Alan Grayson
Alan Grayson's JournalI feel the Bern.
Last summer, my 16-year-old daughter asked me whether I felt the Bern. “Did you leave the stove on again?” I asked her.
Now, after listening to We, the People, I feel the Bern.
I hereby endorse Bernie Sanders to be our Democratic nominee for President of the United States. I will vote for him as a Super-delegate at the Democratic National Convention. And I enthusiastically join, shoulder to shoulder, his political revolution.
Join our political revolution by chipping in $27, Bernie’s average contribution, right here and right now >>
Perhaps inspired by the Bernie Sanders message of “Not me. Us.”, for the past several days, I have appealed to Democrats across the nation to tell me for whom I should vote, as a Super-delegate at the Democratic National Convention. The response has been absolutely overwhelming. Almost 400,000 Democrats voted at GraysonPrimary.com. More than the number who voted in the South Carolina primary. More than the number who voted in the New Hampshire primary and the Nevada caucus combined.
The results: Sanders 86%, Clinton 14%. More than just a landslide. An earthquake.
We invited not just votes, but also comments. I have been fascinated by the reasons you all gave for your votes. We’ll be sharing some of those, in coming days. But in Bernie’s case, it boils down to this:
America needs a revolution. And only Bernie Sanders, as President of the United States, can make one.
For those of you who read these missives (and if you don’t, then welcome!) this endorsement may not be entirely unexpected. You know that:
(1) I have passed 54 amendments on the Floor of the House in the last three years, more than any other Member. And when Bernie Sanders served in the House, in his time Bernie was the “Amendment King,” getting so many good things done in a hopelessly waterlogged institution, again and again.
(2) I am the only Member of the U.S. House of Representatives who raised most of his campaign funds from small contributions of less than $200 (in both 2012 and 2014, by the way). Bernie Sanders is the only Member of the U.S. Senate who raised most of his campaign funds from small contributions of less than $200. And this year, Bernie Sanders is the only Presidential candidate who has raised most of his campaign funds from small contributions of less than $200. Bernie and I are not owned and beholden to the billionaires and the multinational corporations and the lobbyists and the special interests.
Bernie Sanders is unbought and unbossed. So am I. That is an essential element of the political revolution. Contribute $27 today, to demonstrate that a candidate doesn’t have to sell his soul to pay for a winning campaign.
Bernie Sanders and I share a goal of building a grassroots movement of people who want to take back our country from the billionaires and the multinational corporations. We want to make elections into about something different: Not the lesser of two evils, but the greater good.
When you make a contribution to our campaign, our revolution, you are demonstrating that our democracy is no longer for sale to the highest bidder. But Bernie and I cannot accomplish this on our own. We need your help. We need to declare our Declaration of Independence from the baneful power of Big Money, by coming together one and all.
This is the revolution you’ve been waiting for. The place is here, and the time is now. Chip in $27 to help Bernie and me take back our country from the Big Money, and defeat the oligarchy >>
Power … to The People.
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. Talk to me about it.
Bernie or Hillary? You tell me.
I’m a “superdelegate.” In July, at the Democratic Convention, I will be voting for one or the other. I’d like to know which one you think I should vote for, and why.
Unlike “some people,” I will not be making this decision based on who can host the best fundraiser for me. I will not be making this decision based on what my fat-cat donors tell me, in part because I don’t have any.
I’ll be making this decision based on what you and your friends tell me. I’m inviting you to vote on this, and give your reasons. Democracy – what a concept!
Click here to tell me whom you support for President – and invite your friends to do the same >>
Look, I’d be perfectly happy if our nominee were chosen exclusively in the primaries. But 15% of the delegates to the Democratic Convention are chosen because of who they are, not whom they support. And I happen to be one of them. I wrestled with that responsibility for a while, until I realized that I don’t have to decide – I can let you decide.
My official title is “Representative.” Isn’t that sort of what “Representatives” are supposed to do? Represent the wishes of others?
