Tell the millionaires that our democracy is not for sale

Alan Grayson via Facebook.com

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Alan Grayson for Senate

I am running for Senate, but I need your help. Join us as we take on big money in our fight to represent hardworking Floridians in Congress.

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The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Happy birthday to a true progressive gem

Alan Grayson via Facebook.com

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Happy birthday to a true progressive gem, Senator Bernie Sanders!

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The TRUTH will set you FREE.

"Seniors Deserve a Raise Act"

Alan Grayson via Facebook.com

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Become a citizen cosponsor of my "Seniors Deserve a Raise Act" if you agree that our seniors deserve better: bit.ly/1Kupk5a

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The TRUTH will set you FREE.

"If I will not be for myself, who will be for me?"

I'm Doing This, So You Don't Have To Dear Friend: I announced today that I'm running for the Senate. If you read these e-mails, then there's a good chance that you and I think alike. We are kindred spirits. We see things the same way. So in a way, it's sort of like you're running for the Senate. I'm just doing it for you. Think about it. You and I have a lot of shared beliefs, a lot of shared values. You and I see what needs to be done, and how to do it. If I make it to the Senate, there's a good chance that I'll do that job just as you would. And one thing is for sure: You deserve your support. As the Jewish scholar Hillel asked, "If I will not be for myself, who will be for me?" The same goes for me: I deserve your support. Because if I'm elected, then I will do that job the way you would. I will be a champion for justice, equality, compassion and peace. I think that you should support your candidacy with a modest contribution. You can join thousands and thousands of others who contribute $20.16 each month. Or a lump sum of $20, $50, $100 or $500. Every dollar counts, because every person counts. Let's be realistic. You may not make it to the Senate next year. But there is a great chance that I will - if you help. And that's almost as good, isn't it? I need your help, today, so that I can be a Senator that you will be proud of. Just as if you had the job. Courage, Rep. Alan Grayson Candidate for the U.S. Senate

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Most Americans are worse off than they were a long time ago.

Mad As Hell, Not Going to Take it Anymore Dear FRIEND: This is a short essay on voter anger: its origin, its attributes, its meaning and its cure. Hint: most Americans are worse off than they were a long time ago. I started noticing voter anger around 2009. Initially, its locus was the Tea Party. They're the ones who would form a circle around a political event, holding hands, and start chanting expletives. I attributed this to the Tea Party's deep dissatisfaction with living in the 21st century. To them, basically, everything went south when Jane Wyatt stopped playing Robert Young's Stepford wife on Father Knows Best, and started playing Spock's mother, Amanda . . . Grayson, on Star Trek. (Does that mean that Spock and I are future relatives? I don't know.) For them, things have never been the same since. Generally speaking, the problem for Team Blue is not anger; it's apathy. However, by roughly the year 2012, Team Blue had caught up in the Anger Games, and the score was tied. Politically, we then entered very interesting territory. For many years up to that time, polling had showed that even when Congress had a negative approval rating, most voters wanted to reelect their individual Members of Congress. (It's as though Congress had become Garrison Keilor's Lake Wobegone, where all the children are above average.) No more. Now polls showed a majority in favor of voting out one's own Member of Congress, a matter quite unnerving to one's own Member of Congress. Moreover, polls showed that most voters wished that voting booths offered a magic Shakespearean "let's kill all the incumbents" button, that would let them throw out all the bums by extending a single digit. (The middle one, I surmise.) And speaking of digits, Congress's approval rating sank into single digits. Why? Well, the superficial explanation is that voters feel that elected officials simply aren't listening. We had a good example of that a few weeks ago, on the Fast Track bill. A GOP Member of Congress confided in me that his calls and e-mails were running 100-to-1 against Fast Track. In some Democratic offices, the numbers probably were even more one-sided. (Many of the people reading these very words had something to do with that.) Nevertheless, in the Party of the People, 13 Democratic Senators initially voted against proceeding with Fast Track, and then voted for proceeding with Fast Track. So that gutless anti-egalitarian bill slipped past a Senate filibuster with no votes to spare. Then, in the House, 28 Democratic Congressmen broke ranks, passing Fast Track by only extra four votes. (Meaning that if four votes had switched, Fast Track would have been halted in its . . . tracks.) From the voters' perspective, that's a very good example of "you're not listening to me!" But here is the deeper explanation for all of that anger: for most Americans, life simply is getting harder. This was painfully obvious from a Sage Foundation study last year, following up on an article in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. The study looked at changes in the wealth of American households over a decade, from 2003 to 2013. The study found that median net worth had dropped by 36 percent, from $87,992 to $56,335. Let me repeat that: the net worth of the average American household dropped by more than one-third in ten years. The decline from the 2007 peak was almost 50%, in just six years. (Most of that loss was in the value of one's home - home is where the heartache is.) That's why everyone is so angry. The net worth decline of someone at the 25th percentile (meaning that three-quarters of all household are richer than you) was even more extreme - from $10,129 to $3200. And among the bottom 5%, whose net worth is negative, their debt tripled. Only the top 10% of all Americans improved their standards of living during that decade. As the study summarized, "wealth inequality increased significantly from 2003 through 2013; by some metrics inequality roughly doubled." By the way, this is not an isolated study. Other studies have shown declining hourly wages going all the way back to 1974. That's more than four decades of worse-and-worse. Look at what's been in the headlines lately: Fast Track. Obamacare. Power plant emissions. Marriage equality. Greece. Entirely absent from the airwaves is any discussion of what's really on people's minds, i.e., this. So, to sum it up, people's lives are circling the drain, and nobody's even talking about it, much less doing something about it. That's why everyone is so angry. And I'm hoping against hope that my party, the Democratic Party, wakes up and does something about it. Speaking for myself, I'll try my best to do something about it. But you knew that already. Courage, Rep. Alan Grayson

