Progressive Democrats Fighting for Main Street

"It's time for a Main Street Contract for America," says Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) National Director Tim Carpenter. "On Wednesday at Brown Bag Lunch Vigils in Washington and across the country, we're going to let Congress know that low and middle-income Americans have already made their sacrifices. The time has come for those who plundered our economy to pay their fair share."

PDA is organizing vigils to demand Congressional action on ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and redirecting those funds to create jobs and protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. PDA is joined in this effort by National Nurses United (NNU), Healthcare Now!, United for Peace and Justice, Democrats.com, US Labor Against War, the New Priorities Network, Jobs With Justice, JobParty.us, the Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare, and WarIsACrime.org.

Who: Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) and Coalition Partners
What: "Nation-wide Brown Bag Lunch Vigils" (BBLVs)
Where: At Congressional Offices across the Nation and on Capitol Hill
When: Noon local times, Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Why: To call for a mix of raising revenue and cutting wasteful spending while protecting low and middle-income families as the proper course for deficit reduction.

PDA and their partners will engage members of the super committee on Wednesday, September 21 in their Capitol Hill offices. Meanwhile, activists from coast-to-coast will gather at Congressional and Senate district offices seeking support for Rep. Lynn Woolsey's 'Dear Colleague and Sign-on' letter to the super committee. The letter urges the committee to end funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the debt deal, which will cut $1.8 trillion from the deficit. See: https://www.pdamerica.org/TroopsHome-Cut-1.8-trillion-dollars

In addition, the citizen lobbyists will ask their members to co-sponsor H. Con. Res. 72, which clearly states that any legislative language approved by the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction should not reduce benefits for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid recipients. See: https://www.pdamerica.org/Conyers-HConRes72

Carpenter added, "The banks and other financial giants crashed our economy, and were rewarded with bailouts and bonuses while our communities paid the price. Over the past 30 years, while wages have fallen or stagnated and insurance premiums and other basic costs skyrocketed, wealth has been shifted from working families on Main Street to fat cats on Wall Street and in corporate palaces. It's not shared sacrifice when only working and middle class people suffer."

For more information about Progressive Democrats of America see: https://www.PDAmerica.org

For information about the Main Street Contract for America: https://www.pdamerica.org/Main-Street-Contract

For more information about Brown Bag Lunch Vigils see: https://www.pdamerica.org/get-active/brown-bag-lunch-vigils/

For a list of vigils this month see: https://www.pdamerica.org/BBLV-09-2011

Progressive Democrats of America was founded in 2004 to transform the Democratic Party and our country. We seek to build a party and government controlled by citizens, not corporate elites--with policies that serve the broad public interest, not just private interests. PDA is a grassroots PAC operating inside the Democratic Party, and outside in movements for peace and justice. Our inside/outside strategy is guided by the belief that a lasting majority will require a revitalized Democratic Party built on firm progressive principles.

For over two decades, the party declined as its leadership listened more to the voices of corporations than those of Americans. PDA strives to rebuild the Democratic Party from the bottom up--from every congressional district to statewide party structures to the corridors of power in Washington, where we work arm in arm with the Congressional Progressive Caucus. In just five years, PDA and its allies have shaken up the political status quo--on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Medicare for all, voter rights, accountability, and economic and environmental justice.