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4now

(1,596 posts)
Sat Sep 16, 2017, 06:45 PM Sep 2017

The American left has its own Tea Party, and its coming for Donald Trump

Last edited Sat Sep 16, 2017, 07:22 PM - Edit history (1)

This wasn’t a one-off. Republicans have been facing similar outcries across the country this year. Angry protesters cornered Idaho representative Raul Labrador into telling (paywall) a town hall that “no one dies because they don’t have access to health care,” for which he was predictably ridiculed. South Carolina’s Joe Wilson—who memorably shouted “You lie!” at president Barack Obama in a joint session of Congress in 2009—found the accusation chanted back (paywall) at him by constituents. In Utah, Jason Chaffetz received similar treatment and accused attendees of trying to “bully and intimidate” him.

When I asked New Jerseyans at MacArthur’s town hall what made them think to spend their Wednesday evening haranguing their congressman, three words were on most protesters’ lips: “The Indivisible groups.”

The Indivisible Project is the American left’s closest equivalent to the Tea Party, the hard-line conservative movement that crashed on to the political scene in 2009. It was inspired by the Indivisible Guide, a manual written by former Democratic congressional staffers who decoded how to combat Trump’s agenda using protest tactics pioneered by the Tea Party. Following the guide’s advice, activists across the US have bombarded town halls, held sit-ins at lawmakers’ constituencies, and made phone call after phone call to their congressional offices. Their aim is to paralyse the Trump administration by pushing Republican members of Congress to vote against him.

The movement says it has almost 6,000 local chapters throughout the country—at least two in every congressional district—and hundreds of thousands of active members, who run the gamut from socialists who supported Bernie Sanders to Republicans who revile Trump. It’s notched up some impressive grassroots fundraising and claims to have influenced several key decisions—most notably, the vote that killed the Republicans’ flagship policy, the dismantling of Obama’s Affordable Care Act.

And yet, unlike the Tea Party, which immediately grabbed international headlines, the chances are you’ve never heard of the Indivisibles.

https://qz.com/1065652/the-american-left-has-its-own-tea-party-and-its-coming-for-donald-trump/

A lot more at the link.

The Indivisible Guide - About
https://www.indivisibleguide.com/about-us/

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The American left has its own Tea Party, and its coming for Donald Trump (Original Post) 4now Sep 2017 OP
I'm on their email list. The lack of news coverage is noticeable underpants Sep 2017 #1
If you're not an Indivisible member, join now sharedvalues Sep 2017 #2

underpants

(182,281 posts)
1. I'm on their email list. The lack of news coverage is noticeable
Sat Sep 16, 2017, 06:49 PM
Sep 2017

They've hounded Dave Brat locally into avoiding town hall meetings. His FB posts about meetings with local groups is hilarious.

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