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Co-organizers Andrew Guy and Ashley Thomas lead a Democratic Socialists of America Long Beach chapter meeting where they discuss their action strategy. Photos by Jason Ruiz.

As I walked into the The Gathering at First Lutheran Church on Atlantic Avenue and hung a sharp left to the staircase leading to the basement, the soft-yellow tiled floor and choir practice echoing above hardly intimated that I would soon be surrounded by revolutionaries.

It was a Monday night, and tucked under this nondescript place of worship were about 40 people planning the next steps in a revolution that was started by a then-little-known senator from Vermont in April 2015.

Bernie Sanders brought the idea of democratic socialism to the mainstream during his historic rise from long-shot candidate to grass roots phenomenon in the last presidential election cycle. Though his run for the White House ended up being unsuccessful, he proved at least two things: that you can crowdfund a campaign capable of competing with the elite and their wealthy donors, and that the American public has a growing appetite for more progressive policies.

The mercurial growth in memberships for groups like the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)its numbers have jumped from about 3,000 members to 17,000 since Novembersuggests that those Sanders supporters arent going anywhere, and they might have some unlikely allies. Chapters have sprung up in predictable liberal strongholds like Los Angeles, Washington, DC and New York City, but the group also boasts a presence in deep red states like Oklahoma, Texas and Mississippi.

The group counts chapters in 36 states including ten in California. Annual memberships to the group range from a reduced student price $20 to a family price or $80 and includes a subscription to the group's magazine Democratic Left.

Long Beach formed its own DSA chapter earlier this year and I sat in on their second general meeting where snackscommunal, of courseand pleasantries quickly gave way to an ice breaking activity. Not unlike the first day of the semester in a college classroom, it was meant to get people speaking to the comrades sharing table space with them. Unlike that first day in class, though, the prompt was deep.

I want you to turn to your neighbors and share a story of how capitalism has failed you, said James Suazo, one of the DSA-Long Beach organizers.

Suazo has spent the past few years organizing and advocating for environmental justice issues mostly on the citys West Side, where arguably capitalism has failed an entire section half of the city. He noted that as the group does more and more outreach, more and more people realize their needs align with the DSAs desire to reform.

The idea that capitalism has failed the American public was a notion that Sanders drilled home, so much so that his stump speeches were usually accompanied by thousands of people shouting along to tag-lines about the richest one-tenth of one percent owning 90 percent of the wealth in the United States, and his promise that if elected he would create an economy that would work for everyone, not just the billionaires.

The groups ethos is that the economy and society should be run democratically to meet human needs, not to drive profits to the one percent. That includes a push for more recognizable issues like universal healthcare and free college, but also other issues like affordable childcare, environmental justice and employee protections.

There were no billionaires in this room, and despite an admission by one organizer that DSA has historically been dominated by straight, white men, that night the room was filled with men and women of all ages and ethnicities, most of whom feel disenfranchised and underserved by traditional political parties and are thirsting for change.

DSA organizer Ashley Thomas explained that not everyone knows that theyre a socialist, and that everyone goes through their own self-discovery phase. Thats one of the goals of the group, to cut through the disinformation and conflation with long-held red scare ideas about communism that tainted Sanders bid for the White House, to maybe signal to people that DSA is for them. The other is to organize and act.

The United States does not educate people about socialism, and so were all still learning and we hope to sort of spread the word, Thomas said. The other thing is to get shit done. We actually want to get some wins in the community and do things that are really going to help people in a concrete way.

The chapters leadership is careful not to oversimplify when describing the basic tenets of socialism.

It is true that basic services like police, fire, military, social security and K-12 education are supported by tax dollars and operate very much like the group believes a single-payer health system or free higher education could, and should. But many autocratic regimes have used similar models to abusive ends.

DSA is not a political party, per se, and thus can cast a wider net to draw people in. The crowd at the meeting included current and former registered Democrats, Independents, Marxists and even a Green Party supporter. They explain that theyre less interested in swaying those 130 million people who voted for Trump or Clinton and more intrigued by the over 100 million people who didnt vote.

Steven Hutchinson, a member of the Los Angeles chapter, agrees with that notion. He cited a Harvard University study put out in April 2016 revealing that 51 percent of those aged 18-29 years rejected capitalism. They were joined by every subgroup polled not over the age of 50 that showed a majority of respondents question free market principles.

Hutchinson said he was first turned on to socialism in the first few years of the Obama administration, during the Occupy movement, but Trumps election got him to show up IRL (in real life). He added that the next four years need to focus on changing the language surrounding socialism and harnessing the populist wave that fueled Sanders campaign and ultimately elected Trump.

Its going to be generational, Hutchinson said. This is the first generation that feels collectively that this system of economics just doesnt work for them. Never let a crisis go to waste.

The issues that the Long Beach chapter will pursuethe focus of this particular meetingwill focus on items unique to Long Beach and the local levers that need nudging to put new policies into action. They dont require an allegiance to the writings of Marx or Trotsky, just a desire to make things better for everyday people.

Jake Moskowitz leads the group in a discussion on problems they see in American healthcare and possible solutions to the issues.

Jake Moskowitz, a co-organizer of the Long Beach chapter said that the group provides a place for both the radical far-left socialists that truly want to seize the means of production, and for more mainstream liberals searching for another option.

He noted that Sanders policies were more along the lines of FDR, and despite some of the more radical ideas shared by some of its members, the core values the group holds are aimed at improving the social safety for everyone.

Moskowitz did throw in a spoiler alert: the group has its eyes set on the 2018 midterm elections, a year in which five council seats and the mayorship will be up for grabs in Long Beach.

If Bernie Sanders were running for president in the 60s he wouldve been considered a Centrist Democrat, Moskowitz said. One thing we have to admit is the Democratic Party has steadily inched to the right over the course of 60 or 70 years, a process that has been slow, but because it has been slow nobody has called them out on it. For me, the DSA is a way of calling them out and yanking them back to the left, if its possible.

In Long Beach that will include a push for universal pre-K education and sanctuary city status, something organizers supported when the Long Beach City Council recently voted to support a duo of state bills that could cast California as a Sanctuary State.

Other options that were floated around, and will be explored in depth as the group develops sub-committees, include citizen oversight of the Long Beach Police Department, rent control initiatives and an effort to ban fracking in Long Beach and break the citys dependence on the petroleum industry.

Still in its infant stages, this DSA chapter is feeling out its plan for action. Staying true to the ideals of socialism, the people helped to outline concerns theyd like to see addressed and brainstormed solutions as they rotated around the room two giant sheets of paper dedicated to broad subjects like feminism, the environment, racism, health care and labor needs.

If any city would be open to the rhetoric of socialism it could be Long Beach. Stefan Borst Censullo, a former city employee, current marijuana lawyer, lobbyist and co-organizer of the Long Beach chapter, explains that with the concentration of so many cultures, especially those from Central America and Southeast Asia who may not hold the same reservations regarding socialism as their neighbors that were born here, this city is primed for these ideals.

Borst-Censullo and Thomas represent a faction of the left that subscribed to the Sanders message, those college educated twenty-to-thirty-somethings that were affected by the financial collapse in the mid 2000s. That was how capitalism first failed them, but it took a Trump presidency to spring them into organizing.

Despite Sanders loss in the primary season, and Trumps ascension to the White House, many progressives pointed to small victories in local races as candidates with more populist messages took school board seats and city council positions. To some, that has already happened in Long Beach.

Borst-Censullo counted the election of Jeannine Pearce last year as one of those victories, as she was able to overcome funding gaps and her outsider, pro-labor activists roots to take a seat behind the dais with her more establishment Democrat colleagues.

Shes been somebody whose policies reflect that of something that socialists would be very accustomed to, Borst-Censullo said of Pearce. And thats because she was out there megaphoning for housekeepers, instrumental in Measure N which was one of the first economic rights campaigns via the ballot. The fact that she showed that you can do that [win] in this city, because we have a lot of people who dont vote, that was inspiring.

