11/7/19
NATIONAL
ISSUES
(Including Emails & Twitter)
Fax
legislators for free:
Or use Resistbot: https://resist.bot/
Or use StampsLicked to
have messages hand-delivered to our own legislators: https://stampslicked.org/
White
House contact: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
|
KEEP
PRESSING FOR IMPEACHMENT: On
Tuesday, US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland “refreshed” his
recollection and changed his testimony to acknowledge that there was “quid pro
quo” in Trump’s withholding of aid to Ukraine: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/sondland-changes-testimony-acknowledges-delivering-quid-pro-quo-message-ukraine-n1076736 and
then on Wednesday the House Intelligence Committee released the transcript of
Ambassador William Taylor’s closed-door testimony which ALSO acknowledges the
quid pro quo: https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20191106taylor_transcipt_excerpts38964.pdf Notice how the Republican strategy to
defend Trump keeps changing? First, the Republicans said there was no quid pro
quo. Then, when several witnesses testified that there actually was a quid pro
quo, they complained about the lack of a vote and transparent process. Now that
there’s been a vote and a process has been laid out, they’re going after the
whistleblower, even though several witnesses have already corroborated what the
whistleblower said. What’s most disturbing is that the Republicans are spending
their energy protecting Trump, rather than weighing the serious nature of his
alleged crimes. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/469145-senate-republicans-struggle-to-coalesce-behind-an-impeachment-strategy.
Let’s keep up the steady drumbeat with our MoC that extortion is wrong and tell
our MoCs that we support a full and fair impeachment process and we’re tired of
their pathetic attempts to deflect and belittle the President’s violations of
the Constitution.
SECURING
OUR ELECTIONS: This impressive
list of federal agencies has just declared, foreign interference in our
elections is an ever-present danger: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/joint-statement-department-justice-dod-dhs-dni-fbi-nsa-and-cisa-ensuring-security-2020
and https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/claudiakoerner/2020-election-meddling-warning-russia-china-iran Let's
ask each of our senators what steps she/he/they are taking to execute this
"whole-of-government" approach to election security, particularly
with regards to the bills that the House has already passed including the
SHIELD Act (HR 4617)
SHIELD Act and the SAFE Act (HR 2722)
CALL OUT
ICE/CBP FOR INHUMANE PRACTICES AND DEFUND HATE: Just in case we need more reasons to convince our
MoCs to vote against any additional funds for ICE and Customs Border Patrol
(CBP), here’s what they are doing with money that Congress has already
appropriated: buying 33 million bullets for new handguns. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-27/u-s-border-patrol-buys-33-million-bullets-for-new-glock-handgun
Meanwhile, they refuse to provide
flu vaccines for people in detention https://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrants-in-detention-doctors-in-congress-urge-border-officials-to-offer-families-and-children-flu-vaccinations/and
even rejected delivery of vaccines from a coalition of community groups. https://www.afsc.org/blogs/news-and-commentary/border-patrol-denies-delivery-flu-vaccines-to-detained-migrants.
Congress will need to vote again on appropriations before current Continuing
Resolution runs out on November 21st. Let’s keep telling our MoCs that they
must defund hate and vote against funding ICE and CBP.
STOP
COLLECTION OF MIGRANT DNA: We
have only one more week to stop a rule that would allow the administration to
collect DNA from any detained asylum-seeker to be put into a “National Criminal
Database.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/us/dna-testing-immigrants.html
and https://www.npr.org/2019/10/21/772035602/justice-department-announces-plan-to-collect-dna-from-migrants-crossing-the-bord
This policy falsely demonizes all immigrants and asylum-seekers and is also
dangerous to their families. Let’s make sure to submit a comment on the federal register and
also ask our MoCs to do something about this flagrant invasion of privacy and
violation of human rights.
CLIMATE
EMERGENCY DECLARED: “Scientists
have a moral obligation to clearly warn humanity of any catastrophic threat . .
