In The News
Wondering what’s next?
While Iowa’s election results have us reeling this morning, we want to talk about the presidential race. Joe Biden is ahead in total votes and is surging in key battleground states where ballots are being counted, right now, by local election workers. These votes represent our voices. And our voices will be heard. Our work is clear: we have to come together to demand every vote is counted. If our democratic process is respected, the presidential race will be a resounding win for the people. We’re seeing a red-to-blue shift in presidential vote totals, and that’s what we expected: Joe Biden urged his supporters to vote early while Donald Trump cast doubts on the security of early and absentee ballots and promoted unsafe day-of voting crowds. That means that votes for Trump were tallied first, while many of the ballots being counted now are significantly shifting the total towards Biden. Trump’s conspiracy theories, lies, and...
read moreJoin us for election analysis and actions Nov. 3 – 7
Updated 11/6/2020 Together, we must demand that our election officials protect our sacred right to vote and take the time to count every ballot. We have to stick together to ensure that voters decide the winners of this election and no one else. Iowa CCI Action has joined Democracy Defenders Iowa—a broad coalition of groups committed to standing up, speaking out, and protecting our democracy ahead of, during, and after the election. The people can prevail, but it’s up to us. No system or process can save us. November 7 – Prepared to Mobilize – Voters Decide Rallies SAVE THIS DATE! In America, our elections are decided by voters, not by fiat or decree. Everyone’s vote must be counted. Attempts to selectively stop some votes from being counted is disgusting and unAmerican – and must be met with massive pushback. This isn’t a moment to “wait and see.” We have to raise our voices. We can’t let Trump cheat his way out of losing. We...
read moreA “New Deal” for the caregiving workforce
As a CCI Action member and supporter, I remember feeling excited learning about Caring Across Generations at CCI Action’s Sept. 21, 2019 People’s Presidential Forum. We heard stories of family members whose lives are put on hold as they care for older and very young family members. We learned about this multiracial, multi-generational movement to transform the way we care so that everyone providing and receiving care can do so with dignity. We put the presidential candidates on notice about what we wanted as an important plank in a people-and-planet-first platform. Well, even though Joe Biden did not attend that forum or speak at our convention, his campaign has released a plan that starts to address this critical issue. That is what our CCI Action movement politics does: it puts policies above the politician. Among the ripples we started, and the promises Joe’s opponents made on the stage last fall, I am sure our voices were heard and contributed to this plan. And...
read moreEXPOSED: State Senator obstructs Iowans’ first amendment rights for personal gain
Iowa CCI Action and Food & Water Action file ethics complaint against Senator Rozenboom for conflict of interest in the recent ag-gag legislation Des Moines, IA — Today, members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action Fund (Iowa CCI Action) and Food & Water Action (FWA) filed an ethics complaint against Senator Ken Rozenboom (R-Oskaloosa) after the Senator abused his authority by sponsoring and strengthening support for an amendment to add ag-gag provisions to Senate File 2413, a COVID-19 response bill. The organizations’ virtual press conference can be found here. On June 5, in the midst of a global pandemic and nationwide protests against police violence, the Iowa Senate passed legislation, Senate File 2413, designed to address impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic but containing a buried provision that makes trespassing on a “food operation,” such as a factory farm, an aggravated misdemeanor. This will stifle the first amendment rights of...
read moreIowa’s 2020 US Senate Democratic Primary Candidate Survey
This spring, CCI Action’s Movement Politics team of volunteers drafted a set of questions for our Democratic candidates for Senate. These questions are meant to clarify how the candidates think about issues important to working people — including healthcare, climate change, immigration, racial justice, education, and money in politics. Kimberly Graham and Eddie Mauro responded to our survey and their responses are available below. Theresa Greenfield and Michael T. Franken chose not to respond to our questionnaire. At Iowa CCI, We believe in doing politics differently, that puts people and the planet first. We know that big social change has always come from the ground. No one person or candidate is going to move our agenda for us. Elections are one tool that can move issues forward. No matter who wins the June 2 primary, we’ll be there to hold them accountable and make sure they put people and our planet before the profits of big corporations. However you...
