i tweet, therefore i am
Good Governance Director @Clean_Virginia | @YaleEnvironment MEM ‘24 | Co-founder @BlackOakDMV & always @EvergreenAction
Views my own
⏰ The Democratic primary race for Attorney General is tight. With just days until the election and, with SO MUCH at stake, Clean Virginia's very own Wes Gobar decided to take it to the streets and see what voters are thinking.
Make a plan to vote at https://t.co/2adkMdRLyh
If elected AG, Shannon Taylor should recuse herself from cases involving Dominion and regulated utilities — given the $650K+ they’ve already given her.
Virginians need to know their Attorney General works for the public, not a private company.
In a new @virginianpilot column, Clean Virginia's Wes Gobar lays out how Virginia’s broken campaign finance system invites billionaire influence and corporate corruption.
🔗: https://t.co/UHiCLVuuea
The Muslim vote has seen a dramatic shift: once 93% Democrat, now only 20%.
The Green Party has surged as the new favorite with 53%, while Trump came in second at 21%.
A friend recently asked me if bipartisan climate action was possible given the election results and it got me thinking
Traditionally we've seen attempts at carbon pricing designed to appeal to 'economic moderates' in both parties. That hasn't worked.
OTOH Trump's campaign ran the oldest and most battle-tested political strategy in America: blame Black people and immigrants for the worsening economic condition of white folks. It worked to end Reconstruction 150 years ago, it worked for Nixon and Reagan, and it worked today.
Concerns about donations reported by a local candidate underscore the broader issue of Virginia's weak campaign finance laws. The good news? "This is all fixable" if legislators work together to pass legislation addressing the broken system. @wgobar@CBS6 https://t.co/jxh264P19y
“If Democrats and Republicans come together in a bipartisan way to fix our broken campaign finance system and election laws, they will restore that foundational trust in our democracy."
Wise words from @clean_virginia Good Governance Director @wgobar.
https://t.co/frd3V5TQ5d
NEW: THE STAGGERING RISE OF AMERICA'S GLOBAL ECONOMIC WARFARE
1st in a series
@federicacocco & I found:
1. ~1/3 of all nations on Earth now face some form of US sanctions. Huge increase from when mostly applied to Cuba & a handful of regimes
2. +*60%* of *all poor countries* are under US sanctions of some kind. Has become almost a reflex of US foreign policy
3. Sanctions have spawned multi-billion-dollar lobbying & influence industry, enriching former US officials who are hired by foreign countries & oligarchs
4. Sanctions have had devastating effects on innocent civilians. In Cuba, they've made critical medical supplies impossible to import. In Venezuela, they contributed to a financial collapse 3X greater than the US Great Depression. Syria faces its greatest humanitarian crisis this year after a decade civil war & sanctions.
5. Treasury staffers drafted a ~40 page plan aimed at reforming the sanctions process that was dramatically whittled down amid disagreements w/ State
6. OFAC is widely described as overwhelmed by tens of thousands of requests. WH officials have brainstormed sanctions scenarios w/ outside nonprofits
7. Biden has unleashed unprecedented volley of +6K sanctions in 2 years. Higher than even previously unprecedented rate of Trump.
“We don’t think about the collateral damage of sanctions the same way we think about the collateral damage of war ... But we should.”
More to come.
Read our first story here:
https://t.co/7Q52IMCRBX
People need to understand that it's not just Arab-Americans or Muslim Americans that care about Palestine. Large chunks of the Democratic party base -- unions, young people, POC, many immigrant communities -- see this as an important issue, tied to core commitments on civil rights.
While many of us are rightfully energized by the renewed opportunity to defeat Donald Trump and Project 2025—we must also renew our commitment to build movements that can demand and win tangible, systemic policy changes from our leaders.
Remember: Kamala Harris likely would not have been Biden’s VP choice without millions mobilizing in the streets for months to protest racial injustice at the hands of militarized police.
I’m also reminded that in 2020, some of the worst police abuses also occurred at the hands of Black mayors unwilling or unable to reign in their police forces. A stark reminder that political representation alone is insufficient as a means for change.