Congratulations Conor Lamb!
Special Election Update:
The short update is: Conor Lamb won the special election. The longer update is that the Saccone campaign has a bit more time to file for a recount, but the logistics of doing so are prohibitive and, even if there was one, they would just be retabulating the printouts from each precinct. The provisional and military ballots will be counted by the end of the week, but there aren't enough of them to change the outcome. Conor expects to be sworn in after the Easter recess, around April 10th.
March For Our Lives and Other Upcoming Events
March For Our Lives Pittsburgh: Saturday, March 24 starting at 11:30 am at the City County Building in downtown Pittsburgh. Show your support for the students who have risen up to take on our legislators and the NRA in order to address gun violence in this country. Find more information and RSVP here.
Nobody Is Above The Law - Robert Mueller Firing Rapid Response Event: Donald Trump and his Republican allies have been engaging in a campaign to delegitimize the Mueller investigation for months, and the recent firing of Andrew McCabe suggests the president may be moving closer to dismissing the Special Counsel. Progress 18 PA has signed up to host a rapid response protest - to be held the day of the firing, if it occurs early in the day, or the next day should it occur later. Please RSVP to this event, so you can be notified as soon as the protest is triggered! The exact details will not be known until the event becomes necessary, so please read the email, should it arrive, carefully. This event will take place at 504 Washington Road (the former office of Tim Murphy). There is also a rapid response event in Pittsburgh. You can find events by zip code here.
The New 17th District Primary Candidates Forum: 4 pm on April 8 at the Unitarian-Universalist Church of South Hills (Sunnyhill), 1240 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon. (There will be a Mt. Lebanon Rise Up general meeting, with a presentation by Moms Demand Action from 3-4 pm, which you are also welcome to attend.) Since many of us have not been following the Democratic primary race in the run against Keith Rothfus, the incumbent in the new 17th, Mt. Lebanon Rise Up, Progress 18 PA, and 412 Resistance are co-hosting a candidates forum, so those of us in the southern part of the new district can make an informed decision in the May 15th primary election. Find out more about the event and RSVP here.
Past rallies and events
11/6/17 Light Up the Vote!
On Monday, November 6 from 4:00-6:00 pm, Progress 18 PA, in cooperation with Mt. Lebanon Rise Up, 412, Resistance, Bethel Park Democrats, Upper St. Clair Democrats, and PT Citizens for Democracy, will hold a series of Light Up the Vote Rallies to remind people to show up at the polls the next day.
Where to Meet: We’ll gather according to group affiliation at 4 locations along Route 19. The idea is to have a chain of groups along this high-visibility route, reminding Democrats to vote. Please contact your group leaders to participate, and let them know that you plan to attend.
On the sidewalk in front of Dormont Village (across from Dormont Library)
on West Liberty Ave: 412 Resistance
In front of Tim Murphy’s former congressional office at 504 Washington
Road: Progress 18 PA
In the parklet at the intersection of Cochran Rd. and Washington Road: Rise Up Mt. Lebanon
Between Ordale Blvd and the Washington Rd. entrance to the Galleria: Bethel Park Democrats.
What to Bring: Bring signs to promote your favorite candidates. Also, carry lanterns, flashlights, electric candles; anything to illuminate your signs and your presence as dusk approaches (but no tiki torches!). We will try to have literature to hand out to passersby.
If you don’t belong to any of these groups, join us anyway! Questions? Email us at info@progress18pa.com.
10/31/17 The Tax Plan is a Trick!
THE TAX PLAN IS A TRICK AND THE BILLIONAIRES ARE TAKING ALL THE TREATS!
On October 31, from 4-5 pm, Progress 18 PA will be co-hosting a tax fairness rally at our old haunt, Tim Murphy's former office, 504 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon. If you have been missing our rallies, here's an opportunity to join with activists from Washington County United and One Pennsylvania to denounce the GOP tax plan, which defunds Medicare and Medicaid to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. While we have no representative, our presence on the street will still raise awareness about this important issue, and it will send a message to those who are running for the 18th District congressional seat that we want to see Medicare, Medicaid, and other important programs (like SNAP) protected!
