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Texas progressives won, or made runoffs in three Democratic primary contests. Thats got some more traditional Democrats talking. At least one longtime operative calls progressives a loud minority in the party.

Previously we dug into how the March 1 primary contests helped elevate Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw as be the leader of the new right in Texas, according to a conservative columnist for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. On the Democratic side, a recent headline in The Nation read, Democratic Insiders Keep Bashing Progressives, but Progressives Keep Winning Key Elections.

John Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation, spoke with Texas Standard about how longtime Democratic operatives are reacting to progressive success in congressional primaries in Texas. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.

This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:

Texas Standard: Lets talk about the idea that progressives are being called a loud minority. Where exactly is this coming from?

John Nichols: Well, that comes from some of the key players in the Democratic Party establishment. And this notion that progressives are a loud minority is pushed by Democratic consultants like James Carville. He is the source of that quote. But its also pushed by a lot of the media, which has developed a fantasy that that somehow progressives live in a couple of neighborhoods in New York City and Washington, D.C., and in other ways that the movement doesnt really exist. Its quite the opposite as the Texas primary showed.

In fact, you narrowed in on three Democratic primaries in Texas. Give us a few more details about those three races and why you believe they signaled something for the left going forward.

Three congressional primaries in Texas all for open seats that got a lot of attention at the national level. You saw progressives and more moderate forces in the party show up. And those were in the Austin-San Antonio area thats the race that Greg Casar, a former Austin City Council member ran in. Then you had one in the Dallas area where Jasmine Crockett was running. And then down closer to the border, you had Jessica Cisneros running.

In those three seats, those people I mentioned all ran as extremely progressive candidates. They accepted endorsements from very progressive groups. They really distinguished themselves as folks who were on the left of the party. And in each case they ran very, very well. Greg Casar won his primary. Jessica Cisneros forced the incumbent congressman, Henry Cuellar, into a runoff, and Jasmine Crockett is also in a runoff, although she came within a whisker of winning a majority and looks to be very strongly positioned for the runoff.

What does that add up to? Does it mean that progressives need to be taken more seriously within the Democratic Party? Whats your whats your take?

My take would be that the issues progressives are running on need to be taken more seriously, and maybe we need to be a little careful about the labels. And whats interesting to me is that, in the case of Greg Casar, as well as Jessica Cisneros, they ran on single payer Medicare for all health care. Which, in the media is often identified as this left wing progressive stance. But the fact is, when you look at the polling, its very popular across the line. In fact, when you describe it to Republicans, theres a lot of them who like it.

And similarly with talking about the Texas grid and talking about how that relates to some climate issues, you find that theres an awful lot of people that are concerned. And so I guess one of the things that I would remind folks of is that both on the left and the right, there are issues that resonate beyond the labels. And I think what Texas showed is that some of the issues that progressives are running on resonate in a state that that isnt necessarily thought of as a bastion of left wing politics. Although admittedly, the districts were talking about doing relatively Democratic.

Do you think that were looking at the end of an era? Perhaps.

Thats an exceptionally good question. Clearly, weve seen the end of an era to an extent, because we now have a Democratic president in Joe Biden, whos certainly no left winger. Joe Biden pretty much defines the center of gravity in the Democratic Party. And yet he has governed with a lot of respect for the left. I think thats really the lesson: that since Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016, youve seen adoption of a lot of progressive policies and frankly, the advancement of a lot of progressive thinkers within the party. Theres still a wrestling match, though, and there are a lot of what would be described for lack of a better term is establishment Democrats that dont like that change. Its a push and a poll. But clearly, that sort of new Democrat moment has faded. And again, Texas gives you a very good set of examples to back that case up from its primary results.

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What does progressives' primary success mean for Texas Democrats? - Texas Standard

The deal to supercharge the Pentagon budget is partly thanks to a $25 billion boost to the administrations defense proposal that Democrats and Republicans endorsed in military policy legislation Biden signed in December. But congressional leaders must still pass legislation to fund the Pentagon, and their negotiations could produce Pentagon spending even higher than the $740 billion they agreed to months ago.

Despite that cash influx for the military, the funding bill could actually win more progressive support than in years past, thanks to an emboldened Vladimir Putin and years of uncertainty to come. Its the latest sign of the difficulty that Democrats left flank has encountered translating its Biden-era ambitions into policy progress.

