Indivisibles, 

It’s difficult to fully comprehend the extent to which our democracy has been under attack these last four years, but this week’s impeachment trial has highlighted some of our darkest moments. As we’re re-watching the videos of the right-wing, white-supremacist violent mob that overtook the Capitol on Jan. 6, we have to remind ourselves that defeating Donald Trump isn’t the end, but the beginning of a long road ahead. 

“White nationalist thugs feel empowered in American society for much the same reason that passing comprehensive climate policy feels like an endless uphill battle: Our electoral system was never meant to govern a majoritarian, multiracial democracy.” -- Kate Aronoff, The New Republic¹

It’s time for a national reckoning: Trump and the GOP have spent years cultivating their fringe base with propaganda and lies, pushing anti-democratic policies and bills, and grabbing power by any means necessary. If we want to truly achieve all the progressive policies we’ve been striving toward, we must address what's holding us back. Prioritizing democracy reform is the first step to passing progressive legislation and making this a country that serves us all. Everything we want to achieve must happen in the next two years while we still have the chance. 

To make actual, lasting progress, we can start with bills like the For the People Act, S. 1, and the D.C. statehood bill, S. 51. These bills are key to ensuring that a corrupt, far-right extremist like Trump is never elected again, that our democracy is more just and representative of the people, and that we’re able to achieve the long-term, progressive goals that we’ve been fighting for. 

Call your members of Congress and demand they support D.C. statehood and the For the People Act, and then move swiftly in their respective chambers to pass these bills. Make calls now, and then keep reading for more details on S. 1, S. 51, and the issues we care about.

Why democracy reform is critical to the issues we care about 

If you’ve had the chance to read our new guide, you know that we can’t achieve any of our major policy goals -- economic, health care, climate, immigration, racial justice, etc. -- without changing the rigged system that overwhelmingly benefits the white, male, conservative, rich, and elite. Our democracy was designed to give tremendous power to the minority, and Republicans have spent decades exploiting that power to entrench their rule. These tactics include voter suppression, gerrymandering, buying elections, packing the courts with right-wing extremists, attacking the press, and suppressing unions, protests, and civil society. 

Even after Democrats earn millions more votes in election after election, our government is still at the mercy of anti-democratic thugs like Mitch McConnell. Yes, Trump was beaten, but make no mistake: Republicans can still kill our democracy for good. Under the current system, our progress will always be short-term, our aspirations will always be limited, and the gap between our promises and our ability to deliver meaningful change will continue to undermine faith in government (and likely cause us to lose elections).

Last year, we handed Democrats a mandate to stop it and finally enact an agenda for the people. With the Senate majority and the White House, we’ve given them the ability to enact bold, progressive legislation. But to make any of that a reality, they need to get real about what stands in the way. That’s why our first priority is fixing our democracy and ensuring that structural reform rebalances power for the people -- before it’s too late. 

Luckily, Democrats have been passing democracy reforms in the House since they took the majority in 2018, and they’ve signaled these structural reforms are a top priority in 2021. With their House majority in the last Congress (116th), Democrats passed the D.C. Statehood bill (H.R. 51), and the For the People Act (H.R. 1), and now we have a real chance of passing these bills not only in the House, but in the Senate too as S. 51 and S. 1. These two bills, once passed and signed into law, would help fix the very cracks in our democracy that the Trump presidency intensified.  

“This is a moment of both historic imperative and, with unified Democratic control of the White House and Congress, historic opportunity.” -- Stacey Abrams, the Washington Post²

Here are three things you can do now: Use our new peoples' whip count to see where your members of Congress land on these key bills. Then make sure to call your senators and demand they support S. 1 and S. 51, work swiftly to hold hearings on both bills, and send them to the floor for a vote -- without letting the filibuster stand in the way of passage. Then follow up by calling your representative too. 

In solidarity, 
Indivisible Team

_{1. How to Fight Climate Change and Fascists at the Same Time
2. Stacey Abrams: Our democracy faced a near-death experience. Here’s how to revive it.}