May 29: Indivisible "What's the Plan" Weekly Zoom

It's Thursday, so welcome to my Indivisible "What's the Plan with Founders Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg" summary!

Just as a disclaimer, cause I'm not sure I've made this clear before, these are my takes. I do quote them, but I also expound on what they mean based on my own knowledge. This isn't just verbatim. On that note, let's begin!

1. Intro

   My favorite quote was from Ezra "all power in the country derives from the people" not necessarily individually, but collectively. We have way more power than they do.

   1. Indivisible News

      There is probably a group within driving distance that you can join, but if not, then make your own. There are now groups in all but SEVEN congressional districts, we can totally get that number down to zero. And there are still between 5-10 new groups A DAY! This week Indivisble Ecuador formed!

   2. Week in Overview

      We had a lot of wins. I know they are mostly partial wins, but celebrating even partial wins in a core part of effective opposition, which is why I post "Three Wins Today" every single day. One of those wins is EM leaving the government. Yes there are lot of "well actuallys" but sometimes we have to be able to push those thoughts away. The world's richest man is leaving Washington with his tail between his legs, at the very very least this is a modest win for Democracy.

2. No Kings Day ❌👑

   1. Promotion ideas

      See those emojis? One way to get attention, at least that Indivisible is using is by putting those in your handle, but that's just one way. Sound off in the comments about other ideas you have for spreading the word. This week's survey is asking for ideas, so if you give them to me use them in the survey (or Ezra might read them here, he commented last week)

   2. Local groups need to be notified first.

      They are. There are separate channels and monthly zooms for leaders, if you're a leader and you're not getting these invites let the tech team know ASAP. Especially for new groups make sure you're on all the right lists.

   3. Agitators.

      This person had a really great idea that if you see someone trying to cause problems and be a bad actor, the whole crowd should just sit down and be quiet and make it very clear that the bad actor is not part of the group.

      Ezra and Leah also said "we must maintain the mantle of nonviolence." nonviolent social movements are vastly more likely to succeed and attract more people. There is deescalation trainings for hosts and there will be some for protesters as well. Keep in mind they are all about worst-case scenarios, but these are meant to be joyful family-friendly spaces so the chance that you'll have to use what you learn is very low, don't let it scare you into not going.

   4. Are we missing an opportunity not being in DC?

      There will be events in DC just not where the parade is. They are partnering with Free DC for events elsewhere in the district. There will be events in the surrounding suburbs, but you can also consider making a trip of it and joining the flagship event in Philly. A group will be marching from Philly back to DC from June 16-28 (my birthday!) and you are more than welcome to join them.

   5. We are not trying to reach DT

      This is about sending a message to those who have or are thinking of bowing down. We want to make it clear that his days in power are numbered. That they will be on the other end of a congressional subpoena come Jan 4, 2027, which our electeds need to start talking about in specifics right now (this is a great question to ask dems at town halls "How will you be holding this entire operation accountable when you're in power again?”) Raskin is already giving some specifics, so definitely encourage that language and amplify it every time you see it.

   6. Should we worry about their spin?

      We're not counterprotesting, and Vet groups are very prominent among those being partnered with for this. We are coming out in support of regular people, and we can't let our fear dictate how we act. He will not successfully be able to spin that we are his people no matter how much patriotic regalia people are wearing “Don’t cede patriotism to these wackos”

3. How do we stand up to tech giants? Why aren't we boycotting them all?

   First, the goal of a boycott is not to stop shopping somewhere, it's to create some kind of change. It has to be targeted. Boycotting all bad companies is not targeted and could actually hurt. If it doesn't work, it teaches the company that they can do whatever they want cause they can weather the storm. You can stop shopping somewhere, but unless it's massive and really well-planned, all you're doing is making a personal decision that doesn't impact the company at all. Target and Tesla Takedown are really good examples of targeted campaigns that worked. And until there is a clear action plan, Indivisible will not be signing on to a boycott.

