How we change the political weather
Indivisible's weekly newsletter with analysis and action
This week marks the last first 100 days of the Trump Administration.
You’re going to see a lot of coverage of it -- analysis of what he’s done, how Democrats and the opposition have responded, and what the future portends. Indivisible is going to mark the milestone by showing up in solidarity with two of this Administration’s top targets: immigrants and workers. Thursday is May Day -- a nationwide day of action led by immigrant rights activists and labor unions.
Whether or not you’re in a labor union, and whether or not you’re an immigrant, the reason to show up is simple: this is how we beat an authoritarian putsch. The only strategy known to work against a national, fascistic power grab is widespread, organized, diverse, pro-democracy organizing. That’s it. To put it simpler: we win by showing up for each other and with each other.
When we named Indivisible “Indivisible,” we did it with this strategy in mind. Our only shot then, as now, was to link arms, treat an attack on one like an attack on all, and “stand Indivisible” with those under threat. That’s why eight years ago, Leah and I were out at a May Day protest in DC after Trump’s first 100 days -- and this Thursday we’ll be out again.
Trump, Musk, and congressional Republicans want to divide and conquer. They think they can terrorize immigrant communities and attack unions with impunity because most Americans are not immigrants or union workers. We show up because it’s the right thing to do -- and because we know Trump isn’t stopping his attacks there. They are moving right along to attack universities, law firms, news organizations, and nonprofits. Hell, Wikipedia is now in their crosshairs.
In 100 days, we’ve changed the political weather. We show up because this is how we build a nationwide, unified opposition. And 100 days in, that opposition is far more unified and, well, oppositional than it was in January. Take a step back and look at how the political winds have shifted.
The dominant strategic orientation within the Democratic Party as of January went something like this:
Grassroots opposition isn’t going to materialize.
Democrats should demonstrate their reasonableness by cutting deals with Trump.
Democrats should cede narrative ground to Trump, who will sink himself.
For readers of this newsletter, you will know who I’m going to link to next. It’s James Carville, and his recommendation to Democrats to “roll over and play dead.”
But that strain of thought, which JB Pritzker described as the "Do nothing Democrats" over the weekend, is losing ground. In its place, we have dynamic, entrepreneurial, proactive leaders who are looking for ways to fight back. Maxwell Frost, Jamie Raskin, Jasmine Crockett, Greg Casar, Chris Murphy, Cory Booker, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Robert Garcia, Maxine Dexter… the list goes on.
The “fight back” faction of Democratic Party is insurgent and ascendant. The “do nothing Dems” are looking weaker and more misguided by the day.
And this is not some naturally occurring event. In this moment, everybody -- electeds, institutional leaders, the media -- are looking around to understand: where are the people? And we are showing the people want fighters, not sleepers. We -- all of us who have been showing up, cajoling, and celebrating leaders -- have created the conditions for that political shift. We did it at hundreds of town halls in February. We did it at hundreds more empty chair town halls in March. We did it at the single largest global day of protest in years for Hands Off in April.
We’re going to show up again this Thursday on May Day. And then we’re going to show up in a very big way in June. I hope after or before you show up for your May Day protest on Thursday, you’ll come to the What’s The Plan call at 3pm ET that day. We’re planning to roll out the next major global demonstration.
Trump is now an unpopular, lame duck president who just finished his last first hundred days. The future doesn’t belong to him -- it’s ours for the taking. To take it, we’ve got to take action. So read on to this week’s actions!
-- Ezra LevinCo-Executive Director, Indivisible
Your weekly to-dos
Join a May Day mobilization to remind Trump and the oligarchs controlling our government of working people’s power. May Day celebrates the progress of working people and all those who fought to win additional labor rights and protections. As Trump and his cronies strip America down for profits, we’re joining organized labor, immigrants’ rights groups, and Hands Off! allies to mark the day with a nationwide show of working people’s solidarity.
If you have a GOP representative, call and get them on the record about efforts to defund SNAP and Medicaid. Republicans in Congress don’t want us talking about Trump’s tax scam (aka reconciliation plan) because they know it screws working people by taking trillions from Medicaid, SNAP, and more to pay for billionaires’ tax breaks. We need to get them on the record and hold them accountable. You can also click here to email your Republican senator(s).
If you live in a blue state, demand your state Attorney General fight hard against ICE overreach. Our new blue state toolkit includes a detailed explainer, links, scripts, and other resources so folks with Democratic Attorneys General can call on their AG to take action against illegal ICE abductions and the crackdown on political dissent.
Hear directly from Indivisible’s co-founders about May Day, the reconciliation fight, and more this Thursday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT. Each Thursday, we take a step back to absorb the news, draw inspiration from the work Indivisibles and our allies are doing, and talk about how we fight back. This week, Leah and Ezra will share wins from our April recess events, May Day plans, and how to fight Trump’s reconciliation scheme.