So tell me: Bernie or Hillary? And why:
If you want me to endorse Bernie Sanders, then you can vote for me to support Bernie. If you want me to endorse Hillary Clinton, then you can vote for me to support Hillary. If you want me to switch to the Republican party and vote for one of those lunatics, then why are you even reading this? You can expect that to happen when the Atlantic Ocean freezes over. Oh, and Hell, too.
Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton? The choice is yours. Go here to vote right now, and get lots of others to do the same.
Don’t wait too long on this one. The Florida Presidential Primary is just four weeks away, and I’m going to make my decision – excuse me, our decision – long before that. If this works, then maybe other “superdelegates” will follow suit, and netroots activism can turn one of the least democratic elements of the UnDemocratic Party into something really special – a decision Of the People, By the People and For the People.
So what are you waiting for? Go vote. Like now. Stop reading this, and go vote.
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
What do you mean, “I couldn’t be the president of the United States of America”?
Tell me something, it’s still “We the people”, right?
-Megadeth, “Peace Sells” (1986).
Corporations aren't people. Seniors and veterans are.
In the United States, at the same time as corporations are deducting bloated CEO salaries on their taxes, we’re telling seniors and veterans that we can’t afford to take care of them. Right now, we are subsidizing wealthy corporations, instead of making sure veterans and seniors have food on their tables.
That’s abhorrent. Blasphemous. Contemptible. Disgraceful. Evil. Flagitious. Gross. Heinous. Ignominious. Jiggery-pokery. Knavish. Loathsome. Malicious. Nefarious. Obscene. Putrid. Quisquilious. Repugnant. Sickening. Terrible. Unacceptable. Wrong. Yucky. Zabernism.
But, there’s hope. Thanks to people like you, we can still elect strong progressives across the country, to fight back. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
Yesterday, I introduced a bill in the House to match Elizabeth Warren’s new bill in the Senate, closing the tax loophole that allows corporations to write off CEO salaries, and giving that money straight to veterans and Social Security recipients (a one-time payment to each person of about $580). It’s called the Seniors and Veterans Emergency Benefits Act (SAVE Benefits Act).
Join me and Elizabeth Warren in helping seniors and veterans by closing corporate tax loopholes now; become a citizen co-sponsor of the SAVE Benefits Act >>
It’s not just that the US government is treating corporations as people. It’s that the US government is treating corporations better than people. An extra $580 won’t make a difference for wealthy corporations or CEOs. But for seniors and veterans, it means being able to put food on the table, pay the rent, or afford prescription co-payments.
Our seniors and our veterans have done so much to make this country great. The very least we can do is make sure that they can make ends meet. And if we have had the money to give wealthy corporations tax breaks, then we certainly can afford to take care of our own people.
Add your name now, to become a citizen co-sponsor of the SAVE Benefits Act >>
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
Candidate for U.S. Senate
You've listened to me. Now I want to listen to you.
What are elections all about?
Money?
No, elections are not about money; they’re about lives. The lives that people live, and what we can do to make them better.
I met with minimum-wage workers in Tampa a few weeks ago. Before that, I had never taken an official position on a $15-an-hour minimum wage. But listening to them, I was left with no choice. They can’t survive on $7.25, and I couldn’t, either.
Now, if you have something to say on this, I’d like to hear from you. You share your story. If it’s a good one, it will help drive us all toward social justice.
Help inspire the movement to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, by sharing your story about working at a low-wage job, today >>
I’ll share mine:
To pay my way through college, I had to work cleaning my classmates’ toilets, and then as a night watchman on the midnight shift. When I finished making the rounds outdoors, plodding through snow-covered streets in the dark, my hands and feet felt as cold as blocks of ice. My pay was less than $4 an hour.
In a sense, I was lucky. I just had to support myself. My aunt had it worse. In 1930, she worked for low wages in a department store, supporting her father, her mother and four siblings – all unemployed. One job, seven mouths to feed. My grandfather was so desperate that he used to go to the dump every day, searching for something that he could salvage and sell.
