Today I attended a Day of Action #ResistTrumpTuesday event organized through the cooperative efforts of MoveOn, Indivisible, and the Working Families Party. This was a national day of action, and according to Indivisible, it is the first of many. Today’s action was to visit local offices of our U.S. senators and ask them to reject the SwampCabinet nominees.
Here in Michigan, we are fortunate to have two Democratic senators (and we will fight to keep it that way), so unlike other groups answering the call, at this location at least, we were welcomed with open arms. I traveled to the Rochester MI office of Sen. Gary Peters, and when I arrived 15 minutes early, there were already 75 or so people gathering on the lawn outside of the office. As more people arrived, it became clear we were going to hold an outdoor event, and the regional directors stood out in the rain with us.
The first speaker was the official “host” of the event, and she spoke well and eloquently about her life as a woman of color, a nurse, and a Detroit native and how the various nominees could impact her life. After speaking, she handed the bullhorn to Bruce Fealk, a well-known Michigan activist (Bruce Fealk):
After Bruce spoke, the bullhorn was handed off to any in the crowd who wanted to address Sen. Peters’ regional directors, Kevin Hrit and James Jackson. One mother spoke about how she and her son both had pre-existing conditions, and if she did not have insurance due to the ACA, they would not be able to afford the care they needed to stay alive. Another young man, an African-American, merely said, “Look at me. I’m young, I’m black...and that makes me scary to some people. Do you think I will survive a Jeff Sessions’ DOJ?” Person after person spoke, telling their stories, and following a trend I’ve seen over and over again, most people prefaced their statement by saying, “I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve voted, but that’s about it.”
As the event was winding down, I realized I myself had something to say. I was handed the bullhorn and introduced myself by name and as a voter, a Democrat, and a precinct delegate. After thanking Sen. Peters for his strong support for the ACA, I added that I had heard the senator speak on many different occasions and in many different settings, and I knew he could speak boldly. But I added that I knew many, many people who had called the local offices about the DeVos nomination and were told that the senator was waiting until after meeting with DeVos before announcing his decision (he has since announced he will not support it). I turned to Kevin and James and said, “That’s a problem. When online friends were hearing that, they assumed it was a waffling, milquetoast kind of statement. You’ve heard today from people who are admitting they are new to the “political” arena. If the senator is not going to be bold on every statement, then he and his staffers have an obligation to educate. If he wants to observe and maintain a level of courtesy and decorum for the sake of not abandoning all democratic norms, then he needs to explain that. So my “ask” today is this: be bold, and if you’re not bold, be clear and educate us all.”
After that, Regional Director Kevin Hrit addressed the crowd. He thanked us all for coming out and standing in the rain; that he heard us; and he would make sure the senator heard us. He then went on to say to KEEP IT UP! He said their phones were ringing off the hook, and they welcomed that. He made sure each of us got his and James Jackson’s business cards, which include the office number as well as their cell phone numbers. He encouraged us to make appointments and come as individuals or smaller groups (the office is small and can’t accommodate a group of 100+). After he concluded his remarks, he asked that we all gather as close as possible so he could take a picture to send to Senator Peters. He made sure this guy was kneeling in front: