Indivisibles,

We're eight months out from the election, and this week, Republicans are once again demonstrating exactly why we can't allow them to win in November. In fact, they've been generous enough to provide two glaring examples: one of absolute dysfunction, the other of abhorrent cruelty and extremism.

In Congress this week, we're on the brink of a government shutdown -- yes, once again. 

A quick refresher: After threatening to blow up the global economy and force a MAGA Default Crisis in May, Republicans eventually agreed to topline numbers for government funding. Since then, they've repeatedly gone back on their word and threatened to shut the government down. They even split the deadline into two, so now there could be a partial government shutdown at midnight this Friday, and another after March 8. And with those deadlines looming, House Republicans are, once again, moving the goalposts, subverting the original deal, and driving the government to the edge of a shutdown.

In the category of extremism, the Republicans in control of the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling last week that effectively ended IVF access in the state. 

This is yet another example of MAGA Republicans working to strip away basic rights and restrict bodily autonomy -- building on the foundation created by the horrifying Dobbs decision (for more on where we stand on reproductive freedom going into the 2024 election, check out Indivisible Senior Policy Manager Hannah Wheelwright’s Keeping Christian Nationalism out of the White House (and your bedroom, Dr.’s office, local courthouse…) email from last week).

Although national Republicans are already trying to distance themselves from the Alabama ruling, many of them -- including Mike Johnson; Unrepresentatives David Schweikert, Michelle Steel, Mike Garcia; and others -- have cosponsored a bill that would have the same impact nationwide.

Republicans are continually showing us who they are. But here's the good news: so are Democrats. Indivisibles are already working overtime to find and support the Democratic candidates who will champion the kind of politics we need. 

Last week, Ezra wrote an incredible feature in Newsweek explaining how, if the Democratic Party wants to defeat MAGA, they have to dump Sinema and Menendez. Read it! It’s a detailed and compelling breakdown of what we need to do to move forward. But at its heart, it’s about the need for us to support Democrats who exemplify Democratic ideals and integrity. It’s that simple. 

We started that process two weeks ago with our national endorsements of Andy Kim and Ruben Gallego, and now Indivisibles across the country are keeping the momentum going through group-led endorsements in our Local Voices, Local Power (LVLP) Group Support Program. Our LVLP program puts money and resources into our groups’ hands to drive wins for Democratic fighters across the country and up and down the ballot.

Today, we have the pleasure of announcing our first three groups and races:

Indivisible Antelope Valley is excited about endorsing George Whitesides in CA-27! As a local leader and businessman, George knows that the key to growing the Antelope Valley economy is through providing more good middle class jobs in the area that don’t require driving hours away to LA. He's focused on reflecting the community he’ll be elected to serve: That's why he spent so much time talking to local activists before launching his campaign.

Indivisible Albuquerque is excited about endorsing Rep. Melanie Stansbury for re-election in NM-01! Indivisible Albuquerque is endorsing Rep. Stansbury again because she follows her progressive values, she and her staff listen to local leaders, and she routinely attends the group's regular meetings while answering questions on each vote.

East Valley Indivisibles is excited about endorsing Nithya Raman for re-election in Los Angeles City Council’s District 4 because she's followed through on compassionately and directly addressing the homelessness crisis facing the city. Nithya has also been instrumental in efforts to fight corruption and gerrymandering on the city council. Finally, her office has been incredibly receptive, open, and transparent and provides excellent services to the residents of the district.

These candidates reflect our local Indivisible groups’ commitment to finding and supporting candidates who reflect a Democratic ideal that will drive the sorts of change we desperately need. Whether that’s enshrining reproductive freedoms on a federal level, or fighting for the dignity of all people across a single city, we are looking for true Democratic fighters who will defend democracy and champion the will of the people come November.

MAGA Republicans can continue to obstruct progress and attempt to tear away our rights, we’ll beat them up and down the ballot and show them what governing really looks like.

With that, here are your weekly to-dos:

