National purpose with local action
Next meeting: September 15 (Mayoral candidate forum!)
Christ Lutheran Church
1701 Arroyo Chamiso Road, Santa Fe
Thank you Summer of Democracy! ✊ This summer has seen a flood of incompetence and illegal incursions by the regime on our people, our economy, our rule of law, and even our cities. But it's also made the people so very aware that the regime is out of control. Trump's approval ratings are the lowest ever for a president at this point in their term, and people are showing up to protests across the country. And government staffers are standing up and letting us know that the agencies we depend on are being trashed from the inside.
G. Elliott Morris
It's a slow process, building the momentum and organization to fight this regime, but it is necessary work. Nobody wants to see this continue any longer than necessary, and nobody wants to look back and realize they should have done more.
The upcoming budget battle is going to be a test for Democrats in congress. Will Democrats cave like they did last time and let congress rubber-stamp the regime's authoritarian takeover? Or will they fight hard to retain some semblance of democracy? We'll be wanting to make sure our legislators know where we stand!
We are no longer in the muzzle velocity stage of this presidency. We are in the authoritarian consolidation stage of this presidency.
-- Ezra Klein
📣 Collective action followup 🚀 In case you haven't seen it, we have through collective action canvassed over 50 businesses with the "Everybody Welcome except ICE" signs, and the vast majority (45 so far) have agreed to post the sign, with many thanking us for our information and initiative. See the table in the follow-up post for the list! ❤️
Upcoming Events
Fashion Show
Our friends at the Democratic Party of Santa Fe County are hosting a fashion show fundraiser, September 19, 6-8pm at the Farmer's Market Pavilion. Our very own Mark McGregor will be one of the models ❤️
We hope you can join us! Uli's Boutique is hosting a Fashion Show for the DPSFC to raise money for working families and the most vulnerable in our county. This is a time to be together, to be in community. Supporters include: Human Rights Alliance, NM Wild, Indivisible, Democratic Party of New Mexico, the Federation of Democratic Women San Juan County, Federation of Democratic Women Santa Fe County, Young Dems NM. We plan on recognizing area activists and the three gubernatorial campaigns are invited to participate.
Register here:
Local Action
The Mayoral race is getting a lot of attention in Santa Fe, and we are having a candidate forum at our next meeting on September 15. Even if you aren't in the city limits, you probably care about who is mayor of Santa Fe 🎩 – you are probably in town quite a bit (I know I am, and I live out near Eldorado) and what's going on in the city matters to you.
The candidates attending include:
- Michael J. Garcia – Michael has city council experience. After graduating from University of New Mexico with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in Public Administration. He believes that the community’s voice is always heard.
- Oscar Rodriguez – Oscar is the Chief Financial Officer for the New Mexico Finance Authority. He has extensive community service experience, including New Mexico American Civil Liberties Union Board of Directors.
- Ron Trujillo – Ron is a native son of Santa Fe with Hispanic and Native American roots and identifies as mestizo, a lifelong champion of cultural diversity and public servant. He was on the city council for 12 years.
- Justin Greene – Justin is a small business owner, County Commissioner, architect and community advocate from revitalizing the Railyard and co-founding Warehouse 21. He co-authored the planning documents for the Community Convention Center. He is a County commissioner.
Scott Romans
If you miss the forum we're holding, or just want a different angle, the community college is holding one two days later on September 17:
New Mexico Legislature
This week in the NM interim committees:
- Health & Human Services (Sept. 10-12)
- Water & Natural Resources (Sept. 11-12)
ISF Leadership
with an added note that we're going to start seeing a lot more here when the special session starts in October. Likely a lot of focus on the Federal Funding Stabilization Committee.
Protests and Rallies
Showing up with the Body Politic
Guest post
Note: The Wednesday Walk the Talk sign waving is back at its 12-1 PM time slot; Summer weather has receded and Fall weather is upon us 😄
Donovan Kolbly
Donovan Kolbly
In the News
What folks are saying, of interest around here and elsewhere
Article 3
The Supreme Court made an egregious ruling on the shadow docket yesterday, supporting the regime's ability to stop and detain people for being brown or not speaking English because the supreme court now considers that probably cause to be breaking the law. Worse, the ruling was predicated on the regime's claims about immigration, and we know how truthful the regime has been in court 🙄
Jennifer Rubin
CalMatters
NM Special Session
To try to mitigate the effects of the terrible bill that the Republicans are trying to re-brand because it's so bad, the governor is calling a special session to start October 1:
Kevin Hendricks, nm.news
Governor Lujan Grisham is calling a special legislative session in order to address the impacts of the federal tax and spending bill on New Mexico’s budget. The governor has total discretion to set the agenda for what bills can be included during a special session, and Think New Mexico is asking her to include the interstate compacts for health care workers, which is the most important step lawmakers can take to immediately expand the supply of health care providers available to New Mexicans, including via telehealth. The compacts are even more urgently needed now as patients are facing the potential loss of some rural providers due to Medicaid cuts. Please join us in urging Governor Lujan Grisham and your legislators to include the interstate compacts for health care workers in the special session that starts October 1!
