SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A news reporter standing in front of teachers holding protest signs at the School Board Administration Building in Miami. (Photo: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Policies That Center Community Voices Are Key to Solving the Local-News Crisis
The future of local news is too important to be left to market forces, and the media conglomerates that got us into the local-news crisis aren't going to get us out of it.
Sep 28, 2022
Over the past 15 years, the United States has lost more than half the newspaper reporters covering state and local beats. Runaway media consolidation, mismanagement, new technologies and changing consumer habits have led to widespread job losses and newsroom closings. The decimation of local news has disproportionately harmed low-income communities, people of color, rural communities, and immigrants. And as news deserts expand, disinformation proliferating online has filled the void.
The news crisis is prompting lawmakers at the local, state and federal levels to examine how to use public policy to keep communities informed. But some proposals, like the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act--while framed as helping journalists--do little to address the structural issues underpinning this crisis. Instead, they're driven by corporate lobbyists focused on bailing out big commercial media and driving support to predatory hedge funds.
The most promising solutions look at how public dollars can be used to meet community-information needs, cultivate new models for journalism and address the widening gaps resulting from the destruction of local commercial media.
Most recently, California appeared poised to pass legislation that would have established a $25-million local journalism fund to better inform communities and support both local and ethnic media. The state Senate approved the bill in May--but it failed to move forward in the Assembly after the lobby representing some of the state's largest legacy corporate media outlets mounted a campaign filled with half-truths and scare tactics.
Fortunately, legislators were able to direct that $25 million to a new publicly-funded statewide journalism fellowship based at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. While this was a welcome development, the death of the original bill in the Assembly is a stark reminder that powerful media players will do whatever it takes to protect their bottom line and market dominance--even if it harms the communities they're supposed to serve. And it points to the need for strong grassroots organizing to counteract this kind of underhanded lobbying.
A state-level solution to the crisis in local journalism
As a new case study shows, that kind of organizing proved crucial in New Jersey, which in 2018 created the Civic Information Consortium. This independent nonprofit invests public funds in community-centered projects designed to strengthen local journalism, expand access to news and boost civic engagement. A grassroots coalition led by Free Press Action and made up of journalists, local organizers, artists, students, universities, and media-makers built public support for the idea and counteracted the opposition of New Jersey's incumbent media.
The creation of the consortium marked the very first time a state had taken this kind of action to address the local-news crisis. The nonprofit is a joint initiative of five of the state's leading public higher-education institutions and is governed by an independent board.
Since 2021, the consortium has invested $1.35 million in initiatives like the Newark News and Story Collaborative, which is training community members to produce news that fills local information gaps, and Cosecha, which is working with Rutgers to create a radio show serving the state's Spanish-speaking immigrants. Thanks to the consortium's success, New Jersey's FY2023 budget includes $3 million in funds for the organization--an increased investment that will help the nonprofit better address the expansion of news deserts in the state.
While there were distinctions between the public grantmaking ideas in California and New Jersey--and certainly unique political conditions--it's clear that the grassroots effort in New Jersey made a crucial difference. Public pressure showed New Jersey lawmakers that their constituents wanted action, and it helped challenge the power of the state's media lobby, which used both its political connections and the platform of legacy news outlets to rail against the legislation.
Early on, some New Jersey lawmakers expressed skepticism that any of their constituents would care about efforts to fund better local news. Our experience showed otherwise: that people will take action to keep their communities informed--but only if you invest in them, listen to their concerns and demonstrate solidarity.
Engaging communities first
The effort to create the consortium grew out of listening sessions that Free Press Action held in New Jersey beginning in 2015. Sandwiched between the New York and Philadelphia media markets, New Jersey receives little-to-no local coverage of its state and municipal governments. During Free Press Action's forums, community members expressed the desire for journalism that would tell stories that matter, create positive change and address local problems like racial injustice, economic distress, and struggling schools.
