The Land Of The Free: An American Political Roleplay (IC)

[The Democratic Marxists]

Abby Winthrop
@SenWinthrop

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I just introduced the United States National Health Program Act to legislate the progressive vision of Medicare for All. I intend to push for hearings about the bill and debate it on the Senate floor. #MedicareforAll #USNationalHealthProgram

[Puertollano]

(Image)
Abby Winthrop
@SenWinthrop

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I just introduced the United States National Health Program Act to legislate the progressive vision of Medicare for All. I intend to push for hearings about the bill and debate it on the Senate floor. #MedicareforAll #USNationalHealthProgram

Levi Murphy @LeviMurphy Proud to co-sponsor this bill. Universal healthcare is the future of this nation.

[Dentali]

CNN Interview
01/24/2019
Senator Tim Westra

Allen: Good Evening, the 2020 race has officially kicked off with the entry of Senators Levi Murphy and Tim Westra into the democratic primary. Tonight we are joined by Senator Westra to discuss his run and his vision for the country. Senator thank you for joining us.

Westra: Thanks for having me.

Allen: Lets get right to it, you published the first major policy proposal of any 2020 candidate regarding trade. Why do you believe trade reform is so important?

Westra: We need a new trade policy that creates decent-paying jobs in America and ends the global race to the bottom. For the past few decades, the status quo has been Corporate America throwing American workers out on the street while they outsource our jobs and enjoy record-breaking profits. Despite the president’s tough rhetoric and haphazard tariffs, under Wolf, we now have a record-breaking $890 billion annual trade deficit in goods. And since Wolf was elected, multinational corporations have shipped almost 185,000 American jobs overseas.
That is unacceptable.

From a humane standpoint, we have to ensure that every American job is secure for the sake of all working families. We can no longer only consider the needs of corporate shareholders; our workers have families to support, too.

Allen: How do you respond to those who say the trade deficit isn't the best way to look at trade, that it isn't a great measure for the economic impact of trade on the country?

Westra: So, it’s not inherently a problem for a country to have a trade deficit. But in the post-recession context, spending that could have employed people who needed jobs in the U.S. was instead employing people in Germany, China, and other countries from which America imports goods and services.

So trade deficits, even in times of strong growth, have negative, concentrated impacts on the quantity and quality of jobs in parts of the country where manufacturing employment diminishes. Even the economists who argue (incorrectly, I believe) that the trade deficit doesn’t affect the total number of jobs do admit that it affects the composition of jobs. Specific parts of the country are hurting, and it’s past time to change our strategy.

Allen: We have also heard similar concerns regarding automation... automation taking jobs, McDonalds has been heavily looking into kiosks that could replace a great deal of workers. How big a threat is automation compared to trade?

Westra: I'm extremely concerned about the impact of automation on the entire American workforce. It's been estimated by several studies that by 2055, half of today's work activities could be automated. That would be devastating for American workers as well as the government. We'd be losing about $2.7 trillion in revenue for public spending if workers lose their jobs to automation.

We need to have a sturdy safeguard against automation. Number one, we have to discourage big businesses from automating away a mass number of jobs. Our tax code is virtually encouraging automation simply because the vast majority of tax revenues are now derived from labor income, so firms avoid taxes by eliminating employees. I would start a new agency to determine whether a company is employing automation instead of workers, and then those "robots" would be taxed. A robot tax.

Second, we need to improve the employment social safety net. I'm a big advocate for a Federal Jobs Guarantee. We'd give grants to several zones in America to offer workers a government job with a living wage. There is a lot of work to be done in this country, including heavy infrastructure development and green manufacturing. We should be able to put displaced individuals to work.

Finally, I'd want to institute a firm Guaranteed Minimum Income to protect workers who lose their jobs. This could take the form of doubling the Earned Income Tax Credit, which would increase worker savings so that if they lose their job, they have backup to make good investments in vocational training or other ventures.

Allen: Besides the Automation or Robot tax what measures would you take to increase revenue? These policies aren't cheap

Westra: We're in the process of developing many new tax policy proposals to level the playing field for workers. The team is working on a wealth tax for ultra-millionaires. I just introduced policy in Congress to impose a fee on big corporations with workers who live in poverty. I support a tax on excessive lobbying. I back a carbon tax. We're also developing a proposal to tax corporate profits. All said and done, these new taxation initiatives would raise the trillions that we need to fund new social programs for the American worker.

