Mediaboss Marketing

A new poll from USA TODAY and Suffolk University shows that nearly a quarter of Bernie Sanders supporters haven't turned over to support Joe Biden. USA TODAY

WASHINGTON For Ean Tafoya, the political revolution is far from over.

That doesn't mean he won't vote for Joe Biden.

"I'll knock doors in a Bernie (Sanders)shirtfor (Biden), to show people thatour movement is still here, but that we believe in moving beyond this last four years," Tafoya said.

Tafoya, 34, a climate activist from Denver, supported both of Sanders' presidential runs. He said it was "heartbreaking" when Sanders dropped out of the race in early April; he received numerous calls from his friends, crying.

Although Tafoya said progressives who supported Sanders still need time to grieve and heal,he recognizes it would be far easier to pass their policies under a Democratic administration than a Republican one.

"Ultimately, it seems like we can get more progress through the initiatives that we ...care about through Biden than Trump," Tafoya said.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, is going to need young voters, many who identify as "progressive" and had supported Sanders' campaign, to win the 2020 presidential election. Though young voters made up roughly 27% of voters in 2016, they are seen as essential for campaigns and are often relied on for the critical grassroots work of knocking on doors and activating voters.

More: Joe Biden vowed to pick a woman VP. Some Democrats say she must be a woman of color

The Biden campaign announced working groups focused on several issues of particular importance to progressive voters, one of which will be chaired by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Biden, who has been endorsed by Sanders,also has rolled out policy initiatives aimed at wooing progressive voters,including expanding government-funded health insurance through Medicare to people 60 and older and a debt forgiveness plan focused on students in low- and middle-income households.

Biden will haveto balance courting progressives with maintaining hisappealto moderate voters in swing states, many of whom abandoned Hillary Clinton in 2016 but might not want to vote for Donald Trump again. The former vice president built much of his primary campaign around appealing to a broad swath of voters.

"Americans aren't looking for revolution," Biden told the "TODAY" show in late February, days before the South Carolina primary victory thatrevived his campaign."They're looking for progress. They're looking for, 'Tell me how you're going to help me with my health care. Tell me you'll make me safer.' "

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) greets supporters after a campaign rally at the Charleston Area Convention Center on Feb. 26, 2020 in North Charleston, South Carolina.(Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images)

Though Biden is making inroads with top progressives groups, several leaders noted they still want to know more aboutBiden's plans forincorporating their values into his agenda.

"We think it is important thatif Vice President Biden wants to win the youth vote, he has to move on the issues, so that when young people are looking at candidates and looking at the different differences between the candidates on the issue, that they can get more excited that they see candidates that are actually championing what they care for," saidSarah Audelo, executive director of Alliance for Youth Action.

Since Sanders dropped out of the Democratic race, progressive groups and the Biden campaign have createda dialogue. Last week's announcement on the working groups was in part the fruit of that labor.

In the days after Sanders left the race, the Sunrise Movement, which focuses on climate change, along with six other groups focused on issues such as gun control, immigration and foreign policyurged Biden in an open letterto adopt a litany of stances.

They asked Biden to commit to a$10 trillion Green New Deal stimulus package, legalization of marijuana, implementing a "wealthtax" and a plan to reduce gun deaths by50% in ten years.Audelo said the issues the groups laid out are all important policies for young progressives and that Biden moving on these issues could create excitement for those voters.

More: Bernie Sanders supporters reluctantly turn to Joe Biden, fueled by their dislike of President Trump

"It is incumbent on the Biden campaign to hear the expertise that folks have and really follow their guidance in terms of policy change," Audelo said of the working groups. "So that way, a lot of folkscan be seen as surrogates hopefully for the campaign. They are the validators that the campaign really needs."

Sarah Audelo, executive director of Alliance for Youth Action , is pictured.(Photo: Sarah Audelo)

After the letter was sent, Biden and Sanders worked to create the policy working groups that would address several issues that are particularly important to young progressives. The groups will be focused on the economy, education, criminal justice, immigration and climate change.

The working groups include allies of both Biden and Sanders.

Reps. Ocasio-Cortez andPramila Jayapal of Washington, who have both said they are voting for Biden butpreviously endorsed Sanders,are each co-chairs of a group. (Jayapal also is the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.) Varshini Prakash, co-founder and executivedirector of the Sunrise Movement,Maggie Thompson, formerexecutive director of Generation Progress, andMarisa Franco, director of the Latinx group Mijente, are among the participants.

