Saturday is the last day of the Roundhouse Session and Gov. Martinez is holding firm on her promise to approve a cuts-only budget that will bleed our education, health, and human service systems. Let’s make sure she knows how we feel. Statewide action: Sat., Mar 18, 10-2pm. Blog also includes a scathing review of 5 Dem. Senators who apparently are just fine with Donald Trump, and a must-view Keith Olbermann ripping Trump’s AHCA and calling for a general strike.

On Saturday we will take to the Roundhouse and the Governor’s office and express our outrage at the Governor’s insistence on a cut-driven budget and a host of other vetoes. This is being written Weds evening, for release Thursday morning. I suppose it is possible she will see the light and suddenly go into a budget-signing frenzy. But in the event she doesn’t, Retake Our Democracy joins with IATSE, Working Families Party, and Indivisible Santa Fe to take action:

We Need A Brand New Progressive Roundhouse

Sat,, Mar 18, 10am-2pm. Roundhouse Gallery. It’s Our House Not Hers. Our Governor has made it clear that her loyalty is to the 1% and the corporations who benefit from a slew of tax breaks and regressive tax structures. She would rather bleed the life out of our schools, hospitals, and social services than ask her donors to pay their fair share toward rebuilding our state. And that is what is needed now that she has essentially decimated it. What to do? Join IATSE, Working Families Party, Indivisible Santa Fe, Retake Our Democracy and other groups from across the State in protest on the closing of the Roundhouse Session.

We will convene at 10am, first filling the gallery above the chamber floor and then forming a line down from the gallery, down the stairs, and out the Roundhouse doors.Our goal is to encircle the Roundhouse. At Noon, we will march to the adjacent Governor’s office, raise our voices, and return to the Roundhouse for a rally with speakers and food from IATSE. IATSE is asking people to wear yellow, and they will provide yellow scarfs. Yellow was selected by IATSE as it is the only color that is not the color of a specific union, and so yellow symbolizes the unification of all unions and people. Click here to RSVP.

Open House Activism-Post Cards to Oppose the Elimination of Methane Plume Regulations:  Tonight from 4pm-8pm. This is a fun way and a highly social way to be active. Join others in sending postcards to protest the elimination of regulations related to methane emissions.  Save the planet and hang with progressives you have just met. Click here for details and to RSVP.

 Bad Enough the GOP Has the Senate,
Now US Senators are Cowing to Trump

The summary below comes from Justice Democrats, sort of an oxymoron if you read on. They reviewed the voting records of key Democrats and the results are not encouraging.

Start with Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND). She sits on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs yet turned her back on Standing Rock, calling the protests “not winnable,” and later called on the President to use federal forces to break up the camp. Heitkamp voted to confirm all but 6 of Trump’s cabinet appointments, including Rick Perry as Energy Secretary and former-Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State — despite neither having any relevant experience for the job. Maybe it’s just a coincidence Heitkamp received over $260K in Oil & Gas donations in 2016?

How about Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA).  Oil & Gas insiders consider him a “reliable ally” and have sent over $100K in donations his way since 2010. Warner has repeatedly introduced or co-sponsored legislation to expand offshore drilling and was one of 9 Senate Dems voting to override Obama’s veto of Keystone XL. Naturally, he also voted to confirm Perry and Tillerson.

Then there’s Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), another vote in Perry’s favor. She recently complained she may face a Tea-Party-like primary challenge in 2018 because she’s “not pure” enough for progressives. Well Senator, if the shoe fits. In the last few years McCaskill has voted to fast-track the TPP, repeatedly voted in favor of Keystone XL construction (joining Warner in voting to override Obama’s veto), blocked protections for landowners from eminent domain claims related to pipelines, voted to allow drilling on public lands, and voted against transparency in corporate donation disclosures.

None compare to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). Multinational corporations don’t seem to invest much in West Virginia, the second poorest state in the nation, but they invest a lot in the senator. With over $1.4M in donations from Mining, Electric Utilities, and Oil & Gas in his pocket, Manchin gleefully endorsed Tillerson and Perry, as well as Scott Pruitt for the head of the EPA. Nearly $1M in donations from the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sectors seem to underwrite his support of Steve “The Foreclosure King” Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary. His glowing praise for Jeff Sessions is the final red flag. A token vote against Betsy DeVos doesn’t make up for being the only Senate Democrat to confirm the embattled Attorney General.

Even so-called Progressives fail the test. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) is currently the party favorite for 2020, and last month he drew fire by voting against the Sanders prescription drug amendment. Booker and 12 other Democrats voted against the largely ceremonial measure citing debunked safety concerns. It didn’t take anyone long to notice he’s received upwards of $350K in Big Pharma campaign cash. To his credit, it seems he listened to the fierce backlash, and he now supports a revised version of Sen. Sanders’ amendment. But we remain vigilant, Senator.

Keith Olbermann On Trump’s Health

Keith Olbermann as always focuses on the human side of injustice. He focuses on how health care isn’t policy and premiums, it is life and death, and by saving his billionaire friends $16B in taxes, Trump is consigning untold numbers of people to death. Olbermann shreds Trump, Ryan, Pence and Others Who Defend the Travesty of the GOP Replacement plan for the ACA. This is tremendous. In the end, he suggests that it might be time for a General Strike that shuts down the country….and not just for a day. But a General Strike requires the most sacrifice from those who can afford it least.  Are there other alternatives, actions that can provide an unmistakable statement.  Women’s march times 1000 that extends and cripples the capacity of Trump and his regime to function. The next blog is going to focus on potential radical strategies for drawing a line in the sand. I’m asking supporters to provide input and suggestions as to how we might take a really strong stand. Ideas?  Click here. The commercial stalls a bit, but the video itself is flawless.

Categories: Actions, Healthcare coverage, State Budget

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