Allen: A tax on excessive lobbying? Can you elaborate on that a bit?

Westra: It's a pretty simple idea. Every corporate organization that spends over $500,000 per year lobbying our government will be taxed. This tax will reduce the incentive for excessive lobbying, and raise money that we can use to fight back against this kind of onslaught when it occurs. Under the proposal, companies that spend between $500,000 and $1 million per year on lobbying, calculated on a quarterly basis, will pay a 35% tax on those expenditures. For every dollar above $1 million spent on lobbying, the rate will increase to 60% — and for every dollar above $5 million, it will increase to 75%.

This will mostly impact Big Tech and other powerful corporations that spend unbelievable amounts per year bribing Congress to do them favors.

Allen: Do you believe money is a form of speech?

Westra: Money is not speech and corporations are not people. It’s time we end legalized corruption in America.

Allen: Any other electoral reforms you would implement?

Westra: Getting big money out of politics is central to my campaign, and you’ll see more proposals to deal with that including an idea called democracy dollars that puts power in the hands of the grassroots. It’s why I support ranked choice voting, so that we can take apart the tyrannical two party system and eliminate the concern of voting for spoiler candidates in elections. It’s why I support lowering the voting age to 17; if you’re old enough to serve in the military, you’re old enough to select your leaders. It’s all about returning power to the people.

Allen: Lets talk about the military for a second, I think its easy to say our foreign policy for the past 20 years has been dominated by wars in the middle east. What do you see as the future of US involvement in the region? Will you commit to withdraw of military forces?

Westra: It’s time for an end to endless war. Our military involvement in the Middle East has ended up creating more problems than we’ve solved. The war we have waged has hurt civilians and has only created more radicalization. As my good friend Senator Abby Winthrop likes to put it, if we want to see an end to terrorism, we have to stop engaging in it.

I’m committing to a withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan by the end of my first year in office. I’ll also release a plan in my first term for strategic withdrawal in Syria, except from parts of Northern Syria where our Kurdish allies are. Finally, I’ll reach out historic hostiles like Russia and North Korea, and will fully commit to denuclearization. A world without war is worth it, and allows us to spend those dollars on our working families her at home.

Allen: What is the military experts come to you and say "Mr President, we can't withdraw it will lead to resurgences of ISIS and Al Quaeda"? Isn't that the fear?

Westra: Our mission should be to defeat Al Quaeda and ISIL, not to engage in endless regime change wars. Kurdish fighters in Northern Syria helped us to quell the terrorist threat. That’s why I’m committing to maintaining a troop presence in Northern Syria until we develop a strategy that leads to lasting peace without abandoning our Kurdish allies.

But understand this: the rest of the war in Syria that we’re engaging in is not about fighting terror. It’s about regime change, and supporting rebel groups whose motives we know nothing about. We don’t know whether we are arming groups that are slowly becoming radicalized. We saw this in Libya, and Iraq. Assad is a terrible dictator, but we don’t know if we are opening Pandora’s Box by trying to remove him.

Allen: Al Quaeda is still around, and they haven't surrendered. We have been attempting to negotiate a settlement with them but thus far have come up wanting. Should we be unable to negotiate a peace deal would you still commit to withdraw?

Westra: I would not commit to full withdrawal should that be the case. Al Quaeda attacked us on September 11th, and it is the job of Commander in Chief to stay engaged in matters of National Security. However, we must keep in mind that any prolonged involvement can lead to further radicalization.

Allen: Lets move on to what most of the democratic party lists as their number 1 issue… Healthcare. What is the path forward on healthcare for our country? Do you support Medicare for All or some other system?

Westra: Health care is a basic human right – and my campaign is all about the fight for basic human rights. I won’t stop fighting until everyone is covered and no one goes broke paying a medical bill or filling a prescription. I've been fighting for this since the 90's, and there's no reason I'll stop now.

The meaning of Medicare for All is vague – I did not know what the exact specifics of a Medicare for All plan was until now. I have read the most recent legislation put forward by Senator Winthrop, the United States Nation Health Program Act, which is a single-payer plan that she claims is the ideal Medicare for All bill.

I vehemently agree that Medicare for All is the end goal. I also acknowledge that there are many ways of getting there. Something the bill has left open for presidential candidates to discuss is their plan for phasing in the national healthcare system. I would take an approach that has been called "Medicare for America" by several think tanks.

Under Medicare for America, employer-based insurance, which covers half of all Americans including countless union members, would be preserved, though workers would have the option of leaving their work plan to join the new Medicare program. There would be no premiums or copayments for enrollees below 200% of the poverty line. Cost sharing would be based on a sliding scale of income.

Over a five year timeline, however, Medicare for America would likely cover most and perhaps all Americans under a single government plan. The uninsured and people on Medicaid or Obamacare would be automatically moved into the new public coverage right upon its introduction, and newborns would be enrolled instantly in the plan as well.

We envision that, after that five year period, we will have established a smooth path to single payer healthcare in America.

Allen: How much would this program cost and how much would you raise taxes to achieve it?

Westra: The plan for a public option would actually reduce annual healthcare spending per capita because we'd be eliminating so many inefficient subsidies. All of our tax proposals, plus a corporate tax rate increase and the little revenue we raise from an exit tax, would be enough to pay for it.

There's another option we're considering to pay for our plans. Many current economists argue for a popular new economic theory known as Modern Monetary Theory. I won't get into details, but the basic idea is that deficits don't matter as much as we think we do because countries have the ability to basically borrow from themselves; after all, the government has a monopoly on currency. We have all the money we need to ensure a basic standard of living is created for every American worker.

Allen: Current estimates on Medicare for all say it will effectively double our budget. Will you raise taxes on the middle class?

Westra: It's likely it would. But studies have shown that even a slight middle class tax raise to pay for healthcare would save 95% of America money, because they'd be paying so much less than the premiums and copays they're paying right now.

I don't think payment for single payer is even what's up for debate right now. I'm calling to establish a public option first, which will most certainly not require a middle class tax hike, and will pay for itself through it's system of premiums and the abolishment of unsustainable healthcare subsidies.

Allen: I want to circle back to Modern Monetary Theory for a second... I can't think of a single mainstream economist that supports the theory... on either side of the aisle. Are you really saying we shouldn't worry about our debt?

Westra: Again, I have not endorsed the theory in its entirety, I said its something we should be open to considering. It's a matter worth dedicating more research to so that we can understand how to pay for social programs and so that we can understand the full story of our national debt.

Allen: Income Inequality is another major issue for democrats. Do you believe your tax proposal will be sufficient to address it? Or do you have other plans?

Westra: Along with climate change, income inequality is the biggest threat to the functioning of our society in this age. As our country becomes more unequal, people become discontent. First they elect a demagogue. And that has led to structural damage in our democracy that can only be healed if we elect a president who understands the pain of working America.

My agenda is to make our society fairer by lifting up working families and spreading around our country's immensely concentrated success. My tax plan is only one way to do that. I also believe in empowering workers by allowing them to elect a portion of corporate boardrooms, and by giving workers a share in the stock of their employer. We have to enforce new standards for big business: you can't just work for profit anymore, you have to work for society as well.

Allen: Thats a fairly big step regarding regulation of private businesses, do you really feel such a major step is the only way forward?

Westra: It’s the best way forward and it’s the moral way forward. We have to democratize the economy.

Allen: I have time for one more question. Wolf ran on building a wall and ending illegal immigration, what measures would you take to reform our immigration system?

Westra: Our immigration laws are broken and cruel. I would prioritize a humane solution the humanitarian crisis at our border. I would reunite families and strengthen the asylum process.
At the same time, I don’t want to encourage illegal immigration. While Wolf did vastly lie to workers when he claimed the immigrants were stealing their jobs, it’s true that big corporations were hiring undocumented immigrants who were willing to work for less, as well as without a union. I want to prioritize American workers and jobs.

I’ll strengthen union laws to ensure that no job is occupied without a collective bargaining agreement. We’ll create a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants who live here, pay taxes here, raise families here, but don’t get the same right of citizenship that others have access to. Finally, I’ll reform guidelines for ICE to ensure that practices within the institution are humane and not draconian like it is right now.

Allen: Quick follow up, you want to ensure "no job is occupied without a collective bargaining agreement" what about for people who don't want to join a union?

Westra: They would not be forced to join unions. I think the idea is that we will make it easier for workers to unionize. I think I misphrased it. The fact is, it’s difficult for undocumented workers to unionize, and they should have that option in order to make it fairer for American workers.

