The week brought a mix of positive and negative political signs, largely very good cabinet appointments by MLG, polling evidence that Trump voters would support a progressive economic agenda, surging approval for the Green New Deal and disappointing indicators from Democratic Party Centrists in DC. Time to call-email Heinrich, Udall and Lujan.
Give Udall, Heinrich and Lujan a piece of your mind. 
The post published on Sunday outlines the surge in bipartisan approval of Green New Deal policies and a disappointing reaction from Democratic Party leadership in DC. A link to that post is provided in this action alert as well as at the bottom of the post. During the holidays, the post has historically not had high ‘open rates,’ with supporters focused on families, friends and holiday celebrations. And so the Call to Action to contact Udall, Heinrich and Lujan is repeated along with the strong request that you share the link to Sunday’s blog with as many friends as possible. We can’t let these ‘safe-seat’ representatives get complacent just because they can waltz their way to re-election. And we need more than just you raising your voice.
Please, make a list of 5, 10, 20 or more friends and email them the link along with strong encouragement to follow up with action by calling and writing to our DC reps, only one of whom, Deb Haaland, has endorsed the Green New Deal. Sending a very loud and clear message to these men is absolutely necessary. They apparently don’t get it. The planet is in dire peril and for young voters they increasingly view climate change as life or death. If they don’t see a Party taking it seriously, they simply won’t vote. Why vote if whoever they send to DC will study options, negotiate deals that incorporate the perspective of the fossil fuel lobbyists who fuel their campaigns and kick the climate change can and their collective future down the road. We are out of road. So please, after you write to our representatives, take personal responsibility for multiplying your voice: implore friends to do the same. A personal email from you will be far more likely to cause your friends to follow your lead.
A word about a few things related to the above. The people who read this blog regularly obviously understand the issues. You know the political terrain and you understand what is at stake. But there aren’t enough of us. Those of us who do ‘get it,’ need to take personal responsibility for educating others who may be concerned, but haven’t translated concern into action. It is not enough to go to a few marches a year and wring your hands in social media. It may feel gratifying, but it is not going to get the job done.
Your knowledge and grasp of the issues is power, but if it isn’t used to engage others, then it is of limited value. Many hundred people read this blog every time it is published. If each of you shared our posts with others on a regular basis and encouraged them to sign up, those concerned but unengaged folks just might get in the game. And if you asked them to join you at one of our meetings or to come to Journey this Sunday (below), they’d be far more likely to take the next step. We need an army of people at the Roundhouse or in our Response Network and we need an army of folks advocating with our DC representatives to do more. You have power; I am asking you to use it.
Sunday, Dec. 30, 11am. Journey, Santa Fe, 202 Galisteo, Santa Fe with Paul Gibson, Co-Founder, Retake Our Democracy. Journey was going to skip the 30th this year, but then asked if I’d consider doing a Retake Our Democracy Roundhouse Preview. Of course, I accepted. I will spend about 30 minutes laying out our strategy for the Roundhouse session, sharing our MUST PASS bills, and then spend time answering questions and encouraging dialog. I expect it will be a modest crowd what with the holidays consuming our attention, so I think we can have a pretty informal conversation. This might be an opportunity for you to ask 2-3 friends to join you and enable them to learn more about Retake Our Democracy and our Roundhouse strategy. I’ll also talk a bit about the Green New Deal and encourage those attending to write to their representatives. So, please come to Journey this Sunday.
Where did all the pictures and graphics go? In researching why some subscribers complain that they resubscribe often then don’t get the blog, I discovered that having many images in a post can cause some email servers to mark your post as spam or even not deliver the email at all. I want to try to limit the number of images and see if that results in an uptick in the open rate.
A Look Back at Last Week’s Posts
If you’ve been preoccupied with the holidays, today may be a good day to catch up on what you’ve missed in our blog this past week. If you have limited time, I’d review the last one. And share it with friends. The Green New Deal could be a game=changing initiative that galvanizes a movement driven to force our leadership to embrace, for once, a plan that actually has the teeth in it to substantially address the challenges of climate change while offering millions of new living wage jobs that will build a green infrastructure across the nation. We need to expand the numbers of people advocating loudly for the Green New Deal. The post at the bottom of the page outlines the growing approval ratings and how you can press New Mexico leadership in Washington to embrace the plan.
Strong Polling Evidence Indicates Many Trump Voters Support Progressive Economic Justice Policies–A Huge Opening
Tuesday, Dec. 18. Trump told his supporters that the Dems didn’t understand them, that he would get them jobs and protect them from those scary immigrants and from others threatening to take their guns. But on minimum wage, tuition-free college, universal health care and other economic justice issues, they support progressive positions even more strongly than centrist Dems. Hmmm. Could it be that a solidly progressive message would inspire and motivate youth and communities of color while also garnering a significant proportion of Trump voters disappointed with his unfulfilled promises? Read on. Click here to read the full report.
Brennan Center for Justice Reports on Trump’s Threat to Democracy and the Vast Array of Emergency Powers He Can Legally Tap to Create a Dictatorship–Scary stuff. Plus, Breaking News Bill McCamley Appointed to Cabinet
Thursday, Dec. 20. The Brennan Center for Justice is not Truthout or some other publication that can get all hyperbolic over a relatively small issue. So when they sound the alarms about the ways in which Trump could use Constitutional “emergency powers” to shut down the internet, arrest advocates, and suspend an array of constitutional rights, it is worth paying attention. Read on. Click here to read the full post.
A Holiday Idea that Could Change Lives, Perhaps Yours
Saturday, Dec 22. It is not too late to use this post to send stocking-stuffer gifts of a donation to great local organizations. In prior posts, I suggested that you might consider not giving material “things” to others to avoid the environmental impact of shipping and packing materials as well as simply not consuming more products that often we don’t really need. I encouraged making gifts of donations to local non-profit organizations. In this post, I suggest something a bit different, offering gifts of donations as stocking stuffers, emailed gifts to those who live afar, and even as host gifts for those who’ve invited you to dinner or to a party. The post describes a strategy where, with a brief description of the charity, the donation can be a contribution and a teachable moment. Click here to read the full post.
“It’s Not About Winning Election or Re-Election, It Is About Life Or Death:” Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. SHARE THIS POST!!!
Sunday, Dec. 23. The post describes the remarkable surge in approval of the Green New Deal, with strong approval even among Republicans. But then the post goes on to describe how Democratic leadership is failing to take the mantle, refusing to establish a special panel on the GND, refusing to deny House Reps who receive fossil fuel money from serving on the House Climate Change panel, and in other ways sending signals that a far more modest approach to climate change is favored by leadership. THIS IS NOT OK. The post offers email and phone numbers for Udall, Heinrich and Lujan and we will get Xochitl Torres’ email as soon as she takes office. They need to hear from us constantly. None have embraced the GND and that is not ok. This just may be the line in the sand issue that distinguishes those who are with us and those who are against us. The planet is begging for an appropriate US response to climate change and the GND is a very, very good start. We need to push hard on this and so I am encouraging all of you to create an email list of 10, 20 or 50 friends who care about the climate and sending them this link and asking them to join us in letting Udall, Heinrich and Lujan know. Endorse the GND and go tell Schumer and Pelosi to get on board, as well.
Click here to get to the post.
In solidarity,
Paul & Roxanne
Happy Holidays
Categories: Personal & Collective Action
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