LIVESTREAM this wkd - "Populism 2015" - You're gonna LOVE it!

[RiverLover]

43. New article on this, today - "Can New Populist Agenda Harness Passions, Create Movement From Below?"

Hoping they can drive a revamped public conversation and fuel a populist counter-movement from the left against an otherwise rightward lurch in the country, a coalition of progressive organizations this week is championing a new agenda designed to galvanize those demanding an economic, political, and ecological transformation in the United States.

Representing more than 2 million active members from their respective organizations in more than 32 states, the four members of the coalition—the Campaign for America's Future, National People's Action, US Action, and the Alliance for a Just Society—say that the nation's numerous and interwoven crises have drawn them together during a historic moment that demands a populist response.

"We're in a populist moment here in America," said Roger Hickey, co-director of the Campaign for America's Future, on a Thursday press call. "Even conservative Republicans are telling us that and average Americans nod in agreement when Sen. Elizabeth Warren tells us that our economy and our government have been rigged in favor of the wealthy and the big corporations."

According to Hickey, the 12-point agenda the group has unveiled—which will be featured prominently at the Populism2015 Conference running through this weekend in Washington, DC—goes well beyond what any politician is now offering. "It is an integrated platform to create jobs and sustainable prosperity," he said.

Isaiah Poole, CAF's communications director, says the agenda—officially titled, Populism 2015 Platform: Building A Movement for People and the Planet— was designed to put "on notice politicians who offer workers patches and palliatives to soften the blows of actions that have served to shrink the middle class and concentrate wealth at the top. This is not about remediation. The demand is for restructuring."

...It is because of dynamics like this, says Hickey, that the populist moment is here whether politicians want to acknowledge it or not.

He said this new coalition, joined by others, will use their shared agenda as a way to force politicians to answer the following kinds of questions during campaign stops across the country throughout the election season:

Do you support greater public investment to create good jobs and spur sustainable growth?

Will you vote to increase Social Security benefits, as 42 Senators have done, or will you vote for cuts?

Will you break up banks that are “too big to fail,” or will you keep deregulating the banks?

Do you support the demands for a $15 wage, the right to a union, immediate Federal action to require these of federal contractors as put forward in the streets on Wednesday by low wage workers?

Will you fight climate change by investing in green energy and by raising energy taxes?

Do you oppose “Fast Track” and the Trans Pacific Partnership soon to be before the Congress – or will you ignore the impact on U.S. jobs and democracy and support these measures?

Will you work to get big money out of politics – or do you like its impact on democracy?

"When you organize, you can win. Our power is in our numbers," said Hall....

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/04/17/can-new-populist-agenda-harness-passions-create-movement-below