Allen: Thank you for your time Senator

Westra: Thanks for having me. I hope that the Democratic Party unites around the progressive positions for workers that I’m advocating for. And, if they don’t, I’m ready for the fight.

[Fronket]

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Ben Little 2020 Exploratory Committee

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Columbia, South Carolina

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A fundraiser for Senator Little’s exploratory bid was being hosted in Columbia, SC, by an influential state Senator, Dick Harpwell, along with his wife, an executive at Pfizer. Several high profile guests were present at the fundraiser; lots of helpful federal lobbyists from several industries, including from companies like Monsanto, Chevron, SpaceX, Goldman Sachs, and others. A few local politicians and business leaders were also in attendance. The tickets for the fundraiser ranged from $1,000 to $2,800. Ben’s fundraising team and the hosts were expecting to raise about $200,000 tonight.

Ben walked around the nice house in Columbia. He got to converse with many interesting people. He spoke about opportunities in natural gas with a South Carolina based banker who was financing fracking projects in Texas. He clarified that he was liable to the environment first, although Ben did not believe that the scientific evidence was there to support the claim that fracking is harmful. He spoke with several SC lobbyists about his ideas related to subsidies for agribusiness. He laid out his vision to raise subsidies for scientific research in healthcare and space. While delivering his brief remarks, Ben pointed out that most drug companies weren’t bad, but there were bad apples in opioid companies making a killing off of overprescribing their drugs.

Ben clarified that there would be no more tax cuts for the people in attendance, and he would work to repeal most portions of the Wolf Tax Cuts. Most of the attendees were in agreement. He spent a few minutes talking about the existential threat of climate change, and the need to work with business to find a solution. Chevron lobbyists detailed what they were doing to tackle the climate crisis ad build a clean energy economy.

By the end of it all, Ben thanked his gracious hosts for holding such a wonderful event. He was informed soon after that they had managed to raise almost $262,000. A solid haul for an “exploratory committee”, although Ben had made it quite clear to all the guests that he was planning on officially jumping in relatively soon.

[Azekopolaltion]

Tim Westra
@WestraNJ

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Proud to announce that our 2020 presidential campaign raised just under $912,000 in online contributions in the first 24 hours of our candidacy. We’re not taking any corporate PAC money or lobbyist money. Donate at westra2020.com today. #Airborne #WeAreWorthy

[Puertollano]

Levi Murphy @LeviMurphy Reports of Sen Little courting elite business interests to fund his presidential campaign is disconcerting. As Democrats, we should be honest and reject all dark money from big corporations. As President, I would ban corporate donations by passing legislation and striking down citizens united. I would also prevent the DNC from accepting corporate donations.

[New Cobastheia]

(Image) Levi Murphy @LeviMurphy Reports of Sen Little courting elite business interests to fund his presidential campaign is disconcerting. As Democrats, we should be honest and reject all dark money from big corporations. As President, I would ban corporate donations by passing legislation and striking down citizens united. I would also prevent the DNC from accepting corporate donations. (Image)

Liked and Retweeted by @KathleenNez

[Fronket]

(Image) Levi Murphy @LeviMurphy Reports of Sen Little courting elite business interests to fund his presidential campaign is disconcerting. As Democrats, we should be honest and reject all dark money from big corporations. As President, I would ban corporate donations by passing legislation and striking down citizens united. I would also prevent the DNC from accepting corporate donations. (Image)

Senator Ben Little
@MarylandSen

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@LeviMurphy: I'm dedicated to overturning Citizen's United. I won't take any Super PAC money. Maybe Senator Murphy should actually start talking to all Americans, rather than only representing his ideology. I've represented the urban poor, the disenfranchised, and the racial minorities for a long time, first in Baltimore and then in all of MD.

Senator Ben Little
@MarylandSen

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I also know how to engage with the business community to see positive change for our country and our workers. We can't fight for what's right without engaging with business interests head-on. Maybe Levi should dedicate to learning more about the business community so that he can be educated and detailed when fighting for what's right, like I've been doing. #DeedsNotWords #CountryNotIdeology

Senator Ben Little
@MarylandSen

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And we should all be concerned that Senator Murphy is employing the Wolf tactic of bullying competitors willy-nilly without substance.

