Indivisibles,
It’s here! Our 2023 guide, Indivisible: A Practical Guide to Defeating MAGA (PDF).
If you haven’t been with us for a guide launch before, welcome!!! This whole movement started with a team of former congressional staffers writing a guide on navigating a Trump presidency back in 2016. Since then, we have continued to put out guides for every new Congress, updating the state of play and consolidating tactics for the new year in one place. This year is no different.
The 2023 guide will break down the stakes, go over our game plan, explain the framing for both Democrats and Republicans, and bring together big-picture tactics for how we want to activate in the new session.
Without further ado:
The state of play
We are entering the new year in a complicated but optimistic position. On one hand, we defied historical expectations by expanding our majority in the Senate, passed definitive legislation like the Respect for Marriage and Inflation Reduction Acts, and showed MAGA extremists that we will not sit idly by and allow their brand of repugnant fanaticism to become the norm.
But, we also lost the House by fewer than 7,000 votes across the five races that decided control. In losing the Democratic trifecta, we essentially lost any hope of passing progressive legislation like codifying Roe.
There is so much to cheer about the work that was done to get to this point. What was supposed to be a “red wave” turned out to be less than a trickle. That success is due to the work of Indivisibles and activists across the country to stay engaged, on message, and aligned toward a collective goal.
As we move into a new Congress, it’s time to shift our focus and tactics for a new era.
What the future holds
The stakes: We face the dual threat of a MAGA landslide and another possible attempt at a Trumpist coup in 2024. MAGA Republicans will try to achieve this by controlling the narrative as they sabotage the Biden administration and the economy while using racism and tribalism to attempt to harden their political coalition. Indivisible’s top priorities are winning electorally in 2024, so we can get back to delivering on our agenda.
The Game Plan: We don’t back down from a fight, and we know the formula to win. Fundamentally we need two things:
- To continue to make Republican politicians pay an electoral price for their unpopular extremism locally. That means getting them on-record about their most unpopular positions, making sure everyone knows how out-of-touch they are, and ensuring the entire MAGA brand is toxic.
- An even stronger, more broadly appealing Democratic party that can win and maintain majorities. That means setting our expectations for Democrats right away, and consistently pushing them to fight against the MAGA agenda and for a popular Democratic agenda.
How do we execute that plan?
We must present a broadly appealing Democratic identity that voters feel reflected by, one that makes it easier for Democrats to accomplish big wins when they have majorities.
Work as a team
Challenge the powers that benefit from the status quo
Boldly pursue a popular agenda
Simultaneously, we must shine more light on GOP extremism, which we know is both dangerous and unpopular.
Republicans will take away our reproductive freedoms and right to vote
Republicans will prioritize corporate greed over the needs of the people
Republicans will, once again, attempt a coup in 2024 if the results don’t go their way
If we stick to what is popular and what is right, we will build a platform that can stand up to any extremist attempts to subvert our democracy in 2024 — because that is what we are facing. Though we minimized Republican gains this cycle, we are still looking at a potential MAGA blowout leading to full GOP control of Congress and the White House.
If we learned anything from the midterms, it is that a progressive coalition is wildly effective. At the beginning of 2022, we were all but counted out; by the end of 2022, we had expanded our Senate majority and passed popular, impactful legislation for the American people. We had a plan. We executed that plan. We won.
Ready to get started?
Now we have an opportunity to build on that momentum as we prepare for the 2024 election cycle. To build, we must first have a plan.
Once you’ve read the guide, here are some next steps to begin anew:
- Register for the Deep Dive on the New Guide: Our 2023 Indivisible Guide Launch Call on Thursday, January 12 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. On this call, we’ll break down the main focuses of the guide, walk through activation strategies for 2023, and reconvene in this new year to redouble our efforts.
- Share the new guide with at least one friend. One of our focuses this year will be growing the network: The more people we have activated and on message, the stronger we will be. Share with a friend, a coworker, or an acquaintance, and let’s make sure we have our largest network of grassroots activists ever heading into 2024.
Our guide release is always a moment of beautiful anticipation. We don’t know about you, but we love the feelings that accompany a new Congress. A new session means new opportunities to engage, whether it’s supporting our progressive allies as they hold the line against MAGA extremists or using laughtivism to point out the dangerous absurdity of MAGA priorities, votes, and policies.
Most of all, we are excited for the opportunity to regroup and re-engage with Indivisibles all across the country. We may help provide tools and tactics, but you drive this movement. And it’s only through your passion and your ideas that we continue to win.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
Indivisible Project is a locally-led, people-powered movement of thousands of local groups in red, blue, and purple states, and in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Our mission is to power and lift up a grassroots movement of local groups to defeat the Trump agenda, elect progressive leaders, and realize bold progressive policies.
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