Its going to be tough, said House Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), who was critical of the hefty Pentagon spending increases under former President Donald Trump. I dont like it. I think were spending far too much anyways. But I think its a harder political vote now to vote against significant increases in defense.

This years sprawling spending bill is Bidens first and perhaps best chance to shape the future of government funding in his first term, with control of at least one chamber of Congress widely expected to change hands in November.

With Democrats controlling all of Washington for the first time in a decade, progressives saw an opening to at least hold the line on military spending this Congress, if not decrease it. But the left lost the battle on Pentagon spending to a coalition of Republicans and Democrats, and instead focused on at least matching those increases on the social-programs side of the government ledger.

And many liberals already see the writing on the wall for more Pentagon spending to come. Bidens upcoming budget request is also certain to disappoint progressives when it is released in the coming weeks, as the White House looks to counter an even more urgent Russian threat and gear up for longer term security and economic challenges posed by China.

Without question its going to have to be bigger than we thought, House Armed Services Chair Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said last week. Im always going to be cautious of the people who always want to spend more money no matter what ... But the decision to invade Ukraine by Russia changes it, and its going to go up. Theres no doubt about it.

House Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith speaks in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on June 29, 2021.|Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Smith is a skeptic of shoveling more cash at the Pentagon whos unsuccessfully fought efforts to increase the defense budget. Still, he acknowledged that Moscows aggression means U.S. military posture is now more complicated and more expensive.

Indeed, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer suggested late Monday that the final total aid for Ukraine could be as much as $12 billion in the spending package. And Republican defense hawks are applauding Smiths change of heart: Good for Adam, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said about the Armed Services chairs support for higher military funding in light of the invasion.

The reality of the moment has hit a stronger America is a safer world, right? Graham said Monday. Any politician willing to adjust is doing the country a service left or right.

The top House Armed Services panel Republican, Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, agreed: We have huge threats that we have to get after.

Weve got to stop this, Rogers added of the monthslong stretch without a budget boost for the military. We have to be bipartisan in dealing with these threats.

Progressive leaders dont plan to take a formal stance on whether to vote in favor of the broader spending bill and have not been formally whipping their members. Privately, many liberals believe that most of their members with the exception of a dozen or so of the caucus most liberal members, such as the so-called Squad will ultimately back the funding package, according to multiple lawmakers and aides.

I do support military aid to Ukraine, said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). I think thats the thing. We never support the defense budget, but she noted her vote could come down to the procedural details of how exactly that bill is brought to the floor.

Its situational. And theres a lot riding on it. We need to support Ukraine, added Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who has voted against defense bills in the past.

Democrats hope to bring the full package to the floor as soon as Wednesday, with hopes of quick action in the Senate before the Friday night deadline. But if a deal isnt reached by Tuesday, lawmakers and aides acknowledged that another stopgap could be needed to avoid a shutdown even as they stressed it would be the last possible resort and all focus is on the broader spending bill.

Senior lawmakers are still discussing possible options for those progressives who do oppose the Pentagon spending hike: The House could take multiple votes on the package, allowing progressives to vote no on the military budgets, but yes on funding for social programs such as health, infrastructure or housing. A similar strategy was used to pass last years bipartisan funding deal, though a final tactic hasnt been decided yet for this year.

There is overwhelming interest in providing assistance to Ukraine. And I think thats going to factor into the calculus that members usually use to decide how theyre going to vote, said a senior appropriator, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).

Asked whether the emergency spending for Ukraine might help win progressives votes on the funding bill, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said it would depend on what was in the package.

It might. It just depends on what its for, Jayapal said, noting that some House liberals also have issues with other controversial pieces of the spending bills, such as the Department of Homeland Security.

These are big bills. I think well have to see how it all shakes out. Whats actually in there, and then how its actually divided, Jayapal said.

Democrats could also decide to package the longer-term spending bill together with the Ukrainian aid to maximize pressure on Republicans to deliver a united vote. But doing so would also squeeze the left.

The White House last week proposed $10 billion in emergency Ukraine aid. Roughly half, $4.8 billion, would go toward the Pentagon for troop deployments to Europe, restocking weapons shipped to Ukraine and cyber operations.

