February, 22 2017, 09:00am EDT
NNU Nurses Say "Ellison for DNC Chair" As Voting Takes Place Saturday in Atlanta
This week, registered nurses with National Nurses United (NNU) will converge in Atlanta to support Keith Ellison for chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), as over 400 members of the DNC gather for a final vote to select their new leader.
"U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison has been a tremendous ally to nurses across the nation. Together with Keith we can build on the incredible energy of the Bernie campaign and transform the Democratic Party in anticipation of the 2018 midterm elections," said Jean Ross, RN, Co-President National Nurses United.
This week, registered nurses with National Nurses United (NNU) will converge in Atlanta to support Keith Ellison for chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), as over 400 members of the DNC gather for a final vote to select their new leader.
"U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison has been a tremendous ally to nurses across the nation. Together with Keith we can build on the incredible energy of the Bernie campaign and transform the Democratic Party in anticipation of the 2018 midterm elections," said Jean Ross, RN, Co-President National Nurses United.
What: NNU Nurses Support Keith Ellison for DNC Chair
When: Thursday, February 23 through Saturday, February 25
Where: Westin Peachtree Plaza, 210 Peachtree St., Atlanta GA 30303
It is absolutely essential, NNU nurses say, that the DNC be led by a progressive that Sen. Bernie Sanders has described as someone "who understands the dire need to listen to working families, not the political establishment or the billionaire class."
Ellison is the author of the NNU-sponsored bill for a robust Robin Hood Tax on Wall Street speculation and a co-sponsor of the bill to win nurse-to-patient ratios at the federal level. He is the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and played an important role on the Democratic Party Platform Committee in the run-up to the Democratic Convention.
There he successfully fought for the inclusion of a number of progressive positions including: an improved and expanded Medicare for all, the robust Robin Hood tax on Wall Street to fund human needs, expansion of Social Security, a ban on fracking and moving our economy to 100% clean energy by 2050.
"Selecting Keith Ellison to chair the DNC is exactly the direction the Democratic Party needs to go to rebuild and strengthen its ties with working class Americans, young people, communities of color, and the full diversity of the 99 percent of Americans who should be the base of the Democratic Party," said NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro, who is also a vice president of the AFL-CIO.
"With allies of the far right and corporate interests now in control of all the branches of the federal government and a majority of state governments, it could not be more clear that the Democratic Party needs a new path that represents a fundamental break with reliance on Wall Street donors and the corporate class," said DeMoro.
"With his stellar record in Congress, which includes an uncompromised commitment to working people, and challenging corporate interests, Keith would be an outstanding leader who can lead the shift the Democratic Party needs," DeMoro said.
National Nurses United is the largest union of registered nurses in the country, with over 150,000 members nationwide.
National Nurses United, with close to 185,000 members in every state, is the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in US history.
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Democratic Insider Rips 'Shocking' US Claim That Israel Is Following International Law
"There is no time to spare in pulling back from this outrageous assertion by the State Department," said Center for American Progress president Patrick Gaspard.
Mar 27, 2024
A longtime Democratic operative and current president of the Center for American Progress issued a scathing statement Tuesday criticizing the Biden administration for accepting the Israeli government's claim that it is adhering to international law with its catastrophic military assault on the Gaza Strip.
"The State Department's shocking assertion that the Netanyahu government is complying with international law in Gaza is a gross disregard of overwhelming evidence and a dangerous precedent in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy," said Patrick Gaspard, who previously served as executive director of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and U.S. ambassador to South Africa under the Obama administration.
"The stakes here are so high that the administration must be transparent and accountable in sharing with the American people all evidence that has led to this determination and the continued sale of offensive weapons to Israel," Gaspard argued, pointing to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's stated goal of imposing a "complete siege" on Gaza at the start of the assault, which is now in its sixth month with no end in sight.
Gaspard said that "every aspect" of Gallant's "edict" has "been on open display to the world," with famine, dehydration, and disease spreading across the enclave as Israel persists in obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The CAP president's statement came after U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters earlier this week that the Biden administration has not found Israel "to be in violation of international humanitarian law, either when it comes to the conduct of the war or when it comes to the provision of humanitarian assistance."
Miller's remarks followed a letter from Gallant assuring the Biden administration that Israel is complying with international law in its use of American weaponry—a written assurance that was required under a new White House policy.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Miller clarified that the administration's assessment of Israel's compliance with international law is "ongoing" and has "not reached a definitive conclusion."
