What We’re Reading This Week:
- First Charges Filed in Mueller Investigation (CNN)
- Early voting goes through November 3: Here’s a guide to the Texas Constitutional Amendments (TXLEGE Indivisible)
- Rep. Bill Flores’s Campaign Just Endorsed State-Sanctioned Execution of Political Opponents (Indivisible Austin)
- Burning Down the House: Joe Straus and the End of the Moderate Texas Republican (Texas Observer)
- How Your Voices Made a Difference: Indictment (Indivisible Austin)
Reminder: Election Day is Tuesday, November 7.
Early voting runs through Friday, November 03.
Find voter information for Travis County here.
Actions
Hold Your Republican MoCs Accountable for Fast Tracking the Trump Tax Scam
Republicans have cleared the first stage of jamming the Trump Tax Scam through Congress, by passing a budget resolution in the House and Senate. But this fight is far from over. Call Cruz, Cornyn and your Republican House Rep to decry this massive giveaway to corporations and the wealthy on the backs of the middle class. Scripts are available here.
Many of our national allies are planning a call-in day on Thursday, November 2, so mark your calendars. We’ll update our actions webpage with details.
ACA Open Enrollment Starts WEDNESDAY, November 1.
Here are three things to tell people about enrolling early:
- You must sign up for insurance between Nov. 1 and Dec. 15 to get covered for 2018, otherwise you will not be covered and may have to pay a fine.
- Do not wait until December 15 to sign up. There have been website problems in the past during a big rush at the end, and you could miss your chance to get covered.
- Financial assistance to pay for coverage is available! Don’t get fooled by the Trump admin’s anti-ACA hype and confusing news reports.
Cover Texas Now has a ton of online resources to help you do local outreach. All the current materials (including Spanish-language) are available here.
Phone banking for Virginia elections
Indivisible groups are banding together to elect progressives up & down the ballot in Virginia! Use the form linked below to get out the vote with a virtual phone or text bank from the comfort of your own phone.
Sign up to Get Out The Vote in Virginia
Call Cornyn about His Roy Moore Endorsement
Last week Sen. Cornyn threw his support behind Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore. He flip-flopped on his original endorsement of Moore’s opponent, saying, “Getting thrown off the Supreme Court of your state twice, I don’t think, is a credential that commends you for membership in the United States Senate.”
In case you’ve forgotten, Roy Moore was twice removed from the Supreme Court bench in Alabama, both times for defying the U.S. Supreme Court and the Constitution. He is a theocrat who believes we should be governed by the bible. He denied custody to a mother of her three children because she was a lesbian. He’s also a birther, claiming that President Obama wasn’t born in the U.S. He believes Rep. Keith Ellison shouldn’t be allowed to serve in the House because he’s Muslim. Moore has called for the impeachment of judges, including Supreme Court justices, who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage rights. He plans to rid the Senate of the filibuster.
But last week Sen. Cornyn decided to endorse Moore, comparing him to that weird relative you don’t really get along with, but who’s still a big part of the family nonetheless.
Nope.
Call John Cornyn this week ask him what, exactly, it would take for him to disavow a Republican Senate nominee. If John Cornyn can overlook Moore’s glaring unfitness for office, what else is he willing to accept?
Call the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement to Demand They Close Rosa Maria’s Deportation Case
Border patrol agents followed the ambulance and camped outside the hospital room of a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy getting emergency surgery – then jailed her in a detention center for kids. Call the Office of Refugee Resettlement today and demand they release Rosa Maria Hernandez immediately.
The ACLU will route your call here
Thank Yous
Rep. Lloyd Doggett has been speaking out tirelessly on the need to reauthorize CHIP. This essential program provides health care to 400,000 children in Texas (as well as pays for the care of hundreds of thousands more) and 9 million children across our country. For the first time in its history, Congressional GOP leadership in DC has let the program expire–and states, including ours, are quickly running out of money to provide coverage.
Thank Lloyd for his powerful op-ed published this week and his work to help the youngest Texans stay healthy and cared for!
And the Congressman has also continued his work to address the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs that are financially crippling families. He recently introduced a bill with Bernie Sanders to ensure Americans can get a better deal for their medications and also spoke out during a hearing on U.S. trade policy.
Events
Thursday, November 2
6 to 7 p.m. Día de los Muertos Remembrance / Conmemoración, hosted by Grassroots Leadership, “in remembrance of victims of detention and deportation. At Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd St.
6 to 8:30 p.m. Austin Candidate Forum, hosted by ATX Democratic Veterans at Craftsman, 2000 E. Cesar Chavez.
Nov. 3-5
ATX Political Hackathon. Join Indivisible Austin for three days of of progressive coding.
Nov. 4-5
Voto Latino Power Summit, a two-day leadership conference for emerging leaders.