What Comes After: A 2024 Game (Gameplay-PAUSED)

[GoTfan]

Mid-April 2023

Ro looked at the list of candidates. Really? This was the best they could muster? Yeah, Harris and Buttigieg might be near the top, but would they actually be able to win? Kamala's negatives were high and Pete wouldn't last long under the prolonged scrutiny, and neither of them were particularly committed to his own pet projects.

No. There had to be more than this. He had thought about endorsing Alexandria, but there was still that little voice in the back of his head that was saying she was too divisive, too inexperienced.

America needed a progressive, but one who could work with the rest of the party. And Ro was no lightwieght; he'd played a key role in the passing of the Chips Act and IRA. He was the party soldier with the progressive bona fides. Maybe he couldn't win, but . . .

He picked up the phone. He had calls to make.

April 21, Ardenwood Historic Farm-Fremont, California

"Hello! Thank you all for coming here today!

Our country is on the road to recovery. Gas prices are coming down, the Chips Act and Inflation Reduction Act, two of the most significant investments into American manufacturing and green technlogy in decades, are now law.

But there is still more to be done. As we confront the challenges of our society today-poverty, the energy transition, corporate greed, the environment, and more-we cannot afford half-measures. We need a New Economic Patriotism in this country! Why? Because higher wages are better for the economy! Because investing in local manufacturing is good for our economy! Because supporting our unions is good for our economy! Because backing the common American is better for our economy!

This patriotism, a desire to make our nation better through change, is what defines us as progressives. It has been my guiding idea throughout my time in government. I want to bring this patriotism across the country and to the White House!

Today, I am declaring my candidacy for President of the United States!

Knowing that he would only end up polling low, Ro Khanna set about solidifying the voter bases for him by developing a targeting strategy. He could easily compete with Alexandria for young voters, and he knew he was already popular with workers from the tech industry, as well as organised labour in general.

They began mapping out a cohesive strategy. College-age voters and organised labour would be their primary targets. His role in securing support for the climate provisions in the IRA were also to be spruiked as much as possible, to emphasise him as a progressive with results. He began laying out the central theme of his campaign: Economic Patriotism, marked by support for domestic manufacturing, increased wages, empowered unions, and so on.

He would pursue a different strategy with endorsements, holding meetings with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers president Lonnie Stephenson, Amazon labor activist Chris Smalls, and Communications Workers of America president Chris Shelton.

If he was going to have a chance in this, organised labour had to be on his side as much as possible.

[GoTfan]

Ro Khanna 2024

Opening stages

Ro was under no illusions; he was the stab-in-the-dark candidate who would need a million and one things to go right in order to have a chance at the nomination. One thing he did have on his side was apreexisting relationship with the tech sector . . . and the growing number of unionised tech workers. He'd also been a national co-chair on the Sanders campaign four years ago, s no one could doubt his progressive credentials.

He set about crafting his messageL New Economic Patriotism. He woould lay out the core tenets in a speech at his first campaign stop in South Carolina in a few days' time. Before that though, they needed an effective targeting strategy. Colleges and tech unions were obvious targets, as were newly forming unions in the retail and service sectors. He would make his plays for blue-collar workers in tried and true Democratic fasion: higher wages, investment into domestic manufacuting, and so on.

He would also adopt the novel approach of attempting to cast himself as being pro-small business by bringing a host of anti-monopoly policies forward as well. he was going to have to be creatice with his strategy, and maybe this would help him with a certain section of vters the party had largely left untapped.

First speech, at the University of South Carolina

Economic Patriotism needs to be at the front of our messaging. What does it mean? Simple. It means we ensure a better quality of life for our citizens. That involves higher minimum wages, supporting unions, investing in our local manufacturing sector, and enforcing our anti-monopoly laws. It mean protecting the interests of the average American, and putting the government back to work for us again.

My friends, trickle-down economics, that old Republican dogma, doesn't work. Economic Patriotism does by putting more money in the hands of the average person who works hard, pays their taxes on time, and does right by society. There is no reason why the average American should be forced to work tw jobs simply to make ends meet, or be forced to go on strike by the people at the top who looka fter themselves.

The time of trickle down is over. Let the age of Economic Patriotism begin!"

[GoTfan]

Ro Khanna 2024

Town Hall in Charleston

Voter: Congressman, this is a race with multiple progressives in it. Are you sure you won't end up splitting the vote with the other progressive candidates?

Khanna: It's a reasonable fear, but unfounded. Jeff and Alexandria are both good friends of mine and both strongly progressive figures. I'm running to bring the ideas of Economic Patriotism and progressive capitalism to the front of the discussion. THat's how we move forward as a nation; raising the minimum wage, supporting domestic manufacturers, and investing in the technologies of the future.

Jeff and Alexandria have been friends of mine for several years. I hope that progressives will see me as the best candidate, but they are excellent candidates as well.

Voter: How would your Economic Patriotism platform affect our small busniesses, particularly the higher minimum wage?

Khanna: Well first off that's a good question. Republicans have tried to claim this narrative that higher wages means lower employment. It doesn't. Studies have proven that a higher wage has a positive effect on employment and a positive effect on the economy. More money in the hands of average Americans means that there is more money being spent, which pulls everyone up.

The biggest threat to our small businesses are the major ones like Amazon who ruthlessly crush their competition. That's why under an administration I lead, I will prioritise defending our smaller businesses from our major ones and support them as much as I can.

Ground game

Building a cohesive ground game is always one of the most important things in a campaign, and doubly so for a long-shot campaign like Ro's. He set about hiring directors for all fifty states, utilising his contacts from his time on the Sanders campaign in 2020, with a particular emphasis on the early states, such as South Carolina and Nevada. It was likely that young volunteers would be the first to come, and Ro took a hint from 2020 to lure more: All campaign workers would be allowed to unionise.

Key target demographics remained the same. College students, tech workers, organised labour. They would have to make up the majority of his volunteer corps. His field directors were a different sort as well; such positions went to community activist leaders before anyone else, people who were experiences in these sorts of areas. Those involved with climate groups wuld make excellent field leaders.

Finally, Ro made sure to hold Zoom meetings with all the key people at least twice a week to get updates, strategise, and suggest. This was going to be a grassroots-driven campaign. It had to be; he didn't have the ability for anything else right now. he also continued his meetings with Stephenson, Smalls, and Shelton. Their support would be critical.

Media strategy

Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders had shown the importance of the internet and scial media in their campaigns, and Ro had to utilise these methods as much as he could, considering that he was low in the polls. He began to appear on multiple internet media outlets, including frequent stops on The Young Turks with Cenk Uygur, and early supporter of his.

Internet ads were cheap, effective, and wide-reaching, so Ro prioritised them over traditional media ads. His campaign developed a strategy similar to John McCain's in 2008. Take advantage of interviews; they're free media and reach a lot of people. Emphasise social media and internet media outlets more than anything; his strength was going to be with young voters and tech workers. The same strategy had worked for underdog campaigns throughout American history, as well as all over the world.

It was not a short-term strategy by any means, but Ro was set on playing the long game; building a dedicated network of supporters slowly would hopefully begin to pay dividends by the time the primaries started.

[GoTfan]

Ro Khanna 2024

The summer campaign

Summer. When campaigns begin to kick into high gear and solidify their bases. Ro knew he had some competition for the progressive lane; Jeff, Alexandria and JB were all excellent candidates, but he had to be better. California Democrats were already split between between Kamala and Gavin, so there was an opening for him to make a bit of a play, at least he hoped so. He began meeting with tech industry leaders in his home state to buff up his support there, and recruiting volunteers from that area as well.

Ro also began to amp up his internet presence. Hewas supposed to be the represenative of the 21st Century, so he was going to use whatever he could. Internet town halls became a staple of the campaign; questions would be sent in via video, and Ro would reply to them twice a week. Ads on Twitter and Facebook became prominent, as did short video ads on any platform that would carry them.

