Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Minimum wage: the best explanation anywhere

Dear MoveOn member,

A few hours ago, Senate Republicans blocked a minimum wage increase—repeating, over and over, the old claim that a higher wage would hurt the people it's supposed to help.

But the truth is a whole different story. Want to understand it? Then you've got to hear this podcast.


If you like this podcast, subscribe on iTunes for more! Or you can listen on our website, tune in via Stitcher (an Android and iOS app), or subscribe via RSS.

This fight isn't over. Dozens of states are weighing minimum wage increases even as you read this. But a network of corporate lobbyists, and their allies in right-wing media, want to convince America that a higher minimum wage would hurt the economy. So there's never been a more important time to arm yourself with the truth.

In this podcast, you'll hear from two leading progressive economists about the myth-destroying research that blew up like a bomb in the economics profession, igniting a debate so vicious that some researchers stopped making public appearances. You'll learn why a higher minimum wage can actually create jobs ... and the reasons to raise the minimum wage that nobody is talking about. And we can pretty much guarantee you'll laugh out loud at least once.

You don't need to know anything about economics to love this podcast. But by the time you're done listening, you'll understand more about the minimum wage than 95% of the talking heads you see on TV.

Click here to open iTunes and check out the podcast (and subscribe and review!) ... or listen at our website here

We've already won the moral fight over the higher minimum wage. The core idea—that nobody should work hard at a full-time job and still live in poverty—is something that the vast majority of Americans agree on, in all parties. That's why MoveOn members are fighting and winning campaigns for decent wages in cities and states across the country.

But it's also why the economic debate on the minimum wage is so crucial: if hearts are settled, minds are the key battleground. And we're winning that fight, too. This podcast explains how.

Thanks for all you do.

Ben Wikler

P.S. "The Good Fight" is a new MoveOn-backed show about people changing the world. Since launching a few months ago, we've hit the No. 1 spot on the podcast charts, been named one of Apple's best podcasts of 2013, and interviewed guests from Senator Al Franken to Sister Simone Campbell, the nun who helped save Obamacare to, this week, top experts from the Economic Policy Institute. Our goal: tell the inside stories of the fights behind the headlines, introduce you to the heroes and villains shaping politics, and inspire more people to get involved.

If you like the show (every episode is on iTunes!), help us spread the word! And we'd love your feedback. Tell us what you like and how we can get better, and pitch stories, at show@thegoodfight.fm.

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 30, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Start a petition?

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday, we asked you in a survey what local issues you're paying close attention to, and you answered: "The funding for teachers, police and fire."

MoveOn can't take up every important local issue—but did you know that you can start up your own online petition on MoveOn's petition website?

Starting a petition is incredibly easy—in just a couple short clicks, you can immediately start sharing your petition with friends to collect signatures.

Click here to start your own petition right now.

Thanks for all you do.

–Milan, Alejandro, Joan, Bobby, and the rest of the team

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 30, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Elizabeth Warren's message for you


Dear MoveOn member,

Thousands of MoveOn members like you have picked up copies of Senator Elizabeth Warren's new book, A Fighting Chance.

Together, we're drawing national attention to Sen. Warren's work, alongside MoveOn members, to build a fair economy that works for everybody, not just corporations and the super-rich. And Elizabeth Warren just recorded a short video message for MoveOn members like you

Will you watch the video and then say you'll be a part of MoveOn's "Team Warren," our ongoing effort to fight for Sen. Warren's economic agenda? 

Thanks for all you do.

–Ilya, Nick, Matt B., Stefanie, and the rest of the team

P.S. There's still time to get a copy of Elizabeth Warren's book—and support MoveOn's work to enact Sen. Warren's agenda. Chip in $39 or more to MoveOn now, and we'll send you a copy.

  

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 29, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Monday, April 28, 2014

Start a petition?

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday, we asked you in a survey what local issues you're paying close attention to, and you answered: "The funding for teachers, police and fire."

MoveOn can't take up every important local issue—but did you know that you can start up your own online petition on MoveOn's petition website?

Starting a petition is incredibly easy—in just a couple short clicks, you can immediately start sharing your petition with friends to collect signatures.

Click here to start your own petition right now.

Thanks for all you do.

–Milan, Alejandro, Joan, Bobby, and the rest of the team

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 28, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Re: Sneak peek: Elizabeth Warren's new book

Hi there—I just wanted to make sure you saw this email. We're offering MoveOn members a copy of Elizabeth Warren's new book, "A Fighting Chance." Want one? 
Elizabeth Warren's new book is coming out, and it's awesome. If you chip in $39 or more to MoveOn now, we'll send you a copy. Wouldn't you rather benefit MoveOn than some corporate bookseller?

Get Sen. Warren's book

Dear MoveOn member,

One of the most important books of the year just came out: "A Fighting Chance," Elizabeth Warren's progressive political manifesto.

We've gotten a sneak peek, and it's awesome.

This book lays it all out there: how Wall Street continues to rip off the 99% and how corporations are using Citizens United to buy our democracy—as well as Elizabeth's own story of how she rose from being the daughter of an Oklahoma City maintenance man to becoming a U.S. senator.

So you want to buy this book, right? Of course you do. And you could go to your local big-box store or online retailer and preorder it. But we have a better way.

If you make a donation of $39 or more to MoveOn, we'll send you a limited-edition copy of the book. And instead of giving your money to a big, corporate bookseller, you're supporting MoveOn—and helping us actually work for Elizabeth's top causes.

Click here to get your limited-edition MoveOn copy of Elizabeth Warren's new book for a donation of $39 or more. 

No bookstore will take the money you spend buying Sen. Warren's book and put it directly to work to enact Sen. Warren's agenda. MoveOn will. It's the most subversive way to buy the most revolutionary book of the year. Get yours before supplies run out!

Thanks for all you do—and all you read!

–Ilya, Matt P., Manny, Stefanie, and the rest of the team

 

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 26, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Have an idea for a petition?

Got an idea for your own campaign? Click below to start a petition on MoveOn's petition website.

Start your Petition

Dear MoveOn member,

Ever heard that famous Frederick Douglass quote? "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." That's as true today as it was 125 years ago—and it's what MoveOn is all about.

In 1998, our founders started a simple online petition demanding that Congress stop obsessing over a sex scandal and "move on" to more important issues. They shared it with friends and within days, they had hundreds of thousands of signatures. Then the story blew up in the media and helped shift the focus at the time in Washington away from scandal towards more serious issues.

Today, we're seeing progress on issue after issue—marriage equality, immigration, NSA wiretapping, health care, and more—progress that would be impossible if people hadn't stepped up and demanded change.

But there are countless fights that still need to be won, and that's why we're so excited about MoveOn's public petition website, where you demand the progress you want to see by starting your own petition. It's easy to get started—just click here:

http://petitions.moveon.org/create_start.html?source=monthly&id=94908-10220574-NBj4%3Dix&t=2

Thanks for all you do. 

–Milan, Alejandro, Joan, Bobby, and the rest of the team  

P.S. If you get 15 signatures on your petition, we'll email it to at least 1,000 people in your area to help it grow (assuming of course that it's consistent with MoveOn's progressive values).

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 25, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Start a petition?

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday, we asked you in a survey what local issues you're paying close attention to, and you answered: "The funding for teachers, police and fire."

MoveOn can't take up every important local issue—but did you know that you can start up your own online petition on MoveOn's petition website?

Starting a petition is incredibly easy—in just a couple short clicks, you can immediately start sharing your petition with friends to collect signatures.

Click here to start your own petition right now.

Thanks for all you do.

