Shahid Buttar: “Nancy Pelosi stands, as she always has, on the side of the past”

Shahid Buttar is running to represent California's 12th congressional district. He is challenging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has not faced a Democratic opponent in 30 years. In March, Buttar came in second in California’s nonpartisan blanket primary, winning himself a place on the ballot in November. A graduate of Stanford Law School, Buttar built a national progressive legal network at the American Constitution Society to help correct the conservative bias in federal courts. He also worked for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, advocating digital rights for policy issues such as mass surveillance and encryption. Buttar endorses a Green New Deal, Medicare-for-All, guaranteeing housing to all Americans, and overhauling the military-industrial complex. Last week, we interviewed Buttar to discuss how the pandemic has affected his insurgent campaign and why he believes a change of leadership is required to combat America’s socio-economic crises. openDemocracy is a small non-profit journalism outfit, not funded by dark money or lucrative sponsorship, so we depend on regular donations from our listeners. If you enjoyed this podcast and would like to donate, click here: http://bit.ly/3bb06Os