Free Press Action launched the Civic Info Bill campaign by hosting events throughout New Jersey and building grassroots support for legislative action. The organization emphasized that funding should focus on fulfilling local information needs, not on saving news outlets or journalists' jobs. That was the key message that got everyday people engaged and willing to support the initiative. Residents' stories about how their communities had suffered from years of media consolidation and harmful coverage pushed lawmakers to take notice.
Thousands of people from around the state signed petitions, took part in community forums, called lawmakers and visited legislative district offices. Residents took part in two successful lobby days at the statehouse, and by May 2018, the bill had 20 co-sponsors--half of whom had met with constituents. The bill passed the legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, and was signed into law in August 2018. While funding hiccups initially delayed the consortium from providing grants, now that it's up and running, it's serving as a potential model for other states.
The future of local news is too important to be left to market forces, and the media conglomerates that got us into the local-news crisis aren't going to get us out of it. Any decisions about the future of local journalism must serve the needs of diverse communities--instead of relying on the systems that have failed us.
The stakes couldn't be higher for the future of our communities--and our democracy. That's why we need more people-powered campaigns like the one behind the Civic Info Bill. We need bold solutions to give people access to the news and information they deserve.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Amy Kroin
Amy Kroin is the editor at Free Press and Free Press Action. She is co-author, with Mike Rispoli and Kevin Davis, of the case study New Jersey's Civic Information Bill: The Story of the Campaign to Transform Local Media.
Mike Rispoli
Mike Rispoli is the senior director of journalism policy at Free Press. He is co-author, with Amy Kroin and Kevin Davis, of the case study New Jersey's Civic Information Bill: The Story of the Campaign to Transform Local Media.
Over the past 15 years, the United States has lost more than half the newspaper reporters covering state and local beats. Runaway media consolidation, mismanagement, new technologies and changing consumer habits have led to widespread job losses and newsroom closings. The decimation of local news has disproportionately harmed low-income communities, people of color, rural communities, and immigrants. And as news deserts expand, disinformation proliferating online has filled the void.
The news crisis is prompting lawmakers at the local, state and federal levels to examine how to use public policy to keep communities informed. But some proposals, like the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act--while framed as helping journalists--do little to address the structural issues underpinning this crisis. Instead, they're driven by corporate lobbyists focused on bailing out big commercial media and driving support to predatory hedge funds.
The most promising solutions look at how public dollars can be used to meet community-information needs, cultivate new models for journalism and address the widening gaps resulting from the destruction of local commercial media.
Most recently, California appeared poised to pass legislation that would have established a $25-million local journalism fund to better inform communities and support both local and ethnic media. The state Senate approved the bill in May--but it failed to move forward in the Assembly after the lobby representing some of the state's largest legacy corporate media outlets mounted a campaign filled with half-truths and scare tactics.
Fortunately, legislators were able to direct that $25 million to a new publicly-funded statewide journalism fellowship based at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. While this was a welcome development, the death of the original bill in the Assembly is a stark reminder that powerful media players will do whatever it takes to protect their bottom line and market dominance--even if it harms the communities they're supposed to serve. And it points to the need for strong grassroots organizing to counteract this kind of underhanded lobbying.
A state-level solution to the crisis in local journalism
As a new case study shows, that kind of organizing proved crucial in New Jersey, which in 2018 created the Civic Information Consortium. This independent nonprofit invests public funds in community-centered projects designed to strengthen local journalism, expand access to news and boost civic engagement. A grassroots coalition led by Free Press Action and made up of journalists, local organizers, artists, students, universities, and media-makers built public support for the idea and counteracted the opposition of New Jersey's incumbent media.
The creation of the consortium marked the very first time a state had taken this kind of action to address the local-news crisis. The nonprofit is a joint initiative of five of the state's leading public higher-education institutions and is governed by an independent board.
