Indivisibles,

As the threat of a MAGA default looms, President Biden scheduled a meeting this week with congressional leaders -- including Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell -- to reiterate his position that Congress needs to pass a clean bill to avoid default, without a MAGA wish list of harmful cuts attached. 

This is what we want to see. We need the President to maintain a strong stance in the face of MAGA Republican hostage taking! McCarthy’s hypocritically-titled Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 would be disastrous for Americans across the country. Most notably, it would slash Medicaid, jeopardizing health care for 21 million people, and decimate funding for education, eliminating over 100,000 teachers’ jobs. They know that. We know that. Democrats can’t waiver in their opposition to these nakedly harmful demands.   

It’s clear President Biden understands this too.
Biden will follow up his meeting by traveling to visit Hudson Valley, New York this week. 

Why is this important?

The Hudson Valley is represented primarily by Republican Mike Lawler, one of Indivisible Action’s 18 Unrepresentatives -- Republican representatives elected in districts won by Biden in 2020 -- and Lawler’s race was close:

Biden knows that these Republicans are particularly vulnerable to public pressure as their constituencies favor Biden, and he’s visiting to ensure those communities turn up the heat on their reps to stop giving in to the extremists in their party and protect the American people.

Dems only need five Republicans to defect to avoid a default. With enough pressure from their constituents, they can be flipped. 

We need your help to drive even more phone calls in crucial districts. RSVP to join Indivisible Action’s Direct Connect Calls to Unrepresentatives Districts on Wednesday, May 17 at 1pm ET/10am PT.

At this virtual event, we’ll phonebank into Biden-supporting districts whose Republican Unrepresentatives may be particularly vulnerable to being flipped (including Mike Lawler’s district, just like Biden). The people we reach will then have the opportunity to be connected directly with their Unrepresentative’s office to demand they stop allowing MAGA Republicans to hold the country hostage by threatening a disastrous default. 

You don’t need to be in one of the districts to join. We need help from all across the country to reach these Unrepresentatives. Sign up now, and next Wednesday, Indivisible Action will walk you through exactly how you can fight MAGA extremism today and save our country from a default.

 Your weekly Indivisible Project to-dos 

1. If you have a Republican representative, call and tell them that their vote on McCarthy’s bill was unacceptable. Though four Republicans voted against the bill, they voted against it because it wasn’t extreme enough. It wasn’t extreme enough even though it calls to slash 108,000 jobs for K-12 teachers and cut health care to seniors and disabled children. Every Republican vote was a vote against the needs of the American people and we are quickly running out of time to reverse course. Contact your Representative today and let them know that is unacceptable. Once you’ve called, write a letter to the editor demanding the House GOP stop pushing us towards a default.
2. If you have a chance to see your Republican representative in person, use this birddogging guide to get your Republican representative on record about Kevin McCarthy’s horrific debt bill. We must hold our Republican representatives accountable for their capitulation to the most extreme members of their party. Republicans know cuts to these programs are deeply unpopular. Get your rep on record today and make sure everyone knows just where your representative stands.
3. If your Democratic representative has stayed on the sidelines, call and tell them to join the fight in opposing MAGA’s cuts to programs our communities rely on. Republicans are holding the world economy hostage, and a handful of Democrats are still standing on the sidelines, refusing to take a stance against cuts. We cannot allow any Dems to give in to Republican hostage-taking. Democrats need to stand strong and join President Biden in saying we’re not negotiating with hostage-takers. Every Democratic Member of Congress (MoC) needs to make it clear to Republicans that they won’t cave and that the Democratic Party can be counted on to protect healthcare for millions of seniors and disabled children, our teachers, and essential programs. Once you’ve called, write a letter to the editor (LTE) encouraging your MoC not to negotiate with MAGA hostage-takers and then tweet at your MoC demanding they protect our crucial programs.
4. If your Democratic representative pledged their support, call your representative and thank them for publicly supporting no cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Our representatives need to know when we’re in support of their actions, there’s no better way to let them know than to call them directly. The stronger we show our support, the more likely they are to work for the people in the future. When you’re finished calling, write an LTE thanking your representative for committing to protect vital programs. Don’t just support your MoC in private, submit an LTE thanking your representative so that your community, and other MoCs paying attention, know that your representative is doing the right thing and supported by their constituents. Public praise helps put the pressure on the remaining MoCs to sign on too.

