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INSIDER NEWS FROM THE FRONTLINES OF THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION

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HEADLINES:  Protecting & Expanding Progressive Power in Congress | ENDORSEMENTS: Pramila Jayapal, Ilhan Omar, Jamaal Bowman, Susheela Jayapal, Lateefah Simon | VICTORY! Summer Lee Beats Big Money | Vote for Peace in Maryland 5/2 | & MORE!

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This week, Our Revolution held a special 2024 Progressive Power Town Hall with US Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Jamaal Bowman and Ilhan Omar, as well as candidates Susheela Jayapal (OR-3) and Lateefah Simon (CA-12).

The event kicked off our strategic campaign to Protect and Expand Progressive Power in Congress, rallying to elect - and re-elect - strong voices for peace and justice on Capitol Hill — many of whom are being targeted by dark money groups.

“Progressives are sounding the alarm against…a torrent of spending against leftist candidates who are holding the Biden administration to task for its unilateral support of Israel and its war on Gaza,” Politico reported on the town hall.

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Our Revolution is proud to stand with Pramila Jayapal as she organizes to defend and grow the Congressional Progressive Caucus she chairs and runs for re-election herself.

“The reality is that we need to protect progressives in Congress like me, Ilhan, and Jamaal, who are under attack by Republican mega donors who are coming into our districts, recruiting people to run against us, and pouring enormous amounts of money into these races,” Pramila said.

AIPAC has pledged to spend $100 million against progressives this year alone, she said, “because they’re afraid of our power, because we have stood up for peace and economic justice, because we have challenged the status quo and fought corporate power and proudly stood for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.” 

“We can’t sit back and wait to see how it all plays out,” Pramila continued. “That is not what Our Revolution is all about. They might have billionaire mega donors, but we have the people, and people power is how we’re going to win these elections.” 

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Our Revolution is once again endorsing Ilhan Omar for re-election because we need her voice representing our movement and Minnesota’s 5th District in Congress. 

Ilhan has taken a lot of heat from the far right for standing on the right side of history and she will have our movement on her side through her primary on Aug. 13th and beyond.

“Every policy that the Progressive Caucus champions polls at 60% or above. If the people’s house was not beholden to special interests, all of these great policies would be implemented and we would have an incredibly great, progressive country that takes care of everyone,” Ilhan told us Monday. 

“We know they’re going to spend a lot of money, but we are moving in strength not weakness,” she continued. “We are going to continue to move policies rooted in radical love and advocate for the politics of love because our communities deserve that.”

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Our Revolution is all-in to re-elect Jamaal Bowman to the U.S. Congress to serve New York’s 16th District. He has been one of our most dauntless voices for racial justice in the U.S. House, and we are rallying to make sure progressives turn out to vote for him on June 25th!

Besides his support of a ceasefire in Gaza, Bowman said anti-black racism is also a factor in why big money is targeting his re-election bid. “This is a majority-minority district, where we have been doing grassroots organizing with young people and progressive since we got into office,” he told us.

Up to a quarter of AIPAC’s $100 million could be spent against Bowman, and there will be Trump donor money on top of it. But when Jamaal joined our virtual town hall this week, he said, “That’s OK, because Our Revolution has my back.”

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Not only are we on a mission to Defend Progressive Power, but we also have some great opportunities to GROW Progressive Power by electing new allies to Congress this year! 

You already know that Our Revolution is endorsing Susheela Jayapal for Congress in Oregon’s 3rd District - and so is Bernie Sanders! - and our movement got to know her better at our Town Hall event on Monday.

Yes, she is the sister of Pramila, and nearly choked up speaking of the influence she has made on her journey into politics — and the sacrifice their parents made to give them both a shot at the American Dream. 

As a lawyer, nonprofit leader, and county commissioner, Susheela has seen that dream fall short for many. When this blue seat opened up for the first time in 30 years, she knew she had to run to make it as progressive as possible.

“I am the only candidate to publicly reject corporate PAC money, clearly support Medicare for All and public social housing, and to clearly and consistently call for a ceasefire in Gaza,” Susheela told us. “I first called for a ceasefire in November, and I have come under considerable fire for that stance. My opponents have said that’s not an issue that matters to our voters.”

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Our Revolution has been in Lateefah Simon’s corner since she announced her run to replace retiring Congresswoman Barbara Lee in California’s 12th District.

Lateefah has the endorsement of Rep. Lee, and she beat out 9 opponents to win her primary on a message of healthcare, worker rights, and housing. 