About that attack on ActBlue
On Friday, Trump signed an executive memorandum targeting ActBlue -- the main payment processor used by progressive groups like Indivisible, thousands of charitable orgs, and the entire Democratic Party.
Many of you have reached out with concerns about how this impacts your ability to support Indivisible and other organizations or candidates, so we’d like to take a moment to dispel Trump’s lies and answer some common questions:
Is it safe and legal to donate via ActBlue right now? Yes, ActBlue is still powering grassroots fundraising, and they have no plans to give in to Trump’s bullying. Nor do we. You can donate to Indivisible on ActBlue using this secure link, and if you’d like, leave them a tip at the end to show your support.
Is my data still safe in ActBlue? Yes, we chose ActBlue as our donation processor because they follow all the rules and have really strong data-protection policies and technology. They’ve also assured partners that they will not comply with any requests that could jeopardize people’s private information.
There are a lot of misconceptions about this, so we want to put it in bold: ActBlue does not sell your information to campaigns or other organizations. But if you’ve ever given to a campaign via ActBlue and later began getting unwanted texts and emails from candidates you’ve never heard of, you’re not imagining it! Unfortunately, some campaigns and orgs (not us!) sell donor info. It sucks. But remember -- that’s a bad practice of those campaigns/orgs, which they’d do regardless of the fundraising platform they were using. It’s got nothing to do with ActBlue.
But what is Trump alleging? And why? Trump’s memorandum parrots right-wing misinformation about ActBlue processing fake/foreign donations. It’s nonsense -- ActBlue follows state and federal regulations, requires donors to affirm US citizenship/residency, and has processes in place to prevent fraudulent donations.
As for why? He’s a bully and a fascist. He knows he can’t outright outlaw his opposition, so he’s trying to kneecap it by cutting off its greatest source of funding. It’s all about political power and control.
But we aren’t giving in. ActBlue is standing strong in the face of this intimidation, and we’re standing by them.
What's happening this week re: Trump's tax scam
This week, congressional Republicans return to DC after two weeks in their home districts meeting with hiding from constituents during April recess. Just before that recess, they finally passed a budget resolution to serve as the blueprint for their Medicaid-killing, SNAP-slashing, and billionaire-enriching reconciliation plan, but even that early step came with blaring warning signs for GOP leaders:
The resolution -- typically one of the easiest steps towards a final bill -- barely advanced after several false starts and delayed votes, and it only includes broad spending goals, not specific figures, due to sharp disagreements about what funds to cut.
Twelve House Republicans -- enough to sink the bill in the House -- signed a letter opposing reductions in Medicaid coverage; meeting the budget plan’s stated targets is nearly impossible without historic cuts to Medicaid (among many other things).
We’re betting that the fissures in the Republican caucus only grew wider during recess, when lawmakers unwillingly dealt with huge crowds of fired up voters and pointed coverage of Medicaid and SNAP cuts from local media.
Now, Republicans are sprinting to write a bill that unites their fractured caucus around hundreds (maybe thousands) of line-items detailing cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other popular programs that working folks rely on. The GOP wants this done quick and quiet because they know the more it gets talked about, the less popular it becomes.
Our job is to make the bill-writing process as long as possible -- with as much public pressure and scrutiny as possible. Right now, the top way to do that is to call your Republican representative to say we won’t pay the price of Trump’s tax cuts to billionaires!
If you have Republican senator(s), you can also call your Republican senator(s) to demand that they fight cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.
New program alert: Fight Back With Friends!
Taking down MAGA will take all of us -- and that means bringing friends into the fight. Fight Back With Friends (FBWF) is Indivisible’s nationwide program that empowers you to help your own friends and neighbors get off the sidelines!
YOU are the most powerful messenger to get your community engaged, and FBWF is our way of helping you reach them effectively. Sign up using this link for access and next steps to join the Fight Back With Friends program.
Right now, FBWF organizers are asking friends to demand that their Members of Congress call for Pete Hegseth to step down! But new chances to mobilize your network pop up often, so please sign up for the next Fight Back With Friends training on Tuesday, May 27, to stay in the loop.
IndivisiWIN of the week
Washington Indivisibles responded quickly and in force to support their state’s immigrant community after a fascist ICE raid took place in their state earlier this month.
Indivisible Washington’s 8th District organized a big public demonstration demanding that Kilmar Abrego Garcia be returned home, and Indivisible Skagit made local news with their “ICE Out of Washington” weekend in support of immigrant farmworkers.
Follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads to keep up on the latest information, and text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to our text messaging program, where we send rapid response actions a few times a month.
We need to organize a major protest at the planned military parade on tRump’s bday
https://substack.com/@adamparkhomenko/note/c-113897472?r=b7wv9&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Done!