As you probably already know, Senator Manchin published an op-ed this past weekend restating his support for the filibuster and opposing the For the People Act. He did this at the start of a month in which Senate Majority Leader Schumer has been planning to force votes on key legislation to protect democracy and the prosperity of regular Americans. By opposing this critical and popular legislation, Manchin has positioned himself against democracy and the American people.
It’s hard not to feel disheartened, but as members of Indivisible, we are here to fight the long fight. As the late, great John Lewis said:
"Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever, be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble."
So where do we go from here? Indivisible National is asking us to demand that high-level Democrats, including President Biden, put Manchin on the spot. We want to pressure them to put their full pressure on obstructionist members of their own party. That’s how we let Manchin know that we won’t let him back out of a difficult fight for our rights. Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin has written an in-depth analysis of the situation and our strategy for tackling it – you should definitely check it out.
Indivisible will be conducting a multi-faceted “Deadline for Democracy'' this month. Pledge to attend an event in our region, and join us in fighting for our voting rights and economic justice. And stay tuned for an event we’re working on with Indivisible East Bay, coming soon!
Demand Medicare Expansion
In the meantime, we also want to pressure our elected representatives about Medicare expansion. President Biden promised to expand Medicare during his campaign. Now more than 150 Democratic Representatives in the House (70% of the total) and 20 Democratic Senators are asking him to keep that promise. They propose adding three key provisions to the American Family Plan (AFP):
- Lowering the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 60 to cover an additional 23,000,000 people
- Including dental, vision, and hearing care for all Medicare recipients
- Paying for this expansion by empowering Medicare to negotiate drug prices as the VA does
Republicans have made it clear that they will not vote for either the American Jobs Plan (which invests in physical infrastructure) or the American Family Plan (which invests in human infrastructure), no matter what those plans call for or how popular they are. That leaves just two ways to pass these desperately needed plans into law: the Senate Democrats can either use their majority to end the filibuster, or enact the law through the reconciliation process. It's time to stop trying to appease Republican obstructionists and start enacting the programs America wants and needs.
Contact the White House to insist that President Biden keep his campaign promise to expand Medicare, and call your MoCs to urge them to make sure Medicare expansion remains a part of the AFP.
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All are welcome to join our events!
ISF Federal Working Group meeting: Thursday, June 10, 7:30–9 PM. Register here to help us develop strategies to influence our Members of Congress and the Biden administration to enact a progressive agenda.
ISF State and Local Working Group meeting: Friday, June 18, 7:30–8:30 PM. Register here to help us plan to propose legislation to our state legislators and support progressive initiatives on the state and local level.
Indivisible Marin & Common Cause For the People Phone Bank for HR1/S1: Saturday, June 12, 10 AM–12 PM. Phone bank with Indivisible Marin every Saturday to support the For the People Act and oppose the filibuster! Sign up for a shift here.
About this week’s photo
If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on Twitter and Facebook, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue. This week’s graphic includes the formal Congressional portrait of Rep. John Lewis, found on Wikipedia Commons.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
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