACCOUNTABLE TO OUR PROGRESSIVE PRIORITIES!
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Our Revolution, in coalition with the People for the American Way, Declaration for American Democracy, Black Lives Matter, Democracy Initiative, the Future Coalition, and the League of Women Voters, is continuing the fight for the Freedom to Vote! Join us as we march to the White House, hear great speakers, and take action to call on Biden to do more for voting rights.
RSVP HERE
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Join NYPAN and Our Revolution as we call our members in Buffalo to make sure they get out to vote for India Walton - the Democratic nominee for Buffalo Mayor in Tuesday’s election.
RSVP HERE
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Join Our Revolution Maryland for a canvas on Sunday and to poll watch on Tuesday for Mayor Colin Byrd in Greenbelt, Maryland!
RSVP HERE
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Our Revolution Massachusetts has endorsed 42 progressive champions in the greater Boston area. Election Day is almost upon us, but there’s still time to help put them over the top!
VOLUNTEER HERE
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Our Revolution Ohio members are phone banking this Monday to get out the vote for progressive candidates around the state. Each call will make a difference in tight races!
SIGN UP TO MAKE CALLS!
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Join Our Revolution Maryland on Wednesday, Nov. 3rd at 7 pm for a Green New Deal Town Hall. We will be discussing how Maryland's $2.5 billion tax revenue surplus can be used to invest in green infrastructure projects that create high-paying jobs and end our reliance on fossil fuels.
RSVP HERE
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Join Our Revolution New Jersey and the Nurses’ Campaign to Win Medicare for All on Saturday, Nov. 6th for a car caravan to pressure Rep. Albio Sires to co-sponsor the Medicare for All Act of 2021!
RSVP HERE
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