The PCCC, MoveOn, Democracy for America, 350.Org, and Presente are making the closing argument supporting Keith Ellison for DNC Chair in an open letter to DNC voting members before tomorrowai??i??s vote.
As CNN just reported, it highlights the fact that Ellison is the best candidate in the Chair race to connect the DNC to the vibrant resistance energy ai??i?? having earned the trust of grassroots groups representing millions of people:
In a letter to DNC members obtained by CNN, the leaders of five groups at the heart of the political left ai??i?? MoveOn, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Democracy for America, 350 Action and Presente Action ai??i?? argued that only Ellison can bridge the divide between the Democratic establishment and the partyai??i??s grassroots.
The groups also said theyai??i??d be ai???eager to engageai??? directly with the partyai??i??s infrastructure under Ellisonai??i??s leadership. It was an implicit rebuke of former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who is in a tight race with Ellison for DNC chair. … They continued: ai???If Keith Ellison is DNC chair, we can hit the ground running ai??i?? and because of the pre-existing trust that exists between Keith and the grassroots, every state party would have a head start harnessing the power of the resistance.ai???
The PCCC has been a top Ellison organizing force ai??i?? recently announcing four new voting members for Ellison earlier this week: NH Sen. Martha Fuller-Clark (D-Portsmouth), Sheila Selkregg from Anchorage, AK, Edward Wesley from Anchorage, AK, and Curtis Wylde Wells, a Missouri Democratic Party State Committee member.
Joint Letter From Grassroots Progressive Groups On Why Keith Ellison Is The Best Candidate To Make The Democratic Party Relevant In This Trump Era
We are leaders of organizations representing over 10 million people who are vital to building power at the state level and opposing the Trump agenda nationally.
Anyone who cares about building state parties needs to notice that the energy on the ground right now is happening with or without organized institutions. To be most relevant, the Democratic Party must speak to the people flooding town halls, airports, and protests around the nation ai??i?? and work as partners with grassroots groups with their finger on the pulse of the Trump resistance. Many people are getting involved with politics for the first time and represent the type of new energy and passion state parties want and need.
We support Keith Ellison for Democratic National Committee Chair because he is the candidate who has most consistently been in the trenches with the grassroots progressive base that Democrats need in this moment. He has worked collaboratively for years as partners with groups like ours ai??i?? personally engaging organizational leaders and our memberships. Together, we have built and implemented strategies for motivating voters and changing the national conversation to a more beneficial terrain for progressives and Democrats.
The DNC has traditionally operated separate from groups like ours that organize millions of people. If Keith Ellison was Chair and proposed partnering on state-level voter registration activities and issue mobilization rallies, we would be eager to engage in that conversation. If he announced a plan to wean the Democratic Party off dependency on big money and toward a small-dollar fundraising model, we would be eager to engage in that conversation as partners. If Keith Ellison is DNC Chair, we can hit the ground running ai??i?? and because of the pre-existing trust that exists between Keith and the grassroots, every state party would have a head start harnessing the power of the resistance.
Our members also want passionately to win elections in 2018 and 2020. Keith Ellisonai??i??s record of actually winning elections and expanding the vote through deep local organizing engenders confidence among activists who will be asked to plug into 2018 and 2020 electoral work.
The election of Keith Ellison as Chair would represent the Democratic Party seizing this moment instead of missing this moment. The people actively engaging across the country need heroes, and we are asking DNC voting members to be heroes by seizing this moment and supporting Keith Ellison for DNC Chair.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Taylor, Co-Founder, Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Adam Green, Co-Founder, Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Anna Galland, Executive Director, MoveOn.org Civic Action
Ilya Sheyman, Executive Director, MoveOn.org Political Action
Charles Chamberlain, Executive Director, Democracy for America
Annie Weinberg, Elections Director, Democracy for America
May Boeve, Co-Founder, 350 Action
Bill McKibben, Co-Founder, 350 Action
Matt Nelson, Executive Director, Presente Action