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Democrats lost on Tuesday, as widely predicted. But for months, pundits got wrong what Democrats would need to win.

There was rumor that youth turnout, Latino turnout, and cutting-edge Get Out The Vote practices would tip the balance in close races. But when “close” elections are decided by 7 to 12 points, something much bigger is happening.

Pundits say President Obama was unpopular. Score one for the pundits. But the critical question is: Why was the president so unpopular?

Did voters not show up because of Syria, Obamacare, or Ebola? No.

Was President Obama proposing some big liberal idea, sparking backlash? No. It’s hard to remember the last time the President offered a big idea.

Jobs and economic security are consistently the top issues voters say they care about in red, purple, and blue states. But Democrats did not have a united economic agenda in this election.

Voters did not wake up on Election Day thinking that their ability to have a job, have affordable college education, or to retire with security was at stake. It was a Seinfeld-ian election about nothing. And nothing does not inspire potential voters to vote. In the absence of big ideas, Democrats lost.

Sen. Majority LeaderAi??HarryAi??ReidAi??sent a fundraising email to the PCCC’s nearly 1 million members nationwide yesterday saying that aAi??Senate Republican Majority would “hold our government hostage in order to pressure President Obama to swallow right-wing policies.”

Sen.Ai??ReidAi??urged PCCC members to supportAi??Ai??Mark Udall (CO-Sen), Bruce Braley (IA-Sen), and Mark Begich (AK-Sen) to help Democrats keep the Senate and avoid a Republican Majority.

In addition to raising the prospect ofAi??impeachmentAi??in a Republican Senate,Ai??ReidAi??spoke publicly about expanding Social Security benefits for the first time ever.

Check out Sen. Reid’s email:

———- Forwarded message ———-
From:Ai??Sen. Majority LeaderAi??HarryAi??Reid
Date: Wed, Oct 29, 2014
Subject:Ai??I need these three

Mary,

In 6 days, the fate of the final two years of the Obama administration will be determined.

Either House Speaker John Boehner and a new Senate Republican Majority hold our government hostage in order to pressure President Obama to swallow right-wing policies.

Or, we shock Karl Rove, the Koch Brothers, and many pundits like we did on Election Night 2012 — and have a Democratic Senate that puts hard-working Americans first.

I need Mark Udall (Colorado), Bruce Braley (Iowa), and Mark Begich (Alaska) to win their elections. All three races are neck and neck.

If you want Democrats to keep our Senate majority, please donate $3 to their campaigns. Please do it right away.

Udall, Braley, and Begich stand with me in opposing cuts to Social Security. In the red state of Alaska, Begich is narrowly leading after campaigning to expand Social Security benefits.

Americans are struggling. They need a government that actually tries to solve problems.But Republicans have already shown they have zero interest.

Frankly, a Republican House and Senate could go beyond shutting down the government — they could waste months of our lives onAi??impeachment.Ai??And every month that goes by without solutions, struggling Americans are in pain.

Join me …

PCCC’s Call Out the Vote program just blew past another huge milestone: 2 million calls to voters in key states and districts, so far in 2014.

With 12Ai??days left until Election Day, the PCCC is on trackAi??pass its 2012 record ofAi??more than 2 million calls to voters on behalf of progressive candidates including over 574,000 calls for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). In its first year of operation in 2010, COTV made over 1 million calls to voters.Ai??The PCCC is going big with the goal of achieving 4 million calls for top progressive candidates by Election Day.

PCCC members have contributedAi??over $1.37 million through 179,000 donations to “Elizabeth Warren wing” candidates this cycle — including over $338,000 through over 43,000 grassroots donationAi??to majority makersAi??Mark Udall, Bruce Braley, Rick Weiland, Al Franken, and Jeff Merkley.

“These are candidates who will fight to takeAi??on Wall Street, get Big Money out of politics,Ai??reduce student loan debt, andAi??expand Social Security benefits,” says Stephanie Taylor, PCCC co-founder. “The PCCC’s unique infrastructure is helpingAi??progressives win, and win progressively, with people-powered campaigns.”

Members are pulling out all the stops to push progressives to victory on November 4. Check out the top candidates COTV is making calls for:

204,000+Ai??calls forAi??Paul Clements (MI-6)
187,000+ calls for progressive majority makerAi??Rick Weiland (SD-Sen)
176,000+Ai??calls for progressive majority makerAi??Al Franken (MN-Sen)
170,000+ calls forAi??Shenna Bellows (ME-Sen)
137,000+ calls forAi??big progressive primary winnerAi??Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12)
91,000+ calls forAi??Alan Grayson (FL-9)
46,000+ calls for progressive majority makerAi??Jeff Merkley (OR-Sen)
40,000+ calls for progressive majority makerAi??Bruce Braley (IA-Sen)Ai??
40,000+Ai??calls for progressive majority makerAi??Mark UdallAi??(CO-Sen)
26,000+ calls for big progressive primary winnerAi??Pat Murphy (IA-1)

We’ve shattered our 2012 record of 2 million calls, and we still have two weeks to go. Progressive candidates need your help! Here are some of the top progressive candidates that COTV is helping:

Rick Weiland in South …

We’re pulling out all the stops for bold progressive Bruce Braley in Iowa, who is running one of the most closely-watched and tightest races in the country that could decide control of the Senate.

The latest poll shows Braley up by a single point.

According to PCCC co-founder, Stephanie Taylor, the path to winning the Senate runs through Iowa. And PCCC members are sparing no effort to help Bruce win.

In the last 24 hours, the PCCC’s Call Out The Vote program has made 23,671 calls to voters in support of Braley. In total, the COTV program has made over 1.5 million phone calls to voters on behalf of bold progressive candidates across the country ai??i?? including Senate candidates Mark Udall (CO), Rick Weiland (SD), Al Franken (MN), Jeff Merkley (OR), and others.

Our members have raised more than $69,000 for Braley from 10,470 grassroots donations across the country. The PCCC has raised more than $1.3 million for candidates this cycle from over 179,000 small-dollar donations.

The Iowa race could be decided by just a few hundred voters. PCCC is searching for every single vote, and we need your help to do it.

Can you sign up to call out the vote for progressive majority makers like Bruce Braley?

With just under a month to go beforeAi??November 4, let’s talk about the centerpiece of our plan to win major progressive victories and keep a Democratic Senate.

It’s the PCCC’s cutting-edge Call Out The Vote program (COTV).

It has three parts:

Calls from the PCCC’s Election Headquarters
National volunteers, calling from home (and house parties)
Local volunteers, calling from target districts

In 2010, we made 1 million calls. In 2012, we made 2 million.

In 2014, COTV has made over 1 million calls already, and we’re going big with the goal of achieving 4 million calls for top progressive candidates by Election Day.

PCCC members have helped 5 Elizabeth Warren wing candidates defeat more conservative opponents in tough primary battles this cycle: Ruben Gallego (AZ-7), Brian Schatz (HI-Sen), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Mike Honda (CA-17), and Pat Murphy (IA-1).

Other incumbents and candidates PCCC members are helping across the finish line include Al Franken (MN-Sen), Jeff Merkley (OR-Sen), Rick Weiland (SD-Sen), Bruce Braley (IA-Sen), Shenna Bellows (ME-Sen), Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1), Rick Nolan (MN-8), Alan Grayson (FL-8), Keith Ellison (MN-5), Michael Eggman (CA-10), and Kelly Westlund (WI-7).

PCCC volunteers made over 574,000 calls for Elizabeth Warren in 2012. Our COTV program is the single-most effective tool we have in an election year.

It’s how we make people power match and surpass corporate power in elections. The Super PACs and the Koch brothers can’t do this — only we can.

The reason it’s so effective is that with our new dialing technology, we can contact a ton of voters in a very short amount of time. We’ve nearly doubled the amount of contacts we can make compared with past elections.

It really is that much of a game changer. But don’t take our word for it. Here’s what big primary winners and bold progressives elected to Congress …

PCCC-endorsed Zephyr Teachout won a stunning 34.3% of the vote in what the New York Times is calling a “surprisingly potent liberal revolt” and “an embarrassing rebuke” to Governor Andrew Cuomo, adding that it could “put a sizable dent in any national aspirations he may hold.”

This is a victory for progressives everywhere. Andrew Cuomo’s corrupt economic policies hurt New York working families. In a few short weeks, Zephyr Teachout gave Andrew Cuomo the race of his political life — even though she was outspent 11-to-1, and fueled only by the hands and hearts of her supporters.

The national message for politicians is clear. If you run as a Democrat and govern as a Republican, you can be challenged and held accountable.

We are proud to announce our endorsement of Ruben Gallego, who is running for Congress in Arizona!

Ruben is an Iraq veteran and state legislator. He is also a young activist who has worked to increase the number of Latino voters and led fights for worker rights, immigration reform, marijuana legalization, and marriage equality.

He supports expanding Social Security benefits and taking on the student debt crisis.

Ruben Gallego is a bold reformer committed to aAi??constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United and the Government By The People Act — a bill would create a system where small-dollar donations will be matched with public funds to gives a $100 donation from a high school teacher the same weight as aAi??lobbyist who contributesAi??$700.

Read more on Ruben’s website:

Ai??Ai??

And check out Ruben’s responses to our questionnaire:

Ruben faces a tough primary on August 26th against a more conservative opponent.

Most importantly, Ruben and his team are building infrastructure. They have built an amazing grassroots movement of young people who are knocking on doors every day. They aren’t just trying to win a congressional race. They are trying to build progressive power in Arizona.

This is a safe Democratic district — so it’s important that a true progressive win the election.

Ruben has received numerous endorsements, including from Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Planned Parenthood, The Sierra Club, MoveOn.org, VoteVets.org, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and a dozen unions and labor organizations.

The Progressive …

“Candidates for sale turn to K Street lobbyists for help; candidates with a conscience turn to the PCCC. The PCCC is the foundation of a future America based upon the fundamental principles of justice, equality, and peace.”
–Ai??Congressman Alan Grayson (FL-9)

This is what Congressman Grayson had to say as we reached a big fundraising milestone this week:Ai??overAi??$1,000,000 raised directly from 122,851 small-dollar donationsAi??for progressive candidates and campaigns this cycle.Ai??Our milestone has already been covered by NBC, CNN, Politico, and the Washington Post, and many more.

Raising this kind of money is what helped us elect Alan Grayson to the U.S. House and Elizabeth Warren to the U.S. Senate in 2012.Ai??If we keep this up, we’ll be able to elect over a dozen Warren and Grayson allies to Congress in 2014.Ai??We’ll show the country that the path to winning elections — and keeping the Senate –Ai??is to campaign and govern on an economic populist agenda including Wall Street reform, expanding Social Security benefits, and reducing student debt.

Pooling our money for candidates together through the PCCC is helping us to advance a bold progressive agenda in a way that we never could before.Ai??A dollar from us goes a lot further than a dollar from a billionaire or a big corporation because it represents people powerAi??– and with it comes actions, calls, campaign support, and progressive energy that no one else can provide.

Now is the time to pour it on. Candidates like Senator Al Franken are being attacked every day, and the last Democratic primaries are coming up in the next few weeks.Ai??Bold progressive candidates need an infusion of money and support now to help them continue to build their grassroots campaigns.Ai??Ai??

Help get the word outAi??on FacebookAi??andAi??Twitter.

(Then, donate $4 to help finish …

The Supreme Court ruledAi??that private corporations can deny contraception to workers — in violation of the insurance requirements under Obamacare. (Hobby Lobby vs. Sebelius)

The Court also voted 5-4 to assault and defund public employee unions.

This follows other right-wing decisions from the Roberts Court — such asAi??Citizens United and overturning of the Voting Rights Act.

Elizabeth Warren made clear last week that “the federal government can still take a wide varietyAi??of other steps” to reverse the impact of Supreme Court rulings.Ai??

But that won’t happen if Republicans seize the Senate and grow their power in the House.

Click here to donate $1 or more to Al Franken, Shenna Bellows, Kelly Westlund, Alan Grayson and other top progressives on the ballot in November.

We only support true progressives who will fight to reverse right-wing extremism.

They can winAi??with our help.

Republican leaders are gloating about yesterday’s Supreme Court assault on women and workers.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, “Obamacare is the single worst piece of legislation to pass in the last 50 years, and I was glad to see the Supreme Court agree” that corporations can deny contraceptive coverage to workers.

House SpeakerAi??John BoehnerAi??called today “another defeat for an administration that has repeatedly crossed constitutional lines in pursuit of its Big Government objectives.”

Elizabeth Warren made clear that Congress can take steps to reverse the impact of Supreme Court rulings.

But first, we need to make sure Warren’s allies like Sen. Al Franken, Sen. Jeff Merkley, and others win this November.Ai??

Donate $3 to our work to elect top progressives to the Senate and House — and keep Elizabeth Warren in the Senate majority.

First, Bonnie Watson Coleman won big in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District.

Later, Pat Murphy claimed victory in a critical five-way primary in Iowa’s 1st District.

Then, bold progressive Congressman Mike HondaAi??placed first against a primary opponent from the right in California’s 17th District, moving into the general election stronger than ever.

The PCCC was proud to endorse these three bold progressives in their races.

Bonnie Watson Coleman was New Jersey Assembly Majority Leader and spent her life as a fighter for the powerless. She won her primary with a bold message of ai???expanding Social Security and Medicareai??? and taxing millionaires to invest in jobs.

As Speaker of the House, Pat Murphy successfully led the fight to raise the minimum wage and ushered in universal pre-K in Iowa. He campaigned on expanding Social Security, requiring millionaires to pay their fair share, and making college affordable.
Congressman Mike Honda is one of the leading progressives in the House, and heai??i??s taken great pride in working to get more progressives elected. He beat his corporate Democrat challenger by double digits.

The PCCC and these three candidates have been great partners, leading to this week’s victories…

PCCC members made over 10,000 small-dollar donations to these candidates. Over 4,700 small-dollar donations to Bonnie Watson Coleman’s campaign — totaling over $34,000, overAi??3,300 small-dollar donations to Pat Murphy’s campaign — totaling over $16,000, andAi??nearly 3,000 small-dollar donations to Mike Honda’s campaign — totaling over $17,500.
PCCC staff helped Bonnie Watson Coleman set up her campaign from Day 1, and top PCCC staffers worked closely with Mike Honda’s team to help them run a best-practices campaign.
In April, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Pat Murphy attended the PCCC’s national candidate training in DC. In …