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Common Defense endorses Matt McCoy for Rhode Island House District 31.Matt spent decades in the Navy. He came home and k...
09/09/2026

Common Defense endorses Matt McCoy for Rhode Island House District 31.

Matt spent decades in the Navy. He came home and kept going, first as a Town Councilor, then as one of the more persistent voices for veterans at the State House.

Naveed Shah, U.S. Army veteran and Political Director at Common Defense:

"Matt McCoy served decades in the Navy, and he never stopped serving after he came home. As a Town Councilor and a voice for veterans at the State House, he's shown what it means to keep faith with the people who wore the uniform. Common Defense is proud to back Matt McCoy for House District 31. Rhode Island needs leaders who show up for veterans long after the parade ends."

District 31 voters, this one is yours. Full statement in the comments.

09/09/2026

We are 1️⃣ signature away from the 218 threshold for the Major Richard Star Act Discharge Petition. Many have said this isn't viable, but it's clear this is THE path forward. RM Congressman Mark Takano urges Republican colleagues to join us and get this bill to the House Floor for a vote.

Veterans did not stop being workers when they took off the uniform.The labor movement won the 40-hour week, the minimum ...
09/07/2026

Veterans did not stop being workers when they took off the uniform.

The labor movement won the 40-hour week, the minimum wage, family leave, and health insurance. Every one of those protections shows up in the life of a veteran who came home and went back to work.

Right now, the people who staff the VA are losing the ability to bargain over the conditions they work under. The VA lost 3,000 registered nurses in 2025. A lot of the people caring for veterans are veterans.

Congress can restore collective bargaining by passing the Protect America's Workforce Act.

There is a provision buried in this year's defense bill that would make US-Israeli weapons co-production permanent law.S...
09/02/2026

There is a provision buried in this year's defense bill that would make US-Israeli weapons co-production permanent law.

Section 219 of the NDAA hardwires weapons co-production, AI coordination, and data integration into permanent US-Israel military cooperation. The oversight language was stripped out. It is written to pass without a debate, inside a bill that has to pass.

Next Wednesday, September 9 at 7pm ET, we are breaking it down. Seth Binder of the American Committee for Middle East Rights and Palestinian-American peace advocate Lydia El-Sayegh, moderated by our National Team Lead Organizer Jermaine Collins. What the provision actually does, how it undermines accountability under US and international law, and what advocates can do right now.

Registration link in the comment below.

Pete Hegseth has a private army of internet trolls, and he put them on the government's books.Rob Maness, Kurt Schlichte...
09/02/2026

Pete Hegseth has a private army of internet trolls, and he put them on the government's books.

Rob Maness, Kurt Schlichter, and Thomas Anderson spend their days attacking journalists and veterans who question this administration. Over a million followers between them.

All three held government email addresses inside the Pentagon office that sets policy on who serves. All three worked a task force Hegseth built to hunt what he calls toxic ideology in the ranks. All three kept posting like private citizens.

He forced out the reporters. He credentialed a friendlier press corps. Now the loudest voices defending him answer to him.

Washington Post reporting linked in the comments.

Common Defense is proud to again endorse Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley for reelection to the U.S. House.Jose Vasquez, U....
09/01/2026

Common Defense is proud to again endorse Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley for reelection to the U.S. House.

Jose Vasquez, U.S. Army veteran and Executive Director of Common Defense, put it this way: Pressley brings clarity, vision, and consistency to her work on behalf of veterans and military families facing hostility under this administration.

The record backs it up. She condemned the Trump administration's attacks on VA employees' union contracts. She pushed back on the deployment of the National Guard into American communities. She has continued to demand an end to Forever Wars.

That combination matters. Corporate healthcare profiteers want the VA broken up and sold off. The same politics that sent troops into endless wars abroad is now testing what the military can do at home. Fighting both takes a representative who does not flinch.

Full endorsement linked in the first comment.

Thirty four years in uniform. Now she is running for Congress.Common Defense is proud to endorse retired U.S. Navy Rear ...
08/31/2026

Thirty four years in uniform. Now she is running for Congress.

Common Defense is proud to endorse retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher for Colorado's 4th Congressional District.

Eileen deployed to Afghanistan and held senior national security assignments in India and at the White House. She knows the sacrifices military service demands from service members and their families, and she knows what responsible leadership looks like when the stakes are high.

Now she is bringing that commitment home to Colorado, fighting for serious, honest representation and a government that delivers for working people rather than corporate donors and billionaires.

Our members did not swear an oath to a party or a president. We swore it to the Constitution. We are backing candidates who will do the same.

"Now, with it being a year, it's hard to feel like that justification holds any water. It feels like the guard is being ...
08/30/2026

"Now, with it being a year, it's hard to feel like that justification holds any water. It feels like the guard is being exploited in a sense."

That's a National Guard member describing Trump's D.C. deployment to NPR. Three members spoke on condition of anonymity, since they're still serving and barred from talking to the press.

All three said the original reason, a "crime emergency" declared despite violent crime sitting at a 30-year low, doesn't hold up anymore.

One walked in with no real plan: "The president is calling out the guard to make D.C. safe. Well, what the f*** does that mean?"

The deployment now costs an estimated $3 million a day, and Trump has extended it through the end of his term. Independent studies found it's had no measurable effect on violent crime.

Read the full NPR interviews; link in the comments.

08/28/2026

Governor Abbott is deploying the Texas National Guard to peaceful vigils and protests.

This is a deliberate attempt to intimidate everyday people and chill our First Amendment rights.

Militarizing enforcement today means militarizing dissent tomorrow. The military exists to defend against external threats, not to be turned on neighbors exercising their constitutional rights.

As veterans who took an oath to the Constitution, we will not stay quiet. The intimidation is working on some, but it will not work in the end, because our community is persistent, disciplined, and explicitly nonviolent.

We are not backing down.

Democracy only works when everyday people have a real say, not just the wealthy and well-connected.Congressman Maxwell F...
08/28/2026

Democracy only works when everyday people have a real say, not just the wealthy and well-connected.

Congressman Maxwell Frost has spent his time in office helping Central Florida veterans and military families actually recover the benefits they earned through their service. That's not a talking point. That's casework, done right, for people the system too often leaves behind.

"That commitment to service and accountability is exactly what veterans expect from their elected leaders," said Jose Vasquez, U.S. Army veteran and Common Defense Executive Director.

We're proud to endorse Maxwell Frost for reelection to FL-10.

Read the full endorsement at the link below.

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