Bold Women Transform Pennsylvania Politics
Bold Women Are Transforming Pennsylvania Politics. Amanda McIllmurray: "Nationally, people are really reacting to the fact that our government does not have representation of women right now. Women are performing really well at the polls, which is super-important, but we also need to make sure that the people we elect – regardless of gender or race – are preaching a politics of the people. We are running women, people of color, and people who speak out about our everyday struggles. And they don’t just talk about it – they speak from lived experience. That’s why people are getting so excited. When people told us we shouldn’t run on Medicare For All, shouldn’t run on making education funding in the state of Pennsylvania fair, we shouldn’t run on redistributive policies or we can’t talk about racial justice and economic justice with long-time residents of South Philly, we said, 'Well, we are going to try this.' Elizabeth (Fiedler) would knock on doors and talk to voters every day, and we would talk to people who typically wouldn’t vote for a candidate like her. She really shifts the narrative so it isn’t left versus right, but bottom versus top."
Veterans Stand Up In Lancaster County
The Dignity of This Nation Is at Stake Right Now. Javier Adames: "when I volunteered to serve my nation, to serve America, I raised my hand not only to defend the few but everybody. I told that to a fellow vet I met knocking on doors, and that opened his eyes - he said, 'Yeah, that’s exactly what I did.' We defend everybody, not only a few. I believe the dignity of this nation is at stake right now. When I see kids playing in the playground, mothers and dads leaving their kids at school, I think of those kids. What they going to inherit – what are we leaving for them? Are we leaving them a nation full of bigotry, full of division, fear, and all these things that are like so rampant right now in everybody’s minds? Are we leaving a nation like that? I think not. As a veteran, a person who has dedicated all of my life to serve this nation, I refuse to think that way. I think that those kids, those young people, deserve better. They deserve a nation that respects everybody the way they are, for what they are. It doesn’t matter what color they are, or what creed they profess. That should not define a nation. What defines a nation is how everybody treats each other."
Moving Mountains In North Carolina
We Can Move Mountains When We Organize and Vote. Jesse Davis
"There may be a mountain dividing Madison County from Raleigh, but these people can move mountains, and they will move mountains, to let their voices be heard. These are some of the best people I’ve ever met in my life. They are very blunt, straightforward , with that Southern charm of, you know, we call it how we see it. And it really doesn’t matter at the end of the day if you’re a Republican or a Democrat – if you’re going to look out for us, then great, and if not, then we’ve got to figure out a way to get you gone. Western North Carolina is a real place - we exist. And as voters, as citizens in this District and as human beings, we deserve better. Which is why I'm going to vote."
Standing Up For Family Farms In Central Iowa
Standing Up For Family Farmers In Central Iowa. Nick Schutt: "Our stake is our future, which is our kids. We need clean air, clean water. Public services are disappearing. If they’re creating good-paying jobs like they claim they are, we shouldn’t have had three local schools close their doors because they’re not thriving. Our schools, our hospitals ought to be thriving if they’re bringing in all these people like they claim. We’re not seeing it. Our small towns are dying. We have permits that have gone through for these CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) – Iowa Select promised us items that would help preserve our quality of life. And now that the buildings are up, there’s no trees, there’s no odor control, electrostatic fences, and the road issues aren’t getting any better. So the County Board of Supervisors needs to follow through and make sure that if they say they’re putting up trees, they don’t get another permit until they put those trees in. And if they promised a fence, that fence needs to be put in. Otherwise, if you guys aren’t doing what you say you’re doing, we’re not going to issue any more permits. That’s my viewpoint."