The policy groups will meet before the Democratic National Convention in August to make recommendationsfor the Democratic National Committee platform and to Biden.

The coalition of progressive groups who had previously written the letter to Bidencalled the appointments a "major win for youth organizations that are building political power for young people across the country."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she wants to hear Democratic hopeful Joe Biden speak in detail on how to provide health care for everyone. Thecoronavirus pandemic, which has ravaged her district, makes health care for all urgent, she said. (April 13) AP Domestic

"We hope the Biden team will continue to listen to and consult with youth leaders and our demands as it advances its campaign, and makes actual appointments to its transition team and Administration," the coalition said in a statement this week. "We need to see continued commitments from them and the DNC to promote the solutions that galvanize our generation and give us hope in the political process. Today, we are one step closer."

More: AOC and other Bernie Sanders allies are helping shape policy for Joe Biden. Here's who else is helping

Matt Hill, deputy national press secretary for the Biden campaign, said in a statement,"Progressive voters are a key part of our growing coalition to defeat Trump and enact bold change that will tackle the most pressing issues Americans face right now, including rebuilding our economy after the crisis, expanding health care, making college affordable, and more."

The Biden campaign is still coordinating with groups such as the Sunrise Movement, March for Our Lives and United We Dream, beyond the policy working groups. On Biden's campaign, senior adviser Symone Sanders, who served on Sanders' 2016 campaign, along with senior adviser Cristbal Alex and policy directorStef Feldman have spearheaded engagement with outside groups.

The campaign is focusing on engaging two types of progressives organizations:Traditional groups such as Planned Parenthood and the Human Rights Campaign,and new-wave groups, such as the Sunrise Movement and March for Our Lives, that attract younger and more diverse voters.

The Biden campaign was endorsed by the Progressive Turnout Project, which says it will theinvest $52.5 million to knock on more than 10.5 million doorsin 17 presidential and Senate battleground states this year.

Ben Wessel, director of NextGen America, said Biden's updatedplans to expand Medicare and forgive some student debtis helpful to get progressives on board with his campaign.

"That's a real show of empathy to our young people that they feel like they're not getting from their leaders, where everyone feels like they're being strung out to dry," Wessel said. "So having someone say that they've got your back on this, even if it's small, I think is a good thing."

Biden has been criticized by some on the left over his vote for the Iraq War and for his previous stance supporting theHyde Amendment, a long-standing law thatblocksfederalfunding for abortion in most cases. Biden last summer said he no longer supports the amendment.

A recent USA TODAY/Suffolk poll showed that thevast majority of Sanders supporters(77%) said they will vote for Biden in the general election. Butnearly 1 in 4 Sanders supporters (22%) said they would vote for a third-party candidate, vote for President Donald Trump, not vote in Novemberor were undecided about who to vote for, according to the poll.

Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University, said Biden could have a hard time getting enthusiastic support from former Sanderssupporters because of his lengthy record three decades of Senate votes and two terms in the White House as President Barack Obama's vice president.

Reeher said it's "not gonna rub a lot of these Bernie Sanders supportersparticularly in the right way," with how Biden hasportrayed his own record.

"That's a tougher argument he's making because there's a record there that's sometimes at odds with that narrative of him," Reeher said.

Presidential candidate Joe Biden said in an interview with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC that people who believe Tara Reade "shouldn't vote for me." USA TODAY

The allegation from Tara Reade that she was sexually assaulted by Biden while working for his Senate office has also brought additional scrutiny from voters. Biden has emphatically denied the allegation, saying it "never happened."

Almost half 45% of voters between the ages of 18 and 34 believe Reade's allegationis true, according to a Monmouth University poll published last week.

Joe Biden needs his Joe Biden.: Here's a look at the women who could be on his vice presidential shortlist

Several progressive leaders have said that they appreciate Biden not attacking Reade's character, but there is also concernthat there needs to be accountability.

"Right now we're kind of stuck in a he-said, she-said situation," said Evan Weber, political director for Sunrise Movement. "We really don't have a system that isdesigned to deal with these claims and deliver real justice for survivors and center their feeling in the process."

But Ben Wessel, executive director of NextGen America, noted that ina focus group conducted several weeks ago by his organization's youth mobilization arm, voters said the allegationdidn't disqualify Biden, and they wanted to see him address it. Since then, Biden has addressed the allegationin interviews.

