Action Archive

Pushing for Real Health Care Reform

OurFuture.org Staff — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:36:51 -0800

As soon as the battle over the recovery act and the budget ended, the battle for real health care reform began. Throughout the summer of 2009 we engaged in several campaigns to push both Congress and President Obama to make sure a public health insurance option was part of any health insurance reform that passed Congress. Together with our allies we gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures on petitions demanding real reform, and had thousands of our supporters call their members of Congress. As a result of our efforts and the sustained push from progressives across the country Congress defied the conventional wisdom in Washington submitted health insurance reform bills that include a public option in both chambers of Congress!

We are in a much stronger position now than anyone would have originally predicted, thanks to the support of the progressive community and of course the American public at large, which remains firmly in support of a robust public option, no matter how often conservatives and the media like to suggest otherwise. Now all that is left is for us to see this hard wrought reform to the end--on President Obama's desk in the Oval Office.

Protect The Estate Tax

OurFuture.org Staff — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:21:21 -0700

When the 2010 budget was moving through Congress, conservatives, while refusing to support the budget out of a misguided sense of "fiscal responsibility", inserted an amendment into the budget that would cut the estate tax for the richest 5,854 multimillionaire families in America, while costing the government over $300 billion in lost revenue over the next 10 years. Just when it looked like this wildly irresponsible and regressive measure was going to find safe harbor in the budget, we responded by asking progressives to make their voices heard.

Progressives pushed back, sending over 10,000 emails to their members of Congress to show that this outrageous tax break for the rich wasn't going to slip in under the radar at a time when millions of working Americans are fighting to get by. When the final version of the budget came out of conference committee with the estate tax cut stripped out, we had plenty of reason to celebrate--not only will that money now be available to invest in America's future, but we can also feel good knowing that progressive grassroots oversight made it happen.

Fight For Obama's Budget

OurFuture.org Staff — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:08:33 -0700

After the success of passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, President Obama's next big priority was to pass the fiscal 2010 federal budget resolutions. Once again, the conservative opposition mounted a fierce campaign to embrace the failures of Herbert Hoover and the Bush presidency, and even supported an alternative budget which called for more Bush-style tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy as a way to get us out of the recession those same policies helped create. Once again, we called on the progressive community to fight for real solutions from Congress.

And once again progressives responded. As a result of our call to action, over 20,000 emails were sent to members of Congress urging them to support President Obama's crucial investments in America, and to reject wasteful tax cuts for those who don't need them. As with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, your pressure helped produce a truly progressive budget that puts us on a path toward health care for all, affordable and accessible education and a clean energy economy. This budget truly represents a blueprint for change.

Don't Let Lobbyists Delay Health Care Reform

OurFuture.org Staff — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:37:52 -0700

In April, Campaign for America's Future teamed up with MoveOn.org and Health Care for America NOW! with the goal to deliver 200,000 signatures to President Obama before his White House Health Care Summit to send a clear message: "Don't let the insurance lobbyists delay health care any longer. In this economic crisis, we can't afford NOT to pass quality, affordable health care for all this year."

With your help we blew away our original goal and accumulated over 300,000 signatures to support health care reform and keep the health insurance industry lobbyists from obstructing the reform we need! On top of that, Campaign for America's Future's Co-Director Roger Hickey went to the Health Care Summit and personally hand-delivered those signatures to participating Senators, Members of Congress and White House staff.

Take A Stand For Economic Recovery

OurFuture.org Staff — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:38:01 -0800

As one of President Obama's first acts of office he called on Congress to pass his American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Conservatives responded with their typical obstruction and failed ideas, and when anti-investment pressure was mounting on Congress from the Right, we asked our supporters to step in and tell Congress that Americans demand economic recovery for Main Street, not the alternative do-nothing plan.

And you responded. Over the next few weeks while Congress debated the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, you flooded Congress with nearly 30,000 emails, and countless phone calls, demanding a real solution from Congress. While in the end conservatives in both parties managed to water down parts of the legislation, we succeeded in passing the biggest investment in America's foundation since the New Deal. Without a doubt, Congress could not have passed such historic and desperately-needed legislation without the unceasing pressure of the grassroots keeping them on track. We all own a piece of its success.

