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I briefly linked to this podcast when I repeated calls for an independent commission, like the 9/11 commission, with subpoena power earlier: Trumpcast is, IMO, kind of variable in quality, but this ep I think knocks it out of the park, particularly the discussion with Tom Nichols, who is a respected conservative academic and a ‘Never Trump’er, and who (like me! ahahahah) talks some in this episode of Trumpcast about that independent commission, like the 9/11 commission, with subpoena power. He is a guy with some currency on the Republican side of the aisle—something to think about, when you’re making your calls

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I’m going to be bumping 5M4F16 again a few times this weekend, because if you care about American institutions of democracy making it through the next four years, demanding an independent commission, like the 9/11 commission, with subpoena power into Russian interference in the 2016 election should have leapt to the top of your to-do list, after the firing of FBI director James Comey. The critical detail here is that the investigation is perishable: if Trump gets one of his lackeys in to head the FBI, it’s not like we can pick up this investigation in 4 years and expect the evidence to still exist. This investigation has to happen, and it has to happen now, and anyone who still thinks that the Republican Congress has enough honor or spine to investigate it without noisy, inescapable, irresistible pressure from the public is, quite frankly, smoking a much better breed of drugs than anyone I know has access to.

Get on the phone, my friends. Demand that your representatives refuse to get any legislative work done (considering the healthcare bill, considering the tax plan, et cetera) until an independent commission, like the 9/11 commission, with subpoena power is appointed to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. If your representatives are going to be hostile to this proposal because they’re Trump loyalists, don’t focus on Trump and whether or not he colluded with the Russians. It doesn’t have to be about that to be effective: if there’s a serious investigation into Russian interference, and Trump did collude with the Russians, that will come out as part of the investigation.

A hostile foreign power meddling in our elections should be a bipartisan issue, but the Republicans clearly don’t have the courage to do this on their own. Give them some help: demand an independent commission, like the 9/11 commission, with subpoena power to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election.

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The Affordable Care Act repeal passed the House: time to name and shame. If your representative is on the list of who voted for this bill, call and make it absolutely clear to them that they have lost your vote and why. Write to your local newspaper and make it clear to them that your representative has lost your vote and why. Post it to social media. Make some fucking noise. Then make it fucking real: if you’re not already registered to vote, register now, so you’ll be ready to cast your ballot for your representative’s opposition in 2018. If your state offers it, I also recommend that you register as a permanent absentee voter today, so that you can vote by mail if you want to and don’t have to worry about whether you’ll be able to make it to the polls in 2018.

Likewise: you need to be on the phone with your senators, now, soon, every single chance you get, starting today, until we get this permanently killed in the Senate. You need to be telling everyone you know to call in, too. You need to be shouting about this from the fucking rooftops: this bill will double the number of uninsured in less than 10 years, and the people who will suffer most are people with disabilities, women, minorities, and the poor, including the working poor. In exchange, the wealthiest 2% of the country is getting a massive tax break.

If that’s not okay with you, stand up and complain.

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The Affordable Care Act repeal passed the House: time to name and shame. If your representative is on the list of who voted for this bill, call and make it absolutely clear to them that they have lost your vote and why. Write to your local newspaper and make it clear to them that your representative has lost your vote and why. Post it to social media. Make some fucking noise. Then make it fucking real: if you’re not already registered to vote, register now, so you’ll be ready to cast your ballot for your representative’s opposition in 2018. If your state offers it, I also recommend that you register as a permanent absentee voter today, so that you can vote by mail if you want to and don’t have to worry about whether you’ll be able to make it to the polls in 2018.

Likewise: you need to be on the phone with your senators, now, soon, every single chance you get, starting today, until we get this permanently killed in the Senate. You need to be telling everyone you know to call in, too. You need to be shouting about this from the fucking rooftops: this bill will double the number of uninsured in less than 10 years, and the people who will suffer most are people with disabilities, women, minorities, and the poor, including the working poor. In exchange, the wealthiest 2% of the country is getting a massive tax break.

If that’s not okay with you, stand up and complain.

