CALL TO ACTION #901: CDC and the U.S. Constitution are Trump Pandemic Casualties (April 15, 2020)

202 Days

Until the November 3rd Election


CDC AND U.S. CONSTITUTION ARE TRUMP PANDEMIC CASUALTIES


We all benefit from America’s scientific treasures like the Centers for Disease Control. But amid the pandemic, Trump has “disappeared” the CDC. After all, in his own words on the 2016 campaign trail he declared, “Only I can fix it.” 

Initially, Trump deferred the US COVID-19 response to the states. It may have been an acknowledgment that Trump’s war on government had hollowed out the CDC. Trump budgets have choked the life out of America’s most vital public health agency. Hundreds of jobs remain unfilled. The decimation may explain why the  CDC’s coronavirus test failed catastrophically.  

As a result of Trump’s general downsizing, a CDC epidemiologist working in China was recalled. In that role, she would have been one of the first to learn of the outbreak in Wuhan. 

Left on their own, states began ordering social distance measures and fighting for equipment to protect front line hospital staff who were trying to save C-19 patients. The cutthroat competition for PPE and ventilators forced bidding wars that lead to price gouging. Nevertheless, states who acted early are bending the curve.

 

In the absence of a coordinated national response, states like and California, Oregon and Washington are forming regional alliances to coordinate restarting their economies. In the meantime, “wannabe King” Trump claims only he has the authority to reopen the economy.  “(My) authority is total,” he said.  

 

Not if the Constitution and WE THE PEOPLE have anything to say about it!

Hold Trump and the GOP Accountable!


**ACTION ONE: CALL OUR U.S. SENATORS**

SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR SENATORS MERKLEY and WYDEN:

“My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [town/city], Oregon [zip code].

First, I want to thank the Senator for fighting for us in these dangerous times. I am also calling to ask him to publicly endorse the action by Governor Kate Brown in joining a regional alliance to decide when to relax social distancing and reopen businesses. Trump claims he has “total authority” but the Constitution says he’s wrong. Please add your voice to this wise move by Governor Brown. 

Thank you.”


SENATOR JEFF MERKLEY

Portland: (503) 326-3386, DC: (202) 224-3753
Salem: (503) 362-8102, Eugene: (541) 465-6750
Medford: (541) 608-9102, Bend: (541) 318-1298
Pendleton: (541) 278-1129
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/contact/

 

SENATOR RON WYDEN

Portland: (503) 326-7525, DC: (202) 224-5244
Salem: (503) 589-4555, Eugene: (541) 431-0229
Medford: (541) 858-5122, Bend: (541) 330-9142
La Grande: (541) 960-7691
https://www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/

 


**ACTION TWO: CALL COMPLICIT GREG WALDEN**

SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR WALDEN:

“My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [town/city], Oregon [zip code]. 

I am calling to demand that Greg Walden puts his constituents before his party and his president. We need an investigation to understand why one of our greatest public health assets, the CDC, has almost disappeared. Normally, we’d expect a national strategy, supported by the best data, but that is missing from this outbreak-response. Trump has been cutting CDC budgets. Hundreds of jobs are unfilled. And in its first big assignment, to develop a COVID-19 test, it failed catastrophically. We need to know why Trump has lowered our defenses.

Thank you.”

COMPLICIT GREG WALDEN

DC (202) 225-6730, Medford: (541) 776-4646
Bend (541) 389-4408, La Grande (541) 624-2400
https://walden.house.gov/contact-greg/email-me


**ACTION THREE: BE AN ACTIVIST**

Non-ORD2 Indivisible Sponsored Event: GO LIVE with KS Wild and Rogue Riverkeeper: Clean Water and Forest Campaign Updates Online
April 16 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
https://ord2indivisible.org/event/non-ord2-indivisible-sponsored-event-go-live-with-ks-wild-and-rogue-riverkeeper-clean-water-and-forest-campaign-updates-online/

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden Virtual Town Hall
April 17 @ 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
https://ord2indivisible.org/event/u-s-senator-ron-wyden-virtual-town-hall/

Non-ORD2 Indivisible Sponsored Event: Online event: Ask an Expert about Wildflowers of the Illinois River
April 18 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
https://ord2indivisible.org/event/non-ord2-indivisible-sponsored-event-online-event-ask-an-expert-about-wildflowers-of-the-illinois-river/

Non-ORD2 Indivisible Sponsored Event: SOCAN Facebook Live, 50th Anniversary of Earth Day
April 22 @ 10:00 am – 10:30 am
https://ord2indivisible.org/event/non-ord2-indivisible-sponsored-event-socan-facebook-live-50th-anniversary-of-earth-day/

Non-ORD2 Indivisible Sponsored Event: Earth Day Online with Alice DiMicele
April 22 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
https://ord2indivisible.org/event/non-ord2-indivisible-sponsored-event-earth-day-online-with-alice-dimicele/

Non-ORD2 Indivisible Sponsored Event: Find out about Fungus with John Villella Online!
April 23 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
https://ord2indivisible.org/event/non-ord2-indivisible-sponsored-event-find-out-about-fungus-with-john-villella-online/

Ongoing Action: ORD2 Indivisible Virtual Postcard and Letter Writing Parties

  1. Postcards to Voters
    Our postcard team is temporarily suspending the delivery of postcards to your door. However, the good news is that you will find everything you need to continue writing from home (including templates to print your own or purchase pre-printed cards) here: https://postcardstovoters.org
    You can sign up through https://postcardstovoters.org/volunteer/To avoid unnecessary trips to the post office, order stamps directly from the USPS:
    https://store.usps.com/store/product/buy-stamps/coral-reefs-postcard-stamp-S_745104…and voila, you’re ready to go! Send an e-mail to with any questions.
  1. Letters to Voters
    We encourage our team of volunteers to sign up with Swing Left to start writing letters to voters in 12 swing states.  It is super easy to join. Check out their website, sign up, and let’s start writing! https://swingleft.org/Send an e-mail to if you would like more information about how to get involved.
  2. Virtual Letter-writing Parties

    We encourage you to join virtual letter-writing parties hosted by Oregon Indivisible / Swing Left. The parties are held at noon every Saturday and on the last Tuesday of every month. Here are the links for the next two parties:

    April 18 virtual letter-writing party – https://www.mobilize.us/swingleft/event/267144/
    April 25 virtual letter-writing party – https://www.mobilize.us/swingleft/event/267146/

**Visit the ORD2 Indivisible Event Calendar on a regular basis to keep updated on local activities. Participate with us as often as you can. We also encourage you to submit events to be added to the ORD2 Indivisible Event Calendar and help us keep current with our event postings. https://ord2indivisible.org/submit-your-event/


SOURCES:

Stat, April 4, 2020: “An interview with the CDC director on coronavirus, masks, and an agency gone quiet  https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/04/an-interview-with-the-cdc-director-on-coronavirus-masks-and-an-agency-gone-quiet/   

New Yorker, April 9, 2020: “How Did the U.S. End Up with Nurses Wearing Garbage Bags?”  https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/the-coronavirus-and-how-the-united-states-ended-up-with-nurses-wearing-garbage-bags   

New York Times, April 11, 2020: “Life and Death in the ‘Hot Zone. “If people saw this, they would stay home.” What the war against the coronavirus looks like inside two Bronx hospitals  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-hospitals-bronx.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab   

New York Times, April 11, 2020: “He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump’s Failure on the Virus”  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-response.html   

Business Insider, April 12, 2020:  ‘We have thrown 15 years of institutional learning out the window’: Leaked emails show top public-health experts raised alarm about the Trump administration’s botched coronavirus response” https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-emails-show-experts-alarm-over-trump-admin-coronavirus-response-2020-4?utm_source=reddit.com    

LA Times, April 10, 2020: “States do battle for coronavirus protective gear in a market driven by chaos and fear”   https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-04-10/states-battle-coronavirus-protective-gear-market   

Washington Post, April 10, 2020: “A plan to defeat coronavirus finally emerges, but it’s not from the White HouseIn the absence of federal direction, states and America’s top experts forge the path ahead.”  https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/10/contact-tracing-coronavirus-strategy/    

New York Times, March 28, 2020: “The Lost Month: How a Failure to Test Blinded the U.S. to Covid-19”  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/us/testing-coronavirus-pandemic.html    

Washington Post, March 14, 2020: “Trump is breaking every rule in the CDC’s 450-page playbook for health crisisThe communication chaos on coronavirus is eroding the most powerful weapon we have: Public trust” https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/14/cdc-manual-crisis-coronavirus-trump/   

Vox, April 19, 2020: “How Trump turned ventilators into a form of patronageIt isn’t supposed to work like this” https://www.vox.com/2020/4/10/21215578/trump-ventilators-coronavirus-cory-gardner-colorado-jared-polis-patronage   

Washington Post, Feb. 1, 2018: “CDC to cut by 80 percent efforts to prevent global disease outbreak”   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/02/01/cdc-to-cut-by-80-percent-efforts-to-prevent-global-disease-outbreak/  

USA Today, April 14m, 2020: “Here’s what the Constitution’s 10th Amendment says about Trump’s claim to have total authority over states”  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/14/trump-claim-total-authority-claim-10th-amendment/2988013001/    

The Hill, March 10, 2020: “Trump budget chief holds firm on CDC cuts amid virus outbreak”  https://thehill.com/policy/finance/486817-trump-budget-chief-holds-firm-on-cdc-cuts-amid-virus-outbreak   

Politico Apr 9,2020: “How the CDC director became the MAGA whisperer on coronavirus   https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/09/cdc-director-robert-redfield-coronavirus-176247 

Reuters, March 22, 2020: “Exclusive: U.S. axed CDC expert job in China months before virus outbreak  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-cdc-exclusiv/exclusive-u-s-axed-cdc-expert-job-in-china-months-before-virus-outbreak-idUSKBN21910S