1. Celebrate President's Day in your own way.
I suggest, on this most glum of President's Days, that there is a lot of value in going back and reminding ourselves of the history of the office and of the men (sigh) who have held it in the past. The right seems, over the past several decades, to have taken the language and symbolism of patriotism as their own. It's my opinion that we need to take it back. Consider taking a few minutes to do some reading on our past Presidents. There are some fantastic online resources to dip into; Google provides a very nice selection below, or dive into the many historical resources elsewhere. Read some of John Adams' letters to his wife Abigail or Lincoln's addresses and correspondence. Take a look at some of the maps Washington drew as a surveyor. Pick up one of Obama's autobiographies. Dip into the news coverage of Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose party. Then read some transcripts of the Nixon tapes or the Clinton depositions. Who were these guys? Why did they seek office, and what did they do once they won it? What can we learn from them, good and bad, about our current situation?
https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/u/0/project/american-democracy?++utm_campaign=presidents_day_2_20_2017&utm_source=google&utm_medium=hppromo
Annnnnd, back to work.
2. Call your senators in support of the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act
S.65 is the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act, sponsored by Elizabeth Warren. Currently it's referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Call your Senators in support of this bill.
Senator Tim Scott
DC Office: (202) 224-6121
Midlands Office: (803) 771-6112
Senator Lindsey Graham
DC Office: (202) 224-5972
Midlands Office: (803) 933-0112
"Hi, I'm _____ and I'm a constituent of Senator _____ from ______. I'm calling to urge the senator to support S.65, the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act. The President should be restrained by the same conflict of interest rules as any other government figure."
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/65
3. Call your state senators in support of independent redistricting
Nikki Setzler introduced a bill proposing an amendment to the state constitution (S 341) which would call for any new maps for state and congressional districts in South Carolina to be drawn by an independent panel. Gerrymandered districts have created a massive network of safe seats for South Carolina lawmakers; even the ones that benefit Democrat candidates are a stumbling block to our democracy. Call your state senators and ask them to support this bill. It has been referred to the Judiciary Committee. You will definitely be hearing more about this one from us.
Find your state senators by inputting your address in the search box at the bottom left here: http://www.scstatehouse.gov/ (As we get into calling more state officials it's going to be much easier for you to just go ahead and find out who they are and put them in your phone; there are way too many possible state senators and representatives for me to list in these action lists.)
"Hi, I'm _____ and I'm a constituent of Senator ______. I'm calling to urge the senator to support S 341. The gerrymandered districts of South Carolina have left many of its citizens unrepresented. The next redistricting should be done fairly by an independent commission, not by the same politicians who benefit from safe unopposed seats. The right to have our votes count is essential to the functioning of our democracy."
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/query.php?search=DOC&searchtext=s.341&category=LEGISLATION&session=122&conid=8436430&result_pos=0&keyval=1220341&numrows=10
https://medium.com/defiant/south-carolina-is-gerrymandered-to-hell-7be7d065b717#.ns665bb9z
4. Read this guide to affecting our missing lawmakers
The Indivisible folks have released a guide to what to do if you can't actually find your Congressmen because they're too chicken to come to town halls (or too chicken to stay at them, you know who you are Tim Scott.) Read this, and be ready at our next meeting to start planning a town hall for the April recess.
https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resources-2/2017/2/12/missing-members-of-congress-action-plan?link_id=5&can_id=fec8c665352e6d5980d161873f8871f0&source=email-reclaim-recess-with-indivisible-7&email_referrer=reclaim-recess-with-indivisible-7&email_subject=reclaim-recess-with-indivisible
5. Bookmark the Resistance Calendar
Filmmaker Michael Moore has built a nationwide calendar that aims to include events from all resistance groups, everywhere. It's an ambitious undertaking and it's in its infancy, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on.
https://www.resistancecalendar.org/
6. Come to our meeting!
We'll be meeting again this Saturday at 2 PM at Richland Library Southeast (that's the one on Garner's Ferry across from the Rush's.) We'll be talking about future events and interest groups. Come, and bring a friend!
