Interested in these emails?
Do us a favor and click on one of the links (any one will do). That’ll tell us you’d like to keep getting updates.





Indivisibles,

It’s biweekly-ish newsletter time, and this time we’re talking about
Kennedy. As a reminder, we’re all here for the same reason: We’re
defeating Trump and delivering the Congress to the Dems so we can codify
reproductive rights and pass democracy reform. That’s where we’re headed
together. I use these biweekly-ish newsletters to share what I’m seeing
around the country and to engage in a reasonable amount of reflection,
celebration, and discussion. Let’s start with a summary:

The News: “Yeah Convicted Felon Trump is a scary fascist, but I don’t like
Biden, so I’m considering Kennedy.” Robert Kennedy Jr. is making a
particularly chaotic year even more unpredictable. It’s clear he’s
unhinged, that he’s bankrolled by Trump funders, and that he takes some
number of votes from Biden. The practical question is: So what do we do
about it? I’ve got some message-tested advice for ya.

The Brag: Indivisible is kicking off a couple of big campaigns this month
to drive public attention away from the horserace and back to the actual
real-life stakes of this election. That includes a national mobilization
around the anniversary of Convicted Felon Donald Trump overturning Roe,
and the launch of our Neighbor2Neighbor voter contact tool nationwide.

The Discussion: Leah and I are loving these informal coffee Q&As with the
movement! Let’s do another July 1 -- [ [link removed] ]register here. And if you’re game,
we’re asking folks to bring one new person along this time. We’re building
this pro-democracy movement one person at a time.

The News: How do you solve a problem like the Kennedy-curious voter?

I’ve been waiting a while to write a newsletter on Robert Kennedy Jr.’s
candidacy, and given that we’re headed into the first debate this month
that [ [link removed] ]may or may not exclude him, the time’s ripe.

Kennedy has been hitting double digits in the polls. His appeal blends a
combination of factors -- the historic name, his career as an
environmental lawyer, his anti-establishment vibe, and a massive streak of
paranoia and conspiracy vibes. And, let’s be real: He’s stepping into a
vacuum. This is not a high-enthusiasm election. A large swath of voters
has tuned out this political rematch. Same old, same old. 

Among them are low-information voters who are particularly susceptible to
misinformation and disinformation. And they are more likely to get their
news from Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, than CNN, The New York Times,
or their local paper.

If you’ve been paying attention already, you know there are a lot of
troubling things about RFK Jr. -- but here are 4 noteworthy facts if
you’re just now tuning in:

 1. He’s likely a spoiler for Trump.

* [ [link removed] ]His largest donor is Trump’s largest donor.
* One of his own state directors was caught on film explaining that
the [ [link removed] ]“Number one priority” is defeating Biden.
* It’s unclear from polls who he steals more votes from, but he’s
certainly been [ [link removed] ]more critical of Biden than Convicted Felon
Trump.

 2. He is a virulent anti-vaxxer and weird conspiracy theorist.

* He argued that “[ [link removed] ]There’s no vaccine that is safe and
effective.” 
* He’s opposed gun violence prevention reform because he
says [ [link removed] ]video games and antidepressants are to blame for mass
shootings.
* He’s [ [link removed] ]downplayed the severity of the January 6th insurrection.

 3. The actual policy positions he holds are deeply unpopular.

* He [ [link removed] ]criticized US support for Ukraine and compared Netanyahu’s
war in Gaza to the US’s righteous involvement in World War II.
* He has flip flopped repeatedly on abortion rights, and his
current position as expressed by his billionaire running mate is
“[ [link removed] ]he absolutely believes in limits on abortion, and we've
talked about this.”

 4. I’m not sure how to say this…he had brain worms. That’s it -- [ [link removed] ]he
confessed to having brain worms during his divorce proceedings.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably not the swing voter target
audience. Like me, you see a chasm of difference between Convicted Felon
Donald Trump and Joe Biden on every single policy issue. Like me, you
don’t just understand the stakes -- you’re scared of them. You know about
MAGA’s [ [link removed] ]Project 2025 -- their frighteningly in-depth 900-page plan to
concentrate power in Trump’s White House and bulldoze through an extremist
right-wing agenda. 

Because we’re not swing voters, we shouldn’t slip into thinking that these
voters live in the same information universe as us. [ [link removed] ]81% of
independents have never heard of Project 2025. About a third of all voters
either [ [link removed] ]blame Joe Biden for overturning Roe (!) or don’t know if Trump
or Biden is more to blame. 

This fact can make some of us pull our remaining hair out -- don’t these
people know that Convicted Felon Trump [ [link removed] ]brags about killing Roe and is
meeting with a group that calls abortion “[ [link removed] ]child sacrifice!?” But let
me encourage you to look at it a slightly different way: These potential
voters are not yet thinking about the stakes, and that’s a big opportunity
for us. Because we get to bring them the truth, and the truth will bring
them to us. 

I focus on his positions because we know the winning path in 2024 consists
of concentrating peoples’ minds on the stakes. This isn’t a choice between
Kennedy, or Biden, or Convicted Felon Donald Trump. It’s a referendum on
Trump’s second term promise of anti-democratic extremism, bans on abortion
and contraception, and corruption. If voters know and believe that,
they’ll join us. As the brilliant Mike Podhorzer wrote this week,
“[ [link removed] ]knowing and believing what Trump and MAGA plans to do makes people
more likely to vote.”

To bring them that truth, we should follow the data and research.

