Indivisible Northampton and Swing Left Western MA Have Merged
SELECTED READINGS
ICYMI - Video Recordings of Past Meetings
Here are a few tips if you run into a problem joining the Zoom meeting.
MEETINGS
For the safety of our community, we are conducting our meetings online until conditions permit us to resume assembling in person.
MA Ballot Questions:
Bringing Democracy Home!Monday, October 17th, 7-8 PM Zoom 'door' opens at 6:50 PM
While working to protect and expand our democracy nationally, we also have the opportunity to make our own Commonwealth a more just, fair, and inclusive state when we go to the polls this November.
Join IN-SLWM as we welcome
Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, Ian Rhodewalt, Brian Monteiro
to discuss these important - and potentially transformative ballot initiatives!
We’ll get our questions answered,and learn how we can help bring more democracy home to MA!
Question 1 - The Fair Share Amendment - Question #1 would create a 4% tax on the portion of a person’s annual income above $1 million and require – in the state constitution – that the funds be spent only on transportation and public education. Ian Rhodewalt, Western MA Regional Organizer of the Fair Share Amendment Campaign, will explain and answer our questions.
Question 2 - Regulation of Dental Insurance - Question #2 would limit the amount that dental insurance companies could spend on things other than actual dental care. Dentists across the Commonwealth support this law to make insurers spend at least 83% of their revenue from premiums to provide real patient care or give refunds. Bryan Myrick, of Massachusetts Dental Care Providers for Better Dental Benefits, will discuss and answer questions.
Question 4: The Safe Roads Amendment, would enable residents who don’t have all their citizenship documents yet obtain a driver’s license. MA Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa will lead this discussion.
Democracy requires an informed electorate. Let's get informed together, so together, we can put our values of justice, inclusivity and fairness into practice here in MA!
Monday, Oct. 17th, 7-8pmET
(Zoom opens at 6:50 for schmoozing)
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Get Out the Vote Action Brunch CANCELLED
Sunday, October 16th from 10:30AM-12:30PM
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
ACTIONS
ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE NOW
Phone
Banking
Illustraton by PA Phone Banker, Nora Brown
Phone Bank to Flip PA! Every Thursday, 6-8pm on Zoom
Join like-minded activists from across the country on Thursday evenings, to help save democracy by expanding the Democratic electorate - and electing more Pro-Choice, Pro-Democracy Democrats in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania!
Our elected officials can truly represent WE THE PEOPLE, and pass laws to codify our reproductive and civil rights. They can unrig the Supreme Court by passing laws to enact term limits, increase the number of Justices, and enforce ethical standards for SCOTUS.
But only if we elect the politicians who will do just this.
We know that PA is a pivotal state, with an open, flippable U.S. Senate seat, an open governor's race we have to hold (as the governor appoints the PA Secretary of State,and has crucial veto power over the GOP-dominated legislature), and new, much fairer districts that make flipping 1 or both state houses a real possibility this year!
Every Thursday evening, 6-8pm, IN continues our partnership with 2 on-the-ground, powerful PA organizations:
New Pennsylvania Project, modeled after Stacy Abrams' New Georgia Project, - where our calls are part of a unique, potentially game changing initiative to not only register new voters, but to make sure they actually get to vote!
Turn PA Blue, where we'll be focusing on statewide races - PA is 12 seats away from flipping the PA House (where every seat is up for election), and 4 seats away from flipping the PA Senate (where half the seats are up)!
Join us in calling PA voters to help expand the Pennsylvania electorate and turn this state BLUE!
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
GEORGIA! Phone banks to support
Democratic Candidates
Join us on Wednesday evenings to help us call Georgia Democrats in support of Rev. Senator Raphael Warnock and Stacy Abrams--a dream team of candidates! Both races are very close--we have a lot of work to do. Voting rights have come under serious attack in Georgia and our support can help bring out Democratic voters in large numbers.
We are working with the Georgia Democratic Party to make calls from 6-8pm every Wednesday. We provide training for new callers (or anyone who needs a refresher) from 6-6:30pm, then start making calls after that. The script is great! It's short, straightforward, and easy to get through.