BRING A SIGN
DRESS UP IF YOU DARE
10/9/17 Celebration
Due to the resignation of Tim Murphy, the Progress 18 PA Mondays With Murphy event scheduled for Tuesday, October 10 is CANCELLED. While we regroup, let’s take a moment to celebrate the end of Murphy’s reign as our representative. Please join us this Monday evening, October 9 at 6:30 pm at Totopo Mexican Kitchen 660 Washington Road in Mt. Lebanon.
Tim Murphy may be finished (and with him Mondays with Murphy) but Progress 18 PA is just getting started. With a special election coming up and the prospect of Guy Reschenthaler, whose politics are even worse than Murphy’s, potentially becoming our next congressman, we need to take the fight to Guy (or Kim Ward or Rick Saccone) and we need to get behind and fight for whichever Democrat runs in the special election.
If you want to be a part of the conversation to determine our next moves - or if you just want to come to celebrate the fall of our despicable legislator - please join us on Monday evening. Kindly RSVP by Sunday, October 8 by emailing info@progress18pa.com.
10/2/17 Don't sabotage the ACA
The resistance did an awesome job of defeating the GOP’s many attempts to take away our healthcare over the last six months. BUT THE SAD TRUTH IS THAT EVEN WITHOUT SUCCESSFUL LEGISLATION THE REPUBLICANS CAN STILL DESTROY THE ACA. In fact, the process of cutting away the support structures of the healthcare law is well under way. Here are some of the things being done (or not done) to undermine the individual market and Medicaid:
The administration has made no commitment to funding the cost-sharing subsidies, leading to uncertainty for insurers and an expected spike in premiums.
Donald Trump issued an Executive Order telling the IRS not to enforce the mandate.
Tom Price has drastically cut the budget for advertisement of the open enrollment period and has shortened it from three months to six weeks.
Tom Price has used taxpayer money intended to attract enrollment to create anti-ACA ads. He is being investigated for this, but meanwhile the damage is being done.
And, the House of Representatives will try to use the budget to undermine Medicaid.
Now that their last ditch effort to repeal the ACA has failed, Republicans face a choice between standing by their ideology (and harming millions of Americans) or governing. Before Graham-Cassidy resuscitated the repeal effort, there were bipartisan efforts in both houses of Congress to stabilize insurance markets.
The bipartisan working group in the House of Representative is known as the ‘Problem Solvers’ Caucus. Congressman Tim Murphy is not a ‘problem solver’ but he needs to be. Without short term fixes, the ACA will implode and millions of people will lose their insurance, including tens of thousands in the 18th District of PA, people Mr. Murphy has sworn to serve.
9/28/17 (Thursday): Special rally for a Clean Dream Act
We defeated Graham-Cassidy, a perfect example of the GOP's lack of humanty when it comes to vulnerable populations; now we have a chance to take on their efforts to erode the rights of DACA recipients by helping to pass a clean DREAM Act.
This week Democratic members of Congress began collecting signatures to circumvent the normal committee process and take a clean DREAM Act bill directly to the floor of the House. The discharge petition - which allows for this - needs 218 signatures and we are currently about 20 shy. We need Tim Murphy to support this action.
We have this moment, while Congress has not yet organized itself for its push for tax reform, to get this done. This is the best chance at winning a clean bill with no enforcement. And we can only do it the same way we won health care, with a massive show of public outrage from all fronts. If the discharge fails, we will be left with negotiations on how many deportations each dreamer's future is worth.
JOIN US AT TIM MURPHY'S MT. LEBANON OFFICE, 504 WASHINGTON ROAD AT NOON TOMORROW (SEPTEMBER 28). Let's stand up for the Dreamers the way we stood up for healthcare. Let's win this thing now.
9/25/17 (at Pat Toomey's office) Save the ACA
MONDAYS WITH MURPHY IS JOINING FORCES WITH TUESDAYS WITH TOOMEY AND OTHER HEALTHCARE ADVOCATES TO HOLD A PEOPLE'S HEARING ON GRAHAM-CASSIDY, THE WORST HEALTHCARE BILL YET!