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution laid most of tyranny to rest,

If You Had Been in the Room, What Would You Have Added? Dear Friend: The original Declaration of Independence, declared 239 years ago, was a philippic against King George and his tyranny. I am no fan of King George. But the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution laid most of his tyranny to rest, and what remained was then laid to rest with him. We need a new declaration of independence. FDR took a stab at this, with his "Four Freedoms." Freedom of speech. Freedom of worship. Freedom from want. Freedom from fear. That's a good start. But now, eight decades later, we need to declare our independence from other forms of oppression. We hereby declare our independence from bigotry, in all its evil forms. We declare our independence from racism, sexism, homophobia, language discrimination and chauvinism. Everyone has equal rights, no matter where you're from, what you look like, what language you speak, and whom you love. Everyone deserves respect. We hereby declare our independence from narrow-minded, extremist or violent religious fundamentalism. We live in a land where church and state are separate. Religious belief, no matter how sincere, is no license to dictate to others whether to terminate a pregnancy, whether to use contraception, or whom to marry. Earlier this year, I placed my hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution; I didn't place my hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible. We hereby declare our independence from the greedy. Malefactors of great wealth have no right to buy and sell elected officials thorough the legalized bribery of "independent expenditures." They have no right to despoil our land and our water, the air we breathe and the food we eat. They have no right to manipulate or gut our laws in order to increase their lucre. They have no right to jack up the price of what we buy, or determine what we see on TV or on our computer screens. We hereby declare our independence from "1984"-style surveillance. Neither the Government nor a private company has any reason to monitor the activities of innocent people, without their express, informed and freely given consent. Who I'm with, what I say, what I buy, what I read; that's none of anyone else's business. Privacy - the fundamental right to be left alone - is an essential part of what it means to be a human being. We hereby declare our independence from exploitation. Bad bosses are today's King George. They want to work employees as hard as they can, and pay them as little as possible in return. They call the difference profit. If workers are organized, they can fight back. But if not, then they need legal protection from exploitation. If you have a job, you should have a living wage, and time-and-a-half for overtime. If you have a job, you should have health coverage. If you have a job, you should have paid sick leave. If you have a job, you should have a pension. As John Mellencamp would say, "Ain't that America?" We hereby declare our independence from misinformation. Fox News is a lie factory. Special interests used to lie to us about the dangers of smoking; now they lie to us about the dangers of pollution and climate disruption. They claim a right to "free speech," but we have a right to honest speech. We have to be part of what a Reagan aide once dismissed as the "reality-based community." We hereby declare our independence from hubris. No, we can't bring peace through war. No, we can't force our way of life or our way of thinking on seven billion other people. No, we aren't going to end the 1200-year-old civil war between the Sunnis and the Shia. No, we aren't going to go and kill everyone everywhere in the world who harbors some harsh views of us. And no, they won't greet our soldiers with flowers, bake apple pies for them, and salute the American flag with a hand on their hearts. They want to be them, not us. We can care for victims, protect ourselves and help our friends without sticking our nose into every else's business. We hereby declare our independence from a rigged system of fake trade. We buy their stuff, creating tens of millions of jobs in other countries. But they don't buy an equal amount of our stuff. Instead, they buy our assets -- $11,000,000,000,000.00 of our assets. They not only rob us of our jobs, but they drive us deeper and deeper into debt. When did Uncle Sam become Uncle Sap? If we don't declare independence, the endgame is national bankruptcy. And me? I hereby declare my independence from the corrupt system of campaign finance. I will not carve up the law into little pieces, and sell it to the highest bidder. I will not make "friends" with lobbyists and special interests and the minions of multinational corporations, and then "help" those "friends." I will not forsake my real job - doing something good for the 700,000 people who chose me to be their Congressman - in favor of begging millionaires and billionaires for a few crumbs from their tables. In fact, I already have declared my independence. In 2012, I was the only Member of Congress to draw most of his campaign funds from contributions of less than $200. And in 2014, again. This coming year, whether I run for the House or the Senate, I hope to do it again - I'll get by with a little help from my friends, my supporters, the progressive community. We declare our independence. We are not cattle. We are not sheep. We are human beings. Happy birthday, America. Let Freedom Ring. Courage, Rep. Alan Grayson

