Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool. ]]> http://www.21stcenturydems.org/index/thank-you-sherrod-brown/feed/ 0 http://www.21stcenturydems.org/index/bill_halter/ http://www.21stcenturydems.org/index/bill_halter/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 14:55:46 +0000 gail http://www.21stcenturydems.org/?p=2974 Read More »]]> At the center of Bill Halter’s campaign for Governor of Arkansas is his progressive proposal to pay for college for every eligible high school student in the state.

21st Century Democrats endorses Halter and his groundbreaking scholarship plan, Arkansas Promise, which should be used as a model across the country.

The Halter program would ensure that any Arkansas high school student with a 2.5 GPA would be able to attend college in state with all tuition paid. Funded by a combination of lottery scholarships, philanthropic support, federal grant assistance and the Arkansas Promise, the plan would not raise taxes or increase state spending.

21st Century Democrats, as well as progressives in Arkansas and across the country, most recently supported Halter in the 2010 Senate primary against the incumbent, conservative Democrat Blanche Lincoln, who went on to lose the seat to Republican John Boozman.

Halter’s progressive track record includes championing health care reform, spearheading a free clinic, supporting a minimum wage increase, working for student loan reform, advocating for clean energy and leading on gay rights.

Halter served in the Clinton administration beginning in 1993, working to help trim bureaucratic waste with the Office of Management and Budget. During his six years at OMB, the government’s $290 billion budget deficit turned into a $125 billion surplus, and the United States saw its first balanced budget in 40 years.

President Bill Clinton appointed Halter, a fellow Rhodes Scholar, as deputy commissioner of Social Security in 1999. Halter also served the U.S. Congress as an economist for the Joint Economic Committee and as chief economist for the Senate Finance Committee.

To learn more about Bill Halter, visit his website, and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

To support his campaign, please consider making a contribution.

It is time for us to get organized and ready for 2014. And sometimes that means more than giving a donation.

We want to know from you:

Will you help the Colbert Busch campaign? Sign up to make calls for Elizabeth Colbert Busch.

A great Democrat and a strong candidate, Elizabeth Colbert Busch has a real chance at turning this red district blue. Let’s make sure we do everything we can to get her to the House.

a. Identify voters in SC-01 Congressional District who are supporting Elizabeth, and encourage them to vote absentee if they qualify.

b. Recruit more VOLUNTEERS to help local campaign team.

c. If ‘leaning ECB’ or ‘undecided’, take a pass at pitching why they should support ECB.

2. Here’s the link to the Virtual Phone Bank Call Tool:

http://colbertbuschforcongress.ngpvanhost.com/vpb

HOURS: 9:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Follow instructions provided on-screen.

3. Each record on your screen shows the person’s name, age, and gender (most of the time).

After 4 rings, if no one has picked up, HANG UP – Do NOT leave messages!

4. Follow the script provided on your screen to introduce yourself and the purpose of your call.

You are an ambassador for Elizabeth, so be courteous no matter what. Even if you get a Republican leaning households, they will likely be civil – but don’t react if they aren’t. Just thank them for their time, hang up and move on to the next call!

5. Mark the outcome of EACH call on your computer. To record Support Levels, remember 1 = Strong ECB Supporter, 5 = Strong Republican, 3 = Undecided.

6. Smile while you talk – that spirit will transmit over the phone! Have fun with it.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

IMPORTANT REFERENCE INFORMATION ON VOTING IN SC

Website Name is: ColbertBuschForCongress.com
Special Election: May 7th

If the voter is a supporter and will be out of town May 7th or meets one of the other qualifications to vote absentee (e.g. age 65+), have them CALL their County office ASAP to get directions if/how they can vote absentee:

• Charleston County (843) 744-8683
• Beaufort County (843) 255-6900
• Berkeley County (843) 719-4056
• Dorchester County (843) 563-0132
• Colleton County (843) 549-2842

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool. ]]> http://www.21stcenturydems.org/index/perez/feed/ 0 http://www.21stcenturydems.org/index/ss_off_the_table/ http://www.21stcenturydems.org/index/ss_off_the_table/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:14:39 +0000 gail http://www.21stcenturydems.org/?p=3002

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool. ]]> http://www.21stcenturydems.org/index/ss_off_the_table/feed/ 0 http://www.21stcenturydems.org/index/de-blasio/ http://www.21stcenturydems.org/index/de-blasio/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:07:29 +0000 gail http://www.21stcenturydems.org/?p=2949 Read More »]]> Based on his record of standing up for progressive values on behalf of all New Yorkers, 21st Century Democrats endorses Public Advocate Bill de Blasio for Mayor of New York City.

