How Our Members Are Fighting for Our Democracy

Written By Ayana Crawford

Our members are protecting and advancing a system that is in deep peril in our country: democracy. The members of our network don’t stop at funding, they use their expertise, skills, and connections to mobilize, connect, and grow in many different ways. Whether it’s meeting up with peers to take action together once a month, quilting, or founding an organization that will strengthen our progressive infrastructure, we need everyone in this fight, doing what they can, and approaching it with their unique skills and abilities. It’s clear from the work below that there’s no one way to fight for our rights, our freedom, and our values.

Many of the members featured in this blog spoke at the recent member call “WDN Women Leading Democracy Efforts” hosted by Holly Mosher and Lisa Liddle. Holly and Lisa are planning to host another call. WDN members will see more information on our member listserv.

 

All Systems Go for the 2024 Elections

 

“Why do you vote?”

Filmmaker Holly Mosher recently launched the campaign “Why do you vote?” on TikTok and Instagram. In Holly’s words, “The last few elections we’ve seen an uptick in youth voter engagement and we want to take that to new levels.” Holly aims to shift voters towards supporting issues (rather than candidates) and get young voters excited about civic engagement by meeting them where they are, on social media. Take a look at one of their inspiring videos. There are a number of ways you can engage with this campaign: join Holly’s Tuesday Morning Coffee Chats, volunteer, or ask people in your community why they vote and share their answers with Holly. Check out whydoyou.vote to get involved.

 

Pamela Steeg Elected to the DSCC!

Pamela Steeg won her race for the Democratic State Central Committee, District 98, the governing body of the Democratic Party of Louisiana! Following an eight year period of Democratic governorship, recent Louisiana Democratic Party leaders have presided over an overwhelming loss of ground at all levels of government. In her new role, Pamela’s mission is to unite and rebuild the Party, increase transparency and accountability, and improve the lives of the people of Louisiana. Congratulations, Pamela!

 

Warning Biden Over Israel-Gaza Policy

Recently, 100+ donors and activists, including over 20 WDN members, signed a letter to President Biden. The letter warns Biden of the “very real danger” that he will be defeated in November if he continues his support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza. It garnered national attention and was featured in the New York Times. “All indiscriminate bombing and demolition must stop,” the signatories wrote.

 

Getting Above Local News Algorithms

Lisa Liddle runs the billboard program for the Democratic Messaging Project, a PAC that arose from the need to get progressive ads above local news algorithms. To do this they produce digital ads and static and rolling billboards with bold messaging on a range of issues including abortion, immigration, and white supremacy. The ads are tested and aired in battleground states.

Lisa is also a part of American Man, a new project tackling the issue of Democrats’ failure to engage men as a key voting bloc, despite their evident shift towards conservatism. Learn about the basis for the American Man Project in this podcast.

 

Despair Is NOT an Option

"NOW is the time to take ACTION to protect democracy ahead of the November election," says the Protect Our Democracy learning group. Their easy-to-navigate website Despair Is NOT an Option lays out resources to quickly get you started. You'll find highly effective organizations and an array of possible activities. The Protect Our Democracy group hopes you'll share it widely with family and friends.

 

Mobilizing With Peers

Our North Bay regional member group has a standing monthly meetup and this year, they’re using them as opportunities to learn about and mobilize for trusted elections, civic engagement, messaging shifts, and progressive candidates. One of the strengths of being a part of a values-aligned community is that you have peers ready to mobilize with you!

 

Building Long-Term Progressive Power

 

Establishing a Powerful Line of Defense in States

Gaby Goldstein, Co-Founder of WDN Action grantee partner Sister District, joined our network a few months ago! Sister District’s mission is to build sustained progressive power in state legislatures. We are seeing a narrowing of federal protections and a widening of state governing power, yet progressives have yet to build a strong defense in our state legislatures. This also means there’s a tremendous opportunity for impact, which is why Gaby co-founded Sister District in 2016. They have been filling critical gaps in the political life cycle ever since: “When we started this organization Republicans controlled 67 chambers. Today it’s 56 and Sister District has been involved in most of those,” Gaby commented. Find information about volunteering with Sister District and other ways to take action on their website.  

 

Powering Progressive Women Candidates in Pennsylvania

M. Patricia West is on the executive committee for Represent PA a volunteer-based organization that has been instrumental in getting progressive women candidates elected in Pennsylvania. Their support has helped elect 52 women candidates into PA’s legislature, turn the House blue in 2022, and get 200+ pieces of progressive legislation passed in the House. Their current focus is to get a democratic trifecta in the state so that this legislation can make its way through the Senate, where it is currently sitting in limbo. Represent PA hosts monthly breakfast briefings. You can sign up for them (or find other ways to get involved) on their website.

 

Strengthening Our Systems

 

Holding the Courts Accountable

“We’ve seen over and over again that the courts are poised to systematically eviscerate our rights and the response on the left has been insufficient. Court oversight is disorganized and terribly under-resourced. We needed to build the infrastructure,” Naomi Aberly said of her decision to co-found the Court Accountability Alliance, which launched in 2023 with the help of many WDN members and a $100k grant from WDN. The organization works behind the scenes to expose and challenge judicial abuses of power. A working example of their impact is the research they contributed to ProPublica’s Friends of the Court series, which uncovered the biggest ethics scandal to hit the Supreme Court in the modern era, pushed the Court to adopt its first code of conduct, and recently was recognized with a Pulitzer.

 

Strengthening Election Technology

For the past two decades, Barbara Simons has worked on making our country’s election technology more accurate, secure, and transparent. In Barbara’s words, “winning elections depends on having elections accurately counted,” and that means having rigorous post-election ballot audits that use paper ballots to check on the tabulating computers. Her concern about the insecure use of computers in elections is why she became actively involved with starting Verified Voting, which promotes the responsible use of technology in voting. She currently is Verified Voting’s Board Chair.

 

A Little Bit of Everything

 

Direct Action, GOTV, and Quilts!

Kit Miller volunteers with Th!rd Act and Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada and recommends both as excellent organizations to mobilize with. Th!rd Act brings together Americans over sixty to tackle the big issues of our time. Kit volunteers mostly with their Banking On Our Future campaign, doing direct actions like bank sit-ins to pressure big banks to stop bankrolling the climate crises. In her volunteer work with Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Kit registers first-time, youth, and Latine voters at local events to support their civic engagement work.

Kit is also a part of Radical Threads, a collection of quilters and fiber artists who create textile magic that communicates what is happening in the world today. You can also order beautiful GOTV postcards (free of charge) on their website.

 

The members of this network are here because they all have their sights set on justice. Whether they’re seasoned political changemakers or dipping their toe into political work for the first time, it is inspiring to see the kind of community our members are creating and the kind of world they’re fighting for. If you’re looking for more ways to connect, mobilize, grow, and fund, we hope the above has given you inspiration. 

“I’m seeing all the ways our members are really stepping into this moment to ensure that our democracy is healthy and functioning and protected to reflect those who are often left out of the process. Ultimately it will change the face of power in this country.” – Leena Barakat

Our members do deep democracy-building within and outside of WDN and WDN Action. We have a spectrum of ways to activate, from our member-involved grantmaking initiatives to our Boards, to our in-person and virtual events. You can see some of what’s coming up below: 

Ayana Crawford
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