Week 24 Trending Campaigns
Trending campaigns on Resistbot as of June 12, 2023.
This past week we saw Trump indicted by the Department of Justice. At Resistbot, we focus on the officials holding and wielding power today to help or harm us. So the most maddening thing for me was Rep. Jim Jordan (Urbana, Ohio) on State of the Union. In the indictment, Trump confesses, “this is secret information, look, look at this,” and, “as President, I could have declassified it, now I can’t. This is still a secret. Isn’t that interesting?” Jordan yelled at Dana Bash that, actually, this information was declassified because a President has the power to declassify anything he wants and, Trump declassified everything he took with him. (Jordan believes this because, and I’m not kidding, Trump said so.) According to the indictment, the documents “included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for a possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.”
Bash failed to press Jordan on this, but ostensibly this didn’t bother him because Navy vs. Egan, his excuse du jour. Rep. Andy Biggs (Mesa, Ariz.) called for an “eye for an eye” and characterized this indictment as Biden going after his political opponents, which Rep. Kevin McCarthy admitted abusing his power to do in 2015. Officials like Jordan and Biggs lack principle, and the fault ultimately lies in the voters they hear from and who elect them. If you have an official excusing this behavior and claiming to be “proudly representing” you in the Congress, Senate, or state legislature, contact them and explain what actually representing you would look like.
Here are the top trending campaigns over the past seven days.
1️⃣ Protect ICWA
The Supreme Court is expected to release its decision on Haaland vs. Brackeen in the coming weeks. This case challenges the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act or ICWA. The ICWA was enacted in 1978, in short, to prevent the child welfare system in the United States from removing children from their tribes. Before the passage of this law, the child welfare system removed 1 of 3 Native children from their homes and almost all of them from their tribal nations entirely, even if relatives were willing to adopt.
To truly understand the positive potential of the ICWA today, allow me to share the story of a resilient 10-year-old Dakota girl who found herself navigating the foster care system. Separated from her tribal community, she was abruptly uprooted from the warmth of sacred ceremonies and the loving embrace of her kin. It was a heart-wrenching experience that left her yearning for the cultural connections and sense of belonging that had been integral to her upbringing. “I felt like I lost my community,” she said.
However, the provisions of the ICWA intervened, allowing her extended family to step in as foster parents. With unwavering love and support, they provided her with a nurturing home, ensuring that she remained firmly anchored to her tribal heritage. Through the protective embrace of the ICWA, her cultural identity was preserved and her well-being was nurtured.
Victor A. Lopez-Carmen, Dakota and Yaqui Nations
This letter to Congress, active since July of 2022, seeks to educate Congress and call for a legislative solution before the Supreme Court overturns a 45-year-old law. You can hear many more personal stories on TikTok.
2️⃣ Louis DeJoy Needs to Go
This campaign asks President Biden to nominate new United States Postal Service Governors that would, presumably, fire the current Postmaster General. Louis Dejoy, a Trump appointee, faced a huge (and successful) backlash in 2020 for removing mailboxes, cutting overtime for mail workers, and reducing post office hours in the middle of the election.
Since 2020, he’s awarded a hundred-million-dollar USPS contract to a company he leases to, was investigated by the FBI for reimbursing employees for GOP campaign donations, inked an 11 billion dollar contract for new gas trucks that get 8.6 mpg, and was the target of a postal worker protest last week. The workers accuse Dejoy of sabotaging the USPS to ripen it for privatization. Dejoy has survived this long because Biden has no authority to fire the Postmaster General, and he made the mistake of nominating two Governors that don’t want to remove him. Maybe the third and fourth nominees will be the charm. Until then, Dejoy survives.
3️⃣ Reduce Defense Spending
The Pentagon continues to receive ever-increasing budgets in the name of national security while they cannot account for trillions of dollars. Per Reason: “The Pentagon failed a fifth consecutive audit in November, when it could only account for 39 percent of its $3.5 trillion in assets. Nevertheless, the military received $858 billion—a 10 percent budget increase—in the omnibus bill passed late last year.” It’s evident to everyone that a significant portion of the federal budget, which could be invested in the American people in various ways, is being siphoned out of the Treasury by military contractors. This campaign wants Congress to stop showering the Department of Defense with money.
Others gaining steam: Energy Transmission Reform, Designate Belarus for Temporary Protected Status, Opportunities in Organic Act, Reduce Food Waste in the Farm Bill, Senator Tuberville’s War on Women Harms National Security, Stop the PGA-LIV Merger
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