The Ruckus

"Social media, like most technologies, is a double-edged sword. It can shrink distance but it can also manipulate our behavior and help disinformation spread like wildfire. It can help us feel connected, but keeps us doom scrolling well past our bedtimes." - Ramesh SrinivasanRamesh Srinivasan author of the best seller “Beyond the Valley: How Innovators around the World are Overcoming Inequality and Creating the Technologies of Tomorrow.” joins Lewis Myers and Daniel Andalon along with The Ruckus' Sound Engineer and Producer Arun Ravendhran. Arun was a staff organizer on the Bernie Sanders' California and New York teams and is currently a political organizer and Progressive Policy Director on local and national campaigns.Srinivasan is a Professor in the UCLA Department of Information Studies and Director of the UC Digital Cultures Lab, and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Design Media Arts. He was a national surrogate for Senator Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign on issues of technology policy and an innovation policy advisor to the Biden/Harris campaign.

US Representative Jimmy Gomez, CA-34,     https://gomez.house.gov      January 6, 2021, a very perilous and dangerous 14 days until Donald Trump is removed from office after losing a fair, legitimate presidential election to Joe Biden. United States Representative CA-34, Jimmy Gomez shares with The Ruckus his experience during the Trump fueled siege of the US Capitol. Congressman Gomez offers a candid unedited look at the chaotic events as they unfolded in our Nation's Capital.https://TheRuckusLA.com

Political strategist Robert Dempsey began Bernie 2020 as an Area Director in San Diego. In a very short time he was promoted to States Director for Bernie Sanders' Presidential Campaign in charge of campaign operations in every state. Go behind the scenes to Robert's origins growing up in a modest upstate New York community. From there, he takes us on his journey to running political campaigns leading up to the greatest primary in presidential campaign history. Danny and Lewis are gonna unpack what it takes to break into the world of electoral politics and what it was like on Bernie 2020. Pay attention, cause you're gonna learn a few things from Robert on The Ruckus.

Shelli Jackson joins Danny Andalon and Lewis Myers on The Ruckus to reflect on Bernie 2020 and to discuss how we did what we did in California. Working with limited resources and little staff, Shelli served as Deputy State Director, building the Bernie California campaign from the ground up in the early months of the California primary. Shelli gets into how she got started in politics, her management style and what it takes to build campaign programs that win and more importantly, how we learn from campaign losses. On the eve of the 2020 General Election we catch up with one of the top campaign mangers and directors in electoral politics, Shelli Jackson.

From apartheid protests in college to being Bernie Sanders' driver, to running the most dynamic presidential primary campaign in history, Bernie Sanders Senior Advisor and Chief Strategist, Jeff Weaver joins Danny and Lewis and takes us behind the scenes of Bernie 2020 and provides us with a look at the 2020 General Election and how we can continue to organize political campaigns moving forward. Jeff shares the dynamics of a campaign, how infrastructure is built, capacity needed and what it takes to get the resources to develop and win progressive campaigns for working class people.  Jeff Weaver has been at the epicenter of history. Now, he's on The Ruckus.

Mike Bonin is the Councilmember for the 11th District of the City of Los Angeles. He is by far one of Los Angeles' most progressives elected officials. Mike not only endorsed Bernie Sanders for President in 2020, he actively campaigned, by knocking on doors and making calls to voters with volunteers and activists throughout Los Angeles.Mike Bonin shares with Danny and Lewis  about how he started in activism and his journey to being elected to the Los Angeles City Council. Mike reflects on Bernie 2020 and what inspires and motivates us to do the work that we do. Mike unpacks the challenges our city faces and what we can do to make sure that local government puts people first. We discuss his approach to governing and the what it looks like in a toxic environment. Mike shares his views on social and racial justice and what he envisions for a re-imagined role of the LAPD and the service to the residents of Los Angeles.Lastly, we talk about his new Podcast, What's Next LA with Mike Bonin and how he hopes to discuss the challenges our city faces and how we move forward toward a hopeful future.Follow Us*Our Website*Subscribe on Apple Podcasts*Subscribe on Spotify*Facebook*TwitterMike Bonin Links11th DistrictWhat's Next LA PodcastEpisode Timeline* 8:00 - Origins* 15:30 - If you're lucky enough to get In, do shit.* 18:00 - City Hall Scandal.* 21:30 - Be patient, push the envelope.* 22:45 - LA Pandemic Response and a profound failure of a flawed economic and social system* 23:25 - Poison of Politics* 24:15 - Productive Dynamic for Change* 25:15 - Rumors* 28:25 - To Make Change, You Need Eight Votes* 29:50 - Re-imagine policy in Los Angeles. Mike talks LAPD* 37:50 - Measure J* 38:50 - Police Union Response* 41:00 - Black Lives Matter* 48:12 - Local and National Elections 2020* 50:22 - Work Ahead of Us and Holding Joe Biden Accountable* 51:10 - What's Next LA?* 53:00 - Dr. Melina Abdullah, BLM The World Has Broken Open* 56:00 - Why a podcast?

Chuck Rocha sits down with Danny and Lewis on the eve of the most important and critical election in our country's history. In this episode we get into how Chuck, developed the Bernie Sanders campaign from the ground up putting together the most talented and diverse team of campaign organizers in history. Chuck shares why Brown Consultants matter and what that means in the current and future political landscape.We reflect on Bernie 2020, why it matters and what it means today. Chuck provides a breakdown on how to build campaign teams and how that reflects and impacts current races and future campaigns.Chuck furthers shares his predictions for Election 2020 and discusses what we need to look out for in 2022.Chuck is a preeminent Latino vote expert, the President and Founder of Solidarity Strategies, a New York Times op-ed contributor and the author of his debut memoir, “Tío Bernie,” which provides an inside look at the strategy behind the historic Latino outreach operation he pioneered on the Bernie 2020 campaign. Chuck is also the founder of Nuestro PAC, a partisan Super PAC that aims to educate, mobilize and turn out Latinos in key states for the 2020 general election and beyond.Time Line:*31:45 - Coming From Nothing*42:41 - Break the cycle of how progressive candidates hire*48:00 - Latino Program*49:00 - Chuck's Predictions, 2022 Progressives and Primarying*52:54 - What a  President Biden Needs to Do Immediately upon taking office.Chuck Rocha links:https://www.solidaritystrategies.com/abouthttps://www.nuestropac.com/https://www.amazon.com/T%C3%ADo-Bernie-Sanders-Political-Revolution/dp/1947492527The Ruckus links:website: www.TheRuckusLA.comemail: team@theruckusla.comemail: lewisMyers@theruckusla.comemail: lewisMyers@twoeightfive.orgemail: lewismyersm@gmail.comTwitter: @TheRuckusLAFacebook: @TheRuckusPodcastInstagram: The__Ruckus__LAwww.twoeightfive.org

In Episode 3 of The Ruckus, Danny and Lewis talk with Bernie Sanders 2020 California and New York State Field Organizer Jorrel Verella. Join us and learn how we do it. Topics we're gonna get into:1. How Jorrel got into field organizing.2. Behind the scenes of Bernie 20203. Challenges of building a statewide field campaign.4. Effective virtual and remote organizing  during Pandemic5. Work we're doing now - Holly Mitchell for County Supervisor and George Gascon for LA County District Attorney Organizing6. What November 3 will look like7. What we gotta do in 20228. The importance of building organizing capacity.9. Social Unrest in America10. Trump losing the Election on November 3rd.Jorrel, Lewis and Danny dive deep and talk about how Rafa Navar and Chuck Rocha influenced and supported our organizing model to build out a program that won California for Bernie Sanders in 2020.Follow Us*Our Website*Subscribe on Apple Podcasts*Subscribe on Spotify*Facebook*Twitterwww.twoeightfive.org

Manufacturers and Retailers offered to poor consumers just enough broadband and device capacity to continue to consume. They've convinced working families that they have access to 21st Century tools that will allow them to thrive, work remotely, be competitive academically and at their jobs. The tech infrastructure they have is just enough to jump on YouTube, order on Amazon, play video games and get on Social Media. Pandemic has shown us that they are suffering from lack of the correct tools to succeed or even survive. The disparity is growing greater.Work From Home accounts for over 60% of US economic activity. 42% of US workers are working from home. However, 33% of US workers are not working due to Pandemic. This is devastating to working families of color. They are even more marginalized than ever.Nearly 50% of workers can't work from home efficiently. 30% can't work from home at all. Most don't have a private work space. ⅔ of US workers have adequate internet while the remaining ⅓ barely has connectivity. We must work to build infrastructure and access to broadband.This episode of The Ruckus was recorded remotely using SquadCast from the homes of Danny and Lewis. Danny mentioned a Los Angeles Unified School District resource:Superintendent Beutner said LAUSD will continue distributing devices. He encouraged any LAUSD family still in need of a laptop or internet connection to call the district's hotline: (213) 443-1300.Political Campaigning During PandemicWith social distancing during Covid, campaigns are forced to look at new ways and to improve on traditional ways of voter communication, outreach and mobilization. Volunteer, Staff and Community Safety is paramount. Plus a campaign would not want to make the Times by contributing to the spread of Covid19.We are learning that folks are happy to hear from us as we ramp up direct voter contact via remote phone banking. It is not insensitive to campaign during the pandemic. In fact it is critical to campaign even harder in times of uncertainty. People need direction, guidance and leadership. They want to know that there are solutions and that your candidate or issue will be a problem solver, not the problem.The goal is to be a resource and a connector. We must offer something of substance and sustained.It's about listening with compassion and speaking with empathy. The voter might not remember what you said, but they will remember how you said and who you said it for.It is important to capture the political moment and environment (Momentum Cycle) and know when to deliver your message and how to deliver your message so that a campaign can provide absorption points for all the energy that needs a place consolidated and targeted in a powerful and intentional manner.“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.” and “Tactics without strategy is noise before defeat.” Sun TzuIn other words, honk and waves and banner drops and social media posts (tactics) are not part of a program building strategy. A campaign must organize (be organized) before it can mobilize. This is even more critical campaigning during a pandemic in the virtual remote organizing world.As we get to campaigning during a pandemic, remember to be a leader. Educate, Agitate, Mobilize. Don't be afraid of your Story of Self, Story of Us and the Story of Now. Know why it matters and what's a stake. Know the political landscape.

In Episode 1 of The Ruckus, Danny and Lewis talk about the idea of The Ruckus and the challenges of staying connected remotely in the midst of Covid19 Pandemic. The episode was recorded on https://squadcast.fm straight from our living rooms in our modest homes. You might hear some children in the background, as we both have a bunch of kids between us. This episode gave us an opportunity to catch up and reflect on our time as senior staff on the Bernie Sanders Campaign in California. We've made reference to Bernie 2020 campaign staff, advocates and politicians whom we will show in future episodes. Ultimately, we had the opportunity to invite listeners to our podcast, introduce ourselves and share how to build campaign capacity and political leverage to win for people.

Lewis Myers and Daniel Andalon are political organizers with decades of experience in local and state government and labor organizing. They bring an insiders view to what it takes to build a campaign and win it. The Ruckus will show how to organize for power and mobilize with strength.