In my case, I didn’t struggle to get by on that low wage because I was lazy, or because I was stupid, or because I had a taste for champagne (or even ripple). I struggled to survive because it wasn’t a living wage. And today, being paid only $1200 a month, before taxes (a full-time job at the minimum wage), is not a living wage.
And please don’t tell me that I wouldn’t have had that job if my employer had had to pay me more. If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that toilets don’t clean themselves.
I’m fighting alongside progressive icons like Bernie Sanders to raise the minimum to $15 an hour, but now I need your help. Can you take a few minutes to share your story about surviving on low wages?
Courage (and solidarity),
Rep. Alan Grayson
Candidate for U.S. Senate
Marco fiddles, while America burns
America is at a tipping point.
Will we be a nation with a strong middle class, or a nation of wage slaves and cheap labor? Will we be a nation of the well-educated, or a nation where a college degree means lifelong debt? Will we be a nation where the wealthy pay their fair share, or a nation where Warren Buffett’s secretary pays taxes at a higher rate than he does? Will we be a nation where seniors live in dignity, or a nation where they live in poverty? Will we be a nation of perpetual war, or a nation at peace?
Marco Rubio, my Senator, doesn’t care. The Senate bores him. He can’t be bothered to show up and vote.
Marco Rubio has given up on doing his job, because he thinks he’s found a better one: United States President. It’s disgusting to see him miss so many votes (a third!), and still cash that paycheck of almost $15,000/month in taxpayer dollars.
Don’t think this is some Alan Grayson Partisan Crusade™ to attack some Republican whom I don’t like. Showing up for work is not a partisan issue. The Sun Sentinel, which endorsed both Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio in the past, has joined my call in asking Rubio to resign. He says he hates the Senate, and he isn’t showing up for the job. Fine — then just do us a favor, Marco, and quit.
A Senate seat is a terrible thing to waste. Add your name to my petition on ResignRubio.com demanding that Marco resign today >>
Maybe Mr. Thinks-He-Should-Be-President believes that he’s too important to do the job of a mere Senator. But Senator Rubio, you have a responsibility to do your job – that’s why you run, that’s why the people elect you. Because the voters expect you to show up, do something useful, and improve the lives of 19,000,000 people who are depending on you.
Stop faking it, Marco; it’s pathetic. Demit yourself. Stand aside, step down, stand down and sign off.
Add your name to our ResignRubio.com petition today >>
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
Candidate for U.S. Senate
Cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits? Hell no!
We need to protect Social Security and Medicare from the devastating cuts being negotiated in Washington. Can you take one minute to add your name to our petition today?There’s a breaking news story from the New York Times reporting that the White House and Congressional Republicans are about to announce a deal that includes cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
I just heard the news — and I’m furious. How can the White House even think about capitulating to the Republicans, especially on vitally important programs like Social Security and Medicare? Veterans, the disabled, and our seniors rely on these programs to survive in an economy that is rigged against ordinary Americans. Things are already bad enough, and the last thing they can afford are brutal cuts at the hands of President Obama and the House Republicans.
This is why I need to be in the U.S. Senate — because I put people ahead of partisan politics, and the needs of the Wall Street cabal. If I were in the U.S. Senate, you can bet that I would filibuster this piece of trash.
Since I can’t filibuster in the House, I need you to sign our petition telling the White House and every member of Congress that cutting Social Security and Medicare is just wrong and fatal for millions of Americans. Can you add your name to our petition demanding the White House kill this terrible deal?
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
Candidate for U.S. Senate
BREAKING: Bad news on COLAs for Seniors
Help me stop the federal government from cheating seniors yet again. Become a citizen co-sponsor of my “Seniors Deserve a Raise” Act >>We got some bad news today about the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs). Let me explain .…
Since 1975, Social Security COLAs have been based upon the CPI-W, the consumer price index for urban workers. They should have been based on CPI-E, the consumer price index for the elderly, but that wasn’t calculated until the 1990’s. And it’s a big difference. Seniors spend more on healthcare than others do; the real cost of healthcare has skyrocketed since 1975. Seniors spend less on gasoline than others do; the real cost of gasoline peaked in 1981. As a result, the real value of Social Security benefits is three percent LESS today than it was in 1975.
That means that by promising to maintain the purchasing power of these earned benefits, and failing to do so, the government has cheated seniors out of $388 billion since COLAs began, and $25 billion during last year alone. That means that on average, each and every senior should be getting approximately $400 more each year in Social Security checks.
Today, based on the wrong Consumer Price Index, the Social Security Administration announced that the 2016 COLA will be zero percent. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
Cheating our seniors out of the retirement they were promised is utterly unacceptable. That’s why I filed a bill to give seniors the raise that they deserve, by fixing the COLAs. Become a citizen co-sponsor of my Seniors Deserve a Raise Act, right now>>
Fixing Social Security COLAs will ensure that millions of seniors (and the disabled, who receive the same COLAs) are getting the benefits that they deserve. $400 a year may not seem like a lot to Donald Trump and his GOP friends/butlers, but I know the difference that it can make. It can mean being able to make the mortgage or rent payments on time, being able to pay the credit card bills, or even just being able to buy groceries.
Here’s some good news: I lined up fifty other Members of Congress to be “original cosponsors” of my Seniors Deserve a Raise Act, even before I introduced it. They care. So should you.
We can get our seniors the raise they deserve, but only if you’re willing to help. Become a citizen co-sponsor of my “Seniors Deserve a Raise Act” now>>
Our seniors have done so much for us. The least we can do is keep our promise to give them the secure retirement they paid for, and earned. Thank you for your help.
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
Candidate for U.S. Senate
Six years ago, today.
Do you remember?
Six years ago today, Democrats were playing nothing but defense on health insurance reform, after months of relentless, dishonest attacks — like Sarah Palin’s absurd lie about Obamacare creating “death panels.” Yet the Republicans never introduced any plan of their own to help the 40+ million Americans who (at the time) did not have health insurance. Nor did they introduce any legislation to save the lives of 45,000 Americans who were dying each year, because they had no health coverage. In fact, when President Obama asked the House Republicans to show their healthcare plan to him, they waived blank pieces of paper at him!
Congressman Grayson had had it UP-TO-HERE, so he took to the House Floor armed with nothing but poster boards, an American flag tie, and a lot of courage.
And he did something that so few ever do in Washington, D.C. — he told the truth:
“It’s my duty and pride tonight to be able to announce exactly what the Republicans plan to do for health care in America … . It’s a very simple plan. Here it is: The Republican healthcare plan for America: ‘Don’t get sick.’
“If you have insurance, don’t get sick.
“If you don’t have insurance, don’t get sick.
“If you’re sick, don’t get sick. Just don’t get sick!”
And the GOP’s “backup plan”:
“If you do get sick, America, the Republican healthcare plan is this: 'Die quickly.’
Congressman Grayson had the courage and the guts to say what we were all thinking six years ago today – but no one else was saying. Contribute $3 or more to help us send him to the U.S. Senate, so he can keep speaking truth to power.
That speech — that moment — is classic Grayson:
· That sublime set-up.
· That devastating, monumental mockery of the Republicans.
· That funny, pointed truth.
· That invincible progressive spirit.
This speech from Congressman Grayson gave Congress the push it had to have, to pass monumental legislation like the Affordable Care Act. It rocked the GOP back on its heels, and to this day, they have to answer to Grayson’s simple question: “what’s your plan?”
Alan Grayson has shown us, time and time again, that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to stand up for us. He is the champion that we’ve loved in the House, and he is the champion we that need in the United States Senate. On this day, the anniversary of the date when Congressman Grayson told the truth about the Republican health insurance plan, let’s do WHATEVER IT TAKES to stand up for him.