But a portion of that money would also go toward humanitarian relief efforts to mitigate a burgeoning refugee crisis in Europe the piece of the package that progressives have been far more interested in touting.

Another major reason many liberals will eventually back the deal is the intra-party pressure House Democrats are under to pass the bipartisan funding deal through their chamber, with or without the support of Republicans. Theyll have just a handful of their own votes to spare.

Theres no guarantee with them, Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) said of GOP votes on spending bills. People understand the margins we have, and the fact that we have to act. We dont compromise principle, but we have to compromise on the practicality of it.

Jennifer Scholtes and Nancy Vu contributed to this report.

Link:
Progressives grit their teeth as defense wins big in spending bill - POLITICO

Erik Bottcher, my city councilman, says his mother is afraid to come to New York City, worried that she will be hit. Shes not wrong. The elected officials who claim to champion womens rights arent taking womens justified fears seriously.

Its no accident that when Frank Abrokwa allegedly smeared his feces on a victim in a Bronx subway station on Feb. 21, the victim was a woman.

Before the attack, the suspect tried to hit on his victim, saying, How come you dont want to talk to me?

Every woman or girl knows what this is like: Some stranger comes up to you and tries to talk to you. Do you entirely ignore him, and risk angering him? Or do you engage as minimally as possible, and try to find a way out of the interaction?

This is harder, of course, when there is no one else around too often the case on subway platforms these days.

She ignored him so he committed a premeditated act of retaliation designed to humiliate and degrade. He fled the scene to poop into a bag, returned, and smeared the poop across his victims face, hair and back,saying, like this, b-tch? as she tried desperately to escape. At his arraignment, Abrokwa used the same slur to address a female judge.

Abrokwa is now back on the street to escalate his behavior.

Signs show he will: Hes faced 44 past arrests, and has several violent cases pending from the past six months, including punching two people (men) in two different transit stations, and spitting on a man he called a fking Jew.

Because Abrokwa hasnt killed or raped anyone, judges in three separate cases have freed him on no bail, under the 2019 state law.

Sure, one judgecouldhave held him, under a provision that allows for incarceration for repeat suspected offenders. But she didnt, deeming insufficient evidence.

To proponents of the bail reform, this means its working. He could have been held if everything had worked absolutely perfectly.

This insistence that everything is fine ignores the fact that courts are deeply dysfunctional, and the new bail laws did nothing to change that.The Democratic state Legislature just grafted yet more opportunities for catastrophic mistakes on a system that makes such mistakes every day.

The flipside of bail reform is that maybe Abrokwa deserves a second chance (or a 45thchance). In that case, hes supposed to be getting the help he needs, in the new thoughts and prayers clich.

Mayor Eric Adams said that this horrific situation was partly due to a failed mental health system, and Bottcher, too, says the people making his mother afraid are suffering from untreated mental illness.

OK, fine. If were not going to jail people, well carefully tend to their mental needs.

But Abrowka wasalreadyon supervised release, because of his earlier alleged attacks.

What kind of mental illness does he have? Like the attackers in many recent violent crimes, he appears perfectly lucid, and understands cause and effect.

Why didnt his supervised release regimen fail to catch and treat this mysterious illness? What should the treatment be? What happens if he resists treatment?

Too many women are paying the price for the citys failure to answer these questions. This year alone, at least six New York City women have been killed by strangers: Jennifer Ynoa, Kristal Bayron-Nieves, Michelle Go, Dorothy Clarke-Rozier, Gloria Ortiz and Christina Yuna Lee.

Thats more than an entire years worth of stranger-on-women killings in normal years. In 2018,noNew York City woman was killed by a stranger, indicating how safe the city had become.

And too many women have had close calls particularly in the transit system. City public-health researcher Nina Rothschild suffered a skull fracture in a Queens subway stairwell, attacked by a career criminal whojust servedan 18-year sentence out of state.

A 68-year-old womanwas slashedin the Union Square subway last week.

Dont let anyone tell you this is just life in the big city. Its because of specific changes in state and city policies.

Bayron-Nieves attacker had been released without bail after an earlier attack. Lees alleged killer, too, was on no-bail supervised release. Gos alleged killerwas on parole, and had missed his appointments with no penalty.

Police no longer arrest chronic, repeat turnstile-jumpers so they are free to commit bigger crimes in the transit system.

As they look over their shoulders, New Yorks women should wonder how feminist their progressive politicians are.

Nicole Gelinas is a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institutes City Journal.

Excerpt from:
NY progressives' weak-on-crime policies are profoundly anti-woman - New York Post

Central Pennsylvania native Onah Ossai was lighting a cigarette on her front porch on a mild, late-summer day in 2019 when she was approached by a pair of political canvassers. Instead of showering the single mother with reasons to support a candidate, the two canvassers asked how Ossai felt about expanding access to healthcare. From there, a 20-minute conversation about healthcare ensued, ending with shared stories of loved ones experiences with immigration.

I already believed that we should have universal healthcare and all people who live in the US should receive it regardless of immigration status, Ossai told The Real News. When I shared with the canvassers and they shared with me, it made me want to be a part of making that happen.

I already believed that we should have universal healthcare and all people who live in the US should receive it regardless of immigration status, Ossai told The Real News. When I shared with the canvassers and they shared with me, it made me want to be a part of making that happen.

This strategy, called deep canvassing, utilizes active listening and asking non-judgemental questions instead of laser-focused sloganeeringand research shows it is highly effective in building support for progressive causes. When deep canvassing was first used by California LGBTQ activists just over a decade ago, these intimate door-to-door conversations provided an elusive and powerful tool to fight prejudice and sway California voters who supported banning same-sex marriage in 2008. Deep canvassing also aims to sway voters who may support an issue or candidate, but lack the motivation to participate in the electoral process.

Deep canvassing contrasts sharply with traditional canvassing, which aims to boost turnout by targeting voters affiliated with an issue or party on a mass scale, and presenting facts and information to encourage them to vote; but theres increasing evidence door-knocking alone is not an effective strategy.

The job of a deep canvasser is to listen and gauge participants emotional response to a topic, and then methodically build lasting human and emotional connections by sharing personal anecdotes and by asking participants to do the same. In other words, canvassers talk to a participant the way they might talk to them if they werent part of a political campaign. When executed well, the strategy can often enable canvassers to cut through peoples entrenched biases and preconceived notions about politics and party lines.

The job of a deep canvasser is to listen and gauge participants emotional response to a topic, and then methodically build lasting human and emotional connections by sharing personal anecdotes and by asking participants to do the same. In other words, canvassers talk to a participant the way they might talk to them if they werent part of a political campaign.

For those on the ground working to mobilize potential voters in todays political landscape, which is in many ways defined by a mix of fierce factional polarization and exhausted resignation, the need for deep canvassing is urgently felt. Leading up to the 2020 election, Pew Research Center found roughly 8 in 10 registered voters in both camps said their differences with the other side were about core American values, and roughly 9 in 10again in both campsworried that a victory by the other would lead to lasting harm to the United States. Another study by the American National Election Studies found that after the 2020 election, Americans have abysmal views of the opposing political party, or as CNN reported, statistically, Democrats and Republicans hate each other more than ever.

Deep canvassing has had remarkable success, even as conservative economic and political elites increasingly scapegoat people of color, the LGBTQ community, and government spending for rising systemic social and economic inequities. One report found it had a more than 100 times deeper and longer-lasting impact than traditional canvassing in nine key swing states leading up to the 2020 presidential election. Such findings have been backed by research, including a recent study that found while face-to-face persuasive conversations failed to reduce voters prejudice, conversations employing deep canvassing reduced xenophobia and transphobia.

Im not making an argument with you, Ossai said. I want to know why you care about something, and I want to know why you feel the way that you feel about something. And Im going to ask you real questions to get to the root of why you feel that way.

Along with reducing bigotry, it can also be an effective method for motivating people to take action. Before Ossai was deep canvassed, she supported universal healthcare but was not politically active.

My first experience with deep canvassing was getting deep canvassed, recalls Ossai, 34, who first encountered the strategy as it was being deployed by the grassroots group Pennsylvania Stands Up to build support for the inclusion of undocumented immigrants in universal healthcare.

