Happy Tuesday, Activists!
57 Days Until the Inauguration
Who ever thought it could feel so special?! Today the PA State Department certified the results of the Nov. 3 election and Governor Wolf signed the Certificate of Ascertainment for the slate of electors for the Biden–Harris ticket. You can see it here on Twitter. I don’t know about you, but I’d never heard this was a thing until a couple of weeks ago. At least this phase is finally over and we won!
GEORGIA – So much on our mind!
But now there's our old friend Georgia. We need to put our efforts to use strategically to help with wins in the two critical Senate races. Over 200 of you are writing postcards, and that is fantastic. But we also need to do the critical work of phone banking. Having two-way conversations with voters is hugely important. We are not trying to convince anyone of who to vote for, but just to vote early. And don't forget that we need to donate if we can.
Postcards
Those of you writing postcards to Georgia voters and are doing amazing work! Don’t forget that we aren't mailing any of them until December 1, and the last day to mail is December 7th. Email us at this link with any questions.
For Georgia postcard writers --
Cards & Coffee – It’s back!
TOMORROW, 11:00 am–1:00 pm
Wednesday, December 2, 11:00 am–1:00 pm
Cards & Cocktails
Thursday, December 3, 6:00–8:00 pm
For everyone --
Phone banking – We have a couple of different opportunities for you to call Georgia voters, with Indivisible and with Reclaim Our Vote. Even if you have only one hour to give, it will help a lot.
Indivisible national phone banks:
December 2, 6:00 pm – Register here.
January 4, 6:00 pm – Register here.
Reclaim Our Vote phone banks, various dates and times
And don’t forget, it’s super important to donate what you can now to the campaigns and other groups doing the work on the ground. Here are links:
What’s next for our group?
We started Indivisible Philadelphia after the 2016 election with a clear purpose that only grew and expanded as we saw Trump debase, disrupt, diminish, and nearly destroy everything that makes our democracy strong. So it was easy, in a way, to determine what our focus should be. Now, thankfully, with the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, which you all worked so hard to achieve, we have a new challenge: to appropriately focus our attentions in line with our values but with respect to a Democratic administration.
You'll hear more about our plans soon. For today, we give you a few ideas to ponder.
1. Indivisible has produced five points to consider for the timeframe through Inauguration and it’s at this link.
2. We recommend you read this thoughtful essay by Anand Giridharadas. He discusses some ideas for what “The Resistance” needs to think about to channel its (our!) formidable power to get to a better country--a county we all want. Hope you enjoy.
CALL TO ACTION
One thing we can do now is to ask our elected officials to prioritize good government policies. In the Executive Branch, personnel is key to getting any of a President’s agenda enacted. If we want to see significant progressive change, it starts with President-elect Biden appointing progressive leaders to his cabinet and to key administrative positions.
Our first step is to ensure that President-elect Biden does not nominate or hire corporate executives, high-level consultants, or lobbyists to serve in his administration. The Trump administration has used public service positions to enrich themselves and their corporate cronies, and the American people can rightfully demand that public officials nominated to the Biden administration be free from corporate interest. Historically, the revolving door has resulted in disastrous and harmful policy outcomes under both Republican and Democratic presidents. So we must act boldly and aggressively now to hold our new Democratic administration to the requirement that public service serve the well-being of the public.
Call or email Senator Casey and ask him to urge Joe Biden not to nominate or hire corporate executives, high-level consultants or lobbyists to serve in his administration.
Sen. Casey – Phila office 215-405-9660; D.C. office 202-224-6324; email link
We will have more thoughts, ideas, and details in the coming weeks about the path forward. But for now, we hope you can take a breath, get some rest, watch some movies, and enjoy the holidays safely. It’s a tough time for so many of us, so we hope you can find time to ignore Trump’s tantrums and focus on what enhances your life. There's a lot of work to do but there will be time for that!
We at Indivisible Philadelphia HQ are thankful for all of you every day. You inspire us and help us realize how much we can get done together. As the African Proverb says, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
We're in this together with all of you. Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.
Be safe. Wear a mask. Keep a distance. Be kind.