Thread by @RedBeretsM4All

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson It’s fine! I ended up gathering that. I blocked them. I’m already having a horrendous 24 hours within the M4A organizing movement, so I don’t have the energy for this debate.

Allow me to explain.

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson Essentially, I feel used up by the Medicare for All movement. I have personally knit over 350 #RedBerets to help unify the M4A community.

I strongly supported the electoral strategy. I have donated a HUGE sum of money for yarn, & to M4A candidate campaign. (1/?)

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson I donated many many times to @BernieSanders, then recently I donated to @ninaturner! I have donated to @RebeccaforWA to @CallForCongress and many other M4A candidates/champions.

I am not someone who believes we can afford to completely throw out electoral politics (2/?)

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress I was introduced to @WholeWashington by @Kathryn4WALD39 in the fall of 2017, and she introduced me to @WholeWashington! I began knitting for and organizing with them, and learned very quickly what it meant to fight on all fronts for healthcare justice! (3/?)

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 Working on a solid, state level effort that also is simultaneously working to pressure Reps to co-sponsor federal bills, educates one very quickly on just how deep the corruption runs, and his fractured the single payer movement actually is. (4/?)

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 I thought maybe if I just supported a both/and strategy long enough and visually enough, that people would see, not only should we not divide local state organizing from national, but that it was a preposterous & false notion that we even could! They are inextricably linked! (5/?

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 Fast forward to spring of 2021 where the launch of @WholeWashington’s direct democracy ballot initiative launch is imminent & we are furiously scrambling to get our ducks in a row for filing & for switching from legislative mode to ballot initiative mode. (6/?)

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 So here we are, about to launch, and Shareef Snuggs, @iam4M4A reaches out to me. Mind you, this is before @marwilliamson came aboard and before there where any coalition partners for @M4M4ALL.

Shareef reached out & asks for @RedBeretsM4A & @WholeWashington’s partnership.

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A We had quite a few zoom meetings where I expressed very clearly that we were spread thin & that organizing even one national march was a big endeavor. He said we were the real deal and hoped for our partnership & whatever help we could offer!

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A I agreed that absolutely, it doesn’t require much, to offer partnership and solidarity! So I reached out to @GeoDavenport & @WholeWashington agreed that we fight on all fronts, so OF COURSE WW would partner.

Therefore, @WholeWashington became the first org to partner w/@M4M4ALL

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A @GeoDavenport I would say @RedBeretsM4A were the very first, but we are a crafting coalition & organizers who wear our work. We are not incorporated and we have no board.

So both grassroots multi-pronged approach orgs came aboard!

At that point, there was a D.C. march & L.A. (cont)

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A @GeoDavenport @iam4M4A asked if we could get something going in Wa state. At that point, we were days away from #I1362 petitions at the printers, nearly ready for pick up and ready for distribution across the state.

Knowing myself (a disorganized knitter & someone who is already tasked) cont

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A @GeoDavenport I was heavily tasked at the point that @iam4M4A asked if Wa state could organize, being both on the board of @WholeWashington, on the distribution team for #I1362, as well as the central contact for @KennyBallentine’s documentary & #RedBerets social media/craftivsm for M4A hub.,

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A @GeoDavenport @KennyBallentine So what I decided to do, was to reach out to @CaptainStack, who is a very effective communicator and organizer and he lives in Seattle, & my feeling was, if there was only going to be one Wa state march/event, I needed to be Seattle!

Andre graciously accepted the call! Cont,

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A @GeoDavenport @KennyBallentine @CaptainStack So it was shortly thereafter announced, that @M4M4ALL_Seattle would be the third city, to join the @M4M4ALL coalition on July 24th!

Andre did a historically incredible job in ensuring that the #Seattle march did not become the @WholeWashington #m4m4all, but we’re included!

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A @GeoDavenport @KennyBallentine @CaptainStack @M4M4ALL_Seattle From that point, people began to see that @M4M4ALL was taking off, & @marwilliamson signed aboard to speak in D.C.!♥️

This changed the entire game, and the movement grew exponentially, very quickly, & what made it so profound/effective, is that ALL organizers/strategies welcomed

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A @GeoDavenport @KennyBallentine @CaptainStack @M4M4ALL_Seattle Conclusion of this thread is that there ended up being a significant number of people on the @M4M4ALL national steering committee, who do not think that a multi-pronged approach is the direction they want to go in.

The irony is, that a few of these dividers of the M4A movement,

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A @GeoDavenport @KennyBallentine @CaptainStack @M4M4ALL_Seattle Are people from Real Progressives, who @GeoDavenport and myself, specifically ushered into the organizing coalition, because they were repeatedly trolling our @WholeWashington organizing threads, and this continued, EVEN after @StephanieKelton offered solidarity for “all fronts!”

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A @GeoDavenport @KennyBallentine @CaptainStack @M4M4ALL_Seattle @StephanieKelton In conclusion, it doesn’t matter what people believe is the best strategy. The false narrative is that we even have a choice.

We live in an oligarchy where our congress is almost completely owned, by pharma, insurance & many other lobbies and the fact if they matter is,

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A @GeoDavenport @KennyBallentine @CaptainStack @M4M4ALL_Seattle @StephanieKelton We have no choice but to fight for human lives every single day, by bringing people together—by giving EVERYONE fighting to save lives, a seat at the table. The alternative is to put our fate in the hands of Joe Biden, & an owned congress.

Thx for reading!

#RedBeretsM4A💯🏩🧶

@keidekay @MaryTheQueenOfC @briebriejoy @marwilliamson @BernieSanders @ninaturner @RebeccaforWA @CallForCongress @WholeWashington @Kathryn4WALD39 @iam4M4A @M4M4ALL @RedBeretsM4A @GeoDavenport @KennyBallentine @CaptainStack @M4M4ALL_Seattle @StephanieKelton @DesnoyersScott @50linesonly @Carlene_Meyers @threadreaderapp Thread App, unroll please!! Thank you!