John Nichols: US Needs 3 Constitutional Amendments to Save Our Democracy (video)

One hundred years ago, at the dawn of the last American Progressive Era, the United States was a very different place– a place of inequality, discrimination, and wealth disparity, author and historian John Nichols (above) told a gathering of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) in June.

Although slavery had been abolished in 1865 (#13), the rights of citizens were established in 1868 (#14), and the right to vote for all men was established in 1870 (#15), the majority of Americans could not vote.

At the turn of the last century, women and adults 18-21 years of age were barred from voting, and because of racist, state-level machinations and poll taxes, many African Americans and poor Americans of any color also were kept from voting. In addition, citizens didn’t have representation in the US Senate, since Senators were chosen by robber barons in back room deals (not elected by the people).

This sounds all too familiar, doesn’t it? Are Republicans trying to take our country back to 1900? Consider these current scenarios:

• The passage of voter suppression laws in Arizona and at the state level nationwide,
• Today’s supreme court decision striking down the formula that guides the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
• Ownership of the US Senate, the House of Representatives, and most state legislatures by the military-industrial complex and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC),
• The ongoing war on women and minorities.

Grijalva Street Heat Event a Success!

Approximately 25 people came to Congressman Raul Grijalva's office to celebrate Medicare's birthday and to thank Grijalva for his progressive votes in the US House of Representatives.

Joined by Grijalva's staff, we sang "Happy Birthday" to Medicare (in honor of its 48th birthday) and ate cupcakes. It was also a productive rally, since we collected signatures to stop voter suppression in Arizona.

More photos after the jump.

PDA Street Heat: Prosperity Not Austerity Rally at Raul's

Progressives in Congress and across the country are fighting the tide of right wing extremism on multiple fronts-- from food stamps to cuts in Social Security to stalled immigration reform to anti-woman legislation to austerity for the middle class, while the wealthy live high on the hog.

Congressman Raul Grijalva has been at the forefront of the progressive movement in Congress. As another budget battle heats up in the House of Representatives, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) want to thank our stalwarts like Grijalva, and at the same time want to celebrate Medicare's 48th birthday.

This rally at Grijalva's office  is part of a nationwide action at multiple Congressional offices by PDA and National Nurses United (NNU). The event is 10:30 a.m.-12 noon at the old YWCA (738 N. 5th Ave.)

At some locations-- like Congressman Ron Barber's-- PDA members will do letter drops urging Congressional representatives to support certain bills or issues. This month the focus is on prosperity vs austerity, Medicare expansion, jobs, and progressive financial legislation like the Robin Hood Tax. (More details below.) At Grijalva's office and others, there will be street heat rallies, as there were last month when PDA members were protesting cuts to food stamps nationwide and helped stop the Farm Bill. Read the July letter to Congress after the jump.

Progressives Battle Against Cuts to Food Stamps, Social Programs

Recent weeks have been a wild ride in politics, and progressives nationwide have been in the thick of the political battles-- particularly the fight to preserve food stamps and other social safety net programs.

In June, progressives  personally delivered 225 letters to Congressional representatives and staged street heat rallies in from of high profile offices to pressure Democrats to vote against the Farm Bill that includes cuts to food stamps and school lunches (while raising subsidies to agribusiness). In Arizona, PDA members delivered letters urging members to vote against any Farm Bill that would include food stamp cuts.

Here are some blog posts that tell how this unfolded in the streets and in the halls of Congress.

Poverty by the Numbers Report Reveals a Cruel Nation

Misplaced Congressional Priorities: Pork for the Pentagon but Not for Children

Can You Live on $4.50/day? 20 Congressional Leaders, Staff Join Food Stamp Challenge

Obama Opposes Food Stamp Cuts, Threatens Veto of Farm Bill

Street Heat: Progressives Protest Against Food Stamp Cuts Nationwide

Breaking News: Farm Bill Defeated 234-195, AZ Dems Split How Progressives Stopped the Farm Bill

Although we won this skirmish, Republicans are seeking to separate food assistance from the Farm Bill-- which would make it easier to cut or kill them. Hunger is real in America. We must work to save food stamps, school lunches, and other War on Poverty programs

How Progressives Stopped the Farm Bill

When Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) rallied its membership and asked them to take to the streets, their computers, and their telephones to oppose food stamp cuts in the farm bill, stopping the multi-year, behemoth looked bleak.

Both versions of the bill had cuts to food stamps and school lunches; the House of Representatives version, which was defeated on Thursday, had $20 billion in cuts to food stamps + increased subsidies to agribusiness, and the Senate version has $4 billion in cuts. This is immoral– feeding the military industrial complex but not the children.

PDA mobilized nationally to stop this– and it worked– for now. PDA members hand-delivered 225 letters to Congressional members (text here) and held Street Heat rallies at six offices nationwide. Above, Jim Hannley of PDA Tucson delivers a letter to Congressman Ron Barber's office. PDA members statewide delivered letters to all Arizona Congressional representatives.

For the details of the mobilization, check out this story on Tucson-Progressive.com here.

Obama Opposes Food Stamp Cuts, Threatens Veto of Farm Bill

President Barack Obama has issued an official statement saying that he opposes the current form of HR1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (AKA the Farm Bill).

Specifically, he opposes the deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP– food stamps) and the spending increases in the form of subsidies. Cutting food subsidies (in the form of food stamps) to the poor while increasing subsidies to agribusiness is immoral. (You’ll remember that, in public, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is all “we gotta tighten out belts and reduce spending”, but in reality, they love spending money on pet projects– like war and corporate welfare. They passed the $640 Billion Pentagon Pork Bill last week. )

Will Obama’s statement and threatened veto give weak-kneed Blue Dog Democrats the back-up to stand up for what’s right? I hope so. (The House of Representatives is still working on this bill; there is still time to call your representative and urge him/her to preserve funding for food stamps.)

The President’s full statement is after the jump. This story was originally published on Tucson-Progressive.com.

Street Heat: Progressives Protest Against Food Stamp Cuts Nationwide

For weeks, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) has been turning up the heat on Congressional Democrats in an effort to stop the proposed $20 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, AKA food stamps).

On Monday, June 17, PDA members nationwide protested athigh-profile Congressional officesfrom California to Florida to Illinois to Massachusetts.  (Above, PDA members-- including Advisory Board Chair Mimi Kennedy-- protest outside of Congressman Henry Waxman's office in Southern California. More photos of nationwide protest here.) 

PDA activists demonstrated at the offices of influential members of Congress, like Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. Here is the list:

• Rep Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader, CA-12: (415) 556-4862
• Rep Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, DNC Chair, FL-23 954-437-3936
• Rep Steny Hoyer, House Minority Whip, MD-05 (301) 474-0119
• Rep Henry Waxman CA-33 310-652-3095
• Rep Richard Neal, MA-05 (413) 785-0325

On Wednesday, June 19, PDA members visited the offices of more than 200 members of Congress and urged them to vote against the food stamp cuts. In Arizona,PDA activists delivered letters to the offices of Ron Barber, Ann Kirkpatrick, and Kyrsten Sinema.

View PDA's letter Congress and related links after the jump.