Latinos for Trump v. Sessions

Filing 1

COMPLAINT AND APPLICATION FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number 0542-14386818). No Summons requested at this time, filed by Latinos for Trump. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit 1 - List of State Governors and Secretaries of State, #2 Exhibit 2 - Cain Declaration 20210118, #3 Exhibit 3 - Global Risk Analysis: Special Report, #4 Exhibit 4-1, #5 Exhibit 4-2, #6 Exhibit 4-3, #7 Exhibit 4-4, #8 Exhibit 4-5, #9 Exhibit 4-6, #10 Exhibit 4-7, #11 Exhibit 4-8, #12 Exhibit 4-9, #13 Exhibit 4-10, #14 Exhibit 4-11, #15 Exhibit 4-12, #16 Exhibit 4-13, #17 Exhibit 4-14, #18 Exhibit 4-15, #19 Exhibit 4-16, #20 Exhibit 4-17, #21 Exhibit 4-18, #22 Exhibit 4-19, #23 Exhibit 4-20, #24 Exhibit 4-21, #25 Exhibit 4-22, #26 Exhibit 4-23, #27 Exhibit 4-24, #28 Exhibit 4-25)(Davis, Paul)

Live   ocument!   ast   pdated:   2/14/2016 
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 1

Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda 
Former congressional sta喎ers reveal best practices for making Congress listen 

Donald Trump is the biggest popular vote loser in history to ever call himself 
President-Elect. In spite of the fact that he has no mandate, he will attempt to use his 
congressional majority to reshape America in his own racist, authoritarian, and corrupt 
image. If progressives are going to stop this, we must stand indivisibly opposed to Trump 
and the members of Congress who would do his bidding. Together, we have the power 
to resist - and we have the power to win. 

We know this because we’ve seen it before. The authors of 
this guide are former congressional sta喎ers who witnessed 
the rise of the Tea Party. We saw these activists take on a 
popular president with a mandate for change and a 
supermajority in Congress. We saw them organize locally 
and convince their own members of Congress to reject 
President Obama’s agenda. Their ideas were wrong, cruel, 
and tinged with racism - and they won.  

We believe that protecting our values and neighbors will 
require mounting a similar resistance to the Trump agenda 
-- but a resistance built on the values of inclusion, 
tolerance, and fairness. Trump is not popular. He does not 
have a mandate. He does not have large congressional 
margins. If a small minority in the Tea Party can stop 
President Barack Obama, then we the majority can stop a 
petty tyrant named Trump. 

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To this end, the following chapters o喎er a step-by-step guide for individuals, groups, and 
organizations looking to replicate the Tea Party’s success in getting Congress to listen to 
a small, vocal, dedicated group of constituents. The guide is intended to be equally 
useful for sti喎ening Democratic spines and weakening pro-Trump Republican resolve. 

We believe that the next four years depend on citizens across the country standing 
indivisible against the Trump agenda. We believe that buying into false promises or 
accepting partial concessions will only further empower Trump to victimize our fellow 
citizens. We hope that this guide will provide those who share that belief useful tools to 
make Congress listen. 

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One Page Summary 
Here’s the quick and dirty summary of this document. While this page summarizes 
top-level takeaways, the full document describes how to actually carry out these 
activities. 

Ch. 1: How grassroots advocacy worked to stop Obama. We examine lessons from the 
Tea Party’s rise and recommend two key strategic components:  

1) A local strategy targeting individual Members of Congress (MoCs). 

2) A defensive approach purely focused on stopping Trump from implementing an 
agenda built on racism, authoritarianism, and corruption.  

Ch. 2: How your MoC thinks, and how to use that to save democracy. Reelection, 
reelection, reelection. MoCs want their constituents to think well of them and they want 
good, local press. They hate surprises, wasted time, and most of all, bad press that 
makes them look weak, unlikable, and vulnerable. You will use these interests to make 
them listen and act. 

Ch. 3: Identify or organize your local group. Is there an existing local group or network 
you can join? Or do you need to start your own? We suggest steps to help mobilize your 
fellow constituents locally and start organizing for action.  

Ch. 4: Four local advocacy tactics that actually work. Most of you have 3 MoCs--two 
Senators and one Representative. Whether you like it or not, they are your voice in 
Washington. Your job is to make sure they are, in fact, speaking for you. We’ve identiꎈ�ed 
four key opportunity areas to pressure MoCs that just a handful of local constituents can 
use to great e喎ect. For each of these always record encounters on video, prepare 
questions ahead of time, coordinate with your group, and report back to local media: 

1. Townhalls: MoCs regularly hold public in-district events to show that they are 
listening to constituents. Make them listen to you, and report out when they don’t. 

2. Non-townhall events. MoCs love cutting ribbons and kissing babies back home. 
Don’t let them get photo-ops without questions about racism, authoritarianism, 
and corruption. 

3. District oⵟ�ce sit-ins/meetings. Every MoC has one or several district oⵟ�ces. Go 
there. Demand a meeting with the MoC. Report to the world if they refuse to listen. 

4. Coordinated calls. Calls are a light lift but can have impact. Organize your local 
group to barrage your MoCs at an opportune moment and on a speciꎈ�c issue. 

2 

Ch. 1. How grassroots advocacy worked to stop Obama 
“If they succeed, or even half succeed, the tea party's most important legacy may be 
organizational, not political.” -Jonathan Rausch 

Like us, you probably deeply disagree with the principles and positions of the Tea Party. 
But we can all learn from their success in in쳋uencing the national debate and the 
behavior of national policymakers. To their credit, they thought thoroughly about 
advocacy tactics, as this leaked “best practices” guide demonstrates.  

This chapter draws on both research and our own experiences as former congressional 
sta喎ers to illustrate the strengths of the Tea Party movement and to provide lessons to 
leverage in the ꎈ�ght against Trump’s racism, authoritarianism, and corruption. 

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The Tea Party’s two key strategic choices 
The   ea   arty’s   uccess   ame   own  o  wo   ritical   trategic   lements: 
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1) They were locally focused. The Tea Party started as an organic movement built on 
small local groups of dedicated conservatives. Yes, they received some 
support/coordination from above, but fundamentally all the hubbub was caused by a 
relatively small number of conservatives working together. To summarize: 

● Groups started as disa喎ected conservatives talking to each other online. In 
response to the 2008 bank bailouts and Obama’s election, groups began forming 
to discuss their anger and what could be done. They eventually realized that the 
locally-based discussion groups themselves could be a powerful tool. 

