7-5-2021 Newsletter

 

The July 4 parade in Cannon Beach in 2017.   VOTING RIGHTS IN AMERICA "At this point, our most dangerous foes are apathy and defeatism. Don’t give in to those urges. Instead, be part of the solution by modeling behavior to others that will inspire and motivate them. It’s on us. Let’s get to work." -- Robert Hubbell, Today's Edition Newsletter, 7-1-21   Common Cause/Oregon assesses wins and losses for democracy in this session of the Oregon legislature. Historian Heather Cox Richardson provides an excellent summary of voting rights in the US, Letters From An American, 7-1-21   Register here. You can submit questions upon registering or during the event.  SUCCESSES FOR COIN AND OREGON COIN took positions on 57 bills in the just-ended Oregon legislative session. 28 of those we supported passed, and all 3 of those we opposed failed, so our overall success rate was 54%. You can see all of the results here.  Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the 2021 session was the failure of both parties to enact any meaningful Campaign Finance Reform bills. COIN pushed hard to get the Legislature to pass bills setting limits on contributions, creating a small donor matching program, and requiring transparency into the campaign finance process. We’re not giving up, however. We'll keep you updated about possible ballot measures. We passed good election reform and governance bills and defeated bad ones, setting an example for other states (and the US Supreme Court.) This chart shows the outcome: THANK YOU to all the stellar volunteers on the COIN legislative team. They kept up with all 57 measures we tracked and made recommendations about. Thanks also to all of you who contacted your legislators to push them to vote in accordance with our recommendations. WHO GETS TO VOTE? Given the US Supreme Court's recent upholding of Arizona's new restrictive voting laws, it's more important than ever that we push Congress to pass S.1 the For the People Act, and HR4 #VotingRightsAct.  Indivisible is partnering with pro-democracy groups around the country to get this legislation passed with the Deadline for Democracy initiative. Click here to see how you can help. Please thank Senators Wyden and Merkley and Congresswoman Bonamici for their work to pass S.1. Contact info is here.   INSIDE THE INSURRECTION A six-month NY Times investigation has synchronized and mapped out thousands of videos and police radio communications from the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. The Times's video provides the most complete picture to date of what happened — and why. It might be behind a paywall. It's worth checking out if you can. Who were the insurrectionists? Research from the University of Chicago reveals surprises. The US is changing rapidly, and most of the insurrectionists fear and dislike the changes they see. Find out more in PBS video and this Washington Post article. Contact Speaker Pelosi here to support the House's investigation of the insurrection. HAPPENINGS VIRTUAL  Tuesday, July 13 - INCO South County Community Group Zoom meeting, 6:30 - 8 pm. Please RSVP to Kathleenannmacdonald@yahoo.com thru Monday, July 12 for your Zoom link. Saturday,  July 17 - INCO North County Community Group Zoom meeting, 11 a.m - noon. Contact incoregon@gmail.com to get the Zoom link if you haven't attended a previous meeting. Write To Voters. Special elections and issue campaigns need you year-round. INCO encourages you to sign up to write to voters at www.postcardstovoters.org or for general Get Out the Vote campaigns, sign up at Vote Forward. For supplies or information, contact incoregon@gmail.com. INSIGHTS "Americans care about history because the stakes are high. This is a country founded not on blood-and-soil nationalism but ideas.... For Americans, the country’s history is not the accumulation of past events, but rather the product of active choices that highlight the country’s meaning and message." --Fareed Zakariah, Washington Post, 7-2-21 Comments, news, and photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com.  Resources and other information at www.incoregon.org and www.indivisible.org. Encourage others to sign up for the INCO newsletter at our website or here. INCO Weekly Newsletter  July 5, 2021