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Indivisibles,

Welcome to the biweekly-ish newsletter! It’s here we get updates from the
world and on our movement-wide effort to defeat Trump, build a Democratic
trifecta, and codify reproductive rights and democracy reform. And if you
read to the end, you get an update on our adorable 1-year-old and
3.5-year-old who have grown up in this movement. For those short on time,
I’ll summarize:

The News: We’re getting more and more demonstrations of the Republican
Party’s descent into fascism. We can all see it happening. The question
is, what are we going to do about it? Our answer: encourage Democrats to
fight. And that brings me to the brag. 

The Brag: One of the big reasons to build independent grassroots power is
so you can push your electeds after you elect them. Indivisible is doing
that -- we're encouraging Democrats to fight back against MAGA with
everything they've got. We are going to win in November, but we’re not
stopping there. We’re going to win, and then we’re going to push this
party to deliver.

The Discussion: Reminder, Leah and I are hosting another informal coffee
klatch! Got something on your mind? Last time, we spent almost all the
time on Q&A and had a great discussion. Join us this Friday at 4pm ET/ 1pm
PT. [ [link removed] ]You can register and submit questions ahead of time if you’d like
here.

News: It’s feeling a little more fascistic in here

You’re not dreaming -- MAGA has a fascism problem. One of the tough parts
about discussing the state of politics these days is that stating true
facts makes you sound like an alarmist pretty fast:  

* Trump posted a video promising a “[ [link removed] ]unified reich.”
* Trump promised to a friendly interviewer that he would be a dictator
“[ [link removed] ]on day one.”
* Elected MAGA supporters showed up at Trump’s porn star hush money
campaign finance trial in [ [link removed] ]matching suits to badmouth the judge and
his family.
* Trump’s own lawyer [ [link removed] ]argued that it’s legal for presidents to order
the assassination of political rivals.
* Trump [ [link removed] ]falsely claimed Biden greenlit the FBI to assassinate him.
* Republican Vice Presidential contenders [ [link removed] ]refused to say they will
accept the 2024 election results without reservation.
* Trump brain trust [ [link removed] ]published a 900-page plan detailing how they plan
to dismantle the administrative state, concentrate power in the White
House, and steamroll through an historic right-wing agenda.
* [ [link removed] ]Steve Bannon said about these plans, “We mock your fear, we want
you to fear. There will be accountability. We are going to hold
everyone who opposes Trump responsible.”

I could go on. [ [link removed] ]Is this fascism? Whatever it is, it’s an uncomfortable
combination of pathetic, laughable, scary, and menacing. This type of
strong-man politics is fundamentally weak -- built on bravado and
supported by sycophancy. But that weakness and that ridiculousness don't
make it less scary when they’re trying to drag the country back to the
19th Century. 

In response, the Democrats are charged with a tough task. How can they
make clear exactly how extreme and anti-democratic MAGA is? How can they
contrast the world we want to see with the ominous funhouse mirror version
of America MAGA wants?

Samuel Alito is one of the most right-wing justices on the Supreme Court –
a court that is [ [link removed] ]weighing whether to give Donald Trump immunity for his
role in instigating the January 6th insurrection. This is the very court
that has been dragging its feet, [ [link removed] ]helping Trump delay the trial beyond
the election.

Then the news broke.

In the days after the January 6th insurrection, [ [link removed] ]Alito himself flew the
pro-insurrection upside-down flag used by the MAGA freaks who stormed the
Capitol. It’s a shocking revelation for any national political figure
charged with defending the Constitution. It was so bad that even the
terminally cynical Lindsey Graham [ [link removed] ]criticized Alito. And Alito, seeking
cover, did the classic thing: [ [link removed] ]He blamed his wife. 

Enter Dick Durbin. A Member of Congress since before I was born. Second
highest ranking Democrat in senate Democratic leadership. A progressive
champion on many issues, including the fight for Dreamers. 

This is a Democrat with power. Specifically, as chair of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, he is arguably the single most powerful person in the
country when it comes to oversight of the federal courts from the Supreme
Court on down.

What say our hero, Dick Durbin? Our knight in shining armor leading the
fight against the MAGA hordes?

[ [link removed] ]Durbin shrugged. “No, we haven’t got anything planned. I think he’s
explained his situation. The American public understand what he did,”
Durbin told reporters. That’s a direct quote! Durbin encouraged Alito
(Ha!) to recuse himself from Trump’s January 6th case. Asked what would
happen if Alito refused, Durbin said, “There’s no recourse other than
impeachment, and we’re not at that point at all.” Can’t win, won’t try.

[ [link removed] ]Pro-democracy [ [link removed] ]observers [ [link removed] ]were [ [link removed] ]dumbfounded by Durbin’s
response. No investigation? No hearing? No subpoena? No expediting of an
ethics bill? No attempt to focus public attention on this anti-democratic
extremism in the highest court in the land? Nothing? Really nothing??

Oh, but it got worse.

