Last year, Leah & I wrote a book subtitled, "A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump." The plan: 1) Win a trifecta 2) End the filibuster 3) Pass democracy reform, Voting Rights Act, DC statehood, self-determination for territories 4) Reform the courts goodreads.com/book/show/4500…
Further down the list, the blueprint includes other democracy reform ideas not yet really on the national agenda:
-National ranked choice voting
-Proportional representation in the House
-Historic investment in local and public media
If we win that trifecta in a week, we can enact every one of these reforms quickly through simple legislation. All we need is a majority vote in the House and Senate, and the president's signature. Literally all of this could be the law of the land next year.
None of this is possible unless we spend the next week successfully electing a pro-democracy House, Senate, and President.
And then it will only happen if we run through the tape and demand our new electeds do it next year.
But, y'all, I'm optimistic. This is achievable. These ideas are part of the debate. Our movements are stronger than ever. If we win, we can start remaking our democracy IN A WEEK. Hot damn. /end 2020.indivisible.org
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Hoover got 40% of the vote for his reelection in 1932. Here he is with massive crowds at a campaign rally a week before the election. I note this for 3 reasons:
1) We remember Hoover as a historic loser, and 1932 as FDR's landslide. But 4 in 10 voters chose Hoover. Millions upon millions of Americans enthusiastically supported his reelection.
2) While there are many things not-normal about Trump, the fact that he draws crowds at his reelection rallies is not one of them. Incumbent presidents, regardless of how disastrous, draw crowds!
Zeke's asleep so real quick here's why next year is gonna be awesome. I'm a fan of presidential scholar Stephen Skowronek. He's got a "political time" theory about presidents - basically, their personality is less important than their place in time. (*great* polisci to follow...)
Some presidents get to establish multi-decade regimes - Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, FDR, Reagan. The coalitions & political agenda of these presidents define the contours of political debate for decades to come.
Y'all, Texas is winnable. Here's the key: the turnout MACHINES are the down-ballot candidates. They're spunkier, less well known, & lower on cash. Every dollar of donation and hour of volunteer time to them goes to getting out the voters we need to win the state. Short thread...
.@candacefor24 has one the strongest Indivisible groups in the country rallying around her. TX-24 is a winnable R+9 district near Dallas full of voters we need to win statewide. Rated "tossup"! She's out with her first ad today - get behind her.
.@JulieOliverTX incredible, inspiring candidate who in 2018 came closer to unseating the reactionary Republican incumbent than anyone in his career. This is round two. TX-25 is a R+11 district stretching from Austin to Ft. Worth. Watch her ad:
The single best thing you can do right now to avert this crisis is build an absolutely historic turnout on Nov 3. Yes, that means getting out the vote for Biden, but I want to make the argument here to also focus in on the Senate. (short thread) axios.com/sanders-biden-…
We launched the Payback Project earlier this year, and tens of thousands of volunteers have now contacted millions of voters to defeat key Trump-supporting Republicans so far. paybackproject.org
How does this tie to ensuring there's a peaceful transfer of power? Three ways: 1) Getting out the vote for down ticket candidates ALSO pulls in votes for the top of the ticket (Biden). Look at our target states - AZ, GA, IA, NC among others.
Neal is a very powerful, very bad congressman. He ignores constituents, carries water for corporate donors, and kills progressive ideas. This year, he's facing a real Dem challenger. Pro-Neal forces responded with a slimy smear campaign. (short thread...) nytimes.com/2020/08/23/us/…
This is crappy, but it shouldn't be a surprise. Neal is a career politician - been in politics for nearly 50 years! He's been working for corporate donors since disco - they're sure as hell not gonna just give up that power without a fight.
This matters because Neal isn't just any congressman - he's Chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Green New Deal? Paycheck Guarantee? Stimulus? ALL of that legislation goes through Neal's committee. And he consistently wields his power to crush progressive ideas.
Huge thanks to @maddow for doing such a thorough job covering the USPS sabotage. For folks wanting next steps, here are 3 recs: 1) Convince your reps in congress to fight back. More to come on this, but this Indivisible script is an easy first step: indivisible.org/tell-your-repr…
2) Build the wave. The best sabotage-disarming tactic is massive, historic voter turnout. If you've never texted, called, or sent postcards to voters before, now's the time. It's fun and easy and you can do it with a local group. Easy onboarding here: 2020.indivisible.org
3) Protect the results. It's likely we won't know the results of the election Nov 3. That's normal - mail-in ballots take time to count. Trump has signaled he intends to contest the results. So we're preparing for that post election effort now - join here ProtectTheResults.com