TRUMP’S DEADLY RACISM IS THE REAL WITCH HUNT
ACTION ONE: CALL YOUR SENATORS
SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR WYDEN AND MERKLEY:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
I am afraid that Trump is pushing us almost into another civil war. His racist language, coupled with easy access to guns, is inciting violence as we’ve seen in El Paso. I ask the Senator to:
- use every opportunity to publicly demand an end to the recess to urgently pass gun violence prevention bills passed by the House.
- demand a vote on election security measures which, too, have already passed the House. Trump cannot be allowed to win another term with Russia’s help.
CALL SENATOR MERKLEY
CALL SENATOR WYDEN
ACTION TWO: CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS
Not sure who your U.S. Representative is? Find out here.
SAMPLE SCRIPTS FOR REPRESENTATIVES:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
For Blumenauer, Bonamici and DeFazio: I am calling because I am afraid that Trump is pushing us into another civil war. His racist language is inciting violence, and since people have an easy access to guns, white racists are murdering innocents, as we’ve seen in El Paso. I ask the Representative to:
- call for public impeachment hearings that include racism – this is an impeachable offense and it is dividing our country and triggering violence,
- oppose any budget that has more money for CBP, ICE, DHS – these are the agencies Trump uses to execute his racist impulses.
For and Schrader and Walden: I ask the Representative to:
- decry Trump’s racism. His tribalism is dividing the country for political gain and it is actually killing innocent people.
- refuse to vote on any budget that has more money for CBP, ICE, DHS – these are the agencies Trump uses to execute his racist impulses.
CALL SUZANNE BONAMICI (OR-01)
CALL GREG WALDEN (OR-02)
CALL BLUMENAUER (OR-03)
CALL PETER DEFAZIO (OR-04)
CALL KURT SCHRADER (OR-05)
ACTION THREE: HELP REGISTER VOTERS
Indivisible Oregon is organizing letter-writing parties using Swing Left tools to contact voters whose voter registration data may need updating.
Find a letter writing party near you or organize one yourself at SwingLeft.org/events.
Portlanders, join a party on the fourth Tuesday of every month and one Saturday. Upcoming: Aug 27th, 11am and Sept 24th, 11am
BACKGROUND:
Racism is an impeachable offense.i
Yesterday, the administration’s moved to deny green cards and citizenship for legal immigrants who use public benefitslike food stamps.ii
This is today’s proof, if more is needed, that Trump is using his Executive powers to fulfill his racist goals.
The dead in an El Paso Walmart also lay at the end of a chain that arguably began with Trump’s racism and hate-filled rhetoric and, thanks to NRA-Republicans, was coupled with easy access to guns.
Trump is a racist, and is inciting racism for his political advantage. He is dragging the country into a new civil war, one already punctuated with the massacres of innocents.
The El Paso shooter, echoing Trump, believed his home state of Texas was being “invaded” and the white population “replaced.” He told police that he was “targeting Mexicans.”
What to do?
First, demand Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell allows a vote on the commonsense gun violence prevention measures already passed by the House.
Then fight racism. Barack Obama wrote last week: “(R)eject language . . . of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments.”
The lesson of El Paso is that racism is both un-American and deadly.
SOURCES:
NBC, July 30, 2019: “Trump’s racism is an impeachable offense.” https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-racism-impeachable-offense-precedent-andrew-johnson-proves-it-ncna1035951
Vox, July 15, 2019: “Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2019.”https://www.vox.com/2016/7/25/12270880/donald-trump-racist-racism-history
Twitter, Aug. 5, 2019: “Barack Obama – Michelle and I grieve with all the families …”https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1158453079035002881
Rolling Stone, July 30, 2019: “Trump’s Racism Is a National Emergency.”https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-baltimore-cummings-impeach-864796/
Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based nonprofit that tracks the online spread of far-right extremism. https://www.isdglobal.org/
New York Times, Aug. 10, 2019: “The Global Machine Behind the Rise of Far-Right Nationalism” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/10/world/europe/sweden-immigration-nationalism.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
The Intercept, July 19, 2019: “Racism is an Impeachable Offense” https://theintercept.com/2019/07/19/trump-racism-impeachment-offense/
New Yorker, July 31, 2019: “The Rhetoric and Reality of Donald Trump’s Racism” https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-rhetoric-and-reality-of-donald-trumps-racism
