For the safety of our community, we are conducting our meetings online until conditions permit us to resume assembling in person.
Monday August 26th at 7 PM
The Power of Canvassing
NY, NH & MA!
Door-to-door canvassing is one of the most powerful tools for creating political change. The critical impact of face-to-face conversations can increase voter turnout by 6% (which only seems small till you realize how many actual votes that represents, and how razor thin the margins are in so many races!).
Join IN-SLWM to hear how, in this most-important-election-of-our-lifetimes (again, still!), we here in MA have the opportunity to use this tool to help flip the U.S. House via NY & NH, flip the statehouse in NH, and make sure our very own neighbors right here in MA don’t let false complacency keep them at home this November!
Come hear from team leaders for each of these areas talk about the stakes, the nuts and bolts and how you can join in this critical work!
The Power of Canvassing - NY, NH & MA!
Monday, August 5th, 7 - 8 pm ET on Zoom
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Monday August 27th 7-8 PM
Indivisible Mass Coalition Statewide Call with guest speaker
Congressman Jamie Raskin
Everyone is invited to the Indivisible Mass Coalition Statewide Call with guest speaker Congressman Jamie Raskin on Zoom. He will provide insights into Project 2025, its intended Constitutional impact, and the MAGA efforts to disrupt the Nov. election certification process. There will be opportunities for questions too. RSVP HERE.
Sundays Sep 8th & Oct 3th 3:30-5:00 PM
ANNOUNCING
In-Person, Activist Afternoons
IN AMHERST!
We're happy to announce that we're bringing the joy and camaraderie of our Activist Afternoons to Amherst.
Place: Cherry Hill Cohousing Common House, 120 Pulpit Hill Road, Amherst
Watch for more details in coming days.
For more information: Contact Michael Dover, michael@in-slwm.org or Amy Mittelman, ahmitt@gmail.com
Saturday September 28thfrom 10:30AM-NOON CHOOSE YOUR FUTURE! Rally at City Hall Northampton
In just a few months, we'll have the opportunity to choose between 2 very different futures for ourselves, our children, grandchildren and for every American.
How will these different futures affect us in MA?
What can WE DO to make sure
OUR choice becomes OUR FUTURE!
ACTIONS
Phone
Banking
Thursdays, from 5-7pmET on Zoom Flip the Ohio Supreme Court
and Re-elect Senator Sherrod Brown
(Next one is August 8)
See this recent David Pepper substack for more info on the crucial importance of this race!
At the same time, we'll be reminding voters of the importance of re-electing Sherrod Brown - a great Senator - and a must-hold seat to retain a Democratic Senate majority.
Ohio is one of those 'purple' states, that Andrea Chalupa of Gaslit Nation calls 'hostage states', because extreme gerrymandering by Republicans has created unrepresentative GOP majorities in both state houses.
But Ohioans are fighting back! Just this past summer, in a stunning pair of victories, voters defeated a Republican attempt to make citizen-led ballot initiatives virtually impossible and voted to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitution!
Help Ohio citizens continue to fight back by giving them the information and inspiration to elect a State Supreme Court that will actually protect their wishes & freedom, and to re-elect Sherrod Brown and keep the U.S. Senate blue!
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Always with a full training and loads of support!
Writing
Postcard Campaigns are Going Strong
Your response has been immediate and strong! In our most recent campaign to get out the vote in Michigan, all the cards were taken within the first 12 hours they were offered.
There will be 2 more distributions in the next couple of weeks. The next one, for CA legislative races, is small and will fill up quickly. The one after that, for PA voter registration, is very large and more folks will be able to participate.
When we fight, we win!
Limited Distribution of Letters
to Register Infrequent PA Voters
Two years ago, IN-SLWM participated in an effective project with Swing Blue Alliance to increase registration to vote by mail among infrequent PA voters.
Local activist Ellen Schwartz and the folks at VoPro Pros, an organization that works to eliminate voter suppression and support free and fair elections have organized a letter writing campaign, including data collection to gauge effectiveness. The project will involve sending these voters everything they need to register to vote by mail--application, stamped envelope, instructions.
Letter packets will be available soon both from Ellen and from Marta Lev. Watch your inbox or email Ellen (boeneleandr@gmail.com) or Marta (levmartam@gmail.com) to get details when signups open.
VOTE FORWARD GET-OUT-THE-VOTE LETTER WRITING
Vote Forward's 2024 letter-writing campaigns have been underway since March and IN-SLWM will be with them all the way through October. Here’s how it works:
Volunteers get pre-printed letters to voters with messages encouraging them to vote, which may include urging them to vote by mail, or vote early if in person, or something similar. Volunteers add a personal message about why voting is important or their own reasons for being voters. They can get their letters delivered by email to print at home or work, or by picking up printed letters at designated sites around our area.
Letters are held for mailing in October. Some volunteers prefer to drop off their finished letters at one of our pickup/dropoff sites for storage.
Volunteers generally provide their own envelopes (#10) and first-class stamps. IN-SLWM has some funds available to subsidize those who can’t afford the costs.
We provide letters to most volunteers on a weekly basis, either by email or printed for pickup. Volunteers decide how many letters they want to get each week; they can change that number at any time, and can also pause letter writing as needed, or “retire” if they’re unable to continue.
We already have more than 60 volunteers at work preparing letters. As of this writing, we have downloaded and prepared over 10,000 letters. If you would like to participate, fill out our Google Form at https://forms.gle/7Lu5up6NxL8s6sTTA.
Activist texting is now ramping up, and I encourage everyone to get involved with texting during this critical election year. Texting is a good way to contribute our time and skills to elect Democrats up and down the ballot in November.
Political texting is easy, anonymous, efficient, and often fun. It’s a comfortable and fast way to connect with voters, and many find it very fulfilling.
There will be more and more texting campaigns as we get closer to the elections in November. Here is a summary of some texting groups which are active now.
If you have questions, feel free to contact Larry.
In the Streets
Spread the Word about Project 2025 - Volunteer to Flyer
By now, most of you who are reading this newsletter are aware of Project 2025, and its dark, authoritarian, Christian nationalist vision of America under the next Republican administration.
Chillingly, the manifesto is not just a vision, it is a step-by-step playbook on how to achieve this vision without breaking any current laws!
Many people still don't know about Project 2025 (or its more abbreviated form, Agenda 47, Trump's official platform), and once they do learn about it, unsurprisingly, voters roundly reject this vision.
It is clear, then, democracy warriors, that our job is to make sure as many people as possible become aware of this plan - so come November, we can all make an informed vote for the future that we want!
Help us spread the word by signing up for a 1-hour shift (or more!) to hand out informative flyers to our neighbors and friends at our local Farmers Markets in Northampton and Amherst.
Sign up for 1 or more shifts during August with this form.
Canvassing Is Happening Now!
Canvassing is well under way in New Hampshire’s NH-02 and New York’s NY-19.
NH-02 will have an open seat with incumbent Representative Annie Kuster retiring at the end of her term.
**** Contact Wendy Berg to volunteer in southwestern New Hampshire (Keene area).
NY-19’s current representative is Republican Representative Marc Molinaro, who, though the district voted for Joe Biden in 2020, has voted almost 100% with the MAGA extremists in the House. We can help retire him. **** Contact Michael Dover to join a listserv for information on canvassing in Columbia County, NY
Energize Volunteers for Voter Registration Seven Ways to Leverage Swing Blue's New Video
To counter GOP voter suppression, Democrats need more feet on the ground, more people involved!
Recognizing this critical, time-sensitive work, Swing Blue Alliance has a succinct but powerful new video to help your group register and inform Democratic voters. Remember: People registered and paying attention to the election are more likely to vote Democratic. Watch the video here
Now you can share this video with friends and family. Click here for more information, to download the video and learn how to customized it for your group.
Other Ways to Pitch In
'24 FUND DRIVE - THE HOME STRETCH
Hello all,
September is approaching and, as I write this, Election Day is just 75 days away. We’ve been at this since January and have raised over $34,000 for Movement Voter PAC and Swing Left’s Win Back the House Fund, with a wee bit for the Harris-Walz campaign.
The excitement and enthusiasm that has greeted the Harris-Walz ticket has stunned us all – the money that’s been raised almost overnight, the volunteers pouring in, the shift in the polls. It almost feels like we’ve already won. But of course, we haven’t: There are still those 75 days to go. It’s still a close – very close – race.
It’s taken us eight months and two matching funds to get to $34,000. To everyone who has given, from $5 to $5,000, thank you 100 times over. To anyone who hasn’t given but would like to help, there’s no better time than now. To anyone who has given and is inspired by recent events to give again, there’s no better time than now. Think how great it will be when we reach $35,000 – or more! Is that something you can help come true?
Everyone can only do what they can. If you’re able, please consider donating whatever feels right for you. Donating to Movement Voter PAC will put money into grassroots groups who form the core of the “ground game” that brings out voters after years of organizing and building community. Giving to the Win Back the House Fund will support congressional candidates in key races that could overturn the MAGA mob that controls the House now, And giving to the Harris-Walz campaign will continue the momentum toward holding the White House.
We all need to be supporting and promoting the work of Gen Z-led RISE, which is doing phenomenal and impactful work helping youth register, vote, and engage with the political process! Through grants, they pay their young volunteers, so a wider range of youth can actually afford to do the work of connecting with other young people throughout the year.
Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western MA just hosted their CEO to speak - and she was informative and inspiring - spread the word!
