MAY DAY This morning, folks all over the world are celebrating the international holiday that workers made with their own hands.

This morning, we Maryland progressives are fighting off the pushback of neoliberal so-called Democrats who are trying to hook up with Republicans in the Maryland General Assembly to grab the power of the House Speakership. It is happening this morning. Find out how to fight back, build power and win.

MAY DAY This morning, folks all over the world are celebrating the international holiday that workers made with their own hands.

This morning, we Maryland progressives are fighting off the pushback of neoliberal so-called Democrats who are trying to hook up with Republicans in the Maryland General Assembly to grab the power of the House Speakership. It is happening this morning.

Here’s what Progressive Maryland said to our members all over the state last night:  

This Wednesday, Maryland lawmakers will elect a new Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. The Speaker of the House sets legislative priorities, appoints committee chairs, and determines which issues will be considered by the state legislature.

The Democratic Caucus will select its candidate on Wednesday before the full House votes. Unfortunately, another candidate for the Speaker role is so determined to win that they are working with Republicans and a breakaway group of conservative corporate Democrats to get elected. Even though Maryland is pervasively Democratic, this legislator has done the numbers and knows that if he works with Republicans, he can become the next Speaker.

Click here to tell your representatives to vote for the Democratic Caucus candidate.

If Republicans choose the next speaker, we all lose. We elect our representatives to do OUR business, not accrue power for themselves at our expense. There are too many issues critical to working families -- like paid family leave, criminal justice reform, funding education, expanding healthcare, and creating an equitable and just Maryland -- to give away our power and voice to the party of Donald Trump. Maryland Republicans have consistently voted as a block to stop progress on protecting immigrants, criminal justice reform, and for higher wages for Marylanders.

Join on May 1st as we raise our voices to stand up for our democracy.
RSVP for the emergency rally in Annapolis HERE.

With Trump in the Oval Office and Larry Hogan in the governor’s mansion, it is more critical than ever to have strong Democratic leaders in Maryland to protect us. Click here to let your elected leaders know you’re watching their vote and that you support the Democratic Caucus candidate.

This is the all-hands alert for this crucial moment. Progressive Maryland and other allied organizations are making the case that building power means demanding accountability from our elected officials. Let your legislators know.

PROGRESSIVE MARYLAND’S WORK TO BUILD POWER

PREDATORY LENDING – YOUR VOICE CAN STILL BE HEARD

As of today, we are 15 days away from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) gutting the most important protection we have against predatory lending.

But you can help put a stop to this by submitting a comment to the CFPB today!

Back in 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a rule to protect borrowers of payday and car title loans. The heart of that rule established that lenders could not give out loans to people who could not afford to pay it back.

And now the CFPB wants to gut that common sense rule. For many, these short term loans lead them into a cycle of never-ending debt. This is only going to make folks who are already in a tight spot financially fall prey to predatory lending practices.  

Could you take a moment to submit a comment? To tell the CFPB: Don’t shred one of our best protections against predatory lending. The deadline is May 15.

We won back in 2016 to get these protections because over a million people decided to speak up. Please help us in making an impact this time around, by raising your voice.

Lastly, if you have personally been impacted by predatory lending practices or want to get involved in this issue, please fill out this form.

All in all, if you would like to learn more, please visit our issue page at progressivemaryland.org/fairlending. Stopthedebttrap.org is also a great resource.

Progressive Maryland’s Movement Politics Training is coming up soon and there is still time to register! 

This training is for folks interested in running for office, working on a campaign, or volunteering on one in 2020. The training will be held in Baltimore on Saturday, May 18th. Space is limited so RSVP today! We'll cover a range of topics from the process and rules of filing to run for office and how to run a campaign, including fundraising, campaign strategy, endorsements, field operations, communications, and budgeting. Click here to RSVP. You'll also learn how the political system functions, why it’s currently failing Maryland voters, and what trainees can do to change that as we get ready for the next election cycle.  If you have any questions feel free to reach out to Alexiss Kurtz, PM’s chief operating officer, at 301-684-6715 or by email at [email protected]. 

