For too long now the U.S. Democratic Party has been dominated by the corporatist/neoliberal wing. But there are challengers coming out to confront this situation. Justice Democrats, or progressives, have been active in standing up to the old guard. There are several Justice Democratic campaigns that are ongoing with the goal of unseating corporate democrats and republicans alike.

What do Justice Democrats want? They want to shake up the status quo and thus business-as-usual. The following is a condensed version of the issues that make up their platform, which could create progressive change:

END CORRUPTION

Super PACs should be banned, private donations to politicians and campaigns should be banned, and a clean public financing system should be implemented to end the takeover of our government by corporations and billionaires. Americans deserve free and fair elections–free from the corruption of big money donors. The Supreme Court has effectively legalized bribery. It's time to take our democracy back from the brink of oligarchy.

ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY

4% of the people on death row are not guilty of a crime and have been wrongly convicted. A system that puts people to death is indefensible and should be reformed. We want justice for the American people but killing innocent people on death row is the exact opposite.

ENACT COMMON-SENSE GUN REGULATION

92% of Americans want expanded background checks, 54% want a ban on assault weapons, and 54% want a ban on high capacity magazines. We agree with the majority of the American people and support these measures. Over 30,000 Americans die every year from gun violence, including over 10,000 homicides. The time to act is now to address this public health crisis.

COMBAT HOMELESSNESS

More than 600,000 Americans are homeless on any given night, including over 57.000 veterans. Studies show the cost of leaving a homeless person on the streets is $30,000 while the cost of housing them is $10,000. Addressing this crisis is both the moral and fiscally responsible thing to do.

ENACT POLICE REFORM

We believe in the core idea of policing–to serve and protect the community. That is why it's so important to reform the system to make it serve all Americans. For-profit policing and for-profit prisons should be abolished. Police training should be retooled to emphasize deescalation tactics, and body cameras should be mandatory on all officers. Furthermore, community oversight boards should be created.

PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE AND MEDICAID

Republicans have been trying to privatize and cut earned benefit programs for decades. Corporate Democrats have been willing to go along with them under the guise of a 'grand bargain' and 'reform.'  We pledge to staunchly oppose this. Social Security reduced the elderly poverty rate from 35% to 10%. 3.4 million Americans would immediately fall into poverty without Medicaid. Gutting these vital programs is not an option.

ENSURE PAID VACATION TIME, SICK TIME, FAMILY LEAVE, CHILDCARE

The United States is is one of just three countries in the world that doesn't offer maternity leave, the others being Oman and Papua New Guinea. We are the only industrialized nation that doesn't offer paid vacation time. This should be changed immediately.

DEFEND AND PROTECT WOMEN'S RIGHTS

We support the Paycheck fairness act. We oppose Republican cuts to planned parenthood and women's health clinics all across the country. In 2016 alone, 60 laws targeting abortion were passed in 19 states. We will vigorously oppose all efforts to dismantle reproductive rights.

NO LONGER SELL ARMS TO HUMAN-RIGHTS VIOLATORS

Ban arming human rights violators. We recently gave Saudi Arabia billions in weapons and watched the civilian death toll in their vicious bombing campaign in Yemen tick up. Israel received $38 billion in aid and promptly announced new settlements. The first step to peace is not enabling nations who regularly violate international law. We must be bold enough to stand up to human rights violators who aren't just our enemies, but our allies. We don't weaken our allies by holding them accountable, we strengthen them.

END CONSTITUTIONAL OVERREACHES

Ban the NSA from bulk data-collection and warrantless spying. Shut down Guatanamo Bay and all extrajudicial prisons. Prosecute torturers and those who violated the Geneva Conventions, Nuremberg Tribunal, International law and U.S. law. Return habeas corpus and due process. Pardon whistleblowers like Edward Snowden. We should practice the values we preach.

BLOCK BAD TRADE DEALS LIKE THE TPP AND OPPOSE OUTSOURCING

As a result of NAFTA, CAFTA, PNTR with China and the WTO, Americans have lost millions of decent paying jobs. It's time to end the race to the bottom and renegotiate these rigged deals that benefit only elites. We should not sacrifice our sovereignty, the only people who are allowed to make laws for the United States should be the American people, not multinational corporations.

ENSURE UNIVERSAL EDUCATION AS A RIGHT

Educating the citizenry of a nation pay dividends in the long run, with the economy getting back much more than is initially put in. Crushing student debt for higher education would no longer burden young men and women trying to improve their lives through hard work. We should strive to have the best education system in the world.

CREATE THE RENEWABLE ENERGY REVOLUTION

Scientists are sounding the alarm on climate change. In order to avoid the worst case scenario and a dystopian future we need a massive green revolution. It's time to drastically and immediately move away from fossil fuels and develop technologies of the future.

CREATE A NEW NEW DEAL

Our infrastructure gets a grade of D from the Society of Civil Engineers. The government should invest trillions in rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges, schools, levees, airports, etc.

END THE FAILED WAR ON DRUGS

The goal is legalization, taxation, and regulation. Prohibition only makes drug cartels more powerful, increases crime, and makes drugs more dangerous due to lack of enforced safety standards. While most users are recreational and moderate, rehabilitation and treatment should be provided for people struggling with addiction. Additionally, those serving time for non-violent drug offenses should be pardoned.

END UNNECESSARY WARS AND NATION BUILDING

The United States maintains 800 military bases worldwide at a cost of $100 billion a year. This is money that can be spent at home creating jobs, rebuilding infrastructure, and investing in the future of the people. We spend more on the military than the next eight countries combined. The current budget could be cut drastically if we use our department of defense for what it was intended–defending us, instead of waging interventionist wars.

ENSURE HEALTHCARE IS A UNIVERSAL RIGHT

The United States should catch up to every other modern nation and implement a single-payer, medicare-for-all system. It's time to end the destruction of American healthcare by rapacious, price gouging, for-profit private health insurance middlemen.

SECURE A LIVING WAGE AND TIE IT TO INFLATION

This is about justice and basic human decency. If you work hard and you work full-time you shouldn't live in poverty. Furthermore, we support strong unions and collective bargaining.

OPPOSE BIGOTRY

We must speak out against racism, sexism, xenophobia, and all forms of bigotry. Making all Americans equal is not asking for special privileges, it's asking for the rule of law–justice and equality as outlined in the United States Constitution.

DEFEND FREE SPEACH AND FREE EXPRESSION

The marketplace of ideas should be embraced. A vibrant debate is healthy for democracy, and we should cherish our first amendment.

END TAX DODGING AND LOOPHOLES

Corporations dodge $450 billion a year in taxes by using offshore tax havens. It's time for a tax system that benefits the middle-class and the poor, and makes the top 1% and multinational corporations pay their fair share.

ABOLISH ICE

ICE was created in 2003 as a reaction to 9/11. Since then, it has turned into a state-funded terror group that regularly violates basic human rights. We can rely on our existing criminal justice agency to arrest those who have committed a crime, like we did before 2003.

Although the odds may be against Justice Democrats, they are nevertheless hell-bent on winning in the democratic primaries against establishment opponents. Business-as-usual from the old guard has gone on for too long. There needs to be a progressive change within the Democratic Party.