The slight bump in the polls was proof, in the eys of some staffers, that their long-game strategy was paying off, but others were fretting that this was a temporary bump. Ro leaned towards the latter, and doubled down on his base: tech workers, organised labour, and students. He kept up his twice-weekly strategy calls with everyone, and they all agreed to stick to the 'live off the land' strategy that had worked so far, or at least seemed to.

Media blitz

Another factor in the summer was Ro stepping up his media appearances. He began appearing on not just internet outlets such as The Young Turks and Democracy Now, but also booking interviews with MSNBC and CNN. The message was always the same: support for workers, a modern manufacturing sector, higher minimum wage, and so forth. 'Economic Patriotism' became the order of the day whenever Ro went out for an interview.

Ro also placed a priority on interviews with local media, both TV and print. People still did get a lot of information from their local news, so spreading the word about the campaign that way was likely to be helpful as well. After all, all politics was local.

Ro avoided attacking the other Democratic candidates as well in interviews. One of them was going to be the nominee, and it made little sense to tear them down. The speed that Sanders had united the progressive wing to Biden had been one of the keys to Biden's victory in 2020, and Ro did his best to maintain the spirit of party unity, and of course, progressive unity.

Behind the scenes

Ro knew that he couldn't match the institutional support of Harris, Buttigieg, and the other big-name candidates at the top. However, he knew infighting made party leaders nervous, and with the clashes between Newsom and Harris, he sensed an opening in the California Democratic Party. Maybe he'd never be able to match them, but he culd sure as hell ruin the campaign for them, so he aimed high.

He held his first meeting with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in July. Ro expressed his support for Mayor Bass's focus on the homelessness issue, particularly her emergency declaration on the affair so soon after she had entered office. After all, a focus on housing was to be one of the centrepieces of Ro's infrastructure policy. He also held a meeting with the Massachusetts ocngresswoman Ayanna Pressley in August, with the two of them agreeing on a variety of progressive policy measures and the need to pursue them to the fullest.

He kept up his meetings with Smalls, Stephenson, and Shelton as well. he was still hoping to win over much of the tech industry and their workers, and what better way thatn to go after three big labour organisers?

Ro also held meetings where he could with community leaders and activists; hoping that their local support and connections on the groudn would continue to build up his support base there.

[GoTfan]

Ro Khanna debate responses

1. An Opening Statement

Well first off, i'd like to thank Drexel University for hosting us tonight, and to Lester for moderating. Tonight, I'm hoping that I'm able to put forward a case to not just progressives, but the entire Democratic Party and the United States as well. We cannot simply hope to move forward with "We're less bad than the other guys". We need to offer something to the American people. Differentiate us from the Republicans, and improve our country.

I'm running to present the ideas of the next generation of America. We are living in an increasingly digital world, and it is not something we can simply ignore from now on. But even on our worst days, everyone up here is more suited to running this country than any of the Republican candidates.

2. Raise your hand if you support the adoption of a single-payer, "Medicare for All" style healthcare system. (Say if you raised your hand and if you like, write one or two sentences)

Raises hand

3. The world is faced with the imminent threat of catastrophic climate change. This means storms, droughts, and more common freak weather events, rising sea levels, among other negative consequences. What is your plan to address this, mitigate the effects, and prevent long term damage to the planet?

We need a Green New Deal. We cannot delay this fight any longer. The Biden administration has undone the damage done by Donald Trump, but it's now time to move forward with future technologies. Renewable energy is becoming cheaper and cheaper every day. I'm fully supportive of increasing our investment in high-speed rail, expanding tax credits for electric vehicles to make them fully refundable at the time of purchase, and to match our adversaries in the area of public-private partnerships We are still spending less than China in renewable energy projects each year.

I have a track record in climate issues as well. I chaired the House Environment Subcommittee and have been its Ranking Member since 2022. I presided over the Big Oil Hearing in 2021, which was the first time that the CEOs of the four big oil companies-ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP-were forced to testify under oath regarding their spreading of disinformation about climate change. That was the first time in history that they were forced to testify under oath about hiding the truth.

