Progressive Democrats of America
Encyclopedia
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
operating inside the United States Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.
History
The Progressive Democrats of America formed out of the presidential campaigns of Howard DeanHoward Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
and Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
.
PDA was founded during the 2004 Democratic National Convention
2004 Democratic National Convention
The 2004 Democratic National Convention convened from July 26 to July 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts, and nominated John Kerry and John Edwards as the official candidates of the Democratic Party for President and Vice President of the United States, respectively, in the 2004...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
by Tim Carpenter, Steve Cobble, Kevin Spidel
Kevin Spidel
Kevin R. Spidel is a political consultant and a social web consultant. He recently was on the executive staff at Amnesty International in Washington, DC leading the "Denounce Torture" campaign. He has previously worked with the ACLU and the Hip Hop Caucus...
, Mimi Kennedy
Mimi Kennedy
Mimi Kennedy is an American actress, author and activist.-Early life:Kennedy was born Mary Claire Kennedy in Rochester, New York, the daughter of Nancy Helen and Daniel Gerald Kennedy. She got her start in theater with the Rochester Community Players, appearing in Agatha Christie's "Spider Web"...
, Laura Bonham, Bruce Taub, and about two dozen other former staffers and supporters of the Dennis Kucinich for President Campaign who helped organize delegates and activists concerned with the centrist and right leaning trends in the Democratic Party. Currently PDA consists of "a large group of progressive grassroots activists from across the country who want to support progressive grassroots activities both locally and nationally." Appearing at the first PDA meeting in Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
were leaders, activists, and politicians including Dean and Kucinich, U.S. Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
John Conyers
John Conyers
John Conyers, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1965 . He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Jesse Louis Jackson, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since the special election in 1995. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
and Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee
Barbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
, Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
, James Zogby
James Zogby
James J. Zogby is the author of Arab Voices and the founder and president of the Arab American Institute , a Washington, D.C.–based organization which serves as a political and policy research arm of the Arab American community. He is a senior analyst with his brother's polling firm, Zogby...
, Tom Hayden
Tom Hayden
Thomas Emmet "Tom" Hayden is an American social and political activist and politician, known for his involvement in the animal rights, and the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s. He is the former husband of actress Jane Fonda and the father of actor Troy Garity.-Life and...
, Medea Benjamin
Medea Benjamin
Medea Benjamin is an American political activist, best known for co-founding Code Pink and, along with her husband, activist and author Kevin Danaher, fair trade advocacy group Global Exchange...
, John Lauritsen, and Current PDA Executive Director Tim Carpenter.
PDA's mission is to strengthen the voice of progressive ideas within the Democratic Party by using "inside/outside
Inside/outside
The inside/outside model of political reform is the organizing method/philosophy being used by the Progressive Democrats of America in its efforts to change the Democratic Party but also to foster a broad grass-roots progressive social and political movement...
" and "grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
fusion" models of working both in the Democratic Party as well as working with other progressive organizations both inside and outside the Party.
End wars
The Progressive Democrats of America believes that the Iraq war is one of the worst foreign policyForeign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
disasters in U.S. history. The PDA has called on the United States to withdraw its troops and redirect its war funding toward social needs at home and humanitarian aid for Iraqis. The organization has called on Congress to cut off military funding for the war and investigate all White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
claims justifying the invasion. PDA is also behind the Bring the Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Restoration Act, introduced by key members of the PDA board, Reps. Lynn Woolsey
Lynn Woolsey
Lynn C. Woolsey is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes all of Marin County and most of Sonoma County. She is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and its co-chair...
, Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee
Barbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
and Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 29th district, serving since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party....
. The bill would bring all U.S. troops home within 6 months. PDA has also publicly endorsed House Resolution 746, known as the Safe and Orderly Withdrawal From Iraq Act.
Single-payer health care
PDA supports establishing a single-payer health careSingle-payer health care
Single-payer health care is medical care funded from a single insurance pool, run by the state. Under a single-payer system, universal health care for an entire population can be financed from a pool to which many parties employees, employers, and the state have contributed...
system through the United States National Health Care Act, which would essentially provide enhanced Medicare
Medicare (United States)
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
for all by establishing a streamlined, nonprofit national health insurance program that would negotiate drug and treatment costs. Care would be publicly financed and privately delivered. PDA also supports health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
initiatives at the state and local level that move toward a single-payer system.
Economics
The Progressive Democrats of America support an agenda of progressive taxation and fair trade. PDA has worked to get the United States CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to roll back President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's tax cuts. The PDA also supports fair trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
, which it claims protects workers' rights and the environment, while opposing free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
agreements that it argues allow corporations to exploit unprotected labor worldwide. PDA is attempting to block renewal of fast track authority that allows the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
to enact trade deals without Congressional amendment. PDA endorses the Employee Free Choice Act
Employee Free Choice Act
The Employee Free Choice Act was a legislative bill that was introduced into both chambers of the U.S. Congress on March 10, 2009. The bill's purpose was to,...
, which would make it easier for workers to organize unions.
Election reform
The Progressive Democrats of America support federal legislationLegislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
that would ban further use of touch-screen voting machines, establish a paper ballot as the official record for determining voter intent and require rigorous mandatory audits for elections. PDA also supports comprehensive campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns....
at the state and national level.
Energy policy
The Progressive Democrats of America want to reduce America's dependence on oilOil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and fossil fuels by raising auto fuel economy and imposing mandatory caps on carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
while investing in public transportation, energy conservation technologies, and alternative energy development.
Drugs
The Progressive Democrats of America supports legalization of marijuana and endorsed California Proposition 19 (2010)California Proposition 19 (2010)
California Proposition 19 was a ballot initiative on the November 2, 2010 statewide ballot...
.
Advisory board
- Mimi KennedyMimi KennedyMimi Kennedy is an American actress, author and activist.-Early life:Kennedy was born Mary Claire Kennedy in Rochester, New York, the daughter of Nancy Helen and Daniel Gerald Kennedy. She got her start in theater with the Rochester Community Players, appearing in Agatha Christie's "Spider Web"...
, Advisory Board Chair - Stephen Shaff, Advisory Board Vice Chair
- John ConyersJohn ConyersJohn Conyers, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1965 . He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, Jr. - Donna EdwardsDonna EdwardsDonna F. Edwards is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 2008. She is a member of the Democratic Party...
- Raul GrijalvaRaul GrijalvaRaúl M. Grijalva is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes half of metro Tucson, all of Yuma and Nogales, and some peripheral parts of metro Phoenix.-Early life, education and career:...
- Barbara LeeBarbara LeeBarbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
- Maxine WatersMaxine WatersMaxine Waters is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 29th district, serving since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party....
- Diane E. WatsonDiane WatsonDiane Edith Watson is a former US Representative for , serving from 2003 until 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party...
(emeritus) - Lynn WoolseyLynn WoolseyLynn C. Woolsey is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes all of Marin County and most of Sonoma County. She is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and its co-chair...
- Cindy Asner
- Medea BenjaminMedea BenjaminMedea Benjamin is an American political activist, best known for co-founding Code Pink and, along with her husband, activist and author Kevin Danaher, fair trade advocacy group Global Exchange...
- John C. Bonifaz (emeritus)
- Steve Cobble
- Jeff CohenJeff Cohen (media critic)Jeff Cohen is a journalist, media critic, professor, and the founder of Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting , a media watchdog group in the US. He was formerly a lawyer for the ACLU and authored or co-authored five books that criticize media bias, mainly written with Norman Solomon...
(emeritus) - Jodie Evans
- Gary L. Flowers
- Lila Garret
- Tom HaydenTom HaydenThomas Emmet "Tom" Hayden is an American social and political activist and politician, known for his involvement in the animal rights, and the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s. He is the former husband of actress Jane Fonda and the father of actor Troy Garity.-Life and...
- Joe Libertelli
- Ralph I. Miller
- Greg MooreGreg MooreGregory Moore or Greg Moore is the name of:*Gregory L. Moore, American journalist and editor of the Denver Post*Greg Moore , racecar driver*Greg Moore , American ice hockey player...
- Joel SegalJoel SegalThis article is about activist Joel Segal. For noted NFL agent Joel Segal, see Joel Segal .Joel Segal is one of the co-founders and a current board member of the Progressive Democrats of America...
(emeritus) - David SwansonDavid SwansonDavid L. Swanson is an American activist, blogger and author.-Education:Swanson obtained a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Virginia in 1997.-Career:...
- Lyle Wing
- Rev. Lennox YearwoodLennox YearwoodLennox Yearwood, Jr., is a minister, community activist, and one of the most influential people in Hip Hop political life.He currently serves as President of the Hip Hop Caucus in Washington, D.C. The Hip Hop Caucus is a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan, organization that engages young people in...
, Jr.
Staff and consultants
- Laura Bonham, Deputy Director and Communications Manager
- Conor Boylan, National Field Coordinator
- Kimberly Buchan, Administrative Coordinator
- Tim Carpenter, National Director
- Mike Hersh, Social Media Director and Blog Editor
- Judy Hess, Operations and Communications Assistant Manager
- Roberta McNair, Operations and Communications Deputy Manager
- Andrea Miller, Deputy Field Director