I wanted to make sure you didn't miss this email from Friday. Please read on for
some initial thoughts on the debate and then [ [link removed] ]sign up to join our virtual
discussion tomorrow (Monday) at 4pm ET/1pm PT.

[2]Indivisible Logo

Indivisibles,

I’ve timed this newsletter to come after our movement’s Weekend of Action
around the Dobbs anniversary, and after the first presidential debate.
This is a rapid response newsletter, so let’s get right to it the News,
the Brag, and the Discussion.

The News: That debate…oof.

Here’s my personal opinion on the debate: Biden turned in a terrible
performance and Trump was an unhinged, nonsensical, lie-spewing, convicted
felon who refused to accept the last election results or the next one. It
was painful to watch.

But here’s the thing: Ultimately my personal opinion on this doesn’t
matter. I know who I’m voting for. You know who you’re voting for. We
don’t need convincing. The question is what impact this had on the voters
who aren’t already with us -- the folks who don’t like politics, who find
elites of both parties untrustworthy, and who aren’t currently thinking
about the stakes of this election.

In the days to come, we're going to get a ton of data on how these voters
reacted to the debate. Frankly, there's no reason to think Biden won
people to our side. I also don't think there's much reason to think Trump
won them over, either.

But let's not skip over the damage Trump did to himself. He refused not
once, not twice, but three times to accept the results of this election.
He refused again to accept the results of the last election. And he
bragged about killing Roe and opening the floodgates to attacks on
reproductive rights around the country. You don’t have to be a Democratic
campaigner in the spin room to recognize all that is deeply unpopular and
bad for Trump.

You’re going to hear me repeat this a lot in the months to come: When
voters focus on the personalities, we struggle. When voters focus on the
stakes, we win. And what all the data so far tells us is that many, many
voters do not yet understand the stakes. 

I wish Biden had done better in this debate. But there is no world where
Biden could carry this message on his own regardless of how well he landed
his lines. He’s an elected politician and a member of one of our two
national, unpopular political parties. Our target audience -- those folks
who legitimately are torn between voting for Biden, voting third party, or
not voting at all -- view him and others in his class with skepticism.
Mathematically speaking, most of them did not even tune into the debate.  

You and I know these stakes -- it’s what makes us so engaged in this
fight. And we need to blast it out again and again and again, in as many
creative ways as possible, in the hope that eventually it will break
through with the voters we need. Not the first or second time, but maybe
the eighth or ninth. 

So here’s my real take on the debate: Ask not what Biden can do to win the
election; ask what you can do to help defeat Trump. And that brings us the
brag: 

The Brag: But what can we do? Lots.

In these virtual pages, I’ve been writing about the two-year anniversary
of the Republicans overturning Roe for a couple months. When [ [link removed] ]nearly a
third of voters blame Biden or aren’t sure who to blame for killing Roe,
we know we have to correct the record or risk losing in November. But far
more important than what I write here is what Indivisible movement leaders
do to take narrative advantage of this moment. Here’s the strategic logic
of this work:

The problem: Many voters who support reproductive rights aren’t paying
close enough attention to assign blame to Trump and Republicans for
attacking reproductive rights.

The message: Republicans stacked the court with right-wingers to kill Roe,
enacted state abortion bans across the country, and are actively blocking
the Right to IVF Act and the Right to Contraception Act. 

The messenger: Biden and other elected Democrats can carry the right
message, but for that message to get through to the voters we need to
reach, we need the right messengers. And there’s no better messenger than
friendly fellow community members.

The opportunity: On the anniversary of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe,
journalists will be looking for hooks for their articles. This gives us an
opportunity to influence the narrative.

And that’s what Indivisibles did this week:

Local Indivisible groups orchestrated 150 events in 30 states and 45
cities with more than 50 press hits all over the country. Here are some
great ones that stood out to me: 