During the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, I had many long conversations with Joe Manchin about the climate investments, and managed to not only help secure the $369 billionin said investments, but also helped to bring House progressives and environmental groups onboard with the bill.

I'm proud of my record on climate change and renewable enrgy, but more needs to be done. We need a Green New Deal, without delay.

4. What could we expect for the first 100 Days of your presidency?

The first priority of my administration will be raising the minimum wage. As it is, the minimum wage would be above $20 right now if it had kept up with inflation. It needs to be, as an abolute minimum, $15 an hour. Studies have proven that a heightened minimum wage actually helps businesses and the economy grow, specifically because people have more money to spend on things other than essentials.

Other than raising the wage, I would set an absolute priority on codifying Roe v Wade into law. We got complacent here, thinking no court would ever overturn it. We need to rectify that mistake by making abortion legal across this country.

Finally, I would begin work on an infrastructure bill aimed specifically at renewable energy. Increasing our investment into modern energy sources and decarbonising our transportation system should be the absolute priority of any infrastructure program; as I said, we cannot afford to lose anymore time in this fight.

5. Who is the United States's greatest geopolitical adversary?

I'm going to differ from my colleagues here and say China. Unlike Russia, China is not the most immediate adversary, but it is the most dangerous one. We have seen China systematically build up its presence in the Pacific and Africa through not military means, but by building infrastructure in these countries that have been forgotten about by the rest of the world. At international conferences, they are sending dozens of diplomats, we are only sending a handful.

China is using its soft power in a way we used to in the 1950s and 60s. They're aiding countries that we have forgotten about, and thus are making allies out of them. Moreover, China is the only country that has the means to challenge us on the manufacturing front, something that corporations ostensibly based in the US have been more than complicit in.

Russia is the most immediate enemy because of their illegal invasion and war crimes committed against the Ukranina population. But we must also be aware of what China is up to, otherwise we will be caught flat-footed.

To Representative Khanna: In October 2021 you criticized oil executives for increasing production. In March of 2022 you criticized oil executives for not increasing production enough. Which is it?

This is true. What must be remembered is that 2021 was a time where we were making excellent progress on renewable energy, and then oil comapnies attempted to increase their production, in my opinion, to try and beat smaller renewables businesses to the punch. The narrative they and their Republican friends had tried to create about renewable energy was falling apart in front of our eyes.

A lot had changed by March last year. The Russian invasion of Ukraine sent gas prices soaring, and the immediate cost was simply too high to the working class. People were struggling to get to work so they could put food on the table for their families. Increased oil production was needed to stabilise energy prices, and give us the chance we need to solidify our transition over to renewable energy.

[GoTfan]

Ro Khanna 2024

Staying Above the Fray

With a political knife-fight engulfing the leaders of the field, Ro attempted to paint himself as being above the fray. His priority was on building support for a progressive agenda, and he would continue pressing the case forward for that. he was please to have the endorsement of CWA President Shelton, and would hold an internet town hall exclusive to CWA members, based on what his plans would be for the furture of the American communications grid. With technology developing more and more with every passing day, it was going to become more and more vital to ensure America's communications infrastructure was kept not just up to date, but better.

With reports that he was preferred by House Progressive, Ro moved quickly to lock up as much support as he could from that arena. He held meetings with Pramila Jayapal, Mark Pocan, Ayanna Pressley, and his colleague from California, Katie Porter. he continued his meetings with local Democratic leaders in California as well, including Mayor Bass. There was still the hope that he would be able to come up between Newsom and Harris in their brawl over support in California, and he was hoping to combine his campaign's skill at digital marketing with some level of support from prominent California Democrats. He also held a digital meeting with the California Assembly's Majority Leader, Eloise Reyes, who had entered office by challenging an incumbent from the left.

