9/8/20
NATIONAL
ISSUES
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TRUMP ILLEGALLY TARGETS
“ANARCHIST” CITIES: In his
unrelenting (and frighteningly successful) effort to sow fear, last Wednesday,
Trump issued a memo titled “Memorandum on Reviewing Funding to State and Local
Government Recipients That Are Permitting Anarchy, Violence, and Destruction in
American Cities”; in it he gives AG William Barr two weeks to produce a list of
what Trump calls “anarchist jurisdictions,” including Portland, Seattle, NYC,
and DC, whose federal funding should be cut. While one would not want to
bet on the courts right now, any effort to cut funds allocated by Congress is,
on its face, unconstitutional; the memo makes no legal case to the
contrary: https://www.jurist.org/news/2020/09/president-trump-signs-memo-threatening-to-cut-federal-funding-to-lawless-cities/ or https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/trump-memo-justice-department-barr-democratic-cities-anarchist-jurisdictions-to-help-him-win-reelection.html and https://www.vox.com/2020/9/3/21419767/trump-anarchist-jurisdictions-authoritarian-illegal-unconstitutional-supreme-court
Let’s let our MoCs know they should make it clear to Barr that they will
fight any effort of the DOJ to withhold federal funds from already starving
cities—and they should vote for HR 6800,
the HEROES Act, which was passed by the House in May but held up in the Senate
ever since and includes funding to help struggling cities,
SAVE THE CENSUS: In an attempt to avert the “irreparable
harm” a failed census would inflict, a California federal judge has issued a
restraining order that bars the federal government from shutting down the count
while the federal courts are still considering requests for relief;
"Because the decennial census is at issue here, an inaccurate count would
not be remedied for another decade, which would affect the distribution of
federal and state funding, the deployment of services, and the allocation of
local resources for a decade," the judge wrote: https://www.npr.org/2020/09/05/909745230/census-work-was-winding-down-but-a-judge-says-it-needs-to-press-on-for-now
We MUST protect the accuracy of the Census first, by participating ourselves
and making sure everyone we know has done likewise-- https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond.html --but
let’s also call our regional census bureaus and ask how we can help-- https://www.census.gov/about/regions.html
TRUMP’S FALSE
NARRATIVE EXPOSED: The Guardian,
among others, reported on data from a joint project between ACLED and the
Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) at Princeton University: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/05/nearly-all-black-lives-matter-protests-are-peaceful-despite-trump-narrative-report-finds
The evidence gathered suggests that the vast majority of the thousands of Black
Lives Matter protests this summer have been peaceful, with more than 93%
involving neither harm to people nor damage to property: https://acleddata.com/2020/09/03/demonstrations-political-violence-in-america-new-data-for-summer-2020/
Despite this data, even the well-intentioned media highlight the “violence” of
the BLM protests, witness NPR’s headline from 9/2, which reads “Kenosha
Protests, Violence Expose Racial Disparities Among The Worst In The
Country.” It is incumbent on us—the viewers, readers—to make it clear
to our newspapers and other news outlets that we want accurate reports of the
BLM movement, not just the headline grabbers they choose. Let’s call and
write!
HELP HURRICANE LAURA
VICTIMS: As if COVID weren't
enough, Louisiana and Texas have been hit hard by Hurricane Laura. It may be
out of the news cycle, but folks need help.
Here's where we can join a Mutual Aid Disaster Relief group looking
for volunteers to assist: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdbskg5Zf19EBzlrR6unxVYDs9MsGxIvrOAkft4qrtz0YwwyQ/viewform?fbclid=IwAR3eGwdjzSYtQuBVcoJXCBEktRGnIJNtlZTfpg5TxyRz3eOFMehBu6iLuas
TRUMP ENDS RACIAL
SENSITIVITY CLASSES: “The
Trump administration has instructed federal agencies to end racial sensitivity
trainings that address topics like white privilege and critical race theory,
calling them "divisive, anti-American propaganda. All agencies are
directed to begin to identify all contracts or other agency spending related to
any training on 'critical race theory,' 'white privilege,' or any other
training or propaganda effort that teaches or suggests either (1) that the
United States is an inherently racist or evil country or (2) that any race or
ethnicity is inherently racist or evil."
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/05/910053496/trump-tells-agencies-to-end-trainings-on-white-privilege-and-critical-race-theor
Let’s ask our MOC’s to call Trump out on this and let’s ask Biden/Harris to
call on trump to restore the program.
STOP TRUMP TWEETS
THROUGH MICRO-DONATIONS TO ORGANIZATIONS WORKING FOR HIS DEFEAT: Defeat by Tweet is a campaign to stop Donald
Trump from being reelected in 2020. People pledge to make micro-donations to
Black-led political organizers in swing states every time he tweets (as small
as a penny per tweet)— helping him defeat himself! Let’s check out Defeat by Tweet,
sign up, and tell our friends.
ELECTION/VOTING
19 EASY THINGS WE
CAN DO TO GET OUT THE VOTE: Political Charge, whose newsletter
is always full of excellent information on how to resist, knows we're all tired
and busy, so they've prepared a guide of 19 easy things we can do to
get out the vote. We can get our guide here and share with others: https://mailchi.mp/d00a9496a621/political-charge
BIDEN PLATFORM GRAPHICS
TO SHARE: Biden’s campaign is in full swing: https://joebiden.com/ and https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-2020-campaign-364-5-million-fundraising-committees-august/
Let’s use these Biden platform graphics however we can: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bSdEPqWeyL1wMNw2k56wRJ9l6UYlMUQ0UPU-pPPpFFE/edit?usp=sharing
CAMPAIGN JOB
OPPORTUNITIES: Black Voters
Matter is looking for managers, organizers, communication directors, and
more. Let’s apply and share: https://bvmcapacity.bamboohr.com/jobs/
NATIONAL VOTER
REGISTRATION DAY: National Voter Registration Day is Tues.,
Sept. 22. Registering new voters this year is vital, second only to get
out the vote (GOTV) efforts. Some ways to help: Join Field
Team 6 at https://www.fieldteam6.org/. Contact your state
Democratic Party to help with its voter registration efforts.
Help register new voters with Indivisible at https://act.indivisible.org/signup/voter-registration-calls-2020/.
Help register voters in Michigan with Rust Belt Rising’s 8 Million
Voter Project at https://actionnetwork.org/forms/8-million-voters-vpb.
Help register young voters with Rock the Vote at https://www.rockthevote.org/get-involved/volunteer-with-rock-the-vote/.
Help Swing Left register new voters at https://swingleft.org/p/vrbm. If you’re in Colorado,
help New Era Colorado register young voters at https://neweracolorado.org/get-involved/ or the Colorado
Democratic Party at https://coloradodems.org/register-people-to-vote/.
(h/t CFAA)
POLL WORKERS
NEEDED: Sign up to be a poll worker. There
is a nationwide poll worker shortage this year, primarily attributable to the
coronavirus pandemic. Typically, older Americans are poll workers, and
that’s dangerous this year for folks who are at a higher risk of serious
complications from COVID-19. Various states are reporting shortfalls of
thousands of poll workers, which can lead to polling places being closed.
If you are younger and healthy, and don’t live with someone who’s not, please
consider signing up to be a poll worker. Four resources: 1) The
Poll Hero Project is recruiting thousands of college and high school
students to be paid poll workers to help ensure election security at in-person
voting sites. https://www.pollhero.org/. 2) Power to the
Polls is aiming to recruit 250,000 people to work the polls.
Learn more at https://www.powerthepolls.org/about. 3) If you’re in
Colorado, the Colorado Democratic Party is looking for poll
watchers. If you are younger and healthy, and don’t live with someone
who’s not; are 18 years old or older; and a registered Democrat, please
consider volunteering to be a poll watcher at https://coloradodems.org/watchpolls/ to
ensure that no voter intimidation is happening and that every eligible voter
can vote. 4) A group of athletes led by LeBron James, together with the
NAACP Legal Defense Fund, plans to roll out a multimillion dollar program in
the next few weeks to recruit poll workers in heavily Black electoral
districts in a dozen states, including battleground states Georgia,
Michigan, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Alabama, and Wisconsin.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/nba-star-lebron-james-group-plans-effort-recruit-poll-workers-n1238014 (h/t CFAA)
BIDEN/HARRIS 2020
VICTORY TEXT TEAM TRAINING: Getting
Democratic voters to the polls is how we win in November. Let’s contact voters
by joining the Biden/Harris 2020 Victory Text Team. We can sign up for
trainings here: https://www.mobilize.us/2020victory/event/293967/
HOTLINE STAFFERS & ELECTION OBSERVERS NEEDED
TO PROTECT THE VOTE: Trump
has virtually guaranteed a chaotic election, but we can help to keep the voting
process on course by signing up with the Biden Campaign to be a Voter
Protection Volunteer, protecting voters’ rights at the polls, or assisting them
on the voter hotline.
