PDA Applauds Progressive Champions Running for
President; and Calls on Bernie to Join the Campaign

Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) was founded in 2004 to transform the Democratic Party and U.S. politics. We encourage strong progressive candidates to run in primaries. That’s why we’re thrilled to see Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard—two Progressive champions—announce their candidacies for President. That’s why we’ve also been calling on Bernie Sanders to “Run Bernie Run” again—as we did beginning in 2014.

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Ever since Sen. Warren burst onto the national scene as a fierce advocate for average American households versus Wall Street behemoths, she has been a powerful progressive voice in American politics. As an effective critic of the Trump Administration, her stature as a protector of decency in our constitutional system has grown. We are confident that Senator Warren would be a great President.

PDA Advisory Board member Rep. Gabbard has worked closely with us on leading legislation; including a ban on regime change policies and weapons sales to aggressive regimes, as well as the Off Fossil Fuels “OFF” Act, the most Progressive environmental legislation introduced in the last Congress. Of course, Tulsi distinguished herself, beyond the call of duty, by stepping down from DNC leadership to endorse Bernie Sanders in 2016.

We applaud the courage Tulsi’s shown by calling out the unfair practices of the Democratic Party establishment. She also supports an unwaveringly progressive domestic agenda. We applaud her entry into the race; and anticipate her presentation of a progressive vision for America and the planet. She’d also make a great President.

Furthermore, it is heartening to see Senators Harris and Gillibrand have also announced their candidacies. While neither of these Senators has a strong progressive record, in recent years they have embraced some progressive policies—a clear sign our political revolution is gaining strength. We look forward to hearing more about their vision for America during the course of the campaign.

All of this is promising, but we feel there is still work to do. For PDA, the field of candidates will not be complete until Senator Bernie Sanders once again throws his hat into the ring. Among politicians old enough to run for the highest office in the land, Bernie remains the most progressive. He has also proven that he posses something truly invaluable for any candidate: Bernie inspires millions of voters with his words and vision. So, just like we did well before the 2016 cycle, we are saying Run Bernie Run.

When you read our statement calling on Bernie to run in 2020, you’ll see that our support for Bernie does not diminish our enthusiasm for other progressives joining the race. Indeed, if there are going to be more than a dozen candidates—as seems likely—we’ll need more than a couple of progressives campaigning. This would engage millions of Americans in a national dialogue discussing progressive solutions. After all, rank-and-file Democrats overwhelmingly support our progressive agenda! So, please sign and share our petition calling on Bernie to run.

We encourage all progressives to mobilize this weekend in support of the Run Bernie Run campaign. PDA has joined into a partnership with our strategic partners at Our Revolution, as well as Organizing for Bernie, People for Bernie—and hopefully you. Read about this week’s actions here.

Of course, all of this organizing costs money for printing organizing materials (always union made in the USA), travel, room rental, and other expenses. Please support PDA’s work for progressive victories in 2020, and beyond! Join us in building a grassroots populist progressive majority—the movement we’ve been building since 2004.

We promise to deliver more activism per dollar than any other organization, creating the politics that we need at this historic moment. “Make your dollars holler” by becoming a Change Makes Change (CMC) monthly sustainer, or by making a generous one-time gift! We need to enroll 100 new sustainers, and I hope you will become one of them.

In solidarity,

Alan Minsky for Mike H., Mike F., Deb, Janis, Dan, Dr. Bill, Kimberly, Bryan, and Shayna—your PDA National Team

P.S. Join the PDA Phone Team making easy, effective calls from your own home with Mike “Phone Guy” Fox. No time to make calls? Then please pitch in whatever you can afford each month to support our organizing. If you can give $5 per month, that’s great! $10? Wonderful! $100? Spectacular! Whatever is good for you is great for us. Thanks so much for anything you can do right now to help us reach our magic 100 goal.

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