Help us reach $300,000 raised online from over 15,000 online contributions, by making a contribution of $3 before midnight tomorrow >>
Show your support for a Congressman (and soon-to-be Senator) with a head, a heart, and a spine. Give today.
Courage,
Team Grayson
Shut Down the Shutdowns
Two years ago, right after the GOP shut down the federal government, I took to the House Floor to tell the Republicans exactly what the public thought of the GOP-controlled Congress:
“Dog poop.”
Well, more accurately, “worse than dog poop.”
I pointed out that, according to scientific polling, the American people have a higher of opinion of “dog poop” than Congress. Even though the Speaker of the House wouldn’t let me finish my sentence, the fact that Congress is less popular than dog poop — at this low point in American history — will forever be in the Congressional Record.
Now, you’d think being less popular than “dog poop” would be enough to motivate the Republicans to stop shutting down the government over petty political poppycock. It wasn’t, because Here We Go Again with another GOP attempt to deprive millions of Americans of healthcare by forcing a government shutdown — only this time, they’re threatening to shut down the federal government if we don’t defund Planned Parenthood. This time, their targets are only poor, sick women, not poor, sick men and women.
That’s why I introduced a bill to Shut Down the Shutdowns, and I need your help to make it law. Become a citizen co-sponsor today >>
It’s a painfully simple idea: should Congress fail to fund any federal agency, then it will continue to be funded at the existing level. Then once the GOP gets its “dog poop” together, and approves new appropriations, the funding changes. And if the GOP never gets its “dog poop” together, then at least the government stays open. Now, doesn’t that sound a whole lot better?
If this bill passes, we won’t have to worry about the Republicans’ “Freakout of the Week”™ assassinating the budget. Next time, when the GOP is trying to defund an organization that provides pap smears, cancer screening, AIDS screening, other lifesaving health services to millions of women, we can let them have their temper tantrum, and just ignore them. Like the spoiled children that they are.
Click here to help us ignore Republican temper tantrums by signing the petition to support my Shutdown the Shutdowns Act >>
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:
“It’s cruel enough to threaten to shut down the government for crass political purposes. But to threaten to shut down the government in order to deny sick people the care that they need, that’s just evil.”
That’s why “dog poop” is in the Congressional Record. Because no matter how bad it stinks, “dog poop” isn’t evil. The so-called “leaders” who want to take healthcare away from poor, sick people – they’re evil.
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
Candidate for U.S. Senate
I'm saying what you're thinking
On Thursday night, I joined Chris Hayes on MSNBC to talk about the movement that we’re building around the country, and what it means to be a real Democrat with guts:“People have told me over and over and over again that I’m saying what they’re thinking, what no one else is saying. Those people who say that they are good solid Democrats. They’re champions of justice, equality, and peace.”
So am I — and that’s what we need in the U.S. Senate right now, another leader like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. They who aren’t afraid to take the fight to Wall Street, and speak truth to power about the important issues we’re facing as a nation. That’s who I am — and that’s the kind of United States Senator I’ll be.
Your contribution of $3 is urgently needed before midnight tonight to match the money Wall Street bankers are spending to defeat me >>
While our campaign has built incredible momentum — we are leading the nation in small-dollar contributions — Wall Street is doubling down on its support of my opponent’s campaign. And the more momentum and People Power we build, the harder and harder they’re going to come after us.
That’s one of the reasons we need to reach this 5,000 donor goal tonight — to show them the power and depth of the movement we’re building.
Show Wall Street what you’re made of, with a $3 contribution today >>
Don’t let Goldman Sachs and the Wall Street bankers buy another election — join our campaign to elect a bold, progressive Senator with Guts.
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
Candidate for U.S. Senate
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Member since: Sat May 22, 2010, 01:02 PMNumber of posts: 485