I.O.U.S.A. Is Not OK

OurFuture.org Staff — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:50:06 -0800

During one weekend in January, CNN turned over a total of four hours of programming to the financial backers and stars of the anti-investment documentary “I.O.U.S.A." We demanded that CNN give equal time to public investment strategies that will put our economy back on a sound footing.

As a result of our campaign, decision makers at CNN received thousands of emails letting them know that biased anti-investment programming by a news outlet is not acceptable. We hope that as a result of this push-back, CNN will think more carefully about giving an inordinate amount of airtime to groups pushing biased reactionary viewpoints in the future.

The Debate We Need

OurFuture.org Staff — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:46:55 -0700

The American Dream is slipping out of reach for more and more families. Yet instead of addressing the root crises, our national debate has been hijacked by pigs, lipstick and tabloid gossip.

In response, the Institute for America's Future launched a 7-week campaign to demand a debate worthy of a great nation in trouble. It started with a New York Times ad series demanding a debate worthy of America. We then stepped up pressure for the debate we need by launching a petition drive aimed at the moderators of the presidential and VP debates: Tom Brokaw, Gwen Ifill, Jim Lehrer, and Bob Schieffer. By the end of our campaign nearly 13,000 progressives signed our petition, which helped us send a clear signal to the moderators: we deserve a debate worthy of a great nation in trouble.

Compared to the gotcha-debates of the primaries, our campaign was a great success. Spurred by the gravity of the financial crisis, and pressured by progressives like us and a public sick of politics not being focused on the issues that matter to them, the debate moderators changed the script from the primary debates and gave Americans a focus on the issues. Amazingly, the first three debates contained no petty distractions from the issues, however we were notably disappointed in the final debate when moderator Bob Schieffer drove the debate toward gotcha politics and wasted 15 minutes that should have been spent on discussing critical issues. However, overall, the campaign was a great success.

No Blank Check

OurFuture.org Staff — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:56:58 -0700

When the Bush administration sent a request to Congress for a $700 billion blank check for Wall Street Campaign for America's Future jumped into action, and so did progressives all across the country. Within days, progressives sent over 80,000 emails to members of Congress demanding that any bailout measure passed through Congress must contain strict oversight, new regulations, and help for Main Street, not just Wall Street.

As a result of our efforts, and the efforts of our progressive allies, Congress quickly rejected Bush's proposal, and demanded many of the changes we demanded. While the final bailout plan that passed Congress was much less than what we wanted, it was also much better than what the Bush administration wanted quickly shot through Congress without question.

With the help of progressives across the country we made a real difference. This challenge was just the first of many to come. This bailout was just the first step, a bitter pill that didn't do nearly enough for Main Street. In the coming months we will continue to push for Congress to support the real economy and real families, who are right now struggling to make ends meet.

"Thanks for the Memories!" TV Ad

Ian Mishalove — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:07:40 -0700

We went right into the lion's den and aired this TV ad for conservatives and media members gathered at the 2008 Republican National Committee Convention. The ad broadcasts unforgettable moments from conservatives’ last eight years in power -- memories they now wish the country would forget.

Thanks to the generous support of Campaign for America's Future supporters, we raised over $20,000 -- enough to saturate the airwaves with this ad throughout the convention host city -- which in turn attracted the national media exposure needed to broadcast the ad across the country.

Tell Fox News – They Don’t Own Patriotism

OurFuture.org Staff — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:00:50 -0700

In response to repeated attacks on the patriotism of progressives by right-wing media outlet Fox News, Campaign for America's Future launched the "Tell Fox News – They Don’t Own Patriotism" campaign. The goal of the campaign was to send a clear message to Fox News team in a format to which they'd be receptive: namely, personalized declarations of patriotism, each attached with a genuine Made-In-the-USA flag pin. The thrust of these personal declarations was that progressives are patriotic Americans too, and that no one holds a monopoly on patriotism.

Before we knew it over 600 progressives had sent us messages to pass along to Fox News, like this one from Patricia in Little Neck, NY:

“Patriotism does NOT belong to one party or ideology and I urge you to cease your incessant attacks. Please accept our 4th of July gift in hopes we can all come together & recognize that we are all true patriots under the same grand flag and constitution that celebrates our unity even among diversity.”

As promised, we delivered these messages and flag pins to the Fox News Channel Washington Bureau on Capitol Hill over the Fourth of July weekend.