April 6
GUEST: Sarahana Shrestha, first
generation immigrant from Nepal, surprise winner of a race for
NY state Assembly, and committed social justice reformer,
talks about how the very rich and their corporations try to
roll back any progress in meeting social needs.
Tax
the rich, says freshman assembly member
Assembly Member Sarahana Shrestha is not giving up on her government or her new country. She ran as a progressive who refused to be bribed by the very rich and their corporations. Where did she get the courage to do that? And moreover, how in the world did she win her seat in the Assembly, when so many others run for office already compromised by dark money? How did she think she could make a difference in a democracy so dependent on cash from the filthy rich?
What would a government look like that was not swamped by the influence of the few? When that neoliberal con artist, Michael Bloomberg, spent some of his billions on attack ads, she just kept working: for the environment, for criminal justice reform, and for campaign finance limits. Representative Shrestha is democracy's best chance. And if she fails, who but the very rich will stand by our hopelessly corrupted system in its hour of crisis?