Andrew Guy (center), co-organizer of the Long Beach chapter, marching in Los Angeles earlier this month at a Medicare for all rally. Photo courtesy of DSA-Long Beach Facebook.

While large ticket items like universal healthcare will have to be settled at the national level, DSA chapters are seeking out change where they can levy it, possibly through endorsing or running their own local candidates, or through work with people who they see as sympathetic to their goals.

If the progressive movement continues, Pearce could be part of the first wave of what could become a steady stream of electeds who are more willing to take up the causes of community groups that have long felt like some of their more pressing needs have been deflected or not addressed deeply enough by the city council.

Pearce, who admits she has not been a lifelong Democrat, said political parties have always frustrated her and that what she really seeks is a government that works smartly and provides a feeling to residents that they can count on it. She did not shy away from the idea that a group of socialists viewed her as someone they could work with.

To have people who identify as being socialists look to me as an ally, Im proud of that, Pearce said. Im proud to have people look to me as an ally, as somebody who can get their message out and help make sure that Long Beach is really a city that is lifting all boats.

She declined to speculate on what a larger surge of progressive demands could mean for the future of Long Beach politics, especially if the DSA grows to a point where its moving election night margins, but said that everyone deserves to have their voice heard and that the political climate of the country will most definitely include those increased demands from constituents to fight for policy changes.

I believe everyone deserves a seat at the table but how do we make sure that people are talking to each other, Pearce said. When youve been an organizer and youve sat in peoples living rooms and youve heard those stories and youve looked into their eyes, you cant just go to council and ignore that experience.

There is a lot of optimism that the window of opportunity for the idea of Democratic socialism to take hold is larger than it has ever been.

Town halls in conservative districts have flipped on their sides in recent weeks with Republican lawmakers having to defend calls from their constituents to keep Obamacare in place, something that four years ago would have seemed as odd a concept as a reality television star becoming the Commander in Chief. Many have taken to canceling scheduled town halls to avoid the backlash that some representatives have characterized as paid protestors pushing a leftist agenda.

One woman in Tennessee, who had her exchange with her congressional representative go viral, authored an op-ed in the Washington Post this week taking her stance a step further, advocating for a single-payer system in the style that was advocated by Sanders.

Steve Askin has been part of socialism groups for the better part of four decades, and his impassioned plea for action now drew the largest applause of the night. He said what distinguishes DSA from other sectarian groups on the left is that its embedded in the lived reality of working class people.

Askin, a researcher and financial analyst who was part of the contingent of community groups that successfully lobbied the council for a minimum wage increase, said that the groups common sense policy changes can radically impact working peoples lives. And in a town full of working class individuals and an administration thats actively pursuing policies that will erode away their chances of advancing out of that class, he believes the time to act is now.

We have a disastrous moment in this country, Askin said. We have a government in power that is putting corporate chieftains into the critical pieces of the American economy. Were in a moment where the lives of working people and middle class people, our economic future, is at threat this is the moment where people have to organize.

Originally posted here:
Propelled by the 2016 Election, Democratic Socialism Finds a Home ... - Long Beach Post

Forbes

Congratulations To Bolivarian Socialism: Banning A TV Station Is Protecting Venezuela's Free Speech Forbes Not that any of us have really expected any less than this from the Chavistas currently running Venezuela but they're now claiming that banning a TV station is a method of protecting Venezuela's free speech. The background to this is that CNN Espanol ... Venezuela may have given passports to people with ties to terrorismCNN all 115 news articles »

Read more from the original source:
Congratulations To Bolivarian Socialism: Banning A TV Station Is Protecting Venezuela's Free Speech - Forbes

