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"In these unsettled times it is clear. America cannot retreat. America must stand strong for democracy. We must stand in defense of international rules and norms, and we must stand with our allies."
-- Vice President Kamala Harris, Munich, February 16, 2024
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Hi and Happy President's Day to all!
Patriotism has gotten awfully uncomfortable for many of us these past years, as decidedly UN-patriotic zealots have taken hold of the concept and wielded it like a weapon. But they don't get to claim patriotism for themselves. Indeed Senator William Fulbright once wrote, "To criticize one's country is to do it a service...[it] is more than a right, it is an act of patriotism -- a higher form of patriotism, I believe, than familiar rituals and national adulation."
Our job, as patriots, is to work as hard as we can to get the government we deserve, then keep working to hold elected officials accountable. We hope you will join us in these acts of patriotism...at our in-person meeting this Tuesday, at Action Hour, and beyond!
If you are already involved and not sure what more you can do, please consider bringing a friend! Introducing someone new to Indivisible-RISE actions, either through weekly postcard writing, attending our meetings, or just signing up for our newsletter as a start is a great way to amplify and multiply your efforts.
At Tuesday's meeting we will be talking about writing letters to the editor as a form of activism and engagement, and we're excited to encourage interested members to submit letters to papers in swing districts where we can be most impactful. Even if you do not think this type of activism is for you, please join us for what will be an interesting and thought-provoking discussion. Then, please save March 19th at 7 pm for our next meeting when we will show a film and hear from a speaker about the all-important youth vote.
We have come out swinging in 2024, with over 5,000 postcards written so far and great attendance at our first meeting last month, and we are already reaping the rewards. In New York's special election, pathological liar and general nutcase George Santos's seat was won handily by Democrat Tom Suozzi; and in PA, the Democrat won in a special election for an open seat in the state House and thereby kept the Dems very narrow majority of that body. These special elections offer encouraging insights into how Democrats might win going forward.
There is much to be done, but there are many of us and we are mighty!
Onward!
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TO DO
Attend the Indivisible-RISE Meeting TOMORROW
Our meeting is at Central Congregational Church on Titcomb Street at 7:00-8:30 pm on Tuesday, Feb 20th.
Guest speaker, Roger Hirschberg, is the author of 70+ letters to the editor published in the NY Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe and LA Times, all amplifying Biden's successes and pointing out the shortcomings and dangers of Trump. Roger will talk about his experiences and offer tips for writing and submitting LTEs.
We'll also learn from some of our own prolific LTE writers who will guide us in writing letters in small groups.
RSVP to indivisible.rise.newburyport@gmail.com preferred. See you then!
Write Postcards
We're currently writing to voters in PA, one of our key target states this year:
-- In person at Action Hour on Wednesdays 5:30-6:30 at Nu Kitchen on Pleasant Street in Newburyport. We are writing PA mail-in voters to notify them that they need to sign up for VBM again if they wish to vote by mail this year.
-- Remotely, we are writing to register Democrats in the most critical swing district in PA. As always, writers should get a supply of postcards at one of our pickup locations, buy postage and email indivisible.rise.newburyport@gmail.com for the script and addresses. Email us with questions or to join this program.
Bring a Friend
Each of us can only do so much. But if every one of us encourages a friend who is not yet politically active to join us, our impact will be exponential.
So, please bring a friend to our meetings and Action Hour; introduce a friend to our remote postcard writing program (even if they do not live nearby); tell a friend about good donation options; and invite a friend to sign up for our newsletter and join our Facebook group (again, even if they do not live locally). Just think how much we can accomplish as a group if each of us encourages even just one more person to get involved!
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TO CONSIDER
Take a look at this informative and encouraging article by political strategist, Mike Lux : The Election Will be Determined by Two Things. Neither of them is Joe Biden’s age.
If you are looking for good political podcasts to listen to in the car or on your walks or whenever you want updates, check out the options in this aritcle on the 12 Best Political Podcasts to Keep You Informed.
The Brennan Center for Justice is a law and policy organization that strives to protet democracy. They routinely publish insightful articles. You may want to consider bookmarking their website at https://www.brennancenter.org/ to follow their work.
If you have not watched the documentary on Alexei Navalny, we recommend that you do. It is an eye-opening, edge-of-your-seat, didturbing (but important) film to watch. You can stream the film in various ways, listed here. See the trailer and a collection of video reports about Navalny here.
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TO CELEBRATE
Elections News
-- Democrat Tom Suozzi won the open seat for Congressional District NY-3 by a wide margin. I-RISE volunteers wrote over 2,000 postcards to help get out the vote for this election. We were among thousands of grassroots volunteers who helped with this win and earned a shout out from Suozzi who said in his acceptance speech,
"I want to thank the grassroots folks all over the country .... It’s just amazing how many people contributed to our success at the grassroots level. [I]t’s so humbling to me to have had so many people help in this campaign."
-- President Biden won a landslide victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary, capturing over 95% of the votes cast .
-- Fundraising for the November elections is going well for Democrats:
Positive Voter Protection Updates
AL - A federal court rejected state Republicans' argument that voters cannot sue to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
AZ - State lawmakers approved bipartisan legislation that ensures county officials will have more time to finalize election results.
ND - Even a Trump-appointed judge saw through attemps to suppress the vote, dismissing a right-wing lawsuit seeking to invalidate this state's extended mail-in ballot receipt deadline.
NY - A New York trial court dismissed the Republican Party's lawsuit challenging the state's new expansive mail-in voting law.
WI - Gov. Evers sent the GOP legislature back to the drawing board (literally) when he vetoed their first attempt to redraw district maps, saying “Republicans passed maps to help make sure Republican-gerrymandered incumbents get to keep their seats." The Legilsture has since passed another version that eliminates the "Swiss cheese" existing maps and is likely to end the Republican's many years of power due to the unfairness of their District maps. Gov. Evers is expected to approve the latest version.
The Imploding GOP House
-- OH Republican Bill Johnson resigned as of Jan. 21, shrinking the Republican majority such that they can only afford to lose two votes.
-- Republicans are openly admitting that they’ve accomplished nothing since the start of the Congressional session, and that “it’s embarrassing.”
-- New polling shows that Americans are VERY unhappy about Republicans’ impeachment of President Biden.
As always this section primarily fouses on good news related to elections and voter rights. Also as always, we rely heavily on two sources for this information: Jessica Craven's Chop Wood Carry Water newsletter and Democracy Docket.
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I-RISE postcard writers were excited to have been part of the WIN for Tom Souzzi in NY. Helping to add a Democrat to the House and whittle away at the Republican majority is something to be proud of! Here's a sampling of the comments we received from our writers:
"Yes we did help!!!!! Hallelujah! There is hope!!!!!!"
"We did that! Always nice to see our efforts paying off."
"Such great news! I stayed up for the results and was so happy to see Suozzi had won (and decisively)! And so nice to be able to contribute in a small way to these efforts."
If you are motivated by recent developments, have some good news to share, or would like to get more involved, please let us know. Indivisble-RISE is completely volunteer run, and we can always use more help organizing and leading our actions, events, programs, and more. Email indivisible.rise.newburyport@gmail.com with ideas, news, suggestions, and anything you would like to tell or ask us. We'd love to hear from you! |
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