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An email went out earlier that incorrectly said we were holding a call with Rep. Rashida Tlaib tonight. Unlike corporate Democrats, we admit when we make a mistake.
That call with Rep. Tlaib happened last week, and on the call, she warned all of us about big money corporate interests unleashing attacks on progressives. To find out more about some of those great progressive candidates, please read this week's newsletter below!
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Join us next Monday, May 23rd, at 8:30p ET/7:30 CT for our National ‘Organize-to-Win’ Call with Our Revolution Board Member and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on the state of the progressive fight in 2022!
These bi-weekly meetings are key to building our movement, so be sure to mark your calendar!
RSVP HERE
Insider News from the Political Revolution!
HEADLINES: Bernie’s Senate Fight for M4A | Rashida vs. Dark Money | Fort for Congress in GA | Reject the Recall in SF | Palmer for DC Council | Attica Scott Rally in KY | Election Day in NC | Pro-Choice Actions | Levin & House Labor | Ellison on Student Debt | & MORE!
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WAGING THE FIGHT FOR MEDICARE FOR ALL IN THE SENATE AND BEYOND
Our Revolution members rallied at the Capitol Thursday with Bernie, who as Budget Committee Chairman held the first-ever Senate hearing on Medicare for All and reintroduced the bill!
This is how we wage the fight, and our movement showed up to show our strength and make the demand — needed more than ever as 1 million Americans have died in the pandemic.
“This is an issue not just of healthcare but of what kind of nation we are,” Bernie said. “Medicare for All will become the law of the land — if not now, in the future — because this is what the American people want.”
Bernie welcomed doctors and nurses to testify before the committee and make the case for a Medicare for All single-payer system. He emphasized that it would save $650B a year over our current dysfunctional system.
“In our corrupt political system, the private healthcare sector has spent more than $10.6B on lobbying and $1.7B on campaign contributions to maintain the status quo,” Bernie wrote in an op-ed in Fox. “They own many of the politicians in both the Democratic and Republican parties.”
Later that same evening, he rallied with Our Revolution-endorsed Summer Lee for her run for Congress in PA-12! “We need a strong progressive like Summer in Congress, we need to tell these billionaires we won’t allow them to buy our elections and control our democracy.”
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Become a RECURRING DONOR to Our Revolution right now to fund critical action campaigns to defend our rights and communities against the far right of both parties. Our movement must stand united in the fight for Medicare for All, climate action, reproductive freedom and so much more.
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Our Revolution is committed to re-electing US Rep. Rashida Tlaib to her third term representing Michigan’s 13th District in Congress!
AIPAC and right-wing money is pouring in against her, but Rashida knows the power of grassroots organizing that helped her beat the forces of the establishment in 2018.
“With your help and people-power on the ground, we’ll do it again,” she told our members. “We’ll outwork the hate, the lies, the gaslighting. I refuse to sell out and when they can’t control you, they’ll do anything.”
“They profit off of our broken systems, they want the status quo while our residents struggle. We need a Congress of working-class folks with lived experiences,” Rashida stated. “It is corporate greed which is, in many ways, killing our people.”
“On a Monday evening call hosted by Our Revolution, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (…) told supporters Democrats must elect more lawmakers who support abortion rights to Congress in the midterms,” Politico reported.
“Everything is calling us to bold action — our right to reproductive freedom and privacy could be pulled out from under us,” she said. “The movement on the ground is real and we must use that pressure.”
Become a sustaining member of Our Revolution to help re-elect Rashida and grow our power inside and outside of Congress!
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VINCENT FORT FOR CONGRESS
Our Revolution joins Bernie and Killer Mike in the fight to elect Sen. Vincent Fort to US Congress in GA-13!
Vincent is taking on the right-wing Democratic incumbent, and this is a huge opportunity to swing another blue district for the working class. Early voting has started — Election Day is May 24.
“With a strong field operation, we can kick out this Blue Dog, elect a progressive, and send shockwaves across the country,” Vincent told us on our Monday Night Call. “When we talk to people, they run from David Scott in droves and turn to our progressive, proactive, community-based politics.”
Vincent’s top priorities include Medicare for All, a living wage, the Green New Deal, and free college and apprenticeships. “I’ve been an educator and a State Senator, but first and foremost I’m an activist — and that’s how I legislate,” he said.
Vincent grew up in a union household and became a professor of African-American History. He served in the Georgia Senate for 20 years, where he passed major reforms for public education and the first hate crimes anti-predatory lending legislation.