Back in November, local economist Alan Harvey explained in a Person of Interest feature that he was, at the time, reading Hyman Minsky's 1975 book on the work of John Maynard Keynes, arguably the most influential economist of the 20th century. Whether you believe it or not, we all live in a Keynesian world. Even Trump and the GOP can't escape Keynes, which is why the US has a huge military budget and no real enemies to make sense of it. All of the massive government spending forms one of the key supports of this economy, producing jobs for the poor and providing demand for a number of privately-owned enterprises. This is Keynes. Harvey, who is a post-Keynesian (I explain that here), recommended reading the last chapter of Minsky's John Maynard Keynes first. In that brilliant section, Minksy questions the social usefulness of full employment, explains why capital is scarce, and, as concerns this post, offers a counter-intuitive reason for why socialism, if done right, should be better for entrepreneurialism.

Minsky writes:

Please re-read that passage. It might be the most important piece of economic thinking you will ever be exposed to. It takes time to fully grasp its meaning, which is profound. It not only describes the world you live in, but also the world you should live in. And this other world is not in some future, nor does it require a revolution to obtain. It is concrete. It is already here.

Obamacare, for example, offers a real-world way to make Minsky's point about socialism obvious. Let's turn to something Mark Herbert, the California director for Small Business Majority, said in "What California's smallest businesses stand to lose with Obamacare repeal": "When youre providing a benefit that allows folks to take that risk with a little more of a safety net that allows more entrepreneurs to take the plunge..."

The fact of the matter is, one out of five people on Obamacare are self-employed, and many of these people own a business because they could "take the plunge." Universal health care is a form of socialism. It socializes the risks of injury and illness. This socialization is, in essence, liberating. A socialism that works is supposed to democratize freedom. By removing the wall of expensive health insurance, people can leave jobs in "institutionalized giant firms" that provide health care, and try to start something new. A functional socialism should encourage entrepreneurialism. A functional capitalism, on the other hand, does everything to lock people up in firms that fear competition, the new, a challenge to their share of the market. This is why markets can never be perfect under capitalisma fact that was obvious to post-Keynesians like Joan Robertson.

To conclude: "Herbert said rolling back subsidized health care and the no-exclusion policy for preexisting conditions could lead entrepreneurs to abandon their endeavors for more secure jobs, or prevent them from setting up shop in the first place."

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SLOG - TheStranger.com

When the 2016 presidential elections came to a close, over two million millennialsthose under the age of 30voted for Bernie Sanders. Statistics from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement concluded this was more than the number of millennials who voted for Trump and Clinton combined.

Despite Sanders loss, UTEPs Young Democratic Socialists were among those inspired by Sanders message for change.

YDS is a youth chapter of Democratic Socialists of America. UTEPS chapter has been established for two years now, but has experienced a revival this January.

The political organization aims not just disseminate democratic socialist ideals, but also build a united front working toward economic and racial justice.

What were trying to do is continue that political revolution through self-education, community involvement and having group discussions about these issues, said Dominic Chacon, YDS member and senior environmental science major.

Gabriel Solis, an active YDS member and history graduate student, wants students to be aware of the radical movements in U.S. history to understand the stigma behind socialism.

In this country, labor has always been extremely racialized and exploited and theres a long history of that. I think when we got to the industrial revolution a lot of workers of color tried to organize, and farmworkers they were always met with resistance, Solis said.

Chacon and Solis also said democratic socialism is just a niche in that spectrum of socialism.

I think we all liked Bernie Sanders and I think we all believed in that message of equality, and that he sort of empowered millennials to realize we have the opportunity to really change the way this world is working, Chacon said.

Solis said he wants students to become involved in movements that are already happening, such as Black Lives Matter or stopping the Dakota Access Pipeline.

We could sit around for hours and read (Karl) Marx and philosophers, but I think I think the best political education is activism itself, Solis said.

YDS is currently working with other organizations to form a coalition that will make UTEP a sanctuary campus to protect undocumented immigrants on campus from getting deported.

We want to focus our message on education and not deportation, Chacon said. If theres any UT school that needs to be at the forefront of this debate and this conversation, its the one school thats on the border.

