Progressive Democrats Sonoma County

On This Call…

David Swanson: 1. Don’t use the term “Defense” spending when referring to military spending. 2. No one lost any of their elections because they failed to support the wars. 3. Warned about the “Cat Food Commission” and 4. Made the good point that the best way to fix the budget is to shift expenditures from the military to the civilian side.

Read the Rest Here

____

AGENDA

1) Urge Local Chapters to Discuss/Embrace BDS – Boycott, Divestiture, Sanctions against Israel for apartheid policies.

2) Support One Nation Together March on Washington/PDA Lobbying Efforts:

3) Support for PDA 2010 Endorsed Anti-War Candidates.

4) Support Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s (CA-09) H.R. 6045

5) War Made Easy/The End of War

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO, including call in # & to register for the conference call

Wednesday, June 9. 2010

Reactions to yesterday’s election results include exhilarating highs and disappointing lows. Local & Statewide election results will not be certified until July 9. Ballots are still being counted. Semi-official results are posted here .

In Marcy Winograd’s note today to her supporters she states in regard to her lost Congressional bid, “We are building a movement — and change will come.” And that is the theme of tonight’s program at our regular monthly meeting, as we feature:

Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train

By Marcy Winograd
June 9, 2010, Marina del Rey, CA

Jane Harman won the primary in California’s 36th district with 58.79% of the vote. Marcy Winograd received a respectable 41.21%. Marcy sent the following note to her campaign supporters this morning:

Dear Friends & Supporters,

Thank you for everything—for your generous donations, for your nationwide phone banking, for your tireless precinct walking in our district. We are building a movement—and change will come.

Read the Rest Here

Steve Cobble
June 7, 2010

Tomorrow is Today—TAKE ACTION NOW— Join the phone bank for Marcy!

Published by The Huffington Post.

Just a little over 2 days left to say yes to one of the only real progressive Democratic challengers running this year.

Just a few hours left to go to www.winograd4congress.com to make a donation, volunteer to make a few phone calls, or find out where to vote.

Read the Rest Here

Here’s the link for live streaming of KPFK Radio, which will air an interview with Marcy Winograd and Norman Solomon on Wednesday at 8 a.m. (West Coast time). The focus: policy toward Israel/Palestine, the killing of people on the Gaza aid flotilla and the record of Congresswoman Jane Harman (who was invited but declined).

http://www.kpfk.org/listen-live.html

Norman Solomon
June 1, 2010

When Israel attacked the Gaza aid flotilla, Congresswoman Jane Harman was engaged in a parallel assault. Israel’s government relied on the efficacy of violence; Harman’s campaign was counting on the power of paid media. In both cases, the targets were advocates of human rights for Palestinian people.

Brandishing guns and stun grenades, in international waters, Israeli commandos rappelled from a helicopter and boarded from a fast-moving boat onto the flotilla’s largest ship. The mission was to halt a Gaza-bound expedition carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid.

The mission of Harman’s campaign strategists—targeting her progressive opponent with a slick TV commercial—was to achieve a related goal in California’s 36th congressional district. Stopping the Gaza flotilla and stopping the congressional campaign of Marcy Winograd are similar agenda items.

Read the Rest Here

Help elect Winograd — join the virtual phone bank!

Norman Solomon
May 24, 2010

Visit Winograd for Congress

Many are familiar with the adage, “When the people lead, the leaders will follow.” But what happens when people enable leaders to follow the dictates of the powerful?

These days, the answers are arriving in the form of a news drumbeat that’s apt to seem like a dirge.

From Afghanistan to Wall Street to the Gulf of Mexico, policies of military action and regulatory inaction are exacting terrible costs: in human life, economic resources and irreplaceable nature. Silence and inaction enable the destructive policies to continue.

Read the Rest Here

Linda Milazzo
May 24, 2010

Take Action: Join Marcy’s virtual phone bank!

Americans spoke out loudly this past Tuesday. In two of the nation’s most anticipated primaries, the Sestak vs. Specter Democratic primary in Pennsylvania and the Paul vs. Greyson Republican primary in Kentucky, the party underlings defeated their party leaders’ choices and demolished the status quo. On the Democratic side, despite the full throttle barrage for Specter by Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey and Governor Ed Rendell, Congressional upstart Joe Sestak beat three decade incumbent Arlen Specter by 54 to 46 percent.

