#41: Don't Let Them Hide the Statue's Torch

Thank you for continuing to share these messages with your friends, if you are not already on our mailing list, please click here to be added to our list. You can also follow me on Facebook. The more people we can reach, the more we contribute to this growing movement. We share these posts on our blog, A Path Forward to November 3, 2020, every two weeks, which means there will be a total of 100 missives before the Presidential election of 2020, in which our country will select a whole new course.

For all the talk about Trump’s approval ratings, the Mueller investigation, Stormy Daniels, and North Korea, the outcome of the off year elections in November is up to us. 

Between now and November, we know that Robert Mueller will announce findings and further charges. We will be unsurprised when Mueller contends that Roger Stone and others used Wikileaks and other conduits to coordinate Russian efforts with those of the campaign. That’s collusion, and the only remaining issue will be whether Mueller can prove that Trump was a party to it all. All that might happen or might not happen is explained nicely in this “interactive” presentation by the New York Times.

Because they fear things that could happen, Trump and Giuliani are pushing back every day against Rod Rosenstein and Mueller. That’s why they have enlisted an entire television network at their service. That’s why we were treated to the Trumped up “Spygate” allegation. The good news is that after the Congressional bi-partisan “Gang of Eight” heard their Trump-mandated classified briefing about an FBI informant within the Trump campaign, they had nothing to say. The tacit agreement among the Gang of Eight is that Schumer and Pelosi will not dwell on this bizarre incident while Ryan and McConnell would not hint at support of Trump’s allegations. 

There continues to be a cohort of Senate Republicans who are bent upon defending the rule of law. They are protecting Mueller and Rosenstein. To their discredit, they are not countering Trump’s daily preemptive assaults on the FBI. It is the shame of America that we have arrived at this place, where a president has free rein to eviscerate people at will. In past decades, leaders of this party have advanced civil rights, championed environmental initiatives, and promoted democracy. Who would have thought that the Republicans would leave that all behind in favor of becoming the party relentlessly attacking the Federal Bureau of Investigation?

We already know what to do about it--- win in November. Before then we need to attend to pending matters outlined below, having to do with how a caring and just society protects children. On the political front, between now and November, the gigantic issue is whether we will choose to do at a huge scale what we already know how to do. 

First, we know how to identify and battle voter suppression and increase participation. We know how to find voters to register, taking advantage of digital systems. As outlined in missive #39:

There are any number of online efforts to significantly increase voter registration, but none any more aggressive and expansive and relentless than Rock the Vote, which has helped to register millions of people. If you could magically get them into the heads of thousands of people, especially people who are new to the voting process that would be excellent. And collectively you can. Rock the Vote has any number of tools, including state by state analysis of what one needs to do to register and vote, a guide to overcome barriers that vote suppressing states have erected, and a link to the online registration sites of 38 states.

Second, we understand and take advantage of the fact that we are part of the biggest political movement since the 1960’s. As outlined in missive #35:

There were two ways that this movement was uncommon, both lessons for us now. First the peace movement reached way beyond the rolls of people who would have been expected to participate in it. Like the Women’s Marches of January 2017 and 2018 and the organization of Indivisible and other resistance cells. It activated into its ranks millions of people who had thought themselves to be non-political. In some cases, it caused people to change a political persuasion that had long been adhered to in their family. New questions were being asked around the kitchen table, and all of a sudden Ozzie and Harriet’s kids were in the streets. You knew you were not in ordinary times.

Third, we have embraced that this work must entangle us with specific campaigns. As underscored in missive #23:

Campaigns are won or lost from their inception, not on the day the results are posted… There will be 60 or so competitive Congressional races so you are going to find one nearby, even if you have to consider a neighboring state. Use the excellent online resources which are available to you to help sort things out. These include Indivisible and Swing Left, either of which can help you sort out targeted races… After you pick the race, go see the candidate or one of her or his aides if they are within traveling distance. If you don’t live in their district, join an Indivisible cell or other organizing group that will “adopt” the candidate. If such a group doesn’t already exist, you can organize it yourself.

So, there is no alternative but to get it and get it done, no? And while we are attending to these longer term matters with the near obsession that befits the times, let’s remember that there are children who need our help this week in America. In the earlier days, Donald Trump made it a point to indicate his regard for Dreamers, 800,000 young Americans brought here during their childhood by their parents. It was fashionable for him and others to say that Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) overstepped presidential powers, but that Congress should figure out a way to protect these young people.

