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commentary By Brad R. Fulton | 16 hours ago

Clergy leaders with PICO Action Fund and their local federation, Faith in New York, demonstrate outside the hotel in New York's Times Square, on June 21, 2016, where Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is scheduled to meet evangelical clergy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (RNS) Religious progressives made their displeasure with the Senate Republicans health care bill clear.

From the Presbyterian Church: Draconian cuts to health care are an unacceptable threat to Gods people. From the Church of Christ: Drastic Medicaid cuts will only create more chaos and pain for those already facing challenges. What would Jesus do? He would champion health care for all.

While such denouncements likely contributed to the bills imminent demise, religious progressives were by no means an organized force rallying in opposition to this bill. Why arent they more effective at engaging social policy discussions, mobilizing their base and influencing public policy?

Before we get to remedies, here are three factors that got religious progressives to this point:

It doesnt have to be that way. Religion is not condemned to being a politically conservative force, and progressive politics are not condemned to thin moral ground without recourse to the deep ethical traditions that flow in American life. We know this from the example of faith-based community organizing (FBCO) organizations. As detailed in our comprehensive National Study of Community Organizing Organizations, the FBCO field is growingsubstantially as it promotes democratic engagement across a diverse base of constituents and as it influences policy decisions at all levels of government.

A central player in the FBCO field is the PICO National Network, formerly known as the Pacific Institute for Community Organizations. Founded in 1972 by a Jesuit priest, PICO is not aligned with any one religion and its leaders come from a range of faith communities. Nor does PICO focus on a single issue; instead, it is organizing faith-based campaigns on immigration, health care, criminal justice and many other topics around this strategy. According to its website: PICOs path to building a more just world involves teaching people of faith how to build and exercise their own power to address the root causes of the problems they face.

The effectiveness and durability of faith-based community organizing underscores what we see as the two key commitments religious progressives must make if they want to be a force for good:

Making these shifts will be not easy. Moral sermonizing wont get much done. Conservative organizations like the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition redefined the way morality figures in U.S. politics in a way that freezes out progressives. Then there is the vast power of those whose wealth and privilege lead them to oppose all progressive socio-economic policy.

But religious progressives can overcome these challenges, whether by following our suggestions or a path of their own making. If they do, a decade from now our political landscape will be less distorted by economic inequality and more vibrant with a broader representation of democratic voices.

(Brad R. Fulton is an assistant professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University.The views expressed in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service)

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How religious progressives can be more effective - Religion News Service

Heres a good one: Some Democrats are looking to force breakaway state senators from their own party to come back or be cut off financially. The group of Dems, which calls itself the NY Progressive Caucus, wants the state committee to demand that breakaway members return to the fold or lose all support i.e., state-party donations and help from local Democratic clubs. They even got the committee to schedule a vote on the issue Wednesday.

Now, its no surprise that mainline Democrats are irked at the breakaways known as the Independent Democratic Conference and headed by state Sen. Jeff Klein. The IDC generally makes common cause with Republicans and avoids the mainline Dems.

Whats more, the progressives seem to regard the addition of three minority senators Marisol Alcantara, Jesse Hamilton and Jose Peralta to the formerly all-white IDC caucus as a particularly hurtful betrayal.

But the bid to pressure the IDC is laughable. For starters, theres really not much the progressives can do. After all, the IDC doesnt need and usually doesnt get financial support from the committee.

Moreover, Gov. Cuomo, who heads the Democratic Party and who himself often sides with the IDC and Republicans, has yet to express any support for the effort.

Still, the progressives and other Democrats sympathetic to their cause continue to look to make trouble. Recently, the mainline Dems tried to sic Albany DA David Soares and the US attorney on IDC members over legislative stipends.

Thing is, ever since their failed leadership of the Senate a decade ago, most of the mainline Dems have proved themselves unwilling to work with their Republican colleagues (or the IDC) in the broader interests of the state.

If anyone should be cut off, it should be the mainline Democrats not a group like the IDC thats willing to work cooperatively with the other party and put New Yorkers interests first.

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Progressive NY Dems' nutty attack on their party mates - New York Post

Betsy Johnson

SEASIDE In a rallying speech to district attorneys from across Oregon, state Sen. Betsy Johnson on Wednesday chastised House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson and other progressives for their support of recently passed criminal justice bills.

One bill part of a larger effort to limit racial profiling by police and the justice system will classify first-time, low-level possession of illegal drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine as misdemeanors. Another intended to help curb an upward trend of prison use among women will lower presumptive prison sentences for theft and identity theft by nearly a third. Both bills await the signature of Gov. Kate Brown, who already has voiced her support.

Johnson spoke at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center to prosecutors gathered for a dinner reception, part of the Oregon District Attorneys Associations three-day summer conference.

If the safety and justice crowd keeps winning, there will be no safety, and there will be no justice especially for the poorer classes who are often preyed upon by criminals, Johnson said. To progressives, a victim and a criminal are moral equals.

Johnson, D-Scappoose, was the sole Senate Democrat to vote against the racial profiling bill and one of two to vote against the bill addressing women in prison.

Were looking the other way when drug addicts commit first-degree theft and identity theft, she said. And the victims? Theyre paying for these treatment programs and wraparound services.

While most Democrats and some Republicans across the country have conceded the war on drugs has failed, Johnson offered an alternative theory.

Actually, its been quite successful in the hands of the progressives, she said. They have used it to create one campaign after another to push their agenda.

Poke at House leadership

Johnson also excoriated Williamson, D-Portland, on several occasions during her nearly 20-minute speech for staunchly supporting both bills.

Johnson said her support for the bills was politically motivated and that, as a former defense attorney, the majority leader is not motivated to fight for crime victims.

Johnson, known for being more practical than idealogical, has a lengthy history of being thorny to fellow Democrats. She has blocked a number of bills by siding with Republicans and even considered switching to the Independent Party of Oregon in 2015.

She also has backed prosecutors throughout her time in the Legislature. In her speech, she praised Kevin Neely, a lobbyist for district attorneys who fought against the drug bills.

Prior to her speech Wednesday night, the district attorneys association surprised her with its Policymaker of the Year award.

She is the Oregon Legislatures most vocal and supportive advocate of prosecutors, said Rick Wesenberg, the Douglas County district attorney and the associations president.

Johnson challenged prosecutors to organize and fight back against progressives, who she says have put them on the ropes. She suggested sending out press releases to local constituents when they believe certain bills passed in the Legislature may make it more difficult to punish crimes.

What kind of world are we headed for when district attorneys are expected to act like defense attorneys? Johnson said. Who will stand up for victims? Not Jennifer Williamson and the Oregon Legislature.

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Sen. Johnson chides progressives on crime bills - Daily Astorian

Hoping to put recent spats and divisions behind them, the SLO County Democratic Party Central Committee elected a new chairperson to try and steer the party to victory in upcoming elections.

Voting members of the committee elected Rosemary Wrenn Canfield as its chairwoman at a July 17 meeting. Canfield, an educator and former teacher at the Bellevue Santa Fe Charter School, won 33-24 against her opponent, Lucia Mar School District educator and union leader Donna Kandel.

"I believe in our mission and I believe in our vision," Canfield told members of the central committee in a short speech prior to the vote.

Speaking with New Times, Canfield said she hoped to energize local Democrats and make the party a more visible participant in the community. She assumes the chair after the local party has struggled with infighting following the 2016 general election. Her predecessor, Don Stewart, abruptly walked out of a June 19 meeting following a tense back-and-forth with other members over parliamentary procedure. Canfield expressed confidence that she could help close that divide.

"It's very clear that we all share some core and common values," Canfield said. "My goal is to stay focused on those. If we stay focused on those common values, I am confident we can achieve our mission."

Those who spoke in support of Canfield at the July 17 meeting said they believed that she could effectively lead them down the path of winning some of the 111 local seats up for grabs in 2018, more than half of which are held by Republicans.

"She has the leadership skills," said SLO County 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson.

Canfield is also a member of the SLO Progressives, a 1,500-member club that continues to grow its influence on the party since the 2016 election. According to the group's website, Canfield is a member of the SLO Progressives' advisory board and one of 14 members of a "progressive slate" elected as state-level party delegates for the 35th State Assembly District. Prior to the vote on the chair, the central committee members passed a resolution to allow the organization's full membership, including those 14 delegates, to vote for the chair. Before that, only members representing the county's supervisorial districts could vote for a chair.

In a post to the SLO Progressives' Facebook page, the organization said its members were "delighted" with Canfield's victory, and looked forward to working to elect Democrats to local, state, and national office.

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County Dems elect chair from SLO Progressives - New Times SLO

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(JTA) An influential progressive political action committee denounced a bipartisan measuretargeting boycotts of Israel and its settlements.

MoveOn.org, an influential liberal public policy advocacy group and PAC that raises money for progressive political candidates, criticized the Israel Anti-Boycott Act on Twitter.

Regardless how you feel about BDS, Congress must reject action to criminalize free speech and peaceful protest. The Democrats in House and Senate must say no to H.R. 1697/S. 720, MoveOn.org tweeted, referring to the House and Senate versions of the bill.

Free speech and peaceful protest are integral to democracy, the group added.

The bill, introduced in March in both the House and the Senate,would expand 1970s-era laws that make illegal compliance with boycotts of Israel sponsored by governments laws inspired at the time by the Arab League boycott of Israel, to include boycotts backed by international organizations.Those adhering to boycotts would be subject to fines.

It also targets efforts by the United Nations and the European Union to distinguish between products manufactured in Israel and West Bank settlements.

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Moveon.org Calls On Progressives To KIll Anti-BDS Bill - Forward