CALL TO ACTION #969: Trump is Out of Control: C-19, Police Brutality, Occupation of Portland and Chicago (July 21, 2020)



105  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 a 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.

**Keep Oregon House District 5 Blue! 

President: Joe Biden

U.S. Senate: Jeff Merkley

U.S. Congress CD2: Alex Spenser

Secretary of State: Shemia Fagan

State Treasurer: Tobias Read

State Attorney General: Ellen Rosenblum

State House District 4: Mary Middleton

**State House District 5: Pam Marsh

State House District 6: Alberto Enriquez

Jackson County Commissioner: Terrie Martin


***Today’s Call To Action***

TRUMP IS OUT OF CONTROL

C-19, POLICE BRUTALITY, OCCUPATION OF PORTLAND AND CHICAGO


COVID-19, financial collapse, and police brutality undermine everyone’s safety, disproportionately impacting Blacks and other People of Color. Yet Trump’s GOP continues to demean science, funnel funds to themselves, and promote violence. His DHS is still occupying Portland, with 150 more unidentifiable, paramilitary agents en route to Chicago. They attack peaceful protesters; GOP leadership remains silently complicit.

Federal occupation of US cities, like the pandemic, threatens all of us. Opposition should be bipartisan—WHERE’S WALDEN!? Congress must condemn Trump’s lawlessness and failures. Congress must speak out against the Federal occupation of Portland and Chicago, demanding that federal agents withdraw NOW. Congress must investigate these and other misdeeds by DHS, CBP, and ICE; insist that DHS chief Wolf resign, defund DHS and censure Donald Trump for his outrageous abuses of power.

Even as we honor the memory of Representative John Lewis, Trump and his GOP Senate dishonor the work of this civil rights icon who risked his life protesting for everyone’s right to vote. We call on Congress to honor Lewis’ memory and protect all Americans by:

  • Demanding Federal forces cease occupying our cities
  • Passing the Voting Rights Expansion, Justice in Policing, and Heroes Acts without amendments in the Senate
  • Investigating and defunding Trump’s DHS
  • Censuring Trump.

Enough is Enough!

The Time is Now!

Stop the Hate!


**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]. 

Please thank the Senator for speaking out against the federal occupation of Portland and for the NDAA amendment to stop the use of paramilitary in US cities. I urge him to now:

  • Demand the Senate censure Trump and begin investigations into the Portland and pending Chicago occupations and other misdeeds by DHS, CPB, and ICE.
  • Demand Wolf be removed from DHS.
  • Insist the Senate honor Rep. Lewis’ memory by passing the Voting Rights Expansion Act, as well as the Justice in Policing and Heroes Acts — all without amendments.
  • Vote against any Trump-Senate bill that does not fund testing and contact tracing or deflects money to those who already have enough, no matter what else is in it.
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]. 

Federal occupation of a US city, like the pandemic, is a threat to us all, and opposition should be bipartisan. Tell Greg Walden I want him to support censure of Trump, removal of Wolf, investigations into DHS, and the Merkley-Wyden amendment to the defense bill. I also want him to insist his Senate colleagues honor John Lewis’ memory by passing the Voting Rights Expansion, Justice in Policing, and Heroes Acts.

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: CALL GOVERNOR KATE BROWN**

Governor Kate Brown Phone: 503-378-4582  Trump’s militarized DHS forces who have invaded Portland are acting without restraint or accountability.  They are suppressing free speech and terrorizing peaceful protesters.  I want to thank the governor for calling for them to leave and speaking out against Trump’s abuse of power.  But I am asking for more.  Every night that the DHS continues to march on Portland streets, more people are endangered.  I am asking for real action to get DHS forces out of Portland now.  And action necessary, up to and including use of the Oregon National Guard, to protect all Oregonians on the streets of Portland.


**ACTION FOUR: BE AN ACTIVIST**

July 22, 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.


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.

Correction:

In yesterday’s newsletter, the contact information for Dasja Dolan, who is one of the leaders of ORD2 Indivisible’s letter-writing campaign for Vote Forward, was incorrect. Her email address should be . We regret the error.

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/


SOURCES:

Voting:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/joe-biden-citing-intelligence-briefings-warns-that-russia-china-are-engaged-in-election-meddling/2020/07/17/3ce81580-c89a-11ea-a99f-3bbdffb1af38_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/19/democrats-demand-expansion-voting-rights-memory-john-lewis/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-crimes-benefited-trumps-campaign-in-2016-ever-since-the-president-has-worked-to-block-scrutiny-of-those-schemes/2020/07/15/6b48cba8-c52b-11ea-a99f-3bbdffb1af38_story.html

Federal Occupation of Portland & Chicago:

https://lincolnproject.us/news/how-it-starts/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-chicago-police-dhs-deployment-20200720-dftu5ychwbcxtg4ltarh5qnwma-story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/18/portland-oreland-ag-lawsuit/

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6997451-Rosenbaumvjohndoes.html

https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/07/feds-conduct-surveillance-from-downtown-courthouse-analyze-social-media-videos-post-undercover-agents-in-crowds-records-show.html

https://trib.al/PnnCwCH

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/18/portland-oregon-federal-officers-trump-department-homeland-security?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/border-patrol-portland-arrest/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/opinion/portland-protests-federal-agents.html

https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2020/07/federal-agents-portland-border-patrol-chad-wolf-statues/

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a33347230/portland-oregon-protesters-detained/

https://www.opb.org/news/article/federal-law-enforcement-unmarked-vehicles-portland-protesters/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/19/portland-police-federal-agents-protest?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

COVID:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-response-failure-leadership.html?referringSource=articleShare

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/20/could-trumps-handling-pandemic-have-been-any-worse/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/19/coronavirus-update-us/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/18/us-coronavirus-fall-second-wave-autumn?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/07/18/white-house-testing-budget-cdc-coronavirus/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/07/16/verma-violated-contracting-rules/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/14/ppp-job-claims-sba/

ttps://www.npr.org/2020/07/15/891636652/government-watchdog-says-aid-for-migrants-misspent-by-border-agency

https://www.thedailybeast.com/could-trump-be-charged-with-manslaughter-over-covid

Vote-By-Mail:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/tens-of-thousands-of-mail-ballots-have-been-tossed-out-in-this-years-primaries-what-will-happen-in-november/2020/07/16/fa5d7e96-c527-11ea-b037-f9711f89ee46_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/15/how-trumps-war-postal-service-could-create-an-election-nightmare/