by Dean Briggs
When the federal government began backsliding toward authoritarianism, our state became one of the bulwarks protecting its people. This requires the state legislature and the governor to focus aggressively on laws that protect us from federal overreach using the states’ rights provisions in the U.S. Constitution.
These legal tools can protect us — but only if our elected officials pick them up and use them!
Unfortunately, the Massachusetts legislature is ranked least efficient in the U.S. for passing bills into law.
This is why Indivisibles and our allies must act. Constituent pressure is vital to protect people at risk: immigrants, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, women — really, all of us.
Five minutes to make a difference
What if there were a way to, in five minutes at home, have an impact on a voting-protection bill that was struggling in the state senate? Or urge the governor to push a law protecting school funding from being pocketed by billionaires?
There is, and IMC’s Coordinated Action Network shows you how. CAN was conceived as a way for individual activists and local groups to grasp an issue, know the facts, see the opportunity, and take action.
The IMC CAN Team regularly reviews and selects issue-driven actions proposed by Indivisible groups across the state and advocacy organizations such as the ACLU, MIRA Coalition, Progressive Mass, Act On Mass and Common Cause. Then, each week, CAN publishes one or two of these calls to action on Substack. By reading the provided background information and following the steps in the CAN post, activists can easily contact the appropriate elected officials to express their views and encourage specific action. CAN’s posts also appear in IMC’s Mass Action newsletter and in the #coordinated-action-network channel on Slack.
CAN Editor Miriam DeFant and her colleagues have recently posted actions concerning billionaires’ revenue grab, the MAGA war on women, the return of nuclear power, ICE detention facilities, DE-ICEing Citizens Bank, personal privacy, and funding for immigrant services.
When you call
Want to amplify your impact? Your local Indivisible group
can hold a five-minute Call Storm Party during your in-person
or Zoom meeting. First, your group chooses an issue from the
latest CAN post. Then, everyone calls their legislators from
their cellphones to leave messages.
Raise only one issue per call. It’s OK to call the same official multiple times. You’ll probably talk with a friendly office intern or leave a voicemail. If you prefer not to talk with a person, call in the evening and leave a message.
How to support CAN
Are you an Indivisible group leader? You can amplify CAN’s impact by reposting CAN alerts in your group newsletter and on social media. DeFant recommends Call Storm Parties during local group meetings (see box). Share the weekly CAN with the group, and then have everyone take the action in the meeting together.
CAN aims to amplify actions that can be vetted and that have been developed by activists in our communities. If you have a great idea and it is not being promoted by another group, you can submit it here.
CAN is seeking experienced organizers and activists to join the team. Contact the team here for more information.
Dean Briggs is a member of the IMC Communications Team, Indivisible Boros and Beyond, and Nashoba Indivisible.
IndivisiBlog posts reflect the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policy positions of Indivisible Mass Coalition.
