Hello, fellow Missourians!

This week was our one year anniversary of our first office visits, and what an amazing week of activism we had! Some highlights: We visited Jefferson City with our friends at Indivisible Missouri to sit down with our legislators and talk about the policies that really matter to us. On Saturday, we joined our friends at United We Stand KC and 400+ Kansas Citians to hear readings of