The MAGA Default Crisis Week of Action is a week and a half away -- plan your event now!

We’ve spent a lot of time in this Newsletter over the last few months talking about the MAGA Default Crisis. Now’s the time to put all of that knowledge and planning into action. Join us for our May MAGA Default Crisis Week of Action. 

The biggest legislative fight this year is quietly playing out in back rooms in the halls of Congress, but hardly anyone nationally is talking about it. MAGA extremists are refusing to pay their debts unless they are allowed to force their cruel policy agenda through Congress. That agenda started with stripping away crucial programs for American families like Social Security and Medicare, and has now moved on to trying to slash 108,000 K-12 teaching jobs and cutting healthcare for seniors and disabled children. If they don’t achieve it, they are threatening that they are willing to throw the country into another recession by defaulting on our debts for the first time in American history. 

This is where we come in. 

Indivisibles are going to hold events all across the country calling on their Members of Congress (MoCs) to protect American families. For Democratic MoCs, we’ll be reminding them to hold strong in the face of MAGA hostage-taking -- the only people who win from Dem concessions are lobbyists for the wealthy and well-connected and the politicians they donate to. For Republican MoCs, we’re making sure they answer for the extremism in their party and letting them know that, if the country defaults, we’ll be holding them accountable. 

That can look like pep rallies, “thank you” visits to congressional offices, light brigades, birddogging, and all of the other creative ways Indivisibles have thought of in the past (and will think of in the future) to draw more attention to this pending crisis. But to get you started:

• Watch this video from Rep. Greg Casar and our very own Ezra Levin on our MAGA Default Crisis Week of Action. Hear directly from a Member of Congress about the inside-outside fight necessary to prevent a default. The potential ramifications of a default would be catastrophic for the American people. Watch Ezra and Rep. Casar put the crisis into context. 
• Check out our MAGA Default Crisis Week of Action homepage. This is your one-stop shop for all things Week of Action. Not sure where to start for an event? Check out the toolkit! Want to make sure other folks in your area can see your event? Register your event. Check out this page for everything you need to know about the upcoming week of action, our strategy, and potential tactics you can use. 

Start planning your Week of Action events today and let’s end this MAGA Default Crisis before it becomes a national catastrophe.

State Representative Zooey Zephyr, MT-100

State Representative Zooey Zephyr has been valiantly fighting her Republican peers’ attempts to attack her constituents. Republicans in the Montana state legislature proposed a bill to ban gender-affirming care for transgender children. 

In response, Zooey Zephyr, Montana’s first trans lawmaker, informed Republican lawmakers that, if the bill passed, there would be blood on their hands:

She was silenced: 

And then barred from the House floor:

Though the extremists in Montana did eventually pass the bill, Zooey’s steadfast advocacy in the face of hate has galvanized a community. In standing up against the oppression of trans people, Zooey reminded the nation that there are still people willing to fight for their freedom, and the ensuing response was beautiful: 

This single legislative battle may have been lost when Republicans passed the abhorrent bill, but Zooey’s commitment has won out. This is not about one battle, but the entire fight, and Zooey has given us a shining example of how to continue to move forward in the face of bigotry and cowardice. 

On Saturday, Rep. Zephyr took the next step in her fight: She proposed to her girlfriend. Republican extremists and bigots did everything they could to attempt to break her spirit and not only did Zooey not break, she chose joy. It is moments like these that we are reminded that the fight is not just on the legislative level, it’s also on the personal level. Zooey’s choice to reaffirm her love in spite of the hate is a reminder that no matter what they do, no matter how hard they try, they cannot change who we are -- and they cannot strip away our humanity. We choose love.

 IndivisiWin of the Week 

A member of Indivisible Saint Paul for Paid Leave featured prominently in this Minnesota Reformer coverage of Minnesotans rallying in support of paid family and medical leave as it moves through Minnesota’s state legislature.

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We are less than two weeks away from the MAGA Default Crisis Weekend Of Action, what are you going to do to stand up against Republican hostage taking! Start planning today!

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team