News from the Frontlines of the Political Revolution!
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DON’T MISS OUR NEXT CALL!
Our next Monday Organize to Win Call will be on July 12th, featuring US Rep. David Cicilline and Zephyr Teachout on how we break up corporate monopolies!
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OUR THEORY OF CHANGE
IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE: Read about how Our Revolution is
(1) Organizing our grassroots membership to fight inside the halls of power and outside on the streets;
(2) Holding our elected officials accountable to end taxpayer giveaways to the fossil fuel industry;
(3) Electing progressive champions from Buffalo to the Bay Area;
(4) Fighting for progressive policies to stop union-busting and ensure police accountability; and
(5) Transforming the Democratic Party, and MORE!
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This week, Our Revolution focused on our members’
#3 PRIORITY – tackling climate change by making sure the President & Congress stop giving taxpayer subsidies to the fossil fuel industry.
Our Revolution and our partners in the environmental movement and in Congress are laying down a marker:
We need to end subsidies to the fossil fuel industry.
“Progressives in and out of Congress are leading a push to eliminate all subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, making a repeal of these multibillion-dollar giveaways a red line in the upcoming budget reconciliation package,” says The Nation.
During a recent call with Our Revolution activists, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, says that ending fossil fuel subsidies is a “top five priority” for progressive lawmakers, alongside other “really bold action” on climate.
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NO MORE OIL … KEEP IT IN THE SOIL!
With progressives in Congress leading the fight over which priorities to include in the upcoming infrastructure and budget reconciliation bills, Our Revolution, Greenpeace USA, Friends of The Earth, Oil Change International, and other allies hosted a nationally live-streamed rally (with a giant smoking dinosaur!) outside the US Capitol to call on lawmakers to end the over $15 Billion in taxpayer-funded fossil fuel subsidies that our government doles out to the industry every year.
At the rally, our coalition released a letter – signed by over 500 groups – to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that calls for “the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies and other giveaways in any infrastructure, economic recovery, and/or reconciliation legislative package.”
“As discussions around infrastructure and budget reconciliation heat up, we are making our voice heard — one red line for progressives is making sure we end fossil fuel subsidies, period,” Joseph Geevarghese, Our Revolution’s executive director, told The Independent in an interview.
Given the slim Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, Rep. Ro Khanna spoke about how Congressional progressives now hold powerful leverage in negotiations. Rep. Khanna delivered a clear message: “No climate, no deal.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar, who with Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the End Polluter Welfare Act to end federal fossil fuel giveaways, also joined the rally to call on President Biden to keep his promise to end lucrative tax breaks, loans and loan guarantees, research and development and aid for dirty energy projects.
Any bill to address fossil fuel subsidies will have to go through the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, who sits on that committee, pledged to use his position to battle fossil fuel lobbyists and get the measure over the finish line!
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TAKING IT TO THE STREETS!
And this week, in the aftermath of the publication of a secretly recorded video of Exxon Lobbyists bragging about their work to undermine our national climate goals and commitments, Our Revolution New Jersey members and allies rallied outside Congressman Frank Pallone’s office in New Brunswick and Long Branch to demand REAL climate action and leadership!
Exxon’s massive lobbying campaign has thus far been successful in preventing Rep. Pallone from reigning in fracking and stopping new fossil fuel infrastructure. The action was part of an ongoing coalition campaign organized by Food & Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Our Revolution, Progressive Democrats of America, and many more who are calling on Rep. Pallone to align his legislation with science, and our commitments to reduce emissions as part of the Paris Climate Treaty.
“In light of the revelation of how Exxon lobbies Congress to ensure that no legislation will adequately address climate change, we now see why Rep. Pallone’s Clean Future Act does nothing to ban fracking or new fossil fuel infrastructure. We are calling on Rep. Pallone to have the political courage to stand up to this industry and support legislation that ends fossil fuel subsidies, bans fracking, and increases investment in renewable energy,” said John Hsu, chair of Our Revolution Middlesex County.
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BUFFALOVE!
India Walton, Our Revolution’s endorsed candidate for Mayor of Buffalo, joined our Monday Night Organizing Call to talk about her decisive primary victory that sent shock waves through New York state’s political establishment. With her opponent underestimating her chances, India deployed an impressive effort to organize the community to get out the vote.
Now, the establishment – and the right-wing – is targeting India and mounting a campaign to stop our movement. Byron Brown, the defeated Democratic incumbent, has refused to concede and announced plans to wage a write-in campaign, and Mike Bloomberg said he plans to spend big money to support him.
Dave Weigel covered our call for The Washington Post, noting that “Walton said that any Brown write-in campaign would be ‘fueled by right-wing, corporate interests and large developers.’ Brown’s speech hinted at that, emphasizing how he’d presided over the city’s lowest tax rates in years; he was also urged to run by Carl Paladino, a conservative businessman and failed 2010 gubernatorial candidate from western New York, who suggested he might run if Brown didn’t.”
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PROGRESSIVE POWER IN NYC!
Our Revolution-backed progressive champions Jumaane Williams and Brad Lander won city-wide races for Public Advocate and Comptroller. He joined our Monday Night Organizing Call last week to talk about how progressives flexed muscle and gained ground in NYC’s elections. “It was a good night for progressives throughout the city. Our Revolution and NYPAN were a huge part of our coalition.” He said that the progressive message resonated because it’s what voters said they wanted:
“We want a government that can do big, bold things coming out of this pandemic. We also want a government that can deliver on its promises. You’ve gotta deliver!”
Antonio Reynoso won the Democratic primary in Brooklyn to replace Eric Adams as Borough President, after serving as one of the most progressive members of the City Council and with backing from Our Revolution.
WHEN WE ORGANIZE, WE WIN!
Our Revolution endorsed 16 candidates who won their races for New York City Council, and the city will have its most progressive and diverse legislative body ever. For the first time, the Council will have a female majority. The council will have its first Muslim woman and its first South Asian member ever with the victory of Shanana Hanif. Crystal Hudson is the first openly gay black woman to win a seat on the Council. Other newly elected progressive champions include Felicia Singh, who flipped one of the last Republican seats on the Council; Marjorie Velazquez, who replaced a conservative Democrat in the Bronx; Public Defender and queer Latina, Tiffany Cabán, who will be a powerful new voice for criminal justice reform from Queens; and Sandy Nurse, who unseated an establishment incumbent in Brooklyn.
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EARLY VOTING STARTED FOR NINA TURNER CAMPAIGN
It’s time! Early voting has started in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District special election.
The last day to vote is Election Day, Tuesday, August 3rd, but we encourage you and your friends and family to make a plan to vote early.
Click HERE to see Early Vote hours and location for your county.
With Nina Turner enjoying a significant lead in the polls, the establishment is pulling out all the stops to defeat her. Hillary Clinton and Jim Clyburn – who helped block Bernie in 2020 – both announced endorsements of Nina’s opponent
and are urging big money SuperPACs to spend unlimited sums on paid advertising to defeat her.
But we know that people power can beat the political elite.
That’s why Our Revolution Ohio (OROH) is on the doors every weekend to help Nina finish strong! So far, our members knocked on over 2000 doors and had thousands of one-on-one conversations with voters. And with early voting starting next week, OROH members are leading GOTV phone banks for Nina. So far, OROH has made 133,000 dials and spoken to tens of thousands of voters.
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ELECTING PUBLIC EDUCATION CHAMPS!
With public education under attack by right-wing ideologues, Our Revolution Oregon fought back and elected 14 progressive champions to school boards around the state. In the battle to control the Salem-Keizer School Board, our 4-member progressive slate defeated their Republican opponents and ousted the board’s conservative majority. One of these candidates, former Bernie staffer Ashley Carson Cottingham, won by 70 votes after a manual recount. And in Portland, Herman Green won his race, one of two new black members elected to a school board that previously had only a single person of color. Last week, several of the winners joined our Oregon Organize to Win Call to talk about taking on the hysteria over “critical race theory” and stopping the privatization of public education
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ONWARD IN THE EAST BAY!
Our Revolution California helped Janani Ramachandran make it to the runoff in the special election for Assembly District 18 in the East Bay. Janani is running on a bold, progressive platform that includes a $22 an hour minimum wage. The election was called to fill the seat of Rob Bonta, who was appointed to replace Xavier Becerra as California’s Attorney General. Mia Bonta, Rob’s wife, is running for the seat with the support of the Democratic establishment.
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MARCHING ON MANCHIN
Our Revolution activists in West Virginia gathered outside Senator Joe Manchin’s office in Fairmont Wednesday to rally and show support for S1, For the People Act.
The bill addresses voter access, election integrity and security, campaign finance, and ethics for the three branches of government. Those at the rally are seeking to end the Filibuster and show support for the legislation.
“For far too long states have passed legislation that limits voters’ rights. And so, this would ensure that states can pass legislation to make it easier to vote but not harder,” said Jenny Craig, an organizer with Our Revolution West Virginia.
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The Borough of Highland Park Council voted last Tuesday to approve a resolution in support of a national Medicare for All system. Highland Park is the tenth New Jersey municipality, following Trenton, Princeton and West Orange Township, to pass a resolution in support of guaranteed health care, and sends a strong message to the New Jersey congressional delegation that state residents demand health care for everyone.