3 

● Groups were small, local, and dedicated. Local Tea Party groups could be fewer 
than 10 people, but they were highly localized and dedicated signiꎈ�cant personal 
time and resources. Members communicated with each other regularly, tracked 
developments in Washington, and coordinated advocacy e喎orts together. 
● Groups were relatively small in number. The Tea Party was not hundreds of 
thousands of people spending every waking hour focused on advocacy. Rather, 
the e喎orts were somewhat modest. Only 1 in 5 self-identiꎈ�ed Tea Partiers 
contributed money or attended events. On any given day in 2009 or 2010, only 
twenty local events--meetings, trainings, townhalls, etc--were scheduled 
nationwide. In short, a relatively small number of groups were having a big impact 
on the national debate. 

2) They were almost purely defensive. The Tea Party focused on saying NO to 
Members of Congress on their home turf. While the Tea Party activists were united by a 
core set of shared beliefs, they actively avoided developing their own policy agenda. 
Instead, they had an extraordinary clarity of purpose, united in opposition to President 
Obama. They didn’t accept concessions and treated weak Republicans as traitors. To 
summarize: 

● Groups focused on defense, not policy development. The Tea Party took root in 
2009, focused on ꎈ�ghting against every proposal coming out of the new 
Democratic Administration and Congress. This focus on defense rather than policy 
development allowed the movement to avoid fracturing. Tea Party members may 
have not agreed on the policy reforms, but they could agree that Obama, 
Democrats, and moderate Republicans had to be stopped.  

● Groups rejected concessions to Democrats and targeted weak Republicans. Tea 
Partiers viewed concessions to Democrats as betrayal. This limited their ability to 
negotiate, but they didn’t care. Instead they focused on scaring congressional 
Democrats and keeping Republicans honest. As a result, few Republicans spoke 
against the Tea Party for fear of attracting blowback. 

● Groups focused on local congressional representation. Tea Partiers primarily 
applied this defensive strategy by pressuring their own local Members of 
Congress (MoCs). This meant demanding that that their own personal 
Representatives and Senators be their voice of opposition on Capitol Hill. At a 
tactical level, the Tea Party had several replicable practices, including: 
○ Showing up to the MoC’s town hall meetings and demanding answers 
○ Showing up the MoC’s oⵟ�ce and demanding a meeting 
○ Coordinating blanket calling of congressional oⵟ�ces at key moments 

4 

Using these lessons to ꎈ�ght the Trump agenda 
For the next two years, Donald Trump and congressional Republicans will control the 
federal government. But they will depend on just about every member of Congress to 
actually get laws passed. And those members of Congress care much more about 
getting reelected than they care about any speciꎈ�c issue. By adopting a defensive 
strategy that pressures MoCs, we can achieve the following goals: 

● Stall the Trump agenda by forcing them to redirect energy away from their 
priorities. Congressional oⵟ�ces have limited time and limited people. A day that 
they spend worrying about you is a day that they’re not spending on ending 
Medicare, privatizing public schools, or preparing a Muslim registry. 

● Sap Representatives’ will to support or drive reactionary change. If you do this 
right, you will have an outsized impact. Every time your member of Congress signs 
on to a bill, takes a position, or makes a statement, a little part of his or her mind 
will be thinking, “How am I going to explain this to the angry constituents who 
keep showing up at my events and demanding answers?”  

● Reaⵟ�rm the illegitimacy of the Trump agenda. The hard truth is that Trump, 
McConnell, and Ryan will have the votes to cause some damage. But by objecting 
as loudly and powerfully as possible, and by centering the voices of those who are 
most a喎ected by their agenda, you can ensure that people understand exactly 
how bad these laws are from the very start – priming the ground for the 2018 
midterms and their repeal when Democrats retake power. 

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5 

Ch. 2: How your MoC thinks, and how to use that to save democracy 
“There go the people. I must follow them, for I am their leader” -Alexandre Ledru-Rollin 

This chapter explains how congressional oⵟ�ces and the people within them work, and 
what that means for your advocacy strategy.  
It’s all about reelection, reelection, reelection 
To in쳋uence your own Members of Congress (MoC), you have to understand one thing: 
Every House member runs for oⵟ�ce every two years and every Senator runs for election 
every six years. Functionally speaking, MoCs are always either running for oⵟ�ce or 
getting ready for their next election, a fact that shapes everything they do. 

To be clear, this does not mean that your MoC is cynical and unprincipled. The vast 
majority of people in Congress believe in their ideals and care deeply about representing 
their constituents and having a positive impact. But they also know that if they want to 
make change, they need to stay in oⵟ�ce.  

This constant reelection pressure means that MoCs are enormously sensitive to their 
image in the district or state, and will work very hard to avoid signs of public dissent or 
disapproval. What every MoC wants - regardless of party - is for his or her constituents to 
agree with the following narrative: 

“My MoC cares about me, shares my values, and is working hard for me.” 
-What every MoC wants their constituents to think. 

If your actions threaten this narrative, then you will unnerve your MoC and change their 
decision-making process. 

Help,   y   oC  s  n      afe   istrict! 
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6 

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What Does a MoC’s Oⵟ�ce Do, and Why? 
A MoC’s oⵟ�ce is composed of roughly 15-25 sta喎 for House oⵟ�ces and 60-70 for Senate 
oⵟ�ces, spread across a D.C. and one or several district oⵟ�ces. MoC oⵟ�ces perform the 
following functions: 

● Constituent services: Sta喎 connect with both individual constituents and local 
organizations, serving as a link to and advocate within the federal government on 
issues such VISAs, grant applications, and public beneꎈ�ts. 

● Communicate with constituents directly. Sta喎 take calls, track constituent 
messages, and write letters to stay in touch with constituents’ priorities, follow up 
on speciꎈ�c policy issues that constituents have expressed concern about, and 
reinforce the message that they are listening. 

● Meet with constituents. MoCs and sta喎 meet with constituents to learn about 
local priorities and build connections. 

● Seek and create positive press. Sta喎 try to shape press coverage and public 
information to create a favorable image for the Representative. 

● Host and attend events in district. Representatives host and attend events in the 
district to connect with constituents, understand their priorities, and get good local 
press. 

● Actual legislating. MoCs and sta喎 decide their policy positions, develop and 
sponsor bills, and take votes based on a combination of their own beliefs, 
pressure from leadership/lobbyists, and pressure from their constituents. 

