Mediaboss Marketing

With four Maryland progressive groups holding major events in different parts of the state last weekend, activists had to make tough choices about which activity to attend or rush from one to the other.

Trying to avoid the same problem, another group is rethinking plans to hold a forum for gubernatorial candidates on Sept.9, the day a different coalition of activists is scheduled to march on Washington for racial justice.

The scores of left-leaning organizations that have cropped up since the 2016 election often trip over each other as leaders try to harness a groundswell of opposition to President Trump and Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in a way that could impact the states 2018 election.

In addition to scheduling problems, they have clashed over issues as basic as whether to endorse a candidate early in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, or wait until all the hopefuls have had a chance to campaign.

There always seems to be some kind of conflict, said Betsy Halsey, who chairs United for Maryland, which had proposed the Sept.9 forum. She hastened to add that she thinks the proliferation of groups is good for the progressive movement, and that efforts are underway to improve coordination.

Bob Muehlenkamp, a longtime activist who chairs Our Revolution Maryland, said the leaders of many emerging groups are new to political activity and are strategizing as they go along.

Theyve been very effective with various resistance activities since Trump was elected, but thats not enough, he said. You cant have an effective state legislative program or political program with these groups functioning on their own.

[Our Revolution Md. moves to endorse Jealous for governor]

The Maryland groups are part of a vocal and visible wave of activism that has swept the country since the 2016 election cycle. Progressive organizations fueled the upstart presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and turned the selection of a Democratic National Committee chair after the election into a battle between the partys left and centrist elements. But progressives ultimately lost both battles, with the nomination of Democrat Hillary Clinton and the selection of establishment favorite Tom Perez for DNC chair.

It remains to be seen whether progressive groups in Maryland will succeed in nominating one of their own to challenge Hogan in 2018, or will be able to achieve their other goals of pushing the party to the left in Annapolis and denting the governors sky-high approval ratings.

Im not sure yet how this will play out in the Democratic primary for governor, but I think it means going into the general election that there will be a lot of energy and activity, said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

When progressive and resistance groups have formed a united front, they have often made an impact. For example, several joined forces this year to successfully fight a Baltimore County Council measure that would have required local correctional officers to participate in a federal program to carry out certain immigration-enforcement measures.

Many activist leaders say collaboration will be key to replicating that kind of success in the midterm elections.

We have to demonstrate and write letters to elected representatives, but that has to be backed up by then working on elections, supporting candidates that meet our ideology and even recruiting candidates, said Sheila Ruth, of the Baltimore County Progressive Democrats. In order to do that, we have to work together. Theres a lot at stake here not only the Trump-Republican thing we have to resist, but we want to go beyond that and start to work toward progressive priorities.

Kathleen Matthews, who was tapped by party elders this year to chair the Maryland Democratic Party, has made a point of reaching out to progressives, inviting activists to participate in voter-outreach training sessions and giving Ruth a seat on the organizations diversity leadership council.

Matthews said she sees progressive groups becoming more and more organized despite their disparate efforts.

I see them as rocket fuel to help us move forward our efforts, she said. They have a lot of passion and determination and are working with us in many parts of the state.

State Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery), who has said he will run for governor in 2018 and is courting the progressive vote , said he sees some value in the chaos, as long as the groups are generally pointed in the same direction.

People are bringing their own activism and issues and enthusiasm to the table, he said. Its organic, its exciting, and Id hate for any part of that to be lost because there is a sense that we all have to coalesce around certain issues.

[At least two Democrats seek progressive mantle in Md. governors race]

Similarly, Georgetown University history professor Michael Kazin, who specializes in U.S. politics and social movements, said that movements are messy but tend to succeed because people agree in general what direction to move.

For their part, Maryland Republicans say they are not particularly concerned about the surge in activism, and are focused on their quest to win enough seats in the state Senate to disrupt the Democrats veto-proof majority.

Anger is not a strategy, said state GOP chair Dirk Haire. Were pretty unified, and Ive been working closely with all of our various Republican groups across the state to make sure everyone is on the same page. Republicans arent sitting around in a salon in Takoma Park talking about how bad Trump is. Theyre walking the streets with an app on their phones, figuring out who might vote for us next year.

With just under a year until the Democratic primary, progressive groups disagree over whether and when to endorse one of the candidates vying for the right to challenge Trump.

Some want to hold off until candidates have participated in debates and proven that they can appeal broadly to an electorate, while others plan to endorse early, in part out of concern that the states Democratic leaders move quickly to help centrist candidates win the partys nomination.

