Work has me in Europe this week, attending the Paris Air Show. Fortunately, my efforts to avoid jetlag upon arrival Saturday morning overlapped with my other work as a NH State Representative. As in hundreds of other cities around the world Paris held a No Kings protest, and I decided to stop by. That it was held at La Bastille was juicy irony.
We were treated to a range of speakers and performers, from a drum line to poetry readings and more in between. Plus me.
I hadn’t really intended to speak. I wasn’t sure how tired I would be or if I would be coherent. But I found Ada, the wonderful organizer from Democrats Abroad France, and asked if I could say a few words; she agreed.
I cobbled together a few notes on my rapidly dying phone and, towards the end of the protest, took the microphone, delivering a somewhat less organized version of the thoughts below.
Beyond the Protests
Protests are a key component in expressing frustration, outrage, and objections to the mess that is unfolding in the USA. But they are not the only thing we can or must do.
The flow of bad news is overwhelming. The current administration entered this cycle with a plan very much in place and ready to execute. In opposition to those moves we must recognize we do not have the same infrastructure to work from. This is a problem made all the worse by the impotent response from Democratic leadership at the federal level.
Doom scrolling on social media or even just the regular mainstream media exposes us to the horrors that are new policy announcements and implementations on a daily basis. We want to respond but there is too much pressing down on us, too many different things pulling at us and limiting our ability to respond.
I, too, feel this struggle. I sit in the State House on Thursdays, unable to stop the majority from destroying New Hampshire’s public education, health care, and our economic base. I also do more than my share of the aforementioned doom scrolling, watching events unfold across the country. But I also found a way to fight back.
I chose to launch the avelNO campaign, putting up billboards outside New Haven Airport to call attention to Avelo’s role in deportation. I’ve written about that previously, and things are more than a bit interesting with that work. The airline argued I violated its trademarks and copyright; I’ve retained legal counsel to fight that. A lawsuit is pending in Nevada and the media coverage (NY Times, Al Jazeera, Houston Chronicle, New Haven Independent, Fosters Daily (my hometown paper) and more) has been far more notable than the billboards alone could accomplish.
I’m not fighting on all the fronts. I picked one. And that is something each of us can do.
Nobody needs to do everything; that’s a path to burnout and failure. But each of us can – and must – do something more.
Find the issue that matters most to you. Find others who similarly care; I promise there are plenty out there. Team up and take action. Focused, actionable, local moves build on the momentum of the massive protests on a (inter)national scale. We absolutely can win the fight, and each small battle matters greatly.
Some New Hampshire News
As the end of the legislative session approaches we’re into what is affectionately known as “crazy season” in the House. Bills are passing back and forth between us and the Senate, with amendments being added in an attempt to get mostly terrible policy into law, despite it failing as standalone bills. And so these so-called “Christmas Tree Bills” are being negotiated.
Closest to my heart was SB13, a bill focused on taking away drivers licenses from immigrants. We passed a couple of these on the House side earlier this year and each was killed by the Senate. House Republicans reattached one of those to this bill (I spoke against it on the floor) and it passed the House.
Fortunately, the Senate rejected it again. Instead of getting part of the xenophobia they wanted House Republicans got greedy, and got nothing.
Similarly, a bill to modernize horse race betting in NH died because an anti-vaccine amendment was attached. An effort to reduce Medicaid drug costs was derailed by an amendment to legalize ivermectin as an over the counter drug for humans.
On the flip side, The house somewhat narrowly managed to avoid (163-166) tacking an anti-vax amendment onto SB180, a bill that will dramatically help the economy of Coos County up north. The clean version passed 323-6.
Finally, a trio of terrible bills – SB295 (private school vouchers from public funds), SB72 (“parental rights”), and SB210 (“open enrollment”) – all passed. Governor Ayotte signed them. We’ve chosen as a state to destroy our public education system and it is disgusting.
And so, frustrated and annoyed at the end of a session day, we grab a beer with colleagues, regroup, and set out to fight anew.
Because we must.