She was so swayed by her initial deep canvassing experience that she joined Stand Up Pennsylvanias campaign.

I got a call a week later. And they were like, You had really great stories, and the canvassers really thought they were really powerful. And then the next thing you know, Im doing it, she said.

Deep canvassing seeks to explore the emotions that subconsciously contribute to our political and social views. The idea is that by helping the participant understand how their views are wrapped up in and impacted by human emotions and personal experiences, they can begin to acknowledge that impact and develop an approach to thorny political issues that is more measured and self-reflective.

Im not making an argument with you, Ossai said. I want to know why you care about something, and I want to know why you feel the way that you feel about something. And Im going to ask you real questions to get to the root of why you feel that way.

Ossai, who is African American, recalls a 2019 conversation that ended up with a rural white voter increasing his support for universal health care. When she shared a story of her aunt who is undocumented, the man asked, Why should we have to help other people? She responded that she used to feel the same way, but becoming a mother made her appreciate other people, and understand their experiences that are different than mine. The man admitted to his daughter that he had never considered how our experiences affect our opinions.

The national progressive advocacy organization Peoples Action designed the 2019 campaign, which also targeted rural white voters in North Carolina and Michigan. It resulted in a 20% shift in support for the inclusion of undocumented immigrants in the expansion of universal health care, according to data they released.

Today, Ossai is a Rural Field Organizer with Pennsylvania Stands Up, one of People Actions 40 local partner organizations, and has used deep canvassing on half a dozen campaigns, including Joe Bidens Pennsylvania win in the 2020 presidential election.

The groups are again planning to help Democrats in the 2022 midterms. An expected razor-thin margin in Pennsylvania will decide the races for a US Senate seat, Governor and Lt. Governor, and control of the legislaturenationally, control of Congress and the future of President Bidens agenda hang in the balance.

Progressives have increasingly embraced deep canvassing as a tool to break through Americas increasingly toxic, polarized, and rage-filled political landscapethe reality of Ossais native Central Pennsylvania.

Where I live currently theres a lets go Brandon flag down the street, and theres also still some people that have got some Biden signs still up, said Ossai, who lives outside of Steelton, Pennsylvania. It is super politically divided and Its wild because everywhere you go its divided, theres always going to be spicy hot takes from either side.

During the 2020 election, canvassers also had to contend with the pandemic, which not only limited personal interactions but also brought misery, mass unemployment, sickness and death, and caused those who might support the issues Ossai was canvassing for to become despondent, she explained.

Yes, you support Joe Biden, right? You want to make sure Trumps out of office, but wheres your motivation to vote, to get up and go vote, when you feel like it doesnt matter, everythings just unraveling all at once?

Voting in the election was not a top priority for many voters Ossai spoke to.

Yes, you support Joe Biden, right? You want to make sure Trumps out of office, but wheres your motivation to vote, to get up and go vote, when you feel like it doesnt matter, everythings just unraveling all at once?

Canvassers with Pennsylvania Stands Up and Peoples Action had over 383,000 conversations with voters across the state, and said that 48% of completed calls ended with increased support of Biden, with one in five shifting to Biden from Trump or from being undecided.

In a state where Biden defeated Trump by just 81,000 votes, deep canvassing contributed to the Democrats margin of victory.

Anyone can become a deep canvasser, but getting the necessary experience requires serious commitment and ongoing training. About 50 participants, ranging from veteran activists to those who said it was their first political training, logged onto a Zoom call organized by Peoples Action to learn the theory and practice of deep canvassing on the evening of Jan. 19.

The event focused on reaching New Hampshire voters about the importance of federal legislation to fight climate change. After an hour-long interactive presentation, the participants were divided into breakout groups to practice deep canvassing on each other using an online interactive script, including a prompt to describe a time when their lives were impacted by climate change.

The person I talked with told me that no one had ever spoken with them before about these issues.

Canvassers ask participants to rate their feelings toward a campaign or topic on a scale of 1-10. As the canvasser wades into the participants response, the script automatically updates with prompts and questions to guide the participants through the deep canvas. Before the conversation concludes, the participant is asked to again gauge their attitude towards the topic; this net change is how persuasion is measured.

