On Friday PFAW members and activists joined senior staff on a telebriefing about the types of priorities and tactics we can expect to see from the Right in the coming year. PFAW Communications Director Drew Courtney kicked off the call with a description of the political landscape in the wake of the midterm elections, where right-wing politicians are “now holding the levers of power in critical decision-making roles.”
Executive Vice President Marge Baker discussed the “CRomnibus” spending bill, saying that the antics we have seen during the lame duck are a microcosm of what we’re going to see in the new Congress. She noted that the harmful special interest riders snuck into the bill, such as the Wall Street giveaway and the raising of limits on contributions to political parties, are examples of the kind of “strong-arming techniques” we are likely to continue to see going forward.
Senior Fellow Peter Montgomery also joined the call, noting that the Right has a sizable agenda for the new year — one that begins with right-wing activists’ hatred of President Obama. This agenda, he said, includes repealing Obamacare, impeaching the president, resisting “to the bitter end” the advancement of marriage equality, and fighting anti-discrimination laws. Montgomery noted that in the coming year, we can expect to see GOP politicians making their already-close ties with Religious Right figures even closer.
Regional Political Coordinator Scott Foval discussed the Right’s political work at the state level. He highlighted Michigan’s state house, where in only the past couple of weeks both a “right to discriminate” bill and an electoral college-rigging bill have been moving through the legislature. Foval pointed out that this type of legislation may surface in other states across the country. The coming year will provide many opportunities for PFAW members to get involved at the state level as citizen lobbyists, he said.
Speakers underscored that the answers to all of the issues PFAW members raised on the call — from the damaging spending bill riders, to the influence of the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) at the state and local level, to the disturbing revelations from the recently-released torture report — is to organize and advocate for the values we believe in.
You can listen to the full telebriefing here: