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Members of Congress

  • Sen. Patty Murray
    (202) 224-2621 | Email

  • Sen. Maria Cantwell
    (202) 224-3441 | Email

  • Rep. Suzan DelBene (1st)
    (202) 225-6311 | Email

  • Rep. Kim Schrier (8th)
    (202) 225-7761 | Email

  • Rep. Adam Smith (9th)
    (202) 225-8901 | Email
    		•

    For the Week of September 30, 2019

    🔷 In the words of Jon Lovett, what a week! The drumbeat of impeachment has been going on seemingly forever and this week saw everything finally come to a head. As of this writing, 225 House members (including the first Republican) (a majority) support an impeachment inquiry. Things are moving rapidly but we want to take a minute to thank everyone who has made some noise around this issue over the last few years. It has been a long road to this point, and it’s important to stress that this is the beginning, not the end of this process.

    From Leah Greenburg and Ezra Levin at Indivisible National:

    “This victory… is incomplete and uncertain. We don’t know if all of our efforts would have led to this point had the Ukraine news not broken. We also don’t know whether this will lead to impeachment as we envision it, or if it’s just the latest development in a slow-walk strategy that will ultimately disappoint us. 

    But without grassroots pressure, pressure from you and Indivisibles nationwide, the dam would not have broken the way it did. 

    Reporting from a few different sources points to the role of persistent grassroots pressure in shifting Democrats over to our side. This Ryan Grim piece is particularly good. A frontline Dem staffer told Gro, they came out for impeachment early in the summer and that “doing so had minimized the pain that so many others felt over recess.” Another was blunter: “We spent all summer getting the shit kicked out of us back home.”

    We want to  take a moment to acknowledge the hard work of our activist community. If you have called or visited your rep, volunteered with or donated to a campaign or organization, registered voters, phonebanked or texted for a candidate or written postcards, we want to thank you for your work (and promise you more to come!).

    🔷 The November elections are just five short weeks away!  To help you be as informed as possible about the candidates and issues, we have compiled a November 2019 Election Information sheet. Please do your research and support progressive candidates by following their campaigns, donating, posting a yard sign, canvassing, and attending candidate forums, some of which are listed in the document. 

    🔷 We have a selection of Postcard events coming up, whether you prefer daytime or evening activities. This is a great way to socialize and take meaningful action, especially approaching the election. We will be supporting campaigns both in and out of state, hoping to encourage ‘reluctant’ voters to make their voices heard.

    📫 Daytime: NEW LOCATION: Join us every Friday at 10 am-12 pm now through Nov 1 for  Postcards and Coffee, hosted by Ruth L in Bellevue

    📫 Evenings:  Mon, Sep 30, 7-9 pm Postcards to Voters – Bellevue – Sign up to attend

               Wed, Oct 9, 7-9 pm Postcards to Voters Bellevue – Sign up to attend

               Tues, Oct 15, 7-9 pm Postcards to Voters  Bellevue – Sign up to attend

                Tues, Oct 22, 7-9 pm Postcards to Voters  Bellevue –  Sign up to attend

    🔷 A BIG thank you to Ananth for all his work on the steering committee. He moved last weekend to the Bay area, and will continue to help us remotely. We will miss seeing him on a regular basis, but look forward to the times he can join us in actions when he is able to come back to Seattle.

    🔷 Here are your 3 actions for this week.

    ✊ Action 1 – [Congressional Representatives] – Ask for an early vote on impeachment

    From Indivisible National

    Our national leadership has been active and vocal in their calls for impeachment over the last few years. Indivisible was hoping that the October recess (Sept 30-Oct 15) would be cancelled, so that work could continue on impeachment investigations. This did not happen, although the investigations by the House Intelligence committee continue in earnest.

    The other big ‘ask’ is that a vote on impeachment be held as soon as possible. The reasoning behind that is that ‘Trump’s actions are not just corrupt — they are a matter of national security, election security, and the integrity of our democracy.’ A lot of work investigating his conduct has been going on behind the scenes already by various committees, and can be utilized by the investigation. Investigations should of course continue but should not drag on for months, while he continues to do damage to our democracy.

