Subject: Not just throwing -- we're landing punches.
From: Denise Cardinal <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:24:14 -0500 (CDT)

::: ProgressNow - Building the online progressive movement state by state ::: 

April, 2011

Friends, supporters, and colleagues,

ProgressNow is not just throwing punches in the budget fights in our
states. We're landing them.

Read below about just some of the ways we're affecting the
budget battles in Florida, Ohio, Colorado and Washington.

After feedback from some of you about our updates we decided to limit
the number of states we highlight this time, and provide more detail.

Let us know which format you best enjoy. And as always let us know how
we can continue to throw - and land - the punches.

Best,

Denise Cardinal
Executive Director
ProgressNow and ProgressNow Education
612.269.9276

 
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ProgressFlorida http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=ObPVjONf2NWs4c3ZVvN0Ow..
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"Ray Seaman of Ocala, online director for Progress Florida, a
progressive group, is credited as the father of the Awake the State
rallies that led thousands to come out against Scott's agenda on
Tuesday as the governor was delivering the State of the State
Address"

- Ocala Star-Banner, March 9th

Florida Awakens!

Must see video:

ATS Video - http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=i8RYbMfgUYtGB7ILdL6v0w..

Working closely with our allies Florida Watch Action and America
Votes, Progress Florida helped spearhead the "Awake The
State" rallies held throughout Florida on March 8th to send a
clear message to Gov. Rick Scott and the legislature: Stop the attacks
on Florida's middle class. Thanks to a growing backlash against
the devastating budget cuts being proposed by Gov. Scott and
legislative leaders, and the tireless work of activists and local
organizers throughout the state, more than 15,000 Floridians turned
out to more than 30 rallies from Pensacola to Key West. 

The rallies garnered media coverage from virtually every news outlet
in the state, helping draw attention to the war on the middle class
being waged in Tallahassee by right-wing extremists and corporate
special interests. 

Public opinion has already shifted in our favor: a poll released last
week shows that Gov. Scott is "incredibly unpopular"
amongst Florida voters and would get trounced by Alex Sink in a
hypothetical rematch of November's gubernatorial race.

:: Defending Women's Health From Right-Wing Attacks ::

Gov. Rick Scott and Republican leaders in the legislature ran on a
platform of creating jobs, jobs and more jobs.  And yet, these
same leaders have filed 18 different bills that attack women's
health and reproductive rights. As one Progress Florida member told us
"last time I checked, there are no jobs in my uterus."
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=bdrZSxL74qq0X_MNUgSy4g..
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=lzFyRJjIvVzI84NaALbsHQ..

Working with our allies at the Florida Association of Planned
Parenthood Affiliates, we've activated our network of more than
100,000 e-activists to send a powerful message to key legislators:
stop the attack on women's health!
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=t09S3MVOX4fBfPNDzorCew..

So far, Progress Florida members have submitted 28, 423 E-letters in
opposition to these attacks on women's health to 26 state
senators that sit on key committees debating this critical issue.

:: Tweeting a Better Florida ::

Progress Florida has been named one of Florida's top political
Tweeters by The Washington Post. 
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=N3m6WL2qcQucVL5eQwkriA..

Additionally, with more than 4,000 followers, including hundreds of
media outlets and reporters, elected officials,  opinion leaders,
and a 'Klout' score of 62, we're currently ranked
the 7th most influential Tweeter in Florida politics.  This
ranking is based on our 'Klout" score and a prominent
Florida based political news blog that publishes a monthly list of the
top 100+ political Tweeters in Florida.
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=N7xbwovOfZob_O-4641qKA..
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=WPYFgIvHcL6lLYL8FSJYmA..
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=ST_bvUx6ecRbQFvED19lAA..

:: FightForFlorida.com Launched ::

Working in close collaboration, the Florida AFL-CIO and Progress
Florida recently launched FightForFlorida.com, an online action hub
for working Floridians fighting back against the assault on
Florida's middle class by Gov. Scott and the leadership of the
legislature.
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=zPubK2KZ_dLDi7iA4gE81g..
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=O7-Z8cvE4fYa4HH3i6gbrg..
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=njuHGrFQ60WEsMR2L1mwnQ..

