Letters to Sanders, Clinton, and O’Malley about being bold on economic populism issues in the October 13 presidential debate

-----------------------------Sent from 3 national “Warren wing” progressive organizations on Thursday, Oct 8:

PCCC, Democracy for America, and MoveOn

Dear Senator Sanders,

As three national progressive movement organizations, we wanted to wish you well in the upcoming October 13 Democratic presidential debate – and put high on your radar some economic populism issues that our combined 10 million members hope to hear you pro-actively bring up and address thoroughly during the debate.

Debt-free college. You have embraced debt-free college for students who attend all public colleges and universities and laid out your own plan to achieve it. Debt-free college is critically important for our nation’s future and polling shows it is one of the most motivational issue for voters. We urge you to pro-actively discuss the idea that students should be able to graduate college with zero debt early in the debate.

Expand Social Security. You embraced expanding Social Security early on. The days of Democrats proposing cuts are close to over, and the debate is now about how to best help millions of our grandparents and veterans by expanding Social Security benefits. Polling shows expanding Social Security is also a political winner for Democrats, and we urge you to pro-actively discuss this issue early in the debate.

Wall Street. You have proposed major Wall Street reform, criminal accountability for Wall Street executives who break the law, and appointments who will hold Wall Street accountable. We urge you to pro-actively discuss these popular Wall Street topics early in the debate. We’d especially urge you to explain why Elizabeth Warren is right when she calls for breaking up Too Big To Fail banks and appointing a Treasury Secretary, Attorney General, SEC Chair, economic advisors, and other key positions who will hold Wall Street accountable.

Black Lives Matter. You've put forward a   platform  designed to address the structural racism faced by black and brown people in this country -- including ending for-profit prisons, a priority that connects racial justice and economic populism. You've also acknowledged that life-or-death racial justice issues -- such as a broken criminal justice system and police officers who abuse their power -- need to be solved in order for people to live their lives and have a chance at economic opportunity. We urge you to speak boldly about racial justice in the upcoming debate, citing specific policies that protect and value the lives of people of color.

The above big ideas include some of the top economic-populist priorities of the modern progressive movement – ones that TV moderators are still learning about and often overlook. Because these issues are important to millions of families and are key to motivating voters, we urge a special pro-active approach to elevating them in the debate.

It is likely that other important issues will come up that are currently front and center in the news – such as gun safety, the attacks on Planned Parenthood, big money influence in our politics, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Iran and Syria. We hope that you and others give detailed answers in favor of strong gun laws, firmly supporting women’s health, firmly supporting campaign finance reform, firmly opposing a TPP written by and for big corporations, and for diplomacy instead of wars of choice.

The topics you pro-actively elevate, and your substantive answers to questions, will impact which issues dominate the 2016 election. Millions of people are looking for your leadership in these areas.

Sincerely,Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Democracy For America, MoveOn.org

Dear Governor O’Malley,

As three national progressive movement organizations, we wanted to wish you well in the upcoming October 13 Democratic presidential debate – and put high on your radar some economic populism issues that our combined 10 million members hope to hear you pro-actively bring up and address thoroughly during the debate.

Debt-free college. You have embraced debt-free college for students who attend all public colleges and universities and laid out your own plan to achieve it. Debt-free college is critically important for our nation’s future and polling shows it is one of the most motivational issue for voters. We urge you to pro-actively discuss the idea that students should be able to graduate college with zero debt early in the debate.

Expand Social Security. You embraced expanding Social Security early on. The days of Democrats proposing cuts are close to over, and the debate is now about how to best help millions of our grandparents and veterans by expanding Social Security benefits. Polling shows expanding Social Security is also a political winner for Democrats, and we urge you to pro-actively discuss this issue early in the debate.

Wall Street. You have proposed major Wall Street reform, criminal accountability for Wall Street executives who break the law, and appointments who will hold Wall Street accountable. We urge you to pro-actively discuss these popular Wall Street topics early in the debate. We’d especially urge you to explain why Elizabeth Warren is right when she calls for breaking up Too Big To Fail banks and appointing a Treasury Secretary, Attorney General, SEC Chair, economic advisors, and other key positions who will hold Wall Street accountable.

Black Lives Matter. You've put forward a   platform  designed to address the structural racism faced by black and brown people in this country -- including moving away from for-profit prisons, a priority that connects racial justice and economic populism. You've also acknowledged that life-or-death racial justice issues -- such as a broken criminal justice system and police officers who abuse their power -- need to be solved in order for people to live their lives and have a chance at economic opportunity. We urge you to speak boldly about racial justice in the upcoming debate, citing specific policies that protect and value the lives of people of color.

The above big ideas include some of the top economic-populist priorities of the modern progressive movement – ones that TV moderators are still learning about and often overlook. Because these issues are important to millions of families and are key to motivating voters, we urge a special pro-active approach to elevating them in the debate.

It is likely that other important issues will come up that are currently front and center in the news – such as gun safety, the attacks on Planned Parenthood, big money influence in our politics, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Iran and Syria. We hope that you and others give detailed answers in favor of strong gun laws, firmly supporting women’s health, firmly supporting campaign finance reform, firmly opposing a TPP written by and for big corporations, and for diplomacy instead of wars of choice.

The topics you pro-actively elevate, and your substantive answers to questions, will impact which issues dominate the 2016 election. Millions of people are looking for your leadership in these areas.

Sincerely,

MoveOn.orgProgressive Change Campaign CommitteeDemocracy For America

Dear Secretary Clinton,

As three national progressive movement organizations, we wanted to wish you well in the upcoming October 13 Democratic presidential debate – and put high on your radar some economic populism issues that our combined 10 million members hope to hear you pro-actively bring up and address thoroughly during the debate.

Debt-free college. You have embraced debt-free college for students who attend all public colleges and universities and laid out your own plan to achieve it. Debt-free college is critically important for our nation’s future and polling shows it is one of the most motivational issue for voters. We urge you to pro-actively discuss the idea that students should be able to graduate college with zero debt early in the debate.

Expand Social Security. You have said you are open to expanding Social Security. The days of Democrats proposing cuts are close to over, and the debate is now about how to best help millions of our grandparents and veterans by expanding Social Security benefits. Polling shows expanding Social Security is also a political winner for Democrats, and we urge you to pro-actively discuss expanding Social Security benefits – and never cutting them – early in the debate.

Wall Street. You have endorsed Wall Street reforms and criminal accountability for Wall Street executives who break the law – and promised to “appoint and empower regulators who understand that too big to fail is still too big a problem.” We urge you to pro-actively discuss these popular Wall Street topics early in the debate. We’d especially urge you to explain why Elizabeth Warren is right when she calls for breaking up Too Big To Fail banks and appointing a Treasury Secretary, Attorney General, SEC Chair, economic advisors, and other key positions who will hold Wall Street accountable.

Black Lives Matter. You've put forward a   platform  designed to address the structural racism faced by black and brown people in this country. You've acknowledged that life-or-death racial justice issues -- such as a broken criminal justice system and police officers who abuse their power -- need to be solved in order for people to live their lives and have a chance at economic opportunity. We urge you to speak boldly about racial justice in the upcoming debate, citing specific policies that protect and value the lives of people of color. We also urge you to explicitly address for-profit prisons, a problem that connects racial justice and economic populism.

The above big ideas include some of the top economic-populist priorities of the modern progressive movement – ones that TV moderators are still learning about and often overlook. Because these issues are important to millions of families and are key to motivating voters, we urge a special pro-active approach to elevating them in the debate.

It is likely that other important issues will come up that are currently front and center in the news – such as gun safety, the attacks on Planned Parenthood, big money influence in our politics, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Iran and Syria. We hope that you and others give detailed answers in favor of strong gun laws, firmly supporting women’s health, firmly supporting campaign finance reform, firmly opposing a TPP written by and for big corporations, and for diplomacy instead of wars of choice.

The topics you pro-actively elevate, and your substantive answers to questions, will impact which issues dominate the 2016 election. Millions of people are looking for your leadership in these areas.

Sincerely,

Democracy For AmericaMoveOn.orgProgressive Change Campaign Committee