"We've seen Biden do what I don't think too many of our young progressives would expect ... a typical politician to do, which is he went on TV, directedhis comments to the American people, and was really honest and open about it," Wessel said. "I actually think that's what voters want to see, that's what our people want to hear. They don't want someone to sweep things under the rug."

One leader in the coalition of groups that sent Biden the letter last month did expresssome dissatisfaction in not being contacted individually by the campaign.

Emily Mayer, political director for IfNotNow Movement, said the organizationis disappointed there is not a working group focused on foreign policy and the group was not contacted by the campaign.

The IfNotNow Movement endorsed Sanders in the 2020 election, and Mayer said the organization and Sanders' campaign were in "very frequent conversation."

"We've seen what a disaster Trump has been for American foreign policy," Murray said. "I would hope that Joe Bidenand the people around him are going to put forward a progressive vision for how to not only restore the place America has in the world but actually to make American foreign policy the sort of just instrument it should be."

The Biden campaign said while there isnt a foreign policy task force, they havebeen in touch with progressive foreign policy groups throughout the primary and continues to engage with them. They declined to identify the groups.

Aaron Walker, 26, of Chicago, Illinois is pictured.(Photo: Aaron Walker)

Aaron Walker, 26, said right now, he doesn't think he is going to vote for Biden in November. Walker lives in Chicago andnoted Illinois "has virtually no chance of going to Trump." He said he's going to focus on supporting "local leftists and oust any centrist Democrats being challenged by them."

Walker, who previously supportedSanders, noted that the movement is more than just the man.

"I love and respect the man, but the American left isnt a cult of personality," Walker said. "Bernie isnt the hero, the ideas are and if hes done fighting, were definitely not."

Biden in the basement: Can campaigning from home work as Trump starts to travel?

Biden and Sanders have come toan agreement to have Sanders supporters represented at the Democratic National Convention, according to a memo released by the two campaigns. All delegates would be reallocated to Biden, per DNC rules. But the two campaigns have agreed that the delegate slots Sanders had earned will be filled with Sanders supporters.

While Senator Sanders is no longer actively seeking the nomination, the Biden campaign feels strongly that it is in the best interest of the party and the effort to defeat Donald Trump in November to come to an agreement regarding these issues that will ensure representation of Sanders supporters and delegate candidates, both on the floor and in committees, the memo states.

Biden has also tried to reach out to younger,more left-leaning voters through platforms and news organizations that cater to that bloc. This month,he gave an exclusive address about his economic platform on NowThis News, a progressive news site that is social media-focused. A recent interview with Yahoo was broadcast on TikTok.

Many progressive groups acknowledged Biden's outreach is a positive step forward, as well as some of his policy changes.Leaders of thegroups noted there are many who say they will still vote for Biden, but that right now, that is the extent of support they are willing to give.

"Young people are really what make up the backbone ... and energy in Democratic campaigns, Weber said.

What I'm hearing from a lot of my peers is yeah, some people aren't excited to vote but most of them are planning to vote. But people who might normally be knocking doors or making calls or things like that, Im not hearing a lot of enthusiasm for that for Joe Biden at the moment.

Want to talk more about politics?: Join our Facebook group: Across the Aisle, Across the Nation.

The former vice president will soon begin the process of selecting a running mate as the Democratic primary nears its end. USA TODAY

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/05/21/joe-biden-bernie-sanders-work-together-bring-progressives-board/5155900002/

See the original post:
How Joe Biden is working to win over progressive voters - USA TODAY

Eakinomics:Neither the Press nor Progressives nor a Pandemic

Can deter the Trump Administrations deregulatory drive. Eakinomics has frequently noted the sea change between the ever-rising regulatory burden during the Obama Administration and the reversal to (modest) declines during the Trump years. Still, one might suspect that the advent of the coronavirus pandemic would cause the administration to focus on something else.

Wrong. Asdetailedby AAFs Dan Bosch, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) on May 19 that directed agencies to further consider waiving, repealing, or modifying regulations in an effort to stimulate the economy in the wake of COVID-19. The EO,Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery, asks agencies to identify possible deregulatory actions and to utilize enforcement discretion in order to help the economy recover.

