For those of you in a hurry, these images can be downloaded and shared with friends. The theory is you point your smartphone camera at the square, even just on the screen, and it opens the page in a browser: no need to type in tedious URLs. A visual hyperlink? (It worked on my phone. More tests welcome.)

Some articles this week you may have overlooked.

Religious Never Trump conservative Michael Gerson on the sacrilege of Trump’s Prayer Breakfast jeremiad. (WaPo)

Sixty-four percent of New Hampshire Democrats would rather have all life on Earth extinguished by a meteor than have Trump re-elected. Sounds about right. (Rolling Stone)

Rachel Bitecofer explains her theory that there aren’t enough swing voters to care about. (Politico) The best news is she thinks any of the major Democratic presidential candidates can pull off a big win.

1. Tony the Democrat has a campaign to encourage Florida voters to sign up for Vote by Mail: postcardstovoters.org. We have postcards on our porch if anyone needs more. I passed on a stack to my students this week and gave them the link for addresses. Everyone loves our postcards–and we gave our some of our buttons at the Reject the Coverup demonstration we went to.
2. A careful analysis of Democratic fundraising lists T.J. Cox as one of the few Dems who was out-raised by his Republican opponent (exactly as Andy described at our last meeting). How about getting your friends to throw some dollars his way via our Donate link on the home page? We are off and running with $255 but want to reach $1000. Organize a list of emails for your very own Giving Circle you can target with our link once a month and start with the Cox link.
3. We’ll have a texting lesson before our next meeting (next Sunday) at 4:00. Meanwhile, here is a link about one of the texting groups: Text Troop.
4. We need everyone on deck. Recruit a friend or neighbor by passing on our website or bringing them to the next meeting.
5. Next meeting Sunday Feb 16th 4:30-5:45. We’ll have new QR-code cards to hand out, a discussion about mobilizing support and Andy will discuss the New Hampshire results.

Our new cards have a small typo and we will be reprinting them. The correct link to go straight to ActBlue is secure.actblue.com/donate/indiv_elmwood. Thanks to those who have chipped in for TJ Cox already. From this page, you can always click on the “DONATE” part of the menu.

As Trump’s acquittal in the Senate appears a near certainty, “reject the cover-up” protest rallies are being held around the country this Wednesday at 5:30 pm by a broad coalition of pro-democracy and progressive groups. The nearest ones at the moment are in Emeryville and El Cerrito, but people are angry, and more may well be organized.  You can find details at https://rejectthecoverup.org/.

First of Andy’s periodic updates evaluating the various postcard campaigns:

Two safe seats in the Kentucky State House where he wants to make sure we aren’t complacent, a no-hope campaign in Georgia, and closer to home a San Luis Obispo County Supervisor race that will be the swing vote. That looks to me like the one to pick. Voting is starting now as mail ballots go out. An additional advantage is that California postmarks won’t seem foreign.

NOTE: You can get addresses for the campaigns at : postcardstovoters.org. If you need help, email nhjanowitz@me.com

Ann Overton reported on the East Bay Activist Alliance meeting yesterday. EBAA is our local successor to Sister District, which has a narrower focus. Some EBAA contacts: Penni Takade [Campaign Liaison, Textbanking], Paul Costello [Canvassing], Jody Lerner [Fundraising], Jan Murota [Postcarding].

Bruce Jackson reported on Indivisible. Indivisible remains neutral in the Democratic Presidential primary; they did have a score card on Democracy Reform (voting rights, ballot access, gerrymandering, etc.) in which Elizabeth Warren finished first, Pete Buttigieg second, then Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar, with Joe Biden last.

Lanny Weingrod reported on his research into voter turnout. The more personal, the better. Reminder, Reclaim Our Vote is meeting this Tuesday, February 4, at the Berkeley City College Auditorium. Tickets here. Donate here.

Naomi talked about the changes coming in the California ballot. Some counties have switched to sending everyone a mail ballot, but Alameda County does not appear on the list. For the March 3 election, besides the primary, there is one State measure and several county/local measures, all either taxes or bonds as I recall.

We had an extensive discussion of Sister District targets and where Elmwood should focus. Michigan State Assembly is close to flipping. SD also thinks the Arizona statehouse may flip.