read moreThat’s a caucus win, in several ways
The caucus results are in, finally. Our endorsed candidate Bernie Sanders takes victory in Iowa! It’s clear that Sen. Sanders won both rounds of popular votes in the caucuses. The likely result is that Bernie and Mayor Buttigieg will get the same number of delegates to the DNC. (The state delegate equivalent metric being used to tout a paper-thin lead over Sanders is the least important metric in the Iowa caucuses.) Take a minute to celebrate the power of organized people and bold ideas, over the power of big money! We’re energized by the other numbers that keep rolling in: 60% of caucus goers support Medicare for All and replacing private insurance with a single-payer system. 92% of caucus goers support The Green New Deal.Youth voter participation jumped 33% from 2016. Several articles show Sanders with strong support was from immigrants and people of color. And, with...
read moreIowa Caucus: We The People Won Big
It’s been a frustrating 12 hours without caucus results, but I know we made history last night. In Iowa, we kicked off incredible momentum that will carry the groundswell of voters who want Medicare for All, Clean Water, the Green New Deal, and Free College for All into New Hampshire next week, and on to the rest of the country. We caucused for ourselves and our loved ones. We caucused for folks who came before us and for generations to follow. We caucused for the millions of people across the country – and the globe – who are ready to radically shift our political system away from greed to one that puts people and our planet first. We did that. There’s a lot to critique about the Iowa caucus system. For every person we talked to who was excited to go, there were parents staying home with kids, people working second shift, or folks not able to attend due to accessibility issues. But we used this “all eyes on Iowa”...
read moreLarge Billboard Demands Rep. Fisher Protect Iowa’s Water
Iowa CCI Action and Food & Water Action put up billboard calling for end of factory farming For Immediate release: January 21, 2020 Contact: Ava Auen-Ryan, ava@iowacci.org (515) 282-0484Jackie Filson, jfilson@fwwatch.org, (202) 863-2538 Tama County, IA – A billboard went up yesterday on highway 30 heading east near Tama, IA, calling on Rep. Dean Fisher to protect Iowan’s right to clean water and an end to unsustainable and harmful factory farms. The billboard includes a link to a website created by Iowa CCI Action Fund that details the growing clean water and factory farm crisis in Iowa. Iowa contains over 10,000 factory farms and 767 impaired waterways. A moratorium is the first step toward creating a better food and farm system –one that works for everyone — farmers, workers, eaters and the environment. Last year, Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour), the chair of the Environmental Protection Committee, refused to assign HF 203, a bill...
read more“Public Option” doesn’t guarantee healthcare for all
Cherie Mortice, CCI Action Fund Board President. Originally appeared in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. What’s our biggest health care issue? Cost. Many of us worry whether we can afford to go to the doctor we like or get the care we need. And there’s numerous proposals by current Democratic candidates for President aimed at addressing that concern, but only one that truly gets to the heart of the problem. Proposed solutions like John Delaney’s “BetterCare,” or Pete Buttigieg’s “Medicare for All Who Want It,” or introducing a new public insurance plan alongside the for-profit insurers (the “public option”) may sound nice, but do not control costs. And it leaves open the door for private insurers to game the system by offering bare-bones plans to healthy individuals, further burdening our public system. Only an all-in system will truly control costs and address the insecurity we feel within our current system. In the name of political expediency, these...
read moreToday’s the day!
Hello Friends, Today is a big day for us. We’re kicking off our annual 5-day team fundraising campaign! We’re asking you to join us as we build people-fueled political power in Iowa. I think you’ll agree—2020 is going to be an important year for the future of Iowa…and nationally. That’s why I’m asking you to dig really deep this year to support CCI Action! Our goal: raise $45,000 in the next 5 daysDonors want to start things off BIG. We’ve got a $5,000 match! Donate today—it’s like giving twice! Big social change has always come from the ground up, not the top down. That’s why our work together – on the ground, in Iowa, 365 days a year, year after year – is so important! We’re fighting for clean water, healthcare for all, racial justice, and clean energy. We’re determined to take our country back from corporations...
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