There are two important aspects to this executive order, above and beyond identifying ways to stimulate the economy through regulatory relief. The first is asking agencies to use their enforcement discretion. Agencies have wide latitude in setting enforcement priorities. Putting a particular regulation at the bottom of the enforcement priorities is a much easier way to be rid of it than is the rulemaking process. The second is that whatever the agencies come up with will likely be policy for as long as the president remains in office, including his entire second term, if reelected.It is safe to say that plenty of politicians, regulation advocates, and proponents of federal pre-emption wont be thrilled with this EO.

The initial pandemic response itself is bound to generate new discussion on the topic of regulatory review, too.In a second new paper, Evaluating Regulatory Review Commissions to Analyze COVID-19 Regulation, Bosch notes, The federal response has left many wondering whether the regulations that are not needed in an emergency are really necessary once the pandemic is declared over. Some have recommended that the federal government establish a commission or several commissions to review amended rules to see if they are necessary.

The idea of legislative oversight, review, and (potential) rejection of regulations has been a popular congressional agenda item in recent years. Per Bosch, In 2016 and 2017, the House of Representatives passed theSearching for and Cutting Regulations that are UnnecessarilyBurdensome(SCRUB)Act. The crux of the SCRUB Act was to establish a Retrospective Regulatory Review Commission, made up of outside experts, that would develop a list of regulations to repeal, and that list would then go to Congress for an up-or-down vote.

Of note, the only legislative proposal thus far theCoronavirus Regulatory Repeal Actin the House comes at this issue from the other direction. It sets up a commission in each area of jurisdiction composed of committee members and the agency heads that draws up a list of regulations tokeepin their area. The remainder would be eliminated.

Where does this leave the regulatory state? The Trump Administration appears dead set on continuing to eliminate regulations and reduce the regulatory burden using all the toolsat its disposal. Congress continues to make noise about intervening in the regulatory process, but it has yet to enact any such legislation. Expect more of the same from both parties.

More here:
Neither the Press nor Progressives nor a Pandemic - AAF - American Action Forum

After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi excluded a plan to keep unemployment down by subsidizing firms to keep workers on payrolls from her relief package last week, dozens of progressives have banded together with 10 front-line Democrats from swing districts to introduce it as a standalone piece of legislation.

The Paycheck Recovery Act, authored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., aims to make sure that paychecks are flowing from employers to workers during the coronavirus pandemic. A previous version, the Paycheck Guarantee Act, had been a priority of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, of which Jayapal is a co-chair. The bill subsidizes struggling companies payrolls in order to discourage layoffs and keep unemployment down. While Pelosi had said she was open to considering the idea, she ultimately kept it out of the HEROES Act, the coronavirus relief bill passed by the House on Friday, which includes an extension of unemployment subsidies. Jayapal confronted her on a private caucus conference call over the decision, and Pelosi aides later pushed back, criticizing the measure for not having official legislative text or Republican co-sponsors.

Jayapal ultimately voted against the legislation, along with eight other progressives, citing the exclusion of her program. They were joined by five front-liners, some of whom objected to the paycheck measures omission, others of whom opposed it from the right, complaining of a lack of bipartisan buy-in.

The stampede of front-liners toward Jayapals new bill, according to people involved in the negotiations, is driven by an intersection of policy and electoral concerns. The front-liners are concerned that Pelosis rejection of the paycheck bill, and her focus on unemployment, makes for poor politics, and they have complained that they are getting hammered at home by Republicans, who are dubbing Democrats the party of unemployment.

The alliance of swing-district Democrats and the progressive wing of the party represents a new threat to House Democratic leaderships domination of the caucus. Because of the stark partisan divide in the House, Pelosi cant rely on the few remaining moderate Republicans to push legislation over the top. Instead, leadership typically shapes legislation to appeal to the swing-district bloc of Democrats there are 42 front-linerswho the party considers in need of electoral protection then bludgeons progressives into supporting it, arguing that whatever is being offered is better than nothing and promotes the necessary goal of maintaining the majority, without which progressives have no power at all. Efforts by progressives to organize enough no votes to extract leverage in negotiations over coronavirus relief have so far not come to fruition, but teaming with front-liners opens up a new potential strategy as the pandemic scrambles political calculations.

For years, Pelosi has insisted that if it were up to her, the party would go further left than it does, but that the imperatives of reelection require moderating legislation for the members she calls majority makers. But if those majority makers get out ahead of Pelosi, that rationale would evaporate, and the dictates of making and keeping a majority would militate in their direction.

