Newsletter for February 5, 2019

www.indivisiblenoco.com

STATE OF THE UNION
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President Trump will deliver the State of the Union address tonight. We can expect the speech to be filled with exaggerations, misstatements, and outright lies, so stay tuned to our Twitter feed for real-time commentary. Also, even if you can’t stomach another Trump speech, tune in for the Democratic Party response given by Stacey Abrams, 2018 candidate for governor of Georgia.
 

OUR NEXT MEETING IS FEBRUARY 21
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Join us at Wolverine Farm Letterpress & Publick House (316 Willow St., Fort Collins). The meeting starts at 7 pm, but join us at 6:30 to order delicious beverages from Wolverine and socialize beforehand. Topic - The Politicization of the Debt Ceiling. The Debt Ceiling bill is a must-pass bill and an opportunity for the Progressive Caucus to extract concessions that will shape the Democratic agenda in 2020. Professor Matthew Hitt from CSU’s Department of Political Science will dispel myths about government debt and discuss why we keep having this debate about spending that has already been agreed upon. You will leave the meeting empowered with knowledge, talking points and actions to influence your members of congress!
 

DFER IN DENVER
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The head of the Colorado chapter of Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) confirmed that the group was responsible for a text message sent to some Denver residents last week. The message urged residents to contact Gov Polis and express opposition to a strike, but was attributed to a nonexistent group called “Support Students, Support Teachers,” not DFER. Read more details in this Colorado Politics article.

The lack of transparency from DFER is extremely disappointing.
 

MCCONNELL OPPOSES HOLIDAY FOR ELECTION DAY
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In an opinion published by the Washington Post, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell voiced his opposition to HR1, which, among other reforms, would make election day a holiday for federal workers. Why on earth would Sen. McConnell oppose anything that would make it easier for people to vote? Is he concerned that it would reduce the effectiveness of the voter suppression tactics that the Republican party has deployed so widely in states where they hold power?

In seriousness, we support voting rights for all citizens. Making Election Day a holiday would make it easier for some people to vote, but it’s worth noting that Colorado had the second-highest voter turnout rate in the country in 2018, without the benefit of a holiday. We’d like to see other states adopt Colorado’s easy voter registration and mail-in ballots.
 

JOIN OUR MEDIA MANAGEMENT TEAM!
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Every now and then, IndivisibleNOCO needs to get the attention of the media. We are looking for 2 to 4 people with interest in public relations. The team would put together a proactive media management plan and assist with writing and releasing press releases. If you’re interested in volunteering, email info@indivisblenoco.com or send us a Facebook message.
 

CALLS TO ACTION
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HB19-1032 - Call your state representative and senator and voice your support for HB19-1032, regarding comprehensive human sexuality education. The main change contained in this bill is to require schools to teach “comprehensive” sex education. A similar bill passed in 2013 but allowed schools to opt out, which some rural and charter schools did. The new bill also requires sex ed curricula to cover consent, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and the characteristics of healthy relationships.

Oppose David Bernhardt - Call Senator Bennet and tell him that you oppose the confirmation of David Bernhardt as Secretary of Interior.

In 2017, Senate Bennet voted to confirm him as Deputy Secretary of Interior. Since then, Bernhardt, first with Zinke and then on his own as Acting Secretary of Interior after Zinke’s resignation, has: 

• Pushed to open more Alaskan wilderness and offshore waters to oil and gas development
• Made regulatory decisions on the country’s natural resources to benefit industries
• Led plans to weaken endangered species protections 
• Continued to process paperwork for oil and gas projects while other agencies were closed for routine work during this winter’s partial government shutdown

Funding negotiations - The House and Senate conference committee is meeting to negotiate a solution to DHS funding that will allow a full spending bill to pass both houses and be signed by the president. The current continuing resolution expires on February 15th. We do not have a CTA on this topic for this week, but we expect something from the committee soon. Stay alert for more information and actions on this topic.
 

WHERE’S CORY?
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This week, Senator Gardner endorsed President Trump’s reelection campaign. That’s a turnaround from 2016, where he called on Trump to drop out of the race after the Access Hollywood tape surfaced. However, this development didn’t surprise us, since Trump has total command of the Republican party, and Gardner has voted with Trump about 90% of the time. No matter what he might say between now and the 2020 election, it’s actions like this endorsement that show just who Gardner is.

And here’s another reminder: two years ago this week, Sen Gardner voted to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. Though DeVos managed to make it through two years in her position without major scandal, her actions favor loan companies and for-profit schools. See Senator Warren’s DeVos WATCH page for details on the questionable initiatives that DeVos has proposed.
 

Thank you for all that you do!
The IndivisibleNOCO Team

Yours in Action!

This email was produced by unpaid IndivisibleNOCO 
volunteer citizens who are constituents of our Colorado Members of Congress.