[Shah Rukh Khan]

Rep. Alejandro Nuñez
@Nunez4MA

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I've released a slew of policy proposals that we can push for if I'm in the Senate. Visit our website and donate today: nuñez4ma.com

[The Democratic Marxists]

(Image)
Rep. Alejandro Nuñez
@Nunez4MA

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I've released a slew of policy proposals that we can push for if I'm in the Senate. Visit our website and donate today: nuñez4ma.com

Abby Winthrop
@SenWinthrop

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@Nunez4MA Unfortunately, a "slew" of abstract proposals to tackle just four issues isn't enough. In the first few weeks of this session, I've introduced 7 pieces of progressive legislation on the climate crisis, labor and unemployment, and a concrete bill for single-payer quality healthcare in America. Support who gets it done, not who says it the most. #WinthropForWorker

[Dentali]

(Image)
Rep. Alejandro Nuñez
@Nunez4MA

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I've released a slew of policy proposals that we can push for if I'm in the Senate. Visit our website and donate today: nuñez4ma.com

Senator James Moore
@MichiganMoore

@Nunez4MA if you have good policy don't hold it hostage until you're in the Senate. Propose them in the house and prove yourself.

[Sarenium]

Jillian Dayton
@JillianDayton

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This week I intend to unveil an anti-gerrymandering bill in the Senate. Things have got to change, fairness has to be restored and for that to happen, partisan gerrymandering has got to go! #FairnessFirst

[Fronket]

Senator Ben Little
@MarylandSen

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Respectfully, a presidential campaign should not be about bribing the American people. Let's not make impossible promises like a federal jobs guarantee or free stuff for everyone. I know I'm talking about what will make a difference right now.

Senator Ben Little
@MarylandSen

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Baby bonds, expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, investing in our cities and heartland – all of this is what a president should fighting for. I want to see tangible outcomes based on data and history, not on ideological purity tests.

[Azekopolaltion]

Tim Westra
@WestraNJ

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Overturning Citizens United should be a top priority of any progressive Democrat, and I’m proud to support the congressional bill that deals with this. Our campaign has raised just over $1 million from over 40,000 small donors – no PACs, no lobbyists. Donate at westra2020.com today. #OverturnCitzensUnited #WeAreWorthy

[Puertollano]

Levi Murphy @LeviMurphy Let's not mince words: overturning Citizens United is great, but not enough. What we need is radical change to end the corruption, starting with a constitutional amendment to ensure money is not speech and ending with legislation to ban all Super PACs. This is how we end corruption and corporate control of our politics.

[Puertollano]

Levi Murphy @LeviMurphy Visit and join me at Levi2020.com - let's get a 2nd Bill of Rights passed.

[Imperial Esplanade]

(Image)
Tim Westra
@WestraNJ

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Overturning Citizens United should be a top priority of any progressive Democrat, and I’m proud to support the congressional bill that deals with this. Our campaign has raised just over $1 million from over 40,000 small donors – no PACs, no lobbyists. Donate at westra2020.com today. #OverturnCitzensUnited #WeAreWorthy

Liked by @EmilyDavenport

[Agarntrop]

Barry Anderson
@MissouriPeoplesSenator

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It seems the #SocialistDems who, whenever #TheWolfPack try to save the unborn, refer to a Supreme Court ruling, are now disrespecting the Supreme Court's ruling in #CitizensUnitedv.FEC! #DemHypocrites

[Alozia]

(Image)
Senator Ben Little
@MarylandSen

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Respectfully, a presidential campaign should not be about bribing the American people. Let's not make impossible promises like a federal jobs guarantee or free stuff for everyone. I know I'm talking about what will make a difference right now.

(Image)
Senator Ben Little
@MarylandSen

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Baby bonds, expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, investing in our cities and heartland – all of this is what a president should fighting for. I want to see tangible outcomes based on data and history, not on ideological purity tests.

Rep. Julia Piotrowska
@RepPiotrowska

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It is dissapointing to see an experienced legislator such as @MarylandSen fail to understand progressive policies.

Ideas such as Federal Jobs Guarantee or free healthcare/higher education are not "bribes" as the Senator would call it, but rather serious investments in the American people.

At a time when over 40 thousand people die annually due to lack of access to healthcare and hundreds of thousands of people go bankrupt every year, it is unfair - if not outright misleading - to call proposals such as Medicare for All a "bribe".

Rep. Julia Piotrowska
@RepPiotrowska

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Tuition-free university education, a proposal that would largely benefit minority youth all across the country, is not a bribe.

It is a policy that would help people, boost the economy and reduce income inequality.

Rep. Julia Piotrowska
@RepPiotrowska

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Moreover, these policies are not "impossible promises", as the Senator suggests, but rather achievable goals that he simply disagrees with.

I highly encourage the Senator to reconsider his approach to these issues.

[Sanabel]

Velez Twitter

Mike Veléz
@FloridaGov

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“I believe progressive policies are the future of our party and our nation, but Democratic presidential aspirants need to stop attacking one another. We are over a year away from the first caucus of the 2020 primary season, people. We need to take this energy and fight the Wolf admin’s destructive policies, not jockey for first place in a horse race that has not even started.”

[Dentali]

Velez Twitter

Mike Veléz
@FloridaGov

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“I believe progressive policies are the future of our party and our nation, but Democratic presidential aspirants need to stop attacking one another. We are over a year away from the first caucus of the 2020 primary season, people. We need to take this energy and fight the Wolf admin’s destructive policies, not jockey for first place in a horse race that has not even started.”

Liked and retweeted by @MichiganMoore

[Dentali]

Nathaniel Richardson
Washington, DC
01/25/2019



Founded in 1964 the American Conservative Union or ACU was the oldest Conservative Lobbying Group in the country they ran CPAC and were in general the gold standard for the Republican Party. Before he could run for President he had to kiss the ring.

ACU had also had Wolf’s back for the most part, despite on paper professing a love for Conservatism they were now more interested in supporting Republicans and Wolf specifically than supporting ideological purity something, privately at least, annoyed Richardson but there was no point in picking that fight. If the ACU could have a winner who was an ideological conservarive though, that would be the best of both worlds.

From his time in Congress Richardson had maintained a Conservativeness rating of over 85% every year and while they did not measure governors he had maintained a good reputation with the organization, participating in multiple events every year and gladly doing grunt work for them that no one else wanted. He spoke at CPAC on two separate occasions as governor but attended every year since before he was elected, lending his writing skills and volunteering his time. He also did every smaller event he was asked, traveling across the country to every sleepy town ACU needed a speaker, and did every event with a smile without asking for any favors in return.

That was until the last year when he asked for a speaking slot at CPAC, as the 2 term governor of a large swingish state this wasn’t a big ask but it was something. Now came the big ask, support for a Presidential run.

He gave his standard pitch, strong conservative values, proven, with delivered results in North Carolina. He touted his foreign policy expertise and specific plans for the future of international relations but his main focus was giving his broad strategy for taking the nomination and winning the Presidency.

He spoke about the major hires he made filling out his staff, Michael Sutton, Jane Camacho, Oliver Fisher, Joe Yates especially and his full court press on activists in the early states. He detailed his frequent work across the country and especially in South Carolina that would give him a massive advantage in the race for activists and campaign infrastructure.

He showed the rough draft of his ambitious schedule, and his primary targets New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada, Georgia, North Dakota, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Kansas, Maine, Arizona, Ohio, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Nebraska, Kentucky and South Dakota. He detailed his early investment in those states and his extensive mailing list assembled through decades of speaking engagements, guest lectures and small republican events across the country and the list of endorsers ro donors already lined up to support his campaign.

In the general he spoke about threading the needle on social issues in North Carolina, being able to speak to moderates and show he wasn’t an extremist which would diffuse a great deal of enthusiasm on the side of the democrats. He compared it to Hawthorne who had all the worst tendencies of Wolf and stances of raising the minimum wage and raising taxes the party could never accept.

Richardson was also from a swing(ish) state where he outperformed Wolf, BUT did incredibly well flipping suburban women and blue collar union towns like Wolf did meaning he could appeal to the same rust belt voters that delivered Wolf the election. Richardson also did very well among moderates and should the Democrats nominate a progressive, they would flock to him.

He went point by point with the ACU, presenting a comprehensive vision for victory disclosing polling numbers and fundraising pledges. After a 3 hour meeting he shook their hands and exited with his trademark energetic confidence.

[Azekopolaltion]

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Tim Westra 2020
Reno, Nevada
January 25th, 2019

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“Hello, my working brothers and sisters of Reno! I’m so happy to be here in Nevada, which has one of the strongest union infrastructures in the entire United States. Unions here in Nevada have been fighting back against the anti-worker tyranny of the establishment and the current administration, and I’d just like to thank them for that.”

