Insider News from the Political Revolution!
HEADLINES: Chairman Bernie | Ban Dark Money | Larry Cohen: Inside Strategy | State Party Wins! | Raise the Wage w/ Ro Khanna | Stand With Ilhan | Speak Out on Medical Debt | Action for Tyre Nichols | & MORE!
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NEW STICKER! As the new Chairman of HELP (healthcare, education, labor, and pensions), Bernie Sanders is taking on corporate greed and Big Pharma is already fighting back.
Claim your Chairman Sanders sticker with a one-time donation of $10 — or become a member with a $5 recurring gift to invest in our work to carry out Bernie’s vision.
CLAIM YOUR STICKER
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Join us Monday, Feb. 13th when US Rep. Pramila Jayapal will join our National Organize-to-Win Call to talk about what Biden can do with the power of the pen to advance our priorities. And, stay tuned for other special guests!
RSVP
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AN INSIDE LOOK AT OUR INSIDE STRATEGY
Our Revolution Board Chair Larry Cohen had choice words for the DNC ahead of today’s Winter Meeting in Philadelphia, where our growing progressive bloc is pushing to ban dark money from primaries.
Larry, a longtime labor leader and party reformer, laid out the stakes on our National Organize-to-Win Call on Monday.
“If we don’t get the dirty money out, it becomes increasingly impossible to elect the grassroots challengers,” Larry said. “It’s not just about the rulers, it’s also the rules.”
“For those of us who believe we must fight in every possible way to advance progressive issues and win real power, we ignore party reform at our peril,” Larry wrote in In These Times.
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Congratulations to two new progressive state party chairs: Shasti Conrad, a former Bernie staffer, was just elected Washington State Party Chair! And, union organizer Yolanda Bejarano won a contested race for Arizona State Party Chair!
Yolanda had the backing of Ruben Gallego, who is challenging Kyrsten Sinema in 2024; and progressives swept 10 of the 10 seats they ran for on the AZ State Party Executive Board!
“We now have a working progressive majority in the Arizona Dem Party, Our Revolution PDA-AZ Leader Dan O’Neal was excited to announce on our broadcast. “It’s all about winning and it’s all about power!”
Progressives now hold leadership positions in 20 state parties, and we’re building out power state by state.
We cannot cede this ground to the corporate wing. We will be fighting for progressive leaders in other state parties around the country in the coming months, like Nevada, Florida, and Oregon.
Join our Party Transformation Team to root out dark money and help us grow and organize our ranks as a powerful force within the party!
JOIN THE TEAM
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RAISE THE WAGE
On our National Organizing Call on Monday, Our Revolution super-member Ro Khanna spoke on our joint work to raise wages and laid out his vision for a new economic patriotism in America.
As he wrote in Newsweek, this is a plan to bring back production and good jobs in America, working with labor, investing in our workforce, and rebuilding our communities.
“We have a moonshot for economic renewal that is desperately needed,” he said. “And, it’s got to be coupled with Medicare for All, free public college, childcare… so people can afford to be part of the economy.”
“It was Dr. King who said it was criminal to pay someone starvation wages, and here we are 50 years later,” Ro said. “No one should be making $2.13 on a tipped wage in modern-day America — that’s what Our Revolution and One Fair Wage are fighting against.”
That’s right. We’re partnering with One Fair Wage to end the subminimum wage for tipped workers in 13 states — because feeding your kids shouldn’t depend on the kindness of strangers.
Not only are we pressuring elected officials, but we’re also taking on the National Restaurant Association — exposed by the NYT for using $25M in workers’ own money to lobby against their wages!
Our Revolution Maryland activists were featured protesting the ‘Other NRA’ in Bernie’s new video on our campaign to raise wages and not leave tipped workers behind!
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All elected officials must reject dirty money from ‘Other NRA’ which has used this scheme to stagnate the federal minimum wage at $7.25/hr since 2009 and the federal tipped wage at $2.13/hr since 1991!
US Rep. Ro Khanna was the first to sign our NO NRA Money pledge, and others like Rep. Greg Casar and Sen. Elizabeth Warren signed on!
“I don’t take a dime from lobbyists or PACs anyway,” Ro said. “I don’t understand how you can take money from the biggest lobbying force against the $15 minimum wage.”
“Ask the Senate why it didn’t pass, and they’ll tell you because the NRA is lobbying against it, they’re lobbying specific senators,” he said.
CALL YOUR REP!
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STOP THE REVOLVING DOOR
It doesn’t stop at the ‘Other NRA’, Ro Khanna told our members. “Why don’t we have Medicare for All, why aren’t there caps on insulin, why is there a bloated defense budget — it’s the lobbying.”
There are more former members of Congress who are lobbyists than there are members of Congress, which is why Rep. Khanna introduced legislation to stop the revolving door.