“These are local issues, but the federal government has an opportunity to bring back resources to the ground in our communities. The old party line isn’t working anymore,” Lateefah told us Monday. “We don’t need to be scared of folks who are on the other side of our politics because we have been here before.

“I believe in the idea of true peace, dignity, wholeness, and equality. We’re going to get there. My glasses aren’t rose colored, I understand how far we have to go,” she continued. “The cavalry really is not coming. It is us with our dreams, our hopes, and our tactical experience that’s going to move the House.”  

Donate any amount to our 2024 Progressive Power Fund to make sure we can mobilize our grassroots activists to get out the vote in each of these key races!

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VICTORY! 

Congrats to U.S. Rep. Summer Lee! Summer is the first pro-Ceasefire member of Congress to face a serious big money-powered challenger this election cycle — and she just won her primary by a landslide with the grassroots at her back!

Summer Lee’s overwhelming victory on Tuesday shows that we CAN stand up for Peace in Gaza and defeat the Big Money attacks that come our way.  

Our Revolution is proud to stand with Summer, and we’re READY to take on the same forces to re-elect Jamaal Bowman, Ilhan Omar, Pramila Jayapal, Cori Bush, and all of our Peace champions in Congress!

Help Our Revolution fund our phone bank and texting force to elect more great progressives like this across the country in 2024!

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Our Revolution stands in solidarity with student protesters who are organizing to demand a Ceasefire in Gaza and an end to U.S. funding of the killing of Palestinian civilians and children.

We also applaud the 37 progressive champions including Barbara Lee, Ilhan Omar, Ro Khanna, and Pramila Jayapal who voted against providing more unconditional funding for Netyanahu’s war regime.

This marks the first time that this many Democrats voted against weapons and funding to Israel’s military.

"The role for outside groups, like the young people who are protesting and Our Revolution is to be out on the streets, because that gives people like Bernie and AOC the standing to advocate on the inside,” Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese told The Hill this week.

Add your name: Stop sending U.S. weapons to Israel. Peace Now!

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Our Revolution has been at the vanguard of the “Vote Uncommitted” movement - we’re using the ballot box to pressure the Biden Administration to end its unconditional support for the Netyanahu’s brutal war in Gaza.

To date, we’ve helped organize 600,000 protest votes for Peace in the Democratic primaries — including critical swing states like MI WI and MN.   

The next front in the fight will be the Maryland primary on May 14th. Right now, Our Revolution is mobilizing our 137,000 members in Maryland to vote “uncommitted” to send a message to President Biden: Change course and call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

“Progressive Democrats in Maryland will not stand by idly as the White House uses American taxpayer dollars to fund Netanyahu’s horrific bombing campaign,” Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese told Maryland Matters.

DONATE NOW to help us keep up the momentum and Get Out the Uncommitted Vote!  Every dollar you give allows us to communicate with a Maryland voter 3x about our pro-Peace movement. 

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If you live in Maryland, join Our Revolution and our coalition for our “Vote Uncommitted” rally on Thursday, May 2nd to kickoff early voting and mobilize protest votes for Peace!

Sign up here to RSVP to join us in person!

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Our coalition of progressive organizations around the country are mobilizing to advocate for a party platform that will serve young, working class, and progressives — key voting blocs in this election year!

Our Revolution is mobilizing to send progressive delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this August to 

push priorities like Peace in Gaza, desperately needed campaign finance reform, taxing billionaires like Elon Musk, fighting climate change, reducing the power of superdelegates and so much more.

The core of our message: President Biden and the entire Democratic Party must listen to progressives if they want to actually energize and motivate voters to defeat Trump in November.

Donate today to help us make noise at the DNC and ensure the Party embraces our progressive priorities before the election!

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Our movement worked hard to elect the largest Congressional Progressive Caucus in history. Now, we must defend these seats against rightwing lobbyists like AIPAC, set to spend $100 million trying to unseat some of our strongest voices for Peace in Congress.

Chip in to our 2024 Progressive Power Fund to help us out-organize big money and re-elect our top progressive allies in Congress. 

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As the country’s largest grassroots-funded progressive political action group, Our Revolution relies on our members to power our work. In 2024, we must defend our top progressive leaders and elect new ones to join the fight against the far right and corporate extremists trying to hijack our democracy.

Sign up TODAY with a $10 monthly donation and you’ll get our 2024 sticker pack. For $27 a month, you’ll get the stickers and a tote bag. And, for $50 a month, we’ll send you both plus the official Our Revolution T-shirt!

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WHEN WE ORGANIZE, WE WIN!