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I’m moving away from the regular biweekly posts over here, because I think that it’s not an effective use of my (limited) political engagement time. However, if you have somehow not heard about Indivisible yet, you should go over and check them out. They are doing very good work, and they are doing it very effectively.

My local chapter organizes weekly actions, which they send out via email, and they’re very frequently 5M4F-style phone call making type things, though they do also emphasize in-person contact with your representatives that may or may not be doable for everyone reading this. That’s cool! You can still engage with the actions that are doable for you, and you will be helping.

I will probably still pop up with irregular posts over here as things come up that I can hit fast, and that I think we can tackle effectively, but I’d rather spend my political engagement time on actually engaging—other people are doing the organizing bit better!

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This is your daily reminder to work on this week’s 5M4F: Defend the Court. Section links:

Oppose Neil Gorsuch.

Recruit two people to protest with you..

Complain about Steve Bannon.

Representatives of particular interest.

Protesting amid breaking news.

How to write your scripts.

If you can’t make calls.

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This is your daily reminder to work on this week’s 5M4F: Defend the Court. Section links:

Oppose Neil Gorsuch.

Recruit two people to protest with you..

Complain about Steve Bannon.

Representatives of particular interest.

Protesting amid breaking news.

How to write your scripts.

If you can’t make calls.

[wewithus]

This is your daily reminder to work on this week’s 5M4F: Defend the Court. Section links:

Oppose Neil Gorsuch.

Recruit two people to protest with you..

Complain about Steve Bannon.

Representatives of particular interest.

Protesting amid breaking news.

How to write your scripts.

If you can’t make calls.

[wewithus]

This is your daily reminder to work on this week’s 5M4F: Defend the Court. Section links:

Oppose Neil Gorsuch.

Recruit two people to protest with you..

Complain about Steve Bannon.

Representatives of particular interest.

Protesting amid breaking news.

How to write your scripts.

If you can’t make calls.

[wewithus]

This is your daily reminder to work on this week’s 5M4F: Defend the Court. Section links:

Oppose Neil Gorsuch.

Recruit two people to protest with you..

Complain about Steve Bannon.

Representatives of particular interest.

Protesting amid breaking news.

How to write your scripts.

If you can’t make calls.

[wewithus]

This is your daily reminder to work on this week’s 5M4F: Defend the Court. Section links:

Oppose Neil Gorsuch.

Recruit two people to protest with you..

Complain about Steve Bannon.

Representatives of particular interest.

Protesting amid breaking news.

How to write your scripts.

If you can't make calls.

[wewithus]

The Five Minutes for Freedom series is a collection of small, step-by-step walkthroughs designed to help you take concrete political action in support of the principles of We With Us. The articles in the series are designed to be read and their steps followed in order, as later posts frequently build on earlier ones. A chronological index of all posts in the series can be found here. While this information is targeted primarily at US readers, we welcome readers from all countries and encourage you to adapt these strategies as necessary for your jurisdiction.

5M4F 18: Defend the Court [Protest Neil Gorsuch's appointment to the Supreme Court.] Dependencies: 5M4F9, 5M4F10.

First things first: everyone who's been protesting about healthcare, give yourselves a pat on the back. That fight isn't over yet, but that's a pretty significant battle we've just won. Go team! What Trump agenda do you think we can screw up next?

This week’s 5M4F is pretty simple: you're going to protest the appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, and you're going to recruit at least two other people to promise you to protest it with you. We're also going to complain about Steve Bannon. YES YES I KNOW, YAWN, but until he's gone we have to keep doing it. It can be easy to forget there's an unelected white supremacist on the National Security Council—let's make sure we don't forget that.

If you want to do this all in one go: You're going to make at least two calls this week to each of your representatives (one about Gorsuch, one about Bannon), so you can't completely do this all in one go, but you can do everything but your second round of calls in one go and I suspect it won't take you more than about half an hour or 45 minutes if you've been doing these for a while. Maybe an hour if making your scripts is still a bit of a chore.

If you want to do this five minutes at a time: Probably even easier! 5 minutes per script × 2 topics to call about × 3 representatives, then 5 minutes per call × 2 topics to call about × 3 representatives, then another 5 minutes to dash off a postcard to President Bannon, 5 minutes social-media-ify it, and a final 5 minutes (probably) to drop it in the mail.