We have to make the decision earlier and unite around one candidate and bring in all the resources the money and the people behind them, said Muehlenkamp, of Our Revolution, which on Friday started canvassing its supporters about endorsing Jealous, a former board member. You wont get the establishment Democratic Party to hold off. Theyll get together and quietly come up with whoever theyre going to support.

Groups associated with the Indivisible movement and Women Indivisible Strong Effective, say that endorsing a gubernatorial candidate could hurt their cause in conservative-leaning districts. Their leaders said they will focus instead on educating voters about the voting records of incumbents and where candidates stand on the issues.

If we go issue by issue, theres a lot more room for consensus, said Katherine Bain, a member of the steering committee for WISEs Severna Park chapter. We want to create a wealth of information for people and hopefully avoid this habit of people marking an entire column for either the Ds or the Rs.

Together We Will , which hosted a June24 meeting with progressive leaders from across the state, is working to organize a follow-up session this fall, with the goal of coordinating strategies for the states 2018 legislative session and primary elections.

Additionally, a coalition of activists organizing as the progressive caucus plans to meet July26 to discuss how to better coordinate their efforts.

Theres room for different strategies, Bain said. And well see at the end of the day if that adds up to more progressive candidates winning elections.

Read the original:
Maryland progressive groups learn that 'movements are messy ... - Washington Post

Podesta: 'It's on the FBI' That DNC Servers Weren't Turned Over

Greg Gutfeld: Trump is Us on Vacation

Radio host Mark Levin, author of "Rediscovering Americanism," criticized the progressive movement for "rejecting" the principles laid out in the Declaration of Independence.

Ahead of Independence Day, the New York Times ran a full-page feature on the Constitution.

Levin said the feature was just another example of the progressive left misunderstanding American history and the principles of this country.

He noted Constitution Day is September 17, and that July 4 instead honors the Declaration of Independence.

"The entire progressive movement rejects the Declaration of Independence," Levin, a former DOJ chief of staff, said.

"That's why you'll never see a full page of the Declaration of Independence in the New York Times," he said.

He said that progressives believe that rights come from the government, while the Declaration describes how they are inalienable grants to humanity from God.

Levin said those who fought and died in the Revolution would be "appalled" by progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who believe in a central government redistributing wealth.

"[They] can't have health care unless the government controls it and redistributes it," he said.

Levin also discussed the media's fixation with President Trump's feud with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, remarking that "sonograms" have better ratings than MSNBC.

Watch the clip above.

Toomey on ObamaCare Replacement: If We Leave Medicaid As-Is, 'We'll Have a Fiscal Crisis'

Presidential Knockout: Trump Tweets Video of Himself Beating Up 'CNN'

See original here:
Mark Levin: 'The Entire Progressive Movement Rejects the Declaration of Independence' - Fox News Insider

Not every city is a fan of innovation.

Jared Meyer, senior research fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability and author of How Progressive Cities Fight Innovation, has conducted extensive national research on the impact of government regulation of innovative services.

Discussing the results of his studies, Meyer tells OneNewsNow the map is "all over the place" in terms of regulations on Uber and Airbnb.

Uber, launched in 2009,competes with cab companies by offering rides arranged by private drivers.Airbnb is an online room rental service that began in 2008.

Some cities completely outlaw renting out part of your home or apartment on Airbnb, and others enthusiastically embrace ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, explains Meyer. So it really depends on the city, and youre going to get tons of different regulations depending on where youre looking in the country.

Meyer says this inconsistent regulation is not happening only in progressive cities located in blue states.

For example, he recounts that in 2015 Nashville bowed to pressure from special interests in the hotel industry and organized labor by passing an ordinance that restricted residents freedom to rent out their homes.

Some states, meanwhile, have passed or are considering legislation to prevent cities from enacting restrictions that frown on new online services connecting buyers and sellers i.e., the sharing economy.

The sharing economy is something that Progressives should embrace, never mind that its just embracing changes in technology, continues Meyer. But what weve seen is that over the past few years, the battle lines have been drawn where we have proudly progressive mayors and city council members fighting back against these services, rather than wholeheartedly embracing them.

For too long, Meyer says, cities established policies that effectively created government monopolies on certain services, specifically with for-hire vehicles.

Concerning his study of such government monopolies, Meyer says private, for-hire transportation became a "luxury" enjoyed only by the wealthy.