Calling is through Open VPB (Virtual Phone Bank), which means you'll need to find and activate your Action ID. In case you don't have one or can't find it, you can use this linkto create a new one.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the zoom link for the phone bank.
One of our wonderful phone bankers, Hayley Wood, has created fact sheets that provide info and talking points about Warnock and Abrams. Please review ahead of time so you are ready with talking points.
Calling all Defenders of Democracy!! Ongoing Postcard Campaigns
This is definitely a sprint to the finish line! We are wrapping up a big postcard mailing to PA, urging folks to vote by mail. We have also been writing postcards to Black women in Georgia, urging them to vote, with a message in support of reproductive freedom. We have sent 4000 of those, and more are on the way! It seems especially critical to keep the Senate seat in Georgia. The Republican candidate is terrifying for so many reasons!
If you are hankering to keep writing, we can keep you busy! We have cards going to PA voters, with a message in support of reproductive rights and John Fetterman. There are a few other packets for PA as well. On 10/20, we will have more of the GA cards mentioned above. That will be the next announcement going out, but if you are eager to work on some cards, send me an email; levmartam@gmail.com and I will do my best to keep you busy!!
With deep appreciation and gratitude for the energy and commitment of our communities!!
Best wishes,
Marta for Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western MA Steering Committee
Social Postcarding!
Sundays at 4 pm at
Easthampton River Valley Coop
GETTING OUT THE VOTE is crucial to winning elections, so we're writing postcards to voters in Swing States with a variety of messages, many urging them to make sure to vote this year. Sending postcards to voters--cost effective, eye-catching and personal--has been shown to be effective in motivating their participation in voting.
Ready to get out of the house and take the fight for Democracy outdoors??? Join the Post Corps EVERY SUNDAY, 4:00 PM at the picnic tables outside Easthampton River Valley Coop to sit outside, schmooze with other Democracy Warriors and write postcards to reach out to swing voters. Text Deb Friedman at 240-593-6237 for more information.
BAR INSURRECTIONISTS FROM THE BALLOT
Sign the Petition
Enacted after the Civil War, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies from public office any individual who has taken an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and then engages in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or gives aid or comfort to those who have.
By inciting a violent attack on Congress in an effort to prevent the certification of his own electoral defeat, Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and violated his oath of office. Free Speech For People and Our Revolution have teamed up to urge Secretaries of State and chief election officials across the country to follow the mandate of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment and bar insurrectionists from any future ballot.
Sign hereto tell Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin to abide by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and bar Trump from appearing on any future ballot in MA.
And read about this success in New Mexico! where citizens filed suit and a County Commissioner was removed from office as a result of his participation in the Jan. 6th insurrection!
Join the Indivisible National Give No Ground Program
We need to go all-in to make sure we defend our democracy from MAGA radicals this November.
Whether it’s blocking gun reforms, gutting Roe v. Wade, or attacking LGBTQ+ kids, or gun safety, Republicans will continue to try to roll us back in time. We need to elect Democrats to lead us into the future.
Sign up with Indivisible National Give No Ground Program to join the team.
IN-SLWM'S ONLINE FUNDRAISER SAILS PAST THE GOAL
Our fundraiser for democracy has brought in over $34,750 – about 16% over our $30,000 goal! It ends on October 31, so even though we’ve gone past our goal, you can still contribute.
Our fundraiser supports two funds, Swing Left’s National Impact Fund and Movement Voter Project’s Black-Led Organizing Fund. We’ve already raised over $18,000 for the National Impact Fund, and almost $15,000 for the Black-Led Organizing Fund. All donations immediately go to work helping Democrats win crucial midterm elections. If you haven’t given, or if you feel moved to donate again, here are the links:
Let’s keep this going right up to the 31st. And thank you!
TEAMS
Feminist Activists of MA Team
Watch this powerful 4-minute music video Stand With Me featuring members of the IMC Feminist Team!
Join feminists from across the state to help organize actions centering on women's rights.
Currently, we're focused on fighting for abortion rights and access through a variety of tactics, including postcarding (to remind voters where their candidates stand on abortion), rallies, podcasts and more.
