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Sign this PetitionThousands of MoveOn members join August #ResistanceRecess, fighting for #MedicareForAll and to end white supremacy
With Congress in recess, MoveOn members have been showing up at congressional town halls to demand that Congress censure Trump for failing to unequivocally denounce white supremacy after the Charlottesville terror attack, to advance Medicare for All and accountability for Republicans who voted to take away health care, and to resist Trump’s destructive agenda. And in districts where members of Congress are nowhere to be found, MoveOn members have held their own events.
In total, MoveOn members have already organized more than 225 congressional town hall/rally events nationwide as part of Resistance Summer’s Resistance Recess project this August and early September.
Resistance Summer is a 12-week volunteer program for emerging community leaders and activists who want to gain organizing skills and be part of an ongoing national network of organizers standing up to Trump’s agenda. The August organizing is the culmination of MoveOn’s Resistance Summer, with 1,000 participants in all 50 states, which included over 400 Community Cookouts in June and over 300 events through the Neighborhood Listening Project in July.
Charlotte, North Carolina
In Charlotte, North Carolina, MoveOn members found that Sen. Thom Tillis had refused to hold a town hall—so they held an alternate rally instead. “Since he won’t hold a town hall,” said Charlotte-based mobilizer DonnaMarie W. “We brought the town hall to him.”
Seattle, Washington
In Seattle, Washington, MoveOn members teamed up with their local North Seattle Indivisible chapter to meet with Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell about Medicare for All—and then met with Rep. Pramila Jayapal on DACA, which she is working to defend.
“At the rally, we stood in front of the Federal Building where the senators have their home offices,” said Seattle-based MoveOn Mobilizer Vickie W. “I’ve been to rallies there before, and this by far got the most positive responses from motorists as they drove by, aka lots of honks! We also gave out flyers to passersby with lots of info on single-payer health care.”
Anchorage, Alaska
In Anchorage, Alaska, MoveOn members convened at Senator Dan Sullivan’s office to hold him accountable for his support of Trumpcare, which would have repealed their health care …
… and then went to Senator Lisa Murkowski’s office to thank her for opposing Trumpcare and express their support for universal health care through Medicare for All:
Sherman, Texas
In Sherman, Texas, MoveOn members found that their representative, John Ratcliffe, was refusing to hold a constituent town hall—so they and other local groups, including Indivisible Sherman, held a competing town hall and invited the member of Congress for the next-door district, Representative Beto O’Rourke, which drew more than 300 people to their small town in north-central Texas.
“I am proud to serve as a MoveOn Summer Resistance Mobilizer,” said Whitesboro, Texas, MoveOn mobilizer Barbara R. “I’ve learned so much from the trainings and have shared that knowledge through actions in my small, very red district in north-central Texas. Grayson County is usually very quiet, complacent, and people go along with right-wing leadership to get along. We’re changing that.”
Check out coverage from the O’Rourke town hall:
Over 300 attend Beto O’Rourke town hall in Sherman [Herald Democrat]
Henrico, Virginia
In Henrico, Virginia, MoveOn members’ local congressman, Representative Dave Brat, has openly refused to meet with any anti-Trump constituents, even bragging to The Washington Post that “women are in my grill no matter where I go.” Knowing that Brat would refuse to meet with his constituents, MoveOn members teamed up with their local Indivisible chapters and fought back with a citizen-led town hall for “Missing Dave Brat”—and saw a room packed full of people who asked a cardboard cutout of Rep. Brat the questions they want to ask the real Rep. Brat:
“My fellow constituents are tired of being ignored. We need to get offline, come together, and continue listening to each other face to face,” said Boise, Idaho, MoveOn Mobilizer Megan G. “For my Resistance Recess action, I again enjoyed the face-to-face contact and listening to other Idahoans. We made it a family event, because now, more than ever, we need our [members of Congress] to realize the choices they make today affect our kids and their future. It is up to us to continue fighting for our kids, and I will take what I learned this summer and keep going full force!”
** Check out more coverage from Resistance Summer events here:
Protesters, supporters converge on congressman’s town hall [ABC27, Harrisburg, PA]
Congressman Costello hosts townhall, addresses healthcare, taxes, education and Trump [CBS21, Lebanon, PA]
Rep. Costello holds quiet town hall meeting as small rally held outside [Penn Live]
** Check out more photos from Resistance Summer here:
https://storify.com/MoveOn/