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Campaigns

In December 2005, BAMN disrupted a meeting of the Michigan State Board of Canvassers in which the Board voted to put a measure that would prohibit race-based preferential treatment in higher education on the November 2006 ballot. They did so by shouting down officials and overturning chairs and tables.[2]

In December 2014, BAMN helped to organize a week of anti-police and Black Lives Matter protest in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. One of these protests shut down a part of Interstate 80 and led to the mass arrest of 210 people. Ronald Cruz, an attorney and organizer for BAMN, said that BAMN demanded that all of the charges against the protesters be dropped.[3] Another protest the same week resulted in violence and property damage.[4][1] Cruz claimed the police were the aggressors.[4]

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Sacramento riot

Main article: 2016 Sacramento riot

In June 2016, BAMN led a counter-protest against a rally held by the Traditionalist Worker Party, a white nationalist group, outside of the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Violence at the protests resulted in nine people being hospitalized, seven with stab wounds.[7] Yvette Felarca, a BAMN spokeswoman, said their protest successfully "chased away the neo-Nazis and kept them from recruiting new members."[8]

In July 2017, a year after the riot, authorities arrested Felarca and charged her with "inciting and participating in a riot and assault likely to cause great bodily injury."[9] Felarca and her lawyer, BAMN's national chair Shanta Driver, say the white nationalists were the aggressors and BAMN members had the right to defend themselves. Further, that Felarca sustained serious injury in the riot including a head wound requiring stitches.[10]

[40]:

~~[Mike ]Wright said the Berkeley Patriot became involved with Free Speech when Milo Yiannopoulos, whose campus event was canceled Feb. 1 due to violent protests on Sproul Plaza, contacted the Berkeley College Republicans about returning to campus. Wright said BCR was unable to host the event, so the Berkeley Patriot took the opportunity to expand its publication and recruit new writers by organizing Free Speech Week with Yiannopoulos.~~

Okay, let's take a look at EMILY's List now...

[4: 13a]:

EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect pro-choice Democratic female candidates to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985.[4] According to the Washington Examiner, Emily's List is "the nation's most influential pro-choice political action committee."[5]

The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money Is Like Yeast", Malcolm commenting that "it makes the dough rise".[4] The saying is a reference to a convention of political fundraising: that receiving lots of donations early in a race is helpful in attracting subsequent donors.

Emily’s List bundles contributions to the campaigns of pro-choice Democratic women running in targeted races.[6][7]

From 1985 through the 2008 election, Emily's List had raised and spent $240 million for political candidates.[1] Emily's List spent $27.4 million in 2010, $34 million in 2012, and $44.9 million in 2014.[3] The organization is on track to raise $60 million for the 2016 election cycle, much of it earmarked for Hillary Clinton, whose presidential bid Emily's List had endorsed.[8][9]

History and mission

Emily's List was founded in 1985, when 25 women met in the home of Ellen Malcolm. Founding members included Barbara Boxer, Ann Richards, Anne Wexler, and Donna Shalala.[7] In 1986, early financial support from Emily's List helped elect Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, the first female Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right (not appointed or filling a seat of a deceased husband).[1][10]

The group's mission is to cultivate a donor network to raise money for pro-choice female Democratic candidates. To become an official Emily's List member, an individual must pay $100 to join Emily's List, and agree to donate a minimum of $100 each to two U.S. Senate, U.S. House, or gubernatorial candidates. Members make their donations directly to Emily's List, which bundles the checks together and forwards them to candidates.[11]~~

~~For the 2006 election cycle, Emily's List raised about $46 million for candidates and the group was listed as the biggest PAC in the nation by Political Money Line.[16] Emily's List endorsed 31 candidates in 2006, eight of whom were victorious.[7]

In 2008, Emily's List endorsed 22 U.S. House candidates, two U.S. Senate candidates, and three gubernatorial contenders.[7] The PAC helped elect two new female senators, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and supported the gubernatorial election of Bev Perdue of North Carolina, the re-election of Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington, and the successful elections of twelve new women to the United States House of Representatives.[10]

EMILY’s List criteria for picking candidates include staff recommendations, viability, "demographics and history of the district, analysis of opponents or potential opponents, analysis of candidate’s education, political experience, etc., demonstrated success at fund-raising, poll data to demonstrate name recognition and grass roots support."[15]

Staff

Stephanie Schriock took over as President of Emily’s List in 2010. Amy Dacey was the executive director of Emily's List from 2010 through 2013.[17]

The organization's board of directors includes Ellen Malcolm, Stephanie Schriock, Joanne Howes, Ranny Cooper, Diana Bell, Mary Beth Cahill, Judith-Ann Corrente, Shefali Razdan Duggal, Ted Gavin, Rebecca Haile, Nikki Heidepriem, Judith Lichtman, Debra L. Ness, and Laura Ricketts.[18]

Programs

The Political Opportunity Program (POP) was established in 2001 to encourage pro-choice Democratic women to run for state and local office. POP targets its resources toward pro-choice Democratic women running for state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and local offices.[19]

Women Vote! is Emily’s List’s independent expenditure arm which communicates directly with voters.[7]

Madam President

In 2013, Emily's List announced its Madam President campaign, saying "There is a mandate for women’s leadership in this country. But we have yet to break through the final glass ceiling and put a woman at the top of the Democratic ticket and into the Presidency."[20] Madam President now houses the former social media presences of Ready for Hillary PAC which did grassroots organizing in preparation for Hillary Clinton's presidential candidacy.[21]

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Endorsements

EMILY’s List provides trainings, recruits women to run, and endorses and funds female political candidates. EMILY’s List is listed as an “important source of candidate support,”[23] in a 2010 article in the Harvard International Review.

Candidates endorsed by EMILY's List include:

Candidate	Notable for	State	Position
Tammy Duckworth	First female amputee elected to Congress[24]	IL	Congresswoman then Senator
Tammy Baldwin	First openly gay woman in Congress[25]	WI	Congresswoman
Kamala Harris	First African-American, South Asian, and woman to serve as California’s Attorney General[26]	CA	Senator
Pramila Jayapal	First Indian-American woman elected to Congress[27]	WA	Congresswoman
Catherine Cortez Masto	First Latina elected to US Senate[28]	NV	Senator

Presidential

During the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, when NARAL endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, Emily's List was strongly critical. Emily's List President Ellen Malcolm said, “I think it is tremendously disrespectful to Sen. Clinton - who held up the nomination of a FDA commissioner in order to force approval of Plan B and who spoke so eloquently during the Supreme Court nomination about the importance of protecting Roe vs. Wade - to not give her the courtesy to finish the final three weeks of the primary process. It certainly must be disconcerting for elected leaders who stand up for reproductive rights and expect the choice community will stand with them.”[29]

After the conclusion of the Democratic presidential primary, Emily's List moved their support to Barack Obama and was vocal in their opposition to the McCain/Palin ticket.[30]

On April 12, 2015, Emily's List endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. The endorsement came within hours of Clinton's announcement that she had formed an exploratory committee to run for president.[31][7] Emily's List bundled $855,518 for Clinton, making the group one of the five largest donors to the campaign.[7]

Emily's List also endorsed Hillary Clinton in the General election against Donald Trump.[8]

~~

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Similar groups

Similar groups have formed along the same lines as Emily's List, with some slight variations. The Wish List supports pro-choice Republican women. In 1994, Joan Kirner created a similar organization in Australia by the name EMILY's List Australia.

On the other side of the abortion debate, the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life PAC, supports pro-life women and is seen as the pro-life counterpart to Emily's List.[34]

Maggie's List is a United States federal political action committee founded in Florida in 2010 to "raise awareness and funds to increase the number of conservative women elected to federal public office."[35][36]

Continued ahead in comment 16...