After reflecting on the training, participants made real deep canvassing calls to New Hampshire residents for the final 30 minutes of the training. Some noted that it was more difficult to get a human connection with a participant over the phone than in person, a difficult reality of organizing and canvassing during the pandemic.

I feel like these conversations are so much easier in person. Its hard to say No [to] someone when they are looking at you, one participant said.

Others had more success.

We are actually training people on soft skills, like how you practice compassionate curiosity, like how you are assertive and direct a conversation, how you tell your own story in a way that prompts vulnerability for the person youre speaking to.

The person I talked with told me that no one had ever spoken with them before about these issues, participant Robin Schneider said.

Organizers shared that out of the five people canvassers reached who did not initially support the clean energy initiative, three said their views were significantly changed at the end of the call, a 30% persuasion rate.

Participants are encouraged to take part in a series of training sessions that emphasize different skills needed to be an effective deep canvasser, says Brooke Adams, Peoples Actions Director of Movement Politics.

We are actually training people on soft skills, like how you practice compassionate curiosity, like how you are assertive and direct a conversation, how you tell your own story in a way that prompts vulnerability for the person youre speaking to, she said.

Along with requiring more training than traditional canvassing, and simply taking longer (a single conversation typically lasts 10-20 minutes), deep canvassing has other limitations: to maximize effectiveness, each deep canvas script is created through extensive experimentation to determine which option creates the greatest impact for individual communities, which is also a time-consuming and expensive process. The final script used in the 2020 presidential campaign, for example, had over two dozen iterations.

When youre looking at using this strategy to essentially transform the American electorate and build a nationwide multiracial working-class base, theres just a lot of differences and how people are experiencing problems in their communities. And we have to be sensitive to that, while also building the structure to be able to replicate deep canvases at scale, Adams said.

Voters have reasons to be skeptical of politicians and political parties: Working-class Americans have endured decades of skyrocketing inequality and eroding economic and political power, while decades worth of conditioned adherence to consumeristic individualism has been used to erase empathy and solidarity from the popular imagination.

Ultimately, this project is about renewing peoples faith in government and government spending, and actually moving people towards a positive vision of a political system, where people from all backgrounds are actually able to thrive in this country, Adams said. But were doing that in the context of people not having gotten basic necessities met by the government, people are struggling right now.

Canvassers face the challenge of building support for expanding government services that have thus far failed to provide Americans a social safety net.

Ultimately, this project is about renewing peoples faith in government and government spending, and actually moving people towards a positive vision of a political system, where people from all backgrounds are actually able to thrive in this country, Adams said. But were doing that in the context of people not having gotten basic necessities met by the government, people are struggling right now.

Were constantly operating in this tension of needing to recognize that reality, while also trying to move people towards seeing the possibility that government spending and government dollars can be good, Adams said.

Ossai stresses that deep canvassing is a long-term strategy.

There is a sense sometimes that we want to just force it to work quickly, we want to make it work during a midterm because we need to have a blue wave, right? When we know that these problems have been here, these problems have persisted. And that one midterm election isnt going to fix it, she said.

In practical terms, for canvassers during the pandemic, this often meant that they spend time helping connect an individual with resources before canvassing them.

It can also put canvassers in uncomfortable and dangerous situations.

Im not fearful to knock on a door and have a hard conversation, Ossai said. But there were times where I would have an address up a one mile gravel driveway, the only one car could get up. And theres like a big MAGAbillboard that says Trump. And Im just like driving up the driveway. I dont want to get stuck, like, I dont want someone to be coming down this driveway at the same time Im going up and then being like, what are you doing here?

Ossai has had the police called on her multiple times.

Being a person of color canvassing in any neighborhood where youre not supposed to be there, having police called on you can always be an issue, she said.

In recent years, Peoples Action and its local partner organizations like Pennsylvania Stands Up have used it in campaigns to increase support for Medicare for All, immigration reform, and the defund the police movement. Other groups have successfully used it to protect the rights of transgender people in Miami-Dade County, Florida, build a multi-racial working-class coalition in rural North Carolina, and unseat Maines GOP minority leader.

Anybody can deep canvass and it doesnt just have to be when someone gives you a script, Ossai said. Why do you think youre so opposed to these masks in school? Have you ever had to do something to protect other people? Has that ever happened before in your life? And Uncle Jerry will tell when there was a he had to protect somebody else. And he had to do something, maybe that made him a little bit uncomfortable.

