MAGA Default Rally: Weakening Williams & Saving the Country

Thanks to all who attended our long planned MAGA Default Crisis Week of Action event calling out Brandon Williams for his vote to hurt central New Yorkers and risk defaulting on America's good credit.  Please read the press release sent immediately after the rally in New Hartford on Wednesday. The quotes are excellent! Just in case you don't click the link to read that energizing press release, here are the fabulous quotes: 

“We’re here to tell Brandon Williams that he needs to stop threatening our economy,” said Mona Perrotti of Clinton. “He and his fellow MAGA extremists want to cut vital programs by 22 percent, or else they’ll force an economic catastrophe. He has no clue what real families in Central New York are going through.” 

“A few years ago Republicans in Congress passed a $2 trillion tax cut for billionaires and giant corporations,” said Utica resident, Diane Berry. “If Brandon Williams wants to balance the budget, why doesn’t he look there first? Why does he jump right to massive cuts for Veterans’ programs and aid to children?” 

“Everyone around here is either a Veteran or has friends or family who served our country,” said Regina Kekis of Rome. “I don’t know why Brandon Williams voted for a bill that subjects Veterans to these cuts. Either he didn’t read the bill, which is inexcusable, or he thinks Veterans haven’t sacrificed enough for this country — which is unforgivable.” 

Our signs and photos were on message. Our new banner is "Brandon Williams' Votes Hurt Central NY Families."  We had letter cards that spelled out "WE (HEART) VETS." And we had placards lining the busy road that showed "Williams vs Schools, Vets, Families, Jobs" and more.   We had a lot of honks, because: who is against supporting vets?  Not people driving home from work. Only Brandon Williams.  And kudos to the Birddogging activist who captured that on film. CLICK HERE to see it.  

We are pressing hard to get Williams to do the right thing on the default crisis. We're also showing the harm he is doing when he votes to slash the funding his constituents depend on.  And if he keeps voting in line with MAGA extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene, we will hit hard in the local media on that as well.  You can help!  Please share these really good Rural Freedom Network memes about Williams on social media.  

Finally, if you have not been on Twitter lately, please consider jumping back on to follow @IndivisibleMV and help us share our messaging about Williams.  We are spreading the word about his MAGA extremism, highlighting his bad votes that hurt central NYers, and pushing him to do the right thing.   Plus, there is this kind of fun stuff.  
 

Make a Call NOW to Brandon Williams re: Discharge Petition

Members of Congress are about to head home on a long holiday weekend break.  And we are less than a week from default crisis.  Even before we hit June 1, ratings agencies may start to drop the nation's credit rating because of unpredictability and concern about default.  Call Rep. Williams now and urge him to sign the discharge petition. If only five of the 18 Republican members of Congress in districts that went for President Biden in 2020 are pushed by their constituents to vote for the discharge petition (we call that peeling them off), we will avert catastrophe. 

Please call Williams' office now.  You can go to this link for more information and to be connected: 
https://indivisible.org/resource/call-your-gop-rep-and-demand-they-sign-discharge-petition-avoid-default -- after you've entered your information, it goes to a page with a script you can use, and calls you to connect you.
Or call 1-844-236-2373 -- which will also connect you with Rep. Williams' office. 
Here is a simple script: "You have claimed to be a moderate; show it by signing the discharge petition and preventing extremists in your party from causing a catastrophic default crisis."

Thanks for taking this important action TODAY!
 

From the Climate Crisis Working Group:
Three Easy Email and Call Actions for the Climate this week

We have only two weeks to go before the end of the legislative session so we must keep e-mailing and calling our representatives. The three bills which the IMV Climate Crisis Working Group and our climate partners are focusing on this week are the NY HEAT act (A4592) which is needed to implement the CLCPA, the Climate and Community Protection Fund (CCPF, A6263) which is a crucial step toward a just, clean-energy future by requiring that funds be sent directly to communities on the front lines of the climate crisis to develop their own renewable energy and environmental justice solutions, and the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Act (A5322) which address wasteful packaging, protects communities in NY who are living with landfills and trash incinerators, stems the tide of plastic pollution, reduces emissions, and reinvigorates our recycling system!

Squeaky wheels get the grease, so please take a few minutes to send these easy emails and make the three calls below!

1. NY HEAT Act -Please take a moment to send this e-mail even if you've sent the previous ones! For more information about the NY HEAT Act, here is a link to the newest "one-pager" on NY HEAT. 

