Valley Solutions

 Less talk, more work for America

Valley Solutions: Showing support for an America that works.
The headlines are all about a “new kind of Democrat,” a “fighter itching to take on Trump,” radicals who intend to “upend the political order.” Such rhetoric can feel good in the moment. Who doesn’t want an end to costly wars, job-killing tariffs, bad science and rampant corruption? But anger is like gasoline; it burns off quickly. Restoring our ideals is going to take hard, serious work by a lot of people – Democrats, Independents and, yes, Republicans. Only those willing to do that work today, tomorrow and for years to come will succeed. Democrats have always been the party for people willing to work. Now, some two dozen Democrats are setting aside their anger to start doing something about the problems. They’re pledging to put everyday Americans ahead of CEOs, oligarchs and trillionaires. Working with a group of college students, Reps. Adam Gray of California’s Central Valley and Tom Suozzi of Long Island, N.Y., drafted the pledge promising to work for safety, prosperity, functional government, common purpose, free speech and to take pride in America. People are beginning to notice. Here is some of what is being written and said about the Promise to America and those who intend to keep it.

From frustration arises a solution

LI Herald. Suozzi joins Democrats in promise to America. 
Tom Suozzi of Long Island, N.Y. joined Rep. Adam Gray of California to unveil and sign a bipartisan-style political initiative that emphasizes fiscal responsibility, capitalism, public safety and patriotism while distancing themselves from both the party’s progressive flank and the political far right. The movement arose when a group of college students became frustrated with the party’s direction and began collaborating on developing a grassroots program. With students from Yale, UC Berkeley, Harvard and other top schools, their aim is to offer something different. “Our politics gives false choices between extremes on the left and on the right,” said Felix Frisch, a sophomore at the University of Chicago. “Each of these signers rejects that.” In helping create the program, Gray said his constituents “spend their days paying their bills, raising their kids, finding a good job, buying a home, building a better future. My job is to make their lives easier.”

There’s a path down the center

New York Times. Centrist Democrats rebuke party’s left wing: ‘We are capitalist, not socialist.’ 
From the deepest deep-blue states in America – New York and California – a group of centrist Democrats are arising. The Promise to America has been signed by a group of moderate Democrats just days after primary victories by Democratic Socialists pushed to prominence by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “Politics forces false choices between extremes on right and left,” said the letter signed by Reps. Tom Suozzi of NY and Adam Gray of CA. “We reject them.” The group is asking officials across America to sign their pledge and help “build a movement” dedicated to putting America back to work for the betterment of all its citizens. Suozzi said the group’s aim is give people who don’t like MAGA and don’t identify as socialists a place to stand. He wants a pro-union form of capitalism that puts the worker first. The key is finding a way to confront Republicans who specialize in portraying Democrats in ways that leave many cold. “What we’ve seen Republicans do very successfully before is weaponize the craziest ideas of the activist left,” said Matt Bennet of the centrist Third Way. The Promise to America can counter that.

Saving Democrats from themselves

The Free Press. Tom Suozzi’s fight to save the Democratic Party from the DSA. 
The subtext of The Promise to America is to push back against the leftist tsunami engulfing his party. The pledge includes support for capitalism, free speech and America – and just as importantly, opposition to socialism, purity tests, and a belief that the country is the root of all evil everywhere. Rep. Tom Suozzi of Long Island believes that the story of America, and the Democratic Party, “is the story of many great melting pots, each leavened with grit, loss, sacrifice and a belief in the promise of America.”

‘We believe in the power of America’

Newsweek. AOC challenges new Democrat group: ‘What do you believe?’
Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez claimed the new group of Democrats signing onto The Promise to America has “no affirmative vision.” But that’s not the way 10 Congressional Democrats and 5 candidates for Congress see it. “We’re capitalists, not socialist. Responsible not reckless. Mainstream, not extreme,” they wrote in a statement crafted by Reps Adam Gray and Tom Suozzi among others. “We want government that works to solve problems. We want a politics of persuasion. And most of all, we are proud of America.” Included in the group are representatives from California, New York, Michigan, Texas, Nevada and other places. Suozzi and Gray are the only two Democrats in America who flipped red districts in 2024 won by Trump in that same year.

Make Your Promise to America

Promise to America. Take Action!
Change doesn’t come from Washington – it comes from people like you! Take action to help us align the Democratic Party with the values and priorities of the broad majority of Americans. Your voice matters. How? Email legislators. Post on social media. Write a letter to the editor. Most importantly, SIGN THE PLEDGE.