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United in hope
October 11, 2019
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 Constituents show support for impeachment inquiry during October recess as grassroots groups ramp up pressure on Republicans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With one week remaining of congressional recess, a coalition of some of the country’s largest grassroots organizations is continuing to drive constituent pressure on impeachment over the coming October recess. The coalition—which includes By the People, CREDO Action, Indivisible, March For Truth, MoveOn, Mainers for Accountable Leadership, Public Citizen, Stand Up America, Women’s March, and more—will continue to organize constituents to show their support for the Democratic lawmakers who have publicly backed the impeachment inquiry, while also ramping up pressure on Republicans.
Over the congressional recess, the grassroots organizations have used ImpeachNow.org to push activists to make calls, attend town halls, and mobilize across the country to ensure Congress does its constitutional duty by swiftly impeaching Donald Trump. The campaign has resulted in a groundswell of public support of the impeachment inquiry, with several polls showing that more Americans support it than oppose it. Read more here.
Source: Indivisible,10/08/2019 |
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 Democrats didn’t win in North Carolina’s special election, but here’s why they’re still celebrating
Democrats came within two points of picking up a seat in a pro-Trump, Republican congressional district in North Carolina on (September 10). They didn’t win, but their results suggest strength going into 2020 on a couple of different fronts that should make Democrats feel good about keeping, or even expanding, their House majority.
This race was a good test case for Democrats’ strength with the all-important suburban voter going into 2020, and they did well there.
- North Carolina will be a competitive state at the Senate, governor and presidential levels.
- And, all things considered, this is supposed to be Trump country, and about half the district voted for the Democrat, not once but in two elections in a row.
Trump won this rural-suburban seat in 2016 by 12 percentage points; in 2018, Democrat Dan McCready nearly won it, but the election was thrown out on allegations of ballot fraud that benefited the Republican. McCready ran for it again, in Tuesday’s do-over election, against Republican state Sen. Dan Bishop. McCready did well in the Charlotte suburbs. Generally, suburbs are battlegrounds in House races across the country next year.
One note of caution for Democrats: Based on early results, it doesn’t look like they managed to turn out black voters in significantly higher numbers, even though they spent time and money trying to do just that.
Both sides recognized the national implications of this one House race. In his victory speech, Bishop cast his win as the “first step toward taking back the House of Representatives in 2020.” He ran up the score by winning rural voters in the rest of the district.
But realistically, Bishop’s win portends trouble for Republicans. After the 2016 elections, there are about 60 fewer Republican-leaning districts, based on the Cook Political Report’s partisan ranking. We’re not saying Democrats can suddenly win all of those, but the fact they got close to winning in this Republican stronghold, which has sent a Republican to Congress for the past 50 years, recasts what’s possible for them in 2020. Read more here.
Source: Washington Post, September 2019
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 Learn person-to-person fundraising from the pros at 31st Street Swing Left
Tuesday, October 10/29
7-9 pm EST
Online/Anywhere Via Zoom
RSVP for the call-in details and to preview the 31st Street Swing Left fundraising toolkit
Donald Trump raised $125 million in the last quarter alone! So, NOW is the time when everyone needs to learn how to fundraise. Raising money for progressive candidates is the most effective thing we can do to flip the Senate (and hang onto the House) in 2020.
Ready to be a grassroots fundraiser and help take the Senate and protect the House?
31st Street Swing Left raised over $1,024,000 for Congressional and Senate races in 2018! In October alone, they’ve raised over $242,000 for the 2019 Virginia legislative races! The training will take you from where you are (“I hate to ask for money”) to where you need to go to make a personal “pitch” to a friend or colleague. Training will be conducted by the three women who head the fundraising team at 31st Street Swing Left, and who offer a few pointers:
- Please log on 5 minutes early as they will start on time;
- Do the training with at least one other person at your same location;
- Print out the sheets we send you ahead of time for use during the training; and
- Be prepared to be completely involved for the full two hours.
RSVP here for call-in details. Good luck and Be Not Afraid! Let us know how it went at lowercapeindivisible@gmail.com.
Source: SwingLeft Greater Boston
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 Massachusetts is one step closer to better elections
AG Maura Healy certifies initiative petition for Ranked Choice Voting
Last month, Massachusetts’ Attorney General Maura Healy certified the initiative petition for Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), which means that the RCV coalition is moving on to collecting signatures to get RCV on the 2020 ballot.
Ranked Choice Voting will give Bay Staters a stronger voice and more choice in our elections. By ranking candidates, rather than just voting for one, RCV ensures that the winning candidate truly has a majority support. Plus, it will curb negative campaigning, encouraging candidates to focus on the issues that voters care about.
RCV is favored by countless organizations and individuals including Barack Obama, League of Women Voters, Common Cause, The Boston Globe and nearly 100 Massachusetts senators and representatives! Read here to learn who supports Ranked Choice Voting.
And read below in the Take Action section to learn how you can help.
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 Get your weekly edition of the Indivisible MA Newsletter here!
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R E G I O N A L / L O C A L
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 Cape Cod Commission to hold community meetings on climate change
The Cape Cod Commission has announced a series of facilitated community meetings scheduled in October 2019 to solicit community input on planning priorities, concerns, and barriers to moving climate adaptation and mitigation actions forward throughout the region.
Please attend one or more of the following meetings:
Monday, October 21, 2019 at 9:00 AM
Chatham Community Center
702 Main Street, Chatham
Monday, October 21, 2019 at 1:00 PM
Wellfleet Council on Aging
715 Old Kings Highway, Wellfleet
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 6:00 PM
Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors
22 Mid-Tech Drive, Yarmouth
Tuesday, October 29, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Mashpee Library
64 Steeple Street, Mashpee
The meetings welcome participants from the public and private sectors, non-profits, and other interested citizens. Commission Executive Director Kristy Senatori said, “We are seeking a diverse group of stakeholders to define and shape a Cape Cod Climate Initiative, intended to integrate existing activities and initiate new assessments, outreach, and implementation strategies.”