2. Climate and Community Protection Fund   Use this convenient one-click tool to email legislators on the Assembly's Environmental Conservation Committee and urge them to pass the CCPF today

and

Call Deborah Glick (518-455-4841) with the message to move the CCPF for a vote by the Assembly. 

1. The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (A5322/S4246).  Please email your New York State Legislators now to urge them to support this critical bill. 

and

Call Speaker Carl Heastie (518) 455-3791 and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (518) 455-2585 with script:

My name is____ calling from _____ to urge passing of the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act (A5322/S4246) this session. The bill MUST reject toxic “chemical recycling” a false solution that should not be allowed in bill. THANK YOU!!

To better understand why we need to reduce plastic, rather than continuing to hope that plastic recycling will be successful, watch this ABC News report on plastic bag recycling (about 28 minutes): https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/trashed-secret-life-plastic-recycling-99557139

Spoiler alert: Reporters put trackers in bunches of plastic bags placed in "bag recycling" dropoff points in Walmart and Target stores across the country.  A huge percentage of these were actually tracked to landfills and incinerators, some even to Malaysia and Indonesia. Only a tiny portion actually went to a recycling facility.

Framing for Political Communication with Dana Balter* 

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, 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 one or both of these informative and interactive sessions 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.  Since this topic is vital to all groups, we would like to encourage everyone who is available to attend.

Part 1 {a repeat of Dana’s training previously provided in April}:  Tuesday, May 30th @ 6:30 PM 

Part 2 {a NEW session that builds on the concepts covered in Part 1}:  Wednesday, May 31st @ 6:30 PM

The registration process is two-fold.  First, complete the Google Registration Form, and then a Zoom link will be sent.  

Part 1 Registration Form - Tuesday, May 30th Part 1 - Google Forms

Part 2 Registration Form - Wednesday, May 31st Part 2 - Google Forms

*Dana is the former candidate for Congress in NY24 and currently, staff at Citizen Action of NY

 Share with Everyone You Know: 2023 Election Information 

Early Voting for the Primary starts June 17th.  Now is the time to prepare yourself to be a resource to family, friends, colleagues and people at the doors!  Here is the information about Early Voting for the June primary.

When you start asking people about voting, you normalize it.  But don't dangle the hope of voting in the primary or general election and then strand people without the info they need to follow through!  Help them look up their polling location, obtain a voter registration form, or request an absentee ballot.  

• Online Absentee Application Portal: https://absenteeballot.elections.ny.gov/

• Poll Site Search, Voter Registration, and Absentee Ballot Tracker: https://voterlookup.elections.ny.gov/

Letters the Editor: Crushing It!

 In case you missed it: Jennifer Boulanger had an amazing LTE in Syracuse. com following the New Hartford Sham Town Hall.   She worked rigorously with their Opinions editor to say everything she needed to say but make sure it met their requirements. Ted Tottey had an excellent LTE in the Daily Sentinel on Wednesday about Brandon Williams failing to pass himself off as a moderate; he's an extremist! Carrie McAleese had a letter to the same paper on Tuesday calling out Williams' dangerous vote putting the nation at risk of default.

With the Utica OD Opinion page in long disarray, we're hearing that people are starting to subscribe to the Daily Sentinel, which appears to publish every LTE it receives, and covers local politics across Oneida County and beyond.  If you have an LTE published, please let us know!
 

Fundraisers with Sarah Klee Hood, AG Tish James

You are cordially invited to a summer fundraiser in support of the Oneida County Democratic Committee. We will be joined by special guest, Attorney General Letitia James. You can RSVP or make a donation by going to: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ocdcsummerfundraiser/. The flyer with complete information is at this link. 

We are also sharing an invitation to a fundraiser for Sarah Klee Hood for NY22.  The event is hosted by Bill and Margie Thickstun in Clinton on June 2nd beginning at 5:30 pm.  Click: 
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/thickstunhp to RSVP or make a donation, even if you can't come.

Last summer during the Congressional primary, Sarah was all over Oneida County attending events, putting up signs, talking to voters. She was the strongest candidate in every way, except financially.  So let's give her a great start heading into 2024! Money is worth much more early in a campaign than late.  

We wish you a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. The weather looks beautiful.  Try to catch a local parade on Monday.   
We honor the memories of those who have died in service of this country whenever we lift up the rights and responsibilities of people who live in this democratic republic--including exercising free speech and voting. 
The people we honor on Monday did not stand on the sidelines. And neither can we.  Democracy is not a spectator sport. 
 
Follow us on Twitter using @indivisiblemv and of course our Facebook page and IMV Activism Group.