Chacon said they are working to educate students about the rights they have.

We are absolutely opposed to any students being deported. Most of us are opposed to the system of deportation and the militarization of the border, Solis said.

YDS wants to reach out to the Office of International Programs to make sure students have legal protection.

Chacon says intersectionality is a topic YDS also wants to address. Intersectionality is the theory that oppressive groups find common ground at one place or another.

For example, one cause that were trying to back up is the downtown arena in Durangito, Chacon said. Were trying to give a voice to (the residents).

YDS has created a movement called People before Profit, which does not agree with using eminent domain to displace residents in Durangito, which is located near the Union Plaza downtown, for the proposed multi-million dollar multi-purpose arena.

In four days, YDS helped Paso Del Sur, a local organization that works for the rights of residents in El Pasos barrios, collect 200 signatures at Leech Grove on theUTEP campus in support of saving the Union Plaza neighborhood.

Whether youre a woman that deals with misogyny, LGBTQ, Muslim, immigrant, anything, all these forms of oppression intersect at some point or another, Chacon said. So were trying to build coalitions with BSU (Black Student Union), ARISE (Academic Revival of Indigenous Studies and Education), Arab Student Association, were trying to get these people included in the conversation and also be part of the political revolution.

They also want to reach out to the Queer Student Alliance.

Chacon attended the Young Democratic Socialists Summer Conference in Washington DC this past summer. He said it was important for El Paso to be represented at the conference.

There were a lot of liberal elites, people who are from a higher class and come from a wealthier background, Chacon said. It was very different. We were like that token minority, but it was empowering because we had a voice, we had a perspective that was uniquefrom El Paso, our heritage, our culturethat hadnt been spoken before.

Chacon said some Young Democratic Socialists spoke about discovering socialism as a theory from books or a philosopher, but oppression could be seen first hand in El Paso.

The next YDS meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, in the River View room on the first floor of Union East Building. This meeting is for any students interested in joining YDS.

More:
Young Democratic Socialists define socialism on the border - The Prospector

While Americans fixate on the new Republican majority in Washington DC, they may have overlooked the partys gains in their own state capitals. It wasnt just Donald Trump who won big-league in 2016. Republicans also picked up dozens of seats in statehouses. All told, the GOP now controls the legislatures of 32 states (compared to 14 for Democrats), an all-time high for the party.

My home state of West Virginia is no exception. Two years ago, we saw our first Republican majority since the Great Depression, with the GOP gaining even more ground in 2016. One of those gains was in my district, where my friend and fellow homeschooling mother Patricia Rucker recently became my state senator. Although Im admittedly biased, Rucker is both a good model for anyone looking to get more involved in local politics, and a reminder of the value that freedom-seeking immigrants bring to America.

I first got to know Patricia through local politics, where she seemed to be an almost omnipresent force. Dark-haired and slender, shes one of those people who radiates energy. At every phone bank, fundraiser, lit drop, and Tea Party rally, Patricia was therealways with several kids in tow. A devout Catholic, she and her husband Jimmy have five children.

As the legislative session began February 8, Patricia packed her bags, left the homeschooling in Jimmys hands, and made the five-hour trek to Charleston as a freshman senator. For a woman who was born a continent away and became a U.S. citizen just 12 years ago, its the culmination of a remarkable journey.

She was born Patricia Elena Puertas in Caracas, Venezuela. Her parents, Jos and Hayde, had both grown up as the eldest children of large, working-class families. They each became the first in their families to attend college, working hard to support themselves as journalism students. They used their first paychecks to help Haydes parents leave the slums for a two-bedroom apartment in Caracas, with their eight younger children.

Family interdependence was such an important part of Venezuelan culture back then, Patricia remembers. Its one of those things that socialism is trying to destroy.

The Venezuela of Patricias childhood was a very different place than it is today. At the time, Venezuelans enjoyed the highest standard of living in Latin America. Patricia remembers an easy-going, family-oriented culture, loosely organized and far from centrally planned.