Among the ways citizens can already get involved via
FightForFlorida.com:

*  A letter-writing campaign urging legislators to oppose the
"Worker Gag Bill" (SB 830).

http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=p8-d3Ab2otlrohYx2ebJ6g..

*  A campaign to stop the imposition of an unfair 3-5% tax on
nurses, teachers, police, firefighters and other public
employees.

http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=aeHQDn0H2L2O3N79qYpy6w..

*  A petition to Gov. Rick Scott asking: Where Are The Jobs?

http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=kqHqyOn4ThKm1HXg-fMKEw..

You can also stay informed about the ongoing Fight For Florida at the
campaign's Facebook page.  Onward and upward!
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=qtH4v7d_hKzjisgpqXdctg..

:: Fair Districts Fight Rages On ::

On March 23rd, we issued an alert asking our network members to tell
Gov. Scott to quit playing politics and stop stalling the
implementation of Fair Districts - Amendments 5 and 6. Our
network responded in a big way and 48 hours later we delivered
thousands of petitions directly to the Governor's office. 
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=J6MykaQ1R_n9qF9zxQAbWw..

A week later, thanks to public pressure and a lawsuit filed by the
League of Women Voters, Democracia, the Florida NAACP and concerned
citizens, the legislature announced they finally submitted the
amendments to the Justice Department for certification.

This good news is tempered by the fact that the submission was done in
a way designed to allow Republicans to continue gerrymandering
districts despite the unambiguous language of the amendments. 
We'll continue working with our allies at Fair Districts Now to
counter efforts by the Republican majority to sidestep the will of
voters and rig future elections.
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=5j0sne5SYp3dSZwA7Keqzg..
http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=x8xJ-C94sDmszjn4rC9MZA..

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Progress Ohio - http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=A18QWpjqNazurzuMFiKRPA..
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ProgressOhio was referenced by name in news articles 14 consecutive
days in March. During March, our work generated over 38 different news
stories on a diverse array of topics:

*  ProgressOhio lawsuit that removed unconstitutional state
director
*  ProgressOhio lawsuit to ensure citizen access to the Statehouse,
after being locked out by police our role fighting the
anti-labor SB5, the largest protest at the Ohio Statehouse since
Vietnam
*  Celebrating the first anniversary of Affordable Care Act
*  First profit sharing checks for Ohio GM workers
*  Policy criticism of Gov. Kasich's proposed budget
*  3 separate musical protests we organized over corporate tax
breaks, budget and anti-union corporate donations
*  An evaluation of our flash mob series
*  Research on Koch brother donations and environmental policy
*  ProgressOhio members riding a bus from rural areas to attend
protests

Between 2/28/11 and 4/1/11, ProgressOhio made the Associated Press
wire five times. Per Google, these articles were republished over
20,000 times.

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ProgressNow Colorado - http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=JHhv-p3qsWQ1WpQ0Gw1mRg..
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After CO SB 200 was highjacked by the Tea Party, the House Judiciary
Committee voted on a party line vote to kill civil unions. Over the
last three months, ProgressNow Colorado provided much-appreciated support
to One Colorado from helping to plan strategy, prepping legislators for testimony to working directly with the media. ProgressNow Colorado also worked closely with our partners at One Colorado, Gill Foundation Gill Action and others on the issue. The civil unions team put together one of the most well-organized, well-executed and impressive efforts (including packing three hearing rooms at the Capitol this week for an eight-hour hearing on the bill during which close to 100 people testified in favor of civil unions) ever seen. Mike Littwin does a
great job of summing up what happened and where to go from here: Littwin
Editorial - http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=bCH9IQKRS6orEw9xUEtQ6A..

:: Providing Communication Expertise to our Partners ::

In addition to sending out email blasts and providing strategic advice
in a number of settings, ProgressNow is continually working with our
partners to help them with their communications needs. Through our
staff and our consultants ProgressNow is recognized as a go-to
communications organization for our expertise in conceiving and executing strategic communications with our project partners.

Groups have come to depend on ProgressNow for help. Two weeks ago
Colorado Consumer Health Initiative found itself shorthanded when their
communications director had to leave town suddenly due to a death in
the family. This happened just days before an intense week of activities marking the first anniversary of the signing of health care reform. CCHI's Executive Director, Dede de Percin, asked if they could "borrow" our human resources for the crucial week. As a representative of ProgressNow, Mark stepped in and helped make sure the week's activities went off without a hitch.

