The news feels relentless, doesn't it? Every day, there's a new Executive Order, a new cabinet nominee, some new cut to important federal programs. Though it might feel impossible, we have to keep moving forward.
Locally, a few groups are coordinatring events and activities, and we encourage you to follow their work. These include:
- Roanoke Indivisible
- Red Wine and Blue Virginia
- Red Wine and Blue's Social Circle (thanks to Richard for sharing this!)
- DoGood Virginia (I currently only have access to a private and hidden Facebook group for them)
Please also take note of this event:
I am currently working with leaders in Roanoke City, Roanoke County, and Montgomery County to develop a Dems-focused book club (we are meeting this coming week), but also as we begin to identify folks who are ready to run for office in upcoming elections. I should have more information on both of these items at our February meeting, on 2/27.
Personally, my work has been to call our folks in Congress each and every day. This is an important and easy action every one of us can do. We can- to use their own tactics against them- flood the zone. Let's keep reminding them, over and over again, that they need to be loud in their opposition, or in Ben Cline's case, that as his constituents, we are not okay with the actions of this administration.
5 Calls can make this easy for you; they provide a script for each issue and you can keep track of your calls in the app.
Senator Mark Warner
Washington, D.C.- 202-224-2023
Roanoke- 540-857-2676
Senator Tim Kaine
Washington, DC- (202) 224-4024
Roanoke- (540) 682-5693
Representative Ben Cline
Washington, DC- (202) 225-5431
Roanoke- (540) 857-2672
I highly recommend calling once a day per issue (so one day last week, I called Ben's office three times in a row). If you're uncomfortable talking to a staffer, you can leave messages for Warner and Cline (Kaine's offices do not seem to have a voicemail option). However, staffers at all offices have been kind and helpful. Be sure to leave your name and address, so you're listed as a constituent. It's also important to request that they respond to you.
What else can we do?
- Building community is important; we'll need to lean on each other in this rapidly changing landscape.
- Support local businesses, now more than ever. In fact, please reply to this email wtih a list of your favorite small businesses that we can support!
- It may be hard for some of us to leave social media, like Facebook and Instagram, but we can be mindful in how we use it. Post and share content that helps to explain what's going on and don't click on any ads from inside the apps (if you're interested in an item, search for it online rather than clicking the ad). You can check out this article for more details on protecting your data, especially if you're ready to leave the platforms.
- Move away, as much as possible, from Amazon (and associated products, like Kindle, Audible, and Goodreads. There are other businesses you can use for those that support small businesses, like Bookshop.org, Libro.fm, and The StoryGraph).
- A friend shared an interesting idea with me and it's been helpful. She encouraged me to ask myself before any purchase: How do I want to contribute to this economy? The reality is that in a capitalistic economy, one of the best ways to push for change is through our spending.
- Check out Bat-Supe, a podcast by Salem resident, Andy Hartson-Bowyer.
- When you can, donate to local causes and to Abigail Spanberger, as we work to turn Virginia back to blue.
- And as we discussed at our last meeting, one of the most important actions we can take is to keep talking to our neighbors, those who align with us and those who are across the aisle. We can-- and should-- continue to speak up and speak out, but it's also important to recongize that sometimes change comes from within, so we need those who tend to be conservative to realize that these policies are hurting them as well and that they also need to be speaking up and out.
I'll leave you with a video that has provided me with insight and some comfort, Ezra Klein's piece, "Don't Believe Him." A few key takeaways:
- "The flood is the point. The overwhelm is the point. The message wasn't in any one executive order or announcement. It was in the cumulative effect of all of them. The sense that this is Trump's country now. It follows his will. It does he what he wants... Or so he wants you to think."
- "Trump knows the power of marketing. If you make people believe something is true, you make it likelier that it becomes true... He has always wanted to be king. His plan this time is to first play king on TV. If we believe he is already king, we will be likelier to let him govern as a king. Don't believe him."
- "What Bannon wanted-- what the Trump administration wants-- is to keep everything moving fast. Muzzle velocity, remember. If you're always consumed by the next outrage, you can't look closely at the last one."
- "There is a reason Trump is doing all of this through executive orders rather than submitting these same directives as legislation to pass through Congress. A more powerful executive could persuade Congress to eliminate the spending he opposes or reform the civil service to give himself the powers of hiring and firing that he seeks. To write these changes into legislation would make them more durable and allow him to argue the merits in a more strategic way... If Trump tried to pass this agenda as legislation, it would most likely fail in the House, and it would certainly die before the filibuster in the Senate. And that would make Trump look weak."
- "Trump is acting like a king because he is too weak to govern like a president. He is trying to substitute perception for reality. He is hoping that perception becomes reality. That can only happen if we believe him."
- "What Trump wants you to see in all of this activity is command. What is really in all this activity was chaos. They do not have some secret reservoir of focus and attention the rest of us do not. They have convinced themselves that speed and force is a strategy unto itself, that it is, in a sense, a replacement for a real strategy. Don't believe them."
I look forward to continuing this fight alongside you. If you have other suggestions or know of events, please let us know so that we can share them out.
Please stay warm and safe this week, as the weather turns yet again. We'll see you on Thursday, February 27 for our next meeting.
Katrina Hill
Chair, SCDC