In Kentucky, political neophyte, libertarian extremist, and tea party enthusiast, Rand Paul, clobbered the hand picked candidate of Senator Mitch McConnell, the most powerful Republican in D.C. The results of both elections send an earsplitting message to the leadership of America’s two dominant parties, that warns: ‘Your choices, endorsements and power don’t matter. We’re electing who WE want.’

Read the Rest Here

At this critical moment, we’re launching the PDA virtual phone bank for one of our own — Marcy Winograd, the founder of Progressive Democrats of America’s Los Angeles chapter, who is challenging Blue Dog Jane Harman in the 36th congressional district (West LA to San Pedro).

Help Marcy phone bank into her district. Be part of the action. Click here for a message from Marcy . Help elect Marcy Winograd, a true progressive to Congress! Contact Marcy@pdamerica.org to find out how you can make phone calls to help.

Now is the time for action. Absentee voting begins May 10th; voting at the polls begins June 8th. We are days away from victory, provided you get involved.

Read the Rest Here

Having once introduced herself as “the best Republican in the Democratic Party,” Congresswoman Jane Harman of California’s 36th district may now regret those words. Harman, the second wealthiest member of Congress, faces a stiff challenge for her seat this year from community activist Marcy Winograd, co-founder of the LA Chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America.

Listen to interview with Marcy Winograd on Uprising Radio

Jeffrey Blankfort
May 11, 2010

Join Marcy’s virtual phone bank!

Published by CounterPunch.org

What may be the last Democratic primary race worth paying attention to is taking place in the 36th Congressional District along the Southern California coastline where incumbent Jane Harman is facing a serious challenge from Los Angeles school teacher, Marcy Winograd, with the candidates’ widely separated positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict dominating a critical section of the political landscape.

Harman is the second richest member of the House of Representatives with estimated assets between $112 and $377 million dollars. Whether it was her money or her Israeli connections that kept the Southern California Democrat from being indicted as a foreign agent five years ago or a combination of both is something the public is never likely to know.

Read the Rest Here

Why is progressive Lynn Woolsey working so hard for center-right Jane Harman?

By Norman Solomon
bohemian.com
May 5, 2010

This is a grim story about the care and feeding of a Blue Dog.

Right now, Southern California congresswoman Jane Harman is facing a serious primary challenge from a genuine progressive. Harman is a member of the center-right caucus of House Democrats known as the Blue Dog Coalition. She has chosen not to join the Progressive Caucus.

In sharp contrast, her opponent, Marcy Winograd, is calling for the government “to invest in housing, education, healthcare, transportation—not to perpetuate a war economy that is draining us, robbing us of money that we desperately need.” And Winograd adds: “I challenge my opponent to stop voting for this war machine.”

While belonging to the largest caucus on Capitol Hill (with a membership now above 80), some members of the Progressive Caucus often say that they need more colleagues who’ll be willing to vote against war and in favor of a truly progressive legislative agenda. But if Progressive Caucus members want to move the House of Representatives in a progressive direction, you’d never know it when there’s a real chance to replace a Blue Dog with a progressive.

Read the Full Story Here

Who Let the Blue Dogs Out?
By Norman Solomon
Pt. Reyes Lighthouse
April 29, 2010

“What’s propelling the Winograd campaign— with its passion, commitment,fearlessness and antipathy toward the corporate warfare state—is exactly what Congress and the country need.” — Norman Solomon.

Read the article here

TAKE LOCAL ACTION: Contact bill@winogradforcongress.com to receive instructions for easy, virtual phone-banking from home. A few hours of your time or a few calls every day can make a big difference!

Candidate for Congress (CA-36) Marcy Winograd’s address to the California Democratic Party, April18, 2010, Los Angeles.

TAKE ACTION TODAY: Phone Bank for a True Progressive Candidate running against Blue Dog Jane Harman. Phone banking continues
until election day, June 8.

Phone bank from anywhere – contact bill@winogradforcongress.com

Learn more about Marcy’s campaign here: http://winogradforcongress.com/

Here’s audio of Norman Solomon’s interview Monday April 19, on KPFA Radio, assessing what just happened with the progressive challenge to state party endorsement of Rep. Jane Harman at the Democratic convention. (The interview begins 20 seconds after 01:10).

http://kpfa.org/archive/id/60351

Marcy will be in Sacramento and Berkeley Friday (April 9) and Saturday (April 10) for several events. Please try to attend and bring a friend.

