Insider News from the Political Revolution!
HEADLINES: The Right to Vote | 14.3 Campaign | Worker Rights | M4A with Katie Porter | NY Eviction Fight | ‘NO’ on SF Recalls | Canvass for Chito Vela | & MORE!
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The people of a democracy must be heard. Become a member of Our Revolution today to help break through the noise. Together, as one voice, we are too loud to ignore. Speak up today!
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Our Live Monday Night Broadcast returns on Monday Jan. 24th, with special guest US Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who will give us an update on the latest on progressive policies in Congress. Texas Congressional candidates Jasmine Crocket and Greg Casar will join us to talk about our plan to grow the Progressive Caucus in the House. And Austin City Council candidate Chito Vela and Travis County Commissioner candidate Bob Libal will join us to talk about making change from the bottom up!
RSVP HERE
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THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema sided with Republicans again this week to uphold the filibuster and block crucial legislation — this time, the Freedom to Vote Act.
Voting rights are under attack across the country with Republicans passing 33 laws across 19 states in 2021 to make it harder for people to vote — but vote we must to get our allies into power.
Our marching orders for 2022 are clear: As we fend off the rightwing assault on democracy, we must also do the work to replace bad Democrats.
When asked by the Associated Press this week if he would consider backing primary challengers against these two, Bernie replied “Well, yeah.”
We’re with you, Bernie. “Given what happened in the Senate, filibuster reform is going to be a top litmus test,” Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese told The Hill this week. “What people are starting to see is that we cannot win on any of our issues unless we reform the way the Senate works.”
That’s why Our Revolution launched a fund to primary Sinema and elect a progressive who cares about America to take her place.
Weeding out the enemies of progress and replacing them with progressive champions is going to be a challenge. But, as we saw in 2020, even as some “moderate” Dems lose, progressives can still increase their share in Congress.
We must reform our undemocratic systems, and un-rig Senate rules so popular legislation from voting rights to healthcare for all can actually get through. Despair is not an option.
We’re tired of being polite about the filibuster while corporate puppets use it to destroy American democracy. Support our fund to primary Kyrsten Sinema today! All recurring donors will also get a special F*ck off filibuster sticker!
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Our Revolution recently joined forces with Free Speech For People to uphold Section 3 of the 14th Amendment — which bars anyone who’s engaged in or aided rebellion against the U.S. from holding public office again — by filing a legal complaint challenging the candidacy of US Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a Trump supporting insurrectionist from North Carolina.
Our campaign is gaining momentum, garnering attention from all corners of politics — from Tucker Carlson on Fox News to an array of more thoughtful pieces reported by CNN, The New York Times and The Nation.
“Madison Cawthorn was the first, but it’s safe to say he won’t be the last,” Ron Fein, a lawyer for Free Speech for People, told NYT.
Our Revolution members are planning rallies against Rep. Scott Perry in Pennsylvania, Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia, Lauren Boebert in Colorado, Paul Gosar in Arizona, and others who must be held accountable for breaking their oaths to the American people.
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TRAINING! If you are interested in keeping insurrectionists in your state off the ballot, join us this Wednesday, January 26th at 8.30pm to learn the skills you need to be a part of our campaign!
SIGN UP NOW!
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Only a large, organized movement can overpower the influence of big money to make democracy work. Become a recurring monthly donor today to help build mounting pressure on lawmakers to deliver for all of us.
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THE FIGHT FOR WORKER RIGHTS
We are making 2022 the Year of Solidarity, fighting alongside allies to expand worker rights and growing labor power to be able to achieve critical legislation for working people.
We’ve crisscrossed the country multiple times with our PRO Act Pickup Tour, joining picket lines with striking workers and bird-dogging legislators to Pass the PRO Act — and we’re not stopping.
“The path to formal union recognition and bargaining in this country is torture,” Our Revolution Board Chair Larry Cohen told Bloomberg. “It will occur, but the forces against it are greater here than any other democracy in the world.”
America grew the biggest middle class in the world - and passed our most transformative policies - when union membership was the highest during the first part of the 20th Century. We got The New Deal under FDR and The Great Society under LBJ because we had organized worker power to pressure elected leaders and counter the power of corporate titans.
If you’re wondering why President Biden can’t get Build Back Better and voting rights over the finish line, it just might be because union membership is at an all-time low.
Over the past half-century, each time Democrats controlled the White House and Congress, union efforts to overhaul labor laws fell against corporate opposition and the filibuster.
Unfortunately, President Biden hasn’t been willing to break with this pattern and empower America’s working class.
“The PRO Act could have been the most significant thing he has done to help unions, to create a legal regime that would favor the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain,” Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese told The Hill. “Biden didn’t use any muscle to get transformative labor law, legislation, across the finish line.”
That said, it’s not too late for Biden. Our Revolution is going to continue to pressure him to lead on labor by continuing our push for passage of the PRO Act and by calling on the President to take bold executive action to bolster union ranks.
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New York Progressive Action Network-Our Revolution is fighting for Good Cause Eviction and to re-establish the state’s eviction moratorium that Gov. Kathy Hochul allowed to expire.
NY Amsterdam News reports that “we think Hochul screwed up by not supporting the Good Cause Eviction. It is irresponsible and harmful to leave New Yorkers in the cold due to a lack of effective policies. Losing one’s home is always a destabilizing event. It can lead to even further problems not only for the individuals who lose their homes but also for the community at large.”
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M4A TOWN HALL WITH KATIE PORTER
US Rep. Katie Porter joined Our Revolution and Public Citizen for an M4A Town Hall Wednesday laid out the 2022 strategy in the Fight for Medicare for All.