Now, because Uber and Lyft were able to go around these decades-old antiquated regulations," says the researcher, "they brought that service truly to the 99 percent. So I would hope that if they went under, we would have a new competitor step in that would be able to serve even more people effectively and affordably.

The staff at Onenewsnow.com strives daily to bring you news from a biblical perspective. If you benefit from this platform and want others to know about it please consider a generous gift today.

We moderate all reader comments, usually within 24 hours of posting (longer on weekends). Please limit your comment to 300 words or less and ensure it addresses the article - NOT another reader's comments. Comments that contain a link (URL), an inordinate number of words in ALL CAPS, rude remarks directed at other readers, or profanity/vulgarity will not be approved.

Read the original post:
When innovation meets Progressives and pressure - OneNewsNow

A catastrophe is unfolding just south of the Wisconsin border. Illinois is going bankrupt.

The state has over $140 billion in unpaid debts and future pension benefit obligations without the resources to pay these obligations. It is so bad that Powerball is pulling out of Illinois because the state can't afford to pay the winners.

How did Illinois get in this fix? The answer is progressive politics and initiatives. For over 50 years Illinois has been run by progressives with their tax-and-spend philosophy. It hasn't worked. You cannot endlessly promise more and more benefits and programs without a means to pay for them and borrowing to cover the shortfall.

This is what progressives want for America and in many cases what we already have. In the near future, Illinois might default, or be forced to implement massive tax increases, and that won't be enough to protect the pensions of public employees across the state or pay all the bills.

So when people wax poetically about the wonderful nature of progressive ideology, just think about Illinois and you will see the terrible problems it brings.

Joseph Tripalin, McFarland

Originally posted here:
Progressive politics led to Illinois' plight -- Joseph Tripalin - Madison.com

This article originally appeared on AlterNet.

The political battle to stop the GOP-led Congress from destroying healthcare safety nets via House and Senate bills to dismantle Obamacare and shrink Medicaid jumped into a new orbit Wednesday, as the Senate Majority Leader said he would keep revising the legislation and numerous pro-healthcare groups stepped up their protests.

On Tuesday, Mitch McConnell announced he did not have enough votes to pass his healthcare-cutting bill before the upcoming long July 4 holiday recess. While McConnell said on Wednesday that he hoped to have a revised bill before the weekend, his failure to get 50 out of 52 Republican senators to go along prompted progressives and Democrats to launch a new wave of protests, phone-banking, letter-writing and other efforts targeting Republicans in 10 states before Congress reconvenes in mid-July.

These efforts come as new polls find that only 12 percent of the public supports the Senate Republicans healthcare plan. A 53% majority say Congress should either leave the law known as Obamacare alone or work to fix its problems while keeping its framework intact, the USA Today/Suffolk University poll said.

By midday Wednesday, protests had begun. Outside the Capitol, NARAL Pro-Choice America held a rally attended by several Democratic senators and Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the country, Progressive Democrats of America activists hovered in the Phoenix and Tuscon offices of Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, where they held signs saying, Healthcare is a Right, Medicare for All, and wore hats saying, Single-payer now.

Flake is among a handful of GOP senators who have not endorsed McConnells bill or are seen as vulnerable in 2018 targeted by PDA. The other senators are Alaskas Lisa Murkowski, West Virginias Shelley Capito and Nevadas Dean Heller, who all would see draconian cuts to health care safety nets in their states.

PDA is one of many groups urging members to contact their senators. They have phone and letter-writing tools on their Facebook page. Others, like ActionNetwork.org, seeks volunteers for sit-ins at Senate offices on Thursday, July 6. While other Trump protests are planned, stopping McConnells health care bill is the most immediate priority.

AllOfUs, Democracy Spring, Democratic Socialists of America, Our Revolution, and The Peoples Consortium are working together to organize, coordinate, and support sit-ins at Senate offices across the country on Thursday, July 6th, ActionNetworks website said. We will target as many Republican Senators as possible with a common demand that they vote NO on the Better Care Reconciliation Act.

The Indivisible Project has launched TrumpCareTen.org, which targets GOP senators in 10 states. In addition to the states and senators named by PDA, theyre looking at Alaskas Dan Collins, Maines Susan Collins, Colorados Cory Gardner, Ohios Rob Portman, Pennsylvanias Pat Toomey, Louisianas Bill Cassidy and Arkansas Tom Cotton. Its site has brief sketches of each senators positions, scripts to call specific senators and other ones encouraging Democrats to stop all Senate business until McConnell relents.