He emphasized the importance of getting involved, speaking out, and taking action with Our Revolution so we can be heard over the big money interests.
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Our Revolution-NYPAN’s Jenny Almanzar spoke out at our One Fair Wage rally in NYC about her experience in the restaurant industry. “I’ve come out of shifts making less than the minimum wage,” she said. “Most workers there have quit.”
We need to hear from you! If you’ve ever worked in the food service industry and experienced low wages, we encourage you to speak out — we’ll have your back!
Leaders like Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna are bringing these issues to the forefront, and we can help bring change by sharing our horror stories in the industry.
SHARE YOUR STORY
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And, our Raise the Wage Team is getting stuff done! In just the past two weeks, Our Revolution has worked with One Fair Wage to get bills on the table in NY, MD, and CO — rallying and lobbying state lawmakers to stand with workers!
Next up — MA, CT, RI, VT, HI, PR, and CA. And, we’re working now to put higher wages on the ballot in AZ, OH, and MI in 2024. Sign up to help millions of workers fight for the higher pay they deserve.
JOIN OUR RAISE-THE-WAGE TEAM
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Medical Debt is a uniquely American problem among the so-called “developed world" — and a big one that has been largely neglected by politicians and the media.
Bernie put it into focus in his State of the Working Class, noting half of all U.S. bankruptcies involve medical debt, and 38% of Americans put off healthcare to avoid going into debt.
We’re compiling stories to bring pressure to bear on this great healthcare injustice. If you are one of the many who owe money to a hospital, please speak out.
SHARE YOUR STORY
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STAND WITH ILHAN
Republicans just doubled down on hatred, kicking US Rep. Ilhan Omar off the Foreign Affairs committee.
Rep. Omar has dealt with a barrage of xenophobia and death threats for years because of her Muslim background and willingness to stand up to the worst abuses of the military-industrial complex.
The far-right has spent millions of dollars in campaign ads stoking fear and division in an attempt to weaken our movement and sideline our strongest allies.
Split a contribution with Our Revolution and Ilhan Omar to help fight back against these far-right attacks.
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Our Revolution Ohio-backed Tara Mosley told us all about her race for Mayor of Akron on our Organizing Call Monday.
Tara was a 2016 Bernie delegate and led Ohio for Bernie in 2020 and is now in her third term as Akron City Councilor. She’s backed by Cornel West and Danny Glover, and she’d be the first woman and first black mayor in the city.
“I was also the only elected official in Akron who stood with Senator Sanders when every other elected official stood with the establishment candidate,” Tara said. “If I had to do it again, I would, a thousand times over.”
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Besides Akron, power is up for grabs in major cities across the country, and we plan to put progressives at the helm in St. Louis, Chicago, NYC, Philly, Nashville, Dallas, and more.
Join Our Revolution’s Elect Progressives Team to build local power in your city or state — where policy changes can directly affect our lives!
JOIN OUR ELECT PROGRESSIVES TEAM
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SINEMA OFFICIALLY HAS A CHALLENGER!
Progressive US Rep. Ruben Gallego is officially running against Kyrsten Sinema for the US Senate in Arizona — and Our Revolution is all-in to make sure the Senate has one less corporate villain.
Sinema stood in the way of higher wages, voting rights, lower drug costs, and so much more. Yet, corporate Dems haven’t ruled out endorsing her for 2024, so we have work to do!
As she rakes in billionaire money, it’s going to take a historic grassroots effort to win. Donate now to our Stop Sinema Fund to jumpstart this work!
STOP SINEMA
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ACTION FOR TYRE
Last Saturday, Our Revolution NJ joined an emergency rally to demand justice for Tyre Nichols, who was brutally killed by five police officers in Memphis.
Activists called for civilian oversight of police, ending qualified immunity and ending no-knock warrants, NJ News 12 reported.
After pressure and outreach to bill cosponsors, the NJ team scored a temporary victory when a regressive bill to create more mandatory minimums was pulled from the committee this week, OR Organizing Coordinator Anna-Marta Visky said.
At the federal level, US Rep. Ro Khanna told us Monday that he’s reintroducing the Peace Act in the House. “This is about our law,” he said. “Every other major western democracy says officers can’t use force until the last resort.”
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Join our LIVE National Organize-to-Win Broadcast for a discussion with US Rep. Pramila Jayapal on the push for executive actions. It all kicks off at 8:30 pm ET/5:30 CT next Monday (Feb. 13th).
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As the country’s largest grassroots-funded progressive political organization, we are carrying out Bernie’s vision through our
4-POINT PLAN TO WIN:
Organize the Grassroots
Elect Progressive Champions
Transform the Dem Party
Fight for Progressive Issues
As a Movement Builder, your recurring donation will give Our Revolution the stability of resources to plan ahead as well as jump into rapid response when needed. Thank you.
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WHEN WE ORGANIZE, WE WIN!
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