Volume I, Issue 15 The Newsletter of Minuteman Indivisible Lexington June 14, 2017
Muster (verb) – assemble, especially for inspection or preparation for battle
MI HAPPENINGS
As we enter the summer months it is easy to become mesmerized by Senate hearings and complacent as we try to get on with business of living our lives, despite the insanity. In the meantime, the Republicans in Congress continue to go about their work to dismantle protections put in place over the last eight years. Just days ago, with little fanfare, the House passed the Financial CHOICE Act, rolling back many of the Dodd-Frank protections put in place to prevent financial crises. Now the Senate is meeting behind closed doors to remake our healthcare system with no hearings and scant information as to what is in the bill. This is unacceptable and we must continue to be vocal in our outrage. There are some fabulous upcoming events to carry on the resistance. Make a pledge to attend at least one of them:
If none of these events work into your schedule, do check out the Morning Coffee Actions to see how you can voice your concerns from your desk or phone. Please make those calls this week. (And make them even if you are attending the events!) They really do matter.
EVENTS CALENDAR
MEET REGINA BATESON An Insiders Look at a Congressional Campaign
The elections team is hosting Regina Bateson, candidate for California's 4th congressional seat. Regina, a former foreign service officer and vice-consul at the US Embassy in Guatemala, and currently teaching Political Science at MIT is heading back to her home district of the CA 4th to run for congress in 2018.
The seat is currently held by Tom McClintock, a conservative, climate-change denying, Koch-sponsored Republican in a seat that represents Lake Tahoe and Yosemite! In case you missed the news stories about his town hall events, check out this video... (or just google him.) The CA 4th is definitely a vulnerable seat!
Regina recently filed her candidacy and has a small team in place in California. She just signed on with premier strategy and media firm Left Hook Communications and is currently fundraising and building out her team.
This is a special opportunity to learn about the process and challenges of building a successful congressional campaign from the ground up from the candidate herself. She will speak about how we can best help a campaign such as hers, especially at the early stages. We hope you can join us!
WHEN: Wednesday (tonight), June 14th, 7:15PM WHERE: Lexington Community Center, Room 221, 39 Marrett Road, Lexington
Jay Kaufman "Democracy Demands Engagement" Workshop: Part IV Thursday, June 15th
7PM - 9PM
Temple Isaiah, 55 Lincoln St., Lexington.
State Rep Jay Kaufman is hosting the last of his four part public workshop "Democracy Demands Engagement" Thursday, June 15th. In this last session entitled “What Now? Stand Up, Stand Tall, Stand Together.” participants will discuss how to effectively engage in process of re-building a strong democracy. MI will be presenting as well as other local civic and action groups about their purpose and role in this process. Join Jay and other members of our community as we engage in these very important discussions. For more information on the series, see Rep. Kaufman's website.
INDIVISIBLE REGIONAL CONFERENCE TURNING THIS MOMENT INTO A MOVEMENT
The very first Massachusetts Regional Indivisible Conference is happening right here in Lexington! Come gather with Indivisible groups from across the state to network, learn what others are working on and hear from some great speakers on building the Indivisible movement! This conference is not just for team leaders, but for anyone who would like to come learn and be inspired.
The event speakers include:
NH Senator Annie Kuster: Running in a Swing District
MA State Senator Jamie Eldridge: Effective Engagement with the State House
Former Markey Legislative Aide Dr. Daniel Pomeroy: Engaging on policy with your US representative
National Indivisible Guide Representative Marguerite Suozzo Gole: Where the national organization is headed
There will be breakout sessions on issues: Climate & Environment, Healthcare, Election strategies, Democracy and voting rights, immigrant issues, jobs, plus more.
There will also be a panel discussing strategies for sustaining momentum and growing the movement as we head into the 2018 elections. We would love to see great turnout of Minuteman Indivisible members. Tickets are a suggested donation of $10.
WHEN: Sunday, June 25th, 12:30-5PM WHERE: Minuteman Regional High School, 758 Marrett Rd, Lexington, MA 02421
Please register for this event:
July 4th Reading of the Declaration of Independence July 4th, 1pm
North Bridge, Concord, MA
Join us at the North Bridge in Concord for a reading of the Declaration of Independence! This is a family event so come one, come all. We will listen to a reading of this fabulous document which lays out why the patriots felt that they needed to declare independence. We will follow the reading with an ice cold treat. Please sign up so that we know how many treats to purchase. For more information see the event details from the National Park Service. Please sign up if you plan to come so we have refreshments for everyone.
UPCOMING MI MEETINGS
Elections Team Meeting Wednesday, June 14th 7:15-9PM Lexington Community Center, Room 221
Come meet Regina Bateson, candidate for the CA 4th district. She's currently a professor at MIT, returning to CA to run against Tom McClintock. We'll discuss engagement with her campaign for the 2018 election. We will also provide updates on the ongoing races: GA 6th, SC 5th, and UT 3rd. We'll also start the discussion of ideas for activities after the June special elections. All MI members are welcome.
Healthcare Team Meeting Wednesday, June 20th 7:15-9PM Lexington Community Center, Room 221
Bi-weekly meeting to work on healthcare action, outreach, and education through conversation starters on a range of healthcare issues.
Preserving our Constitutional Democracy Team Meeting Wednesday, June 27th 7:15-9PM Lexington Community Center, Room 221
Interested in Russia Gate, Conflicts of Interest, Voting Rights, Gerrymandering, Human Rights, and / or Immigrant rights? Come to the next meeting of the Democracy team and see what actions that we are taking and help to create new actions in the future.
MORNING COFFEE ACTIONS
(Actions you can do while enjoying your morning cup!)
AHCA in the Senate: Unacceptable!
The Senate is trying to do what the House of Representatives did in May: jam through its version of the TrumpCare bill without public hearings, and without knowing its full impact on American families. Thirteen male GOP Senators are re-writing healthcare law in secret. This is not how an open democratic process works!
The TrumpCare bill (or AHCA) would strip coverage from at least 23 million people and cut Medicaid by $800 billion, in order to give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations. It would also undermine critical protections for people with pre-existing conditions, defund Planned Parenthood, and raise premiums for American families.
Indivisible has identified ten states with Senators that are deemed "moveable" on their TrumpCare10 resource site. They are: AK, AR, WV, ME, NV, AZ, CO, OH, PA, LA
If you have friends or family in any of the ten, please reach out to them and urge them to reach out to their Senators. Indivisible provides the background and gameplan as well as scripts.
Also, call Governor Baker and ask for his support opposing the bill and the secret process.
ELECTIONS: Final push in GA-06 and SC-05
The Georgia 6th and South Carolina 5th vote on Tuesday! Make a point of helping by phonebanking or texting for Jon Ossoff and Archie Parnell this weekend; every effort to get out the vote matters to both of these candidates! See the Elections Team page of our website for links to get started. Read this endorsement of Archie. Ossoff and his opponent are tied in the latest poll, with 6% undecided - help tip the balance! http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/13/poll-georgia-jon-ossoff-karen-handel-239477
We still want an Independent Commission! Keep Calling!
Please call Senators Warren and Markey and say “Thank you for supporting our democracy by supporting S.27. Is there anything else that the Senator is doing to make this happen”? Call Representative Clark and say “Thank you for supporting H.R. 356 and for signing the discharge petition. What else is Representative Clark doing to keep pressure on for an independent investigation?" Finally, call Governor Baker and say "I saw that Governor Baker made a public statement calling for an independent investigation on Russia ties, but what else is he doing to make this happen?”. Keep calling!
Show your support for the Safe Communities Act
The hearing for the Safe Communities Act was held last Friday. Over 80 people lobbied their legislators and hundreds packed the hearing room. We need to continue putting pressure on our elected officials. Please take a moment to call your State Representative and Governor Baker and ask them to support the Safe Communities Act. Find more information at the ACLU website along with a script you can use when making the calls.
In Summary, Your MoC Call Checklist: Your MoC would prefer to have one call per constituent that includes everything, so here is a summary of our actions for each:
Warren and Markey: Thank them for demanding independent commission (S.27) and opposing to any reduction in healthcare benefits through a senate version of AHCA. Clark or Moulton: Further demand an independent commission (H.R. 356), Governor Charlie Baker:Thank for Climate Alliance support, request support of carbon pricing legislation, encourage him to support the Safe Communities Act, thank him for his support of an independent investigation and ask that he voice opposition to the undemocratic process in the Senate regarding AHCA .
HELP WANTED
Minuteman Indivisible is holding more public events and would like to create videos so that people who are unable to attend will still be able to see what happened. LexMedia, our local cable TV provides free training on using their equipment for volunteers who are interested in videoing community events. If you would be willing to video our events and either have already had LexMedia Training or would like to take advantage of it, please email us at info@minutemanindivisible.org.
GET INVOLVED
Learn More about MI Teams
Are you new to Minuteman Indivisible? Join one or more of our teams! (See our website for more information on the teams.)
If you'd like to contact one of our team leaders their contact emails are below. ( Although many teams have more than one team leader, for simplicity's sake, we list just one contact point.)
If you haven't had a chance to sign up for a team and would like to get more involved, just fill out this form: TEAM SIGN-UPS
Our Mission:
We the peopleof Minuteman Indivisible unite to uphold the rights and dignity of all people. Our mission is to exercise and defend our Constitutional rights and democratic institutions. Our principles are informed by our humanitarian values and respect for well-established scientific knowledge and governance expertise.