Ever since, Trump’s approach (guided by the inexhaustibly malevolent aide Stephen Miller) has been to do everything he can do to keep Dreamer protection from happening. He has loaded his proposals with cuts to immigration and with advocacy for the wall, motivated by the gladness it brings to the closed heart of nativist Americans, all forgetting that their parents or grandparents came here from somewhere else. They are covering the Statue of Liberty, trying to hide the torch. No more “huddled masses yearning to breathe free”, for them. There are three things we can do.

1) Spur the Discharge Petition in the House
	The federal courts have ordered the Trump administration to continue to enforce DACA, but this is only a temporary defense. This week will provide the best opportunity to get DACA moving again. Moderate Republicans need two more signers from their own party on their “discharge position” to force a vote on the House floor, plus a little more negotiation with wall-opposing Texas Democrats. Whether or not the discharge position itself is successful, it could spur the long awaited House debate. Here’s John Kasich’s argument for the petition. Pick at least three Republicans from the Congressional delegation of your state and/or neighboring state. Start with those have seemed most moderate in the past. Call them and insist on bi-partisan consideration of ways to protect Dreamers in the House this week or next. Look up their direct number or call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask them to transfer you.
2) Get the Senate Moving Again
	The Senate fell apart in its previous floor debates on Dreamers and on broader immigration issues. They can’t be let off the hook. Some Senators are looking at Trump’s recent revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for various protected populations as a new way to start discussions. At minimum, they realize that they are going to take up the plight of the Dreamers ultimately, and would like to demonstrate that they are indeed Senators.  Let’s try to connect with a Senator who has indicated his impatience with a lack of action, but is not a boat-rocker, Republican James Lankford of Oklahoma. Call James Lankford’s DC office and say that you are one of countless Americans who are depending upon him for a fresh voice and new action. Thank him for his conscientiousness on this issue and say you are hoping for more. His number is 202-224-5744. His new legislative director is Sarah Seitz. Even though Senate emails have been problematic, you can take a run at connecting with her at Sarah_Seitz@lankford.senate.gov.
3) Bolster the Advocacy of Dreamers and Other Young Immigrants
	There are numerous ways we can lend our support to Dreamers. The best first step of all is to add ourselves to the 400,000 people who are part of United We Dream, which is youth led. With our help, they are not going to let these hopes be dashed.

For all of us, this is another day at the “office”. Collectively, we aim to correct a calamitous turn in American political life. We want desperately for that correction to emerge, beginning this fall. However, we understand that what we want is not the issue, it is what we choose to do between now and November.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#40: How Will You be a Part of the Blue Wave?

Thank you for continuing to share these messages with your friends, if you are not already on our mailing list, please click here to be added to our list. You can also follow me on Facebook. The more people we can reach, the more we contribute to this growing movement. We share these posts on our blog, A Path Forward to November 3, 2020, every two weeks, which means there will be a total of 100 missives before the Presidential election of 2020, in which our country will select a whole new course.

It is a little mind numbing, no? How do you separate the claims and the counterclaims? How do you distinguish between the disappointing Trump actions and the hugely damaging? When can you let yourself be heartened by something positive that might happen in the Congress, and when must despair wash over you before you can even try to conquer it?

These times take some sorting. Remember that this President is intentionally unmoored, not just as a part of his being but as a political tactic. That is going to unsettle a citizen’s equilibrium on a regular basis. Remember also that some advocates gain your attention by telling you the worst-case scenario. Just because the most right-wing member of the House of Representatives calls for this or that governmental action does not mean it is going to materialize tomorrow. The legislative process is meant to generate heat as well as light. And it is certainly doing that.

So, if the news bite is something outrageous like “Representative Mark Meadows, leader of the House Freedom Caucus, proposed today that Americans be jailed if they don’t pay daily homage to Donald Trump”, don’t start packing a duffel. There are still checks and balances. Our system is bending right now, but it doesn’t mean it will break.