7 

What Your MoC Cares About 
When it comes to constituent interactions, MoCs care about things that make them look 
good, responsive, and hardworking to the people of their district. In practice, that means 
that they care about some things very much, and others things very little: 

MoC   ares      ot   bout 
 C
 a L  A

MoC   oesn’t   are   uch   bout 
 D
 C  M  A

Verified   ons韫�tuents   rom   he   istrict  
 c
 f
 t  d
(or   tate   or   enators) 
 s
 f  S

People   rom   utside   he   istrict  
 f
 o
 t  d
(or   tate   or   enators) 
 s
 f  S

Advocacy   hat   equires   ffort      he   ore   ffort, 
 t  r
 e
 ‐ t  m  e
the   ore   hey   are.   alls,   ersonal   mails,   nd 
 m  t  c
 C
 p
 e
 a
especially   howing   p  n   erson  n   he   istrict 
 s
 u  i  p
 i  t  d

Form  e韕�ers,      weet,   r   acebook   omment 
 l
 a T
 o  F
 c
(unless   hey   enerate   idespread   韕�en韫�on) 
 t  g
 w
 a

Local   ress   nd   ditorials,   aybe   a韫�onal   ress 
 p
 a  e
 m
 n
 p

Wonky   .C.‐based   ews   depends   n   oC) 
 D
 n
 (
 o  M

An  nterest   roup’s   ndorsement 
 i
 g
 e

Your   houghul   nalysis   f   he   roposed   ill 
 t
 a
 o  t  p
 b

Groups   f   ons韫�tuents,  ocally   amous 
 o  c
 l
 f
individuals,   r   ig  ndividual   ampaign 
 o  b  i
 c
contributors 

A   ingle   ons韫�tuent 
 s
 c

A   oncrete   sk   hat   ntails      erifiable   c韫�on    
 c
 a  t  e
 a v
 a
 ‐
vote   or      ill,   ake      ublic   tatement,   tc  
 f  a b  m  a p
 s
 e

General  deas   bout   he   orld 
 i
 a
 t  w

One   ingle   sk  n   our   ommunica韫�on   le韕�er, 
 s
 a  i  y  c
 (
email,   hone   all,   ffice   isit,   tc) 
 p
 c  o
 v  e

A  aundry  ist   f   ll   he  ssues   ou’re   oncerned 
 l
 l  o  a  t  i
 y
 c
about. 

8 

What Your MoC is Thinking: Good Outcome vs Bad Outcome 
To make this a bit more concrete and show where advocacy comes in, below are some 
examples of actions that a MoC might take, what they’re hoping to see happen as a 
result, and what they really doesn’t want to see happen. Some MoCs will go to great 
lengths to avoid bad outcomes--even as far as changing their positions or public 
statements. 

Example   ction 
 A

Desired   utcome 
 O

Bad   utcome 
 O

Letter   o   onstituent 
 t  C

Cons韫�tuent   eels   appy   hat   heir   oncerns 
 f
 h
 t  t
 c
were   nswered. 
 a

Cons韫�tuent   osts  e韕�er   n   ocial   edia 
 p
 l
 o  s
 m
saying  t   idn’t   nswer   heir   ues韫�ons   r 
 i  d
 a
 t
 q
 o
didn’t   nswer   or   eeks/months,   alls 
 a
 f  w
 c
Congresswoman   ob   nresponsive   nd 
 B  u
 a
untrustworthy. 

In­district   vent 
 E

Local   ewspaper   eports   hat 
 n
 r
 t
Congresswoman   ara   ppeared   t   pening   f 
 S  a
 a  o
 o
new   ridge,   hich   he   elped   ecure   unding 
 b
 w
 s  h
 s
 f
for. 

Local   ewspaper   eports   hat   rotestors 
 n
 r
 t  p
barraged   ongresswoman   ara   ith 
 C
 S  w
ques韫�ons   bout   orrup韫�on  n   he 
 a
 c
 i  t
infrastructure   ill. 
 b

Town   all      istening 
 H  / L
Session 

Local   ewspaper   eports   hat   ongessman 
 n
 r
 t  C
Bob   osted      own   all   nd   iscussed   is 
 h
 a t
 h  a  d
 h
work   o   alance   he   udget. 
 t  b
 t  b

Local   ewspaper   eports   hat   ngry 
 n
 r
 t  a
cons韫�tuents   trongly   bjected   o 
 s
 o
 t
Congressman   ob’s   upport   or 
 B
 s
 f
priva韫�zing   edicare. 
 M

Policy   osition 
 P

Congresswoman   ara   otes   n      ill   nd 
 S  v
 o  a b  a
releases      ress   tatement   ailing  t   s      tep 
 a p
 s
 h
 i  a  a s
forward. 

Congresswoman   ara’s   hones   re 
 S
 p
 a
deluged   ith   alls   bjec韫�ng   o   he   ill.    
 w  c  o
 t  t  b  A
group   f   ons韫�tuents   tage   n   vent 
 o  c
 s
 a  e
outside   er   istrict   ffice   nd  nvite   ress 
 h  d
 o
 a  i
 p
to   ear   hem   alk   bout   ow   he   ill   ill 
 h  t
 t  a
 h  t  b  w
personally   urt   heir   amilies. 
 h  t
 f

9 

Ch. 3: Organize a local group to ꎈ�ght for your congressional district 
“We need in every bay and community a group of angelic troublemakers.” -Bayard Rustin 

The Tea Party formed organically as conservatives upset after the 2008 election came 
together in local discussion groups. We believe the same thing is happening now across 
the country as progressives - in person, in already existing networks, and on Facebook - 
come together to move forward. The big question for these groups is: what’s next? 

If you’re reading this, you’re probably already part of a local network of people who want 
to stop the Trump agenda - even if it’s just your friends or a group on Facebook. This 
chapter is about how to take that energy to the next level, and start ꎈ�ghting locally to 
take the country back. 
Should I Form a Group? 
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel - if an activist group or network is already 
attempting to do congressional advocacy along these lines, just join up with them. 
Depending on the your Representative’s district, it may make sense to have more than 
one group. This congressional map tool shows the boundaries for your that district. 

If you look around and can’t ꎈ�nd a group working speciꎈ�cally on local action focused on 
your MoCs in your area, just start doing it! It’s not rocket science. You really just need two 
things: 

● Ten or so people (but even fewer is a ꎈ�ne start!) who are geographically 
nearby--ideally in the same congressional district 
● A commitment from those people to devote a couple hours per month to ꎈ�ghting 
the racism, authoritarianism, and corruption pushed by Trump. 

