Indivisibles,

The Georgia runoff election is two weeks away. 

Sen. Raphael Warnock beat his opponent, Herschel Walker, by less than a percentage point and now turns to a runoff to achieve a majority. 

In a campaign that has been filled with gaffes, last week, Herschel Walker decided to use his time in a campaign speech to explain to his supporters why he wanted to be a werewolf instead of a vampire. He didn’t use the time to expand upon his policy positions or to speak to why people should support him instead of his opponent, but to recap a movie he had previously watched featuring two unrelated imaginary beings.

We're happy letting Walker be a werewolf, vampire, or make-believe FBI agent if he wants to, but we're going to ensure he doesn't become an elected official. Walker is not prepared to be a United States Senator. 

On the other hand, Sen. Warnock has a proven track record of legislating, understanding the issues, and caring about his constituents. Contrast Walker’s speech with this one by Rev. Warnock concerning what it takes to lead. 

The choice is clear to anyone who watches and listens to both candidates. Warnock is prepared and thoughtful, Walker is not. Now we need to make sure all Georgians know that and are prepared to vote. 

With that, here are your weekly to-dos:

 Your weekly to-dos 

1. RSVP for our Georgia Runoff Phonebank Party with Gaslit Nation on Thursday, December 1 at 6pm ET/3pm PT. Andrea Chalupa, co-host of Gaslit Nation, will join Indivisibles calling voters in Georgia prior to the December 6 runoff. Andrea is an expert in election hacking who regularly does deep dives on current news and events around the globe. Don’t miss this chance to hear from her while we get out the vote.
2. RSVP for our Georgia Runoff Phonebank Party with Gaslit Nation on Monday, December 5 at 5pm ET/2pm PT. If you can’t come on Thursday, join us on Monday for our final day of GOTV phonebanking. Or join us for both! We’d love to have you. 
3. Read our newest Indivisible Unpacked on Trump’s Push for Political Violence. Trump has brought hate speech into the mainstream Republican Party at levels not seen in contemporary American society. Read up on his tactics, the deadly results of that rhetoric, and what we can do to combat it. 
4. Sign up for the Indivisible Truth Brigade. Propaganda, false characterizations, intentionally misleading messages, and outright lies threaten our democracy and even our lives. We can effectively combat disinformation, despite the well-funded machines that drive it. People believe sources they trust! Sign up to learn how to fight disinformation in a way that drives change and protects our communities from the threat of extremism. 
5. Do you live in a rural area? Click here to join our National Rural Program. We have resources and calls specifically for our rural Indivisibles where you can learn more about strategies and issues specific to Indivisibles living in rural areas. If you want an idea of what that looks like, check out our agenda and notes from previous meetings.

The midterm elections are not over. A runoff means an extended period where we need to support Rev. Warnock in his Senate bid. Donate to fund all of our phonebanking, textbanking, canvassing, and more.

 Q Club - Colorado Springs 

Saturday night, a man entered Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and opened fire, murdering five people and injuring at least 25 others. 

Club Q was said to be an LGBTQ+ respite in an otherwise conservative town surrounded by multiple military bases -- a place of safety where folks could be themselves in a hostile world. 

This tragic event came on the heels of Transgender Awareness Week and the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance meant to increase visibility and support of Transgender people while uplifting the many lives we have lost to anti-trans violence. 

This was a hate crime. 

Queer spaces are not just clubs where people go to get drunk and dance. They are a refuge from the ever-growing lists of danger and violence that threaten queer people’s very existence on a daily basis. When the world keeps telling you that you should not exist, having one space where you are free to be you, surrounded by affirmation, is a revolutionary act -- it is literally life-saving. 

The violation of such a space is meant to incite fear. It is a pointed reminder that the violence threatening queer people in their day-to-day lives can not be avoided, even in their safe spaces. 2021 was the deadliest year on record for TGNC (trans and gender non-conforming) people. Without counting this incident, at least 32 TGNC people have been killed this year, with the majority of those being Black and Brown trans women. And, overall, LGBTQ+ people are nearly four times more likely than non-LGBTQ+ to be victims of violent crime.

The toll of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric being used to stoke fear and drum up votes is being enacted on real people’s bodies. We can not sit idly by while our queer siblings are treated as expendable pawns in MAGA extremists’ ploys for power. AOC’s viral tweet to Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert demonstrates this reality perfectly: 

We must work to ensure that people like Boebert, who send thoughts after the fact while stoking the fires of violence that encouraged the event in the first place, are called out and held accountable. Our elected officials must reflect the compassion of the best of us, and we must do everything we can to promote that compassion in our communities. Every moment of inaction extracts a cost. 

