Texans hold on to you hats, seats, and boots because Progressive Democratic congressional candidate Julie Oliver has penned an Op-Ed where she states that all of America is “Progressive” and supports the entirety of the Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) Socialist Democrat agenda.
Oliver, who is running a spirited campaign against Republican Rep. Roger Williams, says she “proud to endorse progressive ideas like Medicare for all, a Green New Deal, and an end to money in politics.”
The latest public opinion polls have President Donald Trump winning the state of Texas, but in the past couple of weeks, former Vice President Joe Biden has cut the president’s lead in half In the Lone Star state.
This growing support for Biden could signal that Texans may want change, but after Biden emphatically stated at the last presidential debate that he would end the oil industry, tens of thousands of oil working and voting Texans may have had their minds made up for them.
Oliver, like Biden, wants to end the oil industry.
Here are some of the highlights of Oliver’s “OUR GOVERNMENT ISN’T PROGRESSIVE—BUT AMERICA IS”
Too Bold?
“For decades, Democrats have been told that progressive ideas are too bold to campaign on—and that Democrats can only win by running toward the political middle. Special interest groups and highly-paid lobbyists have tried to convince us that big ideas like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and getting big money out of politics couldn’t have broad appeal among voters. But the data just doesn’t support them.”
Do you support Socialized Medicine and ending the Oil Industry?
“A recent Reuters poll found that 64% of Americans support Medicare-for-All, with 10% being uncertain and only 26% of people coming down on the opposing side. And surprisingly enough for a nation supposedly composed of ignorant climate deniers, a whopping 80% of registered voters support a Green New Deal. Not only did 92 percent of Democrats support the plan in the Yale/GMU study, 64 percent- again, a majority- of Republicans did! “
In 2018, Data for Progress partnered with Civis Analytics to release comprehensive polling on a broad array of progressive issues. Their findings - summarized by New York magazine here - demonstrate that progressive ideas are not only popular, they are the preferred position among most voters, defying the consultant-class spin about campaigning on bold ideas.
Pot
Issues like legalizing marijuana aren’t just favored by a majority of voters in all 50 states, they’re favored by a majority of Trump supporters in 49 of the 50 states. We all know that marijuana drug laws continue to disproportionately harm communities of color, and we also know that almost everyone in America supports doing away with them. Yet, some Democrats still shy away from calls for legalization for fear of offending the beltway consulting class.
Giving away the house
Other surprising findings included the idea that workers should have representation on corporate boards—an idea favored by, incredibly, every Congressional district in the nation; that people should receive 12 weeks of paid leave after injury or giving birth; that credit card interest rates should be capped; and that government officials shouldn’t be able to become lobbyists immediately after their term. So why do we so rarely see these ideas represented in Congress?
It's your fault, everyone else’s fault
There are a few reasons. First, political gerrymandering has allowed politicians to pick their voters, rather than the other way around. In Texas’s 25th district, which I’m running to represent in Congress, we know that better than most-- our district was drawn across 13 counties to benefit the Republican incumbent. Second, big money in politics has protected incumbent members of Congress, allowing dark money outside groups to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to protect their financial assets in Congress. Third, the U.S. Senate gives undue weight to smaller, less populated states -- putting Senators from states like Wyoming with half of a million people on the same playing field as Senators from states like California with more than 39 million people.
Of course, they are…
And finally, rampant voter suppression has allowed Republicans in states like Texas to disenfranchise millions of would-be voters -- allowing politicians to campaign to a smaller, more affluent, more white, and more conservative electorate.
These features of our broken democracy are not new, and are incredibly difficult to overcome. But they can be defeated with record voter turnout that elects leaders bold enough to tackle these issues. That’s why my campaign has worked, not only to win over persuadable voters, but to register new voters in my district over the last three years. More than 30 million voters have already cast ballots in 2020, shattering records from previous years with two weeks of voting still left to go.
I believe that the moniker of an “apathetic voter” is incredibly insulting and wrong headed. Americans don’t sit out elections because they don’t care -- they sit out because they don’t hear politicians speaking to their issues, or they believe politicians don’t have the courage to tackle them after they are elected. We need to give voters something to vote for, not just something to vote against.
She Loves the Socialist Agenda
That’s why I’m proud to endorse progressive ideas like Medicare for all, a Green New Deal, and an end to money in politics. It’s why I’ll fight for paid maternity leave, a cap on credit card interest rates, marijuana legalization, and putting workers on corporate boards. I’m not fighting for these issues because wealthy donors or special interests told me they poll well -- I’m fighting for them because they’re in the best interests of the people I hope to represent. It’s why my campaign is rejecting money from political action committees, and relying instead on grassroots supporters who are speaking to their friends, their families, and their neighbors about the vision we’re fighting for.
Julie Oliver represents all of Texas. Just ask her.
I know we have much more in common than the political class would have us believe. And when I’m in office, you can trust I’ll be fighting for a vision of a more equitable future for all of us -- because it’s one we share.
