Our Values
At Grassroots we all fit into the overarching values of the Democratic Party. Some of us are progressive, some are moderate, and some maybe in a category no one has labeled. We all find common ground and move forward.
We believe society should step into an unfair competition, balancing the scale to help the weaker interest get a fair deal. It means that where government has no proper role, we demand freedom; where government acts as a referee between economic interests, we champion opportunity; and where government should protect those who cannot protect themselves, we call for security.
Freedom
Freedom: The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint is a definition of freedom. Freedom in a democracy requires an adherence to the idea that the right to individual freedom extends to the degree it does not infringe or is not a detriment to others.
Civil Rights & Liberties
Our nation was founded and built upon the self-evident truth that everyone is created equal. That ideal calls us to defend liberty and justice for all people, with no exceptions. In the 21st century, three policies are of foremost importance: (1) outlaw discrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity; (2) guarantee fundamental fairness for immigrants; and (3) protect our privacy from government intrusion.
Voting and Elections
In America, the right to vote is a fundamental freedom. And because we are the leading democracy in the world, our election system ought to be completely free, fair and accessible. The way we conduct elections today is obsolete. We need to eliminate long lines, cut costs, make it more convenient for eligible citizens to vote, maintain the integrity of the voting system, and stop the rich and powerful from exercising undue influence on the process. In short, we must: (1) guarantee that every citizen can register to vote; (2) ensure that all citizens can cast their ballots; and (3) crack down on the way campaign financing corrupts public policy.
Reproductive Healthcare
Decisions about contraception and abortion should be made by the individuals involved, not by politicians or the government. To make these decisions responsibly, people need access to: (1) complete and medically accurate information; (2) birth control; (3) constitutionally protected abortion services; and (4) protection from discrimination based on a person’s decision to take contraception, give birth, or have an abortion.
Cannabis
What makes America special is our commitment to freedom and justice. Many states have recognized the need to the end the disastrous and racist war on cannabis. To right the wrongs from a decades long campaign, we need to: (1) fully legalize cannabis for medicinal and recreational use; (2) expunge all past cannabis convictions; and (3) release those still imprisoned solely on cannabis related charges.
Opportunity
Opportunity: an occasion or situation that makes it possible to do something that you want to do or have to do, or the possibility of doing something. Your aspirations regardless of status should only be limited by your own capabilities.
Public Education
Our public schools must provide each and every child the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential in life. Children are not standardized; each one needs and deserves personalized instruction. That requires both fully qualified professional teachers and opportunities to learn outside of class. Every jurisdiction needs to: (1) provide adequate funding for public schools; (2) deliver instruction in a way that recognizes the differences in both the interests and needs of specific children; (3) provide opportunities to learn outside of classroom time including after school, arts and recreational programs, and libraries; and (4) make schools a safe and fair environment for everyone.
Consumer Protection
We need a marketplace that is fair to everyone. That requires fundamental rules to ensure consumer products are safe and the terms of sales and investments are open and honest. In four ways, we need to guarantee that everyone plays by the same fair rules by: (1) ensuring that food is safe, drugs are pure, and products are free from dangerous defects; (2) compelling all businesses to follow basic rules of economic decency; (3) protecting individuals’ private information; and (4) guaranteeing justice for average Americans and small businesses in civil litigation.
Tax Relief
On the federal, state and local levels, our tax policies must be fair to everyone. The fact is, our tax system is thoroughly unfair; it is rigged with loopholes and giveaways that benefit only a few, usually rich individuals and big corporations, at the expense of all the rest of us. Everyone should pay their fair share, and to accomplish that, we must: (1) require disclosure of tax giveaways; (2) eliminate those giveaways that unfairly benefit the rich and powerful; (3) raise tax rates on the rich; and (4) cut taxes for people who cannot reasonably afford to pay them.
Government Performance
State and local governments play a powerful role as rule-makers and enforcers, and as employers and contractors. A progressive government will: (1) ensure that the workers of both the government and its contractors are paid wages and benefits that support a decent standard of living; (2) guarantee that economic development subsidies are used sparingly and only to create middle-class jobs; and (3) operate with transparency and the highest ethical standards
Security
Security: protection of a person, building, organization, or country against physical and mental threats such as crime or attacks by foreign countries. Government plays an essential role in protecting lives.
Public Safety
The most fundamental job of government is to protect its citizens from crime. Progressive government focuses on strategies that make us safer and serious felonies deserve serious punishment. But there is a great deal that can be done to prevent crime while also ensuring justice: (1) reform police procedures, including interrogations and use of force, that lead authorities toward the wrong suspects; (2) reform judicial procedures that hurt the innocent, thereby helping the guilty; (3) reform prison procedures that increase recidivism; and (4) reform criminal laws to prevent the commission of crimes.
Medicaid Expansion
Every American should be able to get the health care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. But for years, insurance companies charged too much, their policies were full of holes, and coverage was easily denied or revoked. The Affordable Care Act changed that, providing families with a new and greater measure of health security. Now that the ACA is under attack, there is much to be done: (1) guarantee coverage to every American as a matter of right; (2) encourage healthy behavior and protect others from unhealthy behaviors; and (3) allow people to make their own health care choices.
Gun Violence Prevention
Government can and should do more to reduce gun violence. There are many commonsense solutions including: (1) allow police to remove guns from someone reported by a mental health professional as a danger to themselves or others; (2) allow family members a judicial path to temporarily remove firearms from family members they consider a threat; (3) raise the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21; (4) require background checks on all gun sales; and (5) no sales to individuals convicted of violent misdemeanors.
Environment
We have a responsibility to protect the quality of life, not just for ourselves, but for our children and grandchildren. To do that we need to both stop the degradation of our environment now and pursue policies that build a better future. Three parties along with others need a seat at the table to consider policy development. They include Indigenous Peoples, farmers, and ranchers. These goals fit into three categories, laws that: (1) reduce the pollution of our air, water and land—including gases that accelerate climate change; (2) conserve energy and quickly develop clean and renewable sources of energy; and (3) pursue policies that build infrastructure to create environmentally friendly cities and towns for the future.