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DEFENDING THE US POSTAL SERVICE

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Our Revolution recently joined with the American Postal Workers Union to organize a powerful grassroots Day of Action against privatization threats and attacks on collective bargaining.  

From big cities like New York to small-towns in Iowa, thousands chanted “The U.S. Mail Is Not for Sale” and vowed to oppose plans by the Trump regime to dismantle the USPS.  

As Mark Dimondstein, President of the APWU, told Our Revolution members at a recent virtual town hall, “Privatization is a mathematical equation—shifting public money to Wall Street investors for maximum profit, not service,” Dimondstein said. 

“The administration’s corporate coup is hollowing out essential services, paving the way for billionaires to cash in while degrading workers’ rights.”

Hands Off April 5th Events

Hands Off April 5th

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Hands Off April 5th Events

Rising anger among Democrats fuels talk of Tea Party-style backlash "People are tired of money in politics. This is one way to show people power is stronger than money power." - Paco Fabián, Our Revolution

Trump and Musk’s power grab must be stopped. That’s why Our Revolution is joining hundreds of thousands of people across the country TODAY to tell the Oligarchs, “Hands Off!”

We demand an end to the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump regime, and an end to slashing Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs we rely on.

With more than 1000 actions nationwide, this is the largest mass protest since Jan. 20, and we will speak with one voice.

castillo san antonio victory

TERI CASTILLO CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 5 SAN ANTONIO

By Endorsement, TX, Uncategorized

castillo san antonio victory

 

Our Revolution is backing Teri Castillo in the City Council race in San Antonio, Texas.

Teri is a community organizer running a people-powered campaign to represent District 5 and ensure that public money works for the people of San Antonio.

Since taking office, Castillo has brought historic investment to the people of District 5 and prioritized preserving and building affordable housing, while moving with urgency to meet the city’s climate goals.

endorsement: ANNE SCHWEITZER FOR BOARD OF ALDERS WARD 1 ST. LOUIS, MO

Anne Schweitzer for Board of Alders Ward 1

By Endorsement, MO, Uncategorized

endorsement: ANNE SCHWEITZER FOR BOARD OF ALDERS WARD 1 ST. LOUIS, MO

 

We’re endorsing Anne Schweitzer for Board of Alders Ward 1. Since her election in 2021, Anne has been a champion for raising wages, clean water, better housing, safety and more.

With her background in environmental studies and non-profit work, we know she will work hard to deliver for people and the planet — and the City of St. Louis!

As Anne said: “St. Louis is a great city, not ‘was’ but ‘is,’ and it’s our job to make it even better.”

REBECCA MCCLOUD FOR BOARD OF ALDERS WARD 11 ST. LOUIS, MO

Rebecca McCloud for STL Board of Alders Ward 11

By Endorsement, MO, Uncategorized

REBECCA MCCLOUD FOR BOARD OF ALDERS WARD 11 ST. LOUIS, MO

 

Our Revolution is endorsing Rebecca McCloud for the St. Louis Board of Alders, Ward 11, to build out our growing progressive voting block in the city.
We have been invested in electing a progressive governing majority in St. Louis for a few election cycles — and it’s paying off! Our champions have successfully pushed initiatives for labor, wages, direct democracy, universal basic income and more.
With her focus on economic development, mental health, and better food systems, Rebecca McCloud will be a great addition and partner in the effort to deliver for the people of St. Louis.

Op-Ed: OLIGARCHY RISING, DEMOCRATS FAILING

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OLIGARCHY RISING, DEMOCRATS FAILING  

by Joseph Geevarghese

President Biden warned too little and too late in his farewell address on January 15,  “An oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our democracy.” Days later, on January 20, his words came to life as President Trump took the Oath of Office, flanked by Oil and Tech Oligarchs who funded his campaign. This moment signaled the beginning of a new political alignment between corporate and state power.

Trump has quickly rewarded his corporate benefactors. His first executive orders rolled back Biden-era environmental protections and boosted aggressive dirty energy production.  Meanwhile, he advanced AI and cryptocurrency policies while stripping government oversight of Big Tech. The result:  Big Tech’s need for vast energy supplies to fuel AI and crypto dovetailed seamlessly with Big Oil’s push to expand market demand for fossil fuels.

Trump is also purging career civil servants and replacing them with political loyalists and industry executives.  These actions ensure agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy serve corporate interests rather than the public good.

Trump and his benefactors’ increasing control over the public square – and their bullying of the free press – means that citizens are deprived of the information required to speak out.  Big Tech’s grip on digital platforms has fragmented public discourse, allowing misinformation to flourish. Meanwhile, surveillance technology—driven by firms like Palantir—is expanding state monitoring powers and eroding privacy protections.  

Also dangerous are Trump’s pardons of the January 6 insurrectionists which will embolden extremists and likely make paramilitary-style political violence a permanent feature of our political life.  

