Letters to Sanders, Clinton, and OMalley about being bold on

economic populism issues in the October 13 presidential debate

----------------------------Sent from 3 national Warren wing progressive organizations on Thursday, Oct
8:
PCCC, Democracy for America, and MoveOn
Dear Senator Sanders,
As three national progressive movement organizations, we wanted to wish you well in the
upcoming October 13 Democratic presidential debate and put high on your radar some
economic populism issues that our combined 10 million members hope to hear you pro-actively
bring up and address thoroughly during the debate.
Debt-free college. You have embraced debt-free college for students who attend all public
colleges and universities and laid out your own plan to achieve it. Debt-free college is critically
important for our nations future and polling shows it is one of the most motivational issue for
voters. We urge you to pro-actively discuss the idea that students should be able to graduate
college with zero debt early in the debate.
Expand Social Security. You embraced expanding Social Security early on. The days of
Democrats proposing cuts are close to over, and the debate is now about how to best help
millions of our grandparents and veterans by expanding Social Security benefits. Polling shows
expanding Social Security is also a political winner for Democrats, and we urge you to proactively discuss this issue early in the debate.
Wall Street. You have proposed major Wall Street reform, criminal accountability for Wall
Street executives who break the law, and appointments who will hold Wall Street accountable.
We urge you to pro-actively discuss these popular Wall Street topics early in the debate. Wed
especially urge you to explain why Elizabeth Warren is right when she calls for breaking up Too
Big To Fail banks and appointing a Treasury Secretary, Attorney General, SEC Chair, economic
advisors, and other key positions who will hold Wall Street accountable.
Black Lives Matter. You've put forward a platform designed to address the structural racism
faced by black and brown people in this country -- including ending for-profit prisons, a priority
that connects racial justice and economic populism. You've also acknowledged that life-ordeath racial justice issues -- such as a broken criminal justice system and police officers who
abuse their power -- need to be solved in order for people to live their lives and have a chance
at economic opportunity. We urge you to speak boldly about racial justice in the upcoming
debate, citing specific policies that protect and value the lives of people of color.
The above big ideas include some of the top economic-populist priorities of the modern
progressive movement ones that TV moderators are still learning about and often overlook.
Because these issues are important to millions of families and are key to motivating voters, we
urge a special pro-active approach to elevating them in the debate.
It is likely that other important issues will come up that are currently front and center in the
news such as gun safety, the attacks on Planned Parenthood, big money influence in our
politics, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Iran and Syria. We hope that you and others give
detailed answers in favor of strong gun laws, firmly supporting womens health, firmly
supporting campaign finance reform, firmly opposing a TPP written by and for big corporations,
and for diplomacy instead of wars of choice.

The topics you pro-actively elevate, and your substantive answers to questions, will impact
which issues dominate the 2016 election. Millions of people are looking for your leadership in
these areas.
Sincerely,
Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Democracy For America, MoveOn.org

