The task of the movement for economic, racial and environmental justice is much bigger than the presidential election. Our job is to build people power to ensure that no matter who the next president is, the people’s voices are heard and our demands are part of the political agenda.

We urge organizers and advocates across the nation to plan a campaign beginning in early 2017 and carrying on through the inauguration to ensure that right from the beginning the people’s voices are a dominant narrative. The #NoHoneymoon campaign will take various forms in communities across the country. Talk to your networks of activists and plan what would work best in your community. The creativity and energy that comes from diverse leadership has surprised the nation before and can do so again.

The popular movement has been growing since the occupy era in 2011. We estimate that 350,000 people were involved in occupy, about 0.01% of the population, and that frightened the power structure. Today about 1.5 million people are active in the popular movement. People are taking action on various issues e.g. the Black Lives Matter movement, the movement against the TPP and other corporate trade, the Fight for $15, the movement for climate justice, immigrant rights and movements around wealth inequality, banking, college debt, peace and more. In each of these fronts of struggle we are building power and winning victories. With the election of a new president, now is the time to unify our struggles under #NoHoneymoon and shake the power structure.

The Election

There is work for the movement to do before the election. NBC news projected that Hillary Clinton has surpassed the 270 electoral college votes needed to win, currently with 288 votes and six states as toss-ups. Based on polls, which have been surprisingly accurate this year, Politico reports that if you include states where Clinton leads by 5%, she has 302 electoral college votes. Indeed, no one with her lead at this stage of the campaign has lost the popular vote in 16 elections, since modern polling began. This is no surprise as more evidence shows that money shapes US elections.