“Here’s a simple fact. For the past few decades, there has been a class war waged against the working families of this country by the billionaire class and the corporate elite. The fat cats in the government colluded with the bigshots of the one percent to destroy the lives of working people in Michigan, in Ohio, in New Jersey, and here in Nevada. They’ve been doing it all over America. While corporations close down plants here in our country to maximize their profits, they throw our workers out on the streets and leave behind ghost towns to die a painful death. Corporations don’t give a damn about you. If they could make a nickel more by killing you, they would. And I’m not even exaggerating. Criminal pharmaceutical executives have ruthlessly marketed and sold their opioid drugs at the expense of thousands of young American lives. It’s not just the manufacturing corporations and the drug companies. Fossil fuel companies, the military-industrial complex, Wall Street, the private prison complex — all of them have collectively conspired to trample on the economic rights of ordinary Americans in order to get away with unethical amounts of profit.”

“Well, we’ve got some bad news for them. We are building a grassroots movement to tackle the unlimited greed of Corporate America. That starts with unions. That starts with workers. That starts with the 99% standing up and saying: you can’t have it all. I’m proud to say that we have raised about 1.2 million dollars off of almost 50,000 donors. Our average contribution size was 25 dollars. We are not taking a dime from corporate PACS, or federal lobbyists. You cannot defeat a fundamentally corrupt system by taking their money.”

“We’re not running this campaign on abstract ideology. Our efforts in sharing the real stories of Americans have touched the hearts of many and has woken up the Washington elite to our efforts. We received commentary from both sides of the political aisle when the story of Mark, a laid-off Ohio worker with a son who died of insulin rationing and a daughter who OD’d on oxy, went viral. As your president, I won’t be bending to the will of the corporate bigwigs. I’ll be making folks like Mark our first priority. Not one more family should be broken because of the wealthy’s insatiable desire for profit.”

“These aren’t platitudes. My record makes it clear that I’ve always shown up for what’s right. I’ve never flip-flopped. I’ve never been vague. My career in politics has only been about making the moral decision. Years before any neoliberal centrist claimed the idea for themselves, I wrote the American Reinvestment Act of 1993 as a Senate policy advisor, which would have doubled the Earned Income Tax Credit to boost our crumbling middle class. I didn’t care about falling out of line with the party. I fought for Americans workers by leading the charge in opposition to NAFTA, against the will of President Clifford and the New Democrats. As a Congressman, I founded the Blue Collar Caucus to give workers real representation in the House. Not only did I loudly advocate against Clifford’s mass deregulation and dismantling of Glass-Steagall, I authored a bill in 2000 that did not pass, but paved the way for the groundbreaking [not Dodd Frank] Act almost a decade later.”

“This was not always the politically popular choice. My decisions made me a target of Clifford, his wife Diane, and his corporate Democrat stooges. But this was not about me; this was about all of us. I didn’t stop after his reign was over. I was perhaps the staunchest Congressman against the Iraq War. Not only did I vote against the initial invasion, I went beyond that by being one out of a handful of Congress members who opposed enhancing combat operations in Iraq after the invasion. I didn’t just stand against Clifford and Burke. When I thought President Baharia was wrong, I pointed it out. I opposed the decimation of Libya, which was not convenient for me. When President Baharia tried to push for the TPP, I pushed back. Workers had to come first, not multinational corporations.”

“But let’s be clear: I supported President Baharia 100% on issues where he fought the good fight. I helped push for the Affordable Care Act, and I helped to write the public option part of the bill that did not pass. I was with him on banking reform, though I wish he had gone further. I was with him on climate action, though I had hoped he would fight for more.”

"But those who paint me as a candidate only focused on economic action are not getting the facts straight. Yes, I believe the economic standing of all Americans is the single most important issue, along with the climate crisis. But I've been a leader on social issues as well. I have been for gay marriage even when this was not the popular stance. I voted against the Defense of Marriage Act and Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I think that societal stigma against any marginalized group has to be combated, regardless of how politically convenient it is."

"And the best part is, we know how to solve this. We're not just diagnosing the problem, we're tackling the symptoms. I've done the math, I've looked at the details. I want healthcare for all in this country, and want to get to Medicare for All within the first five years of my presidency, should I win a second term. Our team has determined that we can accomplish this by automatically enrolling every uninsured American and newborn under a public option, which would be made available to all Americans. Our estimates project that, in five years, everyone or at least a vast majority of folks would be on this plan, which we could then convert to single-payer. I'm calling this plan Medicare for America. We're not just shouting about Medicare for All, we have an idea of how to get it done."