Indivisible has been working closely with our partners at Third Way and
MoveOn who have done some deep research on how to approach Kennedy’s
candidacy in key battleground states and with moveable voters. I can’t
share all of the research because it’s not public, but I got the green
light to share some key takeaways:

 1. Kennedy’s support is an inch deep. Kennedy “supporters” are more
likely to be unsatisfied with their options of Trump and Biden than
they are Kennedy enthusiasts.
 2. Kennedy-curious voters strongly support abortion rights. A super
majority of these potential voters oppose the MAGA attacks on
reproductive rights.
 3. We win back these voters with a one-two punch. First, highlight the
high stakes of a Trump presidency (e.g. abortion bans!). Second, land
punches on Kennedy’s bizarre views and extreme policy positions.  

In other words, our best shot at defeating Trump and MAGA in November is
to focus public attention on the policy stakes. Say it with me: Convicted
Felon Donald Trump bragged about overturning Roe. Kennedy wants national
restrictions on abortion rights too and will throw the election to Trump
if he can. Joe Biden will enact a national abortion rights bill. Those are
the stakes.

So how do we drive that message home? Well, that brings us to The Brag.

The Brag: How Indivisible is driving national attention to the stakes 

Think again about those target persuadables we need in our tent. We know
they don’t like Trump, but they don’t like Joe Biden or Kamala Harris
either. They don’t trust political elites to give them the truth. And
they’re not watching CNN or MSNBC or Fox News every night. How do you
break through their information bubble?

Answer: We get their neighbors and fellow community members to meet them
where they are. Two main ways we’re doing that:

 1. Driving public attention back to the stakes. This month is the
anniversary of Convicted Felon Trump’s Supreme Court overturning Roe.
In an effort to drive broad public attention back to the stakes around
reproductive rights, Indivisible will be supporting hundreds of public
local events designed to get coverage and grab headlines. Interested
in participating in your own community? Awesome. [ [link removed] ]Join our kickoff
planning call on June 13 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
 2. Getting neighbors to talk to neighbors. There’s nothing more effective
at circumventing AI-infected, disinformation-laden social media than
having a human being talk to a human being in real life. Even better
if those human beings live in the same community. That’s what we’re
doing with Neighbor2Neighbor, our groundbreaking, research-backed
voter contact program. The program went live in battleground states
and districts nationwide on Friday, so if you’re in an eligible area
([ [link removed] ]check here), [ [link removed] ]you can register and start knocking doors TODAY.
And if you’re not in an area where the program is active, we have
[ [link removed] ]loads of other ways you can get involved.

You’ve read this far, and no good deed goes unpunished. I’m SUPER proud of
this work, and I’m also proud to say I need grassroots money to do it. You
might remember me writing a “Hey we’re low on fundraising email” in the
middle of last month. Well you stepped up, and we hit our goal for May
(actually -- we beat it by 7%)! This movement is indefatigable. Here’s
what I can promise: With just under 5 months to go, I can promise any more
grassroots dollars we raise will go directly into defeating Trump and
MAGA. [ [link removed] ]Help us get more press coverage of Roe memorial events. Help us
get more neighbors talking to neighbors. Help us get these voters on our
side.

[ [link removed] ]Contribute >>

 

The Discussion: More live Q&A coming!

The day after now-Convicted Felon Donald Trump got convicted, we had
another coffee klatch with you all, and it went great! We saw double the
participants from the first one, and we covered issues ranging from the
conviction, to pushing Dems on the judiciary Committee, to Israel/Gaza, to
messaging and voter contact strategies, and more. 

Leah and I are really digging these spaces and getting positive feedback
from participants, so let’s keep the good times rolling. [ [link removed] ]Register for
the next one and feel free to submit questions (we also answer them live)
here -- July 1 at 4pm ET / 1pm PT.

Bring a pro-democracy friend. If you made it to the last coffee klatch,
you heard we’re trying an experiment for the next one: Bring with you one
person who hasn’t joined before. They could be a fellow Indivisible,
family member, neighbor, whoever. This should be interesting for them.
We’re not selling anything, and there’s no hard ask to get more involved
than you want to be -- just a space where people wrestling with the nuts
and bolts of defending our democracy can discuss, learn, and reenergize
together. 

Hope to see you and your friend(s) then! Until next time, always remember:
Convicted Felon Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felonies by a jury of his
peers, and if he wins the presidency he’ll attack reproductive rights and
the rule of law nationwide. But we’re not gonna let him.

In solidarity,
Ezra Levin

Ezra Levin

[25]Indivisble Co-Executive Director

Pronouns: He/him

PS: The big news in the Levin-Greenberg household is that little Lila has
top and bottom chompers and has developed an oddly intense passion for
olives. She now walks nonchalantly like she’s been doing it forever --
wandering out of the room and waddling back with a big grin and toy to
show off. Zeke grabs that toy and runs away yelling dramatically while
Lila giggles. In Zeke’s world -- which is now our world -- Peter Pan is
old news. We’re back to Star Wars or Spider-Man depending on the mood. For
myself, I miss the dinosaurs, which are now very old news. The days are
long but the phases are short. Maybe Lila will like a lambeosaurus.

[ [link removed] ]Indivisible Facebook

[ [link removed] ]Indivisible Threads

[ [link removed] ]Indivisible Instagram

[ [link removed] ]Indivisible TikTok

[ [link removed] ]Indivisible Mastodon



You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]