Later this week, the press [ [link removed] ]discovered Alito had flown an “Appeal to
Heaven” flag at his beach vacation home in the years after the coup
attempt. For those unaware as I was before this story broke, “Appeal to
Heaven” is an endorsement of the violent overthrow of the government. It
is a message of Christian nationalists that means something to the effect
of, “We’re done with debate. We’re appealing to heaven to help us
overthrow you.” It was a popular flag on January 6th. In the aftermath of
the news, Alito bunkered down and did not publicly attempt the
blame-the-wife strategy again.

Alex Aronson, a former senior Department of Justice and Senate
staffer, [ [link removed] ]wrote, “These two Alito flags together are the story of the
end of our country. One a totem against democracy itself, the other a
vision for our theocratic future. The symbolism is haunting. But it’s not
too late. We must fight back.”

Fighting back is not only the right thing to do for our democracy -- it’s
the right thing to do for this election. Democrats have to present a
contrast with Republicans. Force them to defend the indefensible. Focus
public attention on their egregious behavior and their plans for a
government built around retribution, corruption, and taking your freedoms
away. 

We want to save this democracy -- so fight! We want to win this election
-- so fight!

But instead what we got from Dick Durbin was a tweet suggesting Alito
recuse himself and then [ [link removed] ]a polite letter asking Chief Justice John
Roberts for a meeting. You know, the same John Roberts who gutted the
Voting Rights Act and has reportedly been covering for Alito’s MAGA
escapades.

Coincidentally or not, less than a day after Durbin's initial tweet,
[ [link removed] ]Alito published a majority opinion for the United States Supreme Court
further weakening the Voting Rights Act to uphold a racial gerrymander in
South Carolina and set the standard for other states to do the same. Say
what you will, but you can’t deny MAGA is playing for keeps.

This is not the end of the story. Let’s continue to The Brag. 

The Brag: When we fight for our democracy, we keep our democracy

I’m gonna write something here that I’ve said many times before, even
though it irks some people: Indivisible is not an arm of the Democratic
Party. Our north star this year is rebuilding the Democratic trifecta so
that we can pass democracy reform and codify reproductive rights. Electing
Democrats is a means to an end, because the purpose of a Democrat isn’t
just to win an election -- it’s to win an election and then use that power
to build a democracy of, by, and for the people.

That strategic orientation is important because without outside pressure,
[ [link removed] ]we the people don’t get a Voting Rights Act. We the people don’t
[ [link removed] ]save the Affordable Care Act. We the people don’t get [ [link removed] ]the largest
climate bill in history. And we the people won’t get democracy reform, a
national reproductive rights bill, or oversight and reform of the Supreme
Court.

There’s [ [link removed] ]a rich history of popular movements existing outside of the
formal political party structure and pushing that party to do better and
be more responsive to the people. At Indivisible, we win, and we push.

That’s why I’m proud -- and bragging -- about the work of Indivisible
across Illinois, who spent this week on a caravan from East St. Louis to
Springfield, to Chicago, to Carbondale. They [ [link removed] ]got some press for it too
-- focusing public attention on the issue of Supreme Court malfeasance in
a way that Dick Durbin so far has been unwilling to do. If we’re gonna get
Durbin to get off his duff, it’s gonna take a lot more of this kind of
locally-led constituent pressure. Groups like Indivisible Metro East,
Indivisible Rural Illinois, NWSOFA-Indivisible, Indivisible Evanston,
Indivisible DuPage, Indivisible Illinois, and Indivisible Naperville are
doing a service for the whole nation with this local work.

And wouldn’t you know it, following their caravan, Durbin -- who’d
initially only tweeted about the Alito mess -- wrote to Justice Roberts
requesting a meeting. Is it sufficient? Heck no. But it shows Durbin is
feeling the pressure, and rest assured our groups will keep it up.

I’ll write it again: We have to elect a Democratic trifecta this year. But
if we want Democrats to fight. If we want them to pass legislation. If we
want them to exercise oversight. If we want them to govern in a way that
is responsive to the people and not to other interests. If all that is
what we want, then we have to build local grassroots power to win in
November and keep pushing. We have to push this party to fight. 

If that’s the kind of Democratic Party you want to see, you’re in good
company. And if you want to help us build that, well, that’s what we do,
and it takes grassroots dollars to do it. [ [link removed] ]So, chip in here if you
can. 

The Discussion: Come chat with us on Friday!

We held an informal Q&A with me and my fellow co-executive director (and
spouse) Leah last month and had a great off-the-cuff discussion from
Indivisible members from all over the country. We covered everything from
messaging strategies to intel on national races to organizing strategies
and tactics -- it was a good time. We’ll host another one this coming
Friday, May 31, at 4pm ET / 1pm PT. [ [link removed] ]You can register here and send in
some questions, and we’ll also take lots of questions live. Hope to see
you Friday!

In solidarity,
Ezra Levin

Ezra Levin

[32]Indivisble Co-Executive Director

Pronouns: He/him

PS: The big news at home is that 3.5-year-old Zeke got a betta fish. His
name is Mr. Pirate. We’re very into Peter Pan and pirates these days. I
quickly became Mr. Pirate’s main caregiver. In the meantime, one-toothed
Lila has found her sea legs -- she’s gone from stumbling around to happily
chasing Zeke through the house in the span of about a week. Argh matey.

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