Progressive Democrats of America

John Nichols: Don’t Let the ‘Crooks’ Roll Back Years of Progress (video)

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Author and historian John Nichols warned a packed house of Tucson progressives and unionists that now is not the time for complacency. Now is the time to rise up and fight against the forces of greed who are trying to rob the American people of their rights and their earned benefits.

Nichols, writer for The Nation and frequent commentator on MSNBC, held the audience in wrapped attention for 90 minutes as he carefully explained what the current Washington DC budget and debt reduction talks could mean for the American people if right wing conservatives like Congressman Paul Ryan and the Fix the Debt Coalition get their way.

The Fix the Debt Coalition is a group of 127 billionaires, "lesser millionaires", and corporate CEOs who are rolling out a $60 million advertising campaign to promote the new Simpson-Bowles Plan for debt reduction, according to Nichols. The original Simpson-Bowles Commission– dubbed the Cat Food Commission because of its cuts to senior citizen benefits– was infamously unpopular when it was proposed originally. The Simpson-Bowles redux may be even worse.  

How would the billionaires' club "fix the debt"? By reducing Social Security payments to the elderly and disabled, by raising the eligibility age for Medicare, by dramatically cutting Medicaid support for the poor, by eliminating the Affordable Care Act and changing Medicare to a voucher program for future recipients, by imposing austerity on 99%, and by [wait for it] lowering taxes on billionaires and corporations. 

"They are proposing to take from our vulnerable seniors, from our disabled– and let's be honest they're probably going to take the lunch money from the poor kids. They're going to take all that, so they can give the rich guys a tax cut," Nichols warned. More details and a video clip of Nichols' talk after the jump.


Progressives Shut Out of Koch Brothers Medicaid Forum

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Loft2013-03-07-2-sm72-sigby Pamela Powers Hannley

Thanks to publicity on this blog, social media, and e-mail blasts, progressives and other Democrats came to the Americans for Prosperity "public forum" on Medicaid expansion last night at The Loft Cinema. Too bad we couldn't get in.

Approximately 20 pro-healthcare reform advocates, plus six journalism students, and two bloggers were shut out of the tightly controlled forum. In addition, City Councilman Steve Kozachik was "uninvited" to participate in the panel. Although public announcements of the event in the Tucson Weekly, the Arizona Daily Star, and the Pima County GOP website didn't say that reservations were required, the only people who were admitted were those who RSVP'd to the Koch Brothers' Americans for Prosperity e-mail blast, linked to this article.

The only two members of Progressive Democrats of American (PDA) Tucson who were admitted are both doctors. (Of course, they were not wearing PDA Healthcare Not Warfare stickers. None of us holding the banner in front of The Loft or trying to distribute Healthcare Not Warfare stickers got in.)

After the jump, read a first hand account by Dr. Eve Shapiro, head of PDA Tucson's healthcare reform issue organizing team, and more about Koz and job creation with Medicaid expansion.

John Nichols: What Challenges Face Labor & Progressives in the Future? (video)

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by Pamela Powers Hannley

John Nichols, political writer for The Nation and regular contributor to MSNBC, returns to Tucson on Saturday, March 9, 2013, to discuss the progressive movement, our mutual goals with labor, and the challenges ahead. 

With intransigence in the Congress and sequestration cuts swirling around our heads, Nichols will provide us with lively commentary and new insights into American politics. 

Nichols spoke to a packed house last year in Tucson. If you attended that event, you know he is both entertaining and thoughtful in his analyses of the news and the political climate.

This free event is sponsored by the Tucson Chapter of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), in collaboration with the Pima Area Labor Federation (PALF). It will be 6-8 p.m. at the IBEW Hall, 570 South Tucson Blvd. 

For a taste of what you will hear, check out this video from last year's event– after the jump.


Building a Sustainable Economy in Tucson: Public Forum Tonight

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Tonight— February 11– Sustainable Tucson will host a panel discussion and public forum focusing on creative ideas for building a sustainable economy in Tucson.

Tucson is one of the poorest cities in the southwest, has a fragile desert ecosystem, and relies far too heavily on defense, the University of Arizona, and tourism for its vitality. We need diversification and creativity in our economic development efforts.

Tonight’s speakers represent wide-ranging ideas from public banking and time trading to TREO’s efforts in building Tucson’s economy. The meeting will be held in the downtown library’s lower level meeting room. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; program begins at 6 p.m. Details after the jump.

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Tucsonans Voice Opinions on Background Checks at Gun Shows (video)

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6a00d8341bf80c53ef017c36c58ae2970b-800wiby Pamela Powers Hannley

Last week, in an historic move, the Tucson City Council advanced a resolution to require universal background checks on all sales at gun shows on city owned or city managed property.

This action was taken during the afternoon study session. Council chambers were filled to capacity later that day for the regular meeting. By far, proponents of gun control outnumbered the people against it. This was obvious because they were wearing “Common Sense Gun Laws” buttons. During the call to the audience, 20 people volunteered to speak in favor of the gun show resolution; three volunteered to speak against it– two Tea Party representatives and one gun show promoter, whose family has profited from shows at the Tucson Convention Center for 20 years. After the jump, watch the video from the call to the audience.

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