Press Coverage

PCCC is backing Reps. Mike Honda (CA-17), Eloise Gomez Reyes (CA-31) and Mike Eggman (CA-10) over rival candidates who have backed cutting social security benefits.

ai???In 2014, weai??i??re making clear that the Elizabeth Warren wing of the Democratic Party is ascendant ai??i?? and that candidates who support expanding Social Security benefits will defeat candidates who would cut Social Security,ai??? wrote PCCC Press Secretary Laura Friedenbach in an email.

ai???Weai??i??re proud to support these bold progressive champs against their conservative Democrat and Tea Party opponents.ai???

Senate candidate Shenna Bellows, Progressive Change Campaign Committee members, students and working graduates will hold an event at noon Thursday to call on Republican Sen. Susan Collins to support Sen. Elizabeth Warrenai??i??s new student loan bill. The bill, introduced Tuesday, gives existing loan holders lower rates.

The PCCC is partnering with senators and Senate candidates nationwide to organize grassroots events calling on Republicans to support Warrenai??i??s new economic-populist proposal. Other events are being held today in Portland, Oregon, Minneapolis, and Lexington, Kentucky.

In addition to taking a leading role in trying to kill the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger, Senator Al Franken is also now leading a campaign to stop the Federal Communications Commission from letting ISPs create Internet ai???fast lanesai??? with its latest net neutrality proposal. In a new video posted by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Franken makes his case that the FCCai??i??s controversial plan could hinder future innovation and consumer choice by giving big incumbent companies a permanent competitive advantage over up-and-coming startups.

The Democratic senator from Minnesota spells out his view of net neutrality: ai???Google TV wasnai??i??t that great ai??i?? YouTube was better than Google TV, and because both traveled at the same speed to the viewer, people were able to make a choice between the two.ai??? He adds later that net neutrality ai???is the free-speech issue of our time.ai???

Behind the video is NoSlowLane.com, a site backed by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which was founded by two former MoveOn organizers.

While he was on campaign for the presidency in 2007, President Barack Obama took to the MTV airwaves to answer questions that concerned the youth of America. According to an Internet poll the channel had going at the time, the biggest question on peopleai??i??s minds was a question on a topic that remains relevant now more than ever: net neutrality.

ai???Would you make it a priority in your first year in office to reinstate net neutrality as the law of the land?ai??? Joe Niedenberger, a small business owner from New Jersey, asked Senator Obama. ai???And would you pledge to only appoint FCC commissioners that support open internet principles like net neutrality?ai???

ai???The answer is yes. I am a strong supporter of net neutrality,ai??? candidate Obama responded. ai???As President, I am going to make sure that my FCC commissioners are applying [those principles] as we move forward.”

The above video was posted this morning by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a political action committee (PAC) that is calling for current FCC chairman Tom Wheeler to step down ai???so that the president can appoint someone who will stand up for Internet freedom.ai???

Stanley Chang spoke today on the need for millionaires to carry a higher tax burden.

We recently introduced our platform: the Agenda for Change, which calls for bold progressive policy solutions such as job creation through government investments in infrastructure, free college education in exchange for service, and universal public pre-kindergarten. None of these programs would be possible without an equitable tax system in which everybody contributes his or her fair share.

The call was organized by Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a progressive political action committee.

Colton attorney Eloise Gomez Reyes joined a nationwide call of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee for requiring wealthy individuals and corporations to pay higher taxes to provide more money for schools and such services as Social Security and Medicare.

Reyes said she would “ask the wealthy and big corporations to pay their fair share.

The Supreme Court has struck down a key remaining pillar of campaign finance law, handing a big victory to the Republican Party. And now thereai??i??s concern the court could soon go even further.

The reaction to the ruling from progressives was swift. ai???The Roberts Court has doubled down on Citizens United ai??i?? striking down some of the last remaining limits on how much wealthy donors can spend on elections,ai??? said the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, as it launched an online ad denouncing the ruling. ai???With those limits gone, it will be even harder for everyday people to have their voices heard in Washington.ai???

Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren this morning endorsed Iowa Democrat Bruce Braley, saying heai??i??s a prairie populists from the heartland running to fill an open seat that Democrats need to hold power in the U.S. Senate.

She also gave the nod to Democratic candidate Rick Weiland in South Dakota.

ai???The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and I are proud to support their campaigns,ai??? Warren said in a written statement emailed to supporters and reporters. ai???Bruce Braley led the Populist Caucus in the House of Representatives ai??i?? and is focused on economic fairness, investing in education, and addressing our retirement crisis.ai???