Diversity  n   our   roup      eaching   ut 
 i  Y  G
 & R
 O

Trump’s   genda   xplicitly   argets  mmigrants,   uslims,   eople   f   olor,   GBTQ   eople,   he   oor   nd 
 a
 e
 t
 i
 M
 p
 o  c
 L
 p
 t  p  a
working   lass,   nd   omen.  t  s   ri韫�cal   hat   ur   esistance   eflect   nd   enter   he   oices   f   hose   ho 
 c
 a  w
 I  i  c
 t  o  r
 r
 a  c
 t  v
 o  t
 w
are   ost   irectly   hreatened   y   he   rump   genda.  f   ou   re   orming      roup,   e   rge   ou   o   ake    
 m  d
 t
 b  t  T
 a
 I  y  a  f
 a g
 w  u  y  t  m  a
conscious   ffort   o   ursue   iversity   nd   olidarity   t   very   tage  n   he   rocess.   eing  nclusive   nd 
 e
 t  p
 d
 a  s
 a  e
 s
 i  t  p
 B
 i
 a
diverse   ight  nclude   ecrui韫�ng   embers   ho   an   ridge  anguage   aps,   nd   nding   ays   o 
 m
 i
 r
 m
 w  c  b
 l
 g
 a  fi
 w  t
accommodate   ar韫�cipa韫�on   hen   eople   an’t   韕�end   ue   o   ork   chedules,   ealth  ssues,   r 
 p
 w
 p
 c
 a
 d  t  w  s
 h
 i
 o
childcare   eeds. 
 n

In   ddi韫�on,   here   here   re  ocal   roups   lready   rganizing   round   he   ights   f   hose   ost 
 a
 w
 t
 a  l
 g
 a
 o
 a
 t  r
 o  t
 m
threatened   y   he   rump   genda,   e   rge   ou   o   each   ut   o   artner   ith   hem,   mplify   hose   oices 
 b  t  T
 a
 w  u  y  t  r
 o  t  p
 w  t
 a
 t
 v
and   efer   o   heir  eadership. 
 d
 t  t
 l

10 

How to Form a Group  
If you do want to form a group, here are our recommendations on how to go about it: 

1. Decide you’re going to start a local group dedicated to making your MoCs aware 
of their constituents’ opposition to the Trump agenda. This might be a subgroup of 
an already existing activist group, or it might be a new e喎ort - it really depends on 
your circumstances. Start where people are: if you’re in a group with a lot of 
people who want to do this kind of thing, then start there; if you’re not, you’ll need 
to ꎈ�nd them somewhere else. The most important thing is that this is a LOCAL 
group. Your band of heroes is focused on applying local pressure, which means 
you all need to be local.  

2. Identify a few additional co-founders who are interested in participating and 
recruiting others. Ideally, these are people who have di喎erent social networks 
from you so that you can maximize your reach. Make an e喎ort to ensure that 
leadership of the group re쳋ects the diversity of opposition to Trump.  

3. Email your contacts and post a message on your Facebook, on any local 
Facebook groups that you’re a member of, and/or other social media channels 
you use regularly. Say that you’re starting a group for constituents of 
Congresswoman Sara’s, dedicated to stopping the Trump agenda, and ask people 
to email you to sign up. 

How   o      ecruit   eople   o   ake   ction? 
 d  I r
 p
 t  t  a

Most   eople   re   oved   o   ake   c韫�on   hrough  ndividual   onversa韫�ons.   ere   re   ome   ps   or   aving 
 p
 a  m
 t  t  a
 t
 i
 c
 H  a  s
 韫�  f  h
successful   onversa韫�ons   o  nspire   eople   o   ake   c韫�on   ith   our   roup. 
 c
 t  i
 p
 t  t  a
 w  y  g
1. Get   he   tory.   hat  ssues   oes   he   ther   erson   are   bout?   ow   ould   he   eac韫�onary 
 t  s
 W  i
 d  t  o
 p
 c  a
 H  w
 t  r
Republican   genda   ffect   hem,   heir   ommuni韫�es,   nd   heir   alues? 
 a
 a
 t
 t
 c
 a  t
 v
2. Imagine   hat’s   ossible.   ow   an   our   roup   hange   our   ommunity’s   ela韫�onship   ith 
 w
 p
 H  c  y  g
 c
 y  c
 r
 w
your   embers   f   ongress?   ow   ould   our   roup,   nd   thers  ike  t,   rotect   ur   alues? 
 M
 o  C
 H  c
 y  g
 a  o
 l  i  p
 o  v
3. Commitment   nd   wnership.   sk      lear   es   r   o   ues韫�on:   ill   ou   ork   ith   e   o   old 
 a  o
 A  a c
 y  o  n  q
 w  y  w  w  m  t  h
our   epresenta韫�ves   ccountable?   hen,   et   o   pecifics.   ho   lse   an   hey   alk   o   bout 
 r
 a
 T
 g  t  s
 W  e  c  t  t  t  a
joining   he   roup?   hat   ork   eeds   o   e   one      lanning      ee韫�ng,   esearching      ember 
 t  g
 W  w  n
 t  b  d
 ‐ p
 a m
 r
 a M
of   ongress      hat   hey   an   ake   n?   hen   ill   ou   ollow   p? 
 C
 ‐ t  t  c  t  o  W
 w  y  f
 u
Ask   pen‐ended   ues韫�ons! People   re   ore  ikely   o   ake   c韫�on   hen   hey   r韫�culate   hat   hey   are 
 o
 q

 a  m  l
 t  t  a
 w
 t  a
 w  t  c
about   nd   an   onnect  t   o   he   c韫�on   hey   re   oing   o   ake. A   ood   ule   f   humb  s   o   alk   0%   f 
 a  c  c
 i  t  t  a
 t  a  g
 t  t
   g
 r  o  t
 i  t  t  3  o
the   me   r  ess   nd  isten   t  east   0%   f   he   me.  
 韫�  o  l  a  l
 a  l
 7  o  t  韫�

11 

4. Invite everyone who has expressed interest to an in-person kicko喎 meeting. 
Use this meeting to agree on a name, principles for your group, roles for 
leadership, a way of communicating, and a strategy for your 
Congressman/Congresswoman. Rule of thumb: 50% of the people who have said 
they are deꎈ�nitely coming will show up to your meeting. Aim high! Get people to 
commit to come--they’ll want to because saving democracy is fun. 

a. Manage the meeting: Keep people focused on the ultimate core strategy: 
applying pressure to your MoC to stop Trump. Other attendees may have 
other ideas-or may be coming to share their concerns about Trump - and 
it’s important to aⵟ�rm their concerns and feelings. But it’s also important to 
redirect that energy and make sure that the conversation stays focused on 
developing a group and a plan of action dedicated to this strategy. 

b. Decide on a name: Good names include the geographic area of your 
group, so that it’s clear that you’re rooted in the community - eg, 
“Springꎈ�eld Indivisible Against Hate.” You are also 100% welcome to pick 
up and run with the Indivisible name if you want, but we won’t be hurt if you 
don’t. 

c. Agree on principles: This is your chance to say what your group stands for. 
We recommend two guiding principles: 
i.
Donald Trump’s agenda will take America backwards and must be 
stopped.  
ii.
In order to work together to achieve this goal, we must model the 
values of inclusion, tolerance, and fairness. 

