Courage for America is a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group created to oppose the Republican house majority elected in 2022. ¹ The group supports abortion, LGBT interests, liberal immigration-expansion policies, and increased government spending. ² The group says its main goal is to “Make sure the MAGA agenda doesn’t get passed without strenuous opposition.” ³

History

The group was started in 2022 and its main campaign “the War Room” is being run by Zac Petkanas, a Democratic strategist who previously worked for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). The groups has lobbied with Democratic politicians such as U.S. Representatives Katherine Clark (D-MA), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), and Susan Wild (D-PA). ⁴

Projects

MAGA Guidebook

The MAGA guidebook is the group’s main attack piece. It is a 100 page “guidebook” that calls out Republican members of Congress and blames them for supporting causes which do not align with the ideals of Courage for America. The book calls Republicans “MAGA extremists” and claims that Democracy in the United States is not safe with a Republican majority house. ⁵

The book specifically calls out U.S. Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), George Santos (R-NY), and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) for having “extremist ideologies.” ⁶ It claims that these representatives want to ban abortion and do not openly criticize the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Some other attacks in the guidebook are aimed towards Republicans who are skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccine and relief fund; who do not want to increase government funding for Medicare, Social Security, and the Department of Education; and are skeptical about the legitimacy of the 2020 election results. ⁷

Debt Default

Courage for America blamed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and various House Republicans for the potential of a debt default. The group claimed that the supporters of the Republican-backed legislation wanted “outrageous cuts to critical benefits.” ⁸

To protest the proposed cuts, it went on the Back Off Our Benefits Bus Tour. This tour sent the group’s team around the United States collecting signatures for a petition intended to stop Congress from making budget cuts to Medicare and Social Security. ⁹ Instead of Congress’ proposed budget, Courage for America claimed that President Joe Biden “delivered a deal to save the country from a catastrophic default.” ¹⁰

Capitol Riot

Courage for America claims that an increase in political violence is part of the House Republican agenda, citing the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol as an example. On the second anniversary of the incident, Courage for America worked with Common Defense to rally a handful of veterans to call on House Republicans to publicly speak out against all political violence and punish any Republicans in Congress who refuse to do so. ¹¹

1. Fish, Sandra. “A Well-Funded, Dark-Money Political Group That Opposed Cory Gardner Reemerges to Take on Lauren Boebert in 2024.” The Colorado Sun, April 7, 2023. https://coloradosun.com/2023/04/05/lauren-boebert-rocky-mountain-values/.
2. “Maga Guidebook.” House Accountability War Room, January 3, 2023. https://houseaccountabilitywarroom.com/maga-guidebook/.
3. Hulse, Carl. “Progressive Activists Ready Campaign to Counter New House G.O.P. Majority.” The New York Times, November 22, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/21/us/house-republicans-progressives.html.
4. “Maga’s Fault If We Default – Lobby Day.” Courage for America, 2023. https://courageforamerica.org/magas-fault-if-we-default-lobby-day/.
5. “People’s Council.” Courage for America, May 30, 2023. https://courageforamerica.org/peoples-council/
6. “Maga Guidebook.” House Accountability War Room, January 3, 2023. https://houseaccountabilitywarroom.com/maga-guidebook/.
7. “Maga Guidebook.” House Accountability War Room, January 3, 2023. https://houseaccountabilitywarroom.com/maga-guidebook/.
8. “Maga’s Fault If We Default – Lobby Day.” Courage for America, 2023. https://courageforamerica.org/magas-fault-if-we-default-lobby-day/.
9. “Back off Our Benefits Bus Tour.” Courage for America, May 9, 2023. https://courageforamerica.org/back-off-our-benefits-bus-tour/.
10. “Maga Republicans Throw Tantrum, Manufacture Another Crisis to Hurt Veterans, Children, and Working Families.” Courage for America, June 15, 2023. https://courageforamerica.org/news/maga-republicans-throw-tantrum-manufacture-another-crisis-to-hurt-veterans-children-and-working-families/.
11. “Not on Our Watch.” Courage for America, March 16, 2023. https://courageforamerica.org/not-on-our-watch/.