Minneapolis, MN – Members of the Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) and supporters protested the 20th anniversary of the passage of the disastrous U.S. welfare reform law. On Aug. 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the right-wing welfare reform measure into law. Hillary Clinton supported it.

Angel Buechner, member of WRC, told the crowd, “Welfare ‘reform’ has been a catastrophe for Minnesota families. First and foremost it eliminated entitlements. Families are no longer guaranteed help if they are living in desperate poverty. Now it’s up to the ‘discrimination’ of individual states, and in some cases, counties.”

Buechner asked the crowd, “What do we want?” The people responded, “Repeal welfare reform!”

“Poor families in this country have been suffering,” Buechner continued. “Families are cut off of assistance after five years, even if they have no income. Family caps were instituted in many states, punishing children for being born. There were major cuts to food stamps that limited food assistance to three months in a three-year period. And in many states sanctions, drug tests and cuts to benefits for immigrants were put into practice.”

“Clinton, Clinton you must know, welfare deform has got to go!” chanted the crowd.

Loretta Van Pelt of WRC said, “The Clinton administration knew what they were doing when they signed this bill. They were not looking at protecting or helping the poor, they were looking at protecting the rich and politicians – encouraging an atmosphere that blames poor people for poverty rather than the causes of poverty in our communities.”

The crowd booed. The call and response came from the people, “One, two, three, four, we refuse to blame the poor. Five, six, seven, eight, stop the politics of hate!”

Darnella Wade, member WRC stated “TANF was reformed to be MN Family Investment Program but the state hasn’t invested in families since 1996. Our homes are struggling and our children are not making it. Politicians are doing nothing to end poverty.”

Deb Konechne, former WRC member and current AFSCME 34 member, talked proudly of history of WRC and the strong fight back that was able to stop some of the worse of MN’s welfare reform. After recalling the WRC’s 1996 seven-day hunger strike encampment before Clinton signed the bill, she added, “We are here in support of the great work WRC has done and continues to do. We are all on the same side, as people from the working class and as welfare recipients, together when we fight together and fight back, we can win and we will win.”

A statement from the Welfare Rights Committee noted, “WRC has been fighting, and sometimes winning, in forcing the state of Minnesota to stop some of the worst parts of Clinton’s welfare reform, like the family cap. But welfare reform overall is bad for children and families and must be undone. Until that happens, we will be fighting again at the state level for our bill to Give Aid to All in Need. The GAAIN bill would cover families who hit the time limit and also people who currently don’t qualify for any help at all.”

The statement continued, “While Hillary Clinton is out trying to appeal to women voters, she continues to ignore poor women and children. While she courts high-rolling donors and protects Wall Street tycoons, our families are suffering. The Welfare Rights Committee will continue to shine a light on this devastating law. And we demand that Hillary Clinton pledge to overturn welfare reform!”

#MinneapolisMN #PoorPeoplesMovements #MinnesotaWelfareRightsCommittee #HillaryClinton #WelfareReform

Philadelphia, PA – On July 25, thousands gathered and protested at the opening day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

The first rally and march of the day, called by The Equality Coalition, started at 10 a.m. Activists and their groups began gathering despite warnings of the extreme heat that was going to hit Philadelphia. The banners and signs varied from loyal pro-Sander supporters to militant calls for revolution. However, the one consistent message that day – down with Hillary Clinton.

Speakers consistently brought up Clinton’s long history of corruption, from her warmongering to her recent participation in the scam primary elections.

Members of different left and progressive organizations were handing out literature regarding the elections and their views of Clinton and Sanders. The Freedom Road Socialist Organization handed out two of their statements on elections and the recent police killings.

Dave Schneider, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, summed up the general views of the people protesting that morning, “The people out here protesting the DNC understand that both major parties represent the class of billionaires that rule this country. Frankly, we're not buying what these politicians in both parties are selling anymore.”

The march began at 2 p.m., as over 800 protesters began a four-mile trek to the convention center to make their voices heard. Chants from “Hey, hey! Ho, Ho! Hillary Clinton has got to go,” to “Feel the Bern” kept the marchers up beat and determined in the 99-degree heat.

Once the first march reached the convention center, the second event, March for Our Lives, called by Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, began at 3 p.m. Hundreds gathered once more in front of City Hall to listen to a wide range of speakers, such as Cornell West and Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein. “Don’t vote for the lesser evil, but for the greater good,” said Stein.

The march started soon after Stein finished speaking, and the protesters joined the others at the convention center.

Schneider, who will be more protests at the DNC, said, “In the coming days, I expect more people to join the protests outside the DNC, including many of the Sanders delegates. The Democratic Party, like the GOP, loyally serves Wall Street.”

#PhiladelphiaPA #DemocraticNationalConvention #DNC #Socialism #Elections #BernieSanders #HillaryClinton #JillStein

Los Angeles, CA – On May 5, students and community members protested the visit of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Clinton spoke to supporters on the East Los Angeles College (ELAC) campus Thursday afternoon. 500 protesters demanding she leave the campus marched on the gymnasium where she spoke.

Protesters gathered in nearby Belvedere Park and marched to the campus chanting “Deport Hillary!” “Hillary fuera! Fuera de East LA!” and “Chicano power!” Once on campus they were met by East LA sheriffs. Many of the sheriffs were on horseback. Many police helicopters hovered overhead. As the protesters kept chanting they gathered on campus for a round of speeches. After the speeches, they marched on the gymnasium and were met by barricades and more police.

Irving Grey Angeles, one of the organizers with MEXA de ELAC said, “The message is clear. She represents the 1%. She gives closed door speeches to Wall Street for hundreds of thousands of dollars and won't release the transcripts. She has called for the deportation of undocumented people, even children. As a working-class and immigrant community, clearly, she does not have our best interests at heart. In a classic display of pandering, she decides to visit us on 5 de Mayo. We're not having that. The protest brought out hundreds of students and community members who are tired of being lied to and misled by opportunist politicians. All power to the people!”

A few protesters went into the event and chanted during her speech. Clinton's speech was cut short by ten minutes and she was forced to leave early. As Clinton supporters filed out of the event, the protesters kept chanting: “Hey hey ho ho! Hillary Clinton's got to go!” “Vendidos!” and “Sell-outs!”

Long time Chicano activist Carlos Montes said, “We're not going to get Chicano political power through Hillary Clinton or the elections. We need to keep organizing and fight for equality and self-determination!”

#LosAngelesCA #ImmigrantRights #PoorPeoplesMovements #StudentMovement #OppressedNationalities #Elections #US #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #Latinos #Antiracism #California #HillaryClinton