As discussed in the second chapter, we strongly recommend focusing on 
defense against the Trump agenda rather than developing an entire 
alternative policy agenda. This is time-intensive, divisive, and, quite frankly, 
a distraction, since there is zero chance that we as progressives will get to 
put our agenda into action at the federal level in the next four years.  

d. Volunteer for roles: Figure out how to divide roles and responsibilities 
among your group. This can look very di喎erent depending on who’s in the 
room, but at a minimum, you probably want 1-2 people in charge of overall 
group coordination, a designated media/social media contact, and 1-2 
people in charge of tracking the Congressional oⵟ�ce’s schedule and 
events. In addition to these administrative roles, ask attendees how they 
want to contribute to advocacy e喎orts: attend events, record events, ask 
questions, make calls, host meetings, engage on social media, write op-eds 
for local papers, etc etc. 

12 

e. Adopt means of communication: You need a way of reaching everyone in 
your group in order to coordinate actions. This can be a Facebook group, a 
Google group, a Slack team - whatever people are most comfortable with. It 
may be wise to consider secure or encrypted platforms such as Signal and 
WhatsApp. 
5. Expand! Enlist your members to recruit across their networks. Ask every member 
to send out the same outreach emails/posts that you did.  
a. Recruit people for your email list--100 or 200 isn’t unreasonable. 
b. We strongly recommend making a conscious e喎ort to diversify your group 
and particularly to center around and defer to communities of people who 
are most directly a喎ected by the racism, xenophobia, transphobia, 
homophobia, and antipathy towards the poor of the Trump administration. 
This could include both reaching out through your own networks and 
forming relationships with community groups that are already working on 
protecting the rights of marginalized groups. 

13 

Ch. 4: Four local advocacy tactics that actually work 
“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a 
chance to change the world” -Dolores Huerta 

This chapter describes the nuts and bolts of implementing four advocacy tactics to put 
pressure on your three MoCs--your Representative and two Senators. Before we get 
there though, there’s one thing all local groups should do: 

First, ꎈ�ve steps to gather intel. Before you doing anything else, take the following ꎈ�ve 
steps to arm yourself with information necessary for all future advocacy activities.  

1) Find your three MoCs, their oⵟ�cial websites, and their oⵟ�ce contact info at 
www.callmycongress.com.  

2) Every MoC has an e-newsletter. Sign up on their website to receive regular email 
updates, invites to local events, and propaganda to understand what they’re 
saying. 

3) Find out where your MoC stands on the issues of the day--appointment of white 
supremacists, tax cuts for the rich, etc. Review their voting history at 
VoteSmart.org. Research their biggest campaign contributors at OpenSecrets.org.  

4) Set up a Google News Alert (here)--for example for “Rep. Bob Smith”--to receive 
an email whenever your MoC is in the news. 

5) Research on Google News (here) local reporters have written about the MoC. Find 
and follow them on Twitter, and build relationships. Before you attend or plan an 
event, reach out and explain why your group is protesting and provide them 
background materials and a quote. Journalists on deadline-- even those who 
might not agree with you-- appreciate when you provide easy material for a story. 

Note   n   afety   nd   rivilege 
 o  S
 a  P

We   o   ot   et   now   ow   rump   upporters   ill   espond   o   rganized   hows   f   pposi韫�on,   ut   e 
 d  n  y  k
 h  T
 s
 w  r
 t  o
 s
 o  o
 b  w
have   een   nough   o   e   ery   oncerned   hat   inori韫�es   ill   e   argeted   r   ingled   ut.   lan   our 
 s
 e
 t  b  v  c
 t  m
 w  b  t
 o  s
 o  P  y
ac韫�ons   o   nsure   hat   o   ne  s   sked   o   ake   n      ole   hat   hey   re   ot   omfortable   ith‐‐especially 
 t  e
 t  n  o  i  a
 t  t  o  a r  t  t  a  n  c
 w
those   oles   hat   all   or   emi‐confronta韫�onal   ehavior‐‐and   e   indful   f   he   act   hat   ot   veryone  s 
 r
 t  c  f  s
 b
 b  m
 o  t  f  t  n  e
 i
facing   n   qual  evel   f   hreat.   embers   f   our   roup   ho   njoy   ore   rivilege   hould   hink 
 a  e
 l
 o  t
 M
 o  y  g
 w  e
 m  p
 s
 t
carefully   bout   ow   hey   an   nsure   hat   hey   re   sing   heir   rivilege   o   upport   ther   embers   f 
 a
 h  t  c  e
 t  t  a  u
 t
 p
 t  s
 o
 m
 o
the   roup.  f   ou   re   oncerned   bout   oten韫�al  aw   nforcement  n韫�mida韫�on,   onsider   ownloading 
 g
 I  y  a  c
 a
 p
 l  e
 i
 c
 d
your   tate’s   ersion   f   he ACLU   obile   us韫�ce   pp  n   rder   o   nsure   hat   ny  n韫�mida韫�ng   ehavior  s 
 s
 v
 o  t   
 M
 J
 a  i  o
 t  e
 t  a  i
 b
 i
captured   n   lm. 
 o  fi

14 

Opportunity #1: Town Halls/Listening Sessions 
MoCs regularly hold local “Town Halls” or public listening sessions throughout their 
district or state. Tea Partiers used these events to great e喎ect--both to directly pressure 
their MoCs and to attract media to their cause.  

Preparation  

1. Find out when your MoC’s next public town hall event is. Sometimes these are 
announced well in advance, and sometimes they are “public” but only sent to select 
constituents through mailings shortly before the event. If you can’t ꎈ�nd announcements 
online, call your MoC directly to ꎈ�nd out. When you call, be friendly and say to the sta喎er, 
“Hi, I’m a constituent, and I’d like to know when his/her next town hall forum will be.” If 
they don’t know, ask to be added to the email list so that you get notiꎈ�ed when they do.  

2. Send out notice of the town hall to your group and get commitments from members 
to attend. Distribute to all of them whatever information you have on your MoC’s voting 
record, as well as the prepared questions (next step). 

3. Prepare several questions ahead of time for your group to ask. Your questions 
should be sharp and fact-based, ideally including information on the MoC’s record, votes 
they’ve taken, or statements they’ve made. They should, thematically, 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. Example question:  

“I and many district families in Springꎈ�eld rely on Medicare. I don’t think we 
should be rationing health care for seniors, and the plan to privatize Medicare will 
create serious ꎈ�nancial hardship for seniors who can’t a喎ord it. You haven’t gone 
on the record opposing this. Will you commit here and now to vote no Bill X to cut 
Medicare?” 