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REJECT THE RECALL IN SF
Our Revolution stands with San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin against a vicious right-wing recall attempt — Prop H. Chesa is one of our country’s great criminal justice reformers, and he joined our National Organizing Call Monday night.
Chesa promised three things during his run for DA:
- Fight mass incarceration
- Increase victim advocacy services
- Enforce the law equally — billionaires & corporations included
He’s delivering, and now right-wing powers are scrambling to get rid of him. “If you support this recall, you’re joining sides with Republicans, billionaires, Ted Cruz, Tucker Carlson,” Chesa said. “They’re taking features of the failed tough-on-crime approach and trying to blame those on me.”
Chesa is right. It’s taken decades to build up a terrible system, and we need him to continue his work to fix it. “We’re creating a worker protection unit to prosecute companies for wage theft, ending cash bail, expanding drug and mental health programs,” he reported.
“This is about building safety now and in the long run,” Chesa said. “Vote NO on the death penalty, NO on police violence and impunity, NO on using sexual survivors' DNA against them, Vote NO on Proposition H.”
Chesa is part of Our Revolution’s endorsed California 2022 Slate, which includes State Assembly candidates Jennifer Esteen (D-20), James Coleman (D-22), Fatima Iqbal-Zubair (D-65), and Alex Lee for re-election to District 24.
Also on the slate are two candidates for District Attorney Pamela Price For Alameda County and Alana Mathews for Sacramento County, and Dave Myers for San Diego County Sheriff.
Ballots should start arriving this week and election day is June 28th! Join Our Revolution to help power our endorsed slate to victory!
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PALMER FOR DC COUNCIL
Our Revolution is proud to endorse working mom and true progressive Erin Palmer for DC Council Chairwoman!
Erin is a grassroots leader taking on a corporate-funded incumbent who puts the interests of gambling bosses and big developers ahead of DC residents and locally-owned businesses.
"Housing is a human right. It’s a values statement, but it's also rooted in personal experience,” she said on our Monday Night Call. “I have a family member who died while homeless. I'm running for DC Council because every person is entitled to safe, secure, and affordable housing."
Erin has deep roots in the community and has served in critical local positions closest to the people and the problems. She knows the solutions residents need, and we need to make sure she gets elected!
Sign up to volunteer to make calls to help Erin and our other endorsed progressive champions take power up and down the ballot!
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ATTICA SCOTT EARLY VOTE KICK-OFF
Our Revolution kicked off early voting in Kentucky on Thursday with a rally for Attica Scott at the Mammoth Art Space in Louisville, followed by a canvass where we knocked on doors to get out the vote!
Election Day is Tuesday and Attica is the progressive choice to represent Kentucky’s 3rd District in Congress.
“We are working to change the face of Kentucky politics, and we’ve got to organize,” Attica said. “A shift is happening all over our country, and now is the time to choose bold leadership over complacency.”
Attica has a long history of leadership and activism in Louisville, defeating a 34-year incumbent in 2016 to be the first Black woman elected to the Kentucky General Assembly this century. Attica fought for the Green New Deal at the State House and raised the minimum wage on Louisville Metro Council.
Become a member of Our Revolution TODAY to fund our on-the-ground field operations for candidates like Attica around the country this primary season!
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NC VOTES TUESDAY!
2 POWERFUL PROGRESSIVES ON THE BALLOT
Tuesday is Election Day in North Carolina, and Our Revolution has two powerful progressive allies running for Congress — Erica Smith and Nida Allam!
Both are dedicated partners to our movement and would be strong voices in Washington for Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, the PRO Act, and more.
State Sen. Erica Smith is running on a Rural New Deal in NC’s 1st District. “Our communities deserve more than a GoFundMe healthcare system and a Dollar Store economy,” Erica said.
Nida Allam was the first Muslim woman ever elected to public office in the state, now running in NC’s 4th District. She’s an outspoken progressive who served as a political director for Bernie’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Bringing home these wins would make a huge statement for our movement in the South and across the country. Sign up to VOLUNTEER to give these allies a huge push going into Election Day!
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VOLUNTEER FLIPPING VOTERS FOR ERICA SMITH
Our Revolution Phonebank Force activist Taylor Pinckney shared her volunteer experience with us last week of turning a voter from a corporatist Democrat to people’s champion Erica Smith for Congress in NC-1.
Taylor was thrilled to hear how grateful the voter was to learn he had a progressive option on the ballot in North Carolina — which he learned from her phone call and an Our Revolution mailer.