–Milan, Alejandro, Joan, Bobby, and the rest of the team

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 22, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Sneak peek: Elizabeth Warren's new book

Elizabeth Warren's new book is coming out, and it's awesome. If you chip in $39 or more to MoveOn now, we'll send you a copy. Wouldn't you rather benefit MoveOn than some corporate bookseller?

Get Sen. Warren's book

Dear MoveOn member,

Next week, one of the most important books of the year is coming out: "A Fighting Chance," Elizabeth Warren's progressive political manifesto.

We've gotten a sneak peek, and it's awesome.

This book lays it all out there: how Wall Street continues to rip off the 99% and how corporations are using Citizens United to buy our democracy—as well as Elizabeth's own story of how she rose from being the daughter of an Oklahoma City maintenance man to becoming a U.S. senator.

So you want to buy this book, right? Of course you do. And you could go to your local big-box store or online retailer and preorder it. But we have a better way.

If you make a donation of $39 or more to MoveOn, we'll send you a limited-edition copy of the book. And instead of giving your money to a big, corporate bookseller, you're supporting MoveOn—and helping us actually work for Elizabeth's top causes.

Click here to get your limited-edition MoveOn copy of Elizabeth Warren's new book for a donation of $39 or more. 

No bookstore will take the money you spend buying Sen. Warren's book and put it directly to work to enact Sen. Warren's agenda. MoveOn will. It's the most subversive way to buy the most revolutionary book of the year. Get yours before supplies run out!

Thanks for all you do—and all you read!

–Ilya, Matt P., Manny, Stefanie, and the rest of the team

 

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 21, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Friday, April 18, 2014

Podcast: The NRA meets its match

Dear MoveOn member,

Huge news: Yesterday, Michael Bloomberg announced that he'll spend $50 million this year on political campaigning for gun reform. That's more than the NRA will spend on campaigning against it.

The strategy: To save lives, mobilize moms.  

Today, we're releasing an interview with the supermom in charge: Shannon Watts, head of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America—which is essentially the Mothers Against Drunk Driving of gun violence. She's a mother of five, a force-of-nature communicator, and the NRA's worst nightmare. 

Hear how mom-activists are taking on the gun lobby: Click here to open the "Good Fight" podcast on iTunes! (And if you like it, be sure to subscribe and post a review!)



You can also listen on our website, via the Stitcher app for Android or iOS, or via RSS.

Do you remember that awful day, exactly one year ago, when the Senate failed to pass a bill to close the loophole that lets criminals buy guns at gun shows without a background check? If you were furious then, you'll love this podcast now.

You'll love it because you'll realize that the fight didn't end there—it didn't even take a break. Shannon explains how the movement has scored victories in states across the country, won changes from companies like Starbucks and Facebook, and put together a plan to make sure politicians never again think that voting against public safety is the politically safe way to go.

This isn't radical stuff. Requiring background checks for gun purchases and securing guns so that kids won't accidentally hurt someone are lifesaving no-brainers, supported by the vast majority of gun owners and Americans in general. But until now, even the simplest reforms have been politically impossible.

At last, that's all changing.  

Hear how Shannon and the grassroots mom army are changing the politics and culture of guns in America—click here to open the podcast on iTunes.

Or listen here on the "Good Fight" website.

Shannon's life changed the day of the Newtown massacre. She'd never been an activist; she'd never been involved in politics. But on that day, she realized she had to do something. So she started a Facebook page ... and, suddenly, she was leading a movement. It's an inspiring story, and it's one that all of us can become part of.

Thanks for the chance to share it. And thanks for all you do.

–Ben Wikler

P.S. "The Good Fight" is a podcast (a prerecorded radio show, distributed online) launched in partnership with MoveOn a few months ago to tell the inside stories of fights that matter, and inspire people to get involved. If you like the program, please subscribe, post a review, and drop us an email at show@thegoodfight.fm about what you enjoy, how we can improve, and what we should cover next. Check out "The Good Fight" here on iTunes, and please do subscribe and post a review!


Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 18, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Victory! UPS workers reinstated

Got an idea for your own campaign? Click below to start a petition on MoveOn's petition website.

Start Your Petition
Dear Inwood MoveOn member,

Great news! After 250 UPS drivers in Maspeth, New York were fired for protesting the termination of a fellow driver, Working Families created a MoveOn Petition to pressure UPS to reinstate them. More than 48,000 MoveOn members signed Working Families' petition—we won! On Monday, UPS folded under the pressure, giving all drivers their jobs back. 

Have a campaign you want to win? Click here to start a petition on MoveOn's petition website.

Here's a full update from UPS driver Jairo Reyes and Working Families:

I can't wait to tell you—late Monday night, after 10 hours of negotiating and weeks of grassroots pressure, UPS folded. My 250 co-workers and I won our jobs back!

I wouldn't even be close to having my job back if not for my 250 co-workers who bravely risked their jobs to save mine—and I want to give them as big a thank-you as they deserve.

When I was unfairly fired from UPS, 250 of my co-workers walked out in protest—and then each one lost their job. 

UPS fired my colleagues who stood in solidarity with me because they thought they held all the cards. It was David vs. Goliath—one local union agains a multinational corporation.

But then you added your voice to more than 100,000 others, calling on UPS to reverse the decision and give us our jobs back. You signed petitions, made phone calls to the CEO, and posted your outrage on UPS's Facebook and Twitter pages. 

The small actions we all take together add up—and UPS heard our voices loud and clear. Together, we showed a billion-dollar corporation what grassroots people power can accomplish. It's a lesson my family, and my co-workers' families, will never forget. 

We wouldn't be getting our jobs and our livelihoods back if not for our union, Teamsters Local 804, Joint Council 16. We wouldn't be here today if not for progressive elected heroes like New York City Public Advocate Tish James speaking up for us and demanding that UPS treat us fairly. And we wouldn't have had a prayer without the thousands of Working Families and MoveOn members who had our backs.

Tomorrow is a fresh start for my co-workers and me. Pretty soon, we're all going back to work, and your voice made that possible. 

Thank you for all that you've done, 

Jairo Reyes

UPS driver (newly re-instated) and Working Families member

Thanks for all you do.

Milan, Maria, Stephen, Jessica, and the rest of the team
 

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 16, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

A special tax day message

Dear fellow MoveOn member,

I'm sick and tired of a tax system that favors the wealthy at everyone else's expense, so I put together a special Tax Day video that explains the problem—and what we can do about it.

I hope you'll watch:

The first step toward solving a problem is understanding it. If, after you watch this video, you agree that it's time to change things, please share the video with your friends.

Together, we can build an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthiest 1%.

Thanks for lifting up your voice in our democracy.

–Robert Reich


Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 15, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Monday, April 14, 2014

The worst part of the immigration "system"

Dear MoveOn member,

It's like political background noise: Every time politicians debate immigration reform, someone starts banging on the table, saying we have to "secure the border."

But in our latest podcast, we've got the inside story on what that can really mean—the story of a hard-boiled investigative reporter who exposed a brutal killing by Border Patrol agents. His story sent shock waves across the country and won a string of awards. Now, he tells us how it came about.

Once you hear his tale, you'll never think about the "border security" debate in the same way again.

Listen to this incredible story now: Click here to open "The Good Fight," the MoveOn-powered podcast about people changing the world, on iTunes.


If you like it, be sure to subscribe and post a review! You can also listen on our website, via the Stitcher app for Android or iOS, or via RSS.

We interviewed Frey just after he won the Izzy Award, a prize for independent journalists reporting in the tradition of the great maverick reporter I.F. Stone. Frey's stories about Border Patrol violence, which aired on PBS, marked a turning point in Border Patrol accountability. After they aired, nobody could deny the need for oversight of the giant and growing police force that guards the southern edge of the country.

