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WORKING TO TRANSFORM THE PARTY
“The Democratic Party cannot win back the working class without first addressing its own structural decay,” Our Revolution leader Joseph Geevarghese wrote in a recent Common Dreams opinion piece.
“The party has grown too reliant on corporate donors, consultants, and top-down strategies that ignore the real needs of working people,” he said. “It’s unlikely that the insiders who built a system that enriches themselves—guaranteeing profits whether the party wins or loses—will willingly dismantle it.”
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In looking at the contest for DNC chair and reforming the party’s operations, Our Revolution Board Chair Larry Cohen told Sludge his goal is: “Organizing in, dirty money out.”
Larry sees an opportunity for us to organize and win in “more than 3,000 counties nationwide where there is virtually no Democratic Party presence.” This is fertile ground for progressives to take over — but it’s just the start.
Looking at the totality of the party and its failures, the prescription is clear: Cut off the party’s reliance on corporate donors, abandon the consultant-driven strategies that fail working people, and rebuild a Party that serves the grassroots base.
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That’s why Our Revolution - working in coalition with progressive allies - organized a LIVE DNC Candidate Forum this week.
More than 25,000 Our Revolution supporters engaged with over a dozen candidates running for key DNC Leadership positions, including Chair candidates like Ken Martin and Ben Wikler, and Our Revolution leaders running for Vice Chair positions such as Jane Kleeb, Jim Zogby, and others.
This was an important event to give the grassroots a say in the party election process because as we know — just 448 voting members of the DNC will choose the new leadership — despite it being the rank-and-file volunteers who do the work to mobilize voters each election cycle and build the party in their counties and states.
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Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese opened the forum by summarizing the state of the party after the November election.
The Democratic Party has “ceased to be the party of the working class — MAGA won voters who make less than $100k a year. The Democratic Party also lost young people, voters of color, and women.
“Let me put it another way,” Joseph said, “the Democratic Party is now the party of the college educated suburban elite. At the end of the day, the corporate hacks who got the party in trouble in the first place aren’t going to be the ones to save us.”
Read more about our DNC candidate forum in Common Dreams.
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Robert Borosage wrote about our candidate forum in the The Nation, zeroing in on the most important issue to our members: Banning Dark Money from Democratic Primaries.
Borosage reported that while Chair candidate Ken Martin used the forum to state his commitment to rooting out Corporate Money from the party, other candidates were less clear.
For example, when Ben Wikler, Wisconsin State Chair, was asked directly about outside money on our call, he claimed the party “couldn’t do anything because it can’t pass laws—but this was, if not disingenuous, clearly wrong,” Borosage wrote. “For example, the chair of the DNC could ostracize pollsters, ad producers and consultants who work with outside groups to attack Democratic candidates.”
Borosage also noted how State Parties “can ban outside PAC money and enforce that ban by disqualifying any candidate that benefited from such spending.”
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Coming out of our DNC Candidate Forum, we are proud to announce the endorsement of Our Revolution leaders for Vice Chair positions in the party: Shasti Conrad, James Zogby, and Michelle Deatrick - and Jane Fleming Kleeb for ASDC Chair.
Shasti is the Washington State Party Chair and worked on both of Bernie’s presidential campaigns, Jane is an Our Revolution founding board member and Nebraska Party Chair, Michelle is an Our Revolution Michigan leader and DNC Climate Council Chair, and Jim, also Our Revolution founding board member who has been working to transform the party for three decades.
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So far, more than 10,000 grassroots volunteers, donors and local leaders have signed on demanding new DNC leadership sign on to these critical party reforms.
Some of our progressive allies in Congress are also calling on DNC candidates to commit to these reforms, including Pramila Jayapal and Greg Casar — the new chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
We need a massive groundswell of demand ahead of the Feb. 1st DNC election — urging party leaders and candidates to reject corporate money, increase transparency and accountability and rebuild a multiracial, working-class base.
SIGN THE PETITION
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On Thursday, Jan. 30th, Our Revolution is turning out our supporters to make our voices heard during the last official DNC Candidate Forum in Washington DC.
If you live in or around DC - the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia - join us to make our voices heard again before the DNC votes on Feb 1st. Our movement for change must have a presence every step of the way in the DNC election process.
SIGN UP TO JOIN US IN DC!
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BUILDING PROGRESSIVE POWER IN 2025
2025 isn’t an off-year for elections -- in fact, there are thousands of races at the state and local level with progressives running for mayor, city council, state offices, and more.
Our goal is to build power. Our movement elected a progressive voting bloc in Congress with the Progressive Caucus — and this year is a chance to do the same in cities and counties across the country.
Proof of concept: In St. Louis, Our Revolution Board Member Megan Green ran for city alderman and realized she needed allies serving alongside her to move a progressive agenda. So she partnered with Our Revolution and ran progressive slates over multiple cycles, creating a governing majority in the city — from mayor to council and more.
If progressives are going to build power in the United States, we have to return to our roots and do it from the bottom up.
If you’re a candidate running for election or re-election, join Megan Green and the Our Revolution Political Team for a 2025 Candidate Meetup to learn about our endorsement process and how we support candidates with strategic resources to win elections and build power for the long haul.
REGISTER HERE (ANNOUNCED CANDIDATES ONLY)
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Over 30,000 Our Revolution supporters have already stood up and shown they’re ready to fight back against Trump and the Oligarchs.
We know that despair is not an option. Our Citizen Action Team is preparing for battles ahead in 2025, and we need to know you’re with us. Sign here to show our activists that you have our backs.
PLEDGE TO SUPPORT OUR GRASSROOTS ARMY
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Mood. We know the frustration, but as Bernie says: “Despair is not an option.” Get this mug and enjoy a moment of self-care with a hot coffee or cocoa as we re-energize for the political battle of 2025. Fun trivia: this image comes from Bernie’s interview with the New York Times during his 2020 campaign. Get yours here!
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WHEN WE ORGANIZE, WE WIN!
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