Progressive Activists Are Pushing the Democratic Field

(The New Yorker)

Since the midterms, Democrats have turned much of their attention toward political reforms. H.R. 1—a package of proposals that included public financing for political campaigns, an end to gerrymandering in federal elections, automatic voter registration, and a federal holiday on Election Day—was among the first major bills passed by the new Democratic House majority. Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost Georgia’s gubernatorial election amid reports of widespread voter suppression, was chosen to deliver the response to this year’s State of the Union and used a portion of it to address the issue. And, in recent weeks, the party’s 2020 hopefuls have been queried on several dramatic reforms being floated by progressives, including expanding the Supreme Court and eliminating the Senate filibuster.

Such reforms were the focus of Monday’s “We the People” forum in Washington, organized by progressive groups and unions, including the Center for Popular Democracy, Communications Workers of America, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and the Service Employees International Union (S.E.I.U.). “This event comes as attacks on our democracy are specifically aimed at limiting the participation of working and low-income people, and people of color,” the groups said in a statement. Eight Democratic candidates—Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Kirsten Gillibrand, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren—left the campaign trail to offer the energetic crowd of activists and organizers their thoughts on those problems. All have endorsed a slew of the ideas that activists at the event talked up, including granting statehood to Washington, D.C., restoring voting rights to ex-felons, and automatic voter registration.

One of the day’s most broached topics was the Electoral College. Most of the Democratic candidates have expressed support for its abolition. On Tuesday morning, Gillibrand joined fellow-senators Brian Schatz, Dick Durbin, and Dianne Feinstein in introducing a constitutional amendment on the matter—which, like most proposed constitutional amendments, is unlikely to pass.

During a Q. & A. session, a teacher and progressive activist named Kim Baker asked O’Rourke if he would support eliminating it. “I feel like the system is rigged—where everyday voters’ votes don’t count,” she said. “And I feel like two of the last three Presidents ascending to the White House despite losing the popular vote is something that cannot be tolerated in this country anymore.” Read more