“He thanked us for opening his eyes that Erica Smith was the most progressive candidate and said that’s what his district needs,” Taylor relayed. “It was cool to see the impact in real-time — when I make these connections with voters, it motivates me to keep the work going.”
Our candidates rely wholly on the power of the movement — which means we need as many volunteers as possible to help lift the voice of working people and drown out the big money.
Making calls is easy and fun, and you can earn rewards along the way. JOIN THE PHONE BANK FORCE
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TAKE ACTION FOR REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE
The far-right is laser-focused on dismantling reproductive and privacy rights in America, and right-wing Democrats like Joe Manchin helped kill a vote last week to codify Roe v. Wade, proving why we must fight against the right-wing in both parties.
Our Revolution is working hard to elect pro-choice candidates like Jessica Cisneros vs. anti-choice Dems like Henry Cuellar — even against the endorsement of Nancy Pelosi — all while ramping up our activism to make our power felt inside and outside the halls of power.
Our Revolution has been in rapid response since the Supreme Court leak, organizing actions and events around the country with allies like Ultra Violet and Planned Parenthood.
Now, we’re scaling up our impact and launching an action page where you can sign up to host your own demonstration! We can send you t-shirts, printable signs, assist with turnout, and more. The majority must be heard on reproductive rights!
HOST OR JOIN AN ACTION NEAR YOU!
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ANDY LEVIN AIDS HOUSE LABOR WIN
Our Revolution-endorsed US Rep. Andy Levin worked with House staffers on a Resolution that passed this week, giving them the right to form a union, The Washington Post reports.
“I could not be prouder of the members of the Congressional Workers Union and their organizing force. I offer my solidarity and full support as they begin to organize their workplaces in the coming weeks,” Andy said.
CWU won because they organized and mounted public pressure on Dem leadership to hold the vote. And, Speaker Pelosi announced a $45k/year minimum annual pay (up from $25k/year, an absurdly unlivable wage in D.C.).
Hopefully, this will put pressure on the 10 Republicans who would have to vote for a similar resolution for staffers in the Senate to be able to unionize. “Workers, we’ll see you in the Senate,” Andy said.
Andy is one of our best in Congress, and Our Revolution is going all-out to make sure he’s re-elected in Michigan-11 against corporate Dem Haley Stevens.
Become a sustaining member of Our Revolution to help us build worker power and help working-class champions like Andy beat the establishment.
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PRESSURING BIDEN TO CANCEL STUDENT DEBT
Our Revolution Board Member and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is organizing pressure on President Biden to eliminate “the crushing burden of $1.7 trillion in federal student loan debt.”
Keith joined state attorneys general from New York, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, Washington, and Puerto Rico to urge Biden to use his power to cancel the debt, MSN reports.
“Such action would benefit millions of borrowers and be one of the most impactful racial and economic justice initiatives in recent memory,” the attorney's general wrote.
Momentum is building for Dems to CANCEL STUDENT DEBT. Become a member of Our Revolution today to power Democrats into action before the midterms.
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2022 MEMBERSHIP REWARDS!
To show our gratitude to members joining at higher donation levels, we’re sweetening the deal! For $10 a month, we’ll throw in our sticker 6-pack, and at $15, you’ll get the stickers and a poster. For $27, get both and a tote bag, or join at the $50 level to get it all and a T-shirt.
As committed Movement Builders, we know the real reward is taking action to make a better world, but we want to share these fun items as a way of thanks.
BECOME A MOVEMENT BUILDER
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BATTLING INSURRECTIONISTS
A few setbacks this week from right-wing judges show exactly why we need to bar insurrectionists from the ballot and stop the far-right extremism corroding our systems.
Our Revolution members and our partners at Free Speech For People are still battling the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Madison Cawthorn in the courts, and we need your support more than ever to bring them to justice.
A judge ruled this week in favor of MTG last week, but we’re appealing and Georgia plaintiff and Army Veteran Mike Rasbury — who worked with Our Revolution to put her under oath — won’t lay down that easily. WATCH HIM IN OUR NEW VIDEO HERE.
In Arizona, our members are taking on US Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs — and State Rep. Mark Finchem who joined the mob and breached the Capitol on January 6th!
TAKE ACTION: Sign our petition to your state elections official demanding they uphold the Constitution and bar insurrectionists from the ballot.
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MASSACHUSETTS DEMS REJECT PARTY MODERNIZATION
Our Revolution Massachusetts is working hard to make the state Democratic Party much more democratic.
Last week, 68 delegates submitted a resolution to eliminate 120 lifetime positions that make the majority of the Democratic State Committee unelected and unaccountable to the grassroots base.
