Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
State of
Resistance: Ten Californians Who Will Take on Trump
January 19, 2017
Jerry Brown
At 78,
Governor Brown remains a pugnacious yet mercurial politician whose career path
is unlike any other in California history. He has already put Donald Trump on
notice that there will be no retreat from his crowning achievements, including
far-reaching climate change policies, and in the last two years of his final
term, Brown has nothing to lose and a legacy to burnish.
Maria Elena
Durazo
The
longtime labor leader, raised in a family of migrant farm workers, will be a
formidable opponent of Trump’s immigration policies. A chief architect of the
2003 Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, Durazo brings passion, authority and
personal experience to the immigrant-rights movement, along with a track record
of taking on and defeating powerful adversaries.
Kamala
Harris
The
charismatic successor to Barbara Boxer may be a junior U.S. Senator of a
minority party, but she will command national media attention, and use it to
fight the Trump agenda at every turn. Some believe Harris could be a future
Democratic presidential standard-bearer, and her ability to eloquently yet
forcefully convey progressive values could pave the way for a White House run –
perhaps sooner rather than later.
Julie Su
California’s
labor commissioner is known for her principled and unrelenting defense of
exploited workers. Su will serve as a dramatic counterpoint to Trump’s labor
secretary, Andy Puzder (should he be confirmed), underscoring the vast chasm
between vigorous labor law enforcement and the new administration’s corporate
approach to workers’ rights.
Xavier
Becerra
Appointed
by Brown to replace Harris as state attorney general after her election to the
Senate, the veteran congressman is widely expected to do unto Trump what Texas’
attorney general did to President Obama – use the power of law to obstruct. As
the top law enforcement official of the nation’s most populous state, Becerra
will wield substantial influence and, if his past is any indication, will not
shy away from even the most controversial battles.
Kevin de
León and Anthony Rendon
The state
Senate President Pro Tem and Assembly Speaker, respectively, drew a line in the
sand with their defiant post-election statement, which went viral with its vow
to oppose Trump on everything from immigrant rights to inequality. Products of
the state’s remarkable political transformation, which has seen young leaders
of color rise quickly to power, de León and Rendon are both highly
skilled legislative strategists who will use their clout to push back hard
against the White House.
Anthony
Thigpenn
A legendary
community organizer, Thigpenn is the founder of California Calls, perhaps the
most effective low-income voter mobilization operation in the country. He is
regarded as a visionary in the field of voter engagement and expanding the
electorate, and his skills will be in heavy demand both inside and beyond
California.
Tom Steyer
Billionaire
activist and political donor Steyer has both the resources and the appetite to
take on Trump – not only on his signature issue of climate change but also on
economic inequality. Look for him to invest heavily in efforts to expand the
Democratic electorate, as well as challenge every Trump effort to thwart
California’s climate-change policy.
Laphonza
Butler
Head of the
powerful Service Employees International Union’s California State Council,
Butler is a force to be reckoned with in one of the few states in the country
where unions are growing rather than contracting. She and SEIU California have
racked up a string of impressive victories, and played a key role in the
passage last year of a statewide $15-an-hour minimum wage law, and though far
from doctrinaire in her views on labor and business, she will be a thorn in the
side of Trump for as long as he is in office.
Danny
Feingold is publisher of Capital & Main.
[4]
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[2] http://capitalandmain.com/
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Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
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"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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