The first glimmer of the potential coalition came when Rep. Haley Stevens, a freshman from Michigan, voted against the rule linked to the HEROES Act on Friday afternoon. Flipping just four more votes would have shot down the rule, which would have blocked the underlying bill from coming to the floor. Members of Congress often express opposition to legislation by opposing the rule, even if they later vote in support of the bill itself later, which Stevens did.

Stevens, in a statement explaining her support for the HEROES Act and her vote against the rule, said that the bills failure to keep workers tied to their jobs, prioritizing unemployment instead, was a knock against it. Any relief package must prioritize strong employment measures to protect jobs and the relationship between workers and employers for an extended and flexible duration of time, she argued.

It was a clear reference to the paycheck measures omission from the final package. Mass unemployment is not and will never be our answer to this crisis, Stevens said.

Rep. Katie Porter of California, among the most progressive front-liners, also voted against the rule, as did Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, who cited a number of concerns, among them that that the bill didnt prioritize addressing catastrophic unemployment rates.

Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from Long Island and a moderate member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, is co-sponsoring Jayapals legislation. I think the most persuasive argument is that state unemployment systems are ill-equipped to handle the volume of claims and that will not be rectified in the near future, he told The Intercept. Helping people by having more folks on unemployment is not the answer. Additionally, PPP the Paycheck Protection Program, which is meant to help small businesses keep their payroll going has too many big small businesses that dont need the help. This bill seems more effective and more targeted.

The other front-liners so far on the bill, which has 93 co-sponsors, are Democratic Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Tom Malinowski of New Jersey; Sean Casten of Illinois; Katie Porter and Mike Levin of California; Jahana Hayes of Connecticut; Steven Horsford and Susie Lee of Nevada, and Kim Schrier of Washington.

The Senate is currently debating its version of the relief package, with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pretending that liability protection for businesses during the pandemic is the sole provision Republicans want and, therefore, that everything else is a Democratic demand. Such conditions dont leave much room for policy innovation, but Jayapals paycheck guarantee is one program that has bipartisan support in the Senate and has worked elsewhere in the world.

In moments of economic decline, resulting from either natural disasters, pandemics, or financial crises, governments around the world have two primary means of mitigating harm and reducing the depth and duration of the slump: extending unemployment payments to those laid off through no fault of their own, or extending subsidies to companies to keep workers tied to their jobs, even if their hours are heavily reduced.

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Germany relied on a program of wage subsidies to keep people in their jobs, which kept unemployment in the low single digits. The U.S., meanwhile, focused instead on providing relief in the form of unemployment payments and brief subsidies for health care coverage for the jobless. The U.S. unemployment rate, as expected, rose dramatically, while Germanys didnt, and the U.S. recovery took much longer. U.S. policymakers, or at least those in charge of writing the laws, learned little from the last crisis.

The CARES Act, the multitrillion-dollar relief package that was passed in late March, took the route of subsidizing unemployment by providing workers who had been recently laid off with an extra $600 in unemployment benefits for four months. The HEROES Act includes an extension of those benefits until January 2021. Mass unemployment is a policy choice, and we must choose differently, Jayapal said Tuesday, introducing the Paycheck Recovery Act.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., joined by a handful of Democrats, has sponsored a similar piece of legislation in the Senate. The politics of fighting on behalf of jobs is an obvious winner, and Hawley is hoping to exploit Democrats failure to do so in an election year. Some Republicans, Politico reported, see an opportunity to get the upper hand on jobs and the economy after the Democratic House proposal omitted Jayapals paycheck guarantee legislation. Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, facing a tough reelection fight in Colorado, publicly backed the paycheck measure at the end of last week. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Mark Warner, D-Va.; Doug Jones, D-Ala.; and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., have also supported versions of the legislation.

We should put forward a proposal that is focused on jobs in contrast to what House Democrats are doing. They could have done something like this. They had an opportunity to put forward a jobs proposal and they didnt, Hawley said. It is unbelievable that you would propose $3 trillion in federal spending and you wouldnt have a focus on workers.

See the rest here:
Swing-District Democrats Link With Progressives to Back Paycheck Bill Pelosi Rejected - The Intercept

Two progressive Democrats, Siah Correa Hemphill and Pam Cordova, who are challenging incumbents who lean more to the right within the Democratic party, are getting a boost in their campaign efforts.

