Meet the “People’s Action 22”: Candidates Fighting For All Of Us

By George Goehl, LeeAnn Hall

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/10/18/meet-peoples-action-22-candidates-fighting-all-us

In the final weeks of a dispiriting presidential election, hope is on the horizon – and it’s down-ballot. That’s where you will find more and more everyday people deciding to challenge neoliberal politics and build a bottom-up movement that fights for fairness in our economy and democracy for all people.

We are proud to announce the first slate of progressive candidates endorsed by People’s Action, a national organization of more than a million people in affiliated groups across 29 states.

The candidates who make up our “People’s Action 22” will help build on the progressive political revolution ignited by Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.

The candidates who make up our “People’s Action 22” will help build on the progressive political revolution ignited by Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. They are grassroots leaders committed to fighting for people instead of corporate profits. They have proven their commitment to racial justice, gender justice, climate justice and economic justice.

We know this because the “People’s Action 22” candidates come from out of the justice movement in America; many of them as leaders within our own organizations. They live in the real America, not in the corporate boardrooms.

They know what it’s like to not be able to make ends meet. They understand what it’s like to have to choose between meals or medicine for your children. They understand what it’s like to be targeted for police violence because you are black, or to have your family threatened by deportation.

Each of these candidates represents the world we believe is possible, one where everyone has what they need to reach their full potential. With these down-ballot candidates, we have a start on creating the world as it should be.

The “People’s Action 22” list includes leaders like:

● Gina Melaragno in Maine, who was inspired to run for state representative by her own experience with lack of health care access.

● Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state senator running for Congress, who founded Hate Free Zone (now the People’s Action member organization OneAmerica) in response to hate and discrimination after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

● LaTonya Johnson, running for state senate in Wisconsin, who owned and operated a child care center for 10 years, caring for Milwaukee’s poorest children and their parents struggling to cover their basic needs.

Zephyr Teachout of New York, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, was the first executive director of the Sunlight Foundation, working for transparent government. She has fought big banks and led the movement against fracking in New York.

They will work to make sure our democracy is power for those who don’t have it – to hold accountable those who use their power only to maximize their profits.

Every day, new leaders with values we share are stepping up and standing out in our communities. People’s Action is committed to supporting the next generation of progressive leadership as part of our mission to build a country that works for everyone.

The full slate of the “People’s Action 22” is below:

Russ Feingold, Wisconsin, U.S. Senate

Christina Hartman, Pennsylvania, U.S. House of Representatives District 16

Pramila Jayapal, Washington, U.S. House of Representatives, District 7

Zephyr Teachout, New York, U.S. House of Representatives, District 19

Heidi Brooks, Maine, State House of Representatives District 61

Mari Cordes, Vermont, House of Representatives, Addison, District 4

Arturo Fierro, New Mexico, State House of Representatives District 7

Lauren Freedman, Michigan, Kalamazoo School Board

Kim Foxx, Illinois, Cook County, State’s Attorney

LaTonya Johnson, Wisconsin, State Senate District 6

Denise Lopez, Nevada, Sparks City Council Ward 1

Theresa Mah, Illinois, State House of Representatives, District 2

Gina Melaragno, Maine, State House of Representatives District 62

Sara Niccoli, New York, State Senate, District 46

Ilhan Omar, Minnesota, State House of Representatives District 60B

Chris Rabb, Pennsylvania, State House of Representatives District 200

Jamie Raskin, Maryland, Congressional District 8

Gustavo Rivera, New York, State Senate District 33

J. Alejandro Urrutia, New Hampshire, State House of Representatives District Hillsborough 37

Andru Volinsky, New Hampshire, Executive Council Dist. 2

Mandy Wright, Wisconsin, State Assembly, District 85

David Zuckerman, Vermont, Lieutenant Governor

Paul Ryan: If Republicans Lose the Senate, Bernie Sanders Wins

"[What] scares Paul Ryan... excites a lot of other people."

The house speaker knows that if the GOP loses seats in Congress, Bernie Sanders could become the Senate Budget Committee Chairperson.

By John Nichols

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/10/18/paul-ryan-if-republicans-lose-senate-bernie-sanders-wins

Ryan is famously described as what Republicans think a smart person sounds like. But sometimes the speaker of the House outsmarts himself.

