If you support Elizabeth Warren, what is your plan? She’s got a plan; what’s yours?“
This is the mantra of grassroots organization, Brooklyn for Warren, a group of Brooklyn- based activists who are ALL IN for a Warren- 2020 Presidency. The preliminary idea for the canvassing chapter began in April 2019, not long after the Massachusetts Senator brought her presidential campaign to Long Island City. This is the same city where Amazon withdrew its plans to build a corporate campus, a decision Warren supported. Founder of Brooklyn for Warren, Milo, began holding sessions in his Brooklyn home, inviting the public to join in conversations regarding the need for structural change. These conversations led to the discussions of a future- America under a Warren Presidency. Networking with the digital community of “All In for Warren” quickly spread the word to Warren supporters living in the five boroughs, that a local group was organizing. By June the small group was visible to the public, in ways of canvassing, marching in parades, hosting happy hours events, and spreading their work throughout Brooklyn. They are also visible on multiple social media platforms and are recognized for crafting “Elizabeth Warren’s Comprehensive Meme Plan,” a database of appropriated images that pair Warren’s policies with pop culture references.
“We are all about creating visibility,” says Milo. “Warren appeals to ALL people and protects ALL people. This is why we are building a community of her supporters. We want to help her become the next President of the United States.”
We connected with the leaders of Brooklyn for Warren’s Policy and Social Media Teams to discuss the fundamentals of grassroots organizing, and to learn more about Warren’s plans for structural change. We wondered how her plans might affect the five boroughs.
As a note, Brooklyn for Warren is not part of Senator Warren’s official campaign and cannot speak directly for her or her campaign. They do not have insider knowledge of policies that have not already been made public. The following questions and answers include policy proposals that Warren has publicly discussed.
In a little over four months’ time, Brooklyn for Warren has grown from an idea to a dynamic grassroots organization with seven teams, 17 team leaders, and an email list with over 1,300 subscribers. Can you tell me how the policy team evolved?
I attended the second house party hosted by Milo, back in April. As we began to grow, we developed our “Policy of the Week” segment for our biweekly happy hours. These sessions teach volunteers about one of Senator Warren’s policy proposals and give them talking points for how to discuss them when they are out canvassing, phone banking, or tabling. As the program quickly developed, it became clear that we should have a dedicated policy team, which I now co-lead. We organize the policy of the week segments and are working on additional tools to give volunteers easily digested summaries of Warren’s policies.
What is the impact social media can have on a campaign? Do you have any examples of how social media has increased awareness of Senator Warren’s presence, policies, and presidential campaign in Brooklyn?
It helps us organize events and get people involved and active. Warren herself tweeted out about our presence in Prospect Park with Cardboard Liz a couple of months ago. It definitely helped raise attention to what we’re doing here in Brooklyn. I have great conversations via DM (direct message) on a daily basis with people wanting to not only get more involved but also want to learn about her plans. Some of these people reach out because they feel more comfortable with one-on-one conversations. Also, people have been offering to send handmade Warren merchandise including buttons, stickers, and bath towels as a token of appreciation for our work.
How is Senator Warren going to help rebuild state and local infrastructure? Are there any plans to rebuild infrastructure in NYC?
Senator Warren has not released an infrastructure-specific plan, but a number of her plans address infrastructure in various ways. For instance, her plan for rural America invests $85 billion to create a public option for Broadband Internet access. Her green manufacturing plan invests $2 trillion over the next ten years into green energy research, green energy manufacturing, and exporting that technology around the world. Much of this, necessarily, would be devoted to infrastructure in various ways. Her plan for economic patriotism would create millions of good-paying domestic jobs.
There are massive shortages of affordable housing across the country. NYC’s affordability crisis affects New Yorkers of nearly every income group in every community across the five boroughs. Does Senator Warren have a plan to combat high rent and lack of affordable housing in NYC?
Her plan is a national one, not specific to NYC, but it would certainly help the severe lack of affordable housing we face here. The plan would make a historic investment in affordable housing that would bring rent down by 10% across America. It also creates 1.5 million new jobs through construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing and addresses the historic impact of the racist and discriminatory policy of redlining, where the government subsidizes mortgages for white families, but not black and brown families. Warren will subsidize down payments for first-time homebuyers in historically redlined communities, which will help close the wealth gap between black and white families. It is fully paid for by imposing an estate tax on inheritances over $7m.
Warren’s own story is not unlike the stories of many working-class Americans and single-parent families who struggle economically. How does she appeal to voters differently than her opponents?
Warren’s approach and tactics become a part of every conversation. She is able to communicate through ideas, not guise or rhetoric. Current and previous Presidents have based their politics on slogans like “hope” and “great.” Warren’s politics are based on ideas and plans, not slogans. She’s really in charge of the conversations, and if you have something that is consistent and tangibly sound, then you can speak to all voters.
There are a number of Democratic presidential candidates who effectively speak to core American values and present a strong vision for the future of our country’s economy. What makes Senator Warren especially unique to the other presidential candidates?
The thing about Senator Warren is that, although it looks like she has all these plans to solve all these different problems, at their core, every single one of her plans is addressed at fixing one core problem–the vast inequality in American society. It’s the problem that she has spent her entire career studying and trying to remedy. What makes her array of plans different than in any other campaign we’ve seen is that they resonate with people–they’re not just a disparate array of white papers–they show that she has a deep understanding of all the different ways people are hurt by inequality, whether it is the racist history of redlining, the huge power imbalance between the 1% and everyone else, the ways corporations have changed the rules of the game to their advantage, the ways working mothers are held back by the lack of child care and so many more. And they present an optimistic vision of how our society can be equal. While her plans are bold and visionary, they are also very practical. They are fully paid for, and she has talked about the need to eliminate the filibuster so that they can actually become law.
I believe down to my toes (to borrow Warren’s phrase) that once people get to know Senator Warren, those who are open to having their minds changed will become convinced that she is an exceptional candidate who really stands out from the rest. There was some interesting polling earlier this summer that measured how closely people were paying attention to the primary–among those paying the closest attention, Warren was in the lead. To me, that says that once people have the opportunity to learn about her, many of them will end up supporting her because of the strength of her ideas and conviction, her toughness, her record of getting things done, and her innate goodness that just shines through.
How can our readers contribute to your cause?
We welcome anyone of any ability. Everyone has something to give for the fight– we see it daily in our group. From broke students to those who are able to do more than their $2,800 campaign limit. We welcome those in Park Slope and elsewhere who want to use their energy to support the strongest economic and social justice candidate to represent ALL of Brooklyn. Our success is based on community building around Elizabeth Warren, and our team members are all a reflection of her. It’s a further testimonial to her inspirational personality and candidacy, and to the people who have come together to build something. It’s a positive reinforcement daily.
For more information on Brooklyn for Warren, including upcoming events and ways to contribute, please visit: brooklynforwarren.org