Here's a continuously updating toolkit with actions to take RIGHT NOW in the fight for reproductive freedom!
On Wed evenings at 8 pm or Fri mornings at 9 am, join Paul Spector and activists from across the country to collaborate on helping Democrats win elections. At Paul's meetings, you will...
hear upbeat political news
share questions and comments
learn about new political actions
support fundraisers with special guests -- such as Swing Left, Movement Voter Project, Flip the Senate, New Georgia Project, and Bucks County Democrats
hear inspiring music (mostly from Playing for Change).
Folks find his meetings educational, uplifting, and hopeful, and it's wonderful to see 50-100 other people at each of the two meetings. To check out the meeting, come Wednesday at 8 p.m. or Friday at 9 a.m. EDT, to this Zoom room: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87820043147?pwd=aXZ0K3QrZGtHR2dBUFlCZnk2TU1hQT09
NEWS & EVENTS
RALLY for January 6th Justice:
Our Freedoms, Our Vote
Saturday, October 23rd, 12:30-2pm,
City Hall, Northampton
Co-Sponsored by IN-SLWM, this is part of a nation-wide mobilization to hold insurrectionists accountable and remind everyone that we are voting this November as if democracy, itself, is on the line. Because it is.
"Drinks for Democracy":
Vote Forward Letter Writing Party
Oct. 19 in Shutesbury
This is from Ethan Todras-Whitehill, a founder of national Swing Left. Use the link below to RSVP:
I am hosting a voter turnout letter writing party at the Shutesbury Athletic Club on Wednesday Oct 19th from 7-930 PM and would love for you to attend! We are calling it Drinks for Democracy, and we will be writing letters through Vote Forward, whose voter turnout letters have proven time and again to be one of the most effective ways to turn out underrepresented voters and therefore strengthen our democracy. Basically, it's door-knocking that you can do with friends in a warm room with a glass of wine!
Please also feel free to bring friends and forward this invite along, but make sure everyone who comes RSVPs in advance so we know how many letters to prepare.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Ethan
"Rise Up" for Democracy
Our friends, musicians and tireless defenders of democracy, Ellen Schwartz and Roger Bruno have produced a powerful song/video. Jessica Craven of ChopWood, Carry Water called it the "anthem we need right now". Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZmnhXO1ZFg
Medicare For All on the Ballot
Medicare for All (MFAll) will be on the ballot in at least 17 districts for many of us to vote upon in the fall. Mass Care worked intensively with their ally Act on Mass to gather the necessary signatures to get this non-binding question before the voters in as many places as possible.
Medicare for All bills have been introduced in our legislature for more than 20 years and have not passed. The goal of this campaign is to remind our legislators that Medicare for All is extremely popular and that a large majority of Massachusetts voters want single payer health care financing to make medical care available and affordable here.
The non-binding ballot question is a powerful way to keep voters informed about the potential for passing M4All here, and to remind our legislators how important it is to us. In past years, non-binding ballots in several districts showed support of 80-90% for M4All.
For your reference, this is the ballot question:
"Shall the Representative from this District be instructed to vote for legislation to create a single payer system of universal health care that provides all Massachusetts residents with comprehensive health care coverage including the freedom to choose doctors and other health care professionals, facilities, and services, and eliminates the role of insurance companies in health care by creating an insurance trust fund that is publicly administered?”
For those who would like to continue the campaign in the fall, please complete this survey for the next phase of the campaign, to win “Yes” votes on the question.
This is an opportunity for Massachusetts to again lead the country in health care financing and delivery.
SELECTED READING
This section of our newsletter features one article written by a subscriber and one article selected by our steering committee. Subscribers to the newsletter are welcome to submit writing by email to info@indivisiblenorthampton.org with the subject line "Newsletter Submission".
The opinions expressed in the writings don't necessarily reflect any consensus of Indivisible Northampton.
When you click the link in your confirmation email, a Zoom page will open in your web browser and the Zoom app will open.
If the Zoom app does not open, here are a few things you can try. You will need to know the meeting id, which is embedded in the address of the Zoom page that opened. On the page that opened in the browser, in the address bar you'll see an address that looks something like this:
