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ayanna pressley
'Today, It's All on the Line': Progressives Mobilize Nationwide to Defeat Trump
"The right to an abortion is on the ballot. Healthcare is on the ballot. Social Security and Medicare are on the ballot," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren. "Our very democracy is on the ballot. Your vote doesn't just affect who becomes president—it affects every aspect of our lives."
Nov 05, 2024
Progressive activists, labor unions, and lawmakers who have organized for months against Republican nominee Donald Trump emphasized the enormous stakes of Tuesday's election for abortion rights, healthcare, the future of Gaza, the climate, and democracy itself as Americans cast their ballots in what's likely to be one of the highest-turnout elections in modern U.S. history.
"Today, it's all on the line," Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) said Tuesday morning, urging a vote for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. "We can make history and elect a president committed to making our lives easier and protecting our freedom and humanity. So vote for yourself, for your neighbor, and for our democracy."
"Vote for Kamala Harris like lives depend on it," Pressley added, "because they do."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has also endorsed Harris, similarly emphasized the election's potentially seismic impacts on major aspects of U.S. society, from reproductive freedom to the future of Social Security.
"The right to an abortion is on the ballot," Warren wrote on social media. "Healthcare is on the ballot. Social Security and Medicare are on the ballot. Our very democracy is on the ballot. Your vote doesn't just affect who becomes president—it affects every aspect of our lives. Please vote accordingly."
"All our work in this election has come down to one question, 'Which side are you on?'"
In the weeks leading up to Election Day, progressive organizations and labor unions such as the United Auto Workers and AFL-CIO phone-banked and knocked doors across the country in an effort to defeat Trump, a former president who has threatened to prosecute his political opponents, gut regulations for the benefit of planet-destroying fossil fuel companies, give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu free rein in the Middle East, allow states to implement the most draconian abortion bans, and deliver another round of tax cuts to the rich and large corporations.
The UAW said Tuesday that its members knocked on 250,000 doors in Michigan alone during the final stretch of the 2024 campaign in an effort to defeat the Republican nominee.
"When members hear directly from other members about what’s at stake, we break through and change minds," said UAW president Shawn Fain. "By engaging our members and highlighting the issues that matter—their paychecks, their families, and their futures—our union has been critical to defeating Trump and making sure working-class issues are at the forefront of this election."
"All our work in this election has come down to one question, 'Which side are you on?'" Fain added. "In this election, we made sure our members had the information they needed to cast their vote based on each candidate’s own words and action. For our union, the choice is clear: Harris stands with us and Trump is a scab."
Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party (WFP), wrote in a memo released on the eve of Election Day that his group's members knocked on 1.6 million voters' doors across Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, and other battleground states where Harris and Trump are polling neck-and-neck.
"Working people in this nation cannot afford another Trump presidency," Mitchell wrote, alluding to the Republican nominee's anti-worker policy record. "That's why the WFP ran the biggest national campaign we've ever built to defeat Trump and elect Harris, and we left everything on the field."
Abbas Alawieh, co-founder of the Uncommitted National Movement, said in an appearance on MSNBC Tuesday that he personally decided to vote for Harris despite his group's decision not to endorse her, pointing to the grave threat Trump poses to Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities.
A message from @AZAlawieh on Election Day. pic.twitter.com/enoJNZ8oCv
— Uncommitted National Movement 🌺 (@uncommittedmvmt) November 5, 2024
"He has never espoused a pro-peace policy," Alawieh said of Trump during Tuesday's interview. "He has been a purveyor of militarized violence against our communities."
"We're under no illusion that there's a president who's going to come in and wave a magic wand and change the policy," added Alawieh, referring to U.S. military support for Israel. "I'm looking at what are the conditions that are going to exist for our anti-war movement after this. Donald Trump intends on making it a lot harder for us to advocate for Palestinian human rights and against war."
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House Dems Demand Heritage Leader Come Clean on Project 2025's Secret 180-Day Plan
"It is time to stop hiding the ball on what we are concerned could very well be the most radical, extreme, and dangerous parts of Project 2025."
Aug 06, 2024
Dozens of House Democrats on Tuesday called on the president of the Heritage Foundation to disclose the details of Project 2025's so-called "Fourth Pillar," a section of the far-right agenda that has been kept under wraps as Republican nominee Donald Trump attempts—unconvincingly—to distance himself from the unpopular project.
In a letter to Roberts, Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and 36 other congressional Democrats highlighted the "glaring problem" that Project 2025's Fourth Pillar "remains shrouded in secrecy" despite organizers' pledge to be "an open book" about their agenda.
"You have conspicuously declined to publish or disclose any of the prioritized early actions that we believe would obviously be the most important parts of Project 2025," the Democrats wrote. "The immediate executive orders, emergency declarations, presidential directives, and other measures are likely to have profound impacts on the American people and their government. Therefore, we believe it is overwhelmingly in the public interest for you to actually keep your 'open book' promise by disclosing the 'Fourth Pillar' of Project 2025, and we hope you'll consider explaining why, unlike the first three pillars, you have been keeping it secret for so long."
"If the published part of your 'second American revolution' is so extreme that it has alarmed millions of Americans, including many conservatives, what additional controversy are you worried about?"
The lawmakers urged Roberts, who recently suggested bloodshed could follow if the left refuses to capitulate to Trump and his far-right movement, to meet with members of Congress on Capitol Hill to discuss the Fourth Pillar and other elements of the Project 2025 agenda.
"You have intimated that the reason for keeping this 'Fourth Pillar' of Project 2025 secret is that it is too controversial for the public to see. With all due respect, if the published part of your 'second American revolution' is so extreme that it has alarmed millions of Americans, including many conservatives, what additional controversy are you worried about?" the House Democrats asked. "It is time to stop hiding the ball on what we are concerned could very well be the most radical, extreme, and dangerous parts of Project 2025."
Project 2025's website provides a brief summary characterizing the Fourth Pillar as "our 180-day Transition Playbook" that "includes a comprehensive, concrete transition plan for each federal agency."
Spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 was crafted with the help of around 110 conservative groups and at least 140 former Trump administration officials, and its authors have released a 922-page agenda outlining their sweeping plans to gut worker protections and climate regulations, accelerate Medicare privatization, abolish the Department of Education, and much more.
Survey data shows the project, which has become a focal point for Democrats ahead of the November election, has become increasingly unpopular as more and more Americans are informed about its far-right policy proposals.
In June, as Common Dreamsreported, Huffman and other congressional Democrats launched the Stop Project 2025 Task Force in an attempt to counter "this right-wing plot to undermine democracy."
"We need a coordinated strategy to save America and stop this coup before it's too late," Huffman said at the time.
Trump, meanwhile, recently claimed he knows "nothing" about Project 2025, a statement one of his former advisers called "totally false."
One of the key architects of Project 2025, Russell Vought, served as head of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump and is "likely in line for high-ranking post" if the former president wins another White House term, according toThe Associated Press. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), Trump's running mate, praised Roberts in what The Guardiancharacterized as a "glowing forward" to the Heritage Foundation president's soon-to-be-published book.
Despite public efforts by the Trump campaign to distance itself from Project 2025—and vice versa—analysts at Center for American Progress Action noted last week that there is significant "overlap" between Project 2025 and Trump's 2024 campaign platform.
"In fact, President Trump already attempted to implement key policy components of Project 2025 during his first term, with varying degrees of success," the analysis wrote. "Project 2025 was designed to remove the guardrails that prevented President Trump from enacting his baser instincts and priorities in his first term."
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Progressives in Congress Back Harris as Small Donations Mount
"Kamala Harris will defeat Donald Trump not only because she offers a stronger economic vision, but because she will defend the fundamental rights and freedoms that MAGA Republicans are attacking across the nation."
Jul 22, 2024
Several progressive members of Congress and organizations have endorsed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris since President Joe Biden on Sunday exited the contest and expressed his support for her becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.
Three of the four original "Squad" members—Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) swiftly backed the vice president to face former Republican President Donald Trump and his newly announced running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), in November.
"Kamala Harris will be the next president of the United States. I pledge my full support to ensure her victory in November," said Ocasio-Cortez, who had sounded the alarm about some Democrats' calls for Biden to step aside after his disastrous debate.
"Now more than ever, it is crucial that our party and country swiftly unite to defeat Donald Trump and the threat to American democracy," the congresswoman added. "Let's get to work."
Omar shared a pair of photos of her and the vice president on social media and said, "Thrilled to support Kamala Harris as our Democratic nominee and remain committed to working alongside her to defeat Donald Trump in November."
In addition to also posting a photo with Harris, Pressley spoke of her support for the vice president on MSNBC.
Unlike her colleagues, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian American in Congress and a leading critic of U.S. complicity in Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip, called for an open process at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois next month.
As The Detroit Newsreported:
Tlaib, who never endorsed Biden for president, in her statement said she looks forward to engaging with Harris as she tries to "inspire" the Democratic base in her district, saying she hopes this year's convention "makes the candidates move with their base."
"We are in unprecedented times but the demands of our constituents and people across the country remain the same: They want a president and government that is focused on saving lives, giving people the ability to thrive, and valuing the humanity of one another over bombs," Tlaib said.
"I support a transparent democratic process at an open convention next month, and hope there is a fair vote on the resolution at the DNC that calls for an arms embargo to stop the Israeli government's war crimes."
Rep. Jamaal Bowman's (D-N.Y.) criticism of the Israeli war made him a top target of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which helped Westchester County Executive George Latimer defeat the congressman in a democratic primary last month.
Although he is leaving Washington, D.C. at the end of his term, Bowman still weighed in on Harris, calling her "the most qualified and best choice to lead us forward."
Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who is facing an AIPAC-backed candidate in her primary next month, was the first Squad member to endorse Harris on Sunday, issuing a lengthy statement that said in part: "When we say trust Black women, we mean it. Black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party and it is past time for us to lead our country forward. Kamala Harris is more than ready to lead at this moment."
"As we look forward to November, it is clear to me that Vice President Kamala Harris has the vision to carry this legacy forward, defeat Donald Trump, and I unequivocally endorse her for president of the United States," added Bush. Harris would be the first Black and Asian woman on a major U.S. party presidential ticket.
Fellow Squad member Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) also quickly backed Harris, saying: "We have no time to waste—what's at stake for communities like mine isn't abstract. We need to unify and move forward to defeat Trump and fascism in November. That's why I endorse and encourage unity behind Vice President Kamala Harris."
Harris also has support from Reps. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.), and Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) as well as the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) political action committee, which is co-chaired by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
The three lawmakers all individually endorsed her and said in a joint statement:
A critical partner in the legislative wins of the last four years, Vice President Harris has demonstrated her ability to deliver on the urgent issues facing working people and marginalized communities. Under her leadership, this country has created a record number of jobs, boosted investments in housing and education, increased access to capital for underserved communities, erased medical debt, and forgiven more student loan debt than any administration in history. She has worked tirelessly to demonstrate her commitment to creating an economy in which every person has the freedom to thrive, traveling the country nonstop to hear directly from impacted communities.
Kamala Harris will defeat Donald Trump not only because she offers a stronger economic vision, but because she will defend the fundamental rights and freedoms that MAGA Republicans are attacking across the nation. As Republicans plot a right-wing takeover of our government with Project 2025, Kamala Harris is standing up for our nation's highest values of freedom, justice, and equality for all.
Other CPC leaders backing Harris include Democratic Reps. Greg Casar (Texas), Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), and Barbara Lee (Calif.).
So far, more than 150 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and over 30 in the Senate—including Democratic Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Alex Padilla (Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), and Ron Wyden (Ore.)—have come out in support of Harris, according to a Newsweek tracker.
Notably missing from that list is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2000 and was in favor of Biden remaining in the race. After the president's Sunday announcement, Sanders released a short statement thanking him for his service.
Groups that have endorsed Harris include the American Federation of Teachers, End Citizens United, Gen-Z for Change, Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible, MoveOn, People's Action, Reproductive Freedom for All, Service Employees International Union, and United Farm Workers.
As of 9:00 pm ET Sunday, "grassroots supporters have raised $46.7 million through ActBlue following Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign launch," the Democratic fundraising platform said on social media. "This has been the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle. Small-dollar donors are fired up and ready to take on this election."
Some deep-pocketed donors, including hedge fund billionaire George Soros and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, are also behind Harris, according toForbes. The outlet reported that the Biden-Harris—which amended its Federal Election Commission paperwork on Sunday—has $91 million.
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