We need to pay careful attention to which members of Congress are making public statements, and when those statements are consequential. Sometimes legislative leaders selected by their caucuses will signal their specific intentions or even their willingness to compromise on an issue. Statements by leaders of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan or Kevin McCarthy (Republicans) and Nancy Pelosi or Steny Hoyer (Democrats) carry much more weight than pronouncements from individual members. The same is true in the Senate with Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn (Republicans) and Charles Schumer and Dick Durbin (Democrats). 

Watch also for representations made by the chairs of major committees, or the “ranking” member from the Democratic minority. Take note of the higher level of cooperation between Richard Burr and Mark Warner (the Republican chair and the ranking Democrat of the Senate Intelligence Committee). When one of the two says something about the Russia investigation, they will stay connected with the other, even in the face of political differences. Note the lack of such cooperation in the House between Intelligence Committee Republican Devin Nunes and Democratic ranking minority member Adam Schiff, and don’t expect that their statements reach across the aisle. Because of his committee powers and because his pronouncements are less frequent, when Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Grassley says that Donald Trump should not fire Robert Mueller, it counts more than ten other Senators saying the same thing.

We can also learn to recognize when elected officials overuse the microphone. For instance, the ever-vocal Ted Cruz does not have a following in the Senate Republican caucus. His pronouncements on what others should do are not influential. Tom Cotton’s following is small. In the House, public statements from Republican moderates like Charlie Dent are intended to rally the fifty or so colleagues that he needs in order to be treated with more care by Speaker Paul Ryan, but the moderates have rarely gotten traction they have sought. Things are different in the Senate. Because Mitch McConnell holds only a two-vote majority, any public statement by a Republican Senator who might desert him on a key vote means a great deal. That’s why there are always reporters looking for comments from Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Bob Corker, Lindsay Graham, Jeff Flake, John McCain, and even Rand Paul. They have not been as spirited as we would have liked, but we still have what’s left of the Affordable Care Act because of Republican Senators.

Donald Trump was not the first president to make Americans miserable. The now nearly sainted John Adams wanted to put dissidents in jail for sedition. Until later in life, he and Jefferson hated each other. Landowners were terrified of Andrew Jackson. James Buchanan turned the threat of a Civil War into a certainty. Woodrow Wilson was a racist. George W. Bush let Dick Cheney make up a war.

In the face of the pain this man has wrought, collect rare moments of grace. Former presidents and their spouses sitting with Melania Trump at Barbara Bush’s funeral was meant to communicate that we still stand for something together, at least for now.

This misery will be tolerable only if we can make it pass. Our momentum is growing for the fall elections. We will vigorously contest the Senate and will win back the House. And that will provide considerable relief from the worst Trumpian havoc that would otherwise be visited upon the people. 

The Michael Cohen/Rudy Giuliani adventures will continue to bring rewards, and Robert Mueller ever so patiently does the work that he was called upon to do. Tough times require some people to step forward when they didn’t initially intend to do so. Thank you for that, Rod Rosenstein, and Senators Jerry Moran and Charles Grassley. And yes, we do get guilty pleasure from the work of Michael Avenatti.

There is even a tiny bit of movement in Congress on important issues even as most of the time is spent on political positioning. We can and should do these three things to support work in progress.