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is putting her liberal star power behind two likely Democratic nominees for U.S. Senate: Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) and South Dakota Democrat Rick Weiland.

“Bruce Braley led the Populist Caucus in the House of Representatives ai??i?? and is focused on economic fairness, investing in education, and addressing our retirement crisis,” Warren wrote in a fundraising e-mail sent out Thursday in conjunction with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “Rick led South Dakotaai??i??s AARP and federal emergency management in his state, and he worked as a top Senate aide.”

Populist darling Elizabeth Warren, along with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, threw their support Thursday behind Bruce Braley in the race for an open U.S. Senate seat in Iowa.

Braley, a four-term congressman is hoping to keep the seat longtime Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin, who’s retiring at the end of this year, in party hands.

Warren, a freshman senator from Massachusetts, and the progressive group also announced they are backing Rick Weiland in his candidacy for an open U.S. Senate seat in South Dakota.

A progressive group based in Washington has endorsed U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz in his U.S. Senate race in Hawaii.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee said Tuesday Schatz was one of the first lawmakers to support expanding social security benefits.

Co-founders of the group say they are impressed by Schatz’ leadership on climate issues and his ability to think strategically and plan effectively. They are visiting Hawaii to train organizers and endorse Schatz.

With surging Obamacare enrollments, dismal polling numbers for the Senate’s top Republican, and now, an attorney general who won’t fight to keep a key part of Kentucky’s same-sex marriage ban, it’s worth asking the question: Is the Bluegrass State bluer than we all thought?…

Taken together, progressives are confident these signs point to a potential political shift on the horizon.

“From social issues like marriage equality to economic populism issues like increasing Social Security benefits, a populist agenda is popular even in a perceived red state like Kentucky,” said Laura Friedenbach, spokesperson for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, in an email to msnbc. “That’s great news for Democrats, and means we should stay on offense instead of worrying about defense.”

National Democrats are focusing on states like Kentucky and Georgia to fend off a furious effort by Republicans to retake the Senate.

But Shenna Bellows thinks Maine may hold upset potential for her party, so much so that she’s running and having some success recently with fundraising…

Following her strong fundraising quarter, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee endorsed her candidacy, calling her the “Elizabeth Warren of civil liberties.”

The “Grand Bargain” — the mythical agreement between Democrats and Republicans to cut entitlement spending — has died…

A lot of the credit, people on and off the hill say, goes to outside progressive groups who began the momentum against the “”chained CPI”” cost-of-living adjustment, which cuts Social Security benefits by recalculating the growth of benefits with an index that doesn’t rise as quickly as inflation…

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee was one group that put the Social Security cuts at the forefront of its advocacy. And in July, it led a big strategic shift that would keep swinging the conversation — it decided to “”stop playing defense”” and go on offense, leading the push to expand Social Security benefits.
It rallied in support of bills to strengthen Social Security benefits. One such proposal was a bill from the liberal Sens. Harkin and Brown, which would increase benefits by undoing the cap on payroll taxes at $113,700…

“This is a huge progressive victory — and greatly increases Democratic chances of taking back the House and keeping the Senate,”” PCCC co-founder Stephanie Taylor said after Obama announced he was dropping the cuts from his budget on Thursday. “”Now, the White House should join Elizabeth Warren and others in pushing to expand Social Security benefits to keep up with the rising cost of living.”

President Barack Obama’s facing more opposition to one of his judicial nominees — this time from the left.
A coalition of 27 groups — including NARAL Pro-Choice America, Human Rights Campaign, MoveOn, Democracy for America, the National Organization for Women and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee — is urging the Judiciary Committee to reject the nomination of Michael Boggs, a state court of appeals judge in Georgia whom Obama has nominated to the U.S. district court there.

In November, congressional leaders went on offense. Senators Tom Harking and Sherrod Brown introduced a bill to [expand] Social Security [benefits]. Elizabeth Warren took to the floor to declare that the tide had changed. Unions rallied their members to flood Congress with calls, and Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Move On and others gathered millions of signatures for petitions (while at 360,000, Fix the Debt fell far short of its 10 million goal.)

What happens when you mix FDR-style populism with a Paul Krugman-esqe love of wonky policy? You get the so-called “Warren wing” Democratic candidates…

The Progressive Campaign Change Committee, which has a long history of supporting Democrats left of center, has partnered with more than a dozen of these candidates, calling them part of the Warren wing.

[Warren] is the model on which progressive Democrats see a path to victory. And it suggests that traditional progressive policy can transcend partisan boxes (appealing to libertarian and even some Republicans) if they’re presented in a different package — a less politically seasoned, more populist and more defiant package.

