The people of the United States of America are unsatisfied. Wages are stagnant, as the wealthiest among us grow wealthier and wealthier. Our government is structured as a representative democracy; our government operates as an oligarchy.

The donor class owns Washington. Both political parties serve wealthy individuals and corporations. Honest politicians are far and few between. The institution charged with holding the government accountable promotes the establishment narrative at the expense of the public good. Essentially, mainstream media acts as the stenographer for the rich and powerful.

Grassroots movements, organizations, and individuals fill the niche left unoccupied by major political and media institutions. Youtube hosts a number of channels that cover news and politics. These channels receive revenue from crowdfunding and Youtube advertisements. This enables hosts to report news honestly, without conflicting financial interests.

Kyle Kulinski is a 29 year old political activist, who hosts the Youtube channel Secular Talk. In the wake of the 2016 election, Kyle, Cenk Uyger of The Young Turks, and keymembers of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign staff coalesced to form an organization dedicated to running progressive candidates in order to replace corrupt incumbents.
“We are now ready to launch a real grassroots effort to have the Bernie-wing of the Democratic Party takeover,” Kulunski declares, “We are the Justice Democrats.” The passionate Youtube host explains the structure and platform of the grassroots organization in a video spanning over an hour. Kulunski underlines the rigid dichotomy between the Justice Democrats and the establishment wing of the party: “We are the polar opposite of the establishment corporatist wing. We are the opposite of the Cory Bookers and Hillary Clintons.”

The entirety of the Justice Democrat platform can be found on the organization’s website, justicedemocrats.com/platform. Each of the positions taken by the Justice Democrats are supported by the majority of Americans, with the sole exception being opposition to the death penalty. The platform includes establishing a living wage, implementing a single-payer healthcare system, and ending the failed war on drugs.

Establishment media dismisses the idea of a ‘purity test’. Corporate Democrats argue that progressives risk sacrificing electoral victories, in favor of ideological purity. Candidates who run as Justice Democrats are under no obligation to support every aspect of the platform. In fact, there is a single prerequisite to become a Justice Democrat. All candidates are required to pledge not to take any corporate PAC or corporate lobbyist money. The founders of the Justice Democrats believe that by offering a clear alternative to the deeply corrupt Republican Party will result in a wave of electoral victories.

Recently, Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona’s 3rd district joined the ranks of the justice democrats. Kyle Kulunski uploaded a video to his Youtube channel Secular Talk announcing the development. In the video, Kyle discusses Grijalva’s recent activity in Congress.
“Raul Grijalva co-sponsored H.R. 676, he has been fighting for medicare-for-all. He co-sponsored H.R. 1880 to make public college tuition free. He is a co-sponsor of H.R. 16 to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. He introduced H.R. 3227 to eliminate private prisons.”

Rep. Grijalva is the second incumbent in Congress to join the Justice Democrats. Rep. Ro Khanna joined the movement on May 11, earlier this year. Justice Democrats recently launched 14 new campaigns, including a Senate race. This announcement brings the total number of canidates running as Justice Democrats to 51.

The political revolution is here. There is no excuse. We do not have to choose between the lesser of two evils. In 2018 and beyond, vote your conscience.