Note: If you are not a Missourian, you are still more than welcome to participate in this discussion. I welcome all ideas dealing with practical ideas of how to fight back against the red tide. And if you have relatives in Missouri, feel free to pass this along if you think they'd be interested. We need all hands on deck. And to everyone, I’ll be posting one these diaries on a weekly basis. This is as much for me to feel like I’m doing something as it is to spur all of us to push ourselves to fight as hard as we possibly can. There are lives depending on us.
Hello, my fellow Missourians!
As you are no doubt aware, we Missourians have now entered territory that I hoped we'd never see. Yes, the fascist pustule is President-elect (for the moment, but hope springs eternal), but he's the least of our worries here in Missouri at the moment. On the federal level, we've got a Republican Congress that is already introducing legislation that will gut Social Security and leave those dependent on SS and the disabled in dire straits. That's just the opening salvo, as we know they're going after every form of health coverage, from Obamacare to Medicaid. Who knows what other delights they have in store for us. I don't know about you, but I don't know anyone that won't be touched by just this part of the larger Ayn Rand cheerleader agenda.
But what is really going to kill us all here in Missouri is our shiny new governor and his merry supermajority band of miscreants in the legislature. Listening to Eric Greitens lay out his wish list the day after the election, I sobbed like a baby. The already flimsy and tenuous safety net will be shredded, Planned Parenthood's one and only clinic in the state will be under direct attack while "funerals for fetuses" is on the agenda, public schools will be gutted by vouchers, etc. and then turned into Bible studies, right to work laws will mean never finding a leg up out of poverty. They've already gotten their voter sanctioned voter ID law.
So, yeah. We're in deep shit. All of us, no matter whether we voted for the foul hordes stacked in our government or not, are now in danger.
After the initial shock of the Doomsday election passed, I crawled out of my dark cave in search of finding fellow travelers in my area who were ready to put up a fight. It's a task that has proved to be....difficult. They're either in hiding or they're heavily cloaked in ways that suggest they're not so much afraid and in hiding as they're clubby and oblivious to the danger we're in. The local party organizations won't even convene until February. Apparently we Dems like to enjoy our holidays while Republicans are busy scurrying about laying the groundwork for their massive assaults and actively undermining the foundations of democracy.
I also tried to dig around here at DK to find my peeps (tip of the hat to TomP for doing his best to assist.) I tried to join the ShowMe Kossacks group, but messages to both the group and an editor went unanswered. It appears to have gone inactive, which is a shame since we Missourians need to be organized on as many fronts as possible.
So. I'm not the sort of person who sits passively waiting for bad shit to smack me in the face before taking action. To stand idly by is to cede precious ground to the enemy, a luxury in which we do not have time to indulge. We have to start putting up a fight now, not later. And that is why I'm coming to you today, my fellow Missourians, to ask you to help me help us all.
If you live in Missouri, I'm asking you to step out of the shadows here in comments, identify yourself and discuss what you're willing to do to help. I'm not asking for personal information. Your DK moniker is enough for now. I would like to know what area of the state you are located in, who is your Congressman, who represents you on the state level. If you don't actually know, that's okay. I'm just trying to have a foundation on which to do research and put forth some ideas.
I'd also like to know how willing you are to participate in political activities outside these boards. Are you up for writing Letters to the Editor? Can you participate in a phone blitz to your representatives when abominations arise? Are you willing to participate in physical protests? Can you help keep track of legislation coming out of the statehouse, watch what your representatives are doing and report on it? Are you willing to show up in the offices of your representatives or at "meet and greets" to voice your displeasure? Are you willing to help others do the same? These are my initial questions, but feel free to add your own.
As an example, here is a copy of one of the Letters to the Editor I submitted to the three Weekly Astonishers to which I can legitimately submit in my area. You might be surprised at how strict these little papers are when it comes to getting a letter published. They all required physical signatures to submit them, plus addresses and phone numbers because you have to be within their reading area or they won't publish. I jumped through all the hoops and will do so again and again, because these little rags are a must read in this area. They may only read the Sunday edition of the Post Dispatch, if they read it at all, but EVERYBODY reads the Weekly Astonishers. Note that I don't say anything about the fascist pustule, because his kind won't listen to anything at all if it besmirches their favorite fascist. I clearly named the impact (Social Security under Attack!), listed the name of the Senator involved and his party affiliation, and the committee that produced it, and a brief description of facts. Too many facts just confuse the issue, they only need to hear the the important facts in plain language. So here it is:
Social Security under Direct Attack
Late last Thursday evening, December 08, 2016, chairman of the House Social Security subcommittee Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) introduced a bill in the House Ways and Means Committee that would effectively gut benefits to anyone on Social Security or disability. This is not something grandfathered in that will only affect younger folks. If this bill passes it will be effective in 2017. These cuts are drastic even for those least affected, and the older you are the worse the cuts will be, up to 75% of your current benefits. This will decimate our elderly and disabled, and there is nothing stopping them from passing this and other legislation aimed at depriving us of benefits that we've earned and on which so many depend to survive.
You and I, the voters, are all that stands between us and catastrophe.
If you are elderly, disabled or you have loved ones that fall in these groups, I urge you to call Congressman Sam Graves and Senators Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill. Let them know that you and/or those you love depend on these benefits and you will vigorously defend them. Let them know that you are watching, that they represent YOU. I hope you find the following information useful.
I advise everyone to keep a copy of the following phone numbers handy, because when looking at what the next Congress has planned for all of us, especially the elderly, disabled, children and the working poor, you'll be needing them.
Congressman Sam Graves
906 Broadway, PO Box 364
Hannibal, MO 63401
Phone: (573) 221-3400
Office Hours: By Appointment
and/or
1135 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-7041
Fax: (202) 225-8221
Senator Roy Blunt
7700 Bonhomme, #315
Clayton, MO 63105
Phone: (314) 725-4484
Fax: (314) 727-3548
and/or
260 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-5721
Fax: (202) 224-8149
Senator Claire McCaskill
5850 Delmar Blvd., Ste. A
St. Louis, MO 63112
Phone: (314) 367-1364
Fax: (314) 361-8649
and/or
730 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-6154
Fax: (202) 228-6326
Sincerely,
Me
My hometown
See? I kept it short and simple. In fact, it might not be simple enough, we shall see. The goal, of course, is to scare them, rile them up, and get them to call and complain to their representatives.
This kind of thing is from the TeaParty playbook. Remember death panels, and groups of angry seniors showing up at meet and greets screaming "Keep you hands off our Social Security! Keep your hands off my Medicare!" and how effective that proved to be. We need to learn from the enemy and adopt strategies that will work for us without compromising our deeply held principles. The letters are my starting point. Let's see where we can take it from here.
So, sound off, my fellow Missourians! Let me hear what you're capable of doing, what you're willing to do and what you won't touch with a ten foot pole. Let's band together and see if we can at least mitigate the worst of the damage.
And if you're a member of the Show Me Kossacks group with the ability of reviving it, please do so. We need to be speaking up, not laying down. We need to fight!
"We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." Benjamin Franklin