11-21-2022 Newsletter

 

THANKSGIVING Like you, we're thankful that millions of voters and activists are defending our democracy. Thank you for contributing passion, wisdom, talent, money, and time to make our country better - even more than you thought you could give. Thank you for sustaining INCO with your work, good cheer, and hope.    Our best wishes for your Thanksgiving holiday. INCO leadership team Laurie Caplan, Cheryl Conway, Mary Beth Cottle, Eric Halperin, Carmen Hammersmith, Kathleen Macdonald, Bebe Michel, and Ken Potter

WHY ELECTING WARNOCK MATTERS   A Warnock victory matters because "... with a slim 50-50 margin of control for Democrats, Republicans can slow progress in the Senate to a crawl. One additional vote substantially lessens the ability of Republicans to act as legislative terrorists." Robert Hubbell identifies other good reasons, then says, "But the most important factor of a 51-vote majority is that Democrats can confirm judicial nominations with a simple majority vote."  "Here’s the point: Re-electing Senator Raphael Warnock will significantly improve the ability of Biden and Senate Democrats to deliver on their promises to the American people. "   •  Thankful For Democracy Postcard Party  • Thursday, November 24, 2022  8:00 PM - 8:40 PM, via Zoom Hosted by INCO "Under 40s" Passcode: THANKFUL Meeting ID: 859 3215 9024 Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85932159024?pwd=UlZUcDUxUXBPYU9RYjFVd1BEU3piQT09 INCO family and friends old and new are invited to join us Thanksgiving evening for a quick postcarding session for the Georgia Senate runoff. After the pies have been eaten and the plates have been cleared, let's give thanks for our democracy! Never written postcards to voters before? No problem, we can give you a tutorial over Zoom! Ways you can help: 1.  Postcards To Voters (PTV) at postcardstovoters.org The PTV postcard campaign for Warnock is active now. If you haven’t written for PTV, it’s easy. Just check out the website and it will lead you through the steps to get started.  You’ll need to provide your own postcards and postage.  (Tony The Democrat, who started PTV, is based in Georgia, so understandably they are all in for the Warnock race.)  If you need stamps or index cards/postcards, contact Laurie at incoregon@gmail.com.   2.  Vote Forward (VF) at VoteFwd.org VF will be writing to young voters of color who are registered but may be unlikely to vote. You can write letters to Georgia voters encouraging them to vote in this critical runoff election. For this letter writing you print out the letters, personalize them and then mail them. If you need stamps or envelopes, contact Laurie at incoregon@gmail.com.   3. Indivisible  Sign up here for volunteering through Indivisible national. 4. Today's Edition Robert Hubbell's newsletter offers numerous links to volunteer and donate to the runoff. Please do everything you can to turn out voters for Warnock at the December 6 election. Invite your friends to join you.

YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITIES SURVEY Oregon Indivisibles in COIN's  Climate, Energy, Environment (CEE) Team continue to work on key issues. Please help them by completing this short and interesting questionnaire at  https://forms.gle/sovvvvrZZQdQDP1q9 about environmental priorities for Indivisibles. Thank you!

TILLAMOOK DELIVERS Kudos to the Indivisibles from the Tillamook Democracy Project for writing 13,582 letters to midterm election voters. They were excited to deliver them to the post office.

WHY OUR WORK CONTINUES •  "What happened last week was an important electoral victory that allows all of us to fight another day—specifically, two years from now. Without the defeat of the deniers in 2022, the 2024 elections would likely have fallen into chaos and perhaps even violence. Both are still possibilities. But voters rallied and turned back the worst and most immediate threats to the American system of government. "....These 2022 losers and other, similar candidates are still out there, and they will all continue their best efforts (as Lake is demonstrating) to corrode the foundations of our constitutional order. ".... If we are going to turn them back once and for all, we must not underestimate their resentment and will to power. We know who they are; we must decide who we are." --Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, November 18, 2022 •  Democratic political strategist Dan Pfeiffer suggests a number of columnists and a podcast for perspective about the election, Democrats, the GOP, and democracy.  •  Al Franken and Norm Ornstein discuss how the House Republicans are ready to impeach and investigate their way through the next two years, with Franken humor, of course. It's podcast worth listening to. Ornstein is a noted political scientist and author.

WHAT TO SAY Progressives are finding effective ways to talk about political turmoil and the authoritarian trends in the US. Messaging experts suggest emphasizing the Trumpist Republican criminal conspiracy and remind voters of our values and our victory.  Here's one suggestion: Most of us believe our leaders should act in our interests, respect our freedoms, and govern in our name. But Trumpist Republicans undertook a criminal conspiracy to overthrow the will of the people, and the GOP has thus far enabled Trump to run in the very elections he wants to eliminate. Across races, religions, places, and parties, Americans saw this election as a choice between freedom and fascism and voted to protect our families and our futures. We demand accountability for these traitors, stronger protections to keep our elections free and fair, and a renewed commitment to our democracy.

"UNITY IS EVERYTHING" "While being against authoritarianism is obviously key to preserving democracy, articulating and standing for progressive values and policies and communicating a vision of societal justice that will lead disaffected voters to re-invest in the political process is just as important right now. "....Unity is everything when combatting the right, which does its best to polarize society and set people and parties against each other. "Moving to the center to beat the right can be a counter-productive strategy. Instead, inspire people with an authentic alternative to right-wing politics. "Warn against abuses of power and all that can be lost, but stand for something --articulate a clear and compelling vision of society that draws people in and lets them see a path forward." --Ruth Ben-Ghiat, American historian and scholar on fascism and authoritarian leaders. Substack newsletter, November 15, 2022

SHOCKING SPENDING BY MEGADONORS "It looks like the 2022 midterms will be the most expensive ever. Small-dollar donors contributed at record levels, but megadonors still overwhelmingly outspent them. A stunning stat from our new midterms fundraising analysis: just 21 of the biggest donor families gave more than 3.7 million small donors combined — $783 million. But voters' support for new campaign finance reforms in several states shows it doesn’t have to be this way." --Brennan Center for Justice,  November 17, 2022

HAPPENINGS Thursday, December 8 - INCO South County Community Group, 6:30-7:30 pm, via Zoom. Contact Bebe at littlebylittle4change@gmail.com to get the Zoom link.

INSIGHTS "Kindness can’t sit down simply because anger has stood up.”  — Bill Penzey

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. Look for the INCO column in Hipfish Monthly. We're on Facebook, too. INCO Weekly Newsletter       November 21, 2022