Ryan lectured Young Republicans in his native Wisconsin last Friday, and the national news media were invited to listen along. The speaker wanted to make the case for Republican voters to turn out and back GOP congressional candidates, even if they can’t stomach their party’s scandal-plagued presidential ticket. Implicit in Ryan’s argument was the suggestion that a Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate could be counted on to obstruct Hillary Clinton’s supposedly “liberal progressive” agenda.

But in a question-and-answer session following his unremarkable speech, Ryan inadvertently made a case for liberals and progressives to turn out in big numbers in order to elect Democratic candidates in the fight for control of the Senate.

As he outlined his Wall Street–friendly proposals for tax reforms that would more rapidly redistribute wealth upward, and for budgets that would put vulnerable Americans at greater risk while increasing burdens for middle-class families, the speaker explained that his agenda can advance only if Republicans control both the House and Senate. “If we keep control of the Senate in the Republican hands…a nice guy named Mike Enzi from Wyoming is the Senate budget chair and he helps us get these budgets to the president’s desk, gets these tax bills through,” he said.

The prospect of Bernie Sanders writing budgets and setting national priorities is, well, “awesome.”

On the other hand, Ryan warned, “If we lose the Senate, do you know who becomes chair of the Senate Budget Committee? A guy named Bernie Sanders. You ever heard of him?”

Ryan’s comment drew a tepid response from the Young Republicans he was lecturing. No surprise there. Polling suggests that Bernie Sanders is among the most well-regarded political figures in the country, especially among younger voters, and the long-time independent generates far less partisan antipathy than veteran Democrats.

But when word got out that Ryan was rattled by Sanders, the response from around the country was electric. People who might have been having a hard time getting excited about the presidential race were most intrigued by the possibility that Sanders might become a powerhouse in the Senate.

The possibility is real enough.

“Too bad for Ryan, that's a scenario millions of millennials would welcome.”

The senator from Vermont is the ranking member of the budget committee, and if Democrats gain control of the chamber on November 8, he would be in line to chair it. But Sanders could also end up chairing then powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which he could use to advance many of the proposals (for affordable college, empowering unions, and investing in public-health programs) that made his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination so popular.

The final list of committee assignments will be influenced by the choices of senior senators, such as Washington’s Patty Murray. “There’s lots of individual choices ahead, of people who are senior to Bernie,” says Senator Charles Schumer of New York, who is set to replace retiring Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Yet Schumer says of Sanders, “He will chair a significant committee if we win the majority.’’

That prospect scares Paul Ryan.

But it excites a lot of other people.

Because Ryan’s Friday event—at which he avoided mentioning the candidate he has endorsed for the presidency—was otherwise devoid of news, the speaker’s reference to Sanders got a good deal of attention. Reporters tweeted about Ryan’s comments regarding the Vermonter, and made mention of them in articles on an otherwise inconsequential event.

The response was immediate—and enthusiastic.

The news that Sanders might end up in a top position in the Senate, and that he might be positioned to thwart Ryan’s plans, became a digital sensation. Twitter and Facebook exploded—with messages like “Awesome!” and “Sounds like a plan!” and “Too bad for Ryan, that’s a scenario millions of millennials would welcome.”

Sanders fans created images of the Vermont senator with the Ryan quote superimposed on it, and bloggers mocked the speaker’s “doomsday scenario” with assessments like this Daily Kos observation: “Good god, people! Sanders might try to expand Social Security. He might look for ways to ease the burden of college debt. By god, he had a ‘Medicare for All’ platform. Just think of it: Insured people everywhere! Talk about an apocalypse!”

Of course, liberals and progressives understand that an empowered Bernie Sanders is no doomsday scenario, no apocalypse. For them, it’s a thrilling prospect that builds enthusiasm for voting—and perhaps for volunteering. Even among young voters are not all that thrilled with the prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency, the prospect of Bernie Sanders writing budgets and setting national priorities is, well, “awesome.”

So Democrats will undoubtedly be pleased if the speaker keeps talking about the Sanders “threat.”

Paul Ryan is making a muscular case for why control of the Senate should be grabbed away from right-wing Republicans and handed over to a party that plans to put Bernie Sanders in a position of power.

Senate Budget Committee 2016: Paul Ryan Inadvertently Stumps For Bernie Sanders

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbsR4rKEyiI

NASA Says 2016 Has So Far Been The Hottest Year Ever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq16VSZrOrI

Director Arrested Filming Dakota Access Pipeline Documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ82p-zrt4Y

Deia Schlosberg Faces 45 Years In Prison For Journalism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyzXQ6ArGbA