Tag Archives: election

Economy: Republican Jobs Plan …


UNDER THE RADAR

ECONOMY — REPUBLICAN JOBS PLAN IS JUST A $10 TRILLION GIVEAWAY TO CORPORATIONS AND THE RICH: Despite their best efforts to avoid discussing any policy agenda whatsoever, some Republicans have recently been touting their ability to come up with “positive solution after positive solution” on job creation and the federal deficit. They point to their “new” House Republican Study Committee approved plan — the Economic Freedom Act of 2010 — as proof of that claim. The problem is that the plan is neither new nor a solution: it “is actually a huge doubling down on the Bush agenda of budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations that won’t effectively create jobs.” A new analysis from the Center for American Progress Action Fund and Citizens for Tax Justice finds that the plan would add close to $7 trillion in deficits over the next ten years. By completely eliminating capital gains taxes and reducing the corporate tax rate to 12.5 percent from 35 percent, along with other tax cuts to further enrich the wealthy, 61.5 percent of the tax benefits under the plan would go to the richest one percent of households in 2012. Further, “under the plan, the average middle-class taxpayer receives a tax cut of $467. The average taxpayer in the richest one percent (with an average income of $1.4 million) receives a tax cut of $157,500.” Despite Republican claims to the contrary, the evidence is clear: tax cuts for the wealthy “fail to spur economic growth.” Instead, their jobs plan leaves the economy in the worst possible position: with both ballooning deficits and extremely inefficient, anemic job growth.

UPDATE: Elizabeth Warren …from Boldprogressives.org


Al Franken released a strong statement supporting Elizabeth Warren!

Call Sens. Murray and Cantwell and ask them to join the Franken Statement


MSNBC featured our Elizabeth Warren petition yesterday!

PCCC Warren Petition on MSNBC

Progressive talk show host Cenk Uygur is guest hosting the 3pm EST hour of MSNBC all this week! He featured our Warren actions yesterday — tune in today to help his ratings rise and show that the public wants strong progressive voices on the air.

The Washington Post, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal have all reported on our petition with Credo Action supporting Elizabeth Warren to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — and we hit 200,000 signers!

Our momentum really impressed Senator Franken from Minnesota – so much that he’s released a statement supporting Warren for the job and he’s working with us to ask his colleagues to sign on.

Can you call Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and ask them if they will sign on to Franken’s statement? Click here to make a call.

So far, our public pressure has taken us from 6 to 63 House members endorsing Warren publicly and led the White House to issue this game-changing statement:

Robert Gibbs, Obama spokesman: “I would say Elizabeth Warren is a terrific candidate. I don’t think any criticism in any way by anybody would disqualify her. I think she’s very confirmable for this job.”

Now let’s prove them right.

Can you call Sens. Murray and Cantwell and ask them to sign on to the Franken statement supporting Warren – and prove she’s confirmable?

Click here for a script and the number.

Every Senator that signs puts more pressure on the White House to appoint Warren. And it helps us keep the media focused on the issue, leading to more coverage like this:

Washington Post: The PCCC “helped Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) organize a letter calling on President Obama to nominate Elizabeth Warren to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau…the group helped Maloney’s letter attract more than 60 members of Congress as co-signers.”
New York Post: “The PCCC has fetched more than 200,000 signatures in support of a Warren nomination in the past week.”

Can you take a minute to call Sens. Murray and Cantwell and ask them to sign the Franken statement?

Thanks for being a bold progressive,

–Julia Rosen and the PCCC team

Don’t let the FCC cave on net neutrality.



Make a call today
take action now

We can’t allow Chairman Genachowski to cut a backroom deal that would eviscerate net neutrality.

take action

Right now, the FCC is convening closed-door meetings with a few massive corporations to cut a deal to eviscerate net neutrality protections.

This is deplorable. FCC Chair Julius Genachowski has pledged to protect an open Internet. He has all the authority he needs to take action to protect American consumers, and he has the backing of Barack Obama and the Democratic leadership of the House and Senate to stand up for net neutrality. The only thing Genachowski seems to lack is the will to actually do so.

Call him today and tell him not cave on net neutrality.

The deal under consideration would let broadband providers build priority access reserved only for the largest companies that can afford to pay the toll. AT&T and Comcast would be allowed to favor their own video services, voice applications and social media. Verizon would be allowed to insulate itself from competition by upstart innovators that want to show consumers how things can be done better and more cheaply.

A free and open Internet is an important part of 21st Century democracy. We can’t let the Information Superhighway turn into a toll road simply because the Chair of the FCC doesn’t want to ruffle the feathers of the telecom industry.

Call Genachowski today and tell him not to cave on net neutrality. Let’s give him the spine to end the backroom deal-making that endangers the Internet’s future, and live up to his promises to protect the public.

Click here for the number to call and a sample script.

Thank you for working to preserve a free and open Internet.

Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

Target is feeling the heat — call them now!


Thanks so much for telling Target that you won’t shop there unless they stop trying to buy elections. Over 175,000 people signed on so far, a new Facebook group calling for a boycott has almost 32,000 members, and media outlets from NPR to the Huffington Post are covering the story. Your voice is being heard!
But we’re not done yet. Target’s CEO wrote an email to company employees where he tried to justify taking advantage of the Citizens United ruling and using company money to buy elections. He said the donation was made for “business objectives such as job creation and economic growth.”1

Clearly, Target hasn’t gotten the message: Whatever the reason, trying to buy an election is unacceptable. And especially when the candidate you’re supporting is a right-winger who actively threatens many of Target’s customers’ values!
Target must be thinking that they can ride out this wave of public outrage—that it’ll blow over if they just ignore us. We can’t let that happen—Target, and companies across the country watching this case, need to understand how serious this is to customers and voters nationwide. So we’re aiming to turn up the heat TODAY by flooding their phones with calls from outraged customers.

Can you take a moment right now to call Target? Just speak from the heart and tell them why you’re not shopping there until they apologize and promise not to buy an election ever again. You don’t need to be an expert on Target, or on Tom Emmer’s candidacy, to speak your mind.
Here’s the number to call:
(612) 304-6073
(Press 1 until you get to speak to a “customer relations” representative. You’ll hear a recording directing you to their website, just stay on the line.)
Please click here to share how your call went once you’ve done it:
If they say that you’re the first call today, don’t believe ’em! They’ve set up a special phone line to take these kinds of calls. And the more they hear from us, the more they’ll understand the gravity of what they’ve done.
Let’s make those phones ring off the hook.
Thanks for all you do.

–Ilyse, Robin, Anna, Mari, and the rest of the team

P.S. If you’re on Facebook, check out and join the Boycott Target group: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89742&id=22261-9640874-scYHlox&t=2

Source:

1. “Target CEO defends donating to anti-gay gubernatorial candidate—Boycott gains momentum,” Ann Arbor Examiner, July 30, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89744&id=22261-9640874-scYHlox&t=3

Federal judge declares Prop. 8 unconstitutional!


Human Rights Campaign


BREAKING NEWS:

Federal judge declares Prop. 8 unconstitutional!

The two loving couples who were plaintiffs in this case deserve our gratitude.

Today we moved a step closer to full equality.

After the first-ever federal trial on whether it’s legal to ban same-sex couples from marrying, the district court ruled that Proposition 8 violated the U.S. Constitution.

This court’s ruling will undoubtedly be appealed, so our struggle is far from over. But it was a tremendous step forward for equality and a critical win.

The two courageous couples who acted as plaintiffs in this suit opened up their lives to months of public scrutiny and helped bring about this victory, fighting alongside the legal team of Ted Olson, David Boies and the American Foundation for Equal Rights. They deserve our gratitude. Will you take a moment to thank them?

Here is another way to get involved. Today, people in cities across the country will be gathering for peaceful “Day of Decision” rallies to take advantage of this moment and show the broad support for marriage equality among both LGBT and straight Americans. Find out if there’s a rally near you.

This case was a landmark. Over the course of the months-long trial, the plaintiffs introduced substantial testimony and evidence to finally show that Prop. 8 had discriminatory motivations – and that same-sex couples are entitled to equal rights. Because this is a district court decision and will most likely be appealed, it may not have an immediate effect on marriage bans in California or any other states. Nonetheless, it’s a significant moment. It’s a vindication of the grassroots work we’ve done across the country to give every loving couple the same rights – and a shot of momentum to continue that work.

The trial also showed that the other side remains as ferocious as ever. Not content with simply defending Prop. 8, they tried to persuade the judge to stop California state agencies from recognizing the marriages of the 18,000 same-sex couples who tied the knot in the months before Prop. 8 passed.

So without question, the forces of bigotry will appeal this ruling. After the Court of Appeals, this case could very well end up before the highest court in the land – just another reason we must fight to get fair-minded judges like Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court.

We know we will prevail in the end. Because we are on the right side of history and the law. Because public opinion is increasingly in our favor. Because even conservatives like Ted Olson – who argued for the George W. Bush side in Bush v. Gore – share a passion for this cause.

But it will take more sacrifice and more grueling hard work. It will take more people like you standing up for what you believe – and more heroes like the plaintiffs in this case refusing to accept second-class status.

Thanks for your continued support on this defining issue.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese
Joe Solmonese
President