SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The voters I spoke to at these events are fighting for change. They want an economy that puts workers first. (Photo: Ron Adar/SOPA Images/LightRocket?Getty Images)
Voters Want Change, Not Centrism
Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and other candidates aiming for the so-called center do not inspire voters.
Dec 26, 2019
I spent last week at a series of events in eastern Iowa that we called "The War against Workers," sponsored by Our Revolution and by Labor for Bernie. We were seeking volunteers to "adopt" the 5,000 Our Revolution supporters in these pivot counties that had voted twice for Barack Obama and then went for Donald Trump.
We met in union halls, and the industrial workers who filled those halls clearly do not believe that any old Democrat will do.
Our goal, in this case, is mobilizing those members to caucus for Bernie Sanders in the Feb. 3 Iowa caucus, but then to sustain the involvement of those voters for the Democratic nominee through the November election and beyond. Those pivot counties are much like similar counties that stretch across Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, all states like Iowa that narrowly went for Trump in 2016.
Like it or not, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and others aiming for the so-called center do not inspire the voters I saw. Those who attended will not vote for Trump in November, but they also will not be inspired to be active by candidates who reflect the Democratic Party's past. Their health care costs, even with a union, are rising every year, and trade deals backed by Democrats and Republicans alike have gutted their workplaces.
The voters I spoke to at these events are fighting for change. They want an economy that puts workers first. They want clean drinking water from the tap, not water polluted by factory farms. They want a green economy that expands employment and ends new investment in fracking and pipelines that harm their communities. They want union organizing and collective bargaining rights in the public and private sectors.
That's why they will caucus for Bernie Sanders, and that's why they volunteered to mobilize 50 other voters in their county to do the same.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 USA Today
Larry Cohen
Larry Cohen was the president of the Communications Workers of America, a 700,000 member labor union representing workers in Canada and the United States. Cohen was first elected by acclamation, in 2005, and left office in 2015. In 2015, Cohen joined presidential candidate Bernie Sander's campaign as a liaison to organized labor.
I spent last week at a series of events in eastern Iowa that we called "The War against Workers," sponsored by Our Revolution and by Labor for Bernie. We were seeking volunteers to "adopt" the 5,000 Our Revolution supporters in these pivot counties that had voted twice for Barack Obama and then went for Donald Trump.
We met in union halls, and the industrial workers who filled those halls clearly do not believe that any old Democrat will do.
Our goal, in this case, is mobilizing those members to caucus for Bernie Sanders in the Feb. 3 Iowa caucus, but then to sustain the involvement of those voters for the Democratic nominee through the November election and beyond. Those pivot counties are much like similar counties that stretch across Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, all states like Iowa that narrowly went for Trump in 2016.
Like it or not, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and others aiming for the so-called center do not inspire the voters I saw. Those who attended will not vote for Trump in November, but they also will not be inspired to be active by candidates who reflect the Democratic Party's past. Their health care costs, even with a union, are rising every year, and trade deals backed by Democrats and Republicans alike have gutted their workplaces.
The voters I spoke to at these events are fighting for change. They want an economy that puts workers first. They want clean drinking water from the tap, not water polluted by factory farms. They want a green economy that expands employment and ends new investment in fracking and pipelines that harm their communities. They want union organizing and collective bargaining rights in the public and private sectors.
That's why they will caucus for Bernie Sanders, and that's why they volunteered to mobilize 50 other voters in their county to do the same.
Larry Cohen
Larry Cohen was the president of the Communications Workers of America, a 700,000 member labor union representing workers in Canada and the United States. Cohen was first elected by acclamation, in 2005, and left office in 2015. In 2015, Cohen joined presidential candidate Bernie Sander's campaign as a liaison to organized labor.
I spent last week at a series of events in eastern Iowa that we called "The War against Workers," sponsored by Our Revolution and by Labor for Bernie. We were seeking volunteers to "adopt" the 5,000 Our Revolution supporters in these pivot counties that had voted twice for Barack Obama and then went for Donald Trump.
We met in union halls, and the industrial workers who filled those halls clearly do not believe that any old Democrat will do.
Our goal, in this case, is mobilizing those members to caucus for Bernie Sanders in the Feb. 3 Iowa caucus, but then to sustain the involvement of those voters for the Democratic nominee through the November election and beyond. Those pivot counties are much like similar counties that stretch across Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, all states like Iowa that narrowly went for Trump in 2016.
Like it or not, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and others aiming for the so-called center do not inspire the voters I saw. Those who attended will not vote for Trump in November, but they also will not be inspired to be active by candidates who reflect the Democratic Party's past. Their health care costs, even with a union, are rising every year, and trade deals backed by Democrats and Republicans alike have gutted their workplaces.
The voters I spoke to at these events are fighting for change. They want an economy that puts workers first. They want clean drinking water from the tap, not water polluted by factory farms. They want a green economy that expands employment and ends new investment in fracking and pipelines that harm their communities. They want union organizing and collective bargaining rights in the public and private sectors.
That's why they will caucus for Bernie Sanders, and that's why they volunteered to mobilize 50 other voters in their county to do the same.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.