Grassroots Power is Defending Democracy

Our Revolution
10 min readOct 12, 2020

--

“Grassroots power has never been so important — it’s not about the names on the ballot, it’s about the issues we care about and it’s about our survival.”

As America votes, Our Revolution members are carrying out our 4-POINT PLAN to fight for a progressive future

by #1) Defeating Trump; #2) Electing more progressives to Congress; #3) Building a down-ballot bench; and most critically, #4) Organizing a powerful grassroots movement to win transformative change after the election!

★ ★ ★

#1 — We must go all out to defeat Donald Trump by winning back working-class voters in the Midwest.

★ ★ ★

Despite Trump’s ‘Jobs, Jobs, Jobs’ Bluster, the Rust Belt Is Still Reeling from Plant Closures

Journalist Sarah Jaffe profiled Our Revolution Ohio leader Chuckie Denison, a former autoworker who fought the closure of the GM factory in Lordstown, OH and is now challenging Trump’s lies about America’s economic recovery as part of Our Revolution’s Midwest “Pivot Counties” Campaign — our strategic initiative to win swing areas in swing states.

READ THE STORY ABOUT CHUCKIE’S ACTIVISM

★ ★ ★

This week, over 16,000 people tuned into Our Revolution Michigan’s “Get Out the Vote” Virtual Rally

with US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), US Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI), and GM auto workers. Teana Dowdell, who lost her job at the now shuttered GM Detroit-Hamtramck plant, called-out Trump for recently declaring: “You better vote for me Michigan. I got you so many car plants.” Teana — noting that the last GM plant in The Motor City closed under Trump — said Trump didn’t lift a finger to stop mass layoffs.

Rep. Levin talked about campaigning with Bernie this week

to win Macomb County — a critical “pivot county” that voted twice for Obama-Biden but then flipped to Trump. Under Trump, GM closed its transmission plant there, which impacted thousands of working families. “Trump won Michigan with just 10,700 votes … if we beat Trump in Macomb County, we’ll win Michigan.”

Squad Member Rep. Rashida Tlaib also joined our GOTV rally to fire-up our members to organize to win on Election Day! “Grassroots power has never been so important — it’s not about the names on the ballot, it’s about the issues we care about and it’s about our survival.”

★ ★ ★

Donate to our Midwestern “Pivot County” campaign and help us win back working-class voters betrayed by Trump’s false populism!

★ ★ ★

#2 — We must elect more progressives to the U.S. House and flip the Senate to advance policies like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal.

★ ★ ★

Mondaire Jones, who is poised to become the newest member of The Squad in Congress, headlined Our Revolution / New York Progressive Action Network’s “Get Out the Vote Rally” this week. Jones, who, if he wins, would become the first openly gay Black man in Congress, noted that progressives must be mobilizing to both get Trump out of the White House and demand real, transformative change from Joe Biden — beginning on Day 1. Dana Balter, a progressive running to knock off a conservative Republican in New York’s 24th Congressional District also delivered a powerful message via video saying that our progressive organizing will make 2021

“a year of transformative change.”

★ ★ ★

NEW FLASH!

Texas Congressional candidate Mike Siegel is gaining momentum in his bid to beat eight term Republican Rep. Mike McCaul, a co-author of the Muslim ban who recently called the Black Lives Matter movement a “violent riot.” RSVP HERE to watch Mike headline Our Revolution Texas’ GOTV Rally

this week!

★ ★ ★

FEATURED CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE!

Georgette Gómez, President of the San Diego City Council, has been endorsed by Bernie and Our Revolution HQ in her race to represent California’s 53rd district in Congress. A longtime community organizer, Georgette was born and raised in San Diego to working-class immigrant parents, and this experience has informed her commitment to standing up for her community. She was twice elected unanimously as city council president, where her successes include expanding affordable housing, strengthening protections for low-income renters, and leading on San Diego’s landmark Climate Action Plan. In Congress, she will fight for Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, gun control, and immigrant rights. RSVP NOW for our Monday call to hear from Georgette on how her victory will help us build a progressive Congress!

★ ★ ★

Donate NOW to help us get Mike, Georgette, Dana and other progressives over the finish line in November!

★ ★ ★

#3 — We must build a bench of down-ballot progressive politicians & policies to fight for change from the bottom up.

★ ★ ★

Over 120,000 joined Tuesday’s California GOTV Virtual Rally — and with ballots having just dropped the day before, our members are ready to mobilize! Former Bernie 2020 co-chair Nina Turner opened the call with a powerful message: “This moment is vitally important — not just for our future but for future generations. And progressives hold the key. We are winning on our ideas, now it’s time to take the power.” In a show of California’s progressive strength, 87 candidates from across the state received Our Revolution HQ’s endorsement, and six were featured on the call. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who won a close race last year with the help of Our Revolution/SF Berniecrats, stressed the importance of volunteering in down ballot races. “We would not have won my race but for the tremendous energy we got from people like you. It can make a huge difference in the outcome of local races, and local races make a huge difference in the policies that shape our cities and towns.“

★ ★ ★

FEATURED

DOWN-BALLOT PROGRESSIVE CHAMPION!

