From the Indivisible weekly leadership email:
Are you ready for April recess? Many Members of Congress (MoCs) would probably prefer to stay in D.C. rather than come home and face you! From the complete failure of TrumpCare to growing questions about Trump’s Russia ties, they’ve got a lot to answer for. And they’re still trying to jam through an unpopular Supreme Court nominee this week before they leave.
So this week, your group has two important jobs: stop Gorsuch’s confirmation in its tracks, and start preparing to reclaim recess again.
No “Nuclear Option” on Gorsuch
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is hoping to rush through Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation process this week. Gorsuch’s extreme record has left him short of the 60 votes traditionally required to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. Instead of admitting defeat and requesting a more mainstream nominee, McConnell is now threatening to invoke the “nuclear option” of changing the Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster and ram Gorsuch through with fewer than 60 votes.
Many Republicans are very nervous about destroying 230 years of Senate standard practice over this one vote—and they should be. If you have Democratic senators, tell them to stand strong, and if you have Republican senators, tell them to back away from the nuclear option. The message is simple: if your Supreme Court nominee is so extreme that he can’t get to 60 votes, you don’t change the rules, you change the nominee!
#NoProbeNoRobe
And remember—the more people learn about the Trump camp’s collusion with foreign powers, the more they realize this Congress should put other business on hold until we have all the facts. There’s no reason Gorsuch should move forward until we can learn the whole truth about Trump’s ties to Russia.
Reclaim Recess: The Sequel
During February recess, more than 100,000 people showed up for town halls across the country. It was this constituent power that defeated TrumpCare and saved health insurance for 24 million Americans. Now it’s time for congressional recess again. In preparation for the recess beginning April 8, we’ve got new resources for Indivisible group leaders:
- How to Stand Indivisible at Town Halls: an expanded version of our How to Have a Town Hall guide, with new suggestions and tips.
- What to Do When Your Member of Congress Holds a Sham Town Hall: a how-to on combatting the fake town hall tactics your MoC might be using.
- Making the Most of Congressional Recess: our top five policy priorities for this recess.
By defeating TrumpCare, you proved that Indivisible works.
Now we need you to tell your story. If we’re going to continue racking up wins against Trump, we need to bring more people into the Indivisible movement. So we’re asking you for a favor: celebrate this victory. But here’s the catch: you’re not just celebrating for yourself, you’re also celebrating to advertise your power and grow the movement—and that means we need your celebration on video or it didn’t happen.
To spread the word, we’re gathering testimonials from Indivisible groups on how and why they contributed to TrumpCare’s defeat. Here’s how you can contribute to this project:
1) Take a selfie video or get your local Indivisible group to prepare a video together. Yes, your iPhone will work just fine for this.
2) Prepare two simple pieces of information
- Your local Indivisible group name and location (city/state)
- Why you stood Indivisible against TrumpCare
3) Look into the camera and keep it short—30 seconds or less is ideal
4) Send your video to us at stories@indivisibleguide.com with the subject line “Indivisible Against TrumpCare” no later than next Sunday, April 9.
We’ll take what you send in, create a compilation, and spread them far and wide. This victory lap is fun and all, but it’s also serious work. It’s about convincing those outside the movement that they should join up. It’s about standing indivisible with even more of your family, friends, and neighbors. We’re building the movement together, and simple acts like this help make that possible.