https://www.thinknewmexico.org/action-center/#/
Also, check out the web calendar of grass-roots events from around New Mexico. Filter by Santa Fe or your area of interest!
Dispatches from the Indivisible Santa Fe desk
Heidi Li Feldman
Debra Efroymson
More context around the protest that is happening tomorrow (Sep 10):
Guest post
Stay in touch with us
Check out our resources page with lots of links to useful information, constantly being updated as we find new web resources to help fight for democracy and the rule of law. For example, we just added a link to an online course from University of Michigan:
You can help our effort to expand our digital presence, including social media on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram by following us and liking and re-posting our messages, or sharing our website with people who might be interested – they, too, can sign up and get this newsletter! 🎉 Help us get the word out!
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Indivisible National
(call to action from August 27)
Federal government funding runs out on September 30 – setting up a massive monthlong sprint to pass a budget and avert a government shutdown.
But unlike the recent reconciliation showdown, when Republicans rammed their Big Ugly Bill through with a bare majority, the GOP needs to earn Democrats’ votes to pass a funding bill this time. That means Democrats have significant power to shape government funding and stop Trump’s cuts and chaos!
We’re gearing up to demand that Democrats FIGHT LIKE HELL -- and making sure MAGA Republicans know hardball, hyper-partisan games won’t work.
Here’s where things stand and what we’ll do next.
THE STATE OF PLAY
The dynamic of this fight could not be more different than when we tried to stop Trump’s Big Ugly Bill. In that fight, Republicans used the reconciliation process to bypass the 60-vote filibuster and do whatever the hell Trump wanted -- like gutting Medicaid and SNAP to supercharge ICE.
But this time, the GOP absolutely needs votes from Democrats to get a bill to Trump's desk. A united Democratic front has the power to block extreme MAGA policies and even reverse some damage Trump has done.
Sounds promising… but Democrats have a history of rolling over. During the last shutdown deadline in March, Republicans walked away with nearly everything they wanted after Chuck Schumer and nine other Dems surrendered.
Republicans fully expect Dems to roll over again, so they’re plotting a dangerous budget that could lock in healthcare cuts, defund our schools, funnel our tax dollars to ICE, and hand Trump more unchecked power.
We’re here to tell Republicans and Democrats alike: Stop the cuts. Stop the chaos.
OUR DEMANDS
Lawmakers on both sides need to hear our expectations early and often, and to make sure they do, we’re going to ask that you call your senators in just a moment. But first, let’s make what we’re asking crystal clear:
TELL DEMOCRATS: We need courage, not cowardice! You must call on Leader Schumer to FIGHT LIKE HELL and lead a unified Democratic front.
Before the Schumer Surrender in March, your senator(s) and most other Democrats were willing to do whatever it took to block Trump’s far-right funding plan -- but Schumer and nine weak-willed Dems gave in and divided the party.
This time, Schumer must say early, often, and loudly that Democrats WILL NOT SURRENDER ONE VOTE for a budget that funds Trump’s chaos or locks in his healthcare cuts. We need you to contact Senate Democrats so they can publicly call on Schumer to make this pledge.
TELL REPUBLICANS: You will OWN the government shutdown if you don’t commit to a bipartisan funding process.
Nobody wants to see a government shutdown, but we expect our tax dollars to fund families, not fascism.
America knows MAGA Republicans control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives. If party leaders prioritize Trump’s authoritarian wishlist over keeping our government functioning, it’ll be Republicans who are held responsible for a shutdown and the pain that follows.
We have the will and the leverage to win this fight, and this time, we’ll make sure Democrats have the courage to hold the line.
Because as Leah and Ezra often say, “courage is contagious," and your strength to stay in this fight will help us stand up to Trump’s cuts and chaos. Thanks for reading this and taking action with us.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
P.S. Passing a bipartisan budget while averting a government shutdown will take an all-out, multi-week sprint. Massive events. Thousands of calls and emails. Aggressive ads and media campaigns. If you can, please chip in today so Indivisible can gear up to stop the cuts and chaos this budget season.