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. It’ll be E-Mailed

Come Together, Right Now. Dear FRIEND: On Wednesday, I sent an e-mail to our supporters saying that I'm deciding whether to run for the Senate, and I need to gauge your support. In 24 hours, we raised more than $110,000. From one e-mail. That's a good start. But it's not enough. If you want to be able to say the words "Senator Grayson" after the next election, then click here, and show your support. But it's not about me. It's about a new way to elect our elected leaders. Because the old way isn't working anymore. Democracy is dying. Special interests rule us. Elected officials are just tools of multinational corporations and the super-rich. Unless you help! Unless you support our campaign. So that I can show others how to win, without selling your soul. In 2012, I was the ONLY Member of Congress who raised most of his campaign funds from small contributions of less than $200. And in 2014, again, I was the ONLY Member of Congress who raised most of his campaign funds from small contributions of less than $200. Just one, out of 435. The result is that I am unbought and unbossed. I own nothing to anyone but The People. You know the old paradigm: elected officials chop up the law into little pieces, and they sell them to the highest bidder. They raise all the campaign money that they can, from lobbyists and PACs, and favors and flattery. Then they spend it on personal indulgences, like Senator Rubio's back-waxing. Now here is the new paradigm: I reach out to you, and you help. First to take a House seat and then, if you help, a Senate seat. The revolution will not be televised; it will be e-mailed and ActBlue'd. This is the path forward, toward the oldest new form of government: government of the People, by the People and for the People. Let freedom ring: the freedom from oligarchy and plutocracy. This is the revolution. Will you join it? If you support our campaign today, you show me that you want an unbought and unbossed Senator, standing next to Elizabeth Warren. You show me that it's still possible for ordinary people to take charge of their government and their lives, by coming together. So I'm asking you, and I need to know, today: Are we in this together? If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: Express Donate $20 monthly Express Donate $50 monthly Express Donate $25 Express Donate $50 Express Donate $100 Or donate another amount. Courage, Rep. [Sen.?] Alan Grayson P.S. If you click on any link, you can not only show your support, but also enjoy Gil Scott-Heron's famous song, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Thanks. You will not be able to stay home, Brother. You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out. You will not be able to lose yourself on skag, And skip out for beer during commercials, Because the revolution will not be televised . . . . The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal. The revolution will not get rid of the nubs. The revolution will not make you look five pounds thinner, Because the revolution will not be televised, Brother. . . . You will not have to worry about a dove in your bedroom, The tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl. The revolution will not go better with Coke. The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath. The revolution will put you in the driver's seat. The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised Will not be televised, will not be televised. The revolution will be no re-run, Brothers. The revolution will be live. - Gil Scott-Heron, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (1970) (from the album "Small Talk at 125th and Lenox").

