December, 02 2019, 11:00pm EDT
350 Action Endorses McKayla Wilkes (MD-05), Doyle Canning (OR-04), Marie Newman (IL-03) for Congress
Brooklyn, N.Y.
350 Action is endorsing candidates who have voiced and demonstrated their commitment to progressive action on climate change, by supporting a just transition away from fossil fuels towards 100% renewable energy that centers workers through a Green New Deal, and advocating to keep fossil fuels in the ground.
This week, 350 Action is endorsing the following candidates:
- McKayla Wilkes, Democrat, mother, and student, running for Maryland's 5th District
- Marie Newman,Democrat and anti-gun violence advocate, running for Illinois' 3rd District
- Doyle Canning,Democrat and community organizer, running for Oregon's 4th District
The following is a statement from 350 Action's Policy Director, Natalie Mebane:
"We are excited to support the next generation of climate leaders in Congress. As we enter the climate decade, it is critical to amplify forward-thinking candidates whose platforms are the zeitgeist of how we address the climate crisis. McKayla Wilkes, Marie Newman, and Doyle Canning are candidates who exemplify what we call a bold vision for climate and environmental justice in their support for a Green New Deal and for an end to fossil fuel extraction. "
350 Action endorses McKayla Wilkes, Democrat running for Maryland's 5th District and student, running on a platform of affordable housing and corporate accountability, as well as the Green New Deal. Inspired by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Wilkes is running a progressive campaign against one of the longest serving members of Congress. Here is her response to our candidate questionnaire, on how to address climate migration:
"Climate efforts must include helping coastal areas in the United States prepare and respond to rising sea levels and intensified natural disasters. Additionally, there will be people around the globe whose homes, communities, and nations are destroyed by climate change. We must expand the legal definition of refugee to include those who have been displaced by climate change, and create a program to admit them. Finally, we must provide countries in the Global South with the climate aid necessary to help prevent and prepare for the catastrophes that will create climate refugees in the first place."
350 Action endorses Marie Newman, Democrat and anti-gun violence advocate, running for Illinois' 3rd District on a platform for the "everybody's everyday," seeking job creation and infrastructure investment, as well as the Green New Deal. Here is her response to our candidate questionnaire:
"I am fighting for the Green New Deal because we have no choice. We must create emergency level legislation that builds on the resolution, or we will begin to see dramatic changes in our health, environment and ability to live free. Honestly, I am motivated by fear but inspired by hope and innovation. A Green New Deal is what we need to ensure a safe environment for the future--without addressing this issue head-on, other progressive policies are meaningless."
350 Action endorses Doyle Canning, Democrat and community organizer, running for Oregon's 4th District, on a platform of student debt cancellation and economic justice, as well as the Green New Deal. Here is her response to our candidate questionnaire:
"I will do everything in my power to stop the Jordan Cove project in my district, and other pipeline and infrastructure build outs nationwide. I will work to end the extraction of fossil fuels, such as supporting a ban on fracking, an end to fossil fuel development on public lands, and a managed decline of the industry using quantitative easing at the federal reserve, for example. When elected, I will work to abolish subsidies to the fossil fuel industry entirely. I will follow the lead of the climate movement to keep attention in Congress on issues like fossil fuel financing, insurance, risk bonds and other instruments that can affect the industry's access to capital."
350 Action is the independent political action arm of the non-profit, non-partisan climate justice group 350.org.
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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) brought the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act—which would prohibit the federal government from forcing journalists and telecom companies to disclose certain information, with exceptions for terroristic or violent threats—for a unanimous consent vote.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued Tuesday that passing the PRESS Act is "more important now than ever before when we've heard some in the previous administration talk about going after the press in one way or another," a reference to Republican President-elect Donald Trump's threats to jail journalists who refuse to reveal the sources of leaks. Trump, who has referred to the press as the "enemy of the people," repeatedly urged Senate Republicans to "kill this bill."
Cotton, who blocked a vote on the legislation in December 2022, again objected to the bill, a move that thwarted its speedy passage. The Republican called the legislation a "threat to national security" and "the biggest giveaway to the liberal press in American history."
The advocacy group Defending Rights and Dissent lamented that "Congress has abdicated their responsibility to take substantive steps to protect the constitutional right to a free press."
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Trump has picked Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. She has stated that it must be "made unsafe" for hospitals to provide trans care, and frequently shares Libs of TikTok posts. She intends to target trans people in blue states. Subscribe to support my journalism.
[image or embed]
— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) December 10, 2024 at 8:14 AM
Reed continued:
Dhillon's most prominent work includes founding the Center for American Liberty, a legal organization that focuses heavily on anti-transgender cases in blue states. The organization's "featured cases" section highlights several lawsuits, such as Chloe Cole's case against Kaiser Permanente; a lawsuit challenging a Colorado school's use of a transgender student's preferred name; a case against a California school district seeking to implement policies that would forcibly out transgender students; and a lawsuit against Vermont for denying a foster care license to a family unwilling to comply with nondiscrimination policies regarding transgender youth.
Reed also highlighted Dhillon's attacks on state laws protecting transgender people, as well as her expression of "extreme anti-trans views" on social media—including calling gender-affirming healthcare for trans children "child abuse."
Last year, The Guardian's Jason Wilson reported that the Center for American Liberty made a six-figure payment to a public relations firm that represented Dhillion in both "her capacity as head of her own for-profit law firm and Republican activist."
Writing for the voting rights platform Democracy Docket, Matt Cohen on Tuesday accused Dhillon of being "one of the leading legal figures working to roll back voting rights across the country."
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