Should      ring      ign? 
 I b
 a s

Signs   an   e   seful   or   einforcing   he   ense   f   road   greement   ith   our   essage.   owever,  f 
 c  b  u
 f  r
 t  s
 o  b
 a
 w  y  m
 H
 i
you’re   olding   n   pposi韫�onal   ign,   taffers   ill   lmost   ertainly   ot   ive   ou   r   he   eople   ith   ou 
 h
 a  o
 s  s
 w  a
 c
 n  g  y  o  t  p
 w  y
the   hance   o   et   he   ike   r   sk      ues韫�on.  f   ou   ave   nough   eople   o   oth   sk   ues韫�ons   nd 
 c
 t  g  t  m  o  a  a q
 I  y  h  e
 p
 t  b  a  q
 a
hold   igns,   hough,   hen   o   or  t! 
 s
 t
 t
 g  f  i

15 

At the Town Hall 

1. Get there early, meet up, and get organized. Meet outside or in the parking lot for a 
quick huddle before the event. Distribute the handout of questions, and encourage 
members to ask the questions on the sheet or something similar. 

2. Get seated and spread out. Head into the venue a bit early to grab seats at the front 
half of the room, but do not sit all together. Sit by yourself or in groups of 2, and spread 
out throughout the room. This will help reinforce the impression of broad consensus.  

3. Make your voices heard by asking good questions. When the MoC opens the 쳋oor or 
questions, everyone in the group should put your hands up and keep them there. Look 
friendly or neutral so that sta喎ers will call on you. When you’re asking a question, 
remember the following guidelines:  

a) Stick with the prepared list of questions. Don’t be afraid to read it straight 
from the printout if you need to.  

b) Be polite but persistent, and demand real answers. MoCs are very good 
at de쳋ecting or dodging question they don’t want to answer. If the MoC 
dodges, ask a follow up. If they aren’t giving you real answers, then call 
them out for it. Other group members around the room should amplify by 
either booing the Congressman or applauding you.  

c) Don’t give up the mic until you’re satisꎈ�ed with the answer. If you’ve 
asked a hostile question, a sta喎er will often try to limit your ability to follow 
up by taking the microphone back immediately after you ꎈ�nish speaking. 
They can’t do that if you keep a ꎈ�rm hold on the mike. No sta喎er in their 
right mind wants to look like they’re physically intimidating a constituent, so 
they will back o喎. If they object, then say, politely but loudly: “I’m not 
ꎈ�nished. The Congressman/woman is dodging my question. Why are you 
trying to stop me from following up?” 

d) Keep the pressure on. After one member of the group ꎈ�nishes, everyone 
should raise their hands again. The next member of the group to be called 
on should move down the list of questions and ask the next one.  

4. Support the group and reinforce the message. After one member of your group asks 
a question, everyone should applaud to show that the feeling is shared throughout the 
audience. Whenever someone from your group gets the mike, they should note that 
they’re building on the previous questions - amplifying the fact that you’re part of a broad 
group. 

16 

5. Record everything! Assign someone in the group to use their smart phones or video 
camera to record other advocates asking questions and the MoC’s response. While 
written transcripts are nice, unfavorable exchanges caught on video can be devastating 
for MoCs. These clips can be shared through social media and picked up by local and 
national media. 

After the Town Hall 

6. Reach out to media, during and after the town hall. If there’s media at the town hall, 
the people who asked questions should approach them afterwards and o喎er to speak 
about their concerns. When the event is over, you should engage local reporters on 
Twitter or by email and o喎er to provide an in-person account of what happened, as well 
as the video footage you collected. Example Twitter outreach:  

“.@reporter I was at Rep. Smith’s townhall in Springꎈ�eld today. Large group asked 
about Medicare privatization. I have video & happy to chat.” 

-Note: It’s important to make this a public tweet by including the period 
before the journalist’s Twitter handle. Making this public will make make 
the journalist more likely to respond to ensure they get the intel ꎈ�rst. 

Ensure that the members of your group who are directly a喎ected by speciꎈ�c threats are 
the ones whose voices are elevated when you reach out to media. 

7. Share everything. Post pictures, video, your own thoughts about the event, etc, to 
social media afterwards. Tag the MoC’s oⵟ�ce and encourage others to share widely. 

17 

Opportunity #2: Other Local Public Events  
In addition to town halls, MoCs regularly attend public events for other 
purposes--parades, infrastructure groundbreakings, etc. Like town halls, these are 
opportunities to get face time with the MoC and make sure they’re hearing about your 
concerns while simultaneously changing the news story that gets written. 

Similar to Town Halls, but with some tweaks. To take advantage of this opportunity, you 
can follow most of the guidelines above for townhalls (ꎈ�lming, etc). However, because 
these events are not designed for constituent input, you will need to think creatively 
about how to make sure your presence and message comes through loud and clear.  

Tactics for these events may be similar to more traditional protests, where you’re trying to 
shift attention from the scheduled event to your own message.  

1) Optimize visibility. Unlike in town halls, you want your presence as a group to be 
recognizable and attention-getting at this event. It may make sense to stick 
together as a group, wear relatively similar clothing / message shirts, and carry 
signs in order to be sure that your presence is noticeable.  

2) Be prepared to interrupt and insist on your right to be heard. Since you won’t 
get the mic at an event like this, you have to attract attention to yourself and your 
message. Agree beforehand with your group on a simple message focused on a 
current or upcoming issue. Coordinate with each other to chant this message 
during any public remarks that your MoC makes. This can be diⵟ�cult, and a bit 
uncomfortable. But it sends a powerful message to your MOC that they won’t be 
able to get press for other events until they address your concerns. 

3) Identify, and try to speak with, reporters on the scene. Be polite, friendly, and 
stick to your message. For example, “We’re here to remind Congresswoman Sara 
that her constituents are opposed to Medicare cuts.” You may want to research in 
advance which local reporters cover MoCs or relevant beats, so that you know 
who to be looking for. 

4) Hold organizational hosts accountable. Often, events such as these will be 
hosted by local businesses or non-partisan organizations - groups that don’t want 
controversy or to alienate the community. Reach out to them directly to express 
your concern that they are giving a platform to pro-Trump authoritarianism, racism, 
and corruption. If they persist, use social media to express your disappointment. 
This will reduce the likelihood that these organizations will host the Trump-friendly 
MoC in the future. MoCs depend on invitations like these to build ties and raise 
their visibility - so this matters to them.  

