What Can We Do ?

The Republican Congress is poised to enact the most granny-starving, hate-filled, rights-restricting agenda that this country has ever seen. With G.O.P. control of the White House and both Houses of Congress, what can a patriotic American do to stop this assault?

Perhaps we should take a page from the old Tea-Party playbook. In 2008, Democrats held the Oval Office, the Senate, and the House-a similar position of power in which today's Republicans find themselves. Within weeks of Obama's first inauguration, countless rallies and marches were held, protesting something or other. Members of Congress got an earful at town hall meetings. A perfectly good historical flag was usurped as the movement's symbol.

Over time, the Tea Party was able to intimidate their representatives or, in many cases, to replace them. Demands for ideological purity and punishment for any compromise shifted many surviving politicians (and our entire country) far to the right. The new, more radical, G.O.P. gained first the House, then the Senate, and now the White House.

Just as Republicans found their way out of the wilderness through smart tactics, organization, and mobilization, Democrats can, too. A good guide for progressive activism in the Age of Trump was compiled by a group of former Democratic Congressional staffers. This document is called Indivisible-A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda. It focuses on how to effectively put pressure on your members of Congress to influence their policy positions. 

Indivisible discusses tactics such as public events, phone calls, and media opinion pieces. However, the authors put much of their emphasis on personal contact with your politicians. Town hall meetings, in which constituents can directly speak to their elected officials, are seen as especially effective in communicating your opinions.

Typical of Indivisible's practical town hall advice: "Your questions should be sharp and fact-based, ideally including information on the (Member of Congress’s) record, votes they’ve taken, or statements they’ve made. Thematically, they should focus on a limited number of issues to maximize impact. Prepare 5-10 of these questions and hand them out to your group ahead of the meeting."

W.O.W. Counties are represented in the House by Paul Ryan (southern Waukesha), Jim Sensenbrenner (Northern Waukesha, Washington), and Glen Grothman (Ozaukee). Granted, it will be difficult to directly influence this extremist gang. However, maybe the worst of their nefarious plans can be stalled.

Just as the GOP Congress was shamed today into reversing course on weakening the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, public pressure can have an effect on their other policies. For example, maybe they can be shamed into introducing an actual replacement for the Affordable Care Act at the same time that they kill it. With enough push-back, maybe they will drop the crazy idea of turning Medicare into a discount coupon scheme.

How do we find-out about town hall meetings in our districts? Remember-if no one shows up except supporters, our Congressmen will assume that everyone agrees with their actions.

I am not sure whether Glen Grothman holds any town hall meetings at all. His official website offers no clue. He appears to be frightened of his constituents and must be approached in other ways, such as office visits, sit-ins, and mass calls. His Washington office can be reached at (202) 225-2476.

Paul Ryan calls his town halls his "Mobile Office". According to his official website, "Information about the 2017 Mobile Office Tour and schedule will be available on this web page in Spring 2017."

So Paul Ryan will not have any town hall meetings until Spring- well after he has passed much of his cynical granny-starving agenda. However, we should plan to show-up at each and every one that he finally does hold. After all, video of Paul Ryan facing an irate crowd of seniors in his own district can only help to save Medicare and Social Security nationally.

In refreshing contrast, Jim Sensenbrenner holds frequent town halls throughout his district. His website lists the current schedule of 45 sessions, to be held from January 14 through March 19. I personally have attended many past town halls and find them both entertaining and enlightening.

There are many productive things that you can do to let your Republican Congress people know that you do not agree with their agenda of tax cuts for the rich, gruel for seniors, restricted rights for women, and government-sponsored hate for minorities. Much practical advice is contained in the document, Indivisible. Although progressives are currently out-of-power, we can take a lesson from the 2008 Tea Party. There are concrete actions we can take to blunt the very worst of the Trump/GOP agenda.