Section links:

Oppose Neil Gorsuch.

Recruit two people to protest with you..

Complain about Steve Bannon.

Representatives of particular interest.

Protesting amid breaking news.

How to write your scripts.

Oppose Neil Gorsuch: There are a lot of reasons to oppose Neil Gorsuch, and I encourage you to read up on him and find the reasons that best resonate with you for when you make your calls, but the specific reasons I want to make sure everyone gets involved this week are the constitutional implications of allowing a Republican administration to fill a seat that came open in a Democratic presidential term, and Neil Gorsuch's refusal to confirm that the Constitution grants a right to privacy.

The former has to do with protecting the ability of our government just to operate, long-term; the second is the fundamental area of evolving Supreme Court precedent, at the moment. There's a not-really-prescient-because-it-was-already-an-issue-but-still-insightful West Wing Season 1 clip about exactly this issue: privacy is the Supreme Court issue of our time that is specifically of our time (by which I mean, the other big issues of this moment are things like civil rights that have been Supreme Court issues for a long time); It affects not just reproductive rights but also most other individual rights in the era of the internet and cell phones and always-on GPS, and the decisions made in the next few years will guide the court's decision-making on individuals' right to privacy for decades.

Call your representatives to demand that they reject Gorsuch's appointment on the bases that matter most to you.

Recruit two people to protest with you: Hashtag #strongertogether etc--whether you do it online, in person, by phone, by carrier pigeon, I don't care: talk to your friends and family about the Gorsuch appointment, and why the resistance to it needs to be loud and visible and inescapable, like the resistance to the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act has been. Ask them to commit to you to make calls about Gorsuch too. Get a specific, affirmative commitment (why yes, at lunch I'll call Senator Ipswitch urging her to reject Gorsuch's appointment!) because that makes it more likely that the person you are talking to will actually do it. Let's all target at least two affirmative commitments, shall we? If we could make all those calls actually happen we would essentially triple our effective size.

Complain about Steve Bannon: Once again, at this point I don’t really care why you complain about Steve Bannon, just that you do it. There are just so many things to complain about. Note that some issues are going to require you to be a bit cannier than others: note that Bannon's stated position on several topics (e.g. healthcare, DACA) has softened, but that matters very little in terms of how terrifying his actual actions have been.

Whatever you choose to tackle, write your postcard to President Bannon, asking him to rein in his <insert demeaning job title here> Donald Trump on the topic you've chosen, and then [make your calls] to your representatives asking them to go on record against Bannon's position on that topic.

Senators and Congresspersons of particular interest: these are representatives whose seats that were considered “battleground” races in 2016 and are likely to have an especially hard time in 2018/2020/2022. Again, these people likely fall into one of two categories: one, they’re Tea Party hardliners who won’t help us out; or two, they’re moderates holding onto mixed or moderate districts. We want to press that second group, and press them hard, because that is how you swing mixed/moderate districts to the left.

In the parentheses after their names, I’m giving these representatives states, their parties, and their margins of victory in 2016. Note that the list is alphabetical first by state, then by the rep’s name. If your representative(s) is (are) on this list, especially if their margin was especially small, it is particularly important that you put pressure on them, and get other people in your district to put pressure on them too, because your vote could very well be their next swing vote—and they know it. If you contact these people, please either reblog or send me an ask letting me know how it went if you have a second (were they receptive? did you have to jump through hoops to get at them?) and I will compile (anonymously if you wish) that feedback to help other We With Us’ers put pressure where it hurts.