1) Convince Republicans to Dare to Help the Dreamers
	The discharge petition is a rarely used process in the House of Representatives that forces consideration of a bill on the House floor. Republican moderates hope to use this process to require Paul Ryan and the House to move forward on four separate legislative approaches on immigration regarding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Trump is still blocked by the courts from throwing the Dreamers out, but Congress must act on the longer-term solution. Paul Ryan is afraid that a floor debate on a bi-partisan compromise would put Trump in a position where he would veto the bill because it doesn’t wall us off from Mexico. With Democrats expected to join moderate Republicans, advocates are only seven signatures away. The closer they get, the more leverage moderate Republicans will muster to force a vote. Check this list and see who has signed thus far. Pick a Republican from your state or from a nearby state, call their office and ask them to join this effort. Or pick from these seven Republican members, who signed a letter to the Speaker last December telling him they wanted action on DACA! Remember, even if they don’t end up taking this step, it is worth it to let them know you are out there. Chris Smith of New Jersey: 202-225-3765 Scott Taylor of Virginia: 202-225-4215 Dan Newhouse of Washington: 202-225-5816 Mimi Walters of California: 202-225-5611 Mike Simpson of Idaho: 202-225-5513 Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania: 202-225-4276 Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania: 202-225-4315
2) Give Long Overdue Criminal Justice Reform a Boost
	Criminal justice reform has been a project of Jared Kushner, whose father was incarcerated in years past. Progress has been slow, even though there were broad bi-partisan agreements on sentencing reform and on prisoner education near the end of the Obama presidency. There is still some bi-partisan interest in getting something done this year. The House is prepared to move along a tiny bill on inmate education, eschewing the more impactful but more contentious sentencing reform. The Senate wants to take up both issues. This placces Judiciary Committee chair Charles Grassley in conflict with the House sentencing reform obstructionist Jeff Sessions. Write a quick note to Grassley and Democratic assistant minority leader Dick Durbin to thank them for doing the right thing. Chuck Grassley 202-224-3744 135 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Dick Durbin 202-224-2152 711 Hart Senate Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Sign up to get action alerts on this and other efforts from the Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights, started over fifty years ago by Dr. Martin Luther King.
3) The Elephants Need You to Remember Their Plight
	The narrative was that Ivanka Trump had talked to her father, and that we were going to fully shut down the ivory trade and elephant trophy hunting. It turns out that there is still hemming and hawing, and talk about case by case evaluation.     And, of course, there has been even more absurd talk that we need to allow permits to kill elephants in order to raise funds to keep people from killing elephants. There are members of Congress who are staying with this issue, and even exploring how Facebook has created a path for people selling illegally secured animal parts. Please call Senator Chris Coons of Delaware to thank him and to ask him to be an ongoing leader in elephant protection.  Chris Coons 202-224-5042

This is how it will be going for a while--- a few meaningful legislative actions here and there, followed by a huge showdown on the budget in late summer, as Trump threatens to close down the government if we refuse to build him a wall. It will all lead up to a colossal referendum on the Trump presidency in the November 6 off year elections. What are you doing right now to be a part of the blue wave?

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington

#39: In November We'll Be Defining the Nation

Thank you for continuing to share these messages with your friends, if you are not already on our mailing list, please click here to be added to our list. You can also follow me on Facebook. The more people we can reach, the more we contribute to this growing movement. We share these posts on our blog, A Path Forward to November 3, 2020, every two weeks, which means there will be a total of 100 missives before the Presidential election of 2020, in which our country will select a whole new course.

Right after the election in November 2016, one despairing father wrote this to his far-flung family:
I am heartsick about the short term future of America and those it touches and serves. But I also believe that the future of democratic ideals and the arc of justice are bigger than one person. I will not let that person bring me down. We’re all left with choices about dealing with adversity. We are going to expand our physical, spiritual and intellectual borders and we will stand tall.

And this is how a wise son (about to become a father himself) responded:
I really wanted to greet her with a world that was improving on its modest gains of the past 8 years, rather than struggling to defend them… but perhaps, as with Obama and racism, Clinton’s election would have only veiled misogyny, misinformation and bias the public needs to address or see dwindle away with demographic change. There’s a lot of hope to be taken out of the tolerance and potential of the younger generation. We’ll be defining the nation by the time she’s ready to go out on her own.

His daughter is not nearly ready to go out on her own, but the nation-defining the son contemplated and hoped for is going on right now. The Prime Minister of France talks to Congress and raises whether we intend to display any global leadership. Do we? The new tax law’s true impact on deficits becomes clear. Rather than considering the poor, House Speaker Paul Ryan fires the chaplain who prayed that the poor be remembered. Who will we remember tomorrow?

Even worse, in Donald Trump’s presidency, the “misogyny, misinformation and bias” are on full display every day. And every day, we contest the mean-spiritedness and the indifference to all others that is Trump’s hallmark. Every day, someone is mocked or eviscerated or lied about or dismissed. If they had been offered a hand up, it is withdrawn. If they or their children had received protection, it is removed, To Donald Trump, the 9,000 Nepalese in America losing their protected status, transgendered members of the military, and Honduran refugees caravanning and now seeking asylum are all the same person, the other. 

Who would have thought that the dreams and soul of a nation would be the predominant prize of an off-year election? Has there been an election in your life that you have looked forward to more, that is worthier of your continual engagement from now to November 6? With a blue wave on that day, we will regain the House, put the Senate in play, and start to redefine who we are as a people. All that in one day.