.. On the basis of this obligation and the graphical indicators presented
below, we declare, with more than 11,000 scientist signatories from around the
world, clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate
emergency,” so begins the warning from scientists issued on November 5th,
the 40th anniversary of the First World Climate Conference in Geneva in
1979:
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biz088/5610806
As the Trump administration fights the Clean Water Act—in the Supreme Court (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/05/supreme-court-hearing-arguments-in-clean-water-act-case-over-maui-reef.html ,
and pulls us out of the Paris Accord (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50297029)
and commits itself to environmental destruction, we must make our voices
heard in the White House, Congress, and the EPA: Mail Code 1101A, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20460 or 202-564-4700
PHONY PHONE
CALLS: “The Republican National Committee (RNC)
funded an effort to tie up House Democrats’ office phone lines as the
impeachment fight with the Trump administration intensifies, The New York Times reported Monday. The RNC paid
for about 11,000 calls to almost three dozen House Democrats to influence
public opinion on the impeachment inquiry and clog the representatives’ phone
lines, affecting access to the lawmakers, two people briefed on the
effort told the Times. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/468938-rnc-funded-effort-to-jam-house-democrats-office-phone-lines-amid-impeachment If you haven’t been able to reach your MOC
at their Washington office to tell them to support the impeachment because the
phones are busy, you can email, tweet or call their local office. Be sure
to them your zip code and that you are a voting member of their district.
We can be smarter and more honest than the GOP.
STAND UP
FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY PATRONS: The
county commissioners of Citrus County, Florida, denied a funding request from
the county’s public librarians to purchase a digital New York Times
subscription because Trump has deemed the newspaper “fake news.” Seventy-thousand
Citrus County library card holders will now be denied digital access to the
Times. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-times-digital-subscription-citrus-county-florida-officials-deny-librarys-request-digital-trump-fake-news/ Let’s
tell the Citrus County Board of Commissioners
https://www.citrusbocc.com/commissioners/photos.htm
that their decision undermines the mission of Citrus County’s public
libraries,
https://www.citruslibraries.org/mission/,
and that they should reverse their decision:
Jeff Kinard jeff.kinnard@citrusbocc.com, Brian Coleman
brian.coleman@citrusbocc.com, Scott
E. Carhahan
scott.carnahan@citrusbocc.com, Ronald E. Kitchen
ronald.kitchen@citrusbocc.com, Jimmie T. Smith
HELP TO
FRAME PERSUASIVELY: App teaches activists how to 'frame' issues
to be more persuasive. People use mental shortcuts to make sense of things.
Frame discussions to fit people's existing beliefs to get their support. A free
new app enables such skills to be taught and practiced remotely. Let’s check this out: https://mailchi.mp/thedemlabs/framingtraining
ACA OPEN ENROLLMENT: It is not being advertised this year, but it is sign-up time for healthcare. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/01/obamacare-open-enrollment-begins-with-new-aca-lower-rates.html Let’s use this link to sign up and to help others: https://www.getamericacovered.org/ and let’s use this toolkit link to get the word out in our circles: https://www.getamericacovered.org/
ELECTION/VOTING
P2V VOLUNTEER ELECTION RESULTS. a) KY: Campaign 171: Slate
of Democrats, from Governor to State Treasurer. Democratic candidate Andy
Beshear won over incumbent Matthew Bevin (R), although Bevin is contesting the
race (https://www.npr.org/2019/11/06/776937037/kentucky-gop-gov-bevin-officially-requests-recanvass-of-election-results).
All other high-level positions went to
Republican candidates. (results at Courier Journal.); b) VA: Campaign
176: Herb Jones for State Senate; The Republican incumbent Tommy
Norment won, though by a slimmer margin than in prior elections. (The Virginia Gazette). c) MS: Campaign
177: Joe Bradford for State House (D78); results not located; d) VA: Campaign 178: Karen
Keys-Gamarra for Fairfax County School Board; Keys-Gamarra has been
re-elected. (Fairfax County Times); e) PA: Campaign
179: 5 Dems for Whitpain Township Board; Results not located. f) MS: Campaign
180: Wendy McDonald for State House (HD122); McDonald lost to her
opponent. (SunHerald) . g) TX: Campaign
173: Dr. Eliz Markowitz for State House. Dr. Markowitz lead the field
with 39.06 percent of the vote and will face Republican Gary Gates in
a run-off election. (Patch.com)
GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION RESULTS: 1) KENTUCKY: Attorney General Andy
Beshear (D) was able to emerge victorious. (LEX18) Incumbent Matt Bevin (R) has not yet
conceded and may try to have the race decided by state legislature. (Courier Journal); 2) LOUISIANA: This
race between incumbent Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) and Baton Rouge
businessman Eddie Rispone (R) will be decided in a Saturday, Nov.