Correa Hemphill is running against incumbent Democratic state Sen. Gabriel Ramos. With her May filing report, she has outraised Ramos by $53.26. Ramos, who was appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to replace Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, is running his first election for the seat.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico is spending $150,000 in the remaining weeks of the primary to educate voters on the fact that Ramos and state Sen. Clemente Sanchez, also a Democrat, both voted against HB 51 in 2019. The bill, supported by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, would have repealed a 1969 ban on abortion. Eight Democrats in the state senate sided with Republicans and voted the measure down. Ellie Rushforth, reproductive rights attorney with ACLU-NM, said the nonprofit organization expects to reach 25,000 voters with their efforts.

One of those eight Democrats, Sen. Carlos Cisneros of Questa, has since passed away. His replacement, Bobby Gonzalez, was previously in the House, where he voted for HB 51.

The other seven are up for reelection and all seven face progressive challengers, in some cases, for the first time in years. Senator Mary Kay Papen, who represents mostly Doa Ana County in senate District 38, is facing a primary challenger for the first time since 2000, which is the first year she ran.

Related: Progressive Democratic challengers want new voices in the state legislature

Now the ACLU-NM is working to educate voters in the June 2 primary race that Ramos and Sanchez voted against HB 51.

Rushforth said the money will be spent on digital ads, mailers as well as phone banking and texting in the districts Sanchez and Ramos represent. She said ACLU-NM does not endorse candidates. The money is intended to educate on the issue, she said.

Last week U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich invited the public to learn about the two candidates through a live presentation on Facebook, which also raised funds for the two candidates. Heinrich has endorsed both Correa Hemphill and Cordova, calling them leaders and advocates for their respective communities.

With her most recent campaign finance filing, Correa Hemphill has brought in $83,738.70. This included $5,000 from Heinrichs Lobo Pac, $1,000 from the Committee to Elect Deb Haaland and $5,000 from Emilys List, a political action committee that supports women candidates who stand for reproductive rights. But the vast majority of Correa Hemphills funds have come from small donations from Silver City residents. Senate District 28 comprises portions of Grant, Catron and Socorro counties.

Lujan Grisham endorsed Correa Hemphill last week.

Ramos has raised $83,685.44, putting the two neck-and-neck going into the final weeks of the campaign for primary voters. Much of Ramos fundraising has come from the oil and gas industry with $5,000 from Chevron Policy, Government and Public Relations, based in Albuquerque, and $4,000 from Yeso Energy out of Roswell. The American Federation of Teachers Union, based in Washington D.C., donated $2,000 and Sapien for Senate PAC gave $5,000, Michael Padilla for State Senator gave $1,000 and the Committee to Elect Patricio Ruiloba gave $1,000. The Santa Clara Pueblo gave $500 and the pueblo Ohkey Owingey gave $1,000. Ramos chairs the Senate Indian and Cultural Affairs Committee.

Cordova has raised $86,066, according to her April and May filing reports. She has received some large donations from unions the International Union of Operating Engineers, based out of Washington DC, has given two $5,000 checks, one for the general campaign. The Sheet Metal Workers International Association, based out of Los Lunas, donated $1,000 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Albuquerque gave $5,000. Heinrich donated $5,000 through his Lobo PAC, U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland gave $1,250 and Emilys List provided $5,000 in support.

But Sanchez started April with an opening balance of $163,897.52 and reported a closing balance of $205,224.44 in early May. Sanchezs support has come from pharmaceutical companies, healthcare companies, railroads, associations representing bankers, beverage companies and oil and gas companies such as Devon Energy Production Company, out of Oklahoma City. It gave $5,000 and the tribe, Ohkay Owingeh, gave $1,000 as did state Sen. Peter Wirth. The American Federation of Teachers Union PAC out of Albuquerque gave Sanchez $2,000 and the Santa Clara Pueblo gave $500. Sanchez chairs the Senate Corporations and Transportations Committee.

Rushforth acknowledged that because of the pandemic, candidates are now in uncharted territory. But, she said reproductive freedom and healthcare are still priority issues for folks.

Reproductive justice is healthcare justice, its economic justice. If people cant get access to the healthcare they need, it adds another challenge in an already challenging time, she said.