18 

Opportunity #3: In-Oⵟ�ce Visits / Sit-ins 
Every MoC has at least one district oⵟ�ce, and many MoCs have several spread 
through their district or state. These are public oⵟ�ces, open for anybody to visit--you 
don’t need an appointment. You can take advantage of this to force a sort of 
impromptu town hall meeting by showing up with a small group. It is much harder for 
district or DC sta喎 to turn away a group than a single constituent, even without an 
appointment. 

1) Find out where your MoCs local oⵟ�ces are. The oⵟ�cial webpage for your MoC 
will list the address of every local oⵟ�ce. You can ꎈ�nd those web pages easily 
through a simple Google search. In most cases, the URL for the a House member 
will be www.[lastname].house.gov, and the URL for Senate oⵟ�ces is 
www.[lastname].senate.gov.  
2) Plan a trip when the MoC is there. Most MoC district oⵟ�ces are open only during 
regular business hours, 9am-5pm. While MoCs spend a fair amount of time in 
Washington, they are often “in district” on Mondays and Fridays, and there are 
weeks designated for MoCs to work in district. The MoC is most likely to be at the 
“main” oⵟ�ce--the oⵟ�ce in the largest city in the district, and where the MoC’s 
district director works. Ideally, plan a time when you and several other people can 
show up together.  
3) Prepare several questions ahead of time. As with the townhalls, you should 
prepare a list of questions ahead of time. See above for sample questions. 
4) Politely, but ꎈ�rmly, ask to meet with the MoC directly. Sta喎 will ask you to leave 
or at best “o喎er to take down your concerns.” Don’t settle for that. You want to 
speak with the MoC directly. If they are not in, ask when they will next be in. If the 
sta喎er doesn’t know, tell them you will wait. Sit politely in the lobby. Note, on any 
given weekend, the MoC may or may not actually come to that district oⵟ�ce. 

Note that oⵟ�ce sit-ins can backꎈ�re, so be very thoughtful about the optics of your 
visit. This tactic works best when you are protesting an issue that directly a喎ects 
you and/or members of your group (eg, seniors and caregivers on Medicare cuts, 
or Muslims and allies protesting a Muslim registry). Being polite and respectful 
throughout is critical. 
5) Meet with the sta喎er. Even if you are able to get a one-o喎 meeting with the 
member, you are most often going to be meeting with their sta喎. In district, the 
best person to meet with is the District Director, or head of the local district oⵟ�ce 
you’re visiting. There are real advantages to building a relationship with these 
sta喎. In some cases, they may be more open to progressive ideas than the MoC 
19 

him/herself, and having a good meeting with/building a relationship with a 
supportive sta喎 member can be a good way to move your issue up the chain of 
command. Follow these steps for a good sta喎 meeting: 

a) Have a speciꎈ�c “ask” -- E.g. vote against X, cosponsor Y, publicly state Z, 
etc. 
b) Leave sta喎 with a brief write up of your issue, with your ask clearly stated 
c) Share a personal story of how you or someone in your group is personally 
impacted by the speciꎈ�c issue (health care, immigration, medicare, etc). 
d) Be polite -- Yelling at the underpaid, overworked, sta喎er won’t help your 
cause. 
e) Be persistent -- Get their card and call/email them regularly; ask if the MoC 
has taken action on the issue. 

6) Advertise what you’re doing. Communicate on social media and with the local 
reporters you follow what is happening. Take and send pictures and videos with 
your group: “At Congresswoman Sara’s oⵟ�ce with 10 other constituents to talk to 
her about privatizing Medicare. She refuses to meet with us and sta喎 won’t tell us 
when she will come out. We’re waiting.” 

20 

Opportunity #4: Mass Calls  
Mass oⵟ�ce calling is a light lift but can actually have impact. Tea Partiers regularly 
쳋ooded congressional oⵟ�ces with calls at opportune moments, and MoCs noticed.  

1) Find the phone numbers for your MoC. Again, you can ꎈ�nd your local MoCs and 
their oⵟ�ce phone numbers at www.callmycongress.com.  
2) Prepare a single question per call. For in-person events, you want to prepare a 
host of questions, but for calls, you want to keep it simple. You and your group 
should all agree to call in on one speciꎈ�c issue that day. The question should be 
about a live issue--a vote that is coming up or a di喎erent action that the member 
has just taken or will have the opportunity to take. The next day or week, pick 
another issue, and call again on that. 
3) Find out who you’re talking to. In general, the sta喎er who answers the phone will 
be an intern, a sta喎 assistant, or some other very junior sta喎er in the MoCs oⵟ�ce. 
But you want to talk to the legislative sta喎er who covers the issue you’re calling 
about. Two ways to go about doing this:  
○ Ask to speak to the sta喎er who handles the issue (immigration, health care 
etc). Junior sta喎 is usually directed to not tell you who this is, and instead 
just take down your comment instead. 
○ On a di喎erent day, call and ask whoever answers the phone, “Hi, can you 
conꎈ�rm the name of the sta喎er who covers [immigration/health care/etc]?” 
Sta喎 will generally tell you the name. Say “thanks!” and hang up. Ask for the 
sta喎er by name when you call back next time.  
4) If you’re directed to voicemail, follow up with email. Then follow up again. 
Getting more senior legislative sta喎 on the phone is tough. The junior sta喎er will 
probably just tell you “I checked, and she’s not at her desk right now, but would 
you like to leave a voicemail?” Go ahead and leave a voicemail, but don’t expect a 
call back. Instead, after you leave that voicemail, follow up with an email to the 
sta喎er. If they still don’t respond, follow up again. If they still don’t respond, let the 
world know that the MoC’s oⵟ�ce is dodging you. 

Congressional emails are standardized, so even if the MoC’s oⵟ�ce won’t divulge 
that information, you can probably guess it if you have the sta喎er’s ꎈ�rst and last 
name.  
● Senate email addresses: For the Senate: the formula is: 
Sta喎erFirstName_Sta喎[e-mail]. For 
example, if Jane Doe works for Senator Roberts, her email address is likely 
“[e-mail]” 
● House email addresses: For the House, the formula is simpler: 
Sta喎erFirstName.Sta喎[e-mail]. For example, if Jane 
21 

Doe works in the House, her email address is likely 
“[e-mail]” 

5) Keep a record of the conversation. Take detailed notes on everything the sta喎er 
tells you. Direct quotes are great, and anything they tell you is public information 
that can be shared widely. Compare notes with the rest of your group, and identify 
any con쳋icts in what they’re telling constituents. 

6) Report back to media and your group. Report back to both your media contacts 
and your group what the sta喎er said when you called. 
Sample   all   ialogue 
 C  D

Staffer: Congresswoman   ara’s   ffice,   ow   an     elp   ou? 