16 run-off election. The President is turning his attention to this
race. (APNews) 3) MISSISSIPPI : Republican
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves won the race for Mississippi governor Tuesday night,
defeating Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood. (USA Today)
NEW JERSEY GENERAL ASSEMBLY ELECTION RESULTS. Elections for
all 80 seats in the New Jersey General Assembly took place
Tuesday. We can review the results at NJ.com.
VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE ELECTION RESULTS: Democrats have won
control of the Virginia legislature for the first time since 1994. Let's
read more at The Hill.
SELECT MAYORAL RACE RESULTS 1) San Francisco
CA: Incumbent
Mayor London Breed (non-partisan) is running to retain her position in this
election. Mayor Breed has won her first full four-year term. (SFChronicle) 2) Houston TX: Incumbent Mayor
Sylvester Turner competed against 11 challenger and is headed to a December 14
run-off election . (Houston Chronicle) 3) Indianapolis
IN: Incumbent Joseph Hogsett (D) faced five challengers
in his bid for a second term and won. (IndyStar). 4) Wichita
KS: State Rep. Brandon Whipple pulled off a Wichita mayoral
upset Tuesday night, defeating incumbent Jeff Longwell. (Wichita Business Journal)
MORE NOTABLE ELECTION RESULTS: a) KY: Republican
Daniel Cameron was elected Kentucky's next attorney general Tuesday —the first
African American to ever win a race for the office and the first Republican to
do so in over 70 years. (Courier Journal); b) Tucson AZ: Former
City Council member Regina Romero (D) was elected the city's mayor on
Tuesday, becoming the first woman and first Latina to hold the office. (The Hill); c) Boston MA: Voters in
Boston’s 5th City Council district elected Ricardo Arroyo Tuesday night,
making him the first person of color to win the seat. (WGBH.org); d) VA: Democrat Shelly
Simonds lost a random drawing out of a bowl that determined control of the
Virginia House of Delegates nearly two years ago has won a rematch against her
Republican opponent. (CBSNews)
2019 ELECTIONS/POSTCARDS TO VOTERS: On Tuesday night, in off-year elections, Kentucky elected a Democratic governor and Virginia flipped both the State House and Senate blue: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/05/kentucky-governor-race-andy-beshear-matt-bevin These elections were a great reminder that we can get involved in elections across the country in the year ahead. If we are not yet registered to write with Postcards To Voters or have not written lately, let’s get (re-)connected: https://postcardstovoters.org Postcards to Voters' Campaign 181: John Bel Edwards for Governor. The run-off election is Saturday, November 16. Let's request 5 addresses today!
2020 BLUE WAVE DATABASE IS HERE: If we are looking for
2020 Election information or if we have some to share, we can check out Equal
Vote Local’s BlueWave Database 2020. We can click here to find information
about candidates, voting and more arranged by state. This editable document
also allows us to add our groups and any candidates running for office: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ir8YGs1F0Lfayl6T7XR7tklnYrEk4VcEzTkPumLVWAI We can also
find out more about Equal here at their website: https://www.equalvotelocal.com/
MI: SUPPORT BILL
THAT WOULD MAKE ELECTION DAY A STATE HOLIDAY: “Proposed legislation currently in the Michigan
House of Representatives would make regular elections in May, August, and
November state holidays. The bill was accompanied by a House joint
resolution that calls on Congress to declare Election Day a federal holiday. In
addition, the bill would encourage employers to allow their employees to have
at least a half-day of paid leave in order to vote.” https://www.michiganradio.org/post/proposed-bill-would-make-election-day-state-holiday
This would give more flexibility to so many voters. Let’s contact our representatives and tell
them we support this bill.
WI: FIND LOCAL OFFICES TO RUN FOR WITH SUPPORT OF STATE
DEM PARTY: If we are thinking about running for office in our state, or know
someone who is, The Wisconsin Democratic Party stands ready to help. When
we click here, we can see what local offices are available for us: https://www.wisdemsspringforward.org/search-to-run then
use the tools provided here , VAN access, a Candidate Handbook and Toolkit, to
get our local campaign up and running: https://www.wisdemsspringforward.org/
Increased voter turnout from the Presidential Primary held on the same
date as the Spring Elections will give our campaigns a boost and help from the
party can get us over the finish line. Let’s make 2020 Wisconsin’s bluest year
yet!
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS
HOME IS HERE MARCH FOR DACA AND TPS: “To draw national
attention to the current jeopardy both DACA and TPS are in, we are marching
from the Statue of Liberty (New York) to the Supreme Court (D.C) to defend DACA
and TPS. Join us for our Home is Here March, starting at the Statue
of Liberty on October 26 and ending in front of the Supreme Court on November
12. On November 12, when Supreme Court justices walk into the Court
to begin proceedings on DACA, they will see that the majority of people in this
country (83%) support undocumented immigrants and their families.” We can learn more about the march here: https://www.homeisheremarch.org/home
and, if we cannot join in, we can follow the progress here: https://www.homeisheremarch.org/news-updates
IMPEACHMENT/NOVEMBER RECESS: From
November 2nd thru the 11th, the House will be on recess, with many
representatives back in their home districts. Just like we did during their
October recess, let's make sure to make impeachment a focal point during
townhalls and in-person meet ups with our representatives. We can find
a townhall or event near us here, or if there isn't one yet, we can register one here. Whether we can attend an event in-person or not,
let's also be sure to call our not-onboard MoCs and ask them one
question: Do you think it's OK to ask a foreign power to interfere in our
elections? Then, let's take note of their response and share it on social
media. We can find more information and toolkits at https://www.impeachnow.org/
ELECTION SECURITY RALLIES: “Election
security experts are warning that too many states and localities have election
systems that are vulnerable to hacking and external actors. On Wednesday, November 13th, join
activists across the country as we gather outside of Senate offices to urge our
Senators to pass $600 million in election security funding and to include
accountability language to ensure the money is well-spent.” More info:
https://secureourvote.us/take-action/ Guide for hosting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OXaQmIYBWYfb6_MFsyL3rWpB3IWojGyCcC6k8HRgcwA/edit
CLIMATE STRIKES CONTINUE: From Future Coalition: On Nov 29 & Dec 6, we strike again! Youth
across the U.S. will lead a #ClimateStrike on
Nov 29 & Dec 6 to demand legislative action to combat the climate crisis. Strike with us! Let’s find or host an event: https://strikewithus.org/
ATTEND A NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW RALLY: MoveOn is
sponsoring “No One is Above the Law Rallies on the night before the House votes
on Articles of Impeachment. We can sign up here to organize or attend an event in our
area.
READING/WATCHING
Heartwarming
Election Stories that Didn’t Make the National News - https://demcastusa.com/2019/11/06/heartwarming-election-stories-that-didnt-make-the-national-news/
Tracking
President Trump's Unprecedented Conflicts of Interest - https://www.citizensforethics.org/trump-conflicts-of-interest-tracking/
Stop
fearmongering about 'Medicare for All.' Most families would pay less for better
care - https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/10/22/medicare-all-simplicity-savings-better-health-care-column/4055597002/
Russia
Is the Only Winner in Syria
- https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/30/russia-is-the-only-winner-in-syria/
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We can stay up
to date on Congress by checking out their schedules. a) The House publishes
a weekly schedule at The Weekly Leader (published and dated Friday)
as well as daily schedules at The Daily Leader. b) The Senate updates
their schedule daily at the Senate Floor Schedule
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