OUR CHAPTERS AROUND THE STATE

Progressive Prince George's

PMD Montgomery

Frederick County Progressives

Take Action Anne Arundel County

Progressive Howard County

Talbot Rising

Lower Shore Progressive Caucus

PMD Baltimore

EVENTS FROM OUR PROGRESSIVE ALLIES

Thursday, May 2 – Progressive Cheverly forum, “Challenging Mass Incarceration, Organizing for Criminal Justice and Police Reform in our County.” Speakers will include Qiana Johnson, Executive Director, Life After Release and Del. Erek L. Barron, (D-24) 7:00 PM, Hoyer Education Center (cafeteria) 2300 Belleview Ave. Cheverly.

Thursday, May 2 — Green New Deal Town Hall at 8 PM in the Prince George’s Room in the Stamp Student Union at UMD College Park! Sponsors include Sunrise Movement; speakers include a representative from Labor Network for Sustainability and DSA member Del. Vaughn Stewart. RSVP at: bit.ly/cpgnd  Facebook event: ter.ps/cpgnd

Wed, May 8 Video: "From Paris to Pittsburgh: The Climate for Change is Now" presented by Greenbelt Climate Action Network (GCAN) 7-9 PM, Greenbelt Community Center, Room 114 15 Crescent Road Greenbelt, MD 20770 – This 78-minute film shows how mayors, governors, community groups, businesses, and others are stepping up, embracing solutions like renewable energy and reaping benefits. Free. A National Geographic documentary from 2018.

 Baltimore progressives, Check in on Max Obuszewski’s highly useful activist calendar and tip sheet at http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

 Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our blogs for the previous weeks are shown below, but if you want a handy way to keep track – and never miss a blog post – you can sign up to get this Weekly Memo by email. Remember this is your blogspace and your participation is heartily invited. See something going on that you don’t like – or that you do like and hope to see more of? Send us your thoughts; submit to the moderator at [email protected]

We recently published these blogs:

April 30, 2019 Activists, delegates warn of trouble in Speaker contest disunity

Double bonusblog: Richard DeShay Elliott’s hopeful future for the Assembly’s Dem leadership is outlined, plus a warning from two progressive delegates about the dangers of flirting with the retrograde GOP caucus for advantage in the Speaker’s contest; ASSEMBLY VOTING IS TOMORROW, MAY 1.

April 28, 2019 Big Pharma’s own disclosures show prescription drugs are high-price, high-profit consumer ripoff

Big Pharma's claim that high research costs cause high drug prices is a lie. “Between 2006 and 2015, 18 pharmaceutical companies in the S&P 500 spent 11% more on payments to shareholders than on research and development.” People’s Action’s George Goehl and Roosevelt Center president Felicia Wong show how unregulated Big Pharma rips off desperate prescription drug consumers, and how to fix that.

April 26, 2019 People's Wave makes DC Rock April 28-30

Just a few miles downtown, member organizations of People’s Action are converging in DC this weekend to have a big, organization-wide conversation: how to bring change, big change, for working families in the US.

Progressive Maryland members will be numerous -- and active -- among them. If you aren't signed up for the event, though, there is street action as well as lobbying your representatives on tap for the April 28-30 event. Read on.

April 25, 2019 Progressive Maryland and allies – and Dem leader -- demand unified House Dem choice for speaker

Progressive Maryland and allied progressive groups have told Maryland House Democrats to stick together on choosing a new speaker or pay the price -- a clear message to deter collusion with House Republicans -- and the state Democratic Chair, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, has now echoed that imperative.

April 24, 2019 Progressive Groups Pressure Dems on Speaker Vote

 “A pact with Republicans to win” the Maryland House speakership would be “a nearly unwashable stain” on any Democratic politician, says Progressive Maryland Executive Director Larry Stafford Jr., quoted in this Maryland Matters article about the possible deviancy in the upcoming contest.

April 22, 2019 Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday, April 22, 2019

In the Weekly Memo -- alerts on Predatory Lending (a deadline to comment to the feds); our PM Movement Politics training Saturday, May 18 in Baltimore; a threat to protections against discriminatory discipline in schools; an update on the People's Action convention in DC; and more (including the week's stellar blog posts). Read on...

>>REMEMBER – these blog posts are expressions of political opinion from our wide-ranging membership and circle of allies. They are not expressions of opinion by Progressive Maryland. Don’t be surprised if they sometimes vary in their political content. You might even disagree with them – a good reason to contribute a blog of your own. Send it to the moderator, Woody Woodruff, at [email protected].

>>Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace from June 2015 through December 2016 are all available with descriptions and links here. You can follow blogs for 2017-18 starting from here