Grassroots Power is Insurgent!
Last week, over 300,000 people joined our RNC week organizing calls! We laid-out our 4 point plan to fight for a progressive future, through election day and beyond. We must beat Trump by organizing to win back working class voters in the Midwest; We need to elect more progressives to Congress and flip — and fix — the Senate; We need build a down-ballot bench to win progressive policies locally that can be models nationally; and we need to organize a powerful movement to fight for change both inside the halls of power and outside on the streets.
READ MORE ABOUT OUR 4 POINT PLAN BELOW!
★ ★ ★
#1 — We must go all-out to defeat Donald Trump by winning back the working class in the Midwest.
★ ★ ★
Last week, Our Revolution rolled-out our “Pivot County Campaign” to win back working class voters in swing areas who supported Obama-Biden in 2012 but then flipped to Trump in 2016. In Northeast Ohio, Chuckie Dennison — founder of Our Revolution Mahoning Valley and former GM Lordstown worker — plans to organize his members to make calls and knock on doors to drive home the message that Trump didn’t lift a finger to stop GM from shuttering its plant and laying off 5000 workers. “This used to be a union stronghold, but Trump won here because he said ‘auto industry jobs are coming back.’ He lied and we’re going to hold him accountable.”
★ ★ ★
Our Wisconsin Revolution is focused on flipping back 23 pivot counties — like Kenosha County — that voted twice for Obama but switched to Trump in 2016. On this week’s Monday Leaders Call, OWR organizer Andre Walton shared our local strategy: “Trump is stoking the fires of the culture war because he wants to distract from his policy failures. He promised to bring back manufacturing jobs, fix trade, give everyone healthcare. We are going to focus on his broken promises and show that he’s a fraud. Wisconsinites will be sympathetic to that message and turn out to vote him out.”
★ ★ ★
PENNSYLVANIA ACTIVISTS! Join us on Tuesday, September 15th at 7:30 PM ET for a strategy session on how we can organize to defeat Trump in the Keystone State. We will discuss ways to get involved and help dump Trump!
★ ★ ★
Help Our Revolution win-back working class voters in key battleground states!
★ ★ ★
#2 — We must elect more progressives to the US House & flip — and fix — the Senate to advance policies like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.
★ ★ ★
Our Revolution Massachusetts members across the country made tens of thousands of voter contacts to help Sen. Ed Markey beat Joe Kennedy in the primary! We took on the entire well-funded corporate establishment who lined up behind Kennedy, including a rare endorsement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi which demonstrated the hypocrisy of the DCCC blacklist policy. Senator Markey recognizes the urgency of a Green New Deal and has partnered with AOC to support it in the Senate. His victory is a big step forward in our plan to build a progressive Congress and change Senate rules like the filibuster that stifle our democracy.
★ ★ ★
The Hill covered Our Revolution’s pre-election organizing call with Sen. Markey — “A lot of times we are running insurgent campaigns to replace Democrats who don’t deliver on values and a progressive agenda, and sometimes we gotta protect our own,” said Our Revolution field director Mike Oles on a call with Sen. Markey and the group’s members last week. “You are being challenged from the right,” he added. “We’re going to be with you every minute. Obviously the Kennedy name is big, but the grassroots progressive movement is bigger.”
★ ★ ★
Marquita Bradshaw, candidate for U.S. Senate, was the featured speaker on Our Revolution Tennessee’s Monthly Organizing Call. Marquita, an environmental justice organizer, beat a well-funded establishment pick in last month’s primary and is now focused on turning the Senate seat blue in November. “We’re here because of a lot of people’s hard work and commitment to organizing. We are in this together to make sure our children have a future of healthy and safe communities.”
★ ★ ★
Donate NOW to help us get Cori, Marie and other progressives over the finish line in November!
★ ★ ★
#3 — We must build a bench of down-ballot progressives to fight for change from the bottom up.