Las Vegas, Nevada

"People like to say to progressives 'Oh, you're too unrealistic.'. They like to say that we can't have  $15 an hour minimum wage because it will impact businesses. They say we can;t have Medicare for All or college for all because it will wreck our budget. They say that we can't raise taxes on the wealthy because it will cause them to leave this country. They accuse us of being unrealistic, having no concept of economic realities.

These are all blatant lies. A $15 an hour wage helps our economy because it gives working people more money to spend. Medixare for All, as pointed out by the Heritage Foundation, actually saves us money in the long run. Universal tuition-free college will help our economy by giving the next generation of Americans a leg up. Raising taxes on the wealthy will cause businesses to leave? Please. Take a look at the tax rates from the 1950s under a Republican administration and tell me if businesses fled en masse.

The truth is that progressivism is the story of the country. We can build on what has been given to us by making healthcare universal, by making college affordable, by making the walthy pay their fair share, by raising the minimum wage, and by supporting our unions! This year, let's send a message to the people at the top that they can't have it all!"

Playing the long game

[/b]

The Khanna campaign from the outset was determined not be a simple flash in the pan, but a serius campaign that would hopefully peak around the time the early states began voting. Meeting with community leaders and local organisers in the early primary states-New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina-would be criticla to his campaign going forward, as would any positive headlines that they would be able to grab.

He kept up the standard meetings as well with people he had previously apporached for support, including Stephenson and Smalls; he had to get the support of organised labour before the other candidates could move on it, especially when the AFL-CIO would likely end up endorsing Harris over anyone else.

[GoTfan]

Ro Khanna 2024

Statements on bills

Family Bill of Rights

Senator Gilibrand has been noted for her tireless advocacy of family issues across the board. Things like paid sick leave shouldn' be controversial, but here we are. I'm proud to be supporting the Family Bill of Rights and hope to work with Senator Gilibrand on crafting further legislation in this area.

DISCLOSE Act

Senator Merkley's bill provides us with amsolution to a problem that has infected modern politics. Dark money, whatever its source, is a scourge on democracy, and has been ever since the Citizens United decisions. I am proud to co-sponsor the Senator's bill in the House, and start solving this issue before it gets worse.

Stop the Censorship Act

I've never been comfortable with the amount of control tech companies like Twitter have over public discourse in this country. Everyone wants their short screengrab these days; and it becomes all to easy to cast your opponents in the worst light

That said, I don't believe this is the right way to go about it. I unfortunately must vote against this bill when it comes to the floor

Sanders-Tillis Act

Our veterans have been left behind for far too long by an ooverworked, understaffed VA with higher-ups more intent on getting their bonuses than actually taking care of our war veterans. I'm proud to vote in support of the Sanders-Tillis Act.

Heading into the primaries

Ro's climb in the polls had been slow, but steady. He hadn't expected South Carolina to be fertile ground for him in the first place; Harris would likely charge away with the south. So, Ro looked to plant himself in nevada to try and make a decent showing there. The entire month of October saw Ro campaign heavily across that state, including attending meetings and speaking to the membership of Nevada's powerful Culinary Union. Ro's base was organised labour, so he needed to lock up that demographic as quickly as he could.

He met with rank-and-file workers across the state from mvie theatres to hotel attendants. He made sure to speak at all four public universities in the state as well: Grant Basin College, Nevada State College, the Univeristy of Nevada, las Vegas, and the University of Nevada, Reno. At all four univeristies, he emphasised the most popular parts of his youth platform: tuition-free public colleges, a raise in the minimum wage, and a promise to invest heavily in small businesses that many students would likely end up trying their hands at.

Most of November was taken up by meetings with important people and cutting the first major ads of the campaign. He continued meeting with Mayor Bass on a variety of issues, particularly housing. Most openly though, he continued holding meetings with other House progressives; Jamaal Bowman, Ayanna Pressley, Summer Lee, and the newest addition, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Given Merkley's strength with everyone else, Ro had to turn out youth voters in massive numbers. He also had to counter Merkley's focus in New England, and sought the endorsement of Vermont's sole member of the House, Becca Balint, and Michelle Wu, the Mayor of Boston, speaking with special interest in her plan to guarantee legal represenatation for evicted tenants, a policy Ro wants to take to the nation.