Every day, Indivisible will post daily calls scripts to use on your calls to the 11 Senators in 10 key states focusing in on specific topics that must be addressed in the Senates work. Check back here and spread the word, they said.McConnells delay does not mean the bill is dead; it means this recess will determine whether the bill dies once and for all or lives to see another day.

Indivisibles site also had an interactive state-by-state map that gives callers specifics about how the Senate bill would raise premiums in each state, how many people would lose private insurance, employer-provided healthcare or coverage through Medicaid. It explains that callers to Senate offices need to speak knowledgeably to Senate staffers, because those conversations from home-state callers are noted and tallied.

Find out how much premiums would increase and how many people would lose health coverage in your state under TrumpCare then contact the Senate staffers handling health care for your Senators and tell them to vote NO on TrumpCare, their website said. As we said in the Guide, the person answering the phone when you call your member of Congress office will be a staff assistant or intern. You should always ask for the Senators legislative assistant who handles that particular issue for the Senator. In this case: health care. Often times, youll be put through to that persons voicemail. Leave one. And then use the information below to send a follow-up email.

What stopping the senate means

The stakes are enormous in the fight over the Senates bill. McConnells legislation is not merely fulfilling the GOPs promises for the past seven years to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known as Obamacare. The House and Senate have used that pledge to shoehorn in another longtime GOP goal, so-called federal entitlement reform, which, in this case, has meant cutting back the future funding of Medicaid by a quarter.

Each of these elements has very different implications. The Obamacare repeal provisions deregulate the health insurance marketplace. Congressional budget analysts have said it would leave the public paying less for premiums but far more for out of pocket costs due to escalating co-pays, deductibles and having insurance policies cover less than is now the case. As Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, told NPR on Tuesday, GOP lawmakers are not concerned with cutting the same costs as the public.

The conservatives theyre focused on what the federal government spends on health care, reducing federal spending and cutting the federal budget and capping entitlement programs, he said. The American people are focused on something entirely different: their own health bills, their premiums, their deductibles, and their drug prices.

Altman said that the House and Senate bills do nothing to address pocketbook concerns of ordinary Americans. In fact, by deregulating insurance markets, he said the GOPs bills would make these costs take even bigger bites out of household spending.

The biggest change in health care today has been the steady rise in deductibles and other forms of cost sharing, Altman said. That change in insurance is probably a bigger change than the ACA, which has occurred under the radar screen while weve had this great debate about the ACA. And the biggest question in health care were not debating is how much cost sharing is too much.

Meanwhile, as the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, the real impact of the GOPs decision to go after Medicaid (the government health plan for the poor and disabled) and mostly leave Medicare (the government plan for seniors) alone, pits the elderly against the poor. (The GOP bills still cut into Medicare, because Medicaid pays for nursing home care under that program.) But, as the Journal wrote, Bysingling out Medicaid, it would signal that the burden of cost containment will fall largely on the poor while sparing the elderly.

The deliberate undermining of healthcare for people with private insurance and lower income people on Medicaid tens of millions of whom are woman and children has left longtime Democratic lawmakers like Rep. John Lewis, D-GA, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, saying they have never seen a bill as cruel, heartless and backwards as the GOP health care proposals. To make matters even worse, the bills spending cuts would be given to the wealthiest Americans as tax relief.

Can you even believe what this does for wealthy people who can afford whatever they want with respect to healthcare? Feinstein said Tuesday. And all these children, five million of them [in California] that depend on Medi-Cal, or there is no health care My voice level goes up two octaves when I talk about it it makes me so upset.

I think its a shame and a disgrace that we are moving down this road, Lewis said on Monday, during a discussion with Sen. Corey Booker, D-NJ, on the Capitol steps that went viral. Telling the most vulnerable segment of society youre on your own.

Because of the Senates arcane rules and the procedural tactics that McConnell is using to push the bill through with a simple majority of 51 votes, no other Senate business can be taken up until the healthcare bill is passed or set aside.

This means that stopping the GOPs Obamacare-Medicaid-tax cut bill will could force the Republicans to work with Democrats going forward, as much as they have refused to do so thus far. On the other hand, if they pass it (and President Trump signs it), they will quickly move onto tax reform, where the GOP wants to give even more to the wealthy, leaving, as John Lewis said, the rest of America to fend for itself.

Thats why the protests this weekend and into early July will be pivotal as important as any seen since Trump and the current GOP-majority Congress too office.

See original here:
Progressives and Democrats make coast-to-coast protest push to finish off Trump's assault on health care - Salon