Indivisibles vs Rep. Williams' Sham Town Halls
NY22 Indivisibles vs Brandon Williams
Together with other NY22 Indivisible and progressive groups, we have had some major successes with our NY22 Anti-MAGA actions. Here's a recap:
Our NY22 letter with 234 signatures was delivered on March 27th! The next day Brandon Williams announced 4 town halls. Our letter was included in 8 articles! We used the power of the press to put a stop to his message taking root. Organizing wins.
50 of us attended the Chittenango town hall. Our banner looked awesome! Our signs were on message, and our new banner about protecting Social Security looked great. Thank you to everyone who showed up! We got two earned media stories from Chittenango plus Luke Radel from Syracuse University's student news program.
CNYCentral
WRVO
Luke Radel
About 25 of us attended the Rome town hall on Tuesday. We earned these media clips, all of which make Brandon Williams look negative. Our red cards were a hit because the media included them multiple times. They were an easy way for everyone in the audience and at home to understand that people were not happy with Williams' answers. We stopped him from gaining any legitimacy or popular momentum because of our organizing!
WKTV
Luke Radel
CNYCentral
Our red cards were so powerful that the Williams people started handing out identical green and red cards at the Morrisville town hall last night. We are already influencing the media narrative and forcing the Williams campaign to react to us. You can read all three of IMV's post "Sham Town Hall" press releases from this week HERE.
The New Hartford town hall will be on May 1st. Mark it on your calendar. Rally at 5:45 (media have been doing interviews of participants!). The Town Hall is scheduled for 6:30 pm.
We've already seen some really excellent Letters to the Editor that our members have written about Williams' 1) refusal to hear the actual voices of his constituents in his "town halls," 2) his attacks on elementary school teachers (he calls them groomers) and our democracy, 3) his lies and evasion about the climate crisis and energy policy, and 4) his arrogant and condescending lectures. Please write an LTE about your sense of how he did in his town halls. You can base on it what you heard from friends or saw in the media. Email IndivisibleMV@gmail.com if you need to know how to get it published in as many local newspapers as possible.
And...did you see this media tweet? It includes the video of Williams arguing with constituents who state correctly that he represents the people who live in NY22, while he responds, "I'm sorry, I represent the federal government." Remember that video clip. It should show up in TV ads quite a bit in 2024!
What's coming up next? We're so glad you asked! Did you read this article in the Syracuse Post Standard about Williams breaking his campaign promise and not moving into the district? He has chosen to prioritize his future re-election prospects over living in the district he represents. We think this is something his constituents who do live in NY22 need to know more about.
Our NY22 Coalition will draft a letter on this topic soon. It will be delivered to both the Syracuse and Utica offices at 11:30am on Wednesday, April 26th to pair with demonstrations outside the offices. It's our "Brandon Williams: Move In or Move Out" rally. We'll have signs with messages like "NY22 or Bust," "I'll help you pack if you choose to move out," "You broke a campaign promise," and "Is Syracuse/Utica not good enough for you Rep Brandon Williams?" We'll also have moving boxes for props and our big backdrop will be a U-Haul truck! These identical, simultaneous actions will be covered by all media markets. It's going to be a fun way to show voters that Brandon Williams is not the representative we deserve. Save the date--April 26th from noon to 1:00 pm for some more #NY22 #GoodTrouble!
We're really proud of IMV and all our NY22 Indivisibles! We showed up in Chittenango, Rome, and Morrisville this week and got a lot of media attention. Our events at Williams' offices on April 26 and in New Hartford at his town hall on May 1 will be even bigger!
Climate Crisis Working Group
1. Calling Climate Activists!
It’s almost Earth Day and we need to rise up with spring! The IMV Climate Crisis Working Group will meet for the first time in 2023 on Monday, April 17, 7-8pm.
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88902551897
We’ll discuss the status of NY State climate legislation and actions we can take to push crucial bills to passage. We are looking forward to your ideas for the months ahead, so we keep the Climate Crisis Working Group working! Maybe we could even start meeting in person!! So, please join us on Zoom this Monday, April 17th at 7pm. Climate action has never been more important!
2. CLIMATE ACTION!
Last week, we fought back against fossil-fueled attempts to weaken our Climate Law – and we won. This week we need your help getting the Climate, Jobs and Justice Package into the final budget.
We have a chance to win big in the 2023-2024 New York State budget! The Climate and Community Protection Fund, the NY HEAT Act, the Climate Superfund Act, and the Build Public Renewables Act are all in play.
