by Kate Turner '21
September 17, 2018
[Taken down for site construction and re-uploaded 5.17.19]
what are the dems up to?
We just held our first meeting last night! Our action last week: calling our Senators to express our opposition to Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination. We also gave a quick brief on Massachusetts politics and introduced our new initiative for the 2018 midterms: registering 1,000 Mount Holyoke students to vote!
Next week, we’re going to work on reaching out to family and friends in our home districts about important political races there. We’re also going to talk about the College Democrats of Massachusetts (CDM) and some opportunities to get involved in that organization.
We are also looking for an org senator! Email Lily James (james23l) if you’re interested in the position!
Reminder that meetings are at 8:00 p.m. in the South Rockies common room. Bring your own mugs for tea and hot chocolate!
in the pioneer valley
The police were called this morning on Reg Andrade, a black employee of UMass, Amherst, on his way in to work. “This is when it becomes dangerous,” Andrade said in an interview with the Hampshire Gazette. “When people know how to push the buttons of law enforcement. Those were those strong key buzzwords: agitated black man dragging a heavy bag.”
The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) has announced plans for further route reductions, citing a lack of drivers as reason for the cuts. The routes with reduced hours (the 34 and the 35) will primarily affect UMass, Amherst students. This decision comes on the heels of earlier cuts to PVTA services based on a lack of adequate funding.
state-wide
A series of gas explosions in Lowell, Andover, and North Andover left one dead and more than 20 injured this week, with 70 confirmed incidents of fires, explosions, or gas odor investigations since the original incidents. On Friday afternoon, Gov. Charlie Baker (R) declared a state of emergency, and officials in Lowell, Andover and North Andover are only now letting evacuated residents back into their homes.
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts Coalition to End Hunger launched a campaign Monday aimed at raising awareness and decreasing stigma around food insecurity. The Coalition is focused on developing a network of resources for those at risk of food insecurity, including housing, job training, and childcare. An estimated one in eight Western Massachusetts residents face a risk of hunger every day.
The Massachusetts Democratic party has officially put its full support behind the Democratic candidate for governor, Jay Gonzalez. “Republicans have been in charge, but tick tock. Change is coming,” said Elizabeth Warren at the Democratic party’s coordinated campaign headquarters in Dorcester this week.
national news
As of the publication of this newsletter, Hurricane Florence has been downgraded to a tropical depression, and is centered on the Carolinas. Its slow-moving, meaning flooding is a major concern, and the death toll has already risen to at least 16. Keep updated on its progress here. Here’s how best to help victims, according to the New York Times.
Scientists have linked climate change to the increasing damage wreaked by hurricanes in the past few years. You can support the League of Conservation Voters, which gives citizens meaningful ways to take action against climate change and its effects, here.
The detention of migrant children in the US has skyrocketed to the highest levels ever, according to the New York Times. In May 2017, there were 2,400 migrant children in custody. Today, there are 12,800. The increases are not due to a huge influx of migrants entering the country, but a reduction in children being released to live with families or sponsors.
While the number of children in detention has quietly increased fivefold, the Trump administration has diverted nearly $10 million in funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Not only are these funds being diverted to enforce the separation of children from their families, the news came out just days before Hurricane Florence was scheduled to hit the east coast. Sign this petition by the ACLU condemning the cruelty of the Trump administration and this misuse of government funds.
California Governor Jerry Brown (D) has signed a bill that requires California to rely on 100% clean electricity by the year 2045. That’s just a few years away from Mount Holyoke’s own target for carbon neutrality (2037).
In other environmental news, the Trump administration plans to weaken an Obama-era regulation that ensures companies monitor and repair methane leaks. This would make it significantly easier for companies to release methane into the air, and is the third major rollback of Obama-era environmental protections by Trump’s EPA. This is a move that the EPA has admitted “may degrade air quality and adversely affect health.”
For the first time ever, Congress has appropriated funds to pay Congressional interns. From Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI): “It seems like a small thing to pay interns but it opens up a whole world of opportunity and increases the diversity of the intern classes, and eventually Hill staff. Capitol Hill should truly rep America.”
about elections
last week’s primaries
In New Hampshire, Molly Kelly won the Democratic nomination for governor; Democrats see a chance for Kelly to take the governor’s seat from Chris Sunnu (R), though he remains one of the country’s most popular governors. New Hampshire’s 1st District featured 11 Democratic candidates in the primaries, with Chris Pappas, a member of the NH Executive Council coming out ahead.
In Rhode Island, incumbent Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) won the Democratic primary for reelection, placing her against Republican Allan Fung in the general election. Raimondo is one of only 6 female governors currently serving in the US. Incumbents Rep. David Cicilline (D) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D) held their primary nominations and are expected to win in November.
In New York, members of the “Independent Democratic Conference” (IDC) — a coalition of politicians that run as Democrats but have entered into a power-sharing agreement with the GOP minority and consistently vote with Republicans — were delivered a serious rebuke from voters. 6 out of 8 members of the IDC were voted out of office in favor of younger, progressive challengers, many of whom are people of color. Letitia James made history by winning the Democratic nomination for Attorney General; she is the first black woman to win a major statewide party nomination in NY.
upcoming primaries
There are no more! Primary season is over, leaving us a little less than two months away from the general elections. Read the New York Times’s takeaways here.
There is NO EXCUSE not to be registered to vote in this year’s midterms! Here’s a helpful collection of resources you can check out, including checking whether you’re registered to vote, helping you to register, and alerting you of important races in the area.
get involved!
CW: Discussion of sexual assault
As of yesterday, a woman named Christine Blasey Ford offered to testify before the Senate to restate her allegations against Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Ford said in an interview with the Washington Post that Kavanaugh assaulted her at a high school party in the 1980s, holding her down and trying to remove her clothing while covering her mouth to prevent her from screaming.
In response, Republicans have released a letter from 65 of Kavanaugh’s female peers, claiming that he never assaulted them; we, the Dems e-board would like to point out that this is like 65 acquaintances of a murderer releasing a letter saying, “Well, he never murdered me!”
Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bob Corker (R-TN) have promised to hear Ford’s testimony, but intend to squeeze it in before Thursday’s scheduled confirmation vote. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) (a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is made up of 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats) has expressed discomfort with voting “yes” on Kavanaugh until Ford’s testimony has been fully examined, however.
As of now, few Republicans have come out against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination, and some Democrats also remain undecided. If you haven’t called your own senators yet, do so here.
Finally, here’s this week’s Americans of Conscience checklist. This is a quick list of manageable actions you can take to advocate for the issues you care about, published each week — choose the issues that are most important to you, or complete all of them as the week progresses. The Dems will be sending you a link to this checklist every week, so stay tuned.