Commission staff will share information from ongoing coastal resilience and climate-related work, including a process for establishing a regional greenhouse gas emissions baseline and progress toward identifying potential locations for electric vehicle charging stations. Staff will also discuss new tools available to communities to adapt and respond to ever-increasing impacts along the coastline.
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 The CIDC says, "Thanks, and come on down!"
Saturday, (tomorrow!) October 12
10AM
Meet at Nirvana Coffee Company
3206 Main St, Barnstable 02630
Our friends at the Cape & Islands Democratic Council thank the many volunteers who have turned out to support its progressive Democratic Barnstable Town Council candidates, and want you to "come on down tomorrow!"
As the largest town in the Cape and Islands, Barnstable has a large effect across the region so it's important to help elect officials who will help move forward progressive solutions on a local level. The Barnstable Town Council elections this year present that opportunity.
With Election Day less than a month away, every door knocked and phone call made can make all the difference before November 5th! The next fall canvass event is tomorrow, Saturday, October 12 at 10AM and CIDC folks would love if you could join us knock doors across Barnstable!
RSVP HERE if you are interested in attending or have questions about the canvas!
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 Voter Choice 2020 is leading the Ranked Choice Voting campaign
Learn how you can help!
The Ranked Choice Voting coalition, led by Voter Choice Massachusetts, has until mid-November to gather 120,000 signatures to ensure that Ranked Choice Voting gets onto the 2020 ballot. That’s a lot of signatures to gather and every signature gathered puts the coalition closer to getting over the finish line. VCM is about halfway through its signature-gathering period for Ranked Choice Voting and still needs to mobilize more volunteers to help with the effort.
If you are interested in more choice and electing officials to office who really represent the majority of the voters, please come out and help by signing up for a canvassing shift or collecting signatures from friends, family and neighbors. We only have 1 month left to finish collecting, so please consider getting involved now! Contact Lindsay Crouch, Regional Field Organizer, Voter Choice MA, at 802-275-7278 or lindsay@voterchoice2020.org.
Source: Common Cause Massachusetts, Voter Choice for Massachusetts
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 Environmental Voter Project text bank training
We're looking for a few good people!
Thursday, November 14
4-6PM*
Brewster Ladies' Library (tentative location)
*likely less time needed
LCI is holding a text bank training for volunteers interested in learning the texting program developed by Environmental Voter Project to significantly increase voter demand for environmental leadership by identifying inactive environmentalists and then turning them into consistent activists and voters.
Deborah Shah, Volunteer Coordinator for the Environmental Voter Project in Massachusetts, will meet with us to show us the ropes so we can organize texting parties and gatherings on our own. It's very simple, and all you need is a phone (or computer)!
Just as we are ramping up letter-writing and post-carding parties for connecting with voters in other states, this is another form of outreach with the goal of turning more people out to vote. It is very simple to learn, and you don't have to talk with anyone!
Please contact LowerCapeIndivisible@gmail.com, if you are interested in joining our group of environmental/voter activists.
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 CRUDE The Climate Change Musical
October 10-November 10
Cape Cod Theatre Co./HTJ
105 Division Street, W. Harwich
Written by LCI member Maureen Condon, CRUDE-The Climate Change Musical concerns an environmentalist daughter who tries to outwit her oil tycoon Dad. It’s a musical romp through the world of big oil and high stakes public relations, where solar and wind start-ups are pawns in a game of family politics and corporate intrigue. Don't miss it!
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 SAVE THE DATE!
FILM* - Suppressed: The Fight to Vote
Saturday, November 9
9:15 - 11:00 AM
Chatham Orpheum Theater
637 Main Street, Chatham 02633
*Guest Speaker/Audience Q&A
The speed with which the 2018 midterm frenzy turned into the 2020 presidential election frenzy makes it hard to remember that less than a year ago, the outlook for Georgia residents was starkly different than it is today.
Last Fall, Georgians were ebullient with a hope that (they) might, for once, have a governor who wasn’t hellbent on maintaining a power structure that inflicts a vast array of miseries on many thousands of people—particularly Black communities and communities of color—while enriching a privileged few.
The promising candidate was, of course, Stacey Abrams, who was poised to become the nation’s first Black woman governor until her opponent, Brian Kemp, stole the election via an assemblage of voter suppression tactics funneled through his role as Secretary of State.
A new documentary by director Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films brings the energy of that time rushing back, along with a scalpel in a post-mortem analysis. Suppressed: The Fight to Vote is a to-the-point 38-minute film that breaks down the key forms of voter suppression that enabled Kemp to pull ahead of Abrams by a slim 1.4 percent margin. Read more here.
Source: Scalawag Magazine, 10/2019
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Your donation—no matter the size—will help defray the direct costs of operations, from meeting room rentals and printing to posters and transportation. What’s more, your contribution will enable us to grow our programs to further inform and mobilize Cape Cod communities to resist the Trump administration and promote progressive values, candidates and policies at all levels.
*Contributions to LCI made through ActBlue are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.
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Lower Cape Indivisible is an all-volunteer group of Cape Cod citizens whose mission is to mobilize for social, economic and environmental justice; promote universal participation in the democratic process; and resist political agendas that subvert American democracy. Standing for inclusion, tolerance, and fairness, we are one of more than 6000 Indivisible groups committed to resisting the Trump/Pence/McConnell agenda, as well as to holding our state and local leaders accountable for fair and ethical action. Our work is based on the original Indivisible Guide, created by former congressional staffers who wanted to demystify political activism and share effective tactics for change.
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