In the last three years in the Public Advocate’s office, de Blasio has consistently championed the rights of middle- and working-class families – from fighting for a surcharge on the wealthiest New Yorkers in order to fully fund universal early education and after-school programs for all children, to working for affordable and safe housing and job opportunities with good wages for all New Yorkers.

“Through his campaigning for real living wage legislation and paid sick leave, Bill has shown that he won’t stop being the people’s advocate once he’s in the Mayor’s office,” said Jennifer Petty, executive director of 21st Century Democrats.

“Providing paid sick leave for more than 1 million New Yorkers is simply a fundamental issue that has to be addressed. We represent progressive Democrats, so we’re proud to back the candidate whose policies protect all working people.”

As Public Advocate, de Blasio helped stop thousands of teacher layoffs. An advocate of transparency, de Blasio instituted “Open Government NYC,” a public database for citizens to track elected officials’ funding decisions, and he built a national coalition aimed at fighting against the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that opened the floodgates for corporate money in elections.

Before his 2009 election as Public Advocate, de Blasio served on the New York City Council, where he fought to improve public education and led fundamental changes in the city’s child services programs. During the Clinton administration, de Blasio served under former HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo. In 2000, de Blasio managed Hillary Rodham Clinton’s successful campaign for U.S. Senate.

To learn more about Bill de Blasio, visit his website, and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

To support his campaign, please consider making a contribution.

Taxpayers earning more than $1 million a year would see, on average, a $400,000 tax break that would increase their after-tax income by nearly 20 percent, according to analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

But the Ryan budget isn’t just good news for the ultra-wealthy. It’s also really bad news for the middle class and most vulnerable. The Republican’s austerity budget would slow the economic recovery and increase unemployment, and it would do serious damage to Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid, TANF and more.

The good news is that the Congressional Progressive Caucus presented its own budget that takes on the job crisis with a responsible and credible plan.

The Back to Work Budget invests in America’s future by putting Americans back to work. In the first year, it would create nearly 7 million American jobs and increase GDP by 5.7 percent. And its jobs plan would reduce unemployment to around 5 percent within three years.

The progressive budget would reduce the deficit by $4.4 trillion by closing tax loopholes and asking the wealthy to pay a fair share.

The foundation of the progressive budget includes:

Job Creation

• Infrastructure – substantially increases infrastructure investment to the level the American Society of Civil Engineers says is necessary to close our infrastructure needs gap
• Education – funds school modernizations and rehiring laid-off teachers
• Aid to States – closes the recession-caused gap in state budgets for two years, allowing the rehiring of cops, firefighters and other public employees
• Making Work Pay – boosts consumer demand by reinstating an expanded tax credit for three years
• Emergency Unemployment Compensation – allows beneficiaries to claim up to 99 weeks of unemployment benefits in high-unemployment states for two years
• Public Works Job Programs and Aid to Distressed Communities – includes job programs such as a Park Improvement Corps, Student Jobs Corps and Child Care Corps

Fair Individual Tax

• Immediately allows Bush tax cuts to expire for families earning over $250K
• Higher tax rates for millionaires and billionaires (from 45 percent to 49 percent)
• Taxes income from investments the same as income from wages

Fair Corporate Tax

• Ends corporate tax bias toward moving jobs and profits overseas
• Enacts a financial transactions tax
• Reduces deductions for corporate jets, meals and entertainment

Defense

• Returns Pentagon spending to 2006 levels, focusing on modern security needs

Health Care

• No benefit cuts to Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security
• Reduces health care costs by adopting a public option, negotiating drug prices and reducing fraud

Environment

• Prices carbon pollution with a rebate to hold low-income households harmless
• Eliminates corporate tax subsidies for oil, gas and coal companies