by Regina Edmonds
Many of us in Grassroots Central Mass were really excited when we learned that Indivisible Mass Coalition (IMC) would be hosting U.S. Congressman Jamie Raskin on its Statewide Call on August 27, 2024. And we were even more fired up when we learned that our own Grassroots Central Mass colleague and IMC Board member from CD-1, Karen Nothe-Valley, would be one of the three chat monitors on the call.
In this role Karen and the other monitors fielded questions placed in the chat, organized the questions seen there into themes, and related the questions to elements of the speaker’s ongoing narrative. All of the monitors did a great job and we commend them all, while sending out a special three cheers to “our” Karen for her positive, upbeat, informed, and engaged interpretive skills!!
Jamie Raskin, a conservative? Really?
True to form, during the call Congressman Raskin wowed us with his eloquent, intelligent, comprehensive, free-flowing, and rapid-fire presentation. One especially high point for me was when he claimed to be a conservative, asked himself why this was true, and then launched into an incredible response to his own question. He said that he was conservative in the sense that he wants to conserve our land, air, water, Bill of Rights, Constitution, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, civil rights, the separation of powers, and so much more.
It always takes my breath away to encounter someone who can speak with so much passion, wisdom, energy, and knowledge without skipping a single beat. His words inspire hope that our precious democracy can indeed endure and even thrive despite the enormous challenges facing it right now. His joyful energy empowers all who are listening to get up and add their voices, skills, and hard work to preserve the national values we hold dear: liberty and justice for all.
Preventing chaos, organizing for a landslide
An issue I was especially glad to see addressed, primarily through the questions presented by Karen, was how to prevent chaos both before and after November 5th. Karen picked up on Raskin’s articulation of the vastly different images of America’s future embodied in the visions of the two presidential candidates—one deeply dystopian, the other filled with progress, optimism and joy. She asked what actions we should take now to overcome intense right-wing efforts to suppress the vote, and how we can assure the peaceful transfer of power.
I was partially reassured by Congressman Raskin’s acknowledgement of these distressing realities and his assurances that “magnificent” lawyers were standing ready in every state to challenge processes that disenfranchise registered voters and undermine the electoral process. He told us that lawyers and activists will be “slugging it out” every day to prevent the election from being decided by either the incredibly corrupt Supreme Court or by the 12th Amendment process. Invoking the latter brings the decision on who will be president to the House of Representatives, giving each state one vote. In either of those two scary scenarios, it is very likely that Harris will not become president and the popular vote of our nation’s people will be overturned.
Raskin affirmed that we cannot let either of those options occur and therefore we must “organize for a landslide, a blowout.” He encouraged us to use these powerful words and to work as we never have before to make sure we do indeed have a landslide victory.
I feel profound gratitude for the dedication of people like Jamie Raskin and for IMC for bringing such inspiring, thought-provoking, and wise leaders to us each month. We are NOT going back. We are moving forward with hope, joy, knowledge, passion, and reverence for the kind of democracy envisioned by those who uphold the principles of universal rights.
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Regina Edmonds is one of the founding members of Grassroots Central Mass and is especially passionate about issues of racial and social justice.
