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Urgent: Stop the Wisconsin GOP from Stealing the 2020 Presidential Election Tomorrow
If the 2020 Presidential Election were held today, it would come down to Wisconsin. The GOP lost control of the State government there last month, but that isn’t stopping them from using their “lame duck” session to forward a comprehensive voter suppression package. It will pass in less than 48 hours unless we draw national attention to this right now.
Aside from this Washington Post article, press coverage has been woefully inadequate because they moved on this Friday evening. (Because that’s when you announce things you want to bury in the news cycle.) They will vote tomorrow.
Indivisible Madison is hosting a protest about this at 5:30pm local time today. Let’s get the word out.
Also, please ask yourself:
- Who do you know in Wisconsin who can make a stink about this? Put boots on the ground? Make phone calls?
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- UPDATE: My friends at Indivisible Madison tell me that Wisconsin residents can call the Legislative Hotline toll-free at 1-800-362-9472 to ID their state senator. They should call that office or leave a message with the hotline. Their talking point should be that elected officials must respect the recent election results that took power away from the GOP. People before party.
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- UPDATE: My friends on the ground tell me that there are 5 GOP Senators whose votes will determine whether this gets through or not. They are Rob Cowles of Green Bay, Dan Feyen of Fond du Lac, Luther Olsen of Ripon, Jerry Petrowski of Marathon and Patrick Testin of Stevens Point. (More detailed local news coverage here.)
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- UPDATE: The Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC) and Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT) groups centered in in Milwaukee have released this graphic and call to action: https://twitter.com/litmke/status/1069668991365406720?s=21
- UPDATE: My friends at the Committee on Governmental Integrity in Milwaukee are holding a town hall about this at 5:30 local time tonight.
- Who do you know in the national press that should be reporting on this right now and isn’t?
- Who do you know at local or national organizations who has a mailing list and can send out a blast about this today?
Let’s not kid ourselves. Even with the Mueller investigation picking up steam and control of the House changing hands, democracy is hanging on by a thread. It’s entirely possible Trump (or Pence) could get four more years because of this.
We have work to do. Today.
Accusations of Anti-Semitism in the Women’s March are Ludicrous
After the historic, woman-led electoral shift of November 6, 2018, right-wing extremists are more terrified of the intersectional feminist coalition than ever before. That’s why they’re working to fan flames of mistrust wherever they can find them within our ranks. There is no better example of this than the intellectually dishonest guilt-by-association talking points currently swirling around Women’s March leaders Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour.
At issue is the fact that both Tamika and Linda have organized with famously anti-Semitic and LGBTQ-phobic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. According to some, this means that Tamika and Linda must be anti-Semitic and LGBTQ-phobic themselves; and nothing short of their publicly denouncing Farrakhan will prove otherwise.
I am a queer Jewish woman and I say that we need to put this mishigas to rest once and for all.
The talking points about Linda and Tamika vis-á-vis Farrakhan actually originated with NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch last summer. In the wake of the terrorist attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, they have now found their way into the mouths of some prominent liberal white women. This is a victory for everyone who would like to see our coalition fracture, get back in the kitchen, and fix them a sandwich.
What is most important is that both Linda and Tamika have spoken out repeatedly, categorically against the anti-Semitism and hatred towards queer and gender non-conforming people that Farrakhan espouses. That’s good enough for me. I might feel differently if the Tree of Life shooter had been radicalized by Farrakhan, but he wasn’t. He was radicalized by the white supremacist right. It makes no sense why anyone is making Black / Muslim women the problem here.
The bottom line is this: I can’t know for certain that Linda and Tamika don’t hold any kind of bias against me as a Jew or a queer person, but I do know that many Black and Muslim women have continued to organize with me despite my own biases against them. They’ve extended me that grace because they can see that I’m doing the work to address those biases.
I witnessed Tamika and Linda’s dedication to that work firsthand when we peacefully protested the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh together in Washington, DC. To the extent that either one of them holds biases against any of my identities or anyone else’s, I trust them to do the work to learn and grow.
These difficult conversations naturally come up within diverse coalitions. Transforming them into the kind of infighting we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks is the oldest trick in the right wing playbook for one simple reason: it works.
The stakes are much too high for us to be fooled by these same tired tactics yet again. That’s why this January 19-21, you’ll find me working, learning, celebrating, and singing at the Seattle Womxn’s March second anniversary weekend. Interested readers can find out more at https://www.seattlewomxnmarchingforward.org.
Emotional Labor
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Five Questions with Lara Lavi
I met Lara Lavi through a mutual friend and fellow activist last summer. Lara is one of those bizarrely brilliant people who continually surprises me with the scope of her capabilities. She’s a scientist, a lawyer, an activist, a singer, and a Grammy award-winning songwriter-for-hire who just happens to be responsible for some of my all-time favorite albums. She’s also directed hundreds of music videos, including the one we just released for “We Shall Not Be Moved.” I enjoy working with her because she keeps me on my toes, challenges my assumptions, and is basically always right.
Here is Lara in her own words.
On Identity
Tae: The “We Shall Not Be Moved” video is about bringing people together across the identity-based lines of division that have traditionally been used to pit us against each other. Can you share with us how you identify, what you need from your co-conspirators for social justice, and who you’re committed to standing up for?
Lara: We identify with the disenfranchised. As artists we are at the bottom of the economic pile most of the time and yet we are hyper sensitive to racially driven social injustice. We seek camaraderie from others, and an understanding that we are all equal in this world and all deserve justice and compassion. Intersectionality is sacred to us.
On Social Justice Role Models
Tae: Who are your social justice role models and influencers? Who would you most like to hear “you’ve done well” from?
Lara: Many of our influences were shot down – such as Martin Luther King. These days, I would like to hear from my peers mostly, as we are trying to create a movement; and although elected officials and religious leaders are encouraging us to band together, it is us as individuals who need to link arms now and be heard.
On Voting
Tae: What information do you consider when deciding which initiatives, ballot measures, and candidates to support?
Lara: We look to see if their basic motivation is social and economic justice. We look to see who cares about the sick, the poor, the homeless, the children, education for all, respect for people coming to our country as immigrants, as immigrant workers and thinkers have built so much of our country.
We think about how our nation needs to be a world player and not insular, as that is the kiss of death in a world economy. We think about common decency and honesty in a candidate. We have a clear agenda of how we stand on health care, foreign relations, public education, immigration, peace in the world, global warming, medicare and we look for these issues and what the candidates stand for. I look for candidates who are outspoken about this current administration, because this is not my president.
On the Bottom Line
Tae: When it comes to the constant onslaught of outrage from this regime, we all have to consider our own personal bottom lines. What would you get arrested for? What would you put your safety on the line for?
Lara: I would not get arrested or put my safety on the line at this point. I do not think that is productive for me. I have other skills, like bailing out the people who do get arrested since I am a lawyer, or producing videos that are thought provoking and incite people to take action, use their voices, and vote.
On Hope
Tae: What gives you hope in these troubled times?
Lara: The bulk of the youth voters feel outside of the system and unheard. But some kids are taking action – like the organizers of March for Our Lives, and the 19 and 20 year olds in the alt rock band Gypsy Temple who built their own “rock the vote” with their Make Your Voice Heard Loud and Vote campaign.
This gives me personally hope, to the extent that any of us have hope while the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters are in power.
As part of the launch of the “We Shall Not Be Moved” music video, I’m asking members of the cast and crew five questions about identity, voting, social justice, and hope. I’ll be posting these on my blog in the coming weeks.