Endorsed: Progressive Victory
Not all endorsements are created equally. But this one actually means something. Why? Because it comes with a clear set of values I am committed to. So here's what they are.
The Mission
I could tell you, but I will let PV speak for themselves:
So here is the TL;DR: we are working to push the Democratic party to the left. You know, where it should be. I’ve spoken on and written about this before, but I am tired of the Democratic Party being many times indistinguishable in policies and platforms from the GOP. This includes healthcare, corporate cash in politics, immigration, and term limits. These are things that are important and popular, yet the Democratic Party continues to falter and miss the memo. They also continue to waver in their support for marginalized and disenfranchised communities: from LGBTQIA+ to African Americans to the rural and the poor.
The Impact
At the monthly Progress Kentucky GOTV postcard writing event, I spoke with a voter who I’ve known for a few months. He told me this endorsement means a lot to him, as he has been a long-time volunteer with the organization. I’ve received similar feedback from others. This isn’t a nod from an establishment organization mesmerized by cash in the door; rather this is an organization that is focused on empowering and doing the work for working people.
I opened my email this morning to find the below message from a voter I met in Scott County. Committing to being a strong, unapologetic Progressive means something to so many, especially those who have felt without a party and without political candidates who reflect their values. And this is why this endorsement is important. (NB: I do remember him!)
You may remember me (or may not haha) but I heard you speak at the Scott County Public Library last month and came back to your table to talk to you. I just wanted to say that not only do you have my and my wife’s votes, but how appreciated it is to have a progressive candidate in the area who stands for true progressive values (and I say this as a straight white male who has lived here basically their whole life). I personally know progressive people who live in every corner of the state. We are here in Kentucky, no matter what the national narrative may say. But more than anything, I just wanted to extend my appreciation of you running a progressive campaign in a place where it isn’t easy to do so. No matter the result on election day next May, your campaign is of utmost importance and you are doing good and important work in Kentucky. So to that end, I just want to say again: thank you.
The Meaning
To receive this endorsement, I signed the Progressive Victory Pledge. I copied the full text below, but the crux is that PV is backing candidates who are proudly identifying themselves as Progressive and that means sticking to a particular set of goals, policies, values, and behaviors. And it even has something for the transit enthusiast in committing to investing in public transit and high speed rail. In short, it is a committment to the future that we all deserve, one that works for the people and builds a stronger society based on equality, respect, and human rights.
Tenets
Agrees that the Democratic Party is the best vehicle to achieve progressive policy goals, but that the Democratic Party Establishment is an all too often adversarial force aiming to prevent those goals.
Agrees to identify as a Progressive, and that such identification is mutually exclusive with labels such as Establishment Democrat, Corporate Democrat, and Moderate or Centrist Democrat, and moreover is distinct from and not interchangeable with the term Liberal.
Agrees that online content spaces are the future of political media and that participating in, appearing on, and embracing the culture of online content should be as prioritized as traditional media.
Agrees that protecting our digital freedoms is as important as protecting our real-world freedoms and that as such it is the responsibility of caregivers to safeguard their children’s internet usage, not the government or big tech, especially as it pertains to broad changes to the legal infrastructure of the internet such as the repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Agrees to maintain regular communications with other progressive candidates upon taking office and coordinating with them to establish a true progressive voting block.
Agrees that it is both morally wrong and politically ineffective to cynically avoid the burden of public solidarity with minority groups in order to appeal to the very voters seeking to persecute them. (NB: This means that I am committed to not throwing trans folks under the bus. When I say human rights for all, I mean ALL with zero exceptions.)
Agrees not to accept any corporate PAC support or contributions.
Agrees to assiduously, publicly, and aggressively support all strategically sound actions which would bring about the passage and implementation of, at minimum, eight of the policies listed below.
Policies
Elections Integrity and Public Trust: Implementing national ranked-choice, instant runoff voting, overturning Citizens United v. FEC, adopting public financing for federal elections, and banning members of Congress & their immediate family from trading stocks while in office, serving on the board of a publicly traded entity for ten years after leaving office, and barring them from ever becoming lobbyists/consultants.
Healthcare: Decommodifying the healthcare industry by implementing Medicare for All, including federal statutory protections that codify Roe v. Wade, gender affirming care for all ages, and expanded disability protections.
Stock Market: Imposing new mandatory legal obligations on all companies that are either publicly traded or seeking to become publicly traded on United States stock market, such as a $25 minimum wage adjusted annually to the nearest dollar to account for inflation, full unionization of their workforce, apportionment of one-third of board seats to elected union representatives, and submittance to antitrust review which may break up the company, in order to proceed with their public listing.
Foreign Policy: Aligning our foreign policy with international standards by revoking all military, economic, political, and legal support for the State of Israel until there is an end to the genocide and apartheid of the Palestinian people, where Israeli law is rewritten to allow it to become a true multicultural, secular, one-state democracy where both Palestinians and Israelis have equally protection under the law, and continue to support Ukraine in its defense against Russian invasion and occupation.
College For All: Passing tuition-free community college and expanding federal subsidies for state colleges.
Environment: Implementing the Green New Deal, imposing a new law reinstantiating the U.S. into the Paris Climate Accords and enforcing its goals & targets as binding, decommissioning all coal fired power plants, and establishing a moratorium on A.I. data centers.
Fourth Amendment: abolish I.C.E. and investigate and prosecute agents for violations of constitutional rights, overturn qualified immunity, abolish private, for-profit prisons, and create a fair pathway to citizenship for all immigrants.
High Speed Rail: Nationalizing all railroad tracks in the United States and funding the Department of Transportation to create, world-leading, 200+ mph high-speed rail, owned and operated by Amtrak, connecting all state capitals and major metropolitan areas in the contiguous United States.
Internet Freedom: Expanding copyright and fair use law to account for both new media content creators and the rise of generative AI by requiring sites hosting user-created content to opt out that content from inclusion in generative AI training data by default, and imposing penalties on companies operating such sites when content that falls under fair use is erroneously demonetized or otherwise penalized.
Predatory Lending: Banning all interest payments where the ratio of interest to principal exceeds 20%, where effective interest rates exceed the listed interest rate, and, penalties under the terms of the loan notwithstanding, where the amount of interest collected over the term would exceed 100% of the principal.
What’s Next
With less than two weeks until the primary, we are hard at work knocking doors, phone banking, meeting with voters where they are, and yes, still raising money to try to get our message out. So if you’d like to support the only Progressive candidate trying to push the very flippable Central Kentucky CD-6 to the left, know every dollar is appreciated. It doesn’t go to pay an army of consultants. It goes to getting our ad on TV more, printing more materials, and even buying coffee and food to keep our volunteers fueled. If donations aren’t your thing, you can sign up to volunteer here or check out our merch store to buy some sweet swag here. (If you want want a “Make Kentucky Blue Again” hat and live in the district, just shoot me a message here). Every bit counts because every vote and voice counts and I want to reach and listen to them all.