Congresspersons of particular interest (all info from Ballotpedia): Tom O’Halleran (AZ, D, 7.3%), Ami Bera (CA, D, 2.3%), Stephen Knight (CA, R, 6.3%), Darrel Issa (CA, R, 0.5%), Mike Coffman (CO, R, 8.3%), Stephanie Murphy (FL, D, 3%), Brian Mast (FL, R, 10.5%), Carlos Curbelo (FL, R, 11.8%), Brad Schneider (IL, D, 5.2%), Rod Blum (IA, R, 7.7%), Bruce Poliquin (ME, R, 9.6%), Jack Bergman (MI, R, 14.8%), Jason Lewis (MN, R, 1.8%), Don Bacon (NE, R, 1.2%), Jacky Rosen (NV, D, 1.3%), Ruben Kihuen (NV, D, 4%), Carol Shea-Porter (NH, D, 1.3%), Josh Gottheimer (NJ, D, 4.4%), John Faso (NY, R, 8.6%), Claudia Tenney (NY, R, 5.5%), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA, R, 8.9%), Will Hurd (TX, R, 1.3%), Barbara Comstock (VA, R, 5.8%). You can also refer to the lists of DCCC/NRCC targeted incumbents for 2018, though those are much longer and kiiiiind of like the Democrat/Republican letters to Santa, at this point in the game.

Senators of particular interest (all info from Ballotpedia): Marco Rubio (FL, R, 7.7%), Tammy Duckworth (IL, D, 15.1%), Todd Young (IN, R, 9.7%), Roy Blunt (MO, R, 2.8%), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV, D, 2.4%), Maggie Hassan (NH, D, 0.1%), Richard Burr (NC, R, 5.7%), Pat Toomey (PA, R, 1.4%), Ron Johnson (WI, R, 3.4%). Note that none of these senators are up for election again until 2022, and that Democratic senators, writ large, are, right now, feeling much more vulnerable than Republican senators, writ large.

Engage thoughtfully if you live in one of the states that appears to have a state-wide rising Republican tide: try to focus on the bipartisan elements of the issues that you’re arguing for, and (even if you can't keep it bipartisan) keep it personal, rather than general. Your Tea Party-backed senator doesn't give two shits about human rights, but they do have to care about how what they do in Washington costs their constituents.

Also, for now: don’t contact any of these people if they don’t represent you directly. That can have value when it looks like one of them might be about to make a broader run (e.g. for state-wide office, if they’re in the House; or for the presidency), but for now it’s just going to be a waste of your time.

A note on protesting amid breaking news: As always, I recommend searching a reputable news source, like one of those two news sources you picked in 5M4F15 or The Guardian if you haven’t done that one yet, shortly before you make your calls, for any breaking-news updates that may require you to tweak your scripts. It’s often also useful to check your representatives’ website to see what press releases they have on a given subject, so you know whether (for example) they have already gone on-record as opposing Steve Bannon. If they have? Ask them to do it again. Make it clear that this stuff is important to you.

How to Write Your Scripts (excerpted from 5M4F-5): The basic phone script for calling your representatives goes something like so:

Hi, {can I ask who I’m speaking to? <, if they don’t say when they pick up>} [Jot their name down.] Hi, <their name>. My name is <your name> and I’m one of <your representative’s name>’s constituents in <where you live>. I wanted to let <your representative’s name> know that I strongly <support | oppose> <the thing you’re calling about>, because <succinct explanation of reason why you’re calling>. Is <your representative’s name> planning to <do the thing you want>?

Then you have to plan for a few different responses:

They’re with you: Thank you. Could you please let <appropriate pronoun> know that <expression of gratitude> and <indication that you will continue to watch your representative’s behavior and hold them accountable>?

They’re neutral: This subject is very important to me because <longer, more in-depth and emotive reason why you’re calling>. I would very much appreciate it if you could let <your representative’s name> know that I feel very strongly about this and would really encourage <appropriate pronoun> to <do the thing you want>. Is there any way I could follow up with you or <appropriate pronoun> later?

They oppose you: This subject is very important to me because <longer, more in-depth and emotive reason why you’re calling>. Can I ask why <your representative’s name> is <not doing the thing you want>? [Let them give you a reason, and write it down.] Okay, thank you. I understand <appropriate pronoun> concerns, but as one of <your representative’s name>’s voting constituents, I would really appreciate it if <appropriate pronoun> revisited <appropriate pronoun> decision because <alternate succinct explanation of reason why you’re calling>. Is there any way I could follow up with you or <appropriate pronoun> later?

<expression of gratitude>! <polite send-off>!

I want to point out that you probably don’t actually really need to plan for all of these responses. You can probably make a pretty good guess where your representative stands based on their party affiliation. However, especially if your representatives are moderates and often vote across the aisle, it’s not a bad idea to spend a little time planning for all three cases, because then your behind is covered, and you can recycle this language over and over on later calls, to different representatives. And yes: we will be calling other representatives.

This is the sample script that I wrote back in November, on a different issue and to Barbara Boxer, who has been replaced by Kamala Harris, but it gives you an idea how the Mad-Libs-filling process works:

Hi, {can I ask who I’m speaking to? <, if they don’t say when they pick up>} [Jot their name down.] Hi, <their name>. My name is <Ginny Washington>, and I’m one of <Senator Boxer>’s constituents in <West Hollywood>. I wanted to let <Senator Boxer> know that I strongly <support> <her resolution to amend the Constitution to eliminate the Electoral College>, because <I think every American’s vote should count equally>. {I just wanted to thank her for all her hard work on behalf of the principles of equal representation and equal protection under the law.}

<Thank you so much for your time>! <Have a nice day>!

If you can’t make calls: I recommended before that if you can’t make calls, you copy down snail mail addresses so you can send snail mail letters, and that you grab an email address or online contact link no matter what. Calls are the most effective, if you can make them, but please, do send snail mail letters if you can’t, or an email if you also can’t swing a stamp or get to a post office. You can use the script above as a template for your letter, but you’re probably going to want to default to assuming that your representative opposes you, and you’ll have to of course make it sound like a letter and not a phone convo.

If you care about correct forms of address: weirdly, because these things are super arcane, technically the correct way to address your senator or representative is still “The Honorable <whoever>”, as in, “The Honorable Barbara Boxer.” That goes on the envelope. You can then write “Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms. <whoever>” as your salutation.

As always, the link at the top of the post goes to a poll on Google which makes a great checklist, and where you can check in and let your fellow humans know you’re standing up for them!

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Real 5M4F post later today (I am on vacation wowwww that never happens so I won’t be able to finish it until tonight), but in the meantime: please, please, please keep putting pressure on your representatives to convene an independent commission, like the 9/11 commission, with subpoena power, to look into ties between Trump and Russia. Ask your friends and family to do so as well. A committee chair who briefs Trump instead of the committee is not going to be able to get this done.

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This is your daily reminder to work on this week’s 5M4F: Back a Free and Fearless Press (Part 2). Section links:

Familiarize yourself with the ombudsman’s office of your news sources.

Familiarize yourself with the process for sending letters to the editor to your news sources.

Write your first letter to the editor.

Complain about Steve Bannon.

Representatives of particular interest.

Protesting amid breaking news.

How to write your scripts.

If you can’t make calls.

[wewithus]

This is your daily reminder to work on this week’s 5M4F: Back a Free and Fearless Press (Part 2). Section links:

Familiarize yourself with the ombudsman’s office of your news sources.

Familiarize yourself with the process for sending letters to the editor to your news sources.

Write your first letter to the editor.

Complain about Steve Bannon.

Representatives of particular interest.

Protesting amid breaking news.

How to write your scripts.

If you can’t make calls.

[wewithus]

This is your daily reminder to work on this week’s 5M4F: Back a Free and Fearless Press (Part 2). Section links:

Familiarize yourself with the ombudsman’s office of your news sources.

Familiarize yourself with the process for sending letters to the editor to your news sources.

Write your first letter to the editor.

Complain about Steve Bannon.

Representatives of particular interest.

Protesting amid breaking news.

How to write your scripts.

If you can’t make calls.

[wewithus]

This is your daily reminder to work on this week’s 5M4F: Back a Free and Fearless Press (Part 2). Section links:

Familiarize yourself with the ombudsman’s office of your news sources.

Familiarize yourself with the process for sending letters to the editor to your news sources.

Write your first letter to the editor.

Complain about Steve Bannon.

Representatives of particular interest.

Protesting amid breaking news.

How to write your scripts.

If you can’t make calls.