And the story behind the story, which Frey tells on this podcast, is as fascinating as what his reporting revealed. You can hear the resolve in his voice as he explains what happened. You'll hear his reaction to politicians who use fear of immigrants to gin up votes as he shares his perspective as a native son of the border who's seen a little too much reality to buy cheap rhetoric.

Click here to listen to this podcast on iTunes. And if you like it, you might want to subscribe.

Or you can listen on the "Good Fight" website .... and share it on Facebook.

It's a story that will stay with you.

Thanks for all you do.

–Ben

P.S. New to podcasts? Welcome! A podcast is a prerecorded radio show, distributed through the Internet. You can listen on your computer on our website or through iTunes, or on your phone (through iTunes for iPhones, or Stitcher for Androids).

We launched "The Good Fight" in partnership with MoveOn a few months ago to tell the inside stories of fights that matter, and inspire people to get involved. If you like the program, please subscribe, post a review, and drop us an email at show@thegoodfight.fm.

 

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 14, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Join me in denouncing the Koch brothers

Dear MoveOn member,

I'm Robert Reich, and I started a petition to Charles and David Koch, billionaires and executives of Koch Industries, which says:

We, citizens of the United States, denounce you, Charles and David Koch, for using your vast wealth—more than the combined wealth of the bottom 40 percent of Americans—to corrupt our democracy. You are thereby undermining the most precious gift we possess, our democratic system of government. You deserve to be shamed and condemned by all Americans.

We do not denounce the Koch brothers because their wealth of more than $50 billion exceeds the combined wealth of the bottom 40 percent of all the citizens of the United States, or because they run and own one of the largest petrochemical businesses in the world, or because of their right-wing views.  

The Koch brothers are entitled to their wealth and to their opinions, but when they use their vast wealth to overpower the voices of average Americans, that is unfair and they should be held accountable.

They've established a political front group, Americans for Prosperity, and are building their own permanent political machine, including hundreds of full-time staff in at least 32 states. They are pouring money into federal and state races—including more than $30 million already to help Republicans win the Senate this year

The Koch brothers are thereby using their vast wealth to undermine and corrupt our democracy—a shameful betrayal of our nation for which they deserve to be widely denounced. It's time we join our voices together to publicly denounce the Koch brothers and their dangerous, corrupting influence. They may not be swayed by our voices, but when enough of us condemn what they're doing, taking their money will become a political liability.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Robert Reich

This petition was created on MoveOn's online petition site, where anyone can start their own online petitions. Robert Reich didn't pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 11, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Going on offense against the GOP Medicaid blockade

Will you read, share, and like the new op-ed by MoveOn's executive director, so that it moves up on the Huffington Post and more political candidates, donors, pundits, and other decision-makers get the message that it's time to go on offense against the GOP's Medicaid blockade?

Share the Story
Dear MoveOn member,

We just released new polling that reveals an Achilles' heel in Republicans' plan to win big in the fall elections: Voters in key states are ready to vote out Republicans who are participating in the GOP Medicaid blockade by standing between 5 million Americans and the health care they need.1 

The polling, funded by MoveOn members like you, has earned more than 30 media hits—TV, radio, and print—and is making waves where it matters—in the states.

This could be a turning point—if we make it one. Republicans think that bashing Obamacare is their golden ticket to winning even more seats in the House and taking over the Senate this fall. And too many Democrats have shied away from fighting back. It's weak, and it could cost us the election.

That's why MoveOn's executive director, Anna Galland, just published an op-ed in the Huffington Post making the case for progressives and Democrats to go on offense on health care—starting by calling out the GOP Medicaid blockade loud and clear.

Will you read Anna's op-ed that just went up on the Huffington Post, and then like it, share it, email it, or tweet it?

Yes, take me to the story!