There was certainly quite a bit of petty corruption, a quid-pro-quo system, she says. But in general, the government required very little from you. You didnt have to get a license and a permit for every little thing. You lived how you wanted. People didnt have a lot of material things, but they also didnt see those things as important. Everyone had their little plot of land, their garden. We relied on our families. We took care of each other.

As his family grew, Jos was climbing the career ladder as a journalist with the Paris-based Agence France-Press. Eventually, AFP asked the young Venezuelan to move to its Washington DC, bureau. It was a prestigious job that involved covering politicians and world leadersincluding the U.S. presidentas a member of the international press corps.

It was hard for Jos and Hayde to leave their extended family in Venezuela, but they didnt sell their Venezuelan home, confident they and their five children would return. We arrived in DC on January 3, 1981, just before Reagan was inaugurated, Patricia remembers. To this day, its the only presidential inauguration Ive ever seen in person. Of course, I didnt really understand any of it. She was six years old.

The family settled in the DC suburb of Montgomery County, Maryland, where the children went to school. I had speech delays and had a hard time communicating, even in Spanish, Patricia says, so between that and learning English, my first years in school were hard. I was an outcast. The experience, though difficult, was formative. It made me sympathetic toward other people. After that, I was always the one befriending my fellow nerds and outcasts, she remembers. It became a part of my personality: I defend the little guy and I stand up for them.

By sixth grade, Patricia had finished speech therapy and mastered English. After that, she quickly advanced to her schools gifted and talented class. There she had another formative experience.

Even though there werent many Hispanics in Montgomery County back then, I never thought of myself as different. In my mind, I was like everyone else. But her fellow students were more familiar with the ways of the world. As soon as I got into the gifted and talented program, several of the other students assumed that I was only there because I was the token Hispanic. They thought I hadnt gotten there on my own merits.

The experience rankled. It was then that I decided I hated the labeling. I hated the affirmative action. Youre trying to do me a favor, but youre actually making it worse for me! I dont want you to do me a favor. I want to succeed through my own achievements. She laughs a little at the memory. And I think thats when I first became a Republican. The Democratic Party has become a party of favors and putting people into pigeonholes. I dont want to be labeled; I dont want to be limited. I wanted to be limitless. I dont want you giving me anything. I want you to get out of my way and let me live my life.

Sixth grade also marked the beginning of her political career: she ran for class president and won. She remained active in student government throughout her middle and high school years. While still a senior in high school, Patricia met Maryland native Jimmy Rucker at a church Bible study. Jimmy was a nursing student at Catholic University, and asked her out on a date.

I knew pretty quickly that this was the man I was going to marry, Patricia says. They dated for four years, until Patricia graduated from Trinity College with a major in U.S. history. She and Jimmy married the same year, and Patricia took a teaching job with Montgomery County public schools. After having their second child, they moved to Jefferson County, West Virginiarefugees from socialist Montgomery County, Patricia laughs. Its true. We came here for freedom.

All this time, Patricia was slowly working her way through the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. Before I even met my husband, I already felt more American than Venezuelan, she says. For Patricia, U.S. citizenship was the fulfilment of a dream. I had majored in history, and the more I learned, the more I fell in love with the Constitution. I fell in love with the American founding and the American dreamit was not just a clich for me.

After an eight-year process, Patricia was finally granted citizenship in 2004. By then, she was already the mother of four young Americans, the smallest just four months old. Patricia was given the option to be sworn in at a DC ceremony with President Bush in 2005, but she opted for an earlier local ceremony instead. I chose to do it early because I was so eager to vote in the fall election, she explains. I just couldnt wait.

Patricia cast her first vote in November 2004. When she looked at her ballot, the names on national races were familiar, but the names on local races werent. It really shook me that I didnt even know who some of those people were, she said. That day, I promised myself never to let that happen again.

While Patricia was busy putting down roots in America, her native country was remaking itself. Hugo Chvez, a self-declared Marxist, had come to power in 1998, bringing with him a new socialist vision. The Puertas family, who continued traveling back to Venezuela every two years, watched the transformation unfold before their eyes.