"We are the first campaign to even release a policy proposal. It's about trade, and progressive stalwarts like Senator Abigail Winthrop have called it 'the most detailed trade plan' out there. We're gonna enforce a trade policy that puts workers first, not the multinational corporations. We will no longer be outsourcing American jobs and encouraging a global race to the bottom. Instead, we'll work with our trade partners to assess all economic impact of any trade deal, including job loss, and we will make unions a major negotiation party of the trade agreement process. And, if any nation refuses to comply with our labor and environmental standards, there will be economic consequences."

"We want to make unemployment a thing of the past, so even if big plants pack up and abandon our workers, they won't be out of a good job. We will create a Federal Jobs Guarantee to put every single American who wants a good-paying job to work in much needed areas like green manufacturing, infrastructure development, and scientific research."

"And I'm concerned for our young people, who are being crushed under student debt. As it stands, we will cancel all 1.5 trillion of student debt, make college tuition-free, and reform the federal loan process to lower interest rates and simplify payment procedure. No young person's future should be stolen just because education is a commodity in the wealthiest country in the history of the world."

"With the climate crisis, we're willing to be international leaders and work with our allies to fight back against a global emergency bigger than World War 2. This requires bold actions, not half measures. If we're gonna make any change, we have to come to terms with our contribution. The United States is the world’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, responsible for 15% of global emissions last year. That's a national embarrassment. How can we expect smaller countries to follow suit, let alone India and China, if we don't lead on this?"

"I'll make fossil fuel companies pay for the damage they're doing to our home. We have to impose a price on carbon to lower emissions and make the emitters reckon with their actions. And I'll put the energy execs who lied about the crisis in jail for the harm their disinformation has done. I'll vastly expand tax credits to clean energy companies. This requires a full scale mobilization, and the United States is not the type to sit on the sidelines while others do the heavy lifting. We have to pitch in, for the future of our children and our world."

"Let's be clear though: the guys in the coal mines are not my enemy. The guys on the oil rigs are not my enemy. They have to put food on the table for their family. But they are being betrayed by a dishonest industry that is not being upfront about how long their jobs will last. Coal is a dying industry. Oil rig jobs are incredibly unsafe and unstable. As president, money raised as a carbon dividend will be invested in transitioning workers from fossil fuel development to clean energy development. Workers in any industry deserve good-paying, safe, and socially beneficial jobs. I promise all fossil fuel workers: I won't abandon you."

"And I'm serious about the damage the Sackler Family and other opioid czars have done to our communities. I'll decriminalize ownership of small amounts of illegal opioids; the Pharma companies who lied about the addictive nature of certain opioids belong in jail, not those who are hooked. I'll create more safe injection sites, where addicts can seek help and be treated as patients rather problems that will solve themselves. I'll create an Opioid Combatting Task Force carrying naloxone to prevent overdose deaths. Our young folks are lying dead on the streets of Ohio and other economically downtrodden states, and we need to treat this with the sense of emergency and sensitivity that it deserves."

"As your president, I promise you: no voice of the grassroots will go unheard. I'm going to the White House to fight for you everyday, not the greedy billionaire class who wants more and more at the expense of the rest of us. We need a new era of progressive governance, bringing our party back to its working class roots and away from the elitist influences that have infiltrated the Democratic Party. It's time to understand that there should be dignity in work; we are not a developing country, we are not a war zone, we are America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world. It's time to stand up unequivocally and tell the establishment: We are Worthy, and we put Workers First."

"Visit our website, westra2020.com, and become one of our small donors today. Thank you, may God bless our workers and may God bless America."

[Dentali]

Jane Martinez
@SusanBMartinez

Eating popcorn watching the democratic primary. Westra is running circles around the rest of them so far, has anyone else even visited the early states?

[The Sandersmen]

Giselle Campbell @GiselleWFP I'm thrilled to see that two very progressive candidates have jumped into the presidential race. The @WorkingFamilies Party is looking forward to a healthy, spirited primary that puts the concerns of working people first.

Working Families Party @WorkingFamilies @WestraNJ and @LeviMurphy have been lifelong fighters for the working class, and they are offering a viable vision for a progressive America. Our party looks forward to each of their cases, and we wish them all the best!