New Faces of Democracy
Jun 26, 2020
So what I’m hearing is…. Thoughts on Down Ballot Elections
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Almost two months into the podcast, Nancy takes a break to muse on one theme that's been coming up a lot in her interviews: the importance of state and local elections.
More episodes from New Faces of Democracy
May 25, 2022
Michelle Colon, An Abortion Freedom Fighter in Mississippi
This episode features a conversation with abortion rights activist Michelle Colon of SHERo (Sisters Helping Every Woman Rise and Organize), an organization dedicated to reproductive justice for black and brown women in Mississippi. While there’s no sugarcoating the dire state of abortion rights in our country right now, this conversation will help you pick yourself up out of your puddle of tears and start to take action. Michelle and Nancy talk about how Mississippi, with its myriad abortion restrictions, is virtually already in a post-Roe universe and how it will only get harder; the fraught history of bodily autonomy for black and brown women; and why we need to support local abortion organizations that are able to help women with the daunting amount of resources they will need when Roe is gone for good. You can donate to support Michelle's work at SHERo here. And below is Michelle’s list of other worthy grassroots groups that help women with those resources.
ARC Southeast arc-southeast.org
Indigenous Women Rising https://www.iwrising.org/abortion-fund
Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund www.msreprofreedomfund.org
New Orleans Abortion Fund
www.neworleansabortionfund.org
Tampa Bay Abortion Fund tbafund.com
National Network of Abortion Funds
abortionfunds.org
Yellowhammer Fund
www.yellowhammerfund.org
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May 11, 2022
Diana Robinson of Make the Road Pennsylvania
On the last episode with Stacy Kramer of Blueprint/Swing Left, we got a bird’s eye view of why we should support grassroots groups in swing states. This week, Nancy is following up with a “boots on the ground” perspective from Diana Robinson, civic engagement director at Make the Road Pennsylvania. Diana discusses her group’s support of working class Latinx communities year in and year out, and how that translates into votes for Democrats when elections roll around. Nancy and Diana also talk about what life is like in a deeply divided battleground state like Pennsylvania, how the group’s advocacy is making a real impact, and why they need money now to knock on doors and educate voters before the elections.
To make a donation or learn more about Make the Road Pennsylvania (a 501(c)(3) organization), go to https://www.maketheroadpa.org/donate.
To make a donation or learn more about their electoral 501(c)(4) arm, Make the Road Action, go to www.maketheroadaction.org.
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Apr 27, 2022
Stacy Kramer: Why Grassroots Giving Will Save Democracy
This episode features Stacy Kramer who first came on the podcast two years ago as a newly activated Democratic fundraiser who was making fundraising more Democratic. But after the disappointing down ballot results for Democrats in 2020, she took a hard look at what had gone wrong and realized that giving large amounts of money directly to candidates and campaigns is not a winning strategy. Now she has changed activist gears and is a consultant at Blueprint, a division of the political action group Swing Left. At Blueprint, Stacy is dedicating her time to building up local grassroots civics groups in order to build Democratic infrastructure so that Democrats can win. Stacy and Nancy talk about the law of diminishing returns when it comes to campaign giving, how Republicans have been successfully cultivating the grassroots for decades, and the expertise that Blueprint provides, giving donors the assurance that their gifts will have maximum impact. To learn more about Blueprint, go to blueprint.swingleft.org or email Stacy at stacykramer@me.com.
Stacy talks about the following resources on the podcast:
The Losing Democrats who Gobbled Up Money by Michael Sokolove in The New Republic
Kyle Spencer’s book Raising Them Right: The Untold Story of America's Ultraconservative Youth Movement--and Its Plot for Power will be published in the fall.
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