We need to keep up the pressure on our representatives and senators.  There is a protest more FOR Healthcare for All, and against the Senate bill in what-ever incarnation it morphs into. The rally/protest is scheduled for Thursday July 6th from 10:00 AM until Noon at Three Rivers Community Hospital.  Exact location, and perhaps a change in time… will be available on the Indivisible Facebook page.  

This video is well worth 2 minutes of your time to watch… Then another 5 minutes to call senators to vote against this tragic bill. Chances are we know someone who will be impacted.

View story at Medium.com

Wow… what an event!  As many of 60 people demonstrated outside the County Building in Cave Junction on Saturday, June 3, as part of the national anti-Trump March for Truth. Demonstrators waved signs and sang to the accompaniment of live guitar and drum music. Organizer Gary Eby of the Resist Committee of the Josephine County Democratic Party said: “A great deal of positive solidarity was felt at the rally with a majority of those driving by being sympathetic and encouraging.  Sharing with like-minded people pressures Washington toward transparency.”​  Hey… Illinois Valley is where it is happening!

The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Oregon legislature is about to vote on the National Popular Vote bill (HB 2927), so please email your Oregon legislators and ask them to support the bill. Five out of our 45 Presidents have come into office without receiving the most popular votes nationwide.  State winner-take-all laws are the reason why a candidate can win the Presidency without winning the national popular vote.  Under these state laws, all of a state’s electoral votes are awarded to the candidate receiving the most popular votes in each separate state. Given that the average margin in the national popular vote has been only 5% since 1988, undemocratic outcomes in presidential elections will continue to occur if these state winner-take-all laws are not changed.  The candidate with the most votes nationwide should win   Moreover, these state winner-take-all laws create another serious problem in every election. In the general-election campaign for President, candidates ignore states where they are hopelessly behind or safely ahead. Candidates only visit, advertise, organize, and pay attention to local issues in closely divided “battleground” states. Of the 399 campaign events in the 2016 general-election campaign: Over half of the events (57%) were held in just four states (Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Ohio). Virtually all of the events (94%) were in just 12 states (containing only 30% of the country’s population). Virtually the entire West was ignored (except for Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona). Oregon was totally ignored in 2016, 2012, and 2008. The map shows where candidates campaigned in 2016. Details.   As presidential candidate Scott Walker (R) bluntly stated in 2015, “The nation as a whole is not going to elect the next president. Twelve states are.” Fortunately, the U.S. Constitution has a built-in provision that empowers state legislatures to choose the method of awarding their electoral votes — without amending the U.S. Constitution.  Article II says: “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors….” Thus, existing state winner-take-all laws may be changed in the same way they were originally enacted — namely by passing a new state law in the state legislature.   The National Popular Vote bill will take effect when it is enacted by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes (270 of 538).  When the Electoral College meets in mid-December, the winner of the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC) will become President (because the enacting states represent at least 270 electoral votes).  Thus, the Electoral College will represent the choice of the voters in all 50 states (and DC). Please ask your state Oregon legislators to pass the National Popular Vote bill (HB 2927). A national popular vote for President is an achievable political goal that can be in place in time for the 2020 election. The bill has already been enacted into law in 11 states possessing 165 electoral votes, including four small jurisdictions (Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia), three medium-sized states (Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington state), and four large states (New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and California).   It will take effect when enacted by additional states having 105 electoral votes. The bill has passed one chamber in 12 additional states with 96 electoral votes and been approved by unanimous bipartisan committee votes in 2016 in two other states with 26 electoral votes. A total of 3,072 state legislators have either sponsored the bill or cast a recorded vote in favor of it. Recently, the National Popular Vote bill received bipartisan support in  40-16 vote in the Republican-controlled Arizona House 28-18 vote in the Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate 57-4 vote in the Republican-controlled New York Senate The bill has passed the Oregon House on three previous occasions. The National Popular Vote bill will make every vote equal throughout the United States.  It would ensure that every voter, in every state, will be politically relevant in every presidential election.  Learn more at www.NationalPopularVote.com.   Please tell your state legislators to pass the National Popular Vote bill (HB 2927). In 2012, Donald Trump said, “the Electoral College is a disaster for a democracy” and called it “a total sham and a travesty.”  In 2000, Hillary Clinton said, “We should … move to the popular election of our president.” Both were right.   Thank you.   National Popular Vote Oregon

Rogue Indivisible is a volunteer group of non-partisan activists trying to make a positive difference both in our community, as well as, influencing issues impacting our country.

Rogue Indivisible members decide which bills, legislation, representatives to communicate with via postcards, emails, and calls; in person meetings with representatives; marches and more. Join the group that speaks to your interest whether it’s writing letters to the editor to researching Oregon State legislation, we have need of your assistance.

The next member meeting is scheduled for June 25^th at the Grants Pass High School Commons. RSVP

The Josephine County Democratic Central Committee approved the generous offer of a permanent office on the corner of 7th and C streets at its last meeting.  Now all the JCDCC has to do is a little painting, furnishing, and staffing.  Kevin Marr is organizing a paint party and putting together a list of volunteers.  The number of volunteers will determine the office hours, but JCDCC is aiming for 1-5 p.m. as many weekdays as possible, and a few hours on Saturday.  Also needed is a volunteer office manager to coordinate the people signed up to help.  The office comes rent-free but donations will be needed for utilities.  To volunteer or help in any other way, call Kevin at 541-441-7984 or 541-479-2111.

Josephine County Democrats have seen a surge in membership since the November elections so they will be moving their monthly meeting place to larger quarters for their March meeting.  The Josephine County Democratic Central Committee has rented a hall at 129 NW “E” Street in Grants Pass (across from Ma Mosa’s) for its March 14^th meeting.  The facility, which comes with a sound system and presentation equipment, will enable the Democrats to engage speakers and converse on Skype with representatives. The Tuesday evening meeting opens with a social gathering at 6:30 p.m.  The regular meeting begins at 7 p.m.

JCDCC has rented the hall just for the March meeting but if the facility works out, future meetings will be held there. Chairman Howard Owens said there are a number of people in the community looking for a way to stand up against the destructive Republican policies set to slide through Congress in the coming months, and the JCDCC has the structure in place to provide for that resistance.

Consider joining a newly founded group, Rogue Indivisible, founded in January, 2017, representing progressives and progressive causes in Southern Oregon – broadly defined as Jackson, Josephine, Curry, and Douglas Counties. We are a combination of three former groups including Three Rivers Progressive Action Caucus and Feminists of Southern Oregon.

We welcome and encourage all people to our meetings, website, and Facebook page; we sincerely believe in Civil Discourse. We encourage finding common issues and fighting for them together – there is strength in numbers!

What we stand for:

• Grassroots organizing
• Inclusion, respect, and diversity
• Democracy and citizenship
• Integrity, transparency, and accountability in the public sector
• Equal rights, equal opportunity, and equal representation for all

February 19th, from 2-4pm we invite anyone interested in finding out more about Rogue Indivisible and our planned actions/events. Venue: Boys and Girls Club, 203 SE 9th Street, Grants Pass*.

RSVP for this event on our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1395422343821965/ OR if you prefer https://actionnetwork.org/events/rogue-indivisible-kick-off-meeting?source=direct_link&referrer=rogue-indivisible

Find more information go to www.RogueIndivisible.org  and please fill out your contact info, or email rogueindivisible@outlook.com to be added to our email distribution list.

“Civil discourse is our ability to have conversations about topics about which we disagree, and our ability to listen to each other’s perspectives.” – NPR Journalist Diane Rehm