Here’s what you can do today:

• Donate to the Colorado Healing Fund (CHF). The Colorado Healing Fund is a non-profit set up to assist local communities with the financial, emotional, and physical needs of victims of mass tragedies in Colorado -- CHF provides a secure way to donate to victims. The financial impact of moments of terrorist violence compounds the physical and emotional harm. We must make sure that the LGBTQ+ community is uplifted and cared for in their pain. 
• Read our Indivisible Unpacked on The GOP’s Grooming Obsession. Republicans have made targeted harassment of LGBTQ+ people a centerpiece of their electoral strategy with devastating results. Under the pretense of “protecting children,” they’ve used lies and disinformation to stoke fear, mobilize extremists, and spread hate. Now is the time to learn more about their tactics and how we can fight back.
• Support our Georgia Runoff work by joining our phonebanks on December 1 and December 5. Herschel Walker is a MAGA extremist who, among other despicable actions and beliefs, believes trans children won’t go to heaven. Join our efforts to reelect Raphael Warnock, the first Georgia Senator to march in a pride parade and prevent another anti-LGBTQ+ extremist from gaining elected office.  

After finding out that two people subdued the attacker with non-lethal force, preventing more casualties before the police could arrive, Mayor John Suthers of Colorado Springs called it, “an incredible act of heroism.” He’s right, the bravery of those two individuals should be celebrated for generations to come. 

But, every person who walked out of that club and back into life, every person who chooses to be their full and authentic self in the face of such danger, is exhibiting a spectacular amount of bravery every minute of every day. Let us celebrate that too. We celebrate it by working as hard as we possibly can to ensure no one has to be called brave just for being alive ever again.

Final Session

The “final session” or “final legislative session” is the period of time between an election and the inauguration of the new Congress. 

This year’s final session is critically important because it is the last period where we will hold a Democratic trifecta for at least the next two years. With Republican control of the House, we know that they will block any attempt at substantive legislation Democrats push forward. We must do as much as possible in this time period to deliver the Democratic agenda. 

The Senate got a head start on this work last week, inching closer to passing the Respect for Marriage Act and enshrining national protections for marriage equality into law. But they did so before taking a holiday break and delaying final passage of the policy. We need them to work faster so that they can pass more.

To achieve this, Congress must stay in session seven days a week until the new Congress is seated. If we can convince Congress to do this, we have the opportunity to achieve priorities such as: lifting the debt ceiling through reconciliation, passing viable bipartisan legislation like the Electoral Count Act, and securing progressive wins. 

We cannot let this crucial period of control go to waste. Here’s how you can help:

• Click here to call your Democratic representative and ask them to stay in session until their work is done. We must use every minute of our existing trifecta to achieve necessary legislative victories for the American people, and Congress has the ability to stay in session and do so. If you have a Republican representative, click here to call them and keep the pressure on them to pass popular legislation during the final session.
• Click here to call your Democratic senators and demand they stay in session until their work is done. So much about how much we can get done depends on the Senate. At the end of the day, raising the debt ceiling so that Republicans can't weaponize it against Social Security and Medicare next year is most time-consuming in the Senate because of arcane Senate procedure. Your Senator will need some cheerleading to stay at work seven days a week and get it done! If you have a Republican senator, click here to call them and keep the pressure on them to pass as many popular bills as possible during the final session.

 National Events 

Register for the Indivisible POC Monthly Call tomorrow Tuesday, November 22 at 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT. Join Indivisible National POC staff as we talk and connect around issues that directly affect POC, the work that we do, and the world in which we try to create lasting change. This week we will also be talking about ways to support Raphael Warnock in Georgia. Please note that this is a space specifically for people of color/indigenous group leaders and members. 

 IndivisiWin of the Week  

Indivisible Screven Forward supporting Raphael Warnock in Georgia.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up on the latest information, and text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to our text messaging program where we send rapid response actions a few times a month.

In two weeks, Georgians have the opportunity to ensure one more anti-LGBTQ+ extremist is not elected to Congress. Let’s do the work to ensure that happens. 

The election season is almost over, but Indivisible fights on. Thank you for standing with us.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team