Common Defense

Common Defense is a leftist veterans organization founded to organize against President Donald Trump. They have gained support from Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. On their website, they claim to have been "heavily involved in Impeaching Trump."

According to their website, "Common Defense is the country’s largest veteran-led grassroots organization committed to engaging, organizing, training and mobilizing veterans to elect accountable leaders and promote progressive values in 2020 and beyond."

Veterans Organizing Institute is the 501 (c)(3) education arm of Common Defense.

About

Verbatim from the Common Defense website:^[1]

Who We Are

We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched power of greedy billionaires who have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all.

We achieve this through:

Training veterans as grassroots organizers

Growing, organizing, and mobilizing the progressive veteran community

Advocating for progressive legislation at the local, state, and federal level

Mobilizing our 200,000 members to support candidates who share our values

Common Defense is the country’s largest veteran-led grassroots organization committed to engaging, organizing, training and mobilizing veterans to elect accountable leaders and promote progressive values in 2020 and beyond.

History

Verbatim from the Common Defense website:^[2]

Common Defense "was first founded in 2016 as a grassroots effort led by veterans who opposed Trump’s corrupt agenda of hate. During that time veterans were not well organized to grapple with our frustration with the status quo. Since then, we have led the “Vets Against Trump” movement, helping win impeachment and speaking out daily against his crimes.

Bernie Sanders poses with Common Defense after signing their pledge.

We officially incorporated as a structured organization in March 2019.

Ending the Forever War was and continues to be central in our work. Veterans are tired of war, so we got to work building consensus in the Democratic Party to end the forever war. Seven presidential candidates signed our pledge, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren leading. Currently, it has been added to the official Democratic Party Platform making clear that 'Democrats will deliver on this overdue commitment to end the forever war.' Presidential candidate Joe Biden has also made his commitment to end the forever war clear and we plan to hold him to it once he is in office.

"We were heavily involved in Impeaching Trump. Common Defense Veterans know that accountability for Trump and his cronies’ crimes will only happen if we build a grassroots movement of people to demand justice. That’s why we were on the forefront demanding impeachment, standing with allies like Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Support Ruben Gallego

From the Common Defense website:^[3]

Congressman Ruben Gallego represents the 7th District of Arizona, including parts of Phoenix, Glendale, and Tolleson, in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected in 2014. Representative Gallego believes in improving the health and welfare of veterans by first working to prevent unnecessary wars. When the fighting starts, he believes in providing them with the equipment and training to win. After combat, he believes in supporting veterans and their families to treat acute and chronic health issues, continue their education, and continue to serve as private citizens.

Our Revolution

From an Our Revolution mass email dated 22 Oct 2022:

At the Phoenix rally [Oct 20, 2022], our featured speaker was Rep. Ruben Gallego, who stood up to insurrectionists and protected others on Jan. 6th at the Capitol, and now he’s helping Arizona activists lead the fight to defend democracy!"

The rally included Common Defense, Public Citizen, Kai Newkirk and others.

Also on Twitter:^[4]

"Tonight in Phoenix, AZ, #OurFreedomsOurVote with @RubenGallego, @commondefense, @Public_Citizen, @kai_newkirk and others. The congressman stood up to insurrectionists and protected others on J6 at the Capitol and Arizona activists are leading the fight to defend democracy!"

Board Members

From the Common Defense website as of January 23, 2023:^[5]

Our Team

From the Common Defense website as of January 23, 2023:^[6]

Jose Vasquez, Executive Director
Janice Jamison, Director of Training
Perry O'Brien, Climate Justice Director
Jessica James, Director of Development
Naveed Shah
Joanna Sweatt
Jacob Thomas
Kyle Bibby
Stephanie Manansala, Finance and Operations Manager
Zachary Shrewsbury
Lakiesha Lloyd, Climate Justice Organizer
Yichen Yao
Carrie Frail, Program Associate for Common Defense’s Veterans Organizing Institute

References

[1] About (January 23, 2023)

[2] History (January 23, 2023)

[3] Ruben Gallego (accessed January 23, 2023)

[4] Our Revolution Twitter dated Oct 20, 2022 (January 23, 2023)

[5] Our Board (January 23, 2023)

[6] Our Team (January 23, 2023)

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