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INSIDER NEWS FROM THE FRONTLINES OF THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION

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HEADLINES:  Pressure Builds for Peace in Gaza | Stand with Student Protestors | Dark Money Targets Susheela Jayapal for Congress | New Endorsements in TX & NY | MD Uncommitted Vote Tuesday | & MORE!

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Donate to Our Revolution today — or sign up for a monthly donation — to help us defeat Trump, elect progressives, and advance the push for peace.

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The world is watching in horror as air strikes and tanks roll into the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where 1.3 million people have taken refuge from Netanyahu’s war.

Our Revolution stands in solidarity with students and helped mobilize over 600,000 “Uncommitted” Peace voters in battleground states and beyond to demand an end to the violence.  We’ve helped create outside grassroots pressure while our allies in the Congressional Progressive Caucus push on the inside to get President Biden to halt weapons to Israel in light of the Rafah invasion.  

As Bernie said, “We can no longer be complicit in Netanyahu’s horrific war against the Palestinian people.” Due to the overwhelming advocacy by our pro-Peace movement across the country, President Biden has started to shift his Gaza policy.

Our collective action is working - Biden just halted a bomb shipment to Israel and said he will continue withholding weapons shipments until Netanyahu ends his ground offensive in Rafah.  

We must keep up the pressure. Demand a permanent end to U.S. complicity in the massacre in Gaza

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The backlash we’re seeing against students exercising their First Amendment rights to protest for Peace is unacceptable. Period. 

“Students and young people are stepping forward as brave, moral leaders in this moment, and Our Revolution will continue to have their backs," OR Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese told Atlantic Daily News. “We’re heartened by the solidarity for peace even as the horrors in Gaza and the retaliation against students weighs heavy on us all.”

For six months, President Biden has allowed American weapons to be used in the atrocities against Palestine. His latest policy shift may not be enough to avert massive protests descending on the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this August, according to the Associated Press.

“The DNC is likely to become a flashpoint because these movements are going to continue to escalate,” Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, told the AP. “I can see a replay of 1968, unless the administration does a course correction.”

“There is widespread discontent among progressive voters, young people, people of color — the progressive voting bloc writ large that he needs in order to win,” Joseph said. "I’m not sure if the administration fully recognizes the danger leading into the convention and the optics that could be created.”

Bottom-line:  Our movement is directly telling the president to change course or risk the political consequences. 

ADD YOUR NAME: CALL FOR PEACE IN GAZA

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The next front in the fight is the Maryland primary! Our Revolution is mobilizing our 137,000 members in Maryland to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Our Revolution has been at the vanguard of the “Vote Uncommitted” movement - we’re using the ballot box to pressure the Biden Administration to end its unconditional support for the Netyanahu’s brutal war in Gaza.

"Enough is enough. We have all borne witness to the unspeakable suffering in Gaza — tragedy after tragedy that is being met with performative rhetoric,” Our Rev Exec Director Joseph Geevarghese wrote in The Baltimore Sun.

“If President Biden’s reported outrage behind closed doors does not translate to real policy shifts that hold Netanyahu accountable, he will continue to disenfranchise the Democratic base and risk a return of Trump to the White House.”

Our Revolution leaders rallied with the Listen to Maryland coalition on Monday and joined a live online event to get out the vote for Uncommitted.

 OR Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese spoke alongside Palestinian voices, local leaders and student protestors.

“Two powerful protest movements are converging at the ballot box,” Joseph told the crowd. “College demonstrators and pro-peace progressives are joining forces to call on our fellow citizens to vote Uncommitted and send the President a message about Gaza he cannot ignore - Peace Now!” 

DONATE NOW to keep up the momentum and Get Out the Uncommitted Vote!  Every dollar helps us to reach more Maryland voters to cast their ballot for Peace. 

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Sen. Bernie Sanders and US Rep. Ro Khanna just teamed up to introduce a new bill to cancel all existing medical debt and wipe it from all credit reports!

“People in our country should not be going bankrupt because they got cancer and could not afford to pay their medical bills,” Bernie said. Read more in The Guardian. 

40% of Americans have medical debt, and it has become the leading cause of bankruptcy — even for those with health insurance. And, 25% of Americans say they’ve skipped healthcare due to costs. 

In the lead-up to the legislative introduction, Our Revolution hosted a town hall with uninsured patients struggling to make ends meet and Rep. Khanna, and did lobbying visits on Capitol Hill to shape the bill.  

This is unjust and unsustainable. It’s time for Congress to wipe the slate clean and pass the Medical Debt Cancelation Act to end the burden of sky-high medical bills once and for all.