Right now, special Congressional elections are showing a huge swing back in our direction. Let’s not get to November 7 and regret that we didn’t take full advantage. Let’s not wish we had worked a little harder, or closed ranks more tightly after the primaries. Most of all, let’s not forget our biggest advantage - the enthusiasm gap, which gained us our recent election victories in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

That’s where the rest of the son’s letter comes in: There’s a lot of hope to be taken out of the tolerance and potential of the younger generation. There is no more important part of the highly possible but not inevitable November blue wave than which persons 18-35 choose to register and which persons 18-35 choose to vote.

Think about this. These youngish persons are more disapproving of Trump than any other age cohort. They are more conscious of individual freedoms, more at home in our pluralistic America, more focused on the rights of LGQBT soldiers, more wary of trade wars, and more conscious of the wealth mal-distribution of the tax bill. However, of all age cohorts, they are the least likely to register to vote and the least likely to choose to vote after they register. Whether or not we are ourselves 18-35, what can we do to elevate and swell these glorious hopes for tolerance? Here are three things:

1) Take the Time to Rock the Vote
	There are any number of online efforts to significantly increase voter registration, but none any more aggressive and expansive and relentless than Rock the Vote, which has helped to register millions of people. If you could magically get them into the heads of thousands of people, especially people who are new to the voting process, that would be excellent. And collectively you can - Rock the Vote has any number of tools, including state by state analysis of what one needs to do to register and vote, and a guide to how to overcome barriers that vote-suppressing states have erected. They have partnerships with a number of national brands and are seeking more. Most importantly, Rock the Vote has two uncommon tools for you to advance today. First are the links to the online registration sites of 38 states and the District of Columbia. You can use that link everywhere. If you aren’t necessarily youngish yourself, email, tweet or text it to the ten youngest potential voters you know and ask them to pass it on. Send it to college students you know. Add it to your email signature for all your emails until the election. Make it the subject of a Facebook post, if you and that company are not estranged. You can also expand this movement by finding organizations who are interested in adding to their websites a “white label” customized version of the Rock the Vote online platform. Here’s how they sign up.
2) Intensify Registration Efforts in Arizona
	There is no state where the Latino vote looms larger than in Arizona. Democrat Krysten Sinema is leading in the polls for the election that will replace the retiring Jeff Flake. Ultimately, there will be a vacancy in the John McCain seat as well, as he considers retirement. The governor’s race is in play, and the 2nd district Congressional seat is open, and thus is a prime take back opportunity. Luckily there is an excellent coalition in Arizona called One America that has taken on the assignment of making sure that Latino voters are not only registered, but are civically engaged. Among the coalition members is Mi Familia Vota, which many resisters have supported. Any contribution we can make to this movement today with count in November.
3) Sharpen Your Role in Getting Out the Vote
	Voter registration is just the start. Not to bring up a sore point, but there were enough people registered for us to win in November 2016. In key parts of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, we were not able to generate the voter enthusiasm and turnout levels that we had achieved in November of 2012. As we eventually move our efforts to convincing primary and general election registered voters to vote, it’s good to develop and apply some standards to the campaigns, party organizations or even Indivisible cells who are hosting these efforts. There is a hierarchy of effectiveness to get out the vote efforts and we can help made sure we have the highest impact. Front porch, phone or email requests that reach out to random voters and just stress the civic duty of voting aren’t going to get it done. Wherever we can, we need to convince voters that are likely to be with us that they can be part of an extraordinary blue wave. Researchers say that the fear of a low turnout is much less likely to elicit a strong turnout than the prospect of a high turnout. As veteran campaigners know, the rest of the story is in the targeting. Campaigns which may end up being flooded by volunteers and thus might send them into the field unguided need to be cured of those practices. There is a case to be made for sweeping through strong Democratic precincts, but in every other place, we must find out from these campaigns and organizations what kind of list preparation is in the works. Insist now on the use of records of voter frequency, and the ongoing identification of people who may end up in our camp. That will help us get far better results from our get out the vote efforts.

Today has brought the release of the questions that Robert Mueller wants to ask Donald Trump. It is a sign that this discussion of obstruction of justice and collusion is not even close to over. Whichever additional Trump associates are charged with whatever crime, the Mueller report will provide an all new energy to our collective resistance. It is not just Mueller who is eager to hear these answers.

David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington