Americans need urgent action on COVID-19 relief and much more. Now that Democrats have a trifecta in the federal government, we should be able to get it. But Republicans are already trying to obstruct that necessary relief in the Senate—using the power of the filibuster.
The filibuster is a tool of obstructing Congressional action. Before the Civil War, the filibuster was used in order to preserve slavery; afterwards, it was used to maintain segregation, suppress unions, and prevent economic justice, among many other regressive purposes. In modern times, the Senate has chosen to exempt from the filibuster certain kinds of legislation such as War Powers resolutions, budget reconciliations, and regulatory oversight through the Congressional Review Act.
The filibuster is not part of the Constitution. It is a procedural rule adopted (and changed) by a simple majority vote of the senators themselves. In the Obama years, Republicans used the filibuster to block, delay, or water-down almost every single Democratic proposal. Under rules that the Republican majority adopted during the Trump regime, Democrats cannot filibuster against things that Republicans want like right-wing judges and tax-cuts for the obscenely wealthy, but Republicans can filibuster against issues that Democrats ran on during the election and that won them the White House such as raising the minimum wage, increasing social spending, voting and labor rights, and stronger health, safety, and financial regulation. The deal Schumer announced on Monday prevented Republicans from making matters worse, but the old Republican filibuster rules are still in force.
Now that Democrats hold a slim Senate majority, they can eliminate the filibuster or revise filibuster rules–if they maintain unity and have the will to fight.
Call your Senators and tell them: End or reform the filibuster!
At the same time, there is much to do on the state level. Californians are facing unprecedented hardship due to COVID-19. While our legislature works to pass laws to help people who lost income, it falls on the executive branch of our state to protect tenants from eviction. Our governor, Gavin Newsom, is not doing enough to protect tenants affected by COVID from eviction—in fact, he has been actively working against eviction protections. Governor Newsom needs to hear from us, to know that we are watching and that we demand that he stand up for people hurt by the pandemic. We need to tell Newsom not to fund evictions of renters who have lost their income, and support protections for renters now.
Contact Governor Newsom and tell him: Stop COVID evictions! Enact tenant protections!
Deadline Extended! Vote NOW in the ADEM election!
Due to the huge turnout, the deadline for your mail ballot to be received in the ADEM election has been extended! Your ballot must now be received by February 3rd.
We recommend mailing your ballot by Saturday, January 30th to make sure it gets received in time.
The ADEM election sets the direction of California’s Democratic Party, and you should already have gotten your ballot. If you still haven’t received a ballot, email [email protected] ASAP. Make sure you have the confirmation email you got when you requested your ballot earlier in the month.
Please fill out your ballot, put it in the pre-stamped return envelope that came with it, and drop it in the mailbox as soon as possible. Learn how to fill out your ADEM ballot here.
We gathered as much information as we could on the slates and candidates for districts covering San Francisco, Oakland, San Mateo, and other parts of the Bay Area. Read our candidate guide here.
All this and more is available at https://indivisiblesf.org/vote.
Come join our Working Groups!
Our State and Local Working Group is proud to deliver our ADEM guide to you in time for the election. We are now forming our legislative priorities to achieve progressive change in California and San Francisco. If you’d like to participate, join us at one of our General Meetings or a Working Group meeting (see below).
Our Federal Working Group is pivoting to the post-2020 landscape of a Democratic trifecta in the House, Senate, and White House. Over the coming year, we will focus on undoing the damage of the last four years and enacting badly needed progressive reforms. If you’d like to join, come to a General Meeting or one of our Working Group meetings!
We’d welcome your participation.
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ISF General Meeting: Sunday, February 7, 1–3 PM via Zoom. Register here to join our online meeting. The meeting is open to anyone interested in promoting progressive political goals and repairing the damage done to our institutions and communities in the last four years.
Thursday, January 28, 7–9 PM: Indivisible SF Federal Working Group meeting. Register here to discuss what’s next for our Members of Congress and the incoming administration, and learn how we can make our voices heard.
Friday, February 5, 7:30–8:30 PM: Indivisible SF State and Local Working Group meeting. Register here to learn how we can propose legislation to our state legislators and other initiatives on the state and local level.
TODAY: Wednesday, January 7, 5–7 PM: Town Hall with State Senator Scott Wiener. The topic of the town hall is Know Your Rights: Tenant Protections and Renter Resources during COVID-19. RSVP here.
Thursday, January 28, 5–6 PM: San Francisco District Attorney's Office address on The State of Justice. Please join San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin for his State of Justice address where he will highlight some of the accomplishments and challenges of his first year in office. Register here.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
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