ADD YOUR NAME: Stand with Bernie and Ro to demand an end to Medical Debt in America.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders has joined us in endorsing Susheela Jayapal for Congress because she is a powerful voice for abortion rights, Medicare for All, peace, democracy, wages, housing, climate, and more.

Now, Sen. Jeff Merkley has spoken out against the dark money pouring into Oregon’s 3rd District:  “I strongly condemn the dark money campaign underway to smear Susheela Jayapal and any other dark money campaigns that are underway or planned,” he said.

More than $3 million is being spent on attack ads against Susheela and to prop up her opponent, Portland Mercury reported, but she has people power at her back. Susheela and her sister, Pramila Jayapal, were joined by the grassroots to knock more than 2,000 doors last weekend alone.

“Democratic voters here have made it very clear they don’t want AIPAC and MAGA money interfering in their primaries,” Andrea Cervone, Jayapal’s campaign manager, said.

Read the full story by The Intercept on how AIPAC money is targeting Susheela Jayapal in this critical congressional race here.

Susheela is an AIPAC target, just like Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Jamaal Bowman, and Pramila, because she has spoken out for the human rights of Palestinians — and stands against corporate power. 

Like Bernie said this week: “The billionaires who fund these SuperPACs are not only concerned about protecting Israel’s right to do whatever it wants, but also about protecting corporate interests.”

“And you have a lot of wonderful members of the House of Representatives, who have stood up for the working class, have taken on corporate interests, and have also expressed their deep concern with what Israel is doing in Gaza,” Bernie continued. “What you’re seeing, and this is the corruption of the American political system.”

He rightly points out that these are some of the best people in Congress, adding: “I’m going to do my best to protect them and defend them.” We here at Our Revolution completely agree, and will be working overtime to protect elected progressives under attack.

DONATE TO HELP US DEFEND AND EXPAND PROGRESSIVE POWER IN CONGRESS IN 2024

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NEW ENDORSEMENTS!

 We need progressives at every level of government. That’s why we’re excited to endorse Annette Ramirez for Tax Assessor Collector in Harris County, Texas.

She plans to prioritize collections against corporations and big businesses over homeowners and work for language justice and same day voter registration.

Annette beat out 5 other candidates and now heads to the May 28th runoff election! This important public office is charged with maintaining and improving election integrity in the nation’s third-most populous county.

Winning this seat will allow a progressive to remain in charge of voter registration rolls. We cannot risk a Republican getting this seat and the ability to 'clean' the voter rolls and make it harder to vote.

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Claire Cousin has our endorsement for NY Assembly District 206 because she embodies the spirit of grassroots activism and is deeply committed to putting working families first.

Claire is the co-founder of the Hudson/Catskill Housing Coalition and the first Black woman elected to the Columbia County Board of Supervisors.

Her top priorities of affordability, climate action, housing rights, and education investment reflect the urgent needs of the district.

Donate any amount to our 2024 Progressive Power Fund to make sure we can mobilize our grassroots activists to get out the vote in each of these key races!

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Our Revolution Massachusetts invites you to The UnConvention — a LIVE online event June 2nd for progressives to organize around key issues and get active in the political process this critical election year.

Keynote speakers include: Robert Kuttner, co-founder/co-editor of The American Prospect and a Professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School, who has written extensively on the failures of the Massachusetts Democratic Party; and Danielle Allen, a James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, who will speak on “Voice and Choice: Key Reforms to Make Democracy Real.”

The UnConvention is being organized by The Massachusetts Progressive Action Organizing Committee (MPAOC) — a coalition of MA state-wide political and community organizations and was formed to increase progressive political power. 

REGISTER FOR THE EVENT HERE

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Our movement worked hard to elect the largest Congressional Progressive Caucus in history. Now, we must defend these seats against $100 million in AIPAC funding being spent to try to unseat some of our strongest voices for Peace in Congress.

Allies like Rashida Tlaib, Pramila Jayapal, Jamaal Bowman, Ilhan Omar, Delia Ramirez, and Cori Bush are running for re-election, and Our Revolution will have their back!

Chip in to our 2024 Progressive Power Fund to help us out-organize big money and re-elect our top progressive allies in Congress. 

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As the country’s largest grassroots-funded progressive political action group, Our Revolution relies on our members to power our work.

In 2024, we’re on a mission to stop a return of Trump while growing progressive power in Congress and beyond to fight back against the far right and corporate extremists trying to hijack our democracy.

Sign up TODAY with a $10 monthly donation and you’ll get our 2024 sticker pack. For $27 a month, you’ll get the stickers and a tote bag. And, for $50 a month, we’ll send you both plus the official Our Revolution T-shirt!

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WHEN WE ORGANIZE, WE WIN!

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