Grassroots force issues into presidential campaign

Latest

Teachers protest at Texas child concentration camp.
PHOTO/JOE BRUSKY, MTEA

 
Shouts of “Yes! Yes!” and cars honking support. Enthusiastic waves from passersby. That’s what greeted Southern nurses in bright red union T-shirts as they chanted “Medicare for all!” in late June. The demonstrators were rallying outside the Arsht Center in Miami, site of the first Democratic presidential debates.
Another group held an “Underwater Climate Rally.” A coalition of local environmental groups organized that march to the Arsht Center. Participants carried signs calling for a presidential debate devoted specifically to climate change and placards supporting the Green New Deal.
As the 2020 presidential campaign gets underway, people are insisting that the candidates state clearly how they’ll respond to the huge problems this country faces—the environmental crisis, the lack of health care for millions, the question of homelessness, the attacks on immigrants, and the many other issues that confront us.
 

Sunrise Movement pushes Deomcrats for the Green New Deal.
PHOTO/FACEBOOK

 
The sudden willingness of many presidential candidates to support progressive proposals has not been caused by some miraculous change of heart. It’s the result of pressure from ordinary people, the fruit of decades of organizing and educating by those seeking justice. For years, grassroots leaders have been fighting around the questions of universal health care and the defense of immigrants. As this hard work begins to change public opinion, politicians are running to catch up with the thinking of an important section of the American people. That’s why we saw every single candidate on a presidential debate stage in Miami raise their hand to support health care for undocumented immigrants, for instance, and why many of the candidates support Medicare for All.
This hard work of changing public opinion needs to continue. We cannot accept a society where a tiny handful of millionaires and billionaires rule for their benefit.
That point was made well by Sen. Bernie Sanders in his eloquent closing remarks at the Miami debate. Sanders pointed out that we need a movement to confront the corporations which are blocking change.
 

Fighting to have a home.
PHOTO/SARAH MENEFEE

 
“Nothing will change,” Sanders pointed out “unless we have the guts to take on Wall Street, the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the military-industrial complex, and the fossil fuel industry.”
“Bernie Sanders is right,” tweeted the Sunrise Movement, the youth-led environmental group. “Our generation is looking for a president who has the ‘guts to take on the fossil fuel industry.’ We won’t settle for less.”
Waleed Shahid, communications director for the group Justice Democrats, tweeted: “He’s right that only power and a movement of millions coming together can upend our corrupt and rigged system.”
The next Democratic debates will take place July 30-31 in Detroit. The Sunrise Movement has called for tens of thousands to demonstrate outside the site and demand that the Democratic candidates say what they’ll do to confront climate change. That’s the approach we need. Let’s hold the politicians accountable.
We need a movement of millions coming together to take society away from the corporations—before those corporations destroy our society and our planet. During the debates and afterwards, let’s keep the pressure up!
 

Assault on immigrants: Democracy and humanity at risk


 

PT Logo collage
+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Emmy-Winning Journalist Deported After Reporting on Anti-Trump Protest

Emmy award-winning journalist Mario Guevara was deported to El Salvador – a country he fled over 20 years ago — in retaliation for filming law enforcement activities, says the Committee to Protect Journalists.

A Salute to Chicagoans Fighting ICE

A salute to Chicagoans fighting ICE and to the food delivery worker on a bicycle who outrode ICE agents after they tried to kidnap him on the streets of downtown Chicago.

Over 60 Lawmakers Launch Investigation Into Trump Administration’s Disappearances

Some Democrats in Congress have announced they are investigating the Trump administration’s practice of disappearing immigrants to other countries.

America Cannot Afford This Dangerous Step

Americans should be chilled at government's recent designation of “Antifa” as a domestic terrorist organization (it isn't an organization). This allows for the criminalization of broad swaths of dissent, and won't stop with "Antifa."

America is Divided—But it’s the Wrong Divide

The real divide is between those who have and those who don't. We have the abundance to care for everyone and government must see to it that people's needs are met.

More from the People's Tribune