Early in his administration, President Biden called for fundamentally restructuring our economy to serve the many rather than just the corporate elite and the wealthy few. For simplicity, we refer to his proposals as the American Jobs and Family Plans (AJFP). Since then, we’ve been fighting to make those proposals real through legislation. Congressional committees are currently drafting the most important legislative component of the AJFP, which the media refers to by various names including reconciliation bill, $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill, human infrastructure bill, or Build Back Better Act. When Congress reconvenes towards the end of September, this enormous piece of legislation will be up for debate, amendment, and (hopefully) eventual enactment.
As members of Indivisible, we need to fight for the provisions originally proposed by President Biden, including racial and gender equality and justice, tax fairness, and substantial investment in improving the lives of We the People. This week, we’re focusing on the education provisions we want to see passed into law:
- Free universal early childhood education for three- and four-year -olds
- Four years of free tuition at public universities and two years of free tuition at community colleges for all students
- Increased financial aid for low and middle-income students
- Significant investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and other minority serving institutions and programs (MSIs)
In addition, because the Supreme Court moved so quickly to obliterate the CDC eviction moratorium, we want to highlight the urgency for Congress to act. We would like you to remind your MoC in every economic ask to authorize CDC measures like eviction moratoriums.
Contact your Members of Congress and tell them: Fight to keep the education-related provisions of Biden’s American Family Plan in the budget resolution bill!
Keep pushing to reform the filibuster and protect our right to vote
Last Saturday, August 28, on the 58th anniversary of the March on Washington, at which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the “I Have a Dream” speech, in towns across America, people were Marching On For Voting Rights to demand Congress act to protect voting rights at the federal level, which effectively means passing the For the People Act (FTPA) and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (JLVRAA) in the US Senate (both bills have passed the House). It is time for the Senate to reform or abolish the filibuster and for President Biden to put his weight behind implementing the changes necessary for passing this crucial voting rights legislation.
This week we are asking Indivisible members to keep up the pressure on both Senator Feinstein and President Biden to make that happen and to thank Senator Padilla for being a voting rights champion.
Contact your Senators and Biden and tell them: Use the power of your office to advocate for filibuster reform, so that Senate Democrats can pass S1 and/or other voting protection legislation.
The Recall Election is going on now! Have you turned in your ballot yet?
By now, if you were registered to vote at your current address as of this past Monday, you should have already received a ballot in your mail (or should get it today). If not, you can still vote (if you’re eligible and live in SF), but you’ll have to vote in person.
If you do have your ballot, use it! Read our step-by-step instructions on how to vote in the recall election. Use the included checklist to avoid common pitfalls.
The deadline is coming up fast in just a couple of weeks. We need to prevent the right wing from removing our Democratic governor from office, and that means getting our ballots in before the deadline on Tuesday, September 14.
Remember:
- You don’t need a stamp.
- You do need to put your ballot in the return envelope and sign the return envelope.
- You should make a plan now to turn in that stuffed, signed, and sealed return envelope before the deadline.
You can cast your ballot either by mail or by dropping it off at City Hall or your local polling place. If you choose to mail it, we recommend doing that this week—no later than Tuesday, September 7—due to mail delays (thanks, Postmaster General DeJoy). If you choose to deliver your ballot in person, check the Department of Elections website for details on when and where.
Already voted? That’s great! Thank you for being a voter! Now it’s time to spread the word. This election will come down to turnout, which means we need to mobilize as many Democratic voters as possible to stop the recall. One key step is relational organizing: tell all of your friends and family to make a plan to vote. Then join a phone bank, text bank, write postcards, or canvass to reach out to the wider community! Find voter outreach events, as well as all the materials you can share, on our Vote webpage.
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All are welcome to join our events!
ISF Federal Working Group meeting: Thursday, September 9, 7:30–9 PM. Register here for a Zoom meeting to help us develop strategies to influence our Members of Congress and the Biden administration to enact a progressive agenda.
Swing Left East Bay Phonebank to STOP the Recall: Sunday, September 12, 2–4 PM. Sign up for a shift here.
RECURRING: Virtual Phone Bank to Stop the Republican Recall & Protect Fair Elections with Swing Left SF and the SF Dems: Wednesdays, 6–8 PM, and Saturdays, 10 AM–12 PM. Sign up for a shift here.
RECURRING: Virtual Phone Bank to Stop the Recall with Grassroots Democrats HQ, Monday–Saturday (various times). Sign up for a shift here.
RECURRING: Virtual Phone Banks with Activate America Against the Newsom Recall on Wednesdays, 4–6 PM PDT. Sign up for a shift here.
RECURRING: Virtual Phone Banks with Commit to Democracy (formerly Commit to Flip Blue) on Thursdays, 4:30–6:30 PM PDT. Sign up for a shift here.
Text banks and canvasses: You can find links on our Vote page!
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 is a photo by Tyrone Turner for NPR of some of the thousands of people marching for voting rights in Washington on Saturday, August 28. The photo appears in NPR’s news story on the march.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
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