Despites the challenges, Ossai feels optimistic that deep canvassing will have a positive impact on the 2022 elections.

I think people are fired up this year. And I think that these local races are something that could get people out to the polls, she said. I think that the state races are things that will get people out to the polls, when they really know why it matters to them and their families.

This article is part of a series made possible with the support of the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems.

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How progressives are winning over the rural voters Democrats abandoned - The Real News Network

Political momentum has seemingly been on the side of the anti-bail reform crowd ever since Republicans scored several victories in local races in November after campaigning hard on the issue. But progressives are nonetheless remaining on the legislative offensive as the 2022 elections loom.

Activists are making a big push to change parole laws, and a bill that would make it easier to overturn wrongful convictions got some attention Tuesday at the Capitol. One bill that appears particularly likely to pass in the upcoming weeks aims to seal criminal records for people who finish their sentences.

Gov. Kathy Hochul included a so-called Clean Slate bill in her proposed state budget despite the ongoing backlash to bail reform, but Democratic lawmakers and activists showed Tuesday that they are not giving up the fight for a version of the legislation, which nearly passed the Legislature last year, that would be more aggressive in sealing records more quickly.

The one-house budgets expected to pass the state Senate and Assembly next week offer progressives a chance to show they arent intimidated by the GOPs messaging on criminal justice reforms as an April 1 state budget deadline approaches.

Messaging could help Clean Slate avoid the types of controversy that have plagued other progressive efforts like bail reform. This is not a criminal justice reform bill, Assembly Member Catalina Cruz of Queens, who sponsored the bill, told City & State. This is an antipoverty bill. Formerly incarcerated people would need to finish their prison sentences and any post-release supervision before they could have their records sealed, which would smooth the way for them to apply for jobs and housing. It just baffles my mind why we don't want to ensure that people are permitted to work, state Sen. Jamaal Bailey, who chairs the Bronx Democratic Party, said at a Tuesday virtual press conference in support of the bill.

The differences between the bill sponsored by Cruz and the one proposed by Hochul come down to when people would become eligible to have their conviction sealed. They could apply as soon as their sentences end under the version backed by lawmakers while Hochul would make them wait until the end of the maximum sentence imposed by a judge. This would amount to several more years in many cases, City & State reported in January.

Suburban moderates are few on the list of Democratic lawmakers who have signed onto the bill first proposed in 2020, but New York City Mayor Eric Adams expressed his support for the legislation during his budget testimony before state legislators, though it remains unclear which of the dueling proposals he prefers. The version of the bill supported by legislators was included in the Peoples Budget backed by the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus, whose members include Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Majority Leader Andre Stewart-Cousins. Labor groups also recently announced their support for that version of the bill.

The fate of the bill hinges on the willingness of legislators and the governor to compromise on the details. We're working with the governor's office to make sure that they see that the language of need is the language that we draft, Cruz said at the virtual press conference. The governor has demonstrated her willingness to compromise with legislators on a litany of issues, including her recently-spiked budget proposal on expanding the use of granny flats across the state. She will continue working with the Legislature to hammer out an agreement on the Clean Slate Act that helps New Yorkers transform their lives post-incarceration, Hochul spokesperson Avi Small said in an email. There is a chance that negotiations on Clean Slate could continue outside the budget process if activists push legislators to resist any compromise that Hochul might offer.

Clean Slate is hardly the only proposal that will test the progressive mood in Albany on the matter of changing how the state deals with people who get caught up in the criminal justice system. The Peoples Budget includes a list of criminal justice reforms that progressives are eager to include in the one-house budget while moderates and Republicans are hoping to restrain them as much as possible before a final state budget gets approved around the beginning of April.

The bail backlash continues, but that is not stopping Democrats from championing their vision for public safety in Albany. This is about regular everyday people who have made mistakes, who have paid for them, Cruz said at the Tuesday press conference. Give people an opportunity to have a job, to rebuild their lives, to live safely so that all these arguments of recidivism and what happens when people commit crimes again can go out the window.

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Undaunted by bail backlash, progressives push for Clean Slate bill in Albany - City & State