★ ★ ★
Our Revolution Ohio held its State Organizing Call this week featuring several down ballot candidates, including Charmaine McGuffey, who is running for Hamilton County Sheriff. A 33-year veteran of the Sheriff’s department, Charmaine turned around a jail ranked as the worst in Ohio into the best in just 3 years. “I spoke out about the wrongs I saw in our Sheriff’s department, including excessive use of force. Because of my willingness to speak out, I was fired by the current Sheriff. I recently beat him in a primary by 70 percent, and look forward to continuing to reform and improve the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department.”
★ ★ ★
Sarah Iannarone, candidate for Mayor of Portland, OR joined our Monday Night Leaders Call to discuss the struggles that city residents are facing and the importance of electing a truly progressive mayor. “ We need to stop wasteful spending of municipal budgets, make sure the law is applied equally to all,” she said. “We are seeing a lot of prejudice, discrimination, inequality and oppression and it is all undermining every good policy we are thinking about achieving in our city.”
★ ★ ★
Help us build a bench of progressive candidates and policies up and down the ballot!
★ ★ ★
#4 — We need a movement on the streets and inside the halls of power to win progressive change.
★ ★ ★
Our Revolution Maryland’s State Organizing Meeting featured House of Delegates member & Our Revolution local leader Sheila Ruth who talked about what’s at stake for our movement on November 3rd. “The way I see it, we can spend another exhausting 4 years in the streets trying to stop Trump from destroying everything we care about — the Post Office, election integrity, clean air, clean water, public education, immigrant families, Blafck Lives — with very little hope of success. Or we can spend 4 years in the streets pushing Biden and Congress on our priorities, and maybe making some progress. I know which one I prefer, and it isn’t Trump.”
READ SHEILA’S FULL REMARKS HERE
★ ★ ★
Hundreds of Our Revolution members stood with post office workers last week to support their fight to #SaveThePostOffice. Mark Dimondstein, President of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) joined our national organizing call last week and thanked our members for supporting their efforts. If you haven’t yet, you show your support by clicking on the link!
★ ★ ★
Not only are we organizing on the streets, we’re also organizing inside the halls of power as Politico recently noted. “The fear among some progressives is that Biden’s relationships and penchant for compromise may serve to water down the Democratic agenda. Larry Cohen, the former Communications Workers of America president who now chairs the Bernie Sanders-aligned group Our Revolution, said the inclusion of progressives on Biden’s transition team is ‘the reason I’m hopeful’ about a Biden administration. “
★ ★ ★
Our Revolution Ohio’s State Organizing Meeting featured longtime progressive champion Dennis Kucinich — former Congressman, Cleveland mayor, and presidential candidate. “Our Revolution has had a tremendous impact. It’s helping to move cities, counties, states, and the country in the direction of real social and economic progress, and giving candidates the extra boost they need to win. This is critical to winning Medicare For All.”
★ ★ ★
OUR 4th ANNIVERSARY! In 2016, Bernie launched Our Revolution, and today our movement is stronger than ever — a majority of Americans support Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, we’ve elected more than 500 progressive champions up and down the ballot, and we’ve organized a national network of grassroots groups all across the USA.
★ ★ ★
Our Revolution HQ is doubling down, organizing across the country to make change at the local, state and national levels.
★ ★ ★
THIS WEEK’S FEATURED ORGANIZING MEETINGS!
Our Illinois Revolution will be discussing the “Fair Tax for Illinois” proposal, an amendment to the state constitution to make sure the rich pay their fair share in taxes.
★ ★ ★
It’s budget season in The Garden State, and there are big revenue holes. Our Revolution New Jersey will be gathering to prepare for a fight to win equitable tax policies.
★ ★ ★
Our Revolution South Carolina’s State Organizing Meeting will feature locally-endorsed candidates and experts on how we can stand with women and support the issues that matter most to them in the Palmetto State.
★ ★ ★
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 US!
★ ★ ★
WORKSHOP WEDNESDAYS! Join us Wednesday, September 9th at 3pm ET for a session on “Running Successful Distributed Actions.” We’ll provide you with a template which sets out the various steps to take to organize a winning event in your area. This includes how to request t-shirts and posters, live streaming tips and techniques, and ways to publicize your event in order to maximize turnout and exposure.