“Eliminating unelected lifetime members is only a first step in democratizing our Party,” said Martha Karchere, Our Revolution Massachusetts Co-Chair.
“The committee lacks a sense of urgency to address a broken political system and a rigged economy,” said Our Revolution Somerville Leader Rand Wilson, an elected convention delegate.
We are working to get 500 delegate signatures by May 21 to bring the resolution for a vote at the convention. If you’re interested in helping reform the state party contact HERE.
“The Democratic Party is losing membership. Folks are growing disillusioned and alienated by promises of change that go unfulfilled,” said Jared Hicks, a DSC member. “We need to build a state party that responds to the needs of the majority and encourages participation to meet the urgent challenges we face.”
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PUSHING FOR PARTY MODERNIZATION
Our Revolution Board Member Jane Kleeb was featured in an op-ed in The New York Times this week, calling for smarter investment by the Democratic Party in local parties and the grassroots.
“In Nebraska, the monthly allotment went from $25,000 to $2,500. That 90 percent cut in party funding,” Jane was quoted. As a result, she says, Republican talking points often go unchallenged and Dems lose ground. “We need to invest more resources at the party levels closest to the issues, closer to the solutions.”
Ultimately, a democratic party requires a reversal of the DNC’s top-down power structure — driven by a greedy consultant class and corporate elites. That’s why Jane and Our Revolution Board Member Larry Cohen are organizing a push for party modernization and a fighting chance against a total right-wing takeover, but the party is resisting.
So we’re asking you, the grassroots, to send this link to your state and local party chairs and other DNC members and kindly ask them to join this necessary, constructive effort.
TRANSFORM THE PARTY
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Join us Monday, May 23rd, at 8:30p ET/7:30 CT for our National ‘Organize-to-Win’ Call with Keith Ellison on the state of the progressive fight in 2022! These bi-weekly meetings are key to building our movement, so be sure to mark your calendar!
RSVP HERE
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PHONEBANK TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST BIG MONEY
“They have money, but we have the people!” Bernie said on Thursday speaking about the dark money targeting progressive candidates in races around the country.
AIPAC spending figures show: $1.2M for Henry Cuellar against Jessica Cisneros (TX-28), $2.3M for Steven Irwin against Summer Lee (PA-12), $2.3M for Don Davis against Erica Smith (NC-1), and $2M for Valerie Foushee against Nida Allam (NC-4).
We can overcome these insidious financial forces, but our movement must coalesce and rise up as a unified front. If we each do what we can and commit ourselves to this collective project, we can outmatch corporate power.
One way to exert our people-power is through Phonebanking — and we have several happening now — where you can talk to voters directly and circumvent the dark money ads slandering our movement. Money can’t win if we turn out the vote!
Help us make calls any day of the week for Our Revolution partners like Alexi Giannoulias for Illinois Secretary of State, and congressional candidates Junaid Ahmed (IL-8), Mike Ortega (CA-46), Andy Levin (MI-11), Brittany Ramos DeBarros (NY-11), and David Segal (RI-2).
SIGN UP TO MAKE CALLS
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This week, we’re ramping up calls to elect Amy Vilela to Congress. She is a progressive champion who is a powerful Medicare for All ally.
We'll be calling thousands of voters in Nevada CD-1 which includes Las Vegas — SIGN-UP HERE to make calls for Amy!
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Help us defend democracy by electing progressive Secretary of State candidate Alexi Giannoulias in Illinois!
MAKE A DIFFERENCE — SIGN UP TODAY!
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Sign up for phone banking as we organize to elect progressive Democrat and Our Revolution member and endorsed candidate David Segal to Congress.
We will be calling thousands of Our Revolution supporters in Rhode Island’s First Congressional District, which includes much of the city of Providence.
RSVP HERE
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Sign up for phone banking as we organize to re-elect progressive Democrats and Our Revolution endorsed Rep. Andy Levin to Congress.
We will be calling thousands of Our Revolution supporters in Michigan’s 11th congressional district, which includes Detroit area communities such as Bloomfield and Pontiac.
RSVP HERE
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Are you a member of Our Revolution? For $5 a month, you’ll be part of choosing our candidate endorsements and crafting our platform and strategy. Plus, we’ll send you our new 2022 Membership Card.
To show our gratitude to members joining at higher donation levels, we’re sweetening the deal! For $10 a month, get a sticker 6-pack, and at $15, get the stickers and a poster. For $27, get both and a tote bag, or join at the $50 level to get it all and a T-shirt.
BECOME A MOVEMENT BUILDER
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