Lawyers and Law
Students are especially welcome, but anyone who can confidently speak to local
election laws under pressure should consider it as well. Let’s keep our
elections fair and free! We can find out more about volunteering to
help protect the election here: http://joebiden.com/voterprotection
FLIP THE SENATE
BY PHONEBANKING FOR AL GROSS IN ALASKA RACE: Alaska has a Senate seat worth winning, with an unpopular incumbent Dan
Sullivan facing a strong challenger, Democratic Nominee Dr. Al Gross. https://dralgrossak.com/
The closeness of the race, along with the limited number of voters means every
voter contact could give us very strong results. We can read more
about Al Gross and the Alaska race here: https://www.flipthewest.com/dr_al_gross We can click here to sign up to join the
weekly virtually phone bank for Al Gross, TODAY, Tuesday Sept 8 5:30-7:30
(Alaska Daylight Time): https://www.mobilize.us/dralgrossak/event/291731/
FLIP WISCONSIN BY WRITING GOTV LETTERS TO
INFREQUENT DEM VOTERS: Trump
won Wisconsin by .07%. We cannot let him take the state again. Vote Forward has a way to stop him, by
increasing a Democratic turnout. We can join them in sending Get Out the
Vote letters to Democratic-leaning Wisconsin voters who are
unlikely to vote. By helping these voters get to the polls, we can help
Democrats win up and down the ballot. We can sign up here to learn more
and start writing letters to flip Wisconsin Blue! https://votefwd.org/district/WIGOTV2020B
FLIP KEY WINNABLE
MONTANA SENATE SEAT: PHONE BANK FOR STEVE BULLOCK: The road to a Blue Senate runs through
pivotal states like Montana, where the relatively small number of voters in a
competitive race means we can get bigger results with each call. Popular
Democratic Governor Steve Bullock is running for a winnable seat here that can
help give us back the Senate majority and now we can join Flip the West and Montana Rural Voters get it done. This
Thursday, September 9 from 6 - 8 pm Mountain Standard (5 - 7 pm
Pacific), we can join a “Virtual Phone Bank Center” on Zoom where we will
either go to a break-out room for training, or start making calls. Technical
support is always available. Throughout, we’re invited to meet fellow phone
bankers, share success stories, and give feedback. We will need a PC or Mac,
with the Chrome or Microsoft Edge browser to participate. If we can’t make it
this Thursday, we can sign up for any of the following Thursdays we like. We
can click here to find out more sign up to phone bank for Steve Bullock and
Flip the Senate: https://www.flipthewest.com/events
STATE/LOCAL
MOST: ABSENTEE BALLOT PROCESSING/COUNTING
CHANGE NEEDED: Several states allow the processing of absentee ballots prior to the election
date. “In many states, processing of absentee ballots can begin before they are
actually counted. “Processing” means different things in different states, but
typically the first step is comparing the affidavit signature on the outside of
the return envelope against the voter’s signature on record to ensure a match,
or otherwise verify the voter’s identity.” www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-16-when-absentee-mail-ballot-processing-and-counting-can-begin.aspx Michigan had a trial run with increased absentee
ballots during their state primary in early August and learned that some
changes would be beneficial: https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2020/09/06/michigan-needs-new-legislation-safeguard-elections/5721661002/ Other states are realizing this, too: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mail-in-absentee-ballots-early-voting-battleground-states-election-day/ Let’s contact our state legislators and
tell them that we are aware of these problems and urge them to address them in
time for the 11/3 election.
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS/GROUP
ACTIONS/TWEETSTORMS
WINNING IS THE
ONLY OPTION: Swing Left Greater Boston/Swing
Blue Alliance is hosting a Virtual Activism Workshop on Thursday, September
10, 5PM Eastern. The workshop will teach us how we can help get out the Democratic
vote between now and November 3rd. Can’t make it on the 10th?
The workshop is also being offered on 9/20, 9/28, and 10/4. Let’s sign
up: https://www.mobilize.us/swingleftboston/event/294960/
JOIN GOTV
PHONE-BANK TO VOTERS OF COLOR IN VOTER SURPRESSION STATES: Reclaim Our Vote is phone banking to voters of color in voter
suppression states, urging them to vote. Their data shows that 60-80% of those
contacted, in person or by voicemails, will go on to vote. The calls are non-partisan,
and our timing can be flexible, making as few or as many calls as we like
between 9AM and 9PM in the states we call. We can click here to sign up
for a one-hour training, offered every Monday at 7:30PM ET, then get ready to
turn out the vote:
READING/WATCHING/LISTENING
Dueling versions
of reality define 1st week of fall campaign - https://apnews.com/780b2edfd25af18c0107ee382356194f
Don’t Just Focus
on Election Day. Treat All of October as Election Month - https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/election-month-2020-vote-early-plan.html
QAnon explained:
the antisemitic conspiracy theory gaining traction around the world - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/25/qanon-conspiracy-theory-explained-trump-what-is
U.S. To Owe More
Than The Size Of Its Economy For The 1st Time In 75 Years - https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/02/908856864/u-s-to-owe-more-than-the-size-of-its-economy-for-the-1st-time-in-75-years
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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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