But Miller reiterated that "we have not reached the conclusion with respect to Israel that they have violated international humanitarian law."
"There is no time to spare in pulling back from this outrageous assertion by the State Department."
Leading human rights organizations and United Nations experts have concluded that Israel is guilty of grave violations of international humanitarian law—including the crime of genocide—and called for an immediate arms embargo.
Gaspard said Tuesday that "by its own imposed standards," the U.S. "cannot heedlessly deliver offensive weapons as the Israeli government continues to bombard and starve innocents on a mass scale."
"These actions have nothing to do with self-defense; they are clearly intended as collective punishment and are resulting in the complete devastation of Palestinians as a people," Gaspard added. "There is no time to spare in pulling back from this outrageous assertion by the State Department: An Israeli incursion into Rafah promises to bring only more death and devastation to civilians—and will make the administration complicit in one of the worst tramplings of human rights in this century."
Gaspard's statement is just the latest evidence that dissent against the Biden administration's unwavering support for Israel is spreading in establishment circles. Last week, dozens of former U.S. officials signed a letter urging President Joe Biden to consider restricting military aid to Israel, citing its mass killing of Gaza civilians.
On Wednesday, a U.S. State Department official resigned in protest of Biden's Gaza policy, saying in an interview that "trying to advocate for human rights just became impossible."
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New Video Details Billionaire Trump Donors Bankrolling RFK Jr.'s Run
"Kennedy's donors know that he'll never step foot in the White House, but that was never their goal. Their goal is to ensure that Trump does."
Mar 27, 2024
A video published Tuesday by More Perfect Union sheds light on the ultrawealthy Republican donors to presumptive GOP nominee and former President Donald Trump's campaign coffers who are also financing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent White House run—which many observers see as a potential spoiler for President Joe Biden's reelection bid.
The video—which came as Kennedy announced that California lawyer and philanthropist Nicole Shanahan is his running mate—underscores that the conspiracy theorist and former Democrat's biggest campaign contributor was also Trump's top donor in 2020.
"Who exactly is bankrolling RFK Jr.'s presidential push?" asked Brian Tyler Cohen, the popular YouTuber and political commentator who narrates the seven-minute video. "It turns out the answer has a lot more to do with Trump than putting a Kennedy back in the White House."
Kennedy said that he had nothing to do with the multimillion-dollar ad supporting his campaign that aired during the Super Bowl last month.
"American Values 2024, a super political action committee (PAC) backing Kennedy, dropped a cool 7 million bucks for the spot, which about 124 million people saw," Cohen said. "And propping up American Values 2024 is a large group of big donors... a bunch of millionaires and billionaires who are driven by one goal: to get RFK Jr. on the ballot in all key states across the country."
"Doing a majority of the legwork here is the super PAC's biggest donor, Timothy Mellon," the video notes. "More than half of the $38 million raised by American Values this cycle has come from Timothy Mellon alone."
The video continues:
Mellon, who hails from the 34th-richest family in America, and likened anti-poverty programs to slavery, has long been a significant Reopublican donor. He's given tens of millions to Republican congressional super PACs. He's generously funded Trump's super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., to the tune of $16.5 million over the span of just two years. He was even Trump's top donor in 2020, and it doesn't look like he's going to stop tossing money at Trump anytime soon. His last donation of $5 million to the pro-Trump PAC came on January 30, 2024. Just 22 days prior, he sent the same amount to the pro-Kennedy PAC, making it pretty clear that Timothy Mellon doesn't want Kennedy, he knows Kennedy can spoil a Biden win, so he's keeping him afloat.
Boston Globe reporter Lissandra Villa de Petrzelka noted earlier this month that Mellon's donation record "is not linear."
"He has supported Democrats such as Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist from West Virginia; progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York; and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, both Democrats before they left the party."
"But overwhelmingly, Mellon's money has funded conservative causes," she wrote. "According toThe Texas Tribune, he donated millions in stock to Texas for a fundraising effort for a border wall. The Wall Street Journal reported he also donated more than a million dollars to a legal defense fund set up by Jan Brewer, then-governor of Arizona, for an immigration crackdown law that received national backlash and was partially struck down in the courts."