Eli Savit, our endorsed candidate for Washtenaw County, MI Prosecutor, joined Our Revolution Michigan’s GOTV Rally to talk about bringing equal justice under the law to the rich and poor alike. Savit — who clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg — recently conducted a “Criminal Justice Listening Tour” and announced plans to tackle racial bias in prosecutions.

★ ★ ★

FEATURED

DOWN-BALLOT PROGRESSIVE CHAMPION!

Our Revolution Colorado held its Get Out the Vote Virtual Rally this week and announced national endorsements for progressive candidates, including Alexis King who’s running for District Attorney in Jefferson & Gilpin Counties. Alexis is campaigning on a bold criminal justice reform platform that includes creating a “Conviction Integrity Unit” to review prosecutions for innocence and equity.

★ ★ ★

Help us build a bench of progressive candidates and policies up and down the ballot!

★ ★ ★

FEATURED

DOWN-BALLOT POLICY INITIATIVE!

Currently, only eight states and the District of Columbia provide workers with the legal right to paid family leave benefits when they need time off to care for their families. That’s why Our Revolution HQ endorsed the Family Paid Leave Proposition 118 in Colorado — we’re building a movement to ensure that state and local governments put the needs of America’s families first!

★ ★ ★

#4 — We must build a movement in the streets and inside the halls of power to win progressive change.

★ ★ ★

#SaveThePostOffice!

________

“Expansion of vote by mail is terrifying to many Republicans, particularly Trump, since it results in higher turnout.”

Read Our Revolution Chair Larry Cohen’s piece on why we need to #SaveThePostOffice

★ ★ ★

FIGHT CORPORATE POWER!

________

Our Revolution supports the findings of the House Antitrust Subcommittee’s new report — Tech giants are a threat to democracy and must be busted-up.

If we want to reclaim our democracy, we must not only defeat Trump, we must also defeat corporate goliaths like Amazon. Ahead of the report’s release, Our Revolution hosted a virtual town hall on Defeating Corporate Monopolies with Minnesota Attorney General and Our Revolution Board Member Keith Ellison, Law Professor Zephyr Teachout, Open Markets Institute’s Executive Director Barry Lynn, and Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese to lay the groundwork for pressuring Democrats to reverse Reagan-era antitrust policy and break-up the large corporations that dominate nearly every sector of our political economy. As Lynn — who wrote a new book about monopolies — noted, “When the power of government is fused to that of the private corporation, it’s bad for all of us.”

Sign up below to join our new campaign to call on the Biden Administration to fight corporate power on Day 1.

SIGN UP HERE

★ ★ ★

TAX THE RICH!

________

In states across the country, our slate of endorsed candidates for local offices are running on a platform to make the rich pay their fair share in taxes during this time of economic crisis. In addition, Our Revolution HQ has endorsed several citizen-powered initiatives, including California’s Schools and Communities First Proposition, which would provide $12 billion a year to California schools by closing a property tax loophole that allows corporations to benefit from artificially low tax assessments, and the Illinois Fair Tax Amendment, which would raise taxes only on those who can afford it through a graduated income tax system.

★ ★ ★

Ahead of Election Day, Our Revolution HQ is holding “Get Out the Vote” Rallies across the country to organize to win at the local, state and national levels.

★ ★ ★

UPCOMING “GET OUT THE VOTE” RALLIES!

Ranked Choice Voting is on the ballot!

Our Revolution Massachusetts’ GOTV Rally will feature a discussion of how RCV can increase democratic participation with US Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Constitutional law professor, as well as progressive champions like Sen. Ed Markey.

RSVP HERE!

★ ★ ★

Our Revolution Illinois has an all-star line-up for it’s GOTV Rally — including Marie Newman, who took out an establishment Congressman in the primary, and key members of the Progressive Caucus in the Illinois House!

RSVP HERE!

★ ★ ★

Our Revolution Texas is organizing to turn Texas blue in November by running a slate of progressives to serve as justices of the peace, drainage commissioners, district attorneys, and state representatives. Our Texas rally will be a “cattle call” of our endorsed candidates!

RSVP HERE

★ ★ ★

Join Bernie 2020 co-chair Nina Turner for Our Revolution Florida’s Election Rally as we organize to win a statewide $15 minimum wage ballot initiative and build down-ballot progressive power in Florida!

JOIN US!

★ ★ ★

Our Revolution DC is organizing to win a progressive takeover of the City Council. Join us and our slate of nationally endorsed candidates for our GOTV Rally in the nation’s capital!

RSVP HERE

★ ★ ★

Our Revolution New Jersey’s GOTV Call will feature Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Bernie 2020 Political Director Analilia Mejia, and advocates fighting to legalize marijuana

in the Garden State!

RSVP HERE!

★ ★ ★

PHONEBANK TO WIN! Between now and November 3rd, We are calling every day across the country to defeat Trump, flip the Senate, and support our nationally-endorsed candidates up and down the ballot.

JOIN THE FIGHT!

★ ★ ★

★ ★ ★

--

--

Our Revolution
Our Revolution

Written by Our Revolution

Our Revolution is dedicated to organizing a political revolution strong enough to challenge the structural forces that threaten our survival as a society.

No responses yet