Since 2021, the consortium has invested $1.35 million in initiatives like the Newark News and Story Collaborative, which is training community members to produce news that fills local information gaps, and Cosecha, which is working with Rutgers to create a radio show serving the state's Spanish-speaking immigrants. Thanks to the consortium's success, New Jersey's FY2023 budget includes $3 million in funds for the organization--an increased investment that will help the nonprofit better address the expansion of news deserts in the state.
While there were distinctions between the public grantmaking ideas in California and New Jersey--and certainly unique political conditions--it's clear that the grassroots effort in New Jersey made a crucial difference. Public pressure showed New Jersey lawmakers that their constituents wanted action, and it helped challenge the power of the state's media lobby, which used both its political connections and the platform of legacy news outlets to rail against the legislation.
Early on, some New Jersey lawmakers expressed skepticism that any of their constituents would care about efforts to fund better local news. Our experience showed otherwise: that people will take action to keep their communities informed--but only if you invest in them, listen to their concerns and demonstrate solidarity.
Engaging communities first
The effort to create the consortium grew out of listening sessions that Free Press Action held in New Jersey beginning in 2015. Sandwiched between the New York and Philadelphia media markets, New Jersey receives little-to-no local coverage of its state and municipal governments. During Free Press Action's forums, community members expressed the desire for journalism that would tell stories that matter, create positive change and address local problems like racial injustice, economic distress, and struggling schools.
Free Press Action launched the Civic Info Bill campaign by hosting events throughout New Jersey and building grassroots support for legislative action. The organization emphasized that funding should focus on fulfilling local information needs, not on saving news outlets or journalists' jobs. That was the key message that got everyday people engaged and willing to support the initiative. Residents' stories about how their communities had suffered from years of media consolidation and harmful coverage pushed lawmakers to take notice.
Thousands of people from around the state signed petitions, took part in community forums, called lawmakers and visited legislative district offices. Residents took part in two successful lobby days at the statehouse, and by May 2018, the bill had 20 co-sponsors--half of whom had met with constituents. The bill passed the legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, and was signed into law in August 2018. While funding hiccups initially delayed the consortium from providing grants, now that it's up and running, it's serving as a potential model for other states.
The future of local news is too important to be left to market forces, and the media conglomerates that got us into the local-news crisis aren't going to get us out of it. Any decisions about the future of local journalism must serve the needs of diverse communities--instead of relying on the systems that have failed us.
The stakes couldn't be higher for the future of our communities--and our democracy. That's why we need more people-powered campaigns like the one behind the Civic Info Bill. We need bold solutions to give people access to the news and information they deserve.
Amy Kroin
Amy Kroin is the editor at Free Press and Free Press Action. She is co-author, with Mike Rispoli and Kevin Davis, of the case study New Jersey's Civic Information Bill: The Story of the Campaign to Transform Local Media.
Mike Rispoli
Mike Rispoli is the senior director of journalism policy at Free Press. He is co-author, with Amy Kroin and Kevin Davis, of the case study New Jersey's Civic Information Bill: The Story of the Campaign to Transform Local Media.
Over the past 15 years, the United States has lost more than half the newspaper reporters covering state and local beats. Runaway media consolidation, mismanagement, new technologies and changing consumer habits have led to widespread job losses and newsroom closings. The decimation of local news has disproportionately harmed low-income communities, people of color, rural communities, and immigrants. And as news deserts expand, disinformation proliferating online has filled the void.
The news crisis is prompting lawmakers at the local, state and federal levels to examine how to use public policy to keep communities informed. But some proposals, like the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act--while framed as helping journalists--do little to address the structural issues underpinning this crisis. Instead, they're driven by corporate lobbyists focused on bailing out big commercial media and driving support to predatory hedge funds.
The most promising solutions look at how public dollars can be used to meet community-information needs, cultivate new models for journalism and address the widening gaps resulting from the destruction of local commercial media.
Most recently, California appeared poised to pass legislation that would have established a $25-million local journalism fund to better inform communities and support both local and ethnic media. The state Senate approved the bill in May--but it failed to move forward in the Assembly after the lobby representing some of the state's largest legacy corporate media outlets mounted a campaign filled with half-truths and scare tactics.