I was in Venezuela when Chvez was campaigning in 1998, Patricia remembers. He preached a gospel of envy, both internationally and locally. If the United States was wealthy, it was because they had stolen and cheated from other countries. And if your neighbor was better off than you, it was also because they had stolen and cheated. Therefore, you should be allowed to take what was theirs.

If your neighbor was better off than you, it was also because they had stolen and cheated. Therefore, you should be allowed to take what was theirs.

Besides nationalizing industry and rewriting the constitution to grant himself vast powers, Chvez unleashed the envy hed been fomenting in a government-sanctioned wave of lawlessness. He made it known that the government would not prosecute squatters who took over unproductive or unoccupied buildings and land. A spree of private property thefts ensued.

It got so bad that women had to quit their jobs and stay home all day, just to make sure their homes wouldnt be broken into by squatters, Patricia says. You can only imagine the violence. In a place where we never had violent crime when I was a little girl, people were terrified to go out at night.

Yet Chvezs welfare state policies, funded for a time by Venezuelas vast oil revenues, continued to make him popular with the majority. Its only in the past few years that most Venezuelans have realized what an incredible mistake they made, says Patricia. As oil prices have fallen and Venezuelas war on private industry has reached its natural end, the country is in an economic tailspin. For the past four years, Venezuela has been ranked as the most miserable nation on earth, according to economist Steve Hankes Misery Index. Last year, the Venezuelan currency officially reached hyperinflation, with average people unable to buy food or basic necessities.

Despite living abroad, Jos and Hayde were not immune from the chaos. Not only were they driven to sell their Venezuelan home at a fraction of its value, but they also lost the apartment they had bought for Haydes parents all those years ago, when it was claimed in a break-in. Sadly, they realized that there would be no returning home. The old Venezuela was gone. They too applied for U.S. citizenship, finally becoming Americans just last year.

Back in West Virginia, the Ruckers were busy raising their growing family, now with five children. Despite her full life as a stay-at-home mom and homeschool teacher, Patricia began getting involved in grassroots activism. When I heard Obama campaigning in 2008, I was shocked to hear how much he sounded like Hugo Chvez on the campaign trail, she says. All the stoking of class envyit really concerned me. After seeing what happened in Venezuela, I was not going to let my adopted country go that direction without a fight.

Her worries extended beyond Obama and the Democrats. In 2008 I was feeling deceived and disillusioned by both parties, she remembers. I felt the need to fight back, with education as the primary tool. She founded a local Tea Party chapter, kicking things off with a tax-day rally at the county courthouse in April 2009.

We forget that the Tea Party started because people were furious about the stimulus, the Wall Street bailouts, the fiscal insanity.

About 200 people showed up on a rainy day, she remembers. That was so encouraging. We forget that the Tea Party started because people were furious about the stimulus, the Wall Street bailouts, the fiscal insanity. I had felt very lonely, but now I saw I wasnt alone.

Patricia sent out invitations for meetings, and the group slowly grew. We were committed to two things: First, defending the Constitution. Second, educating ourselves and others. We really tried to remain non-partisan and not get caught up in social issues. After several years, the group restructured as a political action committee and began recruiting liberty-minded candidates for local office. Every year, we did a little bit more. We started having some successes.

In 2014, the Tea Party couldnt find a candidate for one race, a House of Delegates seat in the countys most liberal districtPatricias district. I just could not stand the thought of the Democrat being unchallenged, she recalls. I tried hard. No one was willing to run against him.

As moms everywhere know, if you want something done right, sometimes you have to do it yourself. After prayer and discussion with her family, Patricia reluctantly stepped aside from the Tea Party PAC and filed as a Republican candidate for the seat.

Her opponent was incumbent Delegate Stephen Skinner, a private attorney and the first openly gay lawmaker in West Virginia. As founder of the LGBT advocacy group Fairness WV, he was one of the most liberal legislators in Charleston, with progressive social issues at the center of his agenda.