Mellon isn't the only GOP megadonor funding Kennedy's campaign. According to the video, billionaire security specialist and author Gavin de Becker has donated more money to Kennedy—$10 million, so far—than to any other cause he's ever supported. Kennedy's campaign has paid de Becker's security firm $1.9 million for services and travel expenses during the 2024 run.
Cohen said that "one of the more mysterious sources of funding" for American Values 2024 is Planeta Management LLC," which has given the super PAC $4 million."
Because there is no listed name for the organization's leader on its filing papers, "we have no idea who the third-biggest donor to Kennedy' bid is," the video states.
"We do know his fourth-biggest donor, though," Cohen said. Leila Centner—who has supported Trump and disgraced former New York Republican Congressman George Santos—has given $1 million to Kennedy's campaign.
The video notes that Centner is the co-founder and CEO of Centner Academy, a private school with a policy of "trying to keep teachers and staff from getting lifesaving Covid vaccinations" because she believes that "tens of thousands of women all over the world have had adverse effects including hemorrhaging and miscarriages just by being near someone who had the vaccine."
Perhaps the nation's most prominent vaccine skeptic, Kennedy
toldFox News last year that he still believes the thoroughly debunked theory that vaccines cause autism. A 2019 measles epidemic in Samoa that killed scores of people, most of them children, has been linked to a prior visit by Kennedy in which he, his wife Cheryl Hines, and anti-vaccine activists spread deadly misinformation.
RFK Jr’s followers say, he’s going to change the world if he becomes President. I agree…
A world of death & destruction‼️
2019 — a measles outbreak hit children in Samoa. It became deadly after @RobertKennedyJr spread anti-vax fears. 👀 #Spoiler4Trump pic.twitter.com/OEUPp4zGA6
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) March 27, 2024
Kennedy has brushed off criticism about his donors' political agenda.
"The [Democratic National Committee] is saying that one of my PACs, which I have nothing to do with... accepted money from a traditionally Republican donor, that somehow it should disqualify me from people voting for me," he said last month. "We get money from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents; I'm proud that we're reaching across party lines, that we're trying to bridge the divide."
The DNC has a dubious history of crushing third-party and independent challengers.
The new video notes that "all of these pro-Kennedy donations have so far been bearing fruit in a big way."
"With the help of American Values 2024, Kennedy has gotten on ballots in key states like Nevada and New Hampshire," Cohen said. "Additionally, he'll appear on the ballot in Hawaii and Utah... and Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan, three critical swing states with razor-thin margins."
"Kennedy's donors know that he'll never step foot in the White House, but that was never their goal," he added. "Their goal is to ensure that Trump does."
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Democrat Flips Seat in Alabama House After Running on Abortion Rights
Democrats see the win in Alabama as a sign that supporting reproductive rights will make a difference in November.
Mar 27, 2024
Marilyn Lands, a Democratic candidate for a state House seat in Alabama, won a special election on Tuesday, defeating Republican Teddy Powell.
Lands focused her campaign on reproductive rights, including support for access to in vitro fertilization and abortion. The election was for a seat in Madison City, and it was previously held by a Republican.
"Today, Alabama women and families sent a clear message that will be heard in Montgomery and across the nation. Our legislature must repeal Alabama's no-exceptions abortion ban, fully restore access to IVF, and protect the right to contraception," Lands said in a statement.
Congrats to my friend Marilyn Lands on her resounding victory in the Alabama House District 10 special election. She campaigned on women’s reproductive freedom and pushing back on the culture wars being waged by AL Republicans. This is a big win for a better, stronger Alabama.…
— Doug Jones (@DougJones) March 27, 2024
Alabama has a strict abortion ban, and a February Alabama Supreme Court ruling declared that frozen embryos are people, imperiling access to in vitro fertilization in the state following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Lands' opponent supported the state's abortion ban.
"This special election is a harbinger of things to come—Republicans across the country have been put on notice that there are consequences to attacks on IVF—from the bluest blue state to the reddest red, voters are choosing to fight for their fundamental freedoms by electing Democrats across the country," Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, told Politico.
Democrats see Lands' win as a sign that supporting reproductive rights could continue to be a winner in November, even in deeply red states like Alabama. President Joe Biden voiced his support for access to IVF and abortion in his State of the Union address earlier this month.
"Marilyn Lands' victory demonstrates that voters aren't going to sit idly by while MAGA Republicans lay the groundwork for a national abortion ban," Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement.
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