Building on this, Ro planted himself firmly in New England for most of November and December, touring organised labout meetings and college campuses. He kept emphasising his key point across it all: He wanted everyone who had turned up to his rallies to go and vote early. He kept up his strategy of building contacts with local leaders before anyone else, to allow support to spread out from there.

As the New Year dawned, Ro began to double down on solidifying his base of young voters and organised labour. He touted the support of the CWA, the first union to endorse any candidate, and used this when he met with Mary Kay Henry, President of the SEIU, early in January. Ro returned to Nevada, and spoke again on his usual circuit before heading up to New Hampshire and planting himself there for the rest of January, and then jumping over to Massachusetts in February.

He had to perform well in Nevada and New Hampshire, or he was finished.

[GoTfan]

Ro Khanna 2024

@RoKhanna: Anyone harassing or trolling my fellow candidates online: I don't want your support. @KamalaHarris @PeteButtigieg I offer my sincere apologies.

@RoKhanna: Let's be clear, what happened at the DoJ was a terrorist attack, plain and simple.

Debate responses

Good evening, and thank you Jake for moderating tonight, and to the Gaillard Center for hosting us tonight.

Tonight, I believe we're going to see the standard for our party; a contest of ideas, not personalities. Ideas that will keep this nation moving forward into an era where what was once thought impossible-a full energy transition, heightened minimum wage, and universal healthcare-is now possible.

I started my life like most, as a student at a public school, and over the years, I've learnt one thing: despite working forty hours a week, paying their taxes, and keeping to the law, the average American is still struggling. I got a glimpse of this firsthand when I was prosecuting contractor fraud after Hurricane Katrina; how those we claim to stand for, claim to support the American Dream for, get left behind.

Tonight, I hope to be able to convince you why my platform will benefit everyone, not just a few at the top.

1. What is your approach to immigration policy. Do you support increasing the cap for asylum seekers and refugees? Do you support more liberal measures like decriminalizing illegal border crossings into the United States?

My parents came to this country from India. My grandfather was arrested for agitating for greater freedom for the Indian people and spent time in prison. Many of our greatest success stories are from people who have immigrated here or are born to immigrants.

I would greatly increase the number of skilled immigrants into this country. We have benefited and will continue to benefit as a nation from skilled people coming into our country and working here. There should also be a serious move towards cracking down on underpaying foregin workers, who in many cases are exploited by businesses wanting to save a few dollars. That exploitation hurts everyone; we need to ensure that migrant workers are paid a proper wage, and crack down on businesses that exploit them unfairly.

2. There has been an uptick of crime, especially in urban areas like New York City and Chicago since the COVID-19 pandemic. What measures will you support to bring crime, theft, and gun violence under control?

You'll hear a lot of talk frm Republicans about various half-measures. More officers on the street and pointless instructions to District Attorneys to prosecute crimes won't do anything. If you want to tckle crime in this country, you have strike at the sources: poverty, lack of education, and cynicism.

Here and now, we have the best tools available to us to tackle all three. We can tackle poverty through increasing the minimum wage and encouraging business investment in these communities by offering incentives in these areas, as well as modernising housing and other key infrastructure. Schools in high-crime areas, I think you'll find, have been neglected for decades and severely lacking in funding and modern curriculums. We need to update our education standards and infrastructure to modern requirements, particularly as we move into an increasingly digital world.

With these in hand, we may be able to start fighting the cynicism that has been created in our poorer, more crime-affected neighbourhoods, and restore some of the hope that's been lost in those neighbourhoods. These people don't want to turn to crime; they fell forced to by a system that has let them down. We must fix that.

3. What measures would you take as President to protect access to abortion for women in states where state governments have taken measures against abortion rights? What about measures for LGBT people?