The odds against Patricia were steep, but she worked hard, going door to door throughout the district. On Election Day, she came just 133 votes away from unseating Skinner. The narrow loss in a tough district whetted her political appetite: It gave me a taste for the fact that I could do it.

In 2015, Patricia filed as a candidate againthis time for the West Virginia Senate, where Republicans held a narrow one-seat majority. She badly wanted to see this seat flip to the GOP, but we needed a candidate who was really going to work hard for it. Patricia thought shed be challenging the incumbent, Sen. Herb Snyder, but in June she got some surprising news: Snyder was stepping down, and Skinner would run for the seat. The stage had been set for a rematch.

I was excited when I heard I was going up against Skinner again, Patricia says. Hes my political polar opposite. Its much easier to run against someone who disagrees with you on almost every point.

So many people believe the same things we domore than youd think. But theyre busy. They dont have time to go out and investigate all the issues.

It became one of the most hotly contested races in the state, making headlines for the amount of money spent. The vast majority of that moneyfour out of every five dollarswas spent on Skinners side. One PAC in particular, calling itself West Virginia Family Values but funded by unions and trial lawyers, poured money into massive ad buys against Rucker. The Skinner campaign also went on the attack. Patricia was painted as a radical with the incongruous goals of legalizing all drugs, taking away womens birth control, and defunding public education.

I think [these allegations] created more support for me than they did me harm, Patricia says.

While Skinner and his allies took to the airwaves, Rucker took to the streets, again pursuing her door-to-door strategy. This time, instead of a small House district, she had a massive Senate district to tackle. I created a daily schedule for myself, she says. I would start with six hours of homeschooling. Then I would go out for two to four hours of door-knocking. Id come home and make dinner, and every night I would finish by writing personal letters to the people Id met that day. She kept up this grueling pace from October 2015 until Election Day 2016eventually knocking on over 16,000 doors.

While many would consider this a form of torture, meeting voters energized Rucker. Talking to people inspired me, she says. So many people believe the same things we domore than youd think. But theyre busy. They dont have time to go out and investigate all the issues. My biggest strength in politics isnt that Im rich or creative or entrepreneurialits that Im a teacher. Its just in me to educate. If I can help someone understand something they didnt before, thats where I get my reward. She also got her reward at the polls on Election Day, defeating Skinner 53 to 47 percent.

While the Senate is now solidly in GOP control, Patricia nonetheless anticipates a tension-filled freshman session: Down there, they think they know it all.

The state government makes too many decisions for its people. At the same time, its failing in its core responsibilities.

Asked what her goals as a senator are, Patricia says, I want to make West Virginia a state that supports and respects its citizens. That sounds basic, but its not. The state government makes too many decisions for its people. At the same time, its failing in its core responsibilities of education, infrastructure, and protecting citizens rights. I want to make the state more responsive and accountable, while empowering local governments and citizens to reclaim our freedom. Follow what the Founding Fathers expected: that we would manage our own affairs.

Part of the states role should be protecting its citizens from federal overreach, she continues. We need more representatives who have the courage to do that. It means making decisions that arent popular, but I didnt run because I wanted to be popular. I ran because I wanted someone in office whos going to stand up and not be afraid.

To the grassroots activist who aspires to political office, Patricia advises: Dont give up. Know clearly what youre fighting for. If you dont have principles to ground you, you can easily get used and bought off.

Rucker doesnt seem to be in any doubt about what her principles are. As someone who has both studied Americas founding and witnessed socialism firsthand, she knows the stakes. At a January swearing-in ceremony held locally for friends and supporters, a crowd of us watched her take an oath to defend the Constitution, with confidence that she really meant it.

As we filed out of the room that night, I overheard one man in a ball cap make a passing remark in his thick local drawl. If every native-born American loved this country as much as she does, he said, wed be a whole lot better off.

Jayme Metzgar is a Senior Contributor at The Federalist.

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