“I am proud to see the town that I’ve called home for over a decade is taking a stance in favor of Medicare for All. Achieving healthcare for everyone has never been more important, and hopefully resolutions like this will compel lawmakers at all levels to put their support behind Medicare for All,” added Benjamin Arenger, an organizer with Our Revolution Middlesex County, the local chapter of the national grassroots group Our Revolution that worked to pass this local resolution.
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Our Revolution Board member and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison – who lead the prosecution of Derek Chauvin, one of the few police officers ever convicted of murder – urged prosecutors to use their power to hold cops accountable in an essay in The Washington Post. “Prosecutors must act. Prosecutors must commit to vigorous, visible, and swift prosecutions of in-custody deaths when there is probable cause that the use of force was unlawful,” Keith writes.
“They should not be afraid to use all the tools the law puts at their disposal. The visibility of prosecutions, to restore and build credibility with the public, is as important as the vigor employed.”
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Our Revolution, the Labor Campaign for Single-Payer, National Nurses United, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association co-hosted a National Solidarity Emergency Town Hall this week to support striking nurses who are protesting the low pay and dangerous working conditions at a Worcester, MA hospital owned by Tenet Healthcare, the giant for-profit that runs over 600 facilities nationwide. Despite receiving billions in public dollars, Tenet is threatening to permanently replace the strikers to destroy the union.
Our Revolution’s Joseph Geevarghese joined the town hall to call on President Biden to stand against union-busting in the healthcare industry. He noted that in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan permanently replaced striking air traffic controllers during the PATCO strike, it sent a signal to employers everywhere that it was acceptable for management to break strikes and bust unions. “This strike creates the opportunity for President Biden to undo what President Reagan did” and protect the right of workers to strike. Read more about the strike in this opinion piece penned by Our Revolution members and labor leaders Rand Wilson and Mark Dudzic.
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DNC: TAKE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS NOW!
This week, the DNC Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis – led by Michelle Deatrick, an Our Revolution Michigan leader – hosted a forum to call on President Biden to deliver on his promise to end hand-outs to the fossil fuel industry.
Rep. Andy Levin, from Michigan, joined the call to discuss the importance of organizing – both inside and outside the party – to make ending fossil fuel subsidies a reality through the infrastructure and budget reconciliation bills.
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Our Revolution successfully led a campaign to eliminate the #DCCCBlacklist that barred consultants working for progressive candidates who challenged incumbents. But now, the leader of the House Democratic Caucus, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, has announced the formation of a new PAC to protect incumbent Democrats from progressive insurgents.
It’s the latest sign that the establishment continues to be scared of the progressive movement and the popularity of our platform. “Medicare for All, the Fight for $15, and the Green New Deal are popular and help drive turnout. Just because centrists choose to ignore it doesn’t mean it’s not popular,” Paco Fabián, Communications Director at Our Revolution, told The Hill.
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SPECIAL SURVEY!
From the beginning, Our Revolution has been focused on transforming the Democratic Party so that it represents working people, not corporate donors. That means fighting for a progressive platform and it means working towards structural change within the party. After the 2016 election, we successfully organized to get so-called super or non-elected delegates out of the nominating process, open up primaries to unaffiliated voters, and allow vote-by-mail for both primaries and caucuses. We need to keep building on those wins, and that’s why Our Revolution, the Progressive Democrats of America, and the Bernie Delegates Network are identifying progressive party activists so that we can coordinate and share ideas.
ARE YOU INVOLVED IN THE PARTY?
FILL OUT OUR SURVEY SO WE CAN CONTINUE WORKING TO MAKE OUR PARTY PROGRESSIVE
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The establishment is desperate to defeat Nina Turner and our Progressive Movement. Let’s stand together in this moment!!!
Knock on doors with us! We will email you information regarding the locations to meet up with us. If you have never canvassed, we will train you and pair you with experienced canvassers.
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Don’t miss our next Monday Organize to Win Call on July 12th. Rep. David Cicilline & Zephyr Teachout will join us for an important conversation on breaking up corporate monopolies!
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STAND UP! FIGHT BACK!
Anti-voter laws have been passed in states all over the country and the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent rulings have made clear that it will not act to protect the fundamental right to vote.
We must pass the For the People Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and D.C. Statehood – and we can’t let anything, including the Jim Crow filibuster, stand in our way!
Join us for The Good Trouble Vigils for Democracy on July 17 – the one year mark of the passing of Rep.John Lewis – as we host candlelight vigils nationwide to demand that Congress act to protect our freedom to vote and rebuild our democracy.
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