YES, JOHN MCCAIN HAS COME TO HIS SENSES, BUT IT IS TOO SOON TO CALL IT A VICTORY. A VOTE IS STILL PLANNED THIS COMING WEEK ON THIS TERRIBLE LEGISLATION.
They're holding sham hearings in D.C. on Monday to give cover to the unacceptable -- which is that this new bill has no CBO score, it makes the same devastating cuts to Medicaid, it defunds Planned Parenthood, it repeals the ACA tax credits, cost sharing subsidies, and Medicaid Expansion, and takes from states that did expand Medicaid to give to states that refused.
Instead of our regularly scheduled rally in Mt. Lebanon, we will be meeting at Senator Pat Toomey's office, 310 Grant Street on Monday, September 25 at noon.
They're counting on our outrage fatigue and exhaustion -- and the media's, so we need to show up in force. All the other fights we have won will be meaningless if we don't win this one! Please show up with your stories and your signs.
9/18/17 Save our Healthcare / Meet Bob Solomon
RALLY TO SAVE OUR HEALTHCARE AND MEET BOB SOLOMON, CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS IN THE 18TH DISTRICT.
Like a recurring nightmare, the Republicans have come up with an amendment to their horrible healthcare legislation, the BCRA, and are considering it anew. With the supposedly moderate Graham-Cassidy amendment, this legislation turns the problem of funding healthcare back to the states. It will:
Drastically cut federal funding for Medicaid
Allow states to waive the ACA essential health benefits package, resulting in prohibitive cost increases for people with pre-existing conditions.
Allow health insurers to place annual or lifetime limits on coverage, leaving people with serious chronic illnesses, like congenital heart defects, to run out of coverage.
Eliminate the individual and employer mandate, causing many to lose their employer-sponsored health insurance and triggering a significant increase in premiums as younger, healthy people drop out of the market.
Allow insurers to charge seniors up to five times as much as younger people.
Place a one-year Medicaid reimbursement freeze on Planned Parenthood, leaving low-income women without affordable health care.
SHOULD THE BCRA/GRAHAM-CASSIDY BILL PASS, THE VOTE IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WILL BE SWIFT. CONGRESSMAN MURPHY HAS VOTED TO TAKE AWAY OUR HEALTHCARE BEFORE!
MEET AT CONGRESSMAN MURPHY’S MT. LEBANON OFFICE, 504 WASHINGTON ROAD AT 4:30 PM. THOUGH THIS WAS ORIGINALLY ADVERTISED AS A SPEECH-LESS EVENT, BOB SOLOMON, A DOCTOR AND CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS WILL ATTEND TO TALK ABOUT HEALTHCARE AND ANSWER QUESTIONS ON THAT AND OTHER ISSUES.
TIM MURPHY’S VOTE TO TAKE AWAY OUR CARE WAS INDEFENSIBLE. (As he said in his recent confession of marriage infidelity, “to the extent that there should be any blame in this matter, it falls solely upon me.”) Let him atone by joining the bi-partisan effort to improve the ACA and shore up the individual marketplace.
If Body Parts Man (George Honchar) shows up to disrupt us, we will blast some music and rally by the road with our signs.
9/16/17 South Hills Action Day (Introducing Progress 18 PA)
MONDAYS WITH MURPHY IS PARTICIPATING IN THE SOUTH HILLS ACTION DAY (AND SO SHOULD YOU).
Saturday September 16, 1-4pm, at the Mt Lebanon Municipal Building, 710 Washington Rd, Mt Lebanon.
This is a free community event, sponsored by the Mt. Lebanon Democratic Committee, to energize and mobilize Democrats in South Hills for the upcoming 2017 and 2018 elections. There will be a candidates forum for the 18th Congressional District, with Pam Iovino and Mike Crossey; a session on why the judicial races are important, with Judge David Spurgeon and judicial candidate Patrick Connelly. The day's events will also feature keynote speakers, State Rep Ed Gainey and State Rep Dan Frankel, as well as State Rep Dan Miller, Allegheny County Dem Chair Nancy Mills, and others.