MAGA Default Crisis: We're on Offense Already
If you attended the national Indivisible Zoom meeting about the MAGA Default Crisis this week you already learned a lot and were inspired by TX35 Rep. Greg Casar. If you missed it, you just need to know that NY22 Indivisibles, including IMV, are on the cutting edge of a major action to protect Social Security and Medicare from MAGA Republicans and ensure that they don't use those critical programs as bargaining chips in a MAGA-made crisis to threaten an American default. We've held multiple rallies already (have you seen that big banner in the media outside Brandon Williams' town halls?) We will continue to call attention to the extreme danger that we are in if MAGAs have their way. Since we have a Republican MOC, our goal is to peel Williams off from his Republican colleagues in the House. If that happens in enough districts then we will avert economic disaster for American workers, seniors, and families...and show the MAGA extremists for what they are.
Want to learn more and start doing the work? Check out this page to get started: https://magadefaultcrisis.org/
Sarah Klee Hood Announcement
Hopefully you received an email or text from Sarah Klee Hood yesterday announcing her candidacy for the NY22 congressional race in 2024. She is currently the only announced candidate, and a favorite of many IMV members who knocked doors for her in the 2022 Democratic primary, which she won in Oneida and Madison Counties but lost in Onondaga County. Sarah is looking for early contributors to her campaign. Remember that for women candidates especially,Early Money Is Like Yeast(hence; Emily's List).
If you can contribute even $5 or $10 to her campaign, it will help her gain the fundraising credibility she needs to continue in what will be a challenging race in 2024. Please contribute here.
Framing for Political Action Zoom Training April 18th
Have you ever said something like, "Republicans are so good at messaging and Democrats aren’t”? It’s frustrating, right? Fortunately, we know the secret to turning this problem on its head, thanks, in great measure, to the research of cognitive linguist George Lakoff (Don’t Think of an Elephant). Now we can use his insights to help us win the messaging game and flip NY22.
Join us for an informative, interactive session that will cover the basics of political framing which is essential for developing effective and consistent messages that allow us to make the most of every single opportunity we have to communicate. Whether we are writing LTE’s, using social media, speaking directly to voters, or crafting Anti-MAGA messages, our choice of words and consistent use of language will affect our work. Please use this link to register.
NY State Budget: Where Are We?
The budget is almost two weeks late, and negotiations are slow-moving. That's why it's more important than ever that we keep our policy platform front and center, which means ensuring we have a strong and loud public presence. Our Invest In Our NY (IONY) Coalition has continued to rally and amplify our message in some creative ways, and until the budget is finalized, we need to use every tool we can to keep up the momentum.
On Wednesday, April 19th, the IONY Campaign will host a social media day of action. You can support the messaging by following @InvestinOurNY on Twitter that day, and retweeting as much as you can. You'll also get connected to other IONY Coalition partners working on housing, climate, public education, worker rights and pay, health care, and campaign finance reform. We must hold the Governor, the state leg leaders, and our own state reps accountable to pass a budget that makes the super wealthy pay their fair share, and ensures that all New Yorkers can thrive--now and in years to come.
Are you fired up yet?
We know that some folks were holding out a secret hope that Rep. Williams was some kind of 2023 unicorn Republican....that the Republicans had nominated him in the time of MAGA but he was really a kind and fair minded moderate Sherry Boehlert who traveled forward in time to represent all his constituents in Congress.
If anyone still had those secret dreams, they were shattered on the rocks of reality at his three SHAM town halls this past week. Reminder: the guyvotes 96% of the time with Marjorie Taylor Green. He believes more fossil fuels is the best response to the climate crisis, and that our local school teachers are groomers. He is afraid to allow people to ask questions openly in a town hall and he has no interest in the real challenges that central New Yorkers face.
Now we know. Now we have seen:
his arrogance and condescension,
his disdain for the people who actually live in this district.
his eagerness to spread MAGA lies and disinformation,
his refusal to even shake hands or mingle with regular people.
What does it make you want to do?
We hope it makes you want to:
Improve your skills at talking with your friends and family to better frame alternatives to messaging.
Write Letters to the Editor of a local newspaper
Show up for Rep. Williams' New Hartford Town Hall (and our 5:45 pm Good Trouble Rally beforehand!)
Provide early support for NY22 Democratic challenger Sarah Klee Hood
If you need to vent first with friends, then Friday CAFE is a good place to start. Remember, BREATHE....then PUSH!
Democracy is not a spectator sport.
Follow us on Twitter using @indivisiblemv and of course our Facebook page and IMV Activism Group.