TEAMS
The Feminist Action Team
of Indivisible Mass Coalition Fridays at 4PM on Zoom
Join feminists from the Berkshires to the Cape as we plan and implement actions to protect and expand our rights! Currently, we're working to expose the deceptive practices of fake abortion clinics (aka CPC's) and strengthen women's autonomy here in MA and across the country! 'See the description of our exciting March 24th documentary screening and discussion event above
On Wed evenings at 8 pm or Fri mornings at 9 am, join Paul Spector and activists from across the country to collaborate on helping Democrats win elections. At Paul's meetings, you will...
hear upbeat political news
share questions and comments
learn about new political actions
support fundraisers with special guests -- such as Swing Left, Movement Voter Project, Flip the Senate, New Georgia Project, and Bucks County Democrats
hear inspiring music (mostly from Playing for Change).
Folks find his meetings educational, uplifting, and hopeful, and it's wonderful to see 50-100 other people at each of the two meetings. To check out the meeting, come Wednesday at 8 p.m. or Friday at 9 a.m. EDT, to this Zoom room: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87820043147?pwd=aXZ0K3QrZGtHR2dBUFlCZnk2TU1hQT09
Letters to the Editor (LTE) Writing Team Adopt, Amend, & Send Out-Your Letter to the Editor
Tuesday, August 27th, 8-9 PM
The IN-SLWM LTE Writing Team is an intrepid group of activists who enjoy reading, writing, and sharing ideas. We look forward to our meetings every 2 weeks on Zoom where we discuss important issues and share ideas for writing Letters to the Editor for our local papers (and beyond).
We’ve had 40 letters published (so far!) and will write many more because we are convinced this is a valuable way to reach people in our communities, and our local politicians too. We’d welcome you to come join our meetings sometimes or often. We are proud of our work and have made new friends too.
We meet every two weeks on Tuesdays 8:00pm (on Zoom) to strategize and plan. Our next meeting is Tuesday, August 27th at 8PM.
The Climate Team has evolved into a new format. We’ve started a Google Group with free exchange among team members – sharing resources like links to climate-related articles and forwarding emails from climate activist groups, discussing climate topics, and continuing to post action alerts.
IN-SLWM Young VotersTeam
Thursday, September 5th at 7:30 PM
We are working to develop collaborations with local student groups at the various colleges in our area.
We typically meet every 2 weeks on Thursday. but are currently on a reduced summer schedule. Our next Zoom meeting is on Thursday, September 5th at 7:30 PM.
As you know, Project 2025 is a perilous threat to our democracy, but few people understand it because its manifesto is 920 pages long. The "Talking Points Team" of the Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee (LDTC) has been hard at work for weeks building an infographic to make this critical information more digestible. Click on the image below to see the full online version.
Workroom Theater Presents My Mama and the Full Scale Invasion
Directed by IN-SLWM member, postcarder and award winning director Robert Freedman.
Workroom Theater
33 Hawley Street, Northampton
August 22, 23, 24 at 7PM
August 25 at 2 PM
We have added a new page to the IN-SLWM website: an Events Calendar!
Want to look up an event that you heard about but don’t know when it’s happening?
Forgot the date of an event you were planning to attend?
Curious about what kinds of activities we’re organizing?
Click the calendar image below to open the calendar on our website. It's always available from the main menu at our website at www.in-slwm.org
You might find something you were looking for, or something you didn’t know about. In addition to events that we organize, we’ll also list some that we’re cosponsoring, like rallies and standouts. And please give us feedback if you visit that page. We want this to be useful, so let us know what you think.
SELECTED READING
This section of our newsletter features articles written by one of our subscribers or selected by our steering committee. Subscribers to the newsletter are welcome to submit writing by email to info@in-slwm.org with the subject line "Newsletter Submission".
The opinions expressed in the writings are those of the author(s) and don't necessarily reflect any consensus of Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western MA.
That Zen saying is also the name of a daily email from activist and Substack columnist Jessica Craven. On weekdays she offers a bunch of actions for subscribers to take, such as phoning senators and representatives – often with different scripts for Democratic and Republicans – about issues needing their attention. On the weekends, she highlights items from the news that are encouraging, under the headline “Celebrate This!” Here’s the link to her substack page.
SPEAKING OF FACEBOOK…
If you’re not already subscribed to either our Facebook Page or group, consider joining! We share daily posts from political historian-commentator Heather Cox Richardson, occasional posts from other sources such as Robert Reich and Robert Hubbell, announcements of our public Zoom meetings, and opportunities for action. To follow our Facebook Page (followers do not post) , click here. To join our Facebook Group (members can post), click here. Both receive all IN-SLWM announcements and the daily Richardson posts.
Trouble Joining the Meeting?
When you click the link in your confirmation email, a Zoom page will open in your web browser and the Zoom app will open.
If the Zoom app does not open, here are a few things you can try. You will need to know the meeting id, which is embedded in the address of the Zoom page that opened. On the page that opened in the browser, in the address bar you'll see an address that looks something like this:
