Justice Democrats are a progressive political action committee that has been described as “a new, central player in the ongoing war for the soul of the Democratic Party.”
The group was founded in January 2017 by Kyle Kulinski of Secular Talk (a social democratic news-and-politics program on Youtube), Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks (a progressive news and commentary program on YouTube) and former leaders of Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. Uygur and Kulinski are no longer with the group, which is now led by Alexandra Rojas. The organization formed as a result of the 2016 presidential election with the goal of reforming the Democratic Party from the inside by running “a unified campaign to replace every corporate-backed member of Congress”.
Just starting a new party won’t work, according to JusticeDemocrats.com.
“Right now it is next to impossible for a third-party candidate to win a national election.
“We want our democracy to work for Americans again as soon as possible. The best way to do this is by working to change the Democratic Party from the inside out. Once Justice Democrats take power, we plan to implement electoral reform like ranked-choice voting so third parties can have more power in our democracy.”
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Jamarlin talks to Kai Bond, managing partner at Comcast Ventures Catalyst Fund. They discuss the Fyre Festival being flagged during due diligence and Kai’s observation that most African-American entrepreneurs are under-negotiating. They also discuss a Washington Post article suggesting Facebook is psychopathic.
Here are six reasons for Black America to take a hard look at the Justice Democrats.
Justice Democrats claim Rep. Ro Khanna, Democrat of California and a liberal, as one of their own.
It was the Justice Democrats who recruited Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez early on, “providing a neophyte candidate with enough infrastructure to take down a party leader,” Politico reported — part of an ambitious plan to “re-imagine liberal politics in America.”
The group endorsed other freshman congresswomen who have been dominating the news cycle with their progressive platforms, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and Rep. Ilhan Omar.
You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of
Matthew 7:16thorns, or figs of thistles?
The Justice Democrats represent the future. Rojas, the executive director at Justice Democrats, is 24 years old. Her first foray into politics was with the Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign, where she started as an intern and worked her way up to national staff. “Justice Democrats’ mission is really to build a multi-racial, progressive cohort of lawmakers that are actually going to institute the policies that we are pushing for, like Green New Deal, Medicare for all, free college,” Rojas said in an Elle interview. “In 2020, we’re hoping to double down on competitive primary elections and compete in districts across America to help elect a new, diverse generation of leadership to Congress.”
They don’t take money from lobbyists and have relied on the people for support. This allows them to represent the people without conflict. They don’t care what lobbyists from big tech, big oil and Wall Street
Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents part of Silicon Valley, in October presented an internet Bill of Rights that could be a framework for sweeping data-privacy laws in the form of network neutrality, greater transparency in data-collection practices by tech companies, and opt-in consent for data gathering, Barrons reported. Khanna plans in 2019 to pursue “six to seven bills that are well-crafted and nuanced that protect consumers without impeding innovation,” he said in a 2018 interview.
Justice Democrats don’t support wasting money on wars America has no business being in. While some corporate Democrats have backed a coup in Venezuela, Khanna warned Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidó against trying to authorize U.S. military force to strengthen his claim to power.
“Mr. Guaido, you can proclaim yourself
Corporate Democrats have been one-sided when it comes to Palestine, remaining silent when more than 60 protestors were killed in 2018. “Only a handful broke ranks to condemn Israel’s hardline response to the protests by tens of thousands of Palestinians,” the Guardian reported. Justice Democrats want to change this with an objective and independent policy that looks at human rights first.
Rep. Omar’s critics denounce her as anti-Semitic, while supporters of Palestinian rights praise her for speaking out. She has defended tweets she sent in 2012 criticizing Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip: “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel,” according to Middle East Monitor.
Tlaib, the first Palestinian woman elected to Congress, is also the first
Palestinian Progressive Democrat to hold office and openly and consistently challenge the political status quo on Israel-Palestine, The Nation reported.
An opinion piece in the Mac Weekly student-run newspaper calls for Rep Ocasio-Cortez to publicly endorse the BDS Campaign. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign calls for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories, remove barriers in the West Bank and give
equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, among other things.
“If (Ocasio-Cortez) endorsed the (BDS) movement, she would stand in solidarity with the two congresswomen who have put their careers on the line because they have dared to care about Palestinian human rights.”
Mac Weekly opinion piece