On the Huffington Post site, just click on one of these buttons you'll see at the top of the page:

Huffington Post preview

The Huffington Post is the fourth-ranked news website—more people visit HuffPo than visit The New York Times, The Washington Post, or Weather.com online.2 We want to get this piece in front of every political candidate, every campaign manager, every donor, every pundit, every voter—everyone who's making decisions about what issues get discussed in election campaigns. If lots of people share and like the story on the Huffington Post—that will move up its placement on the site and ensure that more people see and read it.

Writing about MoveOn's campaign, The Washington Post's Katrina vanden Heuvel posed the question, "What if Democrats organized a clear, concerted effort to demonstrate how Republicans are denying millions of Americans access to health insurance?"3

That's the kind of message we need more people repeating. Can you help this message take hold by liking or sharing MoveOn's new op-ed on the Huffington Post?

Click here to read, share, and like the story of how Democrats can and should go on offense on health care to break the GOP Medicaid blockade and win elections.

Thanks for all you do.

–Victoria, Jessica, Stephen, Alejandro, and the rest of the team

P.S. More than 125,000 MoveOn members added their names to the banner that Louisiana members unveiled last week at the courthouse where a federal judge heard arguments in the lawsuit that the state of Louisiana brought against MoveOn Civic Action. They wanted us to take down the billboard we put up criticizing Governor Bobby Jindal's decision to deny health care to 242,000 of his own constituents.

The good news is the judge ruled in our favor and we're not only keeping the billboard up, we're extending our buy so that it stays up for months longer than we'd first planned—thanks to the donations of MoveOn members like you. Here's a photo you might enjoy of MoveOn members carrying the banner outside the courthouse. On the right (next to MoveOn's director, Anna Galland) is Robby Reed, who suffered a serious illness while in law school and living without health insurance because Gov. Jindal denied him—and 242,000 other Louisianans—Medicaid. Can you help move the campaign to break the GOP Medicaid blockade forward by sharing Anna's brand new-column in the Huffington Post?

MoveOn members and Anna Galland outside the Louisiana court house

Sources:

1. "New Polling: GOP Medicaid Blockade Could Cost Republicans in November," MoveOn.org Political Action, April 8, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=297880&id=94340-10220574-l_rotJx&t=7

2. "Top Sites in: All Categories > News," Alexa, accessed April 10, 2014
http://www.alexa.com/topsites/category/Top/News

3. "Voters should know who's holding up their health care," The Washington Post, March 25, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=297881&id=94340-10220574-l_rotJx&t=8

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 10, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

"I guess MoveOn doesn't believe in math"

Dear MoveOn member,

This week the U.S. Senate will be debating whether or not to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. But according to recent reports, a number of Senators are considering a compromise that would still leave millions of American workers stuck with poverty wage jobs.1 

The truth is, if we really want to grow our economy and actually lift workers out of poverty, then we should really be talking about raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, and not even debating anything lower than $10.10.

Last week, MoveOn members in Republican congressional districts across the country rallied outside of their members of Congress' offices demanding they support an increase in the minimum wage. 

But here's how one Republican Representative responded: "I guess MoveOn doesn't believe in math."2 

We're actually big believers in math here at MoveOn. So we thought we'd have former Labor Secretary Robert Reich explain it for them in 7 easy steps. Click here to watch.

It's shameful that some Senators seem to have no problem with millions of American workers earning poverty wages. So if after watching this video, you agree that Congress shouldn't even debate a minimum wage lower than $10.10 an hour, please take a minute today to call and let them know, then click here to report the call. 

Here are your senators' phone numbers:

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Phone: (202) 224-4451

Senator Charles Schumer
Phone: (202) 224-6542

With the Senate expected to vote on raising the minimum wage soon, it's important that every Senator hears from MoveOn members like you right away. If we can generate enough calls to Senate offices this week, we can help stop Democrats from caving to big business demands for a lower minimum wage and instead push for a real increase that could lift millions of Americans out of poverty. 

Thanks for all you do.

