Republicans in Congress know that the goals of the Trump Administration and their party -- lower taxes and higher profits for corporations, less health, safety, and environmental regulation, and increased perks and privileges for the wealthy -- ultimately run counter to the interests and needs of Americans. People need and want decent housing, affordable health care, quality education, reliable services, and sufficient means to live. This means that having free and fair elections in which an informed public casts votes that get counted—i.e., democracy—is not in the interest of Republicans. So they have worked hard for decades, on both the state and national levels, to limit and reduce the number of people who can vote, particularly people whom they expect to lean Democratic, such as people of color, urban residents, students, and seniors who rely on Social Security and Medicare.
As we head toward 2020, Republican efforts to restrict voter turnout have ramped up substantially. Most recently, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy—a Trump mega-donor and political operative—has been doing everything in his power to sabotage the mail, presumably because the great majority of Democrats intend to vote safely from home while the majority of Republicans say they will vote in person.
But the effort to curtail vote-by-mail is just one of many schemes that Republicans are using to rig the election. We wrote a blog post on all the ways.
Republican assaults on election integrity have become so extreme and so blatant, and the situation so critical, that we are asking members like you to conduct a “Drumbeat” campaign by sending a message every single day urging our MoCs to do all in their power to defend democracy and fair elections.
Our Members of Congress need to speak out about the Republican assault on our elections, and they need to do more than that. They need to stand up to the Republicans and take real action. We need our ISF members calling their MOC every day to let them know we’re watching.
Black Lives Matter—today and every day.
This week, we witnessed yet another shooting of a Black person by a police officer. Jacob Blake, the victim, survived being shot 7 times in the back in front of his family, but he is paralyzed. Our hearts go out to Jacob and his family. We are disgusted by the actions of the Kenosha police and the systemic racism that allows the justice system in America to kill, cripple, and traumatize communities of color. At Indivisible SF, we say Black Lives Matter—and we follow that up with action.
As we respond to increasingly destructive policies on the federal level, we understand that the fight against racism begins in our own local city halls and state legislatures. We are committed to that fight.
For several months now we’ve been pressuring the local and state government to invest in Black communities and to explore alternatives to criminalizing impoverished and mentally ill people who so often end up facing violence from police. And we’re achieving results.
Thanks to pressure from constituents like you:
- SB 665, a bill that would have diverted community-based mental health funding (MHSA) to jail-based programs, DIED in the State Senate. Because the bill was amended by its sponsor, it was returned to a State Senate Committee, where it died before coming to a floor vote. Strong opposition from Indivisible SF and Indivisible CA39, the ACLU of Southern California, Disability Rights California, and other progressive organizations helped to kill this bill.
- The CRISES Act, which would fund community-based mental health programs as alternatives to police intervention, is still alive and looking favorable.
- The proposal to repeal the City Charter amendment stipulating a minimum staffing of over 2,000 sworn officers in the city was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors. It now heads to your ballot in November. (Repealing this amendment is crucial to making it possible to cut the SFPD budget).
Right now, we’re keeping a close eye on the San Francisco budget fight. As you may remember from our previous newsletters and our many live-tweets, the city is considering a budget that actually gives more money to SFPD next year (despite a marked decrease in crime) and cuts tens of millions of dollars from libraries, homeless outreach, public works, and more. We’ve been joining public comment call-ins to demand that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors reject this budget and invest in San Franciscan communities instead.
This Friday at noon at City Hall, there will be a Black Trans Lives Matter rally by our friends at Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community - Justice 4 Mario Woods. Please join us there in solidarity for Black and LGBTQ+ activists.
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ISF General Meeting: Sunday, September 6, 1–3 PM via Zoom. Register here to join our online meeting. The meeting is open to anyone interested in resisting Trump's radical agenda of hate, division, and greed.
Thursday, August 27, 7–9 PM: Indivisible SF MoC Planning Meeting. Join our planning meeting where we discuss our calls to action for our Members of Congress. RSVP here.
Friday, August 28, 12–3 PM: Black Trans Lives Matter! Our friends at Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community - Justice 4 Mario Woods are hosting a rally at City Hall with more than half a dozen partners. RSVP on Facebook.
Friday, August 28, 4–5 PM: Women’s Right to Vote 100th Anniversary Trivia Fundraiser with Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood Northern California Action Fund is hosting an online trivia fundraiser event, quizzing participants not only on the women’s suffrage movement but also on its connection to the civil rights movement, thanks in large part to African American women leaders. RSVP here or on Facebook.
Saturday, August 29, 12–2 PM: Central Valley Phone Bank with DemAction SF. Please join us from home to call voters together via our new virtual phone bank. Add your voice! RSVP here.
Saturday, August 29, 3–5 PM: US Senate Phone Bank with DemAction SF. Please join us to make calls for competitive U.S. Senate races nationwide. This work is more crucial than ever. RSVP here.
Sunday, August 30, 12–2 PM: Sundays with Biden and Harris with DemAction SF. Join us in a phone bank for Biden for President. RSVP here.
Monday, August 31, 5:30–7 PM: Manny’s Monday Phone Bank for Biden. You will join the legion of volunteers working to take back the White House, flip the Senate, and hold the House – all by helping to elect Joe Biden on Election Day. RSVP here.
Tuesday, September 1, 3–5 PM: Tuesdays with Biden and Harris with DemAction SF. Join us in a phone bank for Biden for President. RSVP here.
Ongoing Events
As the election approaches, several organizations are running ongoing events daily or weekly until election day. Sign up for a shift on the dates below:
6 days a week: Virtual Phone Banks with Flip the West. Flip the West and Commit to Flip Blue jointly host a virtual phone bank focused on flipping U.S. Senate seats, six days a week, right up until November 3. Sign up for a shift here.
Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays: Spanish Language Phone Banks with Flip the West. If you are fluent in Spanish, you are needed to call Spanish-speaking voters about electing Democrats to the Senate and White House. Sign up for a shift here.
Wednesdays and Thursdays: Pennsylvania Stands Up/Seed the Vote Phone Bank training. PASU will train you to phone bank to help support general election work between now and November. Sign up for a shift here.
Wednesdays: Sister District SF, Swing Left SF, and DemAction SF Phone Banks for Joanna and Celina. Join every Wednesday from 4–6 PM to get Texas candidates Joanna Cattanach and Celina Montoya elected and flip the Texas State House blue. Sign up for a shift here.
Sundays at 4 PM: Phone Bank for AZ with Sister District, Swing Left SF, and DemAction SF. Join Sister District SF, Swing Left SF, and Democracy Action SF every Sunday, starting Sunday, August 2, from 4–6 PM to get Arizona candidates Felicia French and Coral Evans elected and flip Arizona blue. Sign up for a shift here.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
If you'd like to support our all-volunteer team:
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