We discussed our five-point action plan

1. Postcards. It is time to start again. Time to buy stamps before they are all gone (Lanny said he would buy some in Mountain View). Ann offered new postcards from the EBAA meeting. Andy will rank Tony the Democrat’s postcard campaigns so that we can concentrate on the most competitive. He will also start posting summaries and links to articles that members may have missed. Ann O will pick one day a week to postcard at Roma while the live music is going in hopes of recruiting others to join. When she decides on the day, the info will be sent out.
2. Fundraising. We are beginning a program of rotating fundraising both via our familiar thermometer on our website and also via the cards Michael made with our website link printed on them. Our first two-week drive is $1,000 for TJ Cox (CA-21), whom we helped drag across the finish line in 2018. His 2020 race will be very competitive and his fundraising so far is anemic. At the next meeting we will decide what to fundraise for next, perhaps a Voter outreach program. We’ll see at the next meeting what people think about the Reclaim Our Vote program Tuesday and we also have the Voter Participation Center. We also mentioned Josh Harder (CA-10), who calls frequently. He is a top GOP target, as is Cox, but his fundraising skills are much better. See also last meeting’s discussion of top Senate races.
3. Interns. If anyone know of any 18-19-20 year olds who would like to be sent to work for a month on a campaign, please send the info to Naomi or bring it to our next meeting.
4. Texting. Meetings will now start with texting training from 4:00–4:30 for anyone interested in starting up or just having a refresher course.
5. Education. We’ll spend 10–15 minutes at each meeting educating ourselves about important articles that have appeared in the press, polls and race info that Andy wants to share with us and anything else anyone thinks is important.

Ann O. will tell us about the East Bay Activist meeting, Lanny will share his investigation into voter suppression/outreach, Bruce will update us on National Invisible, Andy will debrief us on the Texas special election and the upcoming CA primary and I’ll up share what info we have on the Sister District decisions about elections to engage in. Then we’ll launch our new Five Action Paths for getting us and all our friends active between now and when we win in November.

Item #1: Next meeting: This coming Sunday Feb 2 4:30-5:45

Item #2 Note from EBAA: Reclaim Our Vote is grateful to you and your organization for your support of our February 4 fundraiser in Berkeley with the incomparable Andrea Miller. We’ve sold over 100 tickets, prompting event relocation to Berkeley City College, which boasts a 300 seat capacity. We’ve also raised nearly $6,000 of our $20,000 goal. This is a great start!

1. Please continue to promote this event. Let’s fill the room! Facebook link here. Can’t attend? Donate here.
2. We could use a few volunteers at the event. If you can help, please contact Jody Lerner.

Item #3 Be a Do-er and not a Talk-er

Item #4 We are starting up postcarding again. Cards will be on our porch and we’ll talk about some of the campaigns on Sunday.

JANUARY 12 MINUTES/ INDIVISIBLE ELMWOOD

1. Senate and House races

The meeting began with a report led by Andy regarding upcoming House and Senate races.  We need to evaluate campaigns prior to committing to any of them. Andy prepared a list for both the House and Senate for races to watch by state.  Overall it looks like Senate races are NOT going to need money as Democrats are pouring money into them. It’s important for our group to look at bottom of ticket races.

Senate races were categorized as follows: Long shots that people are swarming to anyway KY: McConnell vs. McGrath. TX:  Cornyn vs Hegar. SC: Graham vs. Harrison. It was noted that candidates in KY, TX and SC are swimming in money and do not need donations.

More categories: Long shots no one is paying attention to.  Competitive.   Confusing.  Andy suggested that races in Alaska and Kansas in the category “Long shots no one is paying attention to” but maybe we should pay attention to.  

Alaska: Sullivan (R) is running against Dr. Gross, Independent running as a Democrat. Andy has contributed to his campaign and met with him. Per report, J. Street did not endorse this candidate due to his position on the Middle East.  Dr. Gross’s plan for Alaska is to do outreach to native villages and underrepresented areas to get people to the polls. 

Kansas: Kobach (R) lost the governor’s race. He is running against Bollier (D) a female M.D. She is a state legislator who changed political parties (R to D) in 2018.  Would be considered a “center right wing Democrat” and has a chance to win.

Competitive races AZ: McSally vs Kelly. Kelly will need boots on the ground as this is McCain’s territory. But Kelly will not need money.AZ will be a place where Sister Districts/Indivisible groups in So. Cal are active. No need for turnout work by our group. CO: Gardener vs Hickenlooper. Andy predicts name recognition for Hickenlooper. CO has been trending positive. No need identified for money from I. E. unless there is a dire circumstance. AL: Doug Jones vs Some Republican. Jones won’t lose for want of money. He needs Dem. support in a Republican zone.   ME: Collins vs Gideon. Collins is not polling well in Maine. However is popular for constituent services in her state, in spite of her voting record. Andy’s analysis is that no money should be donated to Sarah Gideon as she already has an active Maine group behind her. NC: Tillis vs Cunningham.  It was pointed out that Dems will pick up 2 Congressional seats due to the de-gerrymandering. Two Republicans are not running for reelection. No one knows what the up ballot results will be in NC.  It was suggested that the strategy of getting people to vote the bottom of the ticket will support candidates at the top.

Confusing: Senate races in Georgia are subject to voter suppression. Loeffler and Purdue are Republican incumbents. Loeffler is a “nobody.”   I. E.  should consider supporting the candidate running against L. if the race is potentially winnable.

House races: Per Andy, if Democrats lose the House then they lose everywhere else.

Indivisible Elmwood flash news per Naomi about CA candidates: Campa- Najjar is running in Southern Cal. for the slot where Hunter had to resign. It is possible that Darryl Issa will run. Najjar was endorsed by J. Street and is of Palestinian heritage. Issa is also of Arab descent.  It should be an interesting race, per Andy and Naomi, who suggest we may want to support it.

TJ Cox: Per Andy, Cox has the most poorly educated district; rural, poor, Spanish speaking working class people. Suggestion made to give money to Cox’s campaign and not to Harder who is pounding hard for contributions almost daily.

• Voter Suppression and Voter Participation discussion

Action items:

Naomi suggested we attend the fundraising event sponsored by “Reclaim Our Vote” in downtown Berkeley on Tuesday February 4, 6-8 p.m.   Cost $25.  Berkeley City College Auditorium. You will meet the founder, Andrea Miller, at this event.  https://actionnetwork.org/ticketed_events/fundraiser-for-reclaim-our-vote-february-4-2020-berkeley-ca/?fbclid=IwAR1DcKxhmpY030uUMZkfI94WmBFj8HD3DQsqT0a2Orjqcq68yzfv_oa3oDk

Why do we need a RECLAIM OUR VOTE campaign?

Community of color voters are being placed on “Inactive” or “Unregistered” lists at a 16% higher rate than whites. The ability to vote of people in minority communities was already being systematically undermined over the last decade, by the imposition of strict new voter ID laws, by the reduction in polling places and early voting, and through many other tactics.

One of our members, Ann suggested that we also consider making a donation NOW to Voter Participation Center. https://www.voterparticipation.org/

Since 2003, VPC helped register more than 4 million American voters through pioneering   mail and online voter registration programs. In 2018 nearly 400,000 people were registered.  Using direct mail and face to face impact campaigns, the goal is to generate 1.5 million registration applications in the 2020 election cycle. They focus on unmarried women, people of color and young people who may be first time voters.

Our member Bruce suggested we look at the NYT article about Community Change Action.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/opinion/voter-turnout-2020.html

Communities of color worked successfully from within to get more people out to vote in 2018, than people coming in from the outside.

Our member Lanny agreed to take a deeper look at voter registration groups and strategies to evaluate which groups are focused on registration of under represented voters.

• Action items for now and for the future.

Postcards: Naomi will take this project on for now. She will have them on the porch and will supply addresses for anyone who wants them. 

Texting: Will be up and running in the future meetings. It will be decided whether to have an early 30 minute session prior to I.E. meetings for texting exclusively. We all may to relearn how to do it.

Internship program:  Bill Marthinson is the contact person. He took on the project of finding an intern and placing that person in a campaign in Virginia in 2019. He will be available after Feb. 25^th to revisit this topic. Janice will follow up meanwhile. It was decided by the group to put off sponsoring an intern until it becomes clearer what is cost effective.

Out of state action: A group of our members are considering summer travel and political action.

Online auction: 20 items are available for an online auction for fundraising.  A date for this action will be decided in the future.

The final message is that this was our first meeting. Therefore we are getting up to speed for 2020.  More focus to come in the future. For now, the intention for Indivisible Elmwood is to HAVE FUN in the process, while doing all our activities. It was great to see everyone gathered again. HAPPY NEW YEAR