New Faces of Democracy Nancy Bynum

On this episode, Nancy speaks with Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein, a Republican whose office is in charge of election operations and voter registration in the Pennsylvania city. Nancy and Seth talk about why, despite enduring threats and harassment in 2020 from members of his own party, Seth remains committed to his mission of ensuring free, secure and transparent elections for all voters. They also discuss the importance of bipartisanship, what it means to be a principled Republican today, and why Seth has recently become affiliated with the Forward Party. This conversation will leave you feeling reassured about the prospects for this year’s elections and the people who run them in Pennsylvania, where the thinnest of margins can have the largest of impacts.

On this episode, Nancy welcomes back Melissa Walker of the States Project (formerly known as Future Now). Melissa appeared on the very first episode of this podcast, when deep in Covid lockdown, she schooled us on why we should be focusing on winning state races versus focusing on big, expensive federal seats. On this episode, Melissa is back to talk about why state elections matter now more than ever, how tiny margins can create huge policy and power shifts, and why this year’s elections in Virginia are of vital importance. Melissa doesn’t sugarcoat the fight that lies ahead, but she will give you the inspiration and information you need to be a fierce and focused warrior. For more information about the States Project and how to join or start a giving circle, check out their website at statesproject.org.

This episode features a conversation with Lindsey Drath, CEO of the Forward Party, a newly formed political party that intends to bring power back to the majority of Americans and take it away from the fringes. Imagine a world in which the will of the plurality rules, where the 70-80% of Americans who support things like gun laws and abortion and climate action have their say, instead of being governed by extremists. With the support of political luminaries from both major parties, like Andrew Yang, Evan McMullin, David Jolly, and Christine Todd Whitman, the Forward Party promises to return power back to the people with a bottom up approach where communities dictate policy, not the parties. How? Through the transformative power of electoral reforms like ranked choice voting, open primaries and independent redistricting committees that motivate candidates to appeal to the majority of voters. Listen to Lindsey and decide for yourself if this is a utopian pipedream or a realistic path out of our broken and polarized political system. For more information on the Forward Party, visit their website at www.forwardparty.com.

This episode features a conversation with abortion rights activist Michelle Colon of SHERo (Sisters Helping Every Woman Rise and Organize), an organization dedicated to reproductive justice for black and brown women in Mississippi. While there’s no sugarcoating the dire state of abortion rights in our country right now, this conversation will help you pick yourself up out of your puddle of tears and start to take action. Michelle and Nancy talk about how Mississippi, with its myriad abortion restrictions, is virtually already in a post-Roe universe and how it will only get harder; the fraught history of bodily autonomy for black and brown women; and why we need to support local abortion organizations that are able to help women with the daunting amount of resources they will need when Roe is gone for good. You can donate to support Michelle's work at SHERo here. And below is Michelle’s list of other worthy grassroots groups that help women with those resources.
ARC Southeast arc-southeast.org
Indigenous Women Rising https://www.iwrising.org/abortion-fund

Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund www.msreprofreedomfund.org

New Orleans Abortion Fund
www.neworleansabortionfund.org

Tampa Bay Abortion Fund tbafund.com

National Network of Abortion Funds
abortionfunds.org

Yellowhammer Fund
www.yellowhammerfund.org

On the last episode with Stacy Kramer of Blueprint/Swing Left,  we got a bird’s eye view of why we should support grassroots groups in swing states. This week, Nancy is following up with a “boots on the ground” perspective from Diana Robinson, civic engagement director at Make the Road Pennsylvania. Diana discusses her group’s support of working class Latinx communities year in and year out, and how that translates into votes for Democrats when elections roll around. Nancy and Diana also talk about what life is like in a deeply divided battleground state like Pennsylvania, how the group’s advocacy is making a real impact, and why they need money now to knock on doors and educate voters before the elections.
To make a donation or learn more about Make the Road Pennsylvania (a 501(c)(3) organization), go to https://www.maketheroadpa.org/donate.

To make a donation or learn more about their electoral 501(c)(4) arm, Make the Road Action, go to www.maketheroadaction.org.

This episode features Stacy Kramer who first came on the podcast two years ago as a newly activated Democratic fundraiser who was making fundraising more Democratic. But after the disappointing down ballot results for Democrats in 2020, she took a hard look at what had gone wrong and realized that giving large amounts of money directly to candidates and campaigns is not a winning strategy. Now she has changed activist gears and is a consultant at Blueprint, a division of the political action group Swing Left. At Blueprint, Stacy is dedicating her time to building up local grassroots civics groups in order to build Democratic infrastructure so that Democrats can win. Stacy and Nancy talk about the law of diminishing returns when it comes to campaign giving, how Republicans have been successfully cultivating the grassroots for decades, and the expertise that Blueprint provides, giving donors the assurance that their gifts will have maximum impact. To learn more about Blueprint, go to blueprint.swingleft.org or email Stacy at stacykramer@me.com.
Stacy talks about the following resources on the podcast:

The Losing Democrats who Gobbled Up Money by Michael Sokolove in The New Republic

Kyle Spencer’s book Raising Them Right: The Untold Story of America's Ultraconservative Youth Movement--and Its Plot for Power will be published in the fall.