119 Days

Until the November 3rd Election

Our Recommendations for November

What Voting Blue means to us: We Steering Committee members are pragmatic progressives with no “purity or litmus tests” for our key issues. Rather, we will support the candidate that comes closest to our positions, which means that moderate Joe Biden is much preferred to fascist Donald Trump. And, electability matters; one can’t govern from the sidelines. Sometimes that means backing someone who looks less blue than their opponent, someone who is in better position to be elected and actually help us. Finally, some candidates might want us to maintain our distance for political reasons specific to their constituencies. We respect that, so people we would otherwise recommend may be missing from this list.

Let’s flip a couple of state house seats Blue! New this week*

President: Joe Biden

U.S. Senate: Jeff Merkley

Secretary of State: Shemia Fagan

State Treasurer: Tobias Read

State Attorney General: Ellen Rosenblum

*State House District 5: Alberto Enriquez

*State House District 6: Mary Middleton

Jackson County Commissioner: Terrie Martin

Watch this space; more to come.

Today’s Call To Action

“AMERICA MUST GET TO WORK.”

With our health, our democracy, and our national security under attack, Congress chose to go on recess. We choose to act.

“DEMOCRACY JUST CANNOT FLOURISH AMID FEAR. LIBERTY CANNOT BLOOM AMID HATE. JUSTICE CANNOT TAKE ROOT AMID RAGE. AMERICA MUST GET TO WORK.”

(JUSTICE THURGOOD MARSHALL, 7/4/1992)

We call for immediate, effective responses to the escalating pandemic, food and housing insecurity, racial injustice, and police brutality. We want Trump, Barr, and their GOP enablers held accountable. They are destroying our institutions, suppressing our vote, failing to manage the pandemic, enriching themselves at our expense, abandoning our allies, and allowing our adversaries to interfere in our elections and put bounties on our troops. Trump sacrifices our health, our safety, and our democracy for his personal benefit. He foments fear, hate, and rage. His GOP remains silently complicit. Together they advance Putin’s agenda, not ours.

We and our leaders must “get to work” and do our jobs.

The Senate must pass the Heroes Act, the Justice in Policing Act, and the Voting Rights Advancement Act — all without amendments that curtail our rights.
The House must fulfill its oversight responsibilities by issuing and enforcing subpoenas to investigate Trump’s handling of intelligence related to Russian bounties and Barr’s firing of US attorneys investigating Trump and the use of force against peaceful protesters.
We must peacefully resist, and Get Out the Vote to remove them.

ACTION ONE: CALL OUR U.S. SENATORS

SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR SENATORS MERKLEY and WYDEN:

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

[For Sen. Merkley: Thank you for organizing a letter urging McConnell to call the Senate back into session.] I ask the Senator to use his voice and standing with the media and colleagues to denounce McConnell’s GOP’s refusal to do their job. The Senate must pass the Heroes Act, the Justice in Policing Act, and the Voting Rights Advancement Act. The country is at risk; passing this legislation cannot wait.

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].

The House is tasked with oversight to check and balance this or any administration.

I demand that Greg Walden put partisan politics aside and support oversight, specifically investigations into Trump’s handling of intelligence related to Russian bounties on our soldiers’ lives and Barr’s firing of US attorneys investigating Trump, as well as the AG’s use of force against peaceful protesters.

To remain silent on all of this is a moral outrage. If that’s Greg’s decision, I call on him to resign his office effective immediately.

Where’s Walden? History is watching; Greg’s legacy is at stake.

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

July 8, 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Ongoing every Monday, Wednesday and Friday
#MyORHealth Support is available for Oregon’s “helpers”

Lines for Life has created a Virtual Wellness Room to offer support to helpers, mental health professionals, first responders, social workers and anyone considered an essential worker during the COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon. Each check-in call will have a facilitator to guide the conversation.

“We at Lines for Life want to thank you for all the work you do to keep our communities safe,” the organization said. “We are offering a place for helpers to exchange stories of hope and areas of need. We especially want to hear what things are coming up for you personally and explore how we can cheer one another on to continue the good work you are already doing. We ultimately want to create space to breathe out stress and breathe in hope.”

The meetings are held using Zoom conference calls from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at this link: https://zoom.us/j/4848426773. Please share this invite with anyone in your network of Oregon helpers.

ORD2 Indivisible Virtual General Meeting
“Policing in the Valley: Re-Imaging Police Work During a Time of Black Lives Matter.”
July 13 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

To register for this important meeting, please click here.

https://ord2indivisible.org/event/ord2-indivisible-virtual-general-meeting-2/

Ongoing Action: ORD2 Indivisible Virtual Postcard and Letter Writing Parties

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.

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.

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:

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/