Battlefronts include: Medicare expansion, lowering the age, stopping efforts to privatize Medicare, pushing for state-level M4A — and passing local M4A resolutions to pressure Congress (90 and counting!).
“The work you’re doing with local governments is so important to bringing along the groundswell,” Porter told us. “As I have cities in my district adopting resolutions, it makes it so much easier for me and other federal candidates to stand up in the fight for Medicare for All.”
Our Revolution Regional Organizer Anna-Marta Visky explained the power behind local M4A resolutions: “The more communities pass these, the more local electeds talk about how commonsense single payer is and how it would help their towns, the bigger the bottom-up pressure on the federal legislators to enact this widely popular policy.”
James Solomon, the council member who introduced the M4A Resolution that passed unanimously last month in Jersey City, said: “Legislative offices are understaffed and under-resourced — the easier you make it, the more likely you are to get it passed.
“The core to us passing this was the organizing work of Our Revolution — they had a draft written up, had an expert come speak to the council, wrote press releases,” Solomon explained. “Don’t exclude any members. Make the case, make it a win for them politically, and connect it to personal experiences of members that live in the district.”
Porter said candidates in the midterms will be pressured to go along with the old ways of Washington. “But, the reality is,” she said, “I cannot imagine a stronger campaign than on a platform of saving lives and saving money, and that’s exactly what Medicare for All does.”
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VOTE ‘NO’ ON SF SCHOOL BOARD RECALL
Corporate interests and right-wingers are teaming up to target schools nationwide. As former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said in May: “The path to ‘save the nation’ is very simple — it’s going to go through the school boards.”
That’s why we’re going all out to beat back attempts by far right extremism to derail public education.
This week, Our Revolution: San Francisco Berniecrats held a special Town Hall to mobilize voters to Vote NO on SF School Board Recall.
Oakland Unified School District District 5 Director Mike Hutchinson spoke about the reason San Franciscans elected progressive school board members — to bring structural changes — is the same reason they’re being attacked by rightwing forces.
“Are we going to stand up for democracy and create quality public schools in every neighborhood or are we going to fall back and let the people with the biggest wallets dictate our policies for us?” Hutchinson asked.
Other speakers included parents, teachers and SF School Board President Gabriela López and SF Supervisor Dean Preston.
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CHITO VELA ELECTION TUESDAY
Our Revolution Texas is roundin’ up votes for Chito Vela, who is on the ballot this Tuesday for City Council District 4 in Austin, TX!
Canvassers hit the ground this week knocking doors to GOTV for Chito — a proud member of Our Revolution running a progressive campaign on affordable housing, improved public transit, and accountable public safety.
This is a special election to fill the city council seat left by Greg Casar, another Our Revolution member, who stepped down to run for Congress.
We are reaching out to thousands of Our Revolution members in the district to get out the vote for Tuesday.
SIGN UP HERE to help!
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NY GOVERNORS’ TOWN HALL
Our Revolution-NY Progressive Action Network hosted the state’s first Gubernatorial Forum of 2022, pressing candidates on policy from single-payer healthcare to good cause eviction to climate funding, Gotham Gazette reports.
Candidates joining the discussion included NY Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Rep. Tom Suozzi. Meanwhile, Kathy Hochul, who was appointed Governor after Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace, sent a surrogate to speak in her stead.
The Gazette writes that Suozzi was “game for the back-and-forth despite being hard-pressed for support among the forum’s attendees” and “Hochul, had she made an appearance, would have likely been in a similar position” — but “Williams, on the other hand, found a welcoming audience.”
Williams, a progressive Democrat with a background in grassroots activism has been a darling of the left and was even endorsed by NYPAN when he last ran for statewide office, seeking the office of Lieutenant Governor against Hochul, at the time an incumbent, in 2018, The Gazette reported.
WATCH IT HERE
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2022 must be a HUGE year for the progressive movement. We’re making ground, but everything we love is on the line.
Become a sustaining member of Our Revolution today to join the fight against corporate interests and right-wing authoritarianism.
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Please join Our Revolution Massachusetts for a lively discussion with key leaders of the anti-Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) movement to learn how this test continues to undermine our public education system, how you can support bills that call for a moratorium on MCAS, and how to get involved with education justice issues and your local school committee.
RSVP HERE
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Join Our Revolution Maryland on Tuesday, January 25th for our 2022 Maryland General Assembly Town Hall.
We will be joined by 5 powerhouse progressive legislators, as they discuss legislation they are introducing this session. As well as how you can help fight for these bills to be passed.
RSVP HERE
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Our Revolution is proud to endorse Chito Vela, the progressive choice for Austin City Council, District 4. We know that people-powered campaigns can succeed, but we need your support to make it happen —sign up to volunteer!
SIGN UP HERE
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You can help keep insurrectionists off the ballot!
We’ll Help You:
- Identify the chief election official in your state
- Identify local candidates who violated 14.3 (and Trump)
- Plug-in with others to organize petitions, call-in days, social media actions, or in-person demonstrations.
SIGN UP NOW!
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The Proud Boys have announced they are running for local office this year. We cannot wait for our institutions or current leaders to save us. It’s all hands on deck.
That’s why on January 29th, our allies at Matriarch are hosting a free campaign training for working women who are thinking of running for office, currently in office or running for office. From School board to City Council to Congress, Matriarch’s full-day training will help candidates and their teams navigate all aspects of campaigning.
RSVP HERE
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Don’t miss our Live Monday Night Broadcast on Monday Jan. 24th, with special guest US Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Texas Congressional candidates Jasmine Crocket and Greg Casar and others, Austin City Council candidate Chito Vela, and Travis County Commissioner candidate Bob Libal!
RSVP HERE
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