“That’s why you see the PCCC supporting candidates who are not involved in politics, who are younger, who are idealistic,” [Lee] Rogers said. “This is the bold part of the Elizabeth Warren wing.”

“We’re going to stand up and say no. We’re not going to take it,” Rogers said.

“Elizabeth Warren has spoken to the needs of the little guy who is struggling in our economy. We’ll be working with progressive groups to ensure that every Democratic candidate running for president, including Hillary Clinton, is asked whether they agree with Elizabeth Warren on key economic populist issues like more Wall Street reform and expanding Social Security benefits instead of cutting them,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a nearly 1 million-member progressive advocacy organization. “Democrats would be smart in the primary and general election to be more populist and stand up for the little guy more on economic issues. That’s the right way to think about distance between themselves and President Obama.”

“Victims of the Fort Lee lane closures hold press conference Tuesday at noon at the foot of the George Washington Bridge to share their stories and call on Gov. Chris Christie to resign if he was directly involved in the scandals, This press conference will be sponsored by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) and NJ Working Families Alliance. The event will also feature a joint petition by the two groups signed by 10,000 New Jersey residents calling on Christie to resign if directly involved, which is located at ChristieResign.com.

“Local residents who were stuck in traffic will return to the scene of the crime to tell their personal stories and hold Christie’s administration accountable for their abuse of power,” said Keith Rouda, PCCC organizer.”

Alarmed by the rise of super-PACs, major allies of the Democratic Party are rallying behind new legislation that would provide federal matching funds for small-dollar donations…

Liberal groups said the bill would force lawmakers to pay more attention to voters.

“It’s all about changing incentives for politicians. Instead of sucking up to big-money donors, they will be sucking up to everyday people. That’s the bottom line,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “Politicians are much more likely to act against foreclosures and big polluters and issues like the minimum wage if they are talking to normal people.”

Democrat Shenna Bellows, who is running against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, received an endorsement Tuesday that could add cash to her campaign effort. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee said it has already begun soliciting funds for Bellows, who is the former executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. The group, which says it raised $2.7 million for candidates during the 2012 election cycle, has 5,700 members in Maine and nearly a million across the country…

“We call Shenna Bellows the ‘Elizabeth Warren of civil liberties’ because she’s campaigning boldly on constitutional freedom and economic populism,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “Like Elizabeth Warren’s challenge to former Sen. Scott Brown, many insiders thought Susan Collins was unbeatable. Until now.”

“The Progressive Change Campaign Committee has endorsed Democrat Shenna Bellows for Senate in Maine.
The endorsement follows a strong fundraising quarter for the candidate, during which she outraised Sen. Susan Collins, bringing in $331,000 to Collins’ $315,000.
PCCC co-founder Stephnaie Taylor compared Bellows, the former executive director of Maine’s American Civil Liberties Union, to another prominent PCCC-backed politician: Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

“”We call Shenna Bellows the ‘Elizabeth Warren of civil liberties’ because she’s campaigning boldly on constitutional freedom and economic populism,”” Taylor said in a statement. “”Like Elizabeth Warren’s challenge to former Sen. Scott Brown, many insiders thought Susan Collins was unbeatable. Until now.””
PCCC is fundraising for Bellows’ campaign from its more than 5,700 members in Maine and nearly 1 million members nationwide.”

Daylin Leach once again is showing off his progressive bona fides today, as he earned the endorsement of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

The PCCC is a nationwide political action committee that seeks to elect progressive candidates to Congress and push for progressive policies.

“Alan Grayson and Elizabeth Warren have proven that bold progressives in Congress can change the national conversation. Daylin is one of those game changers,” said Adam Green, PCCC co-founder. “When Wall Street front group Third Way attacked Elizabeth Warren and Social Security, Daylin could have remained silent — especially since his outgoing Congresswoman, Allyson Schwartz, was a Third Way Chair. Instead he denounced Third Way and demonstrated the kind of clarity and bold leadership we need in Congress.”

NBC’s Avery Powell reports: The liberal group Progressive Change Campaign Committee held a conference call on Wednesday praising President Obama’s call to raise the federal minimum wage to 10.10 per hour. Adam Green, co-founder of the PCCC, argued that the president was adopting Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) economic populism. Also on the call were Democratic candidates the PCCC has endorsed in this year’s election cycle – such as Maine Senate candidate Sheena Bellows, South Dakota Senate candidate Rick Weiland – who also praised the minimum-wage hike and Obama’s speech.