Hello wonderful IndMarin volunteers,
On this somber Veterans Day, we reflect and offer gratitude to all members of the Armed Forces, past and present, who have sacrificed so greatly to protect our country's people, freedoms and democracy. We are also grateful to all of those, including so many of you, who have served our country from home via volunteerism. Service to our country comes in many forms and we honor all those who have served in ways big and small.
The Path Forward:
Presently, we at IndiMarin are beginning the process of digesting the disappointment and takeaways of the election results, and evaluating both the near-term and longer-term actions to counteract potential harms of the incoming Trump Administration. This process will take time and much collaboration with a range of partners. We will be in touch in coming weeks with plans for an all-member meeting before year-end to discuss next steps in our work together. Needless to say, we will continue the fight for our democracy, freedoms and the quality of life of all Americans.
Encouragement re all we DID accomplish:
In spite of the losses, our work together resulted in some very important victories in which we should take heart and be proud. See the article pasted in at the bottom of this newsletter for the details and important perspective. Thank YOU for being a key part of these victories.
Current and urgent work still needed:
As we regroup broadly, there is still work that urgently needs to be done. Ballots are still being counted and corrected or "cured." Curing is a process where a mail/dropbox ballot is rejected for a missing signature or other reasons, and volunteers then notify people and help them “cure” or fix the ballot so their votes count. This work is done both via canvassing and phonebanking.
This process is hugely important because it may help us win some of the very close House races. Having Democratic control of the House would be a hugely significant guardrail against the potential harms of the Trump Administration. Also, Bob Casey has not conceded the Senate race in Pennsylvania because it's close enough to turn on provisional ballots. If we can hold the Republican Senate advantage to 52 instead of 53, that small difference could make a large difference in which MAGA policies might successfully make it through that chamber.
Please review this linktree of ballot curing opportunities nationwide created by our partner, The Bay Area Coalition, and consider helping. While we are all dispirited, keeping control of the House, if at all doable, would be a game changer.
In closing, we are so grateful for the work you have all done, and the camaraderie and community that you have helped us create together. The work and the community will continue. Please know you can always reach out to us at info@indivisiblemarin.org.
More soon. Take good care of yourself and your loved ones in these difficult times.
The Indivisible Marin Steering Committee - Susan, Betsy, Joy, Andie, Nanda, Betsy and Laurie
Nov. 8, 2024, 3:41 p.m. ET Nov. 8, 2024 - NYT
Contributing Opinion Writer
Is Door-Knocking Dead? No, It Made One Big Difference.
“These are the times that try men’s souls,” Thomas Paine wrote in 1776. Today, that would include the souls of women, among many other despondent Harris-Walz supporters.
George Washington made sure Paine’s words in his pamphlet The American Crisis (a kind colonial Substack newsletter) were read aloud to his battered troops at Valley Forge before they crossed the Delaware and eventually won the Revolutionary War.
As battle-weary Kamala Harris volunteers consider whether to return to the fray after a major defeat or become mere “sunshine patriots,” they should take note, as Washington did, of smaller but highly significant victories.
A longtime rule of thumb in politics is that a superior get-out-the-vote operation does not guarantee a win but it’s usually worth a point or two in the final results. That continued to be true in 2024, where Harris’s ground game was much stronger than Donald Trump’s.
So why didn’t it produce better outcomes? Trump compensated with devastating advertising (especially on trans high school students playing girls’ sports) and effective messaging on podcasts and social media.
This worked against Harris but was less successful further down the ballot, thanks to Democratic volunteers. While overall turnout appears to be slightly lower than in 2020 (the totals aren’t in yet), it has been higher than average in battleground states, which led to smaller-than-average margins and shorter coattails there for Trump.
While Harris has lost or is losing in all the battleground states, her troops helped turn out ticket-splitters who saved Senator Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, as well as other Democratic Senate candidates including Elissa Slotkin in Michigan, and, quite likely, Ruben Gallego in Arizona and Senator Jacky Rosen in Nevada — all by only a point or two.
Right now, it looks like the Senate will have 53 Republicans, a huge difference from a potential 57, which would have put Democrats in a deep, almost filibuster-proof hole.
So all the tapped-out donors, doorbell ringers, postcard senders and phone bank-sters need to know that without their efforts, the next decade would be much worse for the country, with Trumpist judges degrading the judiciary and reams of destructive bills passing the Senate.
With only four votes to spare (JD Vance will break any ties), Republicans now have less hope of a national abortion ban. They won’t have the support of Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and at least two or three other G.O.P. senators from red states that have approved abortion rights ballot initiatives.
The same will most likely go for gutting the civil service, abandoning NATO, confirming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a cabinet post or elevating Judge Aileen Cannon to the Supreme Court. Probably not enough Senate votes.
In a dispiriting quirk, the Senate map in 2026 offers little chance for a Democratic pickup of more than a couple of seats at best.
The 2028 election will bring hope of returned Democratic control. But it wouldn’t if Senate Republicans could now boast an eight-vote majority.
Yes, all that money and toil from Harris supporters didn’t help elect a Democratic president. But we owe those volunteers what Paine called our “love and thanks.” They helped democracy stay alive to fight another day."
