And In The End, We Are Forced To Face This Fact. No One Is Coming To Save Us. We Must Save Ourselves.

Resisting without Rest. March 17, 2025,

Editor’s Note: Before you read too deeply into this newsletter, I want you to know that I’m sharing the message that Indivisible National sent out on Sunday, and that this message is reflected in our scripts (which you can find by clicking the “Take Action” button, below). This is a strong message aimed directly at Democratic Senate leadership. It may not be what you want to hear; it may not be what they want to hear.

It just may be what needs to be said.

Read on, and argue back if you have a different take.

The First Amendment

By Sabra Briere, editor

A great deal of attention is paid to the Second Amendment. Far too much, in my not so humble opinion. After all, the Second Amendment was written to support what was needed for ensuring a militia could be mustered, especially to fight Native Americans. It was a time-and-place amendment, rather like the Third Amendment, which everyone has forgotten. (Really, who is concerned about having the government force them to host soldiers in their spare rooms these days?)

But the First. So many of our rights flow from the First, and that’s why it’s under attack. 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.

This week, as protests heat up, as the Attorney General threatens those who gather at Tesla dealerships and Federal buildings, let’s not forget that President 2.0 is using the force of his office to threaten freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right of people to peaceable assemble, and the right to petition the Government for redress of grievances. Whether that’s trying to force out of business law firms because they represented Democrats, or arresting and attempting to deport green card holders (Mahmoud Khalil), or putting pressure on educational institutions to fire teachers who are too woke, there is no doubt that the power of the presidency is being used to render the First Amendment powerless.

The courts, by the time cases get to the courts, defend the constitution. But President 2.0 and his minions circumvent the law — acting so swiftly that by the time anyone learns of their illegal actions, the actions are already over, the damage is done, and everyone is forced to play cleanup.

If Mahmoud Khalil is deported — a person married to a US citizen, a person on his way to becoming a US citizen himself, a person who broke no law and who advocated for peace — then it will not be a long walk before this administration acts against a person who already has citizenship. And then against a person who was born in the US but whose parent(s) may not have been. And then against someone like me, whose parents and grandparents and umpty-generations of ancestors were born here, but who just makes trouble.

The First Amendment. Our right and responsibility to uphold our constitution.

The Word from Indivisible National

When Republicans first introduced their partisan funding bill to keep the government open -- full of extreme cuts, attacks on basic rights, and provisions to give even more authority to Trump and Musk to continue dismantling the federal government -- it was clear that the fight to stop it would require Democrats to operate with real unity.

Federal employee unions, litigators fighting Trump in court, outside advocates, House Democrats, many Democratic party insiders, and Indivisible were all in lockstep that passing this bill would be worse than a government shutdown. The GOP funding bill would give Trump and Musk carte blanche to continue their administrative coup, and Democrats voting for it would be complicit in all the actions to follow.

Senate Democrats had the leverage to stop it: Advancing this bill required clearing a 60-vote threshold for "cloture," meaning Republicans would need 7 or 8 Democrats to vote to allow their coup-enabling bill to advance. And after House Democrats showed their power with an almost-unanimous vote against the bill on Tuesday, we had momentum as the vote moved to the Senate.

However, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer decided to cave. Instead of using a rare point of actual leverage, he announced his decision to surrender without a fight, voting for cloture and providing a pass for other Senate Democrats to fold. By the time of the vote on Friday afternoon, 10 Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to invoke cloture and allow the bill to sail through to final passage and Trump’s desk.

This was a massive betrayal of the Democratic party, of Indivisibles and activists organizing against this bill, and of our democracy. Because of Schumer’s failure, the bill included zero safeguards against Musk’s illegal and unconstitutional behavior. By refusing to hold the line, Senator Schumer went against the vast majority of his party to fully capitulate to Trump.

Indivisibles drove calls and organized events for weeks to try and stop this bill, and the outage from our network on Schumer’s surrender was immediate. Yesterday, we organized emergency calls with Indivisible group leaders across the country to decide how we should respond. After intense discussion, we took a vote on how to proceed, and the results were overwhelming:

• 82% of New York Indivisible group leaders voted to demand that Schumer resign as Minority Leader.

• 91% of Indivisible group leaders nationwide agreed.

The message was clear: If Chuck Schumer is unwilling to lead the opposition, he must make way for someone who will. Accordingly, Indivisible National issued an official statement calling for his resignation.

This is not a decision we take lightly. For years, we fought alongside Senator Schumer to push for progressive policies and hold the line against Republican extremism. But his capitulation on the Republican funding bill was not just a failure of strategy -- it was a failure of leadership. And if he will not fight in this defining moment, then we must demand someone who will. Indivisibles deserve a Democratic party, and leadership of that party, who is committed to fighting as hard as we are.

A minority leader who is unwilling to fight back against fascism is a weakness our democracy cannot afford. We need to pressure every single Democratic senator to speak out and join us in calling for new leadership that is prepared to lead a unified opposition to Trump and Musk.

For folks with Democratic senators, here are two actions you can take right away:

1. Before Senate offices open tomorrow, use our form to send an email to your Democratic senator and ask them to call on Senator Schumer to step down as Minority Leader.

2. Then, tomorrow morning, use our click-to-call page to call your Democratic senator and urge them to call on Senator Schumer to step aside.

Whether you have a Republican or Democratic senator, you have the opportunity to hold them accountable right now while they’re home for recess. Most Democrats voted the right way and opposed the GOP funding bill, and we should have their backs while pushing them to keep up the fight. Find an upcoming recess event near you (or use our toolkit to plan your own) and demand that your senator must stand with working families instead of bowing to billionaires like Musk.

