DeepSummary
In this episode, Roqayah Chamseddine and Kumar Salehi interview Shahid Buttar, a civil rights activist and attorney running for Congress against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in California's 12th district. Buttar shares his background, including his family's immigration story, his experience with grassroots organizing, and what motivated him to challenge Pelosi's long-held seat.
Buttar criticizes Pelosi's record, arguing that she has enabled corporate interests and failed to effectively check executive power. He points to her stance on issues like impeachment, military intervention, and corporate bailouts as examples of her prioritizing establishment politics over progressive values. Buttar sees his campaign as an opportunity to unseat a powerful figure who embodies the corporate influence within the Democratic Party.
The conversation also touches on the broader need for systemic change within American politics, with Buttar calling for a reassertion of congressional authority and a shift away from unchecked capitalism towards upholding human rights and meeting people's basic needs. He positions his campaign as part of a larger movement to transform the Democratic Party from within.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Shahid Buttar, a civil rights activist and attorney, is running a progressive primary challenge against long-serving House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in California's 12th congressional district.
- Buttar criticizes Pelosi for enabling corporate interests and failing to effectively check executive power, positioning his campaign as part of a broader movement to transform the Democratic Party from within.
- Buttar argues that Pelosi's reputation as a progressive figure is largely constructed by right-wing critics, and challenges the legitimacy of that framing.
- The conversation touches on the need for systemic change within American politics, with Buttar calling for a reassertion of congressional authority and a shift away from unchecked capitalism towards upholding human rights and meeting people's basic needs.
- Buttar sees his campaign as a referendum on the media's willingness to scrutinize Pelosi's record and provide a platform for substantive debate.
- The interview explores Buttar's activist background, including his family's immigration story, his experience with grassroots organizing, and his motivations for challenging Pelosi's long-held seat.
- Buttar positions his campaign within the broader context of the Bernie Sanders movement, drawing lessons from Sanders' approach and the importance of collective action and mass politics.
- The conversation highlights Buttar's perspective that the current political system serves the interests of capital over the needs of the people, with disastrous consequences for communities and the environment.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “We don't live in a democracy. We live under capitalism, which is to say, we don't serve the people. Our government doesn't serve the people. It serves capital. And capital kills people all the time. It eviscerates communities. It kills species. It contrives pandemics and climate chaos.“ by Shahid Buttar
- “This president would not be in office if Nancy Pelosi were not the speaker of the House. Everything he does, I lay at her feet because any other speaker would have impeached him for corruption and he would no longer be in the White House.“ by Shahid Buttar
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Episode Information
Delete Your Account Podcast
Delete Your Account
5/28/20
This week, Roqayah and Kumars are joined by legal advocate, grassroots organizer, and congressional candidate Shahid Buttar about his campaign to unseat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as he runs for California's 12th Congressional district.
Buttar, a lifelong activist, describes the lessons he's drawn from the Bernie Sanders campaign in developing his own progressive coalition and campaign, as well as what drew him out from the world of grassroots organizing and into the political arena.
Buttar also discusses the failures of not only Nancy Pelosi and how his concerns with the speaker of the house transcend her office and lay at the feet of the Democratic Party itself.
You can follow Shahid on Twitter @ShahidForChange, and visit shahidforchange.us to learn more about how you can support his campaign.
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