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Hi John,
Anand Giridharadas is the author of Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World. I read his book last year and would highly recommend it. In it, he argues that government action, not the generosity of the global elite, is the best solution to some of our most deep-seated problems and warns that the widening gap between the rich and the poor is a threat to democracy.
The first time I ever saw Anand in person was when he sat a few rows ahead of me at SXSW. We were both there to hear Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speak. Last night, Anand and I were in the same room again (at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco), but this time he was the one on stage and I got to ask him a question from the audience.
In short, I mentioned I was running for Congress and asked about his thoughts on Nancy Pelosi. Read his response below.
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"That's complicated. She is very effective in her job. She understands her power. All of that is valuable and she is now, reluctantly, leading this charge against the President. What I really resonate with in what you said is, I think she is also part of why we have a President that needs to be impeached. In the sense that she is part of a two party consensus of money driving American politics. To me that is the reason for our deeper disease. We have to accept that even Democrats that we may love and that we may admire–we may like the way they clap at President Trump–were, on the fundamental question of creeping plutocracy,* not sufficiently against it. They spent too much of their time at cocktail parties with very rich people or are very rich themselves. Cynthia Nixon, when she was running for governor of NYC, had this line, 'we need not just more Democrats, but better Democrats.' For the Democratic Party to truly be what it’s about, it needs to be a party where its leaders literally do
not know rich people. When you look at someone like AOC, this is someone whose social networks literally do not intersect with the plutocracy. That makes it easier to be the Party that checks plutocracy since they’re not the people you’re hanging out with secretly while you’re also in this really important job to check their power."
-Anand Giridharadas
*plutocracy = a country or society governed by the wealthy.
"To Agatha, wishing you courage and luck."
Signed, Anand Giridharadas
** I couldn't agree more
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I respect Nancy Pelosi's legacy and am rooting for her as she navigates the impeachment process. But in no scenario do I think she is the right leader for our times after 2020. Impeachment is almost a distraction from the real, urgent issues facing Americans and the disenfranchisement that led them to vote for Trump in the first place. We need representatives who better understand the realities of their average constituent and who can bring forth 21st century solutions to 21st century problems.
If you agree, please invest in our future political leadership by making a reoccurring contribution to our campaign. A monthly donation sustains us through the primary election in March.
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** A note on the wildfires
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As climate change-enabled wildfires once again rage throughout California, our hearts and minds are with the people whose lives are in the path of destruction, and it's my hope to see other politicians join me in making climate action a priority.
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