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

The Senate will vote again on Fast Track, tomorrow.

Dear FRIEND: 

This is becoming ridiculous. 

A month ago, the Senate voted against the "Fast Track" trade giveaway bill. But the job thieves didn't give up - they held another vote, a week later. Thanks to some mumbo-jumbo regarding currency manipulation, 13 Democrats switched sides, and Fast Track passed the Senate. 

Two weeks ago, the House voted against the Senate's Fast Track bill or, more specifically, the "trade assistance" part of the bill. But the job thieves didn't give up - they held another vote, a week later. Thanks to some mumbo-jumbo regarding trade assistance, 28 out of 188 House Democrats voted in favor of Fast Track, which sent it back to the Senate, minus trade assistance. (For the names of those House Democrats, see our last e-mail.) 

The Senate will vote again on Fast Track, tomorrow. Basically, they're just going to keep voting on it, until you get screwed. 

Are you starting to see a pattern here? The job thieves are relentless. So we have to be relentless-er than they are. We need to be just as tireless, steadfast, resolute, persevering, unflagging and indefatigable as they are - more so. We can't give up. 

Which means that we need to hit the phones. Again. 

Reproduced below, for whatever purposes you deem fit, are the names, addresses and URLs of 13 Senators who really, really ought to hear from you. And here is what they should hear, here:

(1) Our trade debt stands at eleven trillion dollars ($11,000,000,000,000.00). That's more than $35,000 for every human being in America - including you. "Fast Track" would pave the way for new trade bills that would increase that. How are we ever going to pay that money back?
(2) Fast Track applies to whatever the Executive Branch calls a trade agreement, even if it has nothing to do with trade.
(3) Fast Track unconstitutionally restricts Congress from holding hearings, conducting investigations, debating a bill and offering amendments - basically, its job. In fact, it could restrict each House Member to only 83 seconds of debate.
(4) No other bills get this special treatment - not bills on taxes, or Social Security, or defense, or transportation, or healthcare. Nothing.
(5) Fast Track applies to trade bills that the Executive Branch hasn't even released to the public.
(6) None of the "standards" that Fast Track sets for trade agreements is enforceable - not one single standard. 

Hear, hear! 

Tell them "NO" on Fast Track! Call or e-mail - just do it. Below is a list of every Senate Democrat who voted to let Fast Track steamroll over us, a month ago. Pick one, pick them all, and MAKE THEM LISTEN. 

Courage, 

Rep. Alan Grayson 

Bennet, Michael F. - (D - CO)
261 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5852
Contact: www.bennet.senate.gov/contact/ 

Cantwell, Maria - (D - WA)
511 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3441
Contact: www.cantwell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-maria 

Carper, Thomas R. - (D - DE)
513 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2441
Contact: carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-senator-carper 

Coons, Christopher A. - (D - DE)
127A Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5042
Contact: www.coons.senate.gov/contact/ 

Feinstein, Dianne - (D - CA)
331 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3841
Contact: www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me 

Heitkamp, Heidi - (D - ND)
110 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2043
Contact: www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact 

Kaine, Tim - (D - VA)
388 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4024
Contact: www.kaine.senate.gov/contact 

McCaskill, Claire - (D - MO)
730 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6154
Contact: www.mccaskill.senate.gov/contact 

Murray, Patty - (D - WA)
154 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2621
Contact: www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactme 

Nelson, Bill - (D - FL)
716 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5274
Contact: www.billnelson.senate.gov/contact-bill 

Shaheen, Jeanne - (D - NH)
506 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2841
Contact: www.shaheen.senate.gov/contact/ 

Warner, Mark R. - (D - VA)
475 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2023
Contact: www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Contact 

Wyden, Ron - (D - OR)
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5244

Contact: www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/  

The TRUTH will set you FREE.