Fortunately, legislators were able to direct that $25 million to a new publicly-funded statewide journalism fellowship based at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. While this was a welcome development, the death of the original bill in the Assembly is a stark reminder that powerful media players will do whatever it takes to protect their bottom line and market dominance--even if it harms the communities they're supposed to serve. And it points to the need for strong grassroots organizing to counteract this kind of underhanded lobbying.
A state-level solution to the crisis in local journalism
As a new case study shows, that kind of organizing proved crucial in New Jersey, which in 2018 created the Civic Information Consortium. This independent nonprofit invests public funds in community-centered projects designed to strengthen local journalism, expand access to news and boost civic engagement. A grassroots coalition led by Free Press Action and made up of journalists, local organizers, artists, students, universities, and media-makers built public support for the idea and counteracted the opposition of New Jersey's incumbent media.
The creation of the consortium marked the very first time a state had taken this kind of action to address the local-news crisis. The nonprofit is a joint initiative of five of the state's leading public higher-education institutions and is governed by an independent board.
Since 2021, the consortium has invested $1.35 million in initiatives like the Newark News and Story Collaborative, which is training community members to produce news that fills local information gaps, and Cosecha, which is working with Rutgers to create a radio show serving the state's Spanish-speaking immigrants. Thanks to the consortium's success, New Jersey's FY2023 budget includes $3 million in funds for the organization--an increased investment that will help the nonprofit better address the expansion of news deserts in the state.
While there were distinctions between the public grantmaking ideas in California and New Jersey--and certainly unique political conditions--it's clear that the grassroots effort in New Jersey made a crucial difference. Public pressure showed New Jersey lawmakers that their constituents wanted action, and it helped challenge the power of the state's media lobby, which used both its political connections and the platform of legacy news outlets to rail against the legislation.
Early on, some New Jersey lawmakers expressed skepticism that any of their constituents would care about efforts to fund better local news. Our experience showed otherwise: that people will take action to keep their communities informed--but only if you invest in them, listen to their concerns and demonstrate solidarity.
Engaging communities first
The effort to create the consortium grew out of listening sessions that Free Press Action held in New Jersey beginning in 2015. Sandwiched between the New York and Philadelphia media markets, New Jersey receives little-to-no local coverage of its state and municipal governments. During Free Press Action's forums, community members expressed the desire for journalism that would tell stories that matter, create positive change and address local problems like racial injustice, economic distress, and struggling schools.
Free Press Action launched the Civic Info Bill campaign by hosting events throughout New Jersey and building grassroots support for legislative action. The organization emphasized that funding should focus on fulfilling local information needs, not on saving news outlets or journalists' jobs. That was the key message that got everyday people engaged and willing to support the initiative. Residents' stories about how their communities had suffered from years of media consolidation and harmful coverage pushed lawmakers to take notice.
Thousands of people from around the state signed petitions, took part in community forums, called lawmakers and visited legislative district offices. Residents took part in two successful lobby days at the statehouse, and by May 2018, the bill had 20 co-sponsors--half of whom had met with constituents. The bill passed the legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, and was signed into law in August 2018. While funding hiccups initially delayed the consortium from providing grants, now that it's up and running, it's serving as a potential model for other states.
The future of local news is too important to be left to market forces, and the media conglomerates that got us into the local-news crisis aren't going to get us out of it. Any decisions about the future of local journalism must serve the needs of diverse communities--instead of relying on the systems that have failed us.
The stakes couldn't be higher for the future of our communities--and our democracy. That's why we need more people-powered campaigns like the one behind the Civic Info Bill. We need bold solutions to give people access to the news and information they deserve.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
LATEST NEWS
'Totally Lawless': Judge Orders Trump to Return Man Sent to El Salvador Prison in 'Error'
"This was an illegal act," said U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis.
