Getting off the fence, part 2

2025-03-28

Mike

It’s been three weeks since I published my post “Time to get off the fence”. Since then, I’ve dialed back my daily study of the news. Creating that post was nearly a full-time activity for a month. That was just not sustainable – there’s other stuff that I need to get done!

I’m still reading the news and watching Rachel Maddow nearly every night, but I’m not taking extensive notes or trying to prepare another long form article. There are journalists with way more skill than me who are doing a good job.

And besides, consuming the news all day is depressing as hell right now.

The challenge I identified in the earlier post was to “get off the fence” – to do something. That’s what I’ve focused on for the past three weeks. Here’s a short summary:

Lewiston, Idaho town hall meeting

Last Saturday we attended a town hall meeting at the Lewiston Community Center. It was standing room only, with over 200 people there. Two former congressmen, Richard Stallings and Larry LaRocco were the featured speakers. The two are doing a series of town halls across Idaho, showing up when and where our elected representatives are not.

After short introductory remarks, they opened the floor for questions. The concerns raised were the same ones we’ve heard in news stories from around the country:

What’s going to happen to Social Security? Interruptions to payments? Offices (including one in Lewiston) closed?
Lack of communication or action by elected representatives. (The entire Idaho congressional delegation are Republicans.)
Inadequate action by Democratic leaders in Congress.
The need for more aggressive local action – demonstrations, picketing congressional offices.
Several people commented that the Democratic party has not done enough to attract younger people. (Most of the audience were older folks, like us.) But one young woman expressed interest in running for office and received offers of help from Stallings, LaRocca, and Kaylee Peterson, who ran for Congress in 2022 and 2024 and will run again next year.

Reps. Stallings and LaRocco said they were going to compile a report of what they have heard in the different town hall meetings and will send the report to our current congressmen and senators.

Here’s the local newspaper’s story: https://www.lmtribune.com/local-news/citizens-vent-frustrations-in-town-hall-19059059

Senator Crapo telephone town hall

On Tuesday, we dialed in to a telephone town hall meeting with Senator Mike Crapo, the senior senator from Idaho and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. The call was sponsored by AARP and lasted for about 45 minutes.

Senator Crapo answered questions about Social Security, veterans’ benefits, public land use, Elon Musk’s role in government, DOGE activities, and staffing cuts across federal agencies. The tone of almost all the questioners was civil and Senator Crapo answered each question asked in a definitive, straightforward manner. In a couple cases he indicated he was not familiar with the issue raised and said he’d have to look into it.

We’ll know shortly if Senator Crapo’s assurances that there will be no cuts to benefits in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will come true. I have my doubts, but I also give the senator some credit for showing up, even if it was in a sanitized environment.

The local news story: https://www.lmtribune.com/local-news/crapo-answers-questions-from-anxious-constituents-19080061

Volunteering for the Nez Perce County Democrats

Beyond attending town hall meetings, I wanted to find something constructive I could do in Lewiston. With Idaho being a deep red state, I didn’t expect to find much activity within the local Democratic party. When I looked at their website – https://npcdems.org/ – I wasn’t really surprised that it didn’t have much material, and what was there was long outdated.

The site is built with WordPress, which I’m familiar with (it’s the platform we use here at The Cook and The Writer). So I reached out to the party and volunteered to help update the site and its contents. They have taken me up on my offer, so I’m now looking through the site and will be working with the local party leadership team to make the site more attractive and informative.

What’s Next?

Next Saturday, April 5th, we’ll go across the river into Clarkston, Washington, to participate in a demonstration as part of the “Hands Off!” day of protests. There are activities planned all around the country, and around the world, with something happening probably in your neighborhood. Here’s a site where you can find out more: https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/

You can also do a Google search for “hands off democrats abroad” to see some of the rallies planned in other countries.

We’re already seeing signs that the visible, noisy, and non-violent protests taking place all across the USA and around the world are having an impact. We need more of them, with more people involved. It is truly time to get off the fence.

I’ll see you in the streets.

Questions? Suggestions?

Leave a comment below with any questions or suggestions. I always appreciate feedback.