Sacramento Evening with Marcy Winograd and her friends Norman Solomon, Barbara Lubin & Rebecca Griffin Discussing “The Path to Peace”
Co-Sponsored by Peace Action West, Wellstone Progressive Democrats of Sacramento, Progressive Democrats of America, Richard Hundrieser, and Mike Whiteside.
Friday, April 9 at 7:00 pm
Additional event details, click here.
OR contact Rich Hundrieser:
r.hundrieser@comcast.net
916.622.8683

Dear Fellow Progressive Democrats,

We can’t describe the pride we feel for you all as we announce the news you’ve been waiting for: not only did we make the 300 count threshold for obtaining signatures for Marcy Winograd, we did so solidly! Progressive Democrats everywhere stepped up, proved their mettle, and got the job done!

From Marcy Winograd:

“Many thanks to the leadership of the Progressive Caucus, the Chairs or Co-Chairs of the Progressive, Women’s, Rural, LGBT, Irish-American, Senior’s and Veterans’ caucuses, as well as to my staff and statewide volunteers who worked tirelessly to ensure debate on the Party’s endorsement in the 36th congressional district.

I am also grateful for the help and support that was given to me by leaders in the State Legislature, County Central Committees, Progressive Democrats of America, the Southern California chapter of Americans for Democratic Action, and individuals connected with wonderful progressive organizations and clubs throughout the State who happen to be fellow delegates to the DSCC.

When the California Democratic Party endorses a candidate, the endorsement is made in the name of the entire party, not just appointed delegates or elected officials guarding access to the incumbent.

April 2, 2010, Marina del Rey, CA

Congressional Candidate Questions Opponent’s Complicity

PDA-endorsed congressional candidate Marcy Winograd (CA-36) applauds federal judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling that the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program was illegal, and questions why her opponent Jane Harman went along so readily with a violation of the Bill of Rights.

Says Winograd, “As a ranking minority leader on the House Intelligence Committee, Jane Harman had a duty to provide oversight of the Bush administration. Instead, she went along with its law breaking, failing to clearly object to the wiretaps or hold hearings on abuses of executive power.”

Read the Rest Here

In this episode of Agitator Voices, Tim Carpenter turns our attention to the midterm elections and PDA’s endorsed candidates for Congress, Marcy Winograd and Tracy Emblem. Conor Boylan, PDA Field Coordinator, discusses Brown Bag Lunch Vigils.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Linda Milazzo
March 23, 2010, Los Angeles, CA

This article is based on one that will appear in the upcoming May/June 2010 issue of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs: http://www.wrmea.com

Published by AlterNet.org.

Sunday, March 14, 2010, ushered in two welcome events to Southern California: the inauguration of the headquarters of the bustling Winograd For Congress primary campaign, and an extra hour of daylight to help Marcy Winograd’s swarm of supporters evict Jane Harman, the wealthiest Democrat in Congress, from her eight-term seat in the House.

Read the Rest Here

By Marcy Winograd
For OpEd News
February 22, 2010

Imagine if in 2010 we did not spend one more borrowed penny to manufacture new weapons, occupy new lands, or recruit new mercenaries. Going cold turkey on military spending would wipe out nearly $1 trillion of our 1.6 trillion dollar deficit. A year and a half of war & weapons abstinence could erase our debt entirely.

Read the Rest Here

Norman Solomon
November 16, 2009, San Diego, CA

Join PDA’s End War and Occupations, Redirect Funding Issue Organizing Team (IOT); learn more here.

There’s a significant new straw in the political wind for President Obama to consider. The California Democratic Party has just sent him a formal and clear message: Stop making war in Afghanistan.

Overwhelmingly approved on Sunday (Nov. 15) by the California Democratic Party’s 300-member statewide executive board, the resolution is titled “End the U.S. Occupation and Air War in Afghanistan.”

Read the rest here

by Marcy Winograd
November 13, 2009

I’m heading down to San Diego from Los Angeles (CA-36) this weekend to attend the California Democratic Party Executive Board meeting, where we will debate an End the Occupation and Air War in Afghanistan resolution I co-authored with Progressive Caucus Chair Karen Bernal and prolific author Norman Solomon. Already, we are hearing push back on one particular word. Occupation.

Read the rest here, including Resolution