Indivisible Update 1/30/17

RSVP for TONIGHT (1/30/17):
Planning Call to Stand Against the Muslim and Refugee Bans

Last week, Trump signed an Executive Order halting all refugee admissions and barring people from many predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. This vicious, hateful Executive Order undermines everything that America stands for. But remember, Trump’s agenda doesn’t depend on Trump—it depends on YOUR Members of Congress rubber-stamping it. And you can stop that.

To explain how you can resist, we’re hosting a big planning call with several of the leading national organizations in this space TONIGHT (Monday) at 9pm (ET) / 6pm (PT). You have to RSVP here to join.

Indivisible is co-hosting this call along with:

  • Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ)
  • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
  • International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)
  • National Immigration Law Center (NILC-IJF)

We’ll all be presenting and answering your questions. Our partner organizations will cover WHAT the Executive Orders are and WHY they’re unconstitutional and illegal.

Indivisible will then cover HOW you can push your Senators to restore justice. There’s no reason that the Senate should be conducting business as usual while our basic values are under attack. Senators have powerful tools to delay and stop legislation, and they should be using them. This isn’t about speeches or nice tweets—this is about political hardball. We’ll go over this in greater detail on the call, but Indivisible’s recommended “asks” for your Senators are simple:

  1. Withhold Consent. Any single Senator can ‘withhold consent’—a procedural maneuver that puts Senate business on pause for days at a time. When Senate Leadership asks for “unanimous consent” to move forward with business as usual, your Senator should say “I Object.” This will dramatically slow Trump’s other priorities from moving forward until he lifts this odious ban. #WithholdConsent
  2. No Justice, No Bills. Your Senator should commit to filibustering EVERY bill that comes up in the Senate until Trump’s illegal, unconstitutional Executive Order is rescinded. By filibustering, your senator can stop all of Trump’s future legislative priorities. The ONLY bill that should be allowed to come to a vote is a bill ending the Muslim and refugee ban. #NoJusticeNoBills

You can make your Senators do this, and we’ll walk you through how. But you have to RSVP here to join.

What’s happening in Congress this week?

We’ve heard you loud and clear that you want more details about major votes in Congress each week so that you go into your office visits and phone calls with as much information as possible. Since this can change fast, we’re working on improving how we get you the most up-to-date news. For now, we’re flagging the top-level actions below, but know that we’re working to get you more in the future. Here’s the big thing on Capitol Hill this week:

More Votes on Trump’s Cabinet:

Trump’s parade of racist, sexist, and plutocratic Cabinet nominees continues this week. Republicans and Democrats alike should take a stand against these unqualified and inappropriate nominees, like the five below:

  • Today, Monday, January 30: The full Senate will proceed to a cloture vote on Rex Tillerson, former CEO of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of State. This is the last chance for Senators to stop this pal of Vladimir Putin and climate skeptic from becoming the leader of American foreign policy.

    Call your Senators and urge them to vote “No” on cloture for Rex Tillerson.

  • Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 31: The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Sen. Jeff Sessions’ nomination to be Attorney General. Jeff Sessions was rejected for a federal judgeship by the Senate in 1986 for being too racist, and he hasn’t gotten any better since. He’s spent his career making it harder for African Americans to vote, fighting against equal rights for women, minorities and LGBTQ people, and demonstrating consistent hostility to the rule of law and human rights.

    Call your Senators and tell them to vote “No” on Sen. Sessions’ nomination.

  • Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 31: The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination of billionaire GOP fundraiser and anti-public schools advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the Education Department. HELP Committee Democrats continue to request additional hearings following DeVos’ January 17 confirmation hearing at which she revealed how grossly unqualified she is to serve as Education Secretary.

    Call your Senators and tell them to vote “No” on Betsy DeVos’ nomination.

  • Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 31: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination for former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to be Secretary of Energy. Perry called for abolition of the department—then famously forgot which department it was—when he ran for President in 2012.

    Call your Senators and tell them to vote “No” on Gov. Perry’s nomination.

  • Wednesday, February 1: The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee is scheduled to vote on Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA. Pruitt is an arch-enemy of the EPA, having sued it on 14 separate occasions. He’s spent his career taking the side of polluting private industries over the public’s health and our planet’s well-being.

    Call your Senators and tell them to vote “No” on Scott Pruitt’s nomination.

Didn’t get through the 26-page guide? Watch our video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-CHZdTmBA4

We’re excited to announce a new Indivisible Guide video, launching today! This awesome short introduction to the Indivisible Guide’s strategies and tactics is a great way to spread the word and encourage your friends and family to get involved in a local group or start one of their own, so please share widely! A huge thanks to Brave New Films and Chez Boom Audio for all of their help making this project a reality.

In Case You Missed It: We’re now a real thing

We hope you saw the announcement this past Thursday: the Indivisible Guide team formed a nonprofit to help us do more resisting! We want to say thank you for all of your support over the past few days – not only for the donations that will help us continue to do this work, but also and especially for all the kind messages we’ve received. We promise to have your backs as we continue this fight together.

As the second week of the Trump administration begins, we’re prouder than ever to be in this with all of you. We look forward to standing indivisible with you in the days ahead, and we are more certain than ever that we will win.

In solidarity,
The Indivisible Guide Team