4-5-16

During this hour I guest host "The Leslie Marshall Show."

I'm joined by Margrete Strand Rangnes, Executive Vice President of Public Citizen. We discuss what is expected by the PCCC to be "the largest act of civil disobedience this century," 'Democracy Awakening.' 'Democracy Awakening' is an event, which will take place April 16th-18th in D.C., featuring a rally, march, teach-ins, lobbying and civil disobedience.

According to Public Citizen, the goal of 'Democracy Awakening' is to fight back against business as usual in Washington, D.C., and demand a democracy that works for everyone, not just corporations and the wealthy. The message: On voting rights, money in politics reforms and the U.S. Supreme Court, Congress is failing to do its job and ignoring the will of the people.

As of today, over 260 organizations have signed up to support or attend the landmark mobilization. Lead organizations include the American Postal Workers Union, Common Cause, Communications Workers of America, Democracy Initiative, Every Voice Center, Food & Water Watch, Franciscan Action Network, Greenpeace, NAACP, National Nurses United, People For the American Way, Public Citizen, Student Debt Crisis and U.S. PIRG.

Democracy Awakening runs April 16-18 and will call for three things:

1. Voting rights reform in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Shelby decision
2. Campaign finance reform to curb the influence of wealthy interests and corporations in elections, in response to Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United
3. A vote on the Supreme Court nominee, to help restore a functioning judiciary.

The Rev. William Barber II, leader of the N.C. Moral Monday Movement, will speak at the rally, as will Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union; radio commentator Jim Hightower; environmental activist Sandra Steingraber and civil rights activist David Goodman.

Attending the event is free and people interested in attending can find access to transportation to the event and very inexpensive housing once in D.C. by visiting http://democracyawakening.org/logistics.

Margrete Strand Rangnes has worked extensively on issues related to trade and globalization; energy policies and climate change; and workers’ rights and economic development.

She helped form the BlueGreen Alliance — a partnership of environmental and labor organizations — as well as the Our World Is Not For Sale network, which is the premier international network of organizations and campaigners working on global trade issues.
Public Citizen's Twitter handle is @Public_Citizen and their website is www.Citizen.org.

The website for 'Democracy Awakening' is www.DemocracyAwakening.org and their Twitter handle is @DemAwakening.