* Ventura, California:  [ [link removed] ]"Women's Strike 2024 -We Will Not Go Back!"
rally held in Ventura | News Channel 3-12 (KEYTV)
* Athens, Georgia: [ [link removed] ]Indivisible Georgia District 10 holds “Restore
women’s reproductive rights” rally | City News | redandblack.com (Red
and Black) 
* Pahrump, Nevada: [ [link removed] ]Prickly Pears Protest in Pahrump (Pahrump Valley
Times)
* Binghamton, New York: [ [link removed] ]Locals and officials advocate for
reproductive rights in downtown Binghamton (WICZ)
* Toledo, Ohio: [ [link removed] ]'The fight isn't over': Group rallies in Toledo for
reproductive rights (WTOL) 
* Bemidji, Minnesota: [ [link removed] ]Indivisible Bemidji holds rally marking 2 years
of Roe v. Wade being overturned (Bemidji Pioneer) 
* Clackamas, Oregon: [ [link removed] ]Indivisible Clackamas holds protest in
Milwaukie to mark two years since Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision
 (Oregon City News)
* Rosedale, Texas: '[ [link removed] ]We're just going to keep up the fight' |
Abortion rights advocates rally at Texas Capitol on 2-year anniversary
of Dobbs v. Jackson decision (KVUE – Indivisible Rosedale Huddle
event)
* Williamsburg, VA: [ [link removed] ]Pro-Choice demonstrators hold rally outside of
Williamsburg James City County Courthouse following Dobbs anniversary
(ABC 13)

Before a single vote is cast -- before we even start doing any GOTVing --
this is how we focus public attention on the stakes. The right message,
the right messengers, again and again and again.

When Indivisible is doing its part right, we’re supporting this local
group work on the ground. And I find our work on this SUPER brag-worthy:

* We released [ [link removed] ]a toolkit with everything groups needed to know to
plan an event. We also sent out supplemental docs with [ [link removed] ]creative
visual ideas, [ [link removed] ]messaging guidance, and [ [link removed] ]funding info.
* We hosted two trainings, a community planning space, and office hours
to make sure folks had the support they needed in planning events.
* 14 organizers worked with 172 groups around the country to plan
events.
* We [ [link removed] ]designed signs that groups could print locally and graphics to
promote their events.
* The press team directly prepped advisories, pulled press lists, and
pitched eight events to local media, and provided training support to
a ton more.
* We sent out personalized recruitment emails for 65 events and texts
for 10 events.
* We directly funded events through GROW Grants and the reimbursement
requests are still coming in! (Hey, did you host an event? You can
apply for a reimbursement for event materials [ [link removed] ]here)
* We dedicated 1,850 total staff hours to support groups and staff
everything.

I want more of this over the next four months. We need more of this over
the next four months. And more of this costs money. And that money comes
from the pockets of grassroots supporters. Grassroots supporters like
you. [ [link removed] ]Please chip in if you can.

The discussion: Movement vibe check and coffee chat Monday!

About six months ago, I included a simple survey to take a vibe check of
the movement. We’re halfway through the year and past the first
presidential debate, and I know folks are having a lot of feelings after
that debate. So I want to check again on how you and your community are
feeling. The specific question is this: As you think about your own
community -- the community that was involved in building the Blue Wave in
2018, defeating Trump in 2020, and holding back the red wave in 2022 --
how engaged are they now? On a scale of depressed, dejected, and
fatalistic to willing to crawl over broken glass on their hands and knees
to defeat Trump again. Or, to make it simpler, on a scale of 1
(disengaged) to 5 (highly engaged).

[ [link removed] ]If you’ve got a minute to give me some additional texture, it’s always
helpful to read through your responses!

[ [link removed] ]11

[ [link removed] ]2

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[ [link removed] ]4

[ [link removed] ]5

And reminder: Leah and I will be holding another friendly afternoon coffee
Q&A this Monday at 4pm ET/1pm PT. [ [link removed] ]You can sign up here. If you’ve
never come before, drop on by! It’s an informal space where we talk about
the state of the campaign, organizing tactics, messaging strategies,
political anxieties, fears, and hopes. If you have come before, come again
and bring a first-timer with you. Hope to see you there!

In solidarity,
Ezra

 

Ezra Levin

[27]Indivisble Co-Executive Director

Pronouns: He/him

PS: Updates from the Levin-Greenberg household: 3.5 year-old Zeke has
Spider-Man fever. It’s all Spider-Man, all the time. We found a Spiderman
pirate book that combines his two most recent obsessions for maximum joy.
But Lila wins the breaking news award with her first word. She waddled
into the room holding a bubble wand that she had somehow wrested control
of from Zeke, turned to me, lifted it up, and said pleadingly, “bubbles.” 

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