ON THE ISSUES
WHAT TANIA STANDS FOR
Tania is a Newer Deal Democrat. What does that mean? The original New Deal, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s signature program, was enacted during the Great Depression. It encompassed legislation that regulated business and established federal programs that created the social safety net.
The business regulations in the original New Deal included antitrust laws, which prevented the creation of monopolies that harmed competition and failed to deliver goods at fair prices. They prevented the boom-and-bust cycles associated with unregulated capitalism, which historically caused market crashes every 20 to 30 years. The programs that created a basic safety net, including Social Security, the federal minimum wage, and the Public Works Administration, provided Americans with access to jobs, a livable wage, and a secure retirement.
Unfortunately, the benefits of the New Deal were not equitably enjoyed by all citizens since sexism and racism—Jim Crow laws were still in place in the South, were predominant in our laws and our culture during that era. Nonetheless, the New Deal brought enormous benefits to our country overall. America saw the greatest expansion of the middle class and experienced the longest period of economic stability—no more boom-and-bust cycles followed by a market crash.
For more than 50 years, the regulations on businesses and antitrust laws have been weakened or repealed. The social safety net has been frayed if not outright targeted for
elimination. Tania attributes widening income inequality and the rising tension in our country to the attacks on the New Deal legislation. She believes the best way forward is to use the New Deal as a model but with discernment to ensure that the laws and programs are designed to benefit all Americans fairly.
“We need a Newer Deal. We must enact business regulations and progressive tax policies to build an economy that works for everyone, not just billionaires. We must protect and expand public programs and infrastructure to guarantee every American the opportunity to genuinely pursue life, liberty, and happiness.” - Tania Nyman
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DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
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PROTECT ELECTION INTEGRITY
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FIGHT FOR FAIR MAPS
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PROTECT VOTER ACCESS
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OVERTURN CITIZENS UNITED
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PROTECT PUBLIC EDUCATION
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FAIR WAGES
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FAIR TAXATION
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PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY
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PROTECT & EXPAND MEDICARE
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AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE
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PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT
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AFFORDABLE TUITION TO PUBLIC COLLEGES
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BAN CONGRESSIONAL STOCK TRADING
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PASS A WAR POWERS RESOLUTION
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SUPPORT EFFORTS TO REVITALIZE THE STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
PROTECT ELECTION INTEGRITY
Ensuring that ballots are counted accurately is important, but there are other equally important factors to ensure the integrity of our elections, including the adoption of fair maps, protecting voter access, and overturning the Citizens United decision.
FAIR MAPS
The principle of one person, one vote depends on fair district maps. Gerrymandering serves to dilute our voice in government. Protecting the Voting Rights Act remains a critical safeguard for equal representation. In order to ensure the constitutional principle of one person, one vote, maps of political jurisdictions must abide by key elements. Districts must be compact; contiguous; of approximately equal population size; and protect communities of interest. Districts must not be gerrymandered to “pack” minority populations into too few districts or “crack” minority populations between districts to dilute their voting strength. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) is critically important to ensure that maps abide by these principles.
PROTECT VOTER ACCESS
Democracy requires access to the ballot, not new obstacles. Efforts like the proposed SAVE Act could prevent eligible citizens from voting under the guise of fraud prevention. We must stop these attacks on voter access. Our democratic form of government demands that we ensure eligible voters’ right and ability to participate in elections. Currently that right is under attack. Under the guise of preventing voter fraud, President Trump and some Republicans are demanding the passage of the SAVE Act. This Act imposes strict new voter ID requirements that could prohibit many eligible citizens from voting in upcoming elections, including the midterm elections this fall. That Trump is demanding the implementation of such dramatic changes on such a short timeline should be worrisome to all. Married women who changed their names, for example, could find themselves turned away at the polls. We must prevent the passage of the SAVE Act and similar efforts that prohibit voter access.
OVERTURN CITIZENS UNITED
The Citizens United decision opened the door to limitless spending in our elections. Corporations and billionaire-backed groups now dominate the political process. Overturning it is essential to restoring integrity to our democracy. The Citizens United decision dramatically altered campaign finance rules, authorizing corporations and other groups to spend unlimited funds in elections. Corporations and billionaire-backed SuperPACs immediately began to pour billions of dollars into our elections to help elect candidates that serve their interests rather than those of the American people. We must overturn Citizens United to restore integrity to our elections.
PROTECT PUBLIC EDUCATION
Strong public schools are essential to democracy. Safeguarding local control is critical. So is investing in a free, high-quality education for every child. Federal policy should strengthen, not weaken, public education. Public education is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. In order for schools to be genuinely public, they must be subject to the democratic control of their community. For the past several decades, there has been a concerted effort to undermine this democratic control and our public schools. We must protect our public schools from further harm and reverse the damage. We must recommit to investing in genuine public education so that we may fulfill our responsibility to provide all children regardless of race, socioeconomic background, and ability with a free and appropriate education. Federal policy must be designed to fulfill this responsibility, and it must be written in a manner to ensure states, especially Louisiana, use the federal resources provided to strengthen not weaken public education.