Indivisible "What's the Plan" Weekly Zoom 4/24/25

It's Thursday, so Indivisible’s "What's the Plan” Zoom, which any of you can join btw, ended less than an hour ago (as of when I'm writing this)

Today's focus was very much on protests and what they mean, what they do, and how their success depends entirely on us.

So, on that note let's begin.

The intro was pretty short today. Of course, it started with the announcement that we officially have 2k ACTIVE local Indivisible groups throughout the country with 10 groups forming a day!

They then gave a quick snapshot of the state of the world, which really set the stage for the rest of the call.

DT is consolidating power, which is part of the typical authoritarian playbook. I think there's a nice reminder in that. He's not reinventing the wheel, other than the fact that he's doing it so badly, and history has shown that with mass mobilization we absolutely can get out of this mess.

The rumor is that he's going after non profits next, but there are no orders yet.

We may hear something later today, or tomorrow. There was also a rumor he was going to start going after environmental organizations on Earth day, obviously that didn't happen.

Anyone saying they know what's next is just reading the figurative tea leave and they may be right and they may not.

What we do know is regardless of what comes next, it is our constitutional right as Americans to peacefully organize and protest. What we're doing is foundational to us having a republic at all.

It's literally the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

They can try to stop us all they want but this is our most fundamental right and that will not change as long as we're a Democratic Republic, which we still very much are.

And now onto the Q&A, as I said at the beginning, most of these fall into the protest category

1. Mass Disruption Tactics
   Bottom line is we're not ready, and pushing for it to happen faster will not make us ready faster. Anyone saying "we must have a general strike tomorrow!" or "why hasn't a general strike happened yet?" (and you can subsitute general strike for any mass disruption tactic) doesn't fundamentally understand the planning that has to go into something of that magnitude.

   This is why Leah always talks about "building the collective muscle" each action exposes what people have an appetite for.
   
   Pulling together protests shows how many people can be brought together to collectively say "NO!" Scaling up those protests shows how many new people are being brought in an how successful we are at making it more than a one off thing.
   
   If you want a mass disruption tactic to be plausible, you have to get involved in these smaller actions now.

2. Worries that EM stepping back will slow down Tesla Takedowns
   First, let's praise ourselves, the only reason he's feeling the heat is because of us. Huge congrats to us on making that happen!!
   
   But, it's important to remember that he's a liar, so he has not stepped back until he's stepped back, and even then, stepping back doesn't mean going away, he's no less dangerous being there five days a week as he is being there only one.
   
   What we know for sure is he says he's focusing more on Tesla, and he's burnt out. Those are all wins, but we are nowhere near done. If you see someone with that worry these are great reminders to share with them.

3. Tesla Takedowns are working well, is there an equivalent for RFK Jr.?
   The short answer is no, and that's in large part because the problems are different, so the tactics have to be too.
   
   The fact is, not enough of the public understands the damage he's causing, and it's getting people k1lled.
   
   He polls better than the rest of the cabinet. That's because he has a perceived cross-partisan appeal. So, the bottom line is broadening public awareness of the damage he's causing. If you live somewhere where you can write an op-ed for your local paper, that's a great topic to write one on.
   
   But that isn't the only thing that can be done. This is where Blue States (those with a trifecta, or at least a Dem gov) come in. Ask your state government what they're gonna do when he overreaches. Blue states can be the bulwark against him.

4. What are our goals?
   The question was specifically about long term goals, but the answer covered it all.
   
   Our ultimate goal is equity and justice, our shorter longterm goal is a moment where democracy is stable enough that losing an election does not lead to the risk of falling into authoritarianism. We are not directly working towards that goal yet.
   
   The main realistic goal is that within the next few years we can build societal disapproval of DT and stop what's happening.

   
   And also to beat them electorally and have a successful transition of power, that last part is crucial and some very smart people are working on making sure that can happen as we speak.
   
   But our short-term goal? We're fighting to live another day. And that sucks to hear but sometimes we need to acknowledge those kinds of realities.
   
   Now, back to that main realistic goal, that's already totally in motion. We have Harvard seeing April 5 and pushing back less than a week after, and soon after many other colleges and universities joined them. Find out if your school signed, if they did, call and thank them, if not, then let them know you won't support the school in any way until they do. Alumni anger has a huge impact.
   
