July 4th Newsletter

By Swing Left Greater Boston

Posted July 3, 2020

In Action

Pick up a Packet of Postcards Pronto!

Find a pick-up spot near you

Maine

Help us get to 150,000 dials before the Maine Senate primary on July 14

Last Bash Pre-Primary Maine Phone Banking

Working the Mass Dems, we’re doing one last week of calls fromJuly 5 through the primary. We’re IDing support for candidates and cleaning up the voter roll to yield the strongest, most efficient list possible. Since February, we’ve added 6,000 voters and deleted 8,000 bad records.

These more accurate lists will be critical in the next phase and in our efforts to get as many Democrats voting absentee in Maine as we can. They give us enormous power as we move into the persuasive phase of the Presidential, Senate, and U.S. House campaigns in Maine. Hope you can join us in making this happen.

If you’re an experienced phone banker, jump into any of the phone banks on the Maine calendar.

Maine, cont.

Let’s get on the road!

All Roads to Maine Lead Through Massachusetts

As Katherine Clark, MA 05 Congresswoman, likes to say, “All roads to the Senate lead through Maine, and all roads to Maine lead through Massachusetts.” Maine and North Carolina are the most competitive of the four top races we need to win to take back the Senate and oust the odious Mitch McConnell from Senate leadership. MA volunteers were critical to flipping the D2 Congressional seat blue in 2018, and our help will be central again to flipping Susan “he learned his lesson” Collins’ seat in November.

We plan to do that by making as many calls, writing as many letters, registering as many voters, and signing up as many Mainers to vote absentee as possible. The strategy, in a nutshell, is to let Maine voters know that Susan Collins is no longer a moderate.

One third of Maine Democrats have voted for Susan Collins at some point in the past. Rather than say these votes were wrong, we will say that Collins is not a “Maine moderate” in the tradition of Olympia Snowe or Margaret Chase Smith. She is now a full-fledged member of the GOP, siding with the Trump administration on every important issue, including the Kavanaugh vote, impeachment, and the appointment of hundreds of rabidly conservative judges to the federal courts.

Though her ratings have plummeted, Collins is a skilled politician who has helped many Maine families in her 20+ years in the Senate. Polls indicate that the race will be very tight.

We need every ounce of effort to make a Democratic Senate a reality.
Check out the Swing Left Maine calendar for opportunities.

Maine, cont.

Maine makes it easy, Massachusetts can make it happen

“Vote Absentee” is the New Maine Mantra

The July 14 primary in Maine will be a dress rehearsal for voting by absentee ballot in the general election, giving us the information to improve turnout in November. More importantly, it will give us a nominated candidate to run as a Democrat against Susan Collins.

Absentee balloting will be critical for the November election. Given that Maine is the state with the oldest residents in the country, it will be difficult to staff polling places. Depending on the COVID situation, voting in person might not be a first choice.

We want to make sure all Maine Democrats can exercise their right to vote. That means getting every Democrat to vote by absentee ballot in November.

We’ll be writing letters with absentee ballot request information and making phone calls to “chase and cure” ballots along with the Maine Dems voter protection group. Massachusetts volunteers have a clearly defined assignment: Defeat the last remaining Republican Senator in New England.

Maine, cont.

It’ll be more than just your family in front of the screen

Don’t Stay Home Alone

Join Attorney General Maura Healey and the host committee* onZoom on Tuesday July 14 @ 8:30pm. We’ll watch the primary returns, meet for somecampaign information and fun in breakout rooms, and contribute to the winner.

*Host committee (in formation): Phil Axten, Edye and BobBaker, Debbie Boggs, Mary-Lou Breitborde, Sue and Michael Brown, Sue Burgess, Mary DeChillo, Ruth Ferguson, Debbie Friedlander, Michael Gilman, Paula Joseph, Nancy Kaufman, Renee Keaney, Jeanne Kempthorne and Doug Cannon, Lisa Kolarik, Susan Labandibar, Holly Morse, Susan Moulton, Rachel Pohl and Bob McIntosh, Michal Regunberg, Linda Saris, Bob Scheier, Elizabeth Silver, Janet Singer, Alix Smullin, Margaret Somer, Margot Walthall, Melvin Warshaw

Follow the election returns with friends and compatriots at a
Maine Primary Watch Party on July 14

Donate to support Maine’s chosen Democratic senatorial candidate

Wisconsin

GOP-Led Voter Purges in Wisconsin (courtesy motherjones.org)

Challenges in Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, the biggest uncertainty for the November electionis the ongoing lawsuit that a right-wing advocacy group brought, suing to purge 232,000 registered voters from the voter rolls. Most of the voters have Hispanic names or are African-American.

The appeals court’s deferred the purge until after November. The Wisconsin Supreme Court announced Tuesday it would hear arguments in late September at the earliest over who should remain or be purged.

It is likely that the 5-2 conservative majority in the court will overrule the appeals court’s decision. At least one Milwaukee reporter believes this indicates that with so little time to implement the purge they won’t decide the case until after the presidential election. Not a certainty, but good news.

If you want to get the bigger picture on the chances of winning Wisconsin, join the
next monthly strategy call on Wednesday, July 8 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm.

The upcoming MA to Wisconsin “bridge-building” phone banks will ask Wisconsin voters what issues they care about and what candidates they support. This effort is critical to the success of Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, from President to state legislature.
Pick up your phone and start making calls
on Thursdays @ 7:00 pm – 9 pm and Sundays @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Stacy Abrams Speaks Up for Barbara Bollier

Barbara Bollier is running as U.S. Senator from Kansas

Spend Time With Our Future Leaders

In Kansas
Stacey Abrams knows that Barbara Bollier is a rocket ready to launch the Senate into the blue. That’s why Abrams is actively backing Bollier in her bid for an open U.S. Senate seat in Kansas. From your own home, you can meet these two dynamic women LIVE in Bollier’s living room in a virtual fundraising event that will inspire you.

Come “meet” these great women on Wednesday, July 8 @ 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm.

In Pennsylvania
Claudette Williams is going to flip PA-176. See for yourself in this video that our own SLGBer, Mark Micheli, just finished.

Michigan

Do you know what you’ll do to flip Michigan?
Find out on Swing Left’s Michigan Group page.

Arizona

Join the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committeeand Swing Left Maricopa County to hear from candidates in Legislative Districts 20 and 28, two districts crucial to flipping the Arizona State Legislature blue. We’ll hear from Christine Marsh, Candidate for Arizona State Senate in LD-28, and Judy Schwiebert, Candidate for Arizona State Representative in LD-20. Both are amazing former teachers who hope to transform education for Arizona’s youth. Share and sign up for the meeting on Wednesday, July 8 @ 9:00 pm.

PENNSYLVANIA

Drew and Isabelle join the vote-by-mail effort

Interns Take to the Phones for PA

Student interns are playing a big role in raising the rates of voteby mail. Currently, the Pennsylvania vote-by-mail team is working hard on Florida campaigns, looking forward to applying their new expertise in Pennsylvania next.

Isabelle Rule-Becker
Isabelle is a rising junior sociology major at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and an intern for Swing Left Greater Boston this summer. She workswith Sunrise Movement, in an effort to stop the climate crisis and create good jobs; she is avid about passing the Green New Deal through political pressure and voting.

“I believe that getting out the youth vote is crucial. My generation could be the one to elect visionary politicians that create real change with their bold ideas while centering justice and equity. Interning at Swing Left has allowed me to learn more about organizing, how elections are run, and how to encourage people to be more politically active.”

Drew Olson
Drew, a rising freshman at Wesleyan University majoring in government, is interning for Swing Left Greater Boston this summer. He’s been involved in political organizing since he was in seventh grade.

“I’m excited to be involved in Vote-by-Mail efforts in this crazy, upside-down campaign season. Interning at Swing Left has allowed me to see how campaigns and elections are run on a local, state, and national level. I know I will bring this experience into my future endeavors.”