Taken together, the U.S. is fast moving toward the economic and political model of Russia, India, China, and Hungary—where strongmen are surrounded by oligarchs who rule with ruthlessness behind a facade of Democracy.

With this new oligarchy rising, America needs a real opposition party.  Yet, despite Biden’s farewell warning, Democrats are failing to speak with a unified voice about the true dangers of Trump and challenge him on every front. 

Some Democratic members of Congress are breaking ranks to confirm Trump’s nominees and offering to collaborate with advancing his policy agenda.  The Democrats’ failure to act with courage or conviction is undermining the trust of rank-and-file voters and volunteers who donate and knock doors election after election.   

Our Revolution recently surveyed more than 5,000 of our most active supporters, and only 14 percent said they feel ‘very confident’ that Democratic leaders will effectively counter Trump and his agenda.  Nearly nine in 10 support efforts to want Democratic politicians and party officials “to lead a real opposition party by rejecting corporate money and influence,” but the remaining 12 percent told us not to bother because they’ve already given up on the Democratic Party. 

Here are two of many comments the survey received sharing similar sentiments of despair with the Democratic Party. One woman said:  “The Democratic Party needs to stop playing nice and fight fire with fire. I’m sick and disgusted today.  I am ashamed of our country and the fact that there is no real plan to overhaul the Democratic Party.”  Another commented: “I am not motivated to give Democrats money because I don’t think they know how to fight effectively and I don’t trust them to do what is necessary to effect real change.”

The base wants Democrats to provide more than reactive opposition—they want their leaders to reject corporate rule by renouncing corporate money themselves, demand Constitutional accountability from Trump, and present a unified front against his policies and personnel picks.  

That’s why Our Revolution sent an open letter  to all DNC members, who are gathering to elect new leaders this weekend, to chart a new course given the oligarchic takeover underway.  But even in this they’ve managed to continue the blind push for insular control — going out of their way to shut out the public as just 448 insiders prepare to vote. 

The grassroots base, progressives, young voters, working class voters, and others often shunted to the edges of the party have long been calling for a rejection of corporate power and a return to the working class roots, but this cry is reaching a crescendo.  The Party and its politicians must listen now.  They must open up transparency, break with corporate influences, and repair public trust if they want to win this existential battle.

Even Democratic governors are speaking out, speaking to Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as a group, and urging him to do all that he can to slow down the confirmation of President Trump’s nominees and to do more to block his agenda,the New York Times reported this week. 

And citizens – whether Democrat, Republican or Independent – must mobilise, inform, and engage their friends and neighbors in the work of saving our nation from peril. Without concerted action, Biden’s warning of the rising American oligarchy may become the dystopian future we cannot escape.

Joseph Geevarghese is Executive Director of Our Revolution, the largest independent grassroots political action organization in the US, which was founded by Bernie Sanders in 2016. 

KEY CLIMATE RACE – VICTORY IN WA

By Endorsement, Progressive Champions, Uncategorized

51 votes may have just saved the mature forests in Washington State.

Dave Upthegrove, the only candidate not taking money from the timber industry, just squeaked by as a result of grassroots organizing and mobilization in the race for WA State Public Lands Commissioner.

Our Revolution, founded by Bernie Sanders, played a pivotal role from our work to GOTV in Washington State to our ballot curing efforts. This is why down-ballot work by progressives is so critical.

Upthegrove is the only candidate not funded by the timber industry and the only one who will fight the climate crisis by saving Washington’s mature forests, while working to prevent forest fires and grow the local economy. 

Dave will work with local tribes and other communities to map out the best way to deploy more clean energy infrastructure and build more affordable housing. 

He served 12 years in the State House, representing the diverse working-class suburbs of South King County, and he would be the first openly gay statewide executive in WA State history!

Dave’s love of the outdoors developed at a young age, spending his summers in high school and college working outdoors, teaching young people about conservation on Dabob Bay, and leading week-long treks through the Cascade Mountains.

HIs interest in politics developed as an environmental activist on campus at the University of Colorado, where he earned his degree in Environmental Conservation and Biology — later earning a graduate certificate in Energy Policy from the University of Idaho.

As a State Rep, Dave Upthegrove chaired the committee to restore the Puget Sound and chaired the House Environment Committee, working in every corner of the State to reduce carbon pollution, clean up toxins, and improve oil spill prevention.

In the Legislature, he helped lead the Blue-Green Alliance — a pro-labor, pro-environment coalition that rejected the false choice between jobs and the environment and found common ground to promote sustainable economic opportunities. Upthegrove was honored as Legislator of the Year by the Washington Conservation Voters.

“I understand that in order to have good jobs and a strong economy, we need to keep Washington State a great place to live,” Dave said. “This means managing our public forests, aquatic lands, and other natural resources in the public interest.”

Dave is the progressive and the strongest environmentalist in the race. He is endorsed by US Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Washington Conservation Action, Sierra Club as well as 50+ Democratic Party organizations.