From planning town halls to protesting at Tesla dealerships to showing up to congressional offices, our movement is willing to put in the work to defend our democracy. We have no intention of surrendering to Trump, Musk, or congressional Republicans, and we will not back down until we secure leadership that is equally dedicated to this fight.

What Can We Do?

By Sabra Briere, editor

If we listen to the politicians, what we should be doing is marching in the streets. And giving money to Democrats, of course. (But we should stop calling, because their staff are busy, and they don’t really need to hear from us.) Happy talk. Happy talk.

If we listen to President 2.0, we should all just sit home on our easy chairs, because good times are coming. We just have to wait for those good times and trust. Happy talk. More happy talk.

Now, I’m old in the ways of life, and happy talk doesn’t work with me, not anymore. Neither liberal or whatever we ought to call MAGA, I can tell when I’m being put off and told to go away.

And yet, we ought to be taking to the streets.

And the town squares. And the Federal Buildings. And the meetings of every civic group. Because what’s just happened in Washington DC won’t stay in Washington DC. It will affect our medical care and groceries, our utilities and schools, our libraries and roads, our ability to complain and our ability to worship freely.

And — when you are done making your calls, we hope that’s what you will do. As you can, as you are comfortable. Stand in front of a Tesla dealer. Go to City Council meetings. Join us at Old Courthouse Square. Carry a sign, wear a hat, make a noise, write a card. And make more calls.

Because this is OUR government.

It truly is. Unless we give up and give over and let others run and ruin it. It is still a government OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, and FOR THE PEOPLE. And we must not let it perish from the earth.

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Change happens when we make it happen. We need 3.5% of all of us on the streets, in the squares, at the Federal buildings. Blocking Traffic.

Be part of the change.

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Boomers, Geezers, Punks, and other activists

By Sabra Briere, editor

I’ve lately been feeling wounded by all the younger voices complaining about Boomers and Geezers who won’t get out of the way and let them run things. Even while I’m sympathetic, there’ve been some pretty harsh words written about white Boomer women who lost the last election(s), for instance.

And I can’t keep from thinking that this is my generation — who cut their activist teeth on protests. For voting rights and civil rights. Equal rights for women. Abortion rights. The right to get an education. The right to get equal pay. Desegregation. (I remember Selma, I remember the Edmund Pettis Bridge, I remember the day MLK was shot!) And of course, the war in Vietnam. More than a decade of protests, more than a decade of teach-ins and conscience-raisings. And every time since, it’s been the women — young, middle aged, then old, now older and oldest — who show up and make noise, because we know what’s at stake.

But let me be totally fair. I’ve also heard some gripes that there aren’t any / enough ____ involved in our current protests.

Stop that.

We mighty, experienced, strong and powerful, angry and articulate multitudes are also privileged.

We are less likely to be beaten. Less likely to be arrested. Totally unlikely to be deported.

Many of us won’t lose our jobs. We won’t put our family and friends at risk by protesting. We have, to a great extent, true freedom. While it lasts.

Because in the end, we are all in this together. The efforts to divide us will be unrelenting. We must never let them turn us against each other.

In the next few weeks and months, those of us who can will be on the streets and in the squares. We’ll be there with people we don’t know, supporting them as they fight for their jobs, their ways of life. The laws that protect us will protect them. That’s why we must be there.

I hope you’ll join in as many protests and demonstrations as you can. There will be too many. They won’t all fit into your life. But young or no longer young, whatever shade of the spectrum we are, we must all fight back. Or we will truly be without the rights our fathers and brothers fought for, the rights our mother and grandmother fought for, the reasons our parents and grandparents left their homes and moved to find a better life, here in these United States.

Excuse me. I have a bit of patriotism stuck in my eye.

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Guest editorial

A Sunday Thought

Robert Reich

Democrats are in disarray. Chuck Schumer green lights a continuing budget resolution that allows Musk and Trump to close down even more of our government.

And on it goes.

You have every right to feel depressed and enervated. You have every reason to despair.

But wait.

It’s possible that future generations will look back on this scourge and see something else — not just what was destroyed but also what was born.

Even prior to Trump, our democracy was deeply flawed. The moneyed interests were drowning out everyone else. Inequality was reaching record levels. Corruption — legalized bribery through campaign contributions — was the political norm (Musk is the logical ending point). The bottom 90 percent were getting nowhere because the system was rigged against them.

It’s entirely possible that future generations will look back on this awful time and see the seeds of fundamental reform.

Many of you are leading this. In hundreds of thousands of ways, you are beacon lights. You are the beginnings of positive change.

Read the rest here:

A Sunday thought

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All Those Marches Make A Difference

In 1775 (250 years ago, but who’s counting?) some parts of what would become the US experienced a lot of civil unrest, and others did not. Some people took to the streets, wrote angry words, made speeches. And others thought they were overreacting. Things got worse before they got better.

I hope we can stop this before things get worse.

This Sunday, March 23, we are joining the postal workers in protest, as Elon Musk and Project 2025 intend to make the US Post Office into a for-profit business. The US Post Office was the first public service formed by the nascent US government in — you guessed it — 1775. Sign up here.

We will have another rally in protest on Sunday, March 30. Mark your calendar - 3-5 pm, Old Courthouse Square. As the current government takes away food, shelter, education, and safety, we will bring solidarity.

We don’t have the link for that up yet, but we will.

And there is a national protest on Saturday, April 5. We are part of that. 3-5 pm, Old Courthouse Square. You can sign up for that one here.

This isn’t the first or the last. We don’t win until we all win. Check your calendar against ours. Bring friends.

We are all in this together. Because together, we are Indivisible.

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For more actions, click here:

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Check our website for more information and to learn more about Indivisible.