The SAME PAGE
In this issue:
- Feeling Stressed
- The Michael Luttig Article that everyone is talking about
- Voting Information
- An Invitation from Monarca – Democracy Defense
1. Feeling Stressed
The stress I’m feeling is nothing compared to an ICE abduction. I am not searching for water in the middle of a war zone that used to be a city park. Nevertheless, the anxiety is real. It has been hard to watch my country bend to a dictator who stirs constant uncertainty (an oxymoron), like when back in April he threatened to bomb Iran “back to the stone ages,” only to back down ninety minutes before a fake deadline to open the Straights of Hormuz. By preschool, I knew that a nuclear holocaust was inevitable; naturally, I’m feeling tweaked. More importantly, the chaos is destabilizing our democracy. That a private individual can change foreign policy with a literal flip of a switch, unilaterally shifting the United States from Ukraine’s ally to that of its Russian invader by cutting off access to privately owned satellites, is alarming.
If you are likewise struggling with the headlines, one way to stay grounded is to get involved in something that matters to you. Right now is the time to volunteer to maintain a public garden, read to a child, attend a PUC meeting, or teach someone how to set up a Signal account at the library. Or if you want to do something with urgency, help Get Out the Vote for the midterm elections. Sign up for a shift at mobilize.us/dflcc. Or sign up to give people rides to the polls at tinyurl.com/SamePage-Rides. Record turnout will be needed in order to secure democracy in Minnesota and to flip Congress so that we can reign in the dictator and begin to restore sanity and justice, while taking the opportunity to re-imagine how much better we can be.
Another way to keep your balance is to be socially engaged. How well do you know your neighbors? Why not take that drumming class you saw in the community ed catalog? Now is the time to say yes to the invitation. Better yet, extend one. Related, as a matter of resistance and to feel better, we must also reclaim our attention span. After Facebook and YouTube have been found liable for engineering their platforms to be addictive, it would be a good idea to keep them in check if not flee for higher ground (try BlueSky or Mastodon).
One step at a time. First, we vote on or before Tuesday, November 3.
(Rebekah Smith)
2. The Michael Luttig Article that everyone is talking about
Read full article in The New Republic
“So unalterably subjugated to Trump is today’s Republican House that even a decisive victory for Democrats and a resounding repudiation of Trump and the MAGA Republicans at the polls in November will not guarantee that a Democratic majority-elect will be seated in the 120th Congress on January 3…
Over the past year and a half since his return to the White House, Trump has exploited every conceivable unlawful means possible to rig the midterm elections in favor of the Republicans, and the federal courts have struck down as unconstitutional every one of these unlawful attempts. He will try every unlawful means over the remaining weeks to ensure that Republicans handily win the midterm elections in November. Those of us who oppose his illegality will look to the courts, but the federal courts will be institutionally incapable of checking his final unlawful rampage.
This is how the crisis would unfold. The precursor of the crisis will come sometime before noon on January 3, when Speaker Johnson removes current House Clerk Kevin McCumber and replaces him with a person loyal to Johnson and House Republicans who they know will refuse to list on the statutory roll of representatives-elect to the 120th Congress any Democrat-elect whom Johnson and the Republicans direct him or her not to list…”
Read full article in The New Republic
Please make it known with your calls and letters to Congress that we will not stand for a January 3 turd. If we can save Jimmy Kimmel by ditching a Disney subscription, what’s the least we can do for our democracy?
3. Voting Information
Vote by Tuesday, November 3. Find everything you need to know to vote in this critical midterm election at the MN Secretary of State’s website.
4. An Invitation from Monarca – Democracy Defense
Worth forwarding: A message from Madi at UNIDOS.
Election Day is right around the corner, and what’s at stake for all of us goes beyond who wins in November. The leaders we elect will make decisions that shape what we can accomplish at the Capitol in 2027. From protecting immigrant families and our freedoms to making healthcare, housing, and energy more affordable.
For too long, working families in Saint Paul have faced rising costs and policies that put corporations and wealthy interests ahead of our communities. We have the power to change that by organizing our neighbors and moving a legislative agenda to advance prosperity for all Saint Paul and Minnesota families in 2027.
The road to building the future we want starts now.
Join Saint Paul leaders on Wednesday, October 28, for a virtual community meeting to plan how we will move together this legislative session.
Together at this meeting, we’ll discuss:
- Election Defense: How we can use our voices and votes this November and how we can make sure our elections are free, democratic, and protected
- Our 2027 Legislative Agenda: The policies we want to move at the Capitol around freedom from surveillance, immigration justice, climate justice, healthcare, and prosperity for all families.
- What’s Next: How we can organize our neighbors and build the power we need to turn these priorities into real material changes for our communities.
- Join us Wednesday, October 28 at 6:20PM via Zoom
Register Here
Be sure to also save your seat for the November 15th Saint Paul Legislative Caucus meeting. This meeting will bring together neighbors and Saint Paul representatives and senators to talk about how we can move our Prosperity Agenda forward this legislative season.
The election will help determine who makes decisions at the Capitol next year. But it’s our organizing before and after Election Day that will help determine whose voices are heard and which priorities move forward. Join us to ensure our communities are prioritized this legislative session.