 S
 o
 h  c  I h  y
Caller: Hi   here,  ’m      ons韫�tuent   f   ongresswoman   ara’s.   an     lease   peak   ith   he   taffer   ho 
    t
 I  a c
 o  C
 S
 C  I p
 s
 w  t  s
 w
handles   residen韫�al   ppointments  ssues? 
 p
 a
 i
Staffer:  ’m   appy   o   ake   own   ny   omments   ou   ay   ave.   an     sk   or   our   ame   nd   ddress   o 
 I  h
 t  t  d
 a  c
 y  m  h
 C  I a  f  y  n
 a  a
 t
verify   ou’re  n   he   ongresswoman’s   istrict? 
 y
 i  t  C
 d
Caller     ure   hing.   Gives   ame/address].   an     sk   ho  ’m   peaking   ith? 
: S  t
 [
 n
 C  I a  w  I  s
 w
Staffer: Yes,   his  s   eremy   mith.  
    t  i  J
 S
Caller: Thanks,   eremy!  ’m   alling   o   sk   hat   he   ongresswoman  s   oing   bout   he   ppointment   f 

 J
 I  c
 t  a  w  t  C
 i  d
 a
 t  a
 o
Steve   annon   o   erve  n   he   hite   ouse.   annon  s   eported   s   aying   e   idn’t   ant   is   hildren   o 
 B
 t  s
 i  t  W
 H
 B
 i  r
 a  s
 h  d
 w  h  c
 t
go   o      chool   ith   ews.   nd   e   an      ebsite   hat   romoted   hite   a韫�onalist   iews.  ’m   onestly 
 t  a s
 w  J
 A  h  r  a w
 t  p
 w
 n
 v
 I  h
scared   hat      nown   acist   nd   n韫�‐Semite   ill   e   orking   eet   rom   he   val   ffice.   an   ou   ell   e 
 t  a k
 r
 a  a
 w  b  w
 f  f
 t  O  O
 C  y  t  m
what   ongresswoman   ara  s   oing   o   o   bout  t? 
 C
 S  i  g
 t  d  a
 i
Staffer     ell     eally   ppreciate   ou   alling   nd   haring   our   houghts!     f   ourse   an’t   peak   or   he 
: W  I r
 a
 y  c
 a  s
 y  t
 I o  c
 c
 s
 f  t
Congresswoman   ecause  ’m  ust      taff   ssistant,   ut     an   ell   ou   hat  ’ll   ass   our   oncerns   n   o 
 b
 I  j  a S  A
 b  I c  t  y  t  I  p  y  c
 o  t
her. 
Caller       ppreciate   hat   eremy,   ut     on’t   ant   ou   o  ust   ass   y   oncerns   n.     ould  ike   o   now 
:Ia
 t  J
 b  I d
 w  y  t  j  p  m  c
 o  I w
 l  t  k
what   he   ongresswoman  s   oing   o   top   his. 
 t  C
 i  d
 t  s  t
[If   hey   tick   ith    he   I’m  ust      taffer”  ine,   sk   hem   hen      ore   enior   taffer   ill   et   ack   o   ou 
 t  s  w   t  “  j  a s
 l  a  t
 w
 a m  s
 s
 w  g  b  t  y
with   n   nswer   o   our   uestion.] 
 a  a
 t  y  q
Staffer    ’m   fraid   e   on’t   ake   osi韫�ons   n   ersonnel   ppointments. 
: I  a
 w  d
 t  p
 o  p
 a
Caller     hy   ot? 
: W  n
Staffer     ersonnel   ppointments   re   he   resident’s   esponsibility.   e   ave   o   ontrol   ver   hem. 
:P
 a
 a  t  P
 r
 W  h  n  c
 o  t
Caller     ut   ongresswoman   ara   as   he   bility   o   peak   ut   nd   ay   hat   his  s   nacceptable.   ther 
: B  C
 S  h  t  a
 t  s
 o  a  s  t  t  i  u
 O
members   f   ongress   ave   one   o.   hy  sn’t   ongresswoman   ara   oing   hat? 
 o  C
 h  d
 s  W  i
 C
 S  d
 t
Staffer     s     aid,   his  s   he   resident’s   esponsibility.  t’s   ot   ur   usiness   o   ave      osi韫�on   n   ho 
: A  I s  t  i  t  P
 r
 I  n  o  b
 t  h  a p
 o  w
he   hooses   or   is   taff. 
 c
 f  h  s
Caller    t  s   veryone’s   usiness  f      an   ho   romoted   hite   upremacy  s   erving   s   n   dvisor   o 
: I  i  e
 b
 i  a m  w  p
 w
 s
 i  s
 a  a  a
 t
the   resident.   he   ongresswoman  s   y   lected   epresenta韫�ve   nd     xpect   er   o   peak   ut   n   his. 
 P
 T  C
 i  m  e
 r
 a  I e
 h  t  s
 o  o  t
Staffer    ’ll   ass   hat   n. 
: I  p  t  o
Caller       nd  t   nacceptable   hat   he   ongresswoman   efuses   o   ake      osi韫�on.   ’ll   e   o韫�fying   y 
: I fi  i  u
 t  t  C
 r
 t  t  a p
  I  b  n
 m
friends,   amily,   nd  ocal   ewspaper   hat   ur   ongresswoman   oesn’t   hink  t’s   er  ob   o   epresent   s 
 f
 a  l
 n
 t  o  C
 d
 t
 i  h  j  t  r
 u
or   ctually   espond   o   er   ons韫�tuents’   oncerns. 
 a
 r
 t  h  c
 c

22 

Conclusion 
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones 
we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” -President Barack Obama 

We wrote this guide because we believe that the coming years will see an 
unprecedented movement of Americans rising up across the country to protect our 
values and our neighbors. Our goal is to provide practical understanding of how your 
MoCs think, and how you can demonstrate to them the depth and power of the 
opposition to Donald Trump and Republican congressional overreach. This is not a 
panacea, nor is it intended to stand alone. We strongly urge you to marry the strategy in 
this guide with a broader commitment to creating a more just society, building local 
power, and addressing systemic injustice and racism.  

Finally, this guide is intended as a work in progress, one that we hope to continue 
updating as the resistance to the Trump agenda takes shape. We are happy to o喎er 
support to anybody interested in building on the tactics outlined in this guide, and we 
hope that if you ꎈ�nd it useful or put any of the tactics described above into action, that 
you will let us know how it goes. Feel free to ping some of us on Twitter with questions, 
edits, recommendations, feedback/stories about what is helpful here, etc: @ezralevin, 
@angelrafpadilla, @texpat (a partial list of Twitter-active folks). Or email 
[e-mail]. 

Good luck--we will win. 

23