Tag Archives: republicans

We knew this day was coming — Yesterday, the co-chairs of the Deficit Commission declared war on Social Security.

And it’s not just Social Security they’re going after. They’re declaring war on Medicare, the National Park Service and PBS, too.

Well, the Deficit Commission doesn’t speak for me — or the vast majority of Americans — and Congress needs to know it. Join me today and sign our pledge to Congress rejecting the Deficit Commission’s right-wing attacks on Social Security.

Add your name now

The Co-Chairs of the Commission released their proposal today. One member of the commission referred to the plan as “a good start”. It’s our job to make sure they know it’s Dead on Arrival. Here’s a quick sample of just some of what they’re calling for:

Cut Social Security benefits
Raise the retirement age
Cut funding to the National Park Service
Cut funding to PBS

When we say that the Deficit Commission doesn’t speak for the vast majority of Americans, we have the numbers to back it up.

On Election Day, Democracy for America polled voters nationwide and when asked about Social Security only four percent supported making cuts to Social Security. Over half support eliminating the Social Security tax cap for income over $106,000 a year and 31 percent said they wouldn’t change anything at all.

Let me say that again so Congress gets the message — We polled the exact same people who voted to put Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives and 85 percent of voters don’t want any cuts to Social Security.

This might be the only thing that 85 percent of Americans can agree on. Help make sure Congress gets the message.

Call on Congress to reject the Deficit Commission’s recommendations now.

When we asked DFA members what we needed to work on after the election, the answer was loud and clear — Stand up for Social Security. And we are.

Join us today and tell Congress to reject the Deficit Commission.

-Arshad

Arshad Hasan, Executive Director
Democracy for America

P.S. You can check the full results of our SurveyUSA 2010 Election Day poll here.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

End secret election spending now

11/10/2010 Nativegrl77

“It’s time to end secret corporate political spending. Secret contributions hurt our democracy. Pass the DISCLOSE Act before the end of the year.”

Sign the petition

Spending on this year’s election didn’t just break records, it obliterated them. $4 billion in total.¹

In the wake of Citizens United, corporations like ExxonMobil and AIG can give hundreds of millions of dollars to a shadowy front group to swing an election. And they can do so in 100% secrecy.

Imagine how this election could have changed if voters knew which corporations were supporting Republican candidates with anonymous attack ads against Democrats.

Earlier this year Congress nearly passed a bill—the DISCLOSE Act—that would force front groups to let voters know which corporations and CEOs are funding their political attacks.

The bill came up short because some Republican senators said they didn’t want to pass the common sense measure until after the election.² Now that the election is over we have an opportunity to pass this bill, but it won’t happen unless we push hard on Congress to act before the end of the year.

Click here to tell Congress to pass the DISCLOSE Act and end secret political spending:

http://pol.moveon.org/discloseact?id=25122-9640874-Z.3dHpx&t=3

This bill won’t get corporate money out of politics, but if we know that a company is trying to buy an election, we can shame them and we can hold them accountable. We did it successfully with Target earlier this year when state laws forced the retailer to disclose that it had made a large donation to a far-right candidate for governor in Minnesota. MoveOn members and others launched a nationwide boycott that brand analysts said reduced Target’s favorable reputation by a third among customers in just ten days.³

We also know that disclosure can have a major effect in elections. In California this year, giant oil companies backed a ballot measure to repeal the state’s groundbreaking climate change law. But they couldn’t secretly funnel their money through front groups and voters overwhelmingly rejected the initiative in part because every ad has to mention the oil companies funding it by name.

The DISCLOSE Act isn’t perfect but it will at least let us follow the money. We still need to keep working to pass stronger legislation and overturn Citizens United, but ending the ability of corporations to buy elections in secret is an important and fundamental step for our democracy.

Please, click here to tell Congress to pass DISCLOSE before the end of the year:

http://pol.moveon.org/discloseact?id=25122-9640874-Z.3dHpx&t=4

Thanks for all you do.

–Ilyse, Robin, Laura, Tim, and the rest of the team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

RE: Recount Alerts: Eight Outstanding

11/10/2010 Nativegrl77

Midnight tonight marks a critical milestone in our unwavering campaign to move America forward.

That’s the deadline for sending urgently needed financial resources to the field to support eight Democrats in races that remain too close to call. The most important thing you can do right now to ensure we win these battleground races is help us raise the remaining $43,627 we need by tonight’s Voter Protection deadline.

In the early morning hours after Election Day, we sent staff and legal teams to help these members locked in battles but they need urgent resources to keep up the fight.

Contribute $5, $10 or more before Midnight Tonight to our Voter Protection efforts to help keep up the fight.

I know I’ve asked a lot of you already. But what happens in these eight campaigns has enormous implications for the future. Having more Democrats in Congress will not only give us a head start on returning to the Majority in 2012, but it will also affect our ability to oppose the Republicans‘ radical plans for rolling back health care reform, dismantling the Department of Education and privatizing Social Security and Medicare.

Contribute $5, $10 or more before Midnight Tonight to our Voter Protection efforts to help keep up the fight.

Time and time again, you have refused to have your voices silenced by the special interests. Now we must reaffirm our commitment to ensure every vote is counted fairly and accurately.

Thank you,

Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House

P.S. There are only hours left before tonight’s Midnight deadline to send out money to our voter protection efforts. Please stand with me to make sure Republicans don’t repeat the questionable tactics they used in Florida in 2000. We need these eight Democrats in Congress. Contribute before Midnight Tonight to our Voter Protection efforts to help keep up the fight.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

You Did Make a Difference

11/09/2010 Nativegrl77

Thank you for your incredible volunteer efforts throughout this campaign. Even though the media declared this election to be over months ago, you refused to give up. You fought hard until the very end — and I cannot thank you enough for all that you did.

There is no denying that your volunteer efforts still made a difference. It may be little solace right now, but without your efforts, the damage would have been significantly worse. It’s because of your phone calls and door knocks that many courageous Democrats won close races in battleground districts.

Update – Victory Declared in AZ-08!

On that note, it is my pleasure to share an update on one such race that was too close to call on Election Night — the race in AZ-08 has now been called for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She defeated one of the most extreme Republican candidates in America and it was her grassroots volunteers who made the difference.

That leaves approximately nine races which are now still too-close-to-call. But we are confident that when all the votes are counted, Democrats will win them all.

Thank you again for your amazing volunteer efforts in this campaign. You proved that no amount of special interest money can drown out the voices of grassroots Democrats.

Now is not the time to give up because we are disappointed or discouraged. As Chairman Van Hollen has said, “we may be bruised but our spirit will not be broken.”

Now is the time to remind ourselves that out of great adversity, great comebacks are born.

Jon Vogel
DCCC Executive Director

P.S. Our work in this campaign is not yet over. With approximately nine races that are still too close to call, we have lawyers and staff on the ground fighting hard for every vote and guarding against Republican dirty tricks. Please help us cover the cost of these expensive and important voter protection efforts so we can keep more Republican extremists out of Congress and be in a strong position to win back our House Majority in 2012.