    If you have not already called your Member of Congress to thank them for supporting an impeachment investigation, please consider doing so, and include a request that a vote be held as soon as possible. If you have called, please call again and make this request. 

    ☎ Sample Script : 

    Hi, my name is [NAME] and I am calling from [PLACE]  to thank [Representative] for fighting for impeachment proceedings. It has been a long time coming and I appreciate all of the efforts that you have put in to do the right thing and protect our democracy. 

    I would also like to request that you push to have a vote for impeachment as soon as possible. The damage that Trump has inflicted on our democracy cannot continue and the sooner that he can be called to account, the better.

    Please continue to push for what is right, and maintain the impeachment proceedings as a high priority.

    Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.

    [IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied] 

    ✊ Action 2 – [Congressional Representatives] – Support Swing District Democrats Who Support Impeachment

    From Seattle Indivisible

    There are 18 swing district Democrats that have stood up for impeachment, including Dr. Kim Schrier. If they lose their next elections, moderates will claim it as proof that they shouldn’t have stuck their necks out. We should do our best to let them know they did the right thing, and make sure they have the resources to get re-elected. This especially timely as they will back in their districts for recess and will likely be taking heat from constituents for their support of impeachment.

    Act Blue has set up a tool that you can use to donate to each of their re-election campaigns here. Please do so if you are able: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dfp-itmfa

    For a bonus, if you know anyone who lives in these districts, ask them to call their reps to say thank you, or simply share this action on social media. The swing district Democrats we’re talking about, listed by state in alphabetical order, are Rep. Porter (CA-45), Rep. Levin (CA-49), Rep. Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26), Rep. Underwood (IL-14), Rep. Casten (IL-6), Rep. Kildee (MI-05), Rep. Slotkin (MI-08), Rep. Levin (MI-09), Rep. Stevens (MI-11), Rep. Craig (MN-02), Rep. Pappas (NH-01), Rep. Kim (NJ-03), Rep. Malinowski (NJ-07), Rep. Delgado (NY-19), Rep. Cartwright (PA-08), Rep. Allred (TX-32), Rep. Luria (VA-02), Rep. Spanberger (VA-07), Rep. Wexton (VA-10), and Rep. Schrier (WA-08).

    ✊ Action 3 – [Senators] – Take Action to Secure Our Elections

    From Code Blue WA

    A few weeks ago Mitch McConnell actively supported election security funding, offering a $250 million amendment to a Senate funding bill which was voted out of the Senate Appropriations committee with bipartisan support. However, it has been widely acknowledged that this amount is insufficient to cover the true cost of securing our elections. 

    The final amount that will actually go to the states will be negotiated between the House and Senate at the end of the funding process. We must keep on Congress to make sure that significant ($600M) election security funding remains a top priority AND that the funding bill includes language to target the greatest needs. The HR 2722 SAFE Act that passed at the end of June outlines standards that this funding should support.

    For more information on how much is needed across all levels of government, see the Brennan Center statement on the funding vote.

    ☎ Sample Script: (From CodeBlueWashingtonState and League of Women Voters)

    I appreciate the recent Senate Appropriators’ votes in support of some election security funding. However, the amount passed is nowhere near enough to truly secure our elections. There are many critical election security needs beyond replacing paperless voting machines. We need:

    • Specific language to prioritize replacing paperless voting systems with the gold standard: hand-marked paper ballots
    • Requirements that federal funding cannot be used to purchase machines with outdated software, modems, or wireless capabilities 
    • Thorough vetting of voting machine and election software vendors for their security practices and product performance, and provide states with guidance that is tied to funding 

    I urge the Senator to approve appropriations that would give the full $600 million in funding to improve our elections systems, and make sure it is tied to equipment, systems, and vendors that meet the high standards outlined in the HR 2722 SAFE Act. It is important that the American voter is confident that their vote has been counted and their voice heard.

    Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.

    [IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied] 

    Calendar of In-Person Events:

    Save The Date:

    • Sat, Nov 9, 2-4:30 Indivisible Group Meeting, Redmond Library

    … and More:

    Resources:

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