After Marching, Another Step

This past weekend gave a pretty clear visual of how much power we have when we organize together. And we all know that showing up to march was merely the first step of many.

The next is engaging with the political process — via electoral, issue and legislative work — as well as the work of community organizing– building communities of trust, making outreach and strengthening our progressive infrastructure. We’re committed to both. 

This week, we are releasing our 2017-18 Legislative Agenda, and we will be asking progressives to make some noise about how Massachusetts should become a leader again in bold progressive policy. 

The Opposite of Trump

We all want to DO something to stop the coming wave of Trump’s — and the traditional conservatives’ — cruel and incoherent policies on immigration, health care, women’s bodies, education, and their accelerating privatization and corporate kleptocracy. 

While many emerging activist networks are urging outreach to Congress, we’d like to propose that, in Massachusetts, we’ll get a lot more mileage fighting Trump — and making real change, helping real people who are vulnerable — BY focusing on Massachusetts:

  • We could pass a millionaire’s tax, and restore funding to programs destroyed by repeated budget cuts
  • We could pass a $15 minimum wage
  • We could ensure safety and dignity for immigrants and their family
  • We could lead the fight on climate change by investing more in solar and energy efficiency 
  • We could insist on the highest standards for the air we breathe and water we drink
  • We could fully fund excellent public education for all
  • We could pass universal pre-K
  • We could pass Paid Family and Medical Leave 
  • We could re-invest in a 21st century public transportation system
  • We could dismantle the apparatuses of mass incarceration and their racist effects
  • We could mend then strengthen the safety nets that have been cut and frayed to threads

These are changes that are needed. In Massachusetts. 

In Trump’s America, these changes are still possible. In Massachusetts. 

The truth is — We have a lot of work to do to make Massachusetts the progressive ideal that we would like to think we are. 

But the great news is that all of this is not only possible — we are much, much, more influential with our state legislators. AND Democrats have have a Super (duper) Democratic majority in both chambers. 

If we aren’t passing progressive legislation in Massachusetts, it’s because Democrats are standing in the way. On Beacon Hill, we aren’t fighting Ted Cruzes or Rand Pauls. 

Reminding our elected representatives of the progressive principles at the heart of the Democratic platform, through organized, well-timed, on-going outreach and pressure…we can do this, if we mobilize together. And, this hill, if we climb it, will produce real changes for real people most vulnerable under Trump.

The Legislative session just opened this month. We are starting our 2-year cycle of outreach and advocacy and citizen lobbying afresh. 

Well-timed, informed outreach to your State Rep and State Senator is a key part of the next 2 years: 

  • We will ask our legislators to sign on to our progressive agenda as cosponsors to our highlighted bills (that’s coming right up)
  • We will ask our legislators to advocate with their colleagues to push for the strongest progressive legislation possible
  • We will ask our legislators to stay strong when the going gets tough
  • We will thank them when they stand up for our goals and values–especially when it’s hardest to do
  • We will talk with our neighbors and help them advocate — or help provide the context to help educate where there’s disagreement

This contact is key. We’re asking you to be ready–look up, right now, your State Representative and State Senator. 

In the Dark, Undoing the Voters’ Will

On November 8, almost 54 percent of voters in the Commonwealth voted to legalize recreational marijuana, an important step in advancing social and racial justice and combating over-policing and mass incarceration. However, yesterday, in a special session, without any public hearings or public notice, 7 legislators were able to postpone the opening date for recreational marijuana stores by six months, creating a limbo situation in which possession is legal but retail is not.

We are very disappointed, but not surprised, by such behavior. If the Legislature had concerns about the wording of Question 4, they had ample time before the election to pass their own bill or to offer a substitute ballot question. Instead, they chose to undermine the democratic will of the Commonwealth in a most undemocratic way. The Legislature has a history of avoiding public debate and recorded votes—as well as a history of weakening or even repealing ballot initiatives. If Massachusetts is to be a model for other states, that has to change.

Your legislators are supposed to work for you, and they deserve to hear from you. You can find contact information for your state representative and state senator here. And when you’re done calling the Legislature, call Charlie Baker to urge him not to sign the delay.