Related

More here:
ACLU spending on education in two state senate districts targeted by progressives - New Mexico Political Report

Protests broke out around the country in 2011 during the Occupy movement, with people clamoring for taxes on the rich. Fast forward to Connecticut in 2020, where progressive lawmakers want Gov. Ned Lamont to reconsider his refusal to raise taxes on the rich.

The next Connecticut income tax debate is heating up but not at the Capitol.

A key state legislative caucus is crafting a letter urging town and city councils, local political committees and other grassroots groups to press Gov. Ned Lamont to tax Connecticuts wealthy to close pandemic-induced state budget deficits.

As much as Governor Lamont doesnt want to go there, theres a new appetite for this, said Rep. Anne Hughes, D-Easton, co-chairwoman of the House Democratic Progressive Caucus. I think the pandemic has changed everything.

Hughes, who joined Connecticuts labor leaders and others in a late morning teleconference calling for tax reform, said the argument that wealthy residents would flee the state in the event of a tax hike has never been more flawed.

Where are they going to flee to? Florida, where theyre going to get infected? Hughes said. She added that growing interest in Fairfield and Litchfield real estate markets suggests wealthy New Yorkers are fleeing to Connecticut to avoid the widespread concentration of COVID-19 cases in New York City.

The Lamont administration projects the coronavirus-induced recession will consume the states entire, $2.5 billion budget reserve and still leave a $500 million deficit during the fiscal year that begins July 1.

More importantly, fiscal analysts also project state revenues will contract by more than $2 billion annually over the following two fiscal years.

Lamont, a Greenwich businessman, has said repeatedly that raising taxes on Connecticuts wealthy would prompt them to leave the state.

The governor worked during his first year in office in 2019 to kill a proposal from fellow Democrats on the legislatures Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee to raise income tax rates on investment-related earnings among Connecticuts top earners.

From his first budget address in 2019, Lamont has made it clear that he opposes income tax hikes on the wealthy as a way of balancing Connecticuts budget. The pandemic should force him to reconsider that position, progressive lawmakers say.

Capital gains and dividends can fluctuate significantly with the economy and Lamont warned in a briefing last week about the risks states face due to revenue volatility.

The governors chief of staff, Paul Mounds Jr., told the CT Mirror last week that the administration also remains very concerned about keeping its tax rates competitive with those of neighboring states like New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Lamont, who must give legislators a plan in February to balance the next two-year state budget, already has said he will seek help from labor unions to reduce costs.

Rob Baril, president of Connecticuts largest healthcare workers union

I dont think the union members are ready for a fourth round of concessions at this point, Sal Luciano, head of the Connecticut FL-CIO, said during the press conference. He added that Connecticuts impending deficits are too large to be solved chiefly with spending cuts.

Rob Baril, president of SEIU Healthcare 1199NE, the states largest healthcare workers union, said many state employees risk exposure daily to the coronavirus in prisons, group homes, psychiatric hospitals and other facilities. After granting concessions in 2009, 2011 and 2017, he said, they should not have to do so again.

All were asking is that the state of Connecticut show some balance, he said. We continue to make the poor, poorer and the rich, richer.

In recent years, progressive caucus proposals to shift the balance through higher state income tax rates on the wealthy bogged down at the Capitol.

Republicans, who hold minorities in the House and Senate, universally have opposed nearly all tax increases.

And with growing numbers of Democratic legislators hailing in the past four years from affluent communities on the shoreline and in western Connecticut, Lamont has had plenty of allies to block tax hikes on the rich.

Rep. Josh Elliott, D-Hamden, who also serves on the progressive caucus, said there is support for a more progressive tax system among the voters. He believes nothing will change unless more communities make their voices heard at the Capitol.

An October 2018 poll commissioned by Sacred Heart University and Hearst Connecticut Media Group found almost two-thirds of Connecticut voters supported raising income taxes on millionaires to balance the state budget if cuts to services cant do the job.

Back in 2009, Quinnipiac University found 71% of voters favored a proposal to raise income taxes on couples earning more than $500,000 and 55% of those polled rejected the argument it would spur the wealthy to exit Connecticut.

I just think Governor Lamont doesnt believe in this more progressive tax concept, Elliott added. But if he really does think about running for office again, he will have to acknowledge what others groups want.

Read the original:
Progressives look to bring CTs tax fairness debate to the grassroots level - The CT Mirror