Democrats Abroad: The Blue Vote Café

Candidates Parikshit (Pari) Bhaduri and Beth (Elizabeth) Landry share their answers to seven questions from David and Rachel.  Visit https://www.democratsabroad.org/ for information about all of the candidates running for global office in the May 2021 elections.

Candidate Quyen Nguyen shares her answers to seven questions put to her by David and Rachel.  Visit https://www.democratsabroad.org/ for information about all of the candidates running for global office in the May 2021 elections.

A conversation with Martha McDevitt Pugh and Tre’Shawn Griffin-Noordermeer who are the co-chairs of DA’s Global LGBTQ+ Caucus.

Our guests is this episode are Emily Lines and Cory Lemke.  They are the Co-Chairs of the Democrats Abroad Global Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus.

Alex Rehbinder speaks to Rachel and David about the experience of stepping up from the country-committee level to revive DA's Global Youth Caucus, which he now co-chairs. The conversation touches on DA as a guilty pleasure, getting past the shyness of campaigning, and the YC's goal to field at least one young'un as a candidate for each global office in DA's internal elections. They talk about the...

Meet Ann Hesse and Christina Skovsgaard from the Global Women’s Caucus. We discuss what a caucus is, the Women’s Caucus’s seven Action Teams, and Event Pizzas. We trace the line from John Adams to the ERA; touch on Ann’s view of DA members as part of a vast global laboratory of policy experiments; and note how much fun it can be to work to create a better world—all under the eyes of goddesses.

Learn about the incredible effort from members across Canada in the past election.

What was it like to serve in the White House through the 2016 transition?  What has it been like to go from that inside view to working from outside the country with Democrats Abroad?  Dianna English, Communications  Director for Democrats Abroad Canada, sits down with David and Rachel to talk about home as a mobile concept, working in the Peace Corps, and about finding your people....

On Oct 23, 2020, The Toronto Star posted a piece by Tyra J. Garrett that began: "Dear Canadians, Let’s talk in plain terms: The United States of America is where brown dreams go to die." https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/10/23/if-donald-trump-wins-im-asking-you-canada-save-my-life-an-african-american-on-unbelonging-in-her-home.html Rachel and David immediately reached out to talk t...

Democrats Abroad chair Julia Bryan sits down with Rachel & David to give a snapshot of Democrats Abroad’s activities leading up to the 2020 election, and a taste of what comes next. From 560K+ phone calls, to helping to “cure” ballots, to the number of DA members vote in battleground states, DA—the state party for Democrats living outside the U.S.--is posed to be the margin of victory in many...

Rachel and David sit down to discuss the 2020 election in turn with Grace Moyer, Pauline Kaszyca, Evelyn Lloyd, and Grace Pope—a group of voters with, between them, the perspective of 386 years.  From memories of Truman (a “feisty little man”) and Roosevelt (who spoke in a “sociable way that was new”) to thoughts about the current occupant of the White House (none flattering; some explicit),...

Are you doing everything that you can do to make sure everyone votes in this election? David and Rachel outline some of the ways in which Democrats abroad are working to ensure that everyone with the right to vote from outside the country does so.

Rachel and David chat with DA delegates Adrianne George, Marisa Grimes, and Anya Leonhard about what expectations they brought to the convention and what the experience was like. Between them, the three represented DA members from Europe and Asia; included old hands and newcomers; and spent time with the Black Caucus, at policy round-tables, and working on platform language on healthcare. Plus a b...

DA member Roxanne Rabalais won an appearance on the Blue Vote Cafe by donating to Democrats Abroad in our recent 20.20 Prize Draw Fundraiser. David and Rachel chat with Roxanne about what drew her into registering to vote, being on the receiving end of a get-out-the-vote phone call, how taxes led her to find DA--and about her equestrian-flavored apparel business, Spiced (https://www.spiced.ca/).

What was it like to be elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court during a pandemic--and how did Justice Jill J. Karofsky launch her 10-year term with a run? What led her to public service, and why did she change her middle name? What measures can the courts take to help jurors?  What is the National Mustard Museum, and what does it have to do with Wisconsin's newest Supreme Court Justice? R...

For more info: democratsabroad.org . To get your ballot (do it NOW!!): votefromabroad.org . The Heymans share stories about Joe Biden with David and Rachel, and talk about the campaign’s focus on getting out the American vote from around the world. They speak of Biden’s “secret sauce”—the leadership skills that make him particularly suited to this moment—and about how the deal he made with Preside...

Nse Ufot joined Rachel and David to talk about her work as Executive Director of The New Georgia Project (a non-partisan effort to register and civically engage Georgians), and how it had its roots in a conversation that began in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. We talk about voter suppression, Georgia's place in a rapidly transforming population, the critical importance of every vote in every election, t...

Aaron Kruse, co-chair of the Platform Committee, joins Rachel and David from Beijing on the best day of his life to talk about the process of forging the Democrats Abroad 2020 Platform. We talk about health care, gun control, the environment, taxation, services for Americans abroad, and how everywhere you go, you will bump into someone from Iowa. We discuss the grueling process of reading 4800 sub...

The Healthcare plank of the Democrats Abroad platform begins: "Understanding that healthcare is the highest concern for many Americans – including many of our families and friends living in the U.S. – Democrats Abroad advocates for high-quality, equitable, and freely available healthcare for all Americans – and for everyone living in the U.S. – which we regard as a fundamental human right." Rachel...

A conversation with Heather Stone in Israel and Asha Subas in London, England, who brought the Democracy and Elections plank across the finish line. (Democrats Abroad's 2020 platform was adopted on June 7.) We discuss the vulnerability of the postal service, and its importance for citizens voting from outside the country. We touch on money in politics, corruption, voter suppression, and the necess...

In this wide-ranging conversation about racism, its effects, and what we can do to address it. Angela (who live in Germany) shares with David and Rachel the story of her involvement with DA, how she founded the Black Caucus, and what its role is within DA--and we even get into the definition of a kakistocracy. For more info: democratsabroad.org   To get your ballot (do it NOW!!): votefromabro...

In May 2020, Miguel Madrigal (Costa Rica) was elected by the Americas Region of DA to be a member of the delegation Democrats Abroad is taking to the Democratic National Convention. The youngest member of the DA delegation at 24, Miguel, who is pledged to Joe Biden, beat 115 other candidates to win this coveted position. Rachel and David talk to him about what he did--and how it felt--to win the e...

"Climate change is the central challenge of our time." Thus begins the Environment and Energy plank of the Democrats Abroad platform. David and Rachel talk to Jim Christiansen (in Paris), who was involved in drafting this section of both the 2016 and the 2020 platform, about the current draft, feedback from members, challenges presented by the current administration, and what happens next. For mor...

The issue of taxation is a critical one for Americans living outside the country. David and Rachel sat down with Carmelan Polce (in Australia), who chairs DA's Taxation Task Force, to talk about why this topic forms a plank in our platform. What do legislators at home need to understand about the effects of taxation laws on income earned outside the U.S.? How can it be that American abroad have to...

What goes into the creation of the Democrats Abroad Platform? How can you shape the 2020 draft before it is final? How does our platform affect the election for the entire United States? David and Rachel connect with Farid Ben Amor in Geneva and Salli Swartz in Paris, two of the four co-chairs (with Aaron Kruse and Wen-Wen Lindroth) who led a team of hundreds of DA members to produce the draft. Fo...