Action 77 MAINE won’t cave! (and) Kill the “SAVE”
MAINE WON’T CAVE:
Here is the link for the video of the Empty Chair Town Hall held on March 22.
vimeo.com/1068893851?share=copy#t=0 Some brave and heartfelt testimony aimed at encouraging Jared Golden to stand up for his constituents and for our democracy!
MAINE is not “obeying in advance”! (1) Why just today, news has surfaced that our Governor Janet Mills has explained to Donald Trump, once again, in simple terms, that laws are made, and changed, ONLY by Congress and State Legislatures, and not by tweets, Executive Orders and such. Emanuel Pariser (2) suggests that we all say thank you to Janet Mills for not giving in to the bullying and for standing up for the rule of law. Good idea! Call her office at 207 287 3531 or email her!
More not caving! Our Attorney General Aaron Frey has joined with other states in multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration. Frey has made it abundantly clear that his overriding goal is to protect the Constitution, the people of Maine and the rights of our state. So far Maine and other states are prevailing on several fronts, including defending birthright citizenship, initiating successful temporary restraining orders (TRO’s) against impoundment of funds, and blocking DOGE from accessing personal records. Keep an eye on what our AG is doing and thank him at 207-626-8800. He’s appalled at “the idea of hurting the people of Maine so that the President can demand an apology” from Governor Mills.
KILL THE “SAVE”:
Next week may be the vote in Congress on this misleadingly named bill, roundly condemned by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters and any other organization that believes in the right of citizens to vote. We have written about it several times (3) and urged calls to our Congresspeople, particularly Jared Golden, who voted FOR this dangerous bill last year and HAS NOT SAID HOW HE WILL VOTE THIS YEAR. He needs to vote it DOWN. Call him and pile on! (Politely but firmly of course). Here are some people who apparently work for him and who you might try to reach. If you get a response, please let us know. We got the Washington names from a third-party source so they may be out of date.
At the Bangor Office:
Zach Schmesser, zach.schmesser@mail.house.gov, 207 249 7400
In Washington (all with same phone number 202 225 6306):
Deputy Chief of Staff/ Legislative Director Eric Kanter, eric.kanter@mail.house.gov
Senior Policy Advisor Bobby Reynolds, bobby.reynolds@mail.house.gov
Communications Director Mario Moretto, mario.moretto@mail.house.gov
Extra Credit:
(1) https://timothysnyder.org/on-tyranny/
(2) https://downeast.com/arts-leisure/mentor-emanuel-pariser/
He’s also the father of Eli, who was the executive director of MoveOn https://www.ted.com/speakers/eli_pariser
(3) Actions # 9, 24 and 54. All can be read at isledems.org/initiatives/
Also listen to Amy Fried’s testimony in the vimeo-linked video above, starts at about 15 min.
And read these sources: https://www.lwvme.org/TakeAction
https://civilrights.org/resource/civil-rights-groups-letter-in-opposition-to-save-act-2/