Indivisible Nantucket (IN) Meeting
Sunday, February 12, 2017; 12:15pm
Hendrix Hall
Facilitator: Jack Weinhold
Notetaker: Susan Richards
50 plus in attendance…. sign -in sheet was passed around and is being inputted into the IN database – copies of the Indivisible Guide were distributed
I.Notes from 1/29 meeting – approved
- Recap of Group history and explanation of IN Facebook page and Mail Chimp – Susan and Alison
III. Review of national Indivisible’s Four points of focus and how we fit with them – Jack
- Town Hall participation
- Public Events
- Office Visits
- Phone Calls
How do we embolden our MoC (Members of Congress) so that they will actively resist?
Comments from the group:
-How can we make a difference when we have like-minded representatives
-Remember – We have a Republican governor and we don’t know who is going to be running against Elizabeth Warren and other democratic incumbents in 2018
-Mary Beth pointed out the NYTimes article that Republican-run states are working quickly to make conservative policy changes
-Michelle Whalen – What convinces people who are not of the same opinion as us is when they feel heard and engaged with – Start a story project to tell and listen to our stories?
-Jack – Recent Ted Talk: Take some unlike minded person to lunch and engage – listen and talk…
-Question: Is Indivisible a 401K? No… it’s just a group of active volunteers
-Haziel – Reminded everyone of his Golden Rule declaration… Go to Change.org
Joe Aguire – CAUTION – is the chaotic situation by design in this government? – so that fascists can take over….. The most important issue is to make sure the Constitution is followed…. A bully becomes a dictator…. This president does not understand there are 3 different branches of government
Jack: Mussolini got the trains to run perfectly but the rest of the country was in total turmoil
-Christine Sanford: Ruth Bader Ginsburg – bio – read! – it shows a real insight into our judicial system
Indivisible is the opposite of the Tea Party – Be honest – respectful –
-Bill – Don’t lose sight of how we lost the election – Communities like Nantucket reach out to the disillusioned communities that traditionally vote democratic but didn’t in this election – reach out to a community that is on water like us…. To get a real understanding of why people voted for Trump – read Hillbilly Elegy.
-Joanne Pollster. – group swaps – someone from Nantucket go to another group and them come to us….. Jack – do via big screen – Dreamland?
-Molly Anderson – volunteered Atheneum equipment to do a “town meeting” type of forum – Also you can get daily action alerts – we should be sure we have an alert system for our group….. Phone calls are important – they are counted by representatives
-Nancy Tobias – Start working at local level to have early voting/absentee voting – so that we can go to these places to help people vote because we would have already voted
-Indivisible Town Halls – too disruptive? – We should hold our reps feet to the fire but respectfully
– Remember what Natalie Chambers said – We need to become the experts
-Cody Penotti – Indivisible guide is online and on our facebook – Jack – there’s a good intro video posted here on Indivisible
-Victoria Pickwick – what Republicans might be persuaded to vote democratic?
ACTION STEP – Victoria will research and post
-Haziel – We don’t want to impeach Trump – it’s a waste of our time and we’ll end up with Pence as president – and will Republicans work for their vested interests
-Roger Tillton – Pence will quietly sign all the bills that Trump is being noisy about
-Best approach is to slow everything down – like McConnell did with Merrick Garland
-43 winnable house seats in 2018 – We need to get a majority of either the house or senate and then we can actually stop (not just slow down) conservative policies from getting through
-Karen Werner – Do you know anyone who didn’t vote? – 48% of all registered voters didn’t vote at all – Indivisible Nantucket offers us a chance to be active and not just spectators…. Let’s all look into issues and research and get back to the group….
David Hall – Impeachment is different and perhaps we should consider for Trump – it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t still be president
Joyce – Moveon.org – online meeting every Sunday at 8pm – next Sunday – Indivisible is featured
From Mary Beth – We’re all feeling Anger – Grief – Disbelief – We need to remember to take care of ourselves – stay strong and as positive as possible. Remember the Arc of Justice (MLK)
Positions needed within group (recommended by Indivisible Guide):
-Social Media Publisher – Can someone be the funnel – a technical person? – Karen will do for now –
-Media Observer – See how our representatives are voting – and pass word on to
-We need a Website person – Wix.com – very easy website start site – perhaps Tom Dixon can do?
–Anyone else want to be in IN core group? See Jack, Susan, Alison, Karen
-Date to Remember: Democratic Town Meeting – this Wednesday, February 15th – 4:00pm in Athene
–By popular demand – our next IN Meeting will be next Sunday – Feb 19th at 12:15pm… in Hendrix Hall