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Where do we go from here?

  By Uncategorized

Dear Friends, American had a really bad day on Tuesday. And Pennsylvania had it worse than most states. We are, as you know, a swing state and when the nation swings, we swing harder more than most states. Despite all the good work Penn ACTION did (preliminary details here), we lost five Democratic members of Congress who were strong supporters of health care reform. We lost races for Governor and Senate. And we lost the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. So where do we progressive go from here? We will be discussing this for some time, but let me share with you some initial thoughts. A referenda on the economy First, we have to see this election as what it was, a referenda on the sad state of the economy. There is little evidence that there was any substantial shift in the fundamental beliefs of Americans about politics. America is a… Continue reading

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Penn ACTION in Election 2010

  By Penn ACTION, Penn Action and Election 2010

This has been a tough election for progressives. The political winds were against us and it turns out that there was little that we could do to stem them. I’ve written here about what we do next. But the disappointing results came despte our best efforts and those of other progressive around the state. The difficult political climate made fund raising for electoral work difficult but Penn ACTION brough close to $150,000 into the state for electoral work and carried out a number of important operations. On the C4, indpendent expenditure side, where we could explicitly work for a particular candidate, we Built a major canvass operation in support of Congressman Patrick Murphy in Congressional District Eight. We canvassed over 11 days and knocked on almost 17.000 doors, including 4158 on Election Day. Phoned 25,000 voters twice in Philadelphia, Bucks County and Montgomery to urge them to vote for Congressman Murphy Produced and… Continue reading

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New Penn ACTION NE Philly Volunteer Canvass

  By Penn ACTION, Penn Action and Election 2010

At practically the last moment, Penn ACTION secured some additional resources from the One Nation Working Together march to set up an additional canvass operation. This is a non-partisan get out the vote canvass that is targeting infrequent voters among single women, African Americans and young people under thirty in Northeast Philly and Montgomery County. The NE Philly office is at 14425 Bustleton Avenue although it is at the back of a strip mall building that fronts on Philmont Avenue. It is a block north of the  the Somerton train station on the West Trenton Line. We’ll be there from 11:00 am to about 6:30 pm on Monday and from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm on Election Day. We can send you out to canvass any time, but please call ahead to let us know you are coming as we will be out of the office at times, especially on… Continue reading

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Penn ACTION Coordinates PA Voice Joint Phonebank

  By Penn ACTION, Penn Action and Election 2010

 PA Voice coordinates the electoral and issue work of c3  organization around the state. The Penn ACTION Education Fund, our c3 arm, is a member of the group. Because we are c3 organizations, and can receive tax deductible contributions, our electoral work consist in non-partisan efforts to turn out voters. On Tuesday, October 26, Penn ACTION coordinated a joint phone bank that included, in addition to ourselves, PennPIRG,  PA Immigration and Citizenship Coalition, Project HOME, Action United, Conservation Voters, and Working America.  We cam together at the office of Solutions for Progress to eccourage under-represented voters in Philadelphia and around the state to turn out to vote. That’s why we were joined by anti-poverty groups, women’s groups, advocates for immigrants, social services providers, environmentalists, public interest advocates – and even Project HOME’s Vote for Homes Program in which homeless men and women take the time to come to our office to phonebank their neighbors! Our effort were coordinated… Continue reading

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Patrick Murphy thanks US Action / Penn ACTION for Campaign Support

  By Penn ACTION, Penn Action and Election 2010

Thursday, Jeff Blum, the Executive Director of our national partner, US Action joined me and our Bucks County staffer Robin Stelly, to deliver the second installment on US Action’s $5000 PAC contribution to Congressman Murphy. That’s Robin and Jeff with Congressman Murphy. This contribution is just a small addition to the huge electoral effort Penn ACTION and US Action are making in Congressman Murphy’s district and in Southeast PA generally. For details click here. Continue reading

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Corbett says “Keep them Down.” We say, “canvass and phone bank!”

  By Penn ACTION, Penn Action and Election 2010

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwpXTg6Ryjw&feature=share Watch this shocking video of Republican Tom Corbett – our Attorney General, the state’s chief law enforcement officer – telling a crowd to “Keep (the Philadelphia vote) down” next Tuesday, Election Day. We’re not going to speculate about why candidates like Corbett are calling for Philadelphia voters to stay home or why the Tea Party in St. Paul and Houston engaging in voter suppression efforts? (as reported in the New York Times: http://nyti.ms/9srr7M) All we are going to say is that when all the voters stand up to be counted, our politicians hear that we want an economy that provides jobs for everyone; a health care system that doesn’t allow insurance companies to deny us care; and a sustainable economy that allows us to live in harmony with the environment. That’s what Philadelphians want, and deserve. And the only way we are going to get it is to show… Continue reading

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The pundits say the energy is on the other side. They are wrong! Join us!

  By Penn Action and Election 2010

The pundits are just wrong. We’ve got a  lot of energy on our side.here to take part in phone banking from your own home. The Penn ACTION leader of this effort, Hannah Miller will get back to you with instructions.here to RSVP to Hannah Miller to phone bank from home. Penn ACTION is knocking on doors in Patrick Murphy’s Congressional district and calling infrequent voters in Philadelphia, Erie, and Northeast PA. And progressives among infrequent voters are telling us they intend to vote—at rates that exceed 75 or 80%. The energy to keep moving forward rather than backward is there. And the fear of a tea party takeover of our government is palpable. I know. I’ve been knocking on doors myself. I’ve seen that our side is ready to rock on Tuesday. But there are thousands of voters we still haven’t reached. Can you help us talk to them? RSVP With… Continue reading

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Penn ACTION GOTV efforts in Southeast PA

  By Penn ACTION, Penn Action and Election 2010

This has been a difficult year to find resources for independent get out the vote (GOTV) campaigns. But with your help, Penn ACTION has brought in almost $130,000 to do work in Southeastern Pennsylvania, focused on Patrick Murphy’s district. (All of this work is carried out independently of Congressman Murphy’s campaign.) We have a full scale canvass operation knocking on doors in on the Bucks County portion of Congressman Murphy’s district as well as a paid phone bank, all targeting infrequent voters. (The photo on the left shows our canvass director, Crystal Martzall giving last minute instructions to our canvassers as they prepare to hit the streets.)  Each day between 20 and 30 canvassers hit the streets in three van, under the direction three field manages. Many of our canvassers are new to politics, but they are all committed to the reelection of Congressman Murphy. They are talking to voters about the critical… Continue reading