We’re trying something new.
For three-and-a-half years we have delivered the “Take Action” newsletter to inboxes every Monday morning. Today the 2020 elections, Covid-19, calls to defund the Austin Police Department, and Trump’s ongoing attacks on Democracy are—unfortunately—providing a wealth of material. It’s too much to fit into one weekly newsletter, and news is happening so fast that our Monday newsletter is frequently stale by Wednesday.
Starting today we’re introducing a midweek supplement to include and amplify previous actions that may have been overlooked. We’ll experiment with the format until we land on what works—and we welcome your feedback at ask@indivisibleaustin.com.
Why won’t Greg Abbott just do the right thing?
We’ve tried for years to dig into the psyche of Greg Abbott. We know he can be cruel. We know he is susceptible to rightwing conspiracy theories like Jade Helm. He maintains his popularity by avoiding scrutiny. (There was an unconscionable number of Beto-Abbott voters.)
The Covid-19 crisis reveals Abbott’s fecklessness. This passage from Texas monthly sums it up well:
“Here, we could talk about Abbott’s quadruple-backflip on mask mandates; the time he issued a statewide lockdown disguised under a bureaucratic name while insisting it wasn’t one, before clarifying that it was the next day; the Shelley Luther saga, which saw him ordain that violators of his shutdown order should be punished with fines and jail time only to blame local officials for enforcing it, before retroactively nullifying what he had expressly commanded; or the way he opened the state for business before fixing the problems the lockdown was designed to address.”
If there is any silver lining to Abbott’s incoherent style of governance, it’s that he is susceptible to pressure. He responds to the loudest voice in the room. So we need to get louder.
- Tell Greg Abbott: Half-measures aren’t enough to defeat Covid-19 (Indivisible Austin)
- Tell Greg Abbott to expand Medicaid (petition from state Rep. John Bucy)
- Tell the Texas Legislature to expand Medicaid (Cover Texas Now)
- During COVID, Texas Should Reduce Uninsured Rate And Seek Federal Health Funds (Cover Texas Now)
Still a big deal: Cornyn’s silence on the bounties Russia is paying on the lives of US troops
It’s been weeks since news broke of the Russian bounties on US troops. And still this was the best Cornyn could offer on the subject:
“I think the president can’t single-handedly remember everything, I’m sure, that he’s briefed on”
—US Senator John Cornyn, on the news that Russia is paying a bounty on the lives of US soldiers
This is unacceptable. Send Cornyn a letter
Events
Thursday, July 23
Austin City Council meeting
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Monday we included a series of actions to pressure City Council to reject Spencer Cronk’s Austin Police budget. This will be one to watch.
Friday, July 24
LIVE: Can Texas protect voters’ rights and safety in November?
12 p.m. Join Texas Civil Right Project in a discussion about the election problems they heard from voters across the state during the run-offs and what we must do in the next 100 days to ensure that every voter can cast a ballot fairly and safely.
Saturday, July 25
Celebrate Julie Oliver’s birthday with special guests Julián Castro and Lloyd Doggett!
Honor TX25 Democratic nominee Julie Oliver’s special day and raise money for the last few crucial months of the campaign!
Monday, July 27
Payback Project with Indivisible National’s Dani Negrete
7 p.m. Indivisible Grapevine hosts a Payback Project event to unseat John Cornyn, featuring Dani Negrete of the national Indivisible team.
Tuesday, July 28
Webinar: Indivisible Textbanking Training
6 p.m. Learn how to start texting with the IndivisiText program on our platform TextOut!
Friday, July 31
2020 Medicaid/Medicare Anniversary: Take Racism Out of Healthcare
6 p.m. Join the #SICKOFITTX coalition in a discussion about the racial bias that still exists within the medical community, and what we can do to help take racism out of healthcare.
Join the event (Facebook Live)