ECHO BASE

Please share this post! Today's entry is largely Melania'd from an action item by my friend Megan (with her consent). Thanks Megan! A special counsel, Robert Mueller, has been appointed by the Justice Department to investigate Russia’s involvement in the U.S. presidential election, and "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.” This is great news, but it doesn’t let Congress off the hook. Let’s use this momentum to continue to demand a thorough Congressional investigation into Trump’s potential ties to Russia. 1. Focus on your Senators and Representative. With the appointment of Special Counsel, some in Congress may feel they are off the hook. We cannot let this slide. As stated here , Special Counsel can only go so far. We still need a parallel special commission appointed by Congress. If you need a script, give this a shot: “Hi. My name is _______ and I’m a constituent of Senator/Rep ____________. I am calling to urge him/her to dem...

Please share this post! The firing of James Comey is clearly an attempt to scuttle investigation into the Trump team's Russia ties. Comey's replacement is subject to Senate approval, which gives us leverage in this struggle. It's time for us to support Senator Schumer's commitment to block any nomination for the FBI post until a special prosecutor is appointed to investigate the Russia matter. WHAT TO DO: Call your Senator. Find your Congressional representatives here: http://www.whoismyrepresentative.com/ If you're in Minnesota: Senator Al Franken: (202) 224-5641 / 651-221-1016 Senator Amy Klobuchar: (202) 224-3244 / 612-727-5220 SCRIPT , if you need it (if you know your rep already supports what you're asking for, adapt your script as a thank you— yes, this is important to do too!): "Hello. My name is _______. My zip code is _____. I don't need a personal response. I'm calling to encourage Senator ________ to refuse confirmation...

The President's firing of FBI director James Comey is an obvious cover-up, a move designed to hobble the investigation of the administration's ties to Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Nothing short of a special prosecutor will render a true investigation. It's time to demand that our Senators stand up and speak for us, if necessary using a procedural maneuver known as "withholding consent" . In short, the U.S. Senate operates according to the principle of "unanimous consent" agreements. This action item urges our Senators to demand a special prosecutor, using any and all persuasive means at their disposal-- including withholding consent for Senate business to proceed otherwise. In essence, we're threatening to shut down the Senate unless a special prosecutor is appointed. More info on "witholding consent" WHAT TO DO: Call your U.S. Senator. Find your reps: http://www.whoismyrepresentative.com/ If you're in Minnesota, cal...

Three actions today: 1. FBI Director James Comey's firing is an assault on American democracy. Call U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein at 202-353-1555 and demand that he appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the President's ties to Russia. 2. Call your U.S. Senators. Demand that they 1. speak out forcefully to demand a special prosecutor to investigate the President's ties to Russia, and 2. oppose the repeal and replace of the Affordable Care Act passed by the U.S. House. Find your Congressional representatives here: http://www.whoismyrepresentative.com 3. MINNESOTANS: See yesterday's entry about the Omnibus spending bills. If you haven't made calls about this yet, please make them now!

A re-post of Watch Your Reps MN : In the middle of the night , while most people were sleeping, the MN GOP decided to close budget negotiations and finalize omnibus conference committee bills that have largely been shaped behind closed doors. Negotiations with the Governor have been going on for less than a week and these bills still drastically under-fund essential services and are full of bad policy. These bills could get votes in the House and Senate TODAY. I need you to make some noise about this. 1. Call House Speaker Daudt (651-296-5364) and Senate Majority Leader Gazelak (651-296-4875) and tell them this is unacceptable. That you expect the legislature to negotiate with the Governor in good faith, openly and transparently, and to come up with a budget everyone can agree to without controversial policy provisions. 2. Call your Representative and Senator (Find them here ) and tell them to vote NO on any budget bills that leave essential services like educati...

The House has passed repeal of Obamacare, as you've probably heard by now. Though the legislation may not survive the Senate, that's not the point. The point is: whoever voted for this abomination must now face the consequences. Here are two ways you can fight back. 1. DONATE TO ACTBLUE'S GROWING FUND that fuels 2018 campaigns against House members who voted yes to repeal the Affordable Care Act on May 4, 2017. Many of these Republicans have no declared opponent yet. But it doesn't matter. They voted yes on this monstrosity, so we're building a war chest against them ahead of time. It's beautiful. Donate here. 2. CONTACT YOUR SENATORS. All hands on deck. Call every day. Visit in person. Reach out via social media, any way you can. The Senate is our last chance to kill this thing. Let's make it happen. If you can, find an Indivisible group in your area and join. They're doing great work. 3. RESIST AND PERSIST. Broaden the struggle. Find a cam...

MN ACTION ITEMS, 5/3/17 : please repost this link The omnibus budget bills are coming out of conference committee and the GOP has requested the governor respond by Thursday. Information on exactly what is in these bills is still being compiled (some information below) but the governor could use some calls to let him know the people of MN have his back. CALL GOVERNOR DAYTON at (651) 201-3400) to let him know you support a budget that fully funds programs and services, and that you will not accept cuts to services to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. If you can, include an issue important to you included in the upcoming Omnibus bills— education, transit, education, jobs, health and human services, the environment, or public safety— and share a personal story that illustrates why it's important to you. For more background on the Omnibus bills and the upcoming budget, check out this latest action item from Watch Your Reps MN (from which most of this post is derived): http...

The Republicans are, for the third time since the election, trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act. And this time they might succeed. Please call your representative in the U.S. House today— right now, if you can— especially if your rep is a moderate Republican. HOUSE ACTION: Find your Congressional representatives here: http://www.whoismyrepresentative.com/ If you're in Minneapolis, call Congressman Keith Ellison: (202) 225-4755 / 612-522-1212 If you're in St Paul, contact Congresswoman Betty McCollum: (202) 225-6631/ (651) 224-9191 SCRIPT , if you need it (if you know your rep already supports what you're asking for, adapt your script as a thank you— yes, this is important to do too!): "Hello. My name is _______. My zip code is _____. I don't need a personal response. I'm calling to encourage Representative ________ to oppose any and all efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. If you could pass my concerns along, I'd apprec...