 Your 5 weekly to-dos 

1. If your representative is a Democrat, demand they oppose all extreme MAGA policy riders. In this round of MAGA’s neverending government funding fight, once again House Republicans will not be able to pass anything without significant Democratic support. As the most-extreme wing of the Republican party tries to hold everyone hostage and attach dangerous riders to funding the government, we must ensure Democrats stay in line and push them to sign a clean funding bill.
2. If you have a Democratic senator (or two!), demand they oppose all extreme MAGA policy riders. What sort of things are those MAGA extremists trying to include in a government funding bill? Attacks on reproductive freedom, the LGBTQ+ community, and vulnerable asylum seekers; rollbacks of gun violence protections; and more. We cannot allow our Democratic senators to give in to these extreme demands.
3. Sign up to volunteer with our new electoral program -- Project 2024: Majority Over MAGA. Through this new electoral program, we will be rolling out tools to ensure Indivisibles all across the country have the opportunity to make a difference in the highest-priority races in the country. This will include tactics like phonebanking, postcarding, and direct-to-voter texting along with our groundbreaking community canvassing strategy: Neighbor2Neighbor. Sign up to be the first to know when we launch our tools in your area.
4. Write an LTE about Kate Cox, Brittany Watts, and the harsh reality of Republican abortion laws. It’s easy to focus on the political reality of Republicans’ inhumane abortion laws and forget the real impact. Whether it is Kate Cox having to fly out of state to receive life-saving care agreed upon by her doctor and the courts, Brittany Watts facing potential criminal charges for experiencing a miscarriage, or families across Alabama being unsure about the future of IVF, these draconian bans impact real lives. Make sure your community knows about the actual cost of Republican extremism.
5. Write an LTE about the MAGA plan to privatize Medicare. Trump intends to make Medicare Advantage the default program for all newly eligible Medicare participants. Medicare Advantage plans regularly deny coverage for essential care and patients covered by it are more likely to die in the month following major cancer surgeries than patients who have traditional Medicare. What does that mean: Republicans would put our lives in jeopardy to line the pockets of private investors. Write an LTE today to let people know about Trump’s latest threat. 

P.S. If you've completed your weekly to-do's and are looking for more ways to support this movement, consider making a donation today. Your contribution will help keep our call pages up and running, fund the tools we use to mobilize volunteers, and continue all the work we're doing this year.

Call for a Humanitarian Ceasefire

Over 12,300. That is the number of Palestinian children who have been confirmed dead since October 7th, over 40% of the more than 30,000 Palestinians dead total. 

The numbers don’t do justice to the toll on civilians in Gaza.

After driving over 1 million Palestinians across Gaza to Rafah, Netanyahu’s military has announced their intention to conduct a ground invasion.

There are currently 1.4 million Palestinians living in Rafah, many of them living in tents or on the streets with no means of evacuating, according to Win Without War, “put simply, an all-out offensive on Rafah would be an act of ethnic cleansing.”

Rafah was supposed to be the “safe-zone.” The innocent civilians currently packed into every nook and cranny of the city are dealing with famine, disease, and a near complete lack of medical care. The people have nowhere to go and no means to move. 

We know the solutions that can bring hostages home, allow humanitarian aid in, and advance towards peace: diplomacy and a ceasefire. Reports indicate there are negotiations on another temporary ceasefire and a release of hostages, a vitally important step that we hope all parties take. Instead of escalating with a ground invasion of Rafah, we must double down on the peaceful approach and demand a permanent ceasefire.  

At least 69 MoCs have called for a ceasefire, if your congressperson is not on the list, contact them today. They cannot stand on the sidelines as we stare at this level of violence and displacement. It’s past time our government acts.

• Call your representative and urge them to support a humanitarian ceasefire publicly, use their position to push for an end to hostilities, deliver urgently needed humanitarian assistance, and ensure that all hostages are released.
• Call both of your senators now and ask them to do the same.
• Email your MoCs and tell them that the bombing has to stop. This crisis is a challenge to our humanity. It is hard to witness brutal acts of violence and not believe that violent retaliation is the only response. But we must eschew those instincts and find a pathway to peace.

 Indivisible Project’s Rural Caucus 

Join our February Rural Caucus call this Wednesday, February 28 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. Whether you love your state legislature or feel like they have left your community behind, this month’s call will offer you ways to meaningfully engage in your state’s legislative session. Last month, you asked to learn more about bill tracking, proposing legislation, messaging/writing calls to action (CTAs), and how you can strengthen your voice in your state capital. This month, we will highlight Indivisible groups who have built systems for tracking legislation and hear from one of North Carolina’s best CTA writers! Join us as we discuss “How to Survive Your State Legislative Session!” A reminder, this space is open to all Indivisibles, but we will focus specifically on rural issues and needs.

 IndivisiWin of the Week 

Indivisible Screven Forward, in collaboration with coalition partners, organized a Rural Progressive Leadership Summit in Statesboro, GA last weekend.

Follow us on Facebook, Mastodon, Threads, and Instagram to keep up on the latest information, and text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to our text messaging program, where we send rapid response actions a few times a month.

And finally, happy Black History Month Indivisibles!! Check out For Indivisibles, By Indivisibles: A Racial Justice Reading List and if you have Facebook, share our cute graphics to ensure your friends and family are reading and learning along with you. Your drive to stay educated is what makes this movement work.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team