We've passed the Respect for Marriage Act. This bill compels states to recgonise same-sex marriage. However, there's more to be done for our LGBT population, especially with the ongoing prejudice and hate crimes that they have been victims of. I would enforce rigorously our hate crime laws, and ensure that state governments in this country can't simply get away with institutionalised prejudice against the LGBT populations.

I suspect my answer on abortion will be similar to my colleagues up here: codify Roe vs Wade into law. We had chances to do that over the years, and we lived under the illusion that the status quo would never change. Well, it has changed, and we need to change too. One of the first acts of my presidency would be to put a bill to the floor that codifies Roe vs Wade into law, legalising abortion in all fifty states and all US territories.

To be clear, regarding abortion, simply making it illegal, as many Republicans want to do, will not end abortion as we know it. It will simply drive it underground, with unsafe implements and risky procedures. They know this, but they won't admit it, because it doesn't suit the narrative that they've built for themselves, so we need to be shouting it from the rooftops: Do you want that? Do you abortions to be carried out in unsterilised environments by unqualified people? Is that the future you want?

They don't have an answer for it. They never do.

4. Are you concerned about Saudi interference in American elections? How do you view our relationship with the Kingdom in general, is it time to re-evaluate what has been a longstanding alliance?

I am very concerned about our relations with Saudi Arabia in general. I've been active in this area too; I was one of the four Congressmen who submitted a bipartisan bill that would end our military assistance to Saudi Arabia in the Yemen conflict on the grounds that Congress never authorised such actions.

Saudi Arabia, as a nation, is not what one would describe as enlightened. People are still beheaded for sorcery and apostasy there, people are persecuted because of their sexual orientation, and in many cases, I believe Saudi Arabia has had a hand in exporting the foul Wahhabist ideology that is the foundation of many terrorist groups in the world. We need to accelerate our shift to renewable energy as much as we can and cut ties with this regime.

5. Raise your hand if you a gun buyback program, voluntary or mandatory. (You may write one sentence


Raises hand. Gun violence is an epidemic in this country, and I would support a voluntary buyback program to help curb it.

You represent much of Silicon Valley. Would you support legislation to break up big tech companies? Do you support more government regulation of social media companies?

Absolutely. I have long supported the need to get more entrepeneurs involved in the tech industry; more small businesses in the tech sector means fewer big companies control it all. It reduces monopolisation, forces bigger businesses to innvoate in order to keep up, and will foster investment by the tech industry in more than just California and New York.

In order to stay with the modern wrld, the tech industry cannot afford to keep investing in places like New York City or Silicon Valley. We need people setting up businesses in Detroit, Austin, Miami, Pittburgh, and a hundred other places that need that investment froma an industry that is growing fast and will likely become the dominant one as the years go by. I would support every measure we can write to foster this approach, and rein in the poower of the major companies.

Closing statement

Each person up here tonight has expressed their views and ideas on the future. I believe each of us has the right ideas; we just differ in the best way to execute those ideas. We all have the same end goals: protect our workers, LGBT and women's rights, and progress in all areas. I just hope that you, the people at home, agree that I've presented the best case I could.

Thank you.

[GoTfan]

Ro Khanna withdraws

"Freinds, fellow Democrats, fellow progressives.

This campaign has been . . . nothing short of amazing. I am truly astounded at the support that has been given to me by you, the people of this country. We started from nowhere, and have thrust our ideas of a modernised America forward. Of an America where everyone can achieve their happiness; where no one is forced to work two jobs, or even three, just to make ends meet.

But we must face one ironclad fact: progressive disunity has cost us before. No one person is bigger than this movement. This progressive movement that was started by some crazy old man from Vermont nearly a decade ago. No one said he'd be able to even get close to the nomination, yet he did that twice, and acheived more influence over the direction of this party than most non-nominees from either party in history.

That is why, in the interest of bringing a full, united progressive platform to the people of this country, I am endorsing my good friend-and the next President of the United States-Jeffrey Alan Merkley!