Apr 06, 2025
A federal court judge on Sunday declared the Trump administration's refusal to return a man they sent to an El Salvadoran prison in "error" as "totally lawless" behavior and ordered the Department of Homeland Security to repatriate the man, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, within 24 hours.
In a 22-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis doubled down on an order issued Friday, which Department of Justice lawyers representing the administration said was an affront to his executive authority.
"This was an illegal act," Xinis said of DHS Secretary Krisi Noem's attack on Abrego Garcia's rights, including his deportation and imprisonment.
"Defendants seized Abrego Garcia without any lawful authority; held him in three separate domestic detention centers without legal basis; failed to present him to any immigration judge or officer; and forcibly transported him to El Salvador in direct contravention of [immigration law]," the decision states.
Once imprisoned in El Salvador, the order continues, "U.S. officials secured his detention in a facility that, by design, deprives its detainees of adequate food, water, and shelter, fosters routine violence; and places him with his persecutors."
Trump's DOJ appealed Friday's order to 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Virginia, but that court has not yet ruled on the request to stay the order from Xinis, which says Abrego Garcia should be returned to the United States no later than Monday.
Trump Escalates 'Illegal' and 'Immoral' Push for IRS Data to Fuel Mass Deportations
"You'd be a fool to think Trump won't go after others he dislikes," warned Sen. Ron Wyden, "including American citizens."
Apr 06, 2025
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon slammed the Trump administration over the weekend in response to fresh reporting that the Department of Homeland Security has intensified its push for access to confidential data held by the Internal Revenue Service—part of a sweeping effort to target immigrant workers who pay into the U.S. tax system yet get little or nothing in return.
Wyden denounced the effort, which had the fingerprints of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, all over it.
"What Trump and Musk's henchmen are doing by weaponizing taxpayer data is illegal, this abuse of the immigrant community is a moral atrocity, and you'd be a fool to think Trump won't go after others he dislikes, including American citizens," said Wyden, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, on Saturday.
Last week, the White House admitted one of the men it has sent to a prison in El Salvador was detained and deported in schackles in "error." Despite the admitted mistake, and facing a lawsuit for his immediate return, the Trump administration says a federal court has no authority over the president to make such an order.
"Even though the Trump administration claims it's focused on undocumented immigrants, it's obvious that they do not care when they make mistakes and ruin the lives of legal residents and American citizens in the process," Wyden continued. "A repressive scheme on the scale of what they're talking about at the IRS would lead to hundreds if not thousands of those horrific mistakes, and the people who are disappeared as a result may never be returned to their families."
According to the Washington Post reporting on Saturday:
Federal immigration officials are seeking to locate up to 7 million people suspected of being in the United States unlawfully by accessing confidential tax data at the Internal Revenue Service, according to six people familiar with the request, a dramatic escalation in how the Trump administration aims to use the tax system to detain and deport immigrants.
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security had previously sought the IRS’s help in finding 700,000 people who are subject to final removal orders, and they had asked the IRS to use closely guarded taxpayer data systems to provide names and addresses.
As the Post notes, it would be highly unusual, and quite possibly unlawful, for the IRS to share such confidential data. "Normally," the newspaper reports, "personal tax information—even an individual's name and address—is considered confidential and closely guarded within the IRS."
Wyden warned that those who violate the law by disclosing personal tax data face the risk of civil sanction or even prosecution.
"While Trump's sycophants and the DOGE boys may be a lost cause," Wyden said, "IRS personnel need to think long and hard about whether they want to be a part of an effort to round up innocent people and send them to be locked away in foreign torture prisons."
"I'm sure Trump has promised pardons to the people who will commit crimes in the process of abusing legally-protected taxpayer data, but violations of taxpayer privacy laws carry hefty civil penalties too, and Trump cannot pardon anybody out from under those," he said. "I'm going to demand answers from the acting IRS commissioner immediately about this outrageous abuse of the agency.”
