Chris Larson Announced For The US Senate Today

This morning, Wisconsin state Senator Chris Larson announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Trumpist extremist Ron Johnson, a far right self-funder. I've known Chris for a decade. I met him because I'm on the board People for the America Way and Chris was one of the most progressive activists of PFAW's Young Elected Officials. That year, as Democratic minority leader of the Wisconsin state Senate, Chris led a walk-out by Democrats in an attempt to prevent the state's governor, an anti-union fanatic, from dealing another blow to public sector unions. At the time, Chris wrote a note to PFAW members thanking them for the support for his efforts. It's worth reading today as he launches his campaign. He noted in this excerpt that if that bill were to pass "the balance in our society will again tilt to the powerful over the powerless. The ability to organize and get fair treatment are qualities that built our country. This is what the last generation fought for in the 60s and the 70s to make sure we all had a better life. If this bill moves forward in Wisconsin, rights in all America we have grown to take for granted will no longer be so reliable. Workers will no longer be able to work as a group to negotiate anything besides wages... It is an unprecedented attack on workers, their communities and our tradition of working with labor to move our state forward."

Years later, PFAW's then-president Michael Keegan wrote that "People For the American Way has witnessed Larson’s career as a public servant blossom for nearly a decade. Larson’s political career began in 2008 at the age of 27 as a Milwaukee County Supervisor. Two years later, he was elected as a state senator. During that time, he’s demonstrated his ability to get the work done on the issues that matter most to the people of Wisconsin, like funding for public schools; accessible, affordable health care; clean water and workers’ bargaining rights. For example, in 2011, when Republican legislators pushed a bill that would virtually kill Wisconsin’s public-sector unions, Larson didn’t back down. Instead, he stood up for working Wisconsinites and led a nearly month-long walkout with 13 other Democratic state senators. The 'fighting 14' left the state, leaving the Senate one vote shy of a quorum and inspiring tens of thousands of working Wisconsinites to join them in protest. An estimated 100,000 convened again to thank the senators upon their homecoming. The most prominent refrain at that rally? 'This is what democracy looks like.'"

I met Chris around the same time I met another Young Elected Official activist, Kyrsten Sinema, then an Arizona state legislator. Both were Ironman Triathlon athletes and both talked about progressive politics. It was obvious, at least to me, that one was the deal deal and the other, a self-serving crackpot with no values whatsoever beyond careerism. That one is in the US Senate now; the other-- the actual progressive with the receipts to prove it-- announced his candidacy today. People for the American Way has a great deal to be proud of in how Chris Larson has turned out as a young leader. If you haven't done so yet, please watch the launch video up top. Or perhaps you might want to watch this clip from an interview Chris did with Brave New Films in 2015:

Chris' brand new campaign website lays out his platform very clearly and without any beating around the bush-- and it is anything but a standard garden variety Democratic Party platform-- no GOP-lite here; it's all about progressive values and the agenda that makes the Democratic Party the preferable of the two we have in this country.

Please look through it and if you agree that we need more members of the Senate who are proud to say this is what they stand for-- and who have a record of already fighting for these things... please consider tapping on the Blue America 2022 Senate thermometer on the left and contributing what you can to Chris' campaign. I already did this morning. None of this is going to happen by electing conservative or scared-of-their-own-shadows Democrats. We need mean nd women like Chris Larson in the Senate to make this real:

Medicare For All

Wealth Tax

• tax wealth, not work

• equal pay for equal work

• end corporate extortion

• rein in Wall Street

Green New Deal

• end fossil fuel subsidies

• support sustainable farming

• protect our children's health

Legalize Marijuana

Rural Broadband

Support Families

• $15 minimum wage

• paid family leave

• affordable childcare

Criminal Justice Reform

• Justice in policing

Cut Military Spending

Education

• quality education for every child

• universal pre-k

• cancel student loan debt

• debt-free college

The Biden Agenda

• build back better from the pandemic

• PRO Act

• For the People Act

Good Government

• campaign finance reform

• end the filibuster

• end gerrymandering

• protect the vote