:: Insurance Exchanges :: 

Rep. Amy Stephens added a poison pill to CO SB 200, the bill to set up insurance exchanges in Colorado, after testimony from advocacy organizations, business groups and the Colorado Medical Society. Only the Tea Party president for Arapahoe County testified against it. Rep. Stephens co-sponsored this bill and worked closely with Sen. Boyd to ensure it would be pass with Republican support in the House. We intend to hold Rep. Stephens accountable for her attempts to kill insurance exchanges for small businesses and individuals struggling with insurance costs every day.

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Fuse Washington - http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=3aWnDgeEFuIgkm1m4Zc_XA..
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It's been an exciting few months. Fuse members have turned out in force for two major rallies in Olympia, sent thousands of emails and attended dozens of town halls asking legislators to close unfair tax loopholes. We challenged A.G. Rob McKenna's conservative, anti-health care agenda, and we helped efforts to stop predatory lending and transition away from dirty coal power plants in Washington.

Organizing

Rally2a.jpg

"We don't believe that cutting nurses and teachers and firefighters is
going to help rebuild our economy, and that's really what we need to
be focused on right now." - Collin Jergens, Fuse Communications
Manager, KING 5, 2/26/11

*  Fuse members played a major role in the Rally to Protect Our
Future that drew 1,500 people in Olympia on March 17, just three weeks
after the February 26 event. We organized the rally through the Our
Economic Future coalition, urging legislators to take a balanced approach
to the budget shortfall, including closing tax loopholes and raising
new revenue. The rally generated outstanding news coverage,
including this story on KOMO 4: http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=-Mbz-m6cehbnDm03iQQnzw..

*  Seeking to support the progressive energy generated in Wisconsin, we coordinated a solidarity rally in Olympia on February 26 that drew 2,500 people. Hundreds of Fuse members and MoveOn activists joined a strong labor turnout at the rally, which attracted ten times as many people as the Tea Party gathering on the same day. The rally generated outstanding news coverage, including this story on KING 5: http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=S0R9ahOPR-reRWKGNsTtMg..

*  We continue to coordinate the progressive community's response to our state's fiscal crisis. We are organizing the Our Economic Future coalition, which includes a comprehensive media, lobbying, and field program.

Legislation and Policy

*  Working with our partners in the environmental community, we are close to achieving a major victory in an early shutdown of the dirty TransAlta coal plant. This landmark deal would accelerate the transition away from coal at TransAlta and dramatically reduce toxic pollution in our communities.

*  Working with economic justice groups, we helped defeat conservatives' attempts to repeal critical protections against loan sharks and predatory lending. These consumer protections prevent sleazy payday lenders from creating a debt
trap for desperate borrowers.

*  Fuse is working with our partners in the Our Economic Future Coalition to research public support for a range of potential legislative and ballot strategies that would increase state revenues, and to promote bills that would eliminate tax
loopholes.

Communications

*  We launched LivingGreedy.com in February, a well-received parody of LivingSocial, Groupon, and other daily discount sites. Instead of coupons, we offer weekly "deals" to trade in unjust tax loopholes to fund education, health care, and other services. You can check out the site and trade in the tax giveaway for Wall Street Banks in order to fund Basic Health for 50,000 working families here: http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=hYv65gQ3SDZ-fgwtzmMtBg..

*  We have helped generate more than 165 news stories since the beginning of the year, including:

*  Associated Press story on first day of legislative session: http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=urjBQK7lXxI24Jdxgi_PgQ..

*  Puget Sound Business Journal story about closing tax loopholes: http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=PHaBZs8_IN7GA0sSPu410g..

*  Rep. Andy Billig op-ed in the Spokesman Review about scrutinizing tax breaks: http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=PaqrV3DK7l2ZtN8UbESHgg..

*  Tacoma News Tribune story about Attorney General Rob McKenna's health insurance reform lawsuit:

http://progressnow.pnstate.org/site/R?i=DvozHEIBfNC8ooTevWmbuQ..

:::

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