If you've missed any of our amazing La Lucha Continúa speakers this year, never fear! We have recorded the sessions. Links are below:
On January 11, 2020, DA Spain (hosted by DA Barcelona) had the distinct pleasure of hearing from Rachel Vindman (and briefly from her husband Alex as well). Rachel is an activist and plain-spoken political commentator who fights for justice and American democracy. She shared observations from her vantage point in the suburbs of Washington, DC and acknowledged that we, as Americans living abroad, have a unique perspective on the events unfolding back home. She enthusiastically encouraged all members to register to vote and to vote in every election — not just the “big” races at the top of the ballot. The problems with our democracy, she said, have been imposed from the top down – but the solutions must come from the bottom (that’s us!) up.
On March 8, we had a very interesting conversation with Texas lobbyists Bee Moorhead and Josh Houston, who tried valiantly to explain what’s going on at the Texas state legislature. Heavy-handed Republicans in control there are seriously restricting voting rights, and had the opportunity to field-test their restrictive new policies in the primary elections on March 1st. Our guest speakers went over all the recent developments, and explained what they are doing to defend Texans’ right to vote.
On March 22, we spoke with legendary election whisperer Rachel Bitecofer, founder of StrikePAC. Dr. Bitecofer was the first (and one of the few) to predict a huge blue wave in 2018. She had a serious message for us in 2022. Be sure to listen to the recording, where she makes it clear US democracy is in a "break glass" moment.
David Pepper is former chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, a former councilman for the city of Cincinnati and former member of the Hamilton County, Ohio Board of Commissioners. He is also a prolific author, having published four political thrillers. In October 2021, he published the nonfiction book Laboratories of Autocracy, an urgent message to Americans about the attack from within on our democracy. In the book, he describes how the GOP has gradually, almost imperceptibly taken over the mechanics of our democratic system by winning local and state elections and then changing to rules to keep their hold on power. On April 5, 2022, David Pepper spoke frankly to Democrats Abroad Spain about the importance of knowing what's going on in your home state, being informed on the issues, and voting in every local and state election.