   Another University action, the announcement that DT will give the University of Alabama commencement speech. Indivisible Tuscaloosa and the U of A Dem club are trying to get the school to rescind the offer. We have power to make sure institutions know that the end of DT's reign is coming and they're going to be responsible for their current actions long after he's gone.
   

5. Won't impeachment just lead to Vance?
   Second part of that question but I wanted to split it up.
   
   Here's the bottom line, Dems don't have the votes to initiate or move impeachment. All it would do is shift the conversation from mitigating harm to procedure. It's a word everyone knows but it means very little right now.

   But our Dems can make it clear this era will end. There's a flip in language that can and should be happening. We can be on offense by continuously reminding everyone that there are consequences and they will be coming soon. (I'm just thinking about how perfect this kind of content would be for someone like Rep Sydney Kamlager Dove (CA-37))
   

6. There has been a vibe shift since April 5.
   We're seeing creativity from more and more Dems, they are all trying to get attention for doing the right thing. James Carville's roll over and play dead model is no longer the dominate view in the party.
   
   And first quarter fundraising reports helped push people to act and still is. Those electeds who have really been willing to take some risks are getting far better numbers than those who aren't and those numbers are getting noticed and talked about all around DC.
   

7. Why was the Indivisible response to April 19 so lukewarm?
   Sadly, this is a comment question I've seen quite a few times. The bottom line is Indivisible doesn't want their leaders to get burned out, so they base when they go all in on when their organizers can give their all, if they can't, they are still in active support, but might not directly be organizing. That DOES NOT mean that your local Indivisible can't go all in, if your group can do it, you 100% should.
   

8. How can we make every protest larger than the last?
   That's not the question we should be asking. No one studying authoritarianism says that every individual day of action needs to be bigger than the last, rather the movement needs to be growing. That means bringing in a new constituency every single time
   
   That's what makes May Day so exciting, it's being helmed by the immigrant rights and labor organizing groups. This guarantees that many people will be getting involved for the very first time. Our job is to make them stay involved, even if they can't swing attending every single action.

9. What is being done to market the protests on social media?
   Here's the deal, the BEST marketing for local events happens in person. It's flyers on a telephone pole, or a college or community center events bulletin board. We are at our best when the local groups do their own outreach.
   
   The national Indivisible team wants to make outreach easier, and they're working on that, but it's so much more impactful when we are all doing what works for our specific communities.

10. The Next National Day of Protest
    Right now the thought is June 14. It's Flag Day and DT's birthday and he wants to have a military parade in DC so the idea is that we organize everywhere outside of DC. If you like that plan, tell them, if you don't, tell them that too. This is still very much in the planning stages, and any feedback is welcome.
    
    They also took this opportunity to get again reiterate that DT so desperately wants to crack down on peaceful protesting and he will use any violence or threat of violence as an excuse. Don't do it, don't say it publicly, it would completely undermine our entire movement.
    

11. Rumors that Indivisible is against protests for Palestine or Palestinians.
    These are unfounded and probably created through that lovely game called telephone. There are not only no rules against protests supporting Palestine but there are no rules against supporting any kind of human rights attacks anywhere in the world. They also clarified that they want to hostages home, so this was not a one-sided response by any means.
    
    And they used this question as reminder that we must be a big tent "from Chaney to Chomsky"
    
    They recommended Anand Giridharadas' book "The Persuaders" especially if you aren't yet in a place where you can accept that we need to be in community with people we don't agree with on anything, and they reminded everyone we can't let any outside faction try to divide us.
    

And then finally, they were asked about the Supreme Court again and how we can pressure them, short answer, we can't, maybe mass demonstrations can push them on one decision or another but the bottom line is our focus should be on electeds not appointees.

They just hired a new media director, but Leah brought up that conservative audiences and liberal audiences are not the same, there isn't a market for nonstop grievances on the left.

Our focus needs to be on the apolitical space and how to harness it.

And they ended on the CTAs including the fact that recess isn't over so you can still approach your members of congress in person till Sunday

And mentioning that the attention is on Abrego Garcia specifically because the Admin admitted they had no justification for abducting him. If we win here it sets the precedent.

That's all I got, if you made it to the end, comment with 🔻 cause we're gonna take the GOP down!

Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them