People’s Action, a national network of grassroots groups, is at the front lines in our nation’s battle to put people over profits. Want to join us? We’re looking for a new Communications and Digital Director, Director of D.C. Strategy, and Development Associate for Individual Giving. We’ve accomplished a lot: come help us take our nation back for progressive values.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make a difference. Apply now, or refer a friend!
view in browser
MORNING MESSAGE
Blue Carreker
State by state, the Far Right is chipping away at women’s rights. Extremists are carving out a path for Trump’s Supreme Court to eliminate the right to safe and legal abortion that has been ours since the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 1974. By throttling reproductive freedoms in state laws, the Far Right wants to hollow out Roe to the point that states may no longer even offer reproductive care. This is pure intimidation. They’re hoping women and medical providers will shrink from their rights, out of fear for their lives and freedom. In New York State, we’re not scared: we’re fighting back. On January 22, the 46th anniversary of Roe, our State Senate passed the Reproductive Health Act. This new law fully legalizes abortion at any time to protect a woman’s life and health, and it was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo that same day. How did we win in New York State, and how can we win all across the country? The answer is simple: we organize. For half a century, Republicans have controlled our legislature. That changed last November, when a groundswell of organizing by Citizen Action of New York and our allies led to historic turnout and activism that has now completely shifted the trajectory and makeup of the Senate creating an undeniable majority for progressive values. Since January, already helped to pass important reforms for survivors of domestic violence; critical criminal justice reforms and access to early voting. And we’re just getting started. In New York, we know how to fight, and win. That’s our state of mind.
2020 Census Citizenship Poll Designed To Help GOP
GOP Redistricting Strategist Played Role In Push For Census Citizenship Question. NPR: “A major Republican redistricting strategist played a role in the Trump administration’s push to get a citizenship question on forms for the 2020 census. Thomas Hofeller, who died last August, concluded in a 2015 report that adding the question would produce the data needed to redraw political maps that would be ‘advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites,’ according to a court filing released Thursday. Plaintiffs in one of the New York-based lawsuits over the question say that Hofeller later ghostwrote an early draft of the administration’s request for the question and helped form a reason for adding the question to forms for the national head count. The Trump administration has maintained it wants census responses to the question — ‘Is this person a citizen of the United States?’ — to better enforce Voting Rights Act protections for racial and language minorities. But Hofeller’s documents uncovered through a separate lawsuit suggest administration officials were aware that including the question ‘would not benefit Latino voters, but rather would facilitate significantly reducing their political power,’ argue attorneys with the law firm Arnold & Porter, the ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union in a letter to U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman.”
Trump Targets NM, NV, NH In 2020 Bid
Trump tries to upend the 2020 map. Politico: “President Donald Trump is targeting a trio of states that he lost in 2016 — a move aimed at widening his path to reelection that comes as he’s struggling in the Rust Belt states that propelled him to the White House. Trump officials are zeroing in on New Mexico, Nevada and New Hampshire, where they insist there’s an opening despite heavy losses Republicans suffered there in the midterms. They’ve deployed around a half-dozen staffers to New Hampshire and several to Nevada, an unusually early investment in places that favor Democrats. And the campaign is doing polling to tease out Trump’s level of support in New Mexico, a focal point for campaign manager Brad Parscale, and they have discussed dispatching aides to the blue state. The maneuvering underscores how Trump is trying to capitalize on his vast financial and organizational advantage over Democrats. Yet it also illustrates how the president, whose own polling shows him falling behind in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, is seeking out additional routes to a second term.”
Trump Wants To Make Protest A Federal Crime
Trump administration threatens pipeline protesters with up to 20 years in prison. Common Dreams: “Building on efforts by multiple states to crack down on those fighting the construction of climate-destroying fossil fuel infrastructure, the Trump administration unveiled a proposal on Monday that would criminalize pipeline protests at the federal level and hit demonstrators with up to 20 years in prison. The new proposal, released by Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, was immediately denounced by environmentalists as a serious threat to the First Amendment. ‘This dangerous proposal threatens to undermine Americans’ right to peaceful assembly and free speech,’ Kelly Martin, director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fossil Fuels campaign, said in a statement. ‘It is a blatant attempt to intimidate those who would exercise their First Amendment rights to speak out against pipeline projects that put our clean water, communities, and climate at risk.’”
House Passes Disaster Relief, Overruling GOP
58 House Republicans just voted against the bipartisan disaster relief bill. ThinkProgress: “The House of Representatives passed a $19 billion disaster relief bill on Monday night by a vote of 354-58, sending the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk, where he is expected to sign it. The bill provides funds to hurricane and flood-ravaged areas like the Florida panhandle, Arkansas and Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, and Puerto Rico. All 58 of the ‘no’ votes came from Republicans. Among those Republicans who voted no were Reps. Chip Roy (TX) and Thomas Massie (KY), who previously blocked the legislation, which was passed by the Senate in May. Massie has notably requested federal disaster aid for his home state four times since 2015. Also among the noes were Tennessee Reps. Tim Burchett (R) and Scott DesJarlais (R), who both signed a letter to the president in March, requesting relief assistance following a wave of severe storms that inundated the state with floodwaters. The measure was previously set to pass late last month, but was blocked three times by Republicans Roy and Massie, who claimed attempts to approve the bill by unanimous consent (meaning the aid package would pass as long as no one objected to it) were too ‘swampy,’ as well as by Rep. John Rose (R-TN), who objected to passing the measure by a voice vote.”
House Sets Contempt Votes For Barr, McGahn
House Dems set contempt vote against Barr and McGahn. Politico: “The House will vote next week to hold Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn in contempt of Congress for defying congressional subpoenas, according to multiple Democratic sources. The resolution would clear the way for the House Judiciary Committee to take Barr and McGahn to court to enforce their subpoenas and are a crucial step for Democrats seeking to accelerate their obstruction of justice investigation against President Donald Trump. ‘This Administration’s systematic refusal to provide Congress with answers and cooperate with Congressional subpoenas is the biggest cover-up in American history, and Congress has a responsibility to provide oversight on behalf of the American people,’ House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in a statement. Barr has failed to comply with a subpoena for special counsel Robert Mueller’s fully unredacted report and underlying evidence; McGahn balked at a subpoena to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. The vote, which will take place on June 11, will also include broad authority for congressional committees to take legal action against the Trump administration in future subpoena fights, the Democratic sources say.”
Remember The Sufragettes
19th Amendment: A century of pioneering women in US politics. BBC: “One hundred years ago – on 4 June 1919 – Congress approved the 19th Amendment to the US constitution guaranteeing the right of American women to vote. The amendment was the product of decades of campaigning and slow progress since the first convention for women’s rights was held in Seneca Falls in 1848. In the years since, women had been thrown in jail for voting illegally, organised pickets across the country and chained themselves to the White House demanding representation. Rights were granted in a handful of, mostly western, states over the years but resistance remained. This amendment, officially ratified in 1920, prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex on a national level. In 2019 the US has more women in national politics than ever before, but still falls well short of equality. Ahead of the 2020 presidential election Democrats are now lining up to take on President Trump. This includes six women who have already announced their candidacy – a new record in itself. Whether or not this means the US may eventually get its first female president, a century on from the 19th Amendment’s ratification, time will tell.”
Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.
Please consider a donation of any size to support our work: DONATE NOW
|
