Our votes matter more than ever. Dear Indivisibles,
What. A. Week. On Tuesday, we launched the next evolution of the Indivisible movement: the official, on-the-ground launch of Indivisible435, our 50-state political program! If you missed all the excitement, here are the top lines you should know:
- Weāll build tools for thousands of Indivisible groups. Every Indivisible group will be able to sign up to use canvassing and phone banking tools. Weāll build long-lasting power by equipping neighbors to talk to their neighbors.
- Weāll engage millions of voters. Weāll build a national volunteer program to help support key races to take back the House and Senate, elect progressive governors in red states, and flip state legislatures.
- Weāll target 73 key elections in 13 states. Over the last 6 weeks, weāve doubled our organizing team to better support the thousands of Indivisible groups on the ground.
Weāre so excited to lean into November and if this week has shown us anything, itās that our votes matter more than ever. After an 11 hour-long session on Wednesday and months of in-fighting in the assembly, Virginiaās legislature voted to pass a budget that included Medicaid expansion for nearly 400,000 people across the Commonwealth.
This is a direct result of the November 2017 elections that launched the #BlueWave and shows how powerful it can be to follow electoral work with advocacy. Virginiaās win is a lesson for the entire movement: THIS is what real power looks like. Itās a cycle of mobilizing our communities, advocating to pass historic legislation, electing leaders who support our vision for change -- and doing it all over again.
And weāre bringing even more ways for you to get involved electorally this summer leading up to November. You may have gotten a text message from us on the Indivisible Team driving calls-to-action around key policy moments, like #BlockHaspel or the #TaxScam. Now weāre shifting our efforts and weāll be sending you commit to vote messages, find your polling place, and so much more.
Weāll even have a few giveaways planned later in the summer for things, like Indivisible bumper stickers for those who get the most people committed to vote! But you canāt take part in all of this unless you sign up for our SMS text messaging list!
Sign up here for our messaging list and weāll reach out and introduce ourselves. We send about 3-5 messages per month and you can opt-out at any time by replying STOP (but we really hope you donāt!!). We guarantee some great surprises and opportunities this summer through our SMS program, so make sure to sign up today!
This weekās policy rundown
- Tell your members of Congress to speak out to #EndFamilySeparation. Over the Memorial Day weekend, multiple reports came out regarding the Trump administration instituting a new āzero toleranceā policy, which prosecutes anyone who crosses the border. As a result, migrant families who cross the border are separated, with parents jailed and subject to deportation proceedings and children deemed āunaccompanied minors.ā While nothing is moving forward yet on this front, itās important that Members of Congress continue to be aware of this horrifying practice and condemn it. For more information, check out our resource on Trumpās new, cruel immigration policy.
- Get up-to-speed on whatās happening on immigration in the House. As Congress returns next week, Republican leadership is approaching the June 7th deadline for a compromise immigration proposal between moderates and the right wing House Freedom Caucus. In the case that a compromise doesnāt come to fruition, moderate Republicans have said they have the necessary number of Republicans to sign onto the Queen of the Hill discharge petition and kickstart an immigration debate. As a refresher, hereās our resource on the potential immigration proposals the House could debate in June.
This weekās #TrumpThreatLevel:
- After much delay, the Trump administration finally released a legal explanation to justify its reckless escalation of the war in Syria. Spoiler alert: this explanation isnāt good enough. Trump is basically claiming that he can authorize military force anytime he wants without first consulting Congress. Thatās not what the Constitution says, and that puts us all in danger.
- The Trump administration has dramatically ramped up lethal force operations around the world, leaving behind a large civilian body count. But even though Trump is required by law to disclose just how many civilians have been killed, he is blocking accountability by refusing to share that information with the public.
- Trump keeps botching diplomacy with North Korea. First the much-hyped summit is canceled, then itās back on. South Korean President Moon Jae-In is working hard to salvage a path forward, but Trump keeps raising the threat level anyway.
Visit trumpthreatlevel.indivisible.org for a running list of all the ways Trump makes us less safe and our latest foreign policy resources to take action.
Looking ahead
This Tuesday, weāve got a major set of exciting primaries, including three of our nationally endorsed candidates!
ā Jeramey Anderson for Congress in MS-04 ā Virginia MaduenĢo for Congress in CA-10 ā Harley Rouda for Congress in CA-48 Ā Ā You can read more about them on Indivisible435.org!
All three of these candidates are running amazing grassroots campaigns, and Indivisibles are getting out the vote on these final few days before election day to get their endorsed candidates to the next round. Indivisible CA-48, who endorsed Harley Rouda, has been typing away at text banking shifts ahead of the big day on Tuesday -- check out their unstoppable, dedicated volunteers here!
We couldnāt be more excited to see all of the incredible engagement of both Indivisible groups and endorsed candidates ahead of November. Youāre building the big #BlueWave and weāre humbled to call ourselves a part of this movement. Good luck on Tuesday and weāll be cheering you all on from afar!
In solidarity, The Indivisible Team
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