CivicRoot
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civicroot.bsky.social
CivicRoot
@civicroot.bsky.social
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Support the causes that shape our future for the better. 🌍🌎🌏 Empower grassroots campaigns and fundraisers. 🌱Together, we grow. 🌱
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civicroot.bsky.social
November 15, 2025 at 5:21 AM
civicroot.bsky.social
6. The surrender will embolden the regime to do more damage. The threat from Trump and Republicans is real and existential. They are violently attacking our communities, looting our services to serve their billionaire buddies, and shredding the Constitution. They’re behaving like they won’t ever be out of power again, because that’s their plan. There is nothing more urgent than ensuring they do not succeed. By surrendering so utterly and completely at a moment of their maximum leverage and momentum, Senate Democrats teach Trump and his cadre an important lesson: do enough damage, and your opponents will buckle. This is an extremely dangerous lesson for Trump to learn as he ramps up his attacks on blue states and cities and prepares to steal the midterm elections. Because of this surrender, our democracy is more imperiled now than it was before. 7. The only path to a real opposition party is through a cleansing primary season. We have spent a year now trying to convince the Democratic Party to unify and fight back. It started as a lonely fight shortly after the election, but our numbers grew. We’ve seen some Democrats lead from the beginning, some come around, and some do their best to at least perform resistance. There’s been real progress -- in large part because of our collective work. But at some point, you gotta either change your leaders’ minds or you gotta change your leaders. And the time for changing minds is over. After this week, we should expect more fecklessness unless we demand a change. You don’t demand that change in a general election -- you do it in primaries. And conveniently, primaries are right around the corner. This all leads to one big announcement. Today, Indivisible is launching the largest Democratic primary program we’ve ever run. This isn’t about left vs right. This is about fighting back vs losing. The regime’s threats are too real and the stakes are too high to settle for the feckless, loser version of the Democratic Party we saw this week. As we head into the midterms next year, we need a Democratic Party that inspires and instills pride. In this moment when the fascists are on the march, we need a Democratic Party with a spine. Our primary program will include both the House and Senate. We will work with Indivisible groups to identify key races, provide support on the ground, and tap into movement energy across the country to boost candidates with a spine. One thing we can say for sure: We will not back any Senate primary candidate unless they call for Schumer to step down as Majority Leader. And after the primary, whatever happens, we will rally behind the winner, and crush the regime electorally in the midterms just like we did this last week. There will be much more to announce soon, but here are a few things we’ll ask you to do right now: 1. If you’re as pissed as I am and this all resonates with you, sign up to be part of this campaign to rebuild the Democratic Party today. 2. If you’ve got a Democratic Representative in the House, call them today and tell them not to be a party to this surrender -- or we’ll remember it next year. Yes, Republicans can likely pass this through the House without Democratic votes, but Dems don’t need to make it easier for them or put their names on a bill that betrays their constituents. 3. If you’re raring to do even more, you can also chip in to help us get this primary project off the ground. We’re going to be counting on grassroots supporters to fund this, but there will be many, many ways to get involved, so only give if you can. We get the party we demand, and we intend to demand one that fights -- a Democratic Party with a spine. In solidarity, Ezra Levin Co-Executive Director, Indivisible
November 15, 2025 at 5:03 AM
civicroot.bsky.social
Short version: Nobody said DOC single-handedly flipped races. They were part of a coalition that countered MAGA’s multimillion‑dollar ‘Vote No’ push. Turnout spikes don’t happen by accident—they happen because advocacy groups keep voters informed. Equating grassroots organizing with MAGA’s disinformation is a false equivalence. Even if DOC were ‘grifting’, voters retaining PA’s courts might still have been possible, but less likely. Compare that to Trump’s grifts: scamming, selling shitty outsourced merch, gaslighting, fear‑mongering, lies, and projection. Of the two, the worst grifter is obvious. Long version: Now you’re just grasping at straws. Of course no one knew about DOC before its filing on 10/28/2025 — it’s new, but new doesn’t mean irrelevant. Advocacy groups often emerge in response to threats. In 2025, Republicans mounted a massive “Vote No” campaign against three Democratic justices. DOC’s role was to counter that propaganda and keep voters informed. No one claimed DOC single‑handedly flipped the races—it was part of a broader coalition: Shapiro, the justices, unions, and other advocacy groups all contributed. The point is that without counter‑messaging, the GOP’s millions in spending could have made the races far tighter. DOC helped prevent that. The real issue is whether their work mattered, and turnout plus margins show it did. Equating grassroots advocacy with “MAGA‑like behavior” is a false equivalence. Delegitimizing organizing by tone misses the point — shrill ≠ ineffective. What matters is whether the messaging was grounded in reality. DOC’s warnings about MAGA’s attempt to flip the court reflected actual stakes. MAGA’s campaign misled voters; DOC’s campaign clarified stakes and mobilized turnout. One spreads disinformation; the other spreads awareness.”
November 10, 2025 at 8:38 AM
civicroot.bsky.social
www.fec.gov/data/committ...

defendourcourts.com

www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

whyy.org/articles/pen...

www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/11...

www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...
Short version: Articles don’t list every PAC, but turnout doesn’t spike on its own. PA 2025 judicial races drew record participation because groups like DOC kept voters informed. Shapiro and the candidates mattered, but without countering MAGA’s ‘Vote No’ propaganda, a ‘Yes’ vote would’ve been far less likely. Calling that parasitic ignores reality—organizing isn’t a grift, it’s the reason democracy held. And where’s your proof of DOC (a grassroots PAC) taking money from candidates? PACs don’t siphon candidate funds—they raise and spend independently. Every donation to DOC went to voter education and countering MAGA propaganda. The only way to do that legally was to register with the FEC as a Super PAC. Media covers candidates and outcomes; advocacy groups shape turnout behind the scenes. Headlines don’t show it, but turnout does. Long version: You’re trying to dismiss DOC’s role by saying, “the PAC wasn’t mentioned in articles,” but that’s a strawman. Media coverage of election outcomes rarely spotlights every organizing group—especially PACs—yet those groups still shape turnout and awareness. The absence of a name in a headline doesn’t erase the impact of their work. Breaking Down your Claim: “No mention in articles” ≠ no impact: News outlets like WHYY, Spotlight PA, and PBS covered the results of the 2025 judicial retention elections. They focused on the justices, the stakes, and the spending battle. PACs and grassroots groups often work behind the scenes, so their names don’t always appear in mainstream write‑ups. That doesn’t mean they weren’t influential. Candidate role vs. organizing role: Of course, Gov. Josh Shapiro and the justices themselves mattered. But Defend Our Courts amplified awareness in a race that would otherwise have been low‑information. Without that push, many voters wouldn’t have even realized the stakes of a “Yes” vote. Parasite framing is misleading: PACs don’t “take money from candidates”—they raise and spend independently to support turnout and messaging. In fact, DOC’s donations went toward ads, voter education, and countering GOP “Vote No” propaganda. That’s complementary, not parasitic. Evidence of Impact: Turnout surge: Off‑year judicial elections in PA usually hover around 20–25%. In 2025, turnout jumped to 34% in Philadelphia and 42% in Westmoreland County, the highest in a decade. Analysts linked this directly to the judicial retention battles. Margins: All three Democratic justices were retained with ~61–62% “Yes” votes. That’s not “automatic”—it was the product of awareness campaigns and organizing. Spending war: Republicans poured millions into trying to oust the justices. Without counter‑messaging, those margins could have been much tighter.
November 10, 2025 at 6:55 AM