We elected a President; Now we have to build a movement

Dear Friends,

Over the next month, Penn Action will be sponsoring a series of events around the state, some in conjunction with other groups, that aim to build a strong progressive movement to get voters who share our ideals out to the polls in November and then to keep the pressure on our elected officials to support progressive legislation over the next two years and beyond.

Three meetings are now scheduled.

In Erie, this Wednesday, on August 25, join a Penn ACTION meet-up at 7:00 pm at Panera Bread in the Plaza off Peach Street, 1935 Keystone Drive in Erie.

In Northeast PA, on September 14 at 7:00 PM at the Holiday Inn Express Meeting Room at the Scranton WB Airport, join a Penn Action sponsored event that will focus on building our power on a variety of issues and, especially the drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

In Philadelphia On September 25 from 1:00-4:00 at the Community College of Philadelphia, join Penn Action and Neighborhood Networks for the Progressive Organizing Workshop.

Other meetings are in the works. If you would like to help organize such a meeting in your community contact me at MarcStier@pennaction.org.

Why we need to take action now.

Why are we doing this? Because two years ago, we all worked together to elect a progressive President, and a Congress who would support him.

And, in the last two years, we’ve kept working as we helped President Obama and the Democrats in Congress pass a stimulus package that avoided a second Great Depression, a strong financial reform bill, and health care reform legislation that will go far in making quality health care affordable for all.

We have accomplished more for working people in the last two years than the last two Democratic Presidents accomplished in 12 years.

But we haven’t attained all we wanted.

 The stimulus was not big enough to keep unemployment from rising to terrible levels. The financial reform bill was not strong enough. And the health care reform bill did not include a public option.And the reason we have not done more is that, while we elected a President and Congress in 2008, we haven’t built a movement strong enough to attain all we progressives want.

We know how important building a movement is because, without the HCAN campaign, health care reform would still be one of our dreams not a reality.

Why we need to build a movement for change.

But you might still ask, why?  Last year, someone came to a health care event and asked me, “Why is this all necessary? We elected a Democratic President and Congress. Why wasn’t that enough? Why do you keep asking me to keep doing political events?

But another part of the answer is that, because our political system is biased agasint change, real reform only happens in this country when people demand it, and in too many places, including many places in Pennsylvania, we have not convinced our fellow Americans that we progressives have a way forward that works for them.

Teabaggers and Corporations

And, in fact, it is our very successes, in 2008 and since, that has led to an upsurge of opposition on the far right that has taken over the Republican Party and blocked us from moving forward.

The most obvious of our opponents are the teabaggers, people who fail to understand that we live in a world far more complicated than that of 1776, in which active government is necessary to create economic opportunity and a good life for working people and the middle class.

But no matter how loud they are, the tea baggers are not our most important enemy. Standing behind them, and financing them, are huge corporations that have fought us every step of the way. They are agents of greed determined to stop any progressive action that limits their profits while helping working people and the middle class.

We can’t match the financial resources of the corporations. We have to organize and mobilize the working people and middle class people of this country to stand up to them. And that’s why we need a movement for change

Only the power of organized people can stand up to the power of organized money. And if we don’t stand up to them—if we allow the energy and resources on the right to go unchallenged—this is what we face in the next few years.

—A continuation of the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthy, $680 billion that will go to the richest 1% of Americans at a time when we desperately need to invest in our country so we can bring down long term deficits.

–Cuts in Social Security, including a reduction in cost of living benefits, an increase in the retirement age, and privatization of the program.

–A rollback of health care reform before it is implemented because the right understands that once working people get the benefits of the program, they will never let it be repealed.

–A government that lets greedy corporations loose to harm us in pursuit of profits—that lets gas companies foul the watersheds above the Marcellus Shale; oil companies spill millions of gallons of oil along our coasts; insurance companies deny health care to people with preexisting conditions; financial companies take enormous risk with our economy; and internet companies close the most open communications system in human history.

So here is our situation: If we organize and raise our voices together we will keep moving forward. We will build on our incredible successes–including enacting a health care bill that takes us part way to something we have dreamed about for 100 years–and really begin to change this country. Or we can sit back and let the right wing and corporations push us backward.

It’s really up to you.

So please take a stand and join us at one of the Penn Action sponsored meetings in your community. And help us create other ones. We need to come together to get progressive out to vote this fall. And then we need to band together to make sure that the progressive voice is not only heard but listened to in Washington, DC and in Harrisburg.

Marc
Marc Stier
Executive Director
Penn Action