Dear Governor OMalley,

As three national progressive movement organizations, we wanted to wish you well in the
upcoming October 13 Democratic presidential debate and put high on your radar some
economic populism issues that our combined 10 million members hope to hear you pro-actively
bring up and address thoroughly during the debate.
Debt-free college. You have embraced debt-free college for students who attend all public
colleges and universities and laid out your own plan to achieve it. Debt-free college is critically
important for our nations future and polling shows it is one of the most motivational issue for
voters. We urge you to pro-actively discuss the idea that students should be able to graduate
college with zero debt early in the debate.
Expand Social Security. You embraced expanding Social Security early on. The days of
Democrats proposing cuts are close to over, and the debate is now about how to best help
millions of our grandparents and veterans by expanding Social Security benefits. Polling shows
expanding Social Security is also a political winner for Democrats, and we urge you to proactively discuss this issue early in the debate.
Wall Street. You have proposed major Wall Street reform, criminal accountability for Wall
Street executives who break the law, and appointments who will hold Wall Street accountable.
We urge you to pro-actively discuss these popular Wall Street topics early in the debate. Wed
especially urge you to explain why Elizabeth Warren is right when she calls for breaking up Too
Big To Fail banks and appointing a Treasury Secretary, Attorney General, SEC Chair, economic
advisors, and other key positions who will hold Wall Street accountable.
Black Lives Matter. You've put forward a platform designed to address the structural racism
faced by black and brown people in this country -- including moving away from for-profit
prisons, a priority that connects racial justice and economic populism. You've also
acknowledged that life-or-death racial justice issues -- such as a broken criminal justice system
and police officers who abuse their power -- need to be solved in order for people to live their
lives and have a chance at economic opportunity. We urge you to speak boldly about racial
justice in the upcoming debate, citing specific policies that protect and value the lives of people
of color.
The above big ideas include some of the top economic-populist priorities of the modern
progressive movement ones that TV moderators are still learning about and often overlook.
Because these issues are important to millions of families and are key to motivating voters, we
urge a special pro-active approach to elevating them in the debate.
It is likely that other important issues will come up that are currently front and center in the
news such as gun safety, the attacks on Planned Parenthood, big money influence in our
politics, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Iran and Syria. We hope that you and others give
detailed answers in favor of strong gun laws, firmly supporting womens health, firmly
supporting campaign finance reform, firmly opposing a TPP written by and for big corporations,
and for diplomacy instead of wars of choice.
The topics you pro-actively elevate, and your substantive answers to questions, will impact
which issues dominate the 2016 election. Millions of people are looking for your leadership in
these areas.
Sincerely,
MoveOn.org

Progressive Change Campaign Committee

Democracy For America

Dear Secretary Clinton,

As three national progressive movement organizations, we wanted to wish you well in the
upcoming October 13 Democratic presidential debate and put high on your radar some
economic populism issues that our combined 10 million members hope to hear you pro-actively
bring up and address thoroughly during the debate.
Debt-free college. You have embraced debt-free college for students who attend all public
colleges and universities and laid out your own plan to achieve it. Debt-free college is critically
important for our nations future and polling shows it is one of the most motivational issue for
voters. We urge you to pro-actively discuss the idea that students should be able to graduate
college with zero debt early in the debate.
Expand Social Security. You have said you are open to expanding Social Security. The days of
Democrats proposing cuts are close to over, and the debate is now about how to best help
millions of our grandparents and veterans by expanding Social Security benefits. Polling shows
expanding Social Security is also a political winner for Democrats, and we urge you to proactively discuss expanding Social Security benefits and never cutting them early in the
debate.
Wall Street. You have endorsed Wall Street reforms and criminal accountability for Wall Street
executives who break the law and promised to appoint and empower regulators who
understand that too big to fail is still too big a problem. We urge you to pro-actively discuss
these popular Wall Street topics early in the debate. Wed especially urge you to explain why
Elizabeth Warren is right when she calls for breaking up Too Big To Fail banks and appointing a
Treasury Secretary, Attorney General, SEC Chair, economic advisors, and other key positions
who will hold Wall Street accountable.
Black Lives Matter. You've put forward a platform designed to address the structural racism
faced by black and brown people in this country. You've acknowledged that life-or-death racial
justice issues -- such as a broken criminal justice system and police officers who
abuse their power -- need to be solved in order for people to live their lives and have a chance
at economic opportunity. We urge you to speak boldly about racial justice in the upcoming
debate, citing specific policies that protect and value the lives of people of color. We also urge
you to explicitly address for-profit prisons, a problem that connects racial justice and economic
populism.
The above big ideas include some of the top economic-populist priorities of the modern
progressive movement ones that TV moderators are still learning about and often overlook.
Because these issues are important to millions of families and are key to motivating voters, we
urge a special pro-active approach to elevating them in the debate.
It is likely that other important issues will come up that are currently front and center in the
news such as gun safety, the attacks on Planned Parenthood, big money influence in our
politics, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Iran and Syria. We hope that you and others give
detailed answers in favor of strong gun laws, firmly supporting womens health, firmly
supporting campaign finance reform, firmly opposing a TPP written by and for big corporations,
and for diplomacy instead of wars of choice.
The topics you pro-actively elevate, and your substantive answers to questions, will impact
which issues dominate the 2016 election. Millions of people are looking for your leadership in
these areas.
Sincerely,

Democracy For America

MoveOn.org
Progressive Change Campaign Committee