With US Now a 'Pseudo-Democracy,' Sanders Says Democrats Have to Answer One Key Question
"I think that the Democratic Party has to make a fundamental decision," says the independent Senator from Vermont, "and I'm not sure that they will make the right decision."
Apr 06, 2025
"I think when we talk about America is a democracy, I think we should rephrase it, call it a 'pseudo-democracy.'"
That's what Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Sunday morning in response to questions from CBS News about the state of the nation, with President Donald Trump gutting the federal government from head to toe, challenging constitutional norms, allowing his cabinet of billionaires to run key agencies they philosophically want to destroy, and empowering Elon Musk—the world's richest person—to run roughshod over public education, undermine healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and attack Social Security.
Taking a weekend away from his ongoing "Fight Oligarchy" tour, which has drawn record crowds in both right-leaning and left-leaning regions of the country over recent weeks, Sanders said the problem is deeply entrenched now in the nation's political system—and both major parties have a lot to answer for.
"One of the other concerns when I talk about oligarchy," Sanders explained to journalist Robert Acosta, "it's not just massive income and wealth inequality. It's not just the power of the billionaire class. These guys, led by Musk—and as a result of this disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision—have now allowed billionaires essentially to own our political process. So, I think when we talk about America is a democracy, I think we should rephrase it, call it a 'pseudo-democracy.' And it's not just Musk and the Republicans; it's billionaires in the Democratic Party as well."
Sanders said that while he's been out on the road in various places, what he perceives—from Americans of all stripes—is a shared sense of dread and frustration.
"I think I'm seeing fear, and I'm seeing anger," he said. "Sixty percent of our people are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Media doesn't talk about it. We don't talk about it enough here in Congress."
In a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Friday night, just before the Republican-controlled chamber was able to pass a sweeping spending resolution that will lay waste to vital programs like Medicaid and food assistance to needy families so that billionaires and the ultra-rich can enjoy even more tax giveaways, Sanders said, "What we have is a budget proposal in front of us that makes bad situations much worse and does virtually nothing to protect the needs of working families."
LIVE: I'm on the floor now talking about Trump's totally absurd budget.
They got it exactly backwards. No tax cuts for billionaires by cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for Americans. https://t.co/ULB2KosOSJ
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 4, 2025
What the GOP spending plan does do, he added, "is reward wealthy campaign contributors by providing over $1 trillion in tax breaks for the top one percent."
"I wish my Republican friends the best of luck when they go home—if they dare to hold town hall meetings—and explain to their constituents why they think, at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, it's a great idea to give tax breaks to billionaires and cut Medicaid, education, and other programs that working class families desperately need."
On Saturday, millions of people took to the street in coordinated protests against the Trump administration's attack on government, the economy, and democracy itself.
Voiced at many of the rallies was also a frustration with the failure of the Democrats to stand up to Trump and offer an alternative vision for what the nation can be. In his CBS News interview, Sanders said the key question Democrats need to be asking is the one too many people in Washington, D.C. tend to avoid.
"Why are [the Democrats] held in so low esteem?" That's the question that needs asking, he said.
"Why has the working class in this country largely turned away from them? And what do you have to do to recapture that working class? Do you think working people are voting for Trump because he wants to give massive tax breaks to billionaires and cut Social Security and Medicare? I don't think so. It's because people say, 'I am hurting. Democratic Party has talked a good game for years. They haven't done anything.' So, I think that the Democratic Party has to make a fundamental decision, and I'm not sure that they will make the right decision, which side are they on? [Will] they continue to hustle large campaign contributions from very, very wealthy people, or do they stand with the working class?"
The next leg of Sanders' "Fight Oligarchy' tour will kick off next Saturday, with stops in California, Utah, and Idaho over four days.
"The American people, whether they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents, do not want billionaires to control our government or buy our elections," said Sanders. "That is why I will be visiting Republican-held districts all over the Western United States. When we are organized and fight back, we can defeat oligarchy."
Most Popular
We cover the issues the corporate media never will.
Please support our journalism.