4. What makes Indivisible National endorse candidates?

   The local groups have to make the endorsements first. Unlike David Hogg, Indivisible will not get involved without hearing about it locally first. It has to come from the local to the national not the other way around. This is one of the most valuable things about Indivisible IMO.

5. What do we do about Martial Law/ Insurrection Act?

   As with everything, it's all about talking to people about how dangerous this kind of threat would be. As the saying goes, sunlight is the best disinfectant.

   1. Blue States

      Potentially, your governor could activate the national guard before DT has a chance to, there are also many other ways that states with a blue trifecta can protect themselves and proactively push back. And unfortunately, not all Blue State govs are pushing back like they should (Newsom, I'm looking at you.) We must hold their feet to the fire, if you want to call out some Dems, Blue State govs bowing down are a great choice.

   2. I'm worried about law enforcement complying, especially those saying "they're just doing their jobs"

      Always remember their excuses are bs, illegal actions are illegal no matter what. And again, we are creating the conditions for accountability If they think he, or someone like him will be in power indefinitely, they're not gonna do anything, but if they think his power is short lived and this time will be an embarrassing blip in American history they are gonna be worried. "People make decisions based more on who they think is gonna win than their personal preferences"

   3. Accountability for the Elites

      It's something our country sucks at and must get better at if we want to make sure this doesn't happen again. If there had been prosecutions for Guantanamo Bay way back when, or more recently, Merrick Garland had done his job, we almost certainly wouldn't be here. Impeachment isn't enough this is a massive swath of people and they all need to be held accountable, which again brings back that we need Dems to make noise now about what's happening on the Oversight Committee come Jan 4, 2027.

6. Big Bad Billionaire Bill

   1. I heard ___is in the bill, what can we do about it?

      The bill was too big for members on both sides of the aisle to read in full. To put it in perspective, they had 3 days to read 300 pages when the ACA was first introduced. This bill is over 1k pages and they had 2 hours. One reason the focus is on slowing down the bill is for it to be slow enough that our Dems have a chance to read every single word. And at that point they can tell us what it says and it's our job to amplify whatever they find.

   2. And, getting into the weeds a bit, there's the Byrd rule

      It basically says if a provision in reconciliation doesn't past muster for the rules of reconciliation it can be directly objected to. There's also the issue with the parliamentarian, a bureaucratic unelected position and Republicans not listening to them anymore. Bottom line is process complaints won't win this. We need to focus on what's in the bill not how they're trying to pass it. And Ezra feels when Dems get all 3 branches it's time to do away with this unelected position, this position is why Dems couldn't pass much of what we wanted to when we were in power.

7. Threats to Republicans and Judges

   For Republicans, If you're voting with the authoritarian because you're scared for your safety or your family's safety, you should be in a different line of work. All of us fighting back are scared every day and yet we refuse to back down. That said, of course, this is unacceptable.

   As for judges, there absolutely should be protection, but, especially in red states, we can't count on the local law enforcement to be different than the federal (though voting in local elections can certainly help with that.) If you have elected Dems at any level this is something to bring up.

8. My Dem elected's inbox is always full, should I keep calling?

   You should escalate. It doesn't take that long to empty the voice mail and it should be happening weekly at the very very least. If not, get their attention another way. I mention op-eds a lot, Mike Levin also told me those are great, they will get read and likely sent directly to him. Go to your local paper and express your disappointment. You can also get more creative. Show up at their office, etc, but don't just complain, do something. Our Dems shouldn't be hiding, if they are, they deserve a bit of heat. But remember if they stop hiding, that's worth praising them for so they continue to show up.

9. When are they bringing Kilmar Abrebo Garcia Home?

   Never if we don't make noise. There are Dem electeds who don't think this is a winning issue, the BEST way we get them to change their mind is by lifting up those who do, especially those who sound the alarm, go to ICE facilities and of course go down to El Salvador. Glenn Ivey (MD-04) just got back and I really hope you knew that before this sentence.

And that's what I got for today. I hope you get something out of this. Comment below with 🌤️ (partly cloudy cause sunshine is the best disinfectant) and what you learned.

Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!