–Garlin, Anna, Matt B., Corinne, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Minimum wage deal emerging?," The Hill, April 1, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=297807&id=94243-10220574-kss%3DWgx&t=4

2. "Protesters urge increase in minimum wage," The Oakland Press, April 1, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=297808&id=94243-10220574-kss%3DWgx&t=5

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 8, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Monday, April 7, 2014

We won!

Dear MoveOn member,

We won! A federal judge just ruled that we can keep up our billboard criticizing tea party Governor Bobby Jindal for standing between 242,000 Louisianans and Medicaid.

(Quick recap: Republican governors and legislators are blocking a shocking 5 million Americans from accessing health care by refusing to accept federal funding to expand Medicaid. When we put up billboards in nine states calling out Republicans for standing in the way of health care, the state of Louisiana sued us, demanding we take down one of the billboards. But today, the judge issued a preliminary decision that allows our billboard to stay up and paves the way for the whole lawsuit to end with a victory).

But here's the funny part: When we first put up the billboard, we reserved the space for only a month—and had no idea we'd be facing a lawsuit. Now, even though our billboard can legally stay up, financially it will have to come down soon—unless we extend our buy.

Chip in to help us ensure our winning billboard will stay up.

Here's the deal: It costs about $4.50 an hour to keep the billboard up. If 15,000 MoveOn members chip in just $4.50, that's enough to keep the billboard up through the rest of Gov. Jindal's term. And of course, the more money each of us chips in, the fewer people it'll take. If you chip in $108, you'll have single-handedly helped keep the billboard up an extra day.

What do you say? Can you help make sure we're able to keep up the billboard we fought so hard to protect?

Yes, count me in. I'll chip in $4.50—enough to help keep the billboard up an extra hour.

I'll chip in $54—enough to keep the billboard up for 12 hours.

Actually, I'll chip in $108—enough to keep the billboard up for a whole day.

I'll contribute at a different level.

Here's an image of the billboard you'll help us keep up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana after our legal victory—showing that we don't back down:

Louisiana billboard

In her decision, the judge wrote: "In this Court's view, the Lieutenant Governor underestimates the intelligence and reasonableness of people viewing the billboard."

But this case was never about a billboard, it was about health care for millions of Americans. Thanks for helping to keep the issue front and center.

Thanks for all you do.

Anna, Matt P., Stefanie, Alejandro, and the rest of the team

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 7, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Stand with me against fracked natural gas exports

Dear MoveOn member,

I'm actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, and I started a petition along with the organization Food & Water Watch to the United States Congress, which says:

The oil and gas industry is using the crisis in Ukraine as an excuse to pressure Congress to rubber-stamp approval of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. 

But gas exports won't help the situation in Eastern Europe. It's just a ploy by the oil and gas industry to increase fracking and export U.S. fracked gas to the highest bidder abroad, while causing irreparable damage to our climate and to water, air and health here at home. Protect our communities and climate—not big oil and gas industry profits.

The oil and gas industry has created a massive PR campaign to convince the public that fracking will create American energy independence, while working behind closed doors to open up export facilities to ship gas abroad. This would drive up gas prices for U.S. consumers and create huge oil and gas profits, all at the expense of U.S. communities. 

And now, the industry is trying to use the recent crisis in Ukraine as leverage to get Congress to rubber stamp approvals for new export facilities, even though the gas would be sold to 158 World Trade Organization (WTO) countries on the open market. Bills to allow these exports have been introduced in the House (H.R. 6) by Cory Gardner (R-CO) and in the Senate (S. 2083) by Mark Udall (D-CO). However, the ploy is a complete sham by the oil and gas industry to take advantage of a foreign crisis. 

Tell Congress not to fast-track fracked natural gas exports!

Exporting natural gas spells disaster at all points. First, it requires more fracking—a process that is poisoning American's—water, air, and health while dramatically increasing methane emissions into the atmosphere. Second, it entails enormous, multiple, football-field-sized facilities along our coasts, facilities which pose grave threats if they explode as they have in the past. Third, the liquefied gas must be shipped overseas in huge tanker ships, re-gasified, compressed, transported and ultimately burned. The climate implications of the entire process are extreme. 

It is irresponsible to push for more fracking and an extremely dangerous export process that is contributing to climate change, leading to more global instability and, in the long run, undermining any national security goals that proponents claim will be achieved. The real solution is to transition off of fossil fuels through proven clean-energy solutions. 

Tell Congress: Don't fast-track fracked natural gas exports!

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Mark Ruffalo

This petition was created on MoveOn's online petition site, where anyone can start their own online petitions. Food & Water Watch didn't pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 7, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Citizens United 2.0

Dear MoveOn member,

We usually send you emails telling you about some urgent thing happening in Congress and that if we do X, Y, Z we can get something done right away. This is not one of those emails.

You probably heard that the U.S. Supreme Court just struck down a law that's been on the books since Watergate and limited the total amount of money that super-rich donors can spread around to politicians around the country. Now, instead of being limited to giving about $50,000 per election, people like the Koch brothers can give millions.1

Sounds bad, right? Well, it's actually a lot worse than it sounds, because in the opinion, the 5-4 majority explicitly said that the only kind of campaign finance rules they'd allow are those dealing with explicit bribery.2 So unless it's a wad of cash in a paper bag that you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt was given in exchange for a vote, the Supreme Court says it's constitutionally protected free speech.

That means it's just a matter of time before Scalia, Thomas, and the rest throw out all of our campaign finance laws. We're talking about the Wild West—a system where rich people can give an unlimited amount of money to any politician, anywhere, anytime, and as long as they're not caught saying out loud that it's a bribe, it's 100% legal.

I'm not sure how to explain how dangerous and totally unprecedented this is. How can democracy possibly work under a system like that?

But you know what scares me even more? A lot of local newspapers buried the news about this decision on page A3. Our country is being sold to the highest bidder, and the media is barely talking about it.

It won't be easy to fix the damage they've done, but it's possible if we throw everything we have at it. Push legislation to blunt the impact of this decision. Work to elect a president who will replace the far-right majority on the Supreme Court with mainstream justices. Fight to pass a constitutional amendment saying that corporations aren't people and money is not speech.

This is a battle we need to fight on all fronts. Can you chip in $3 to help take our democracy back?

Yes, I'll donate $3 to help take back our democracy.

So here's the plan: First, we need to draw as much attention as possible to the decision. People know Washington is broken—but very few of them understand how the Supreme Court is making it worse.

We teamed up with our allies at Public Citizen to organize rapid-response protests around the country, and over the coming weeks we're planning a series of top-secret actions that will grab the media's attention and build support for legislation to blunt the impact and a constitutional amendment to state once and for all that money isn't speech.

Then, this fall, we'll fight tooth and nail to make sure Republicans don't take control of the Senate, so that President Obama can get a decent judge confirmed when the time comes. Since this was 5-4, we need to flip only one vote to fix this decision, and two of the judges in the majority are nearly 80 years old.

After Citizens United, it seemed like the Supreme Court couldn't go any further to drown our democracy in money. Now we know they were just getting started.

The system they're creating is so blatantly corrupt, so imbalanced to the super-rich, that we might not have much time to save our democracy from being completely flushed, and the longer we live under this new era of unlimited money in politics, the harder it'll be to overturn. So we need to get started now. Can you chip in $3?

Yes, I'll donate $3 to help take back our democracy.

Thanks for all you do,

Ilya, David, Justin, Maria, and the rest of the team 

Sources:

1. "What McCutcheon Means—in 1 infographic," The Washington Post, April 2, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=297804&id=94160-10220574-AgIAZMx&t=4

2. "Originalists Making It Up Again: McCutcheon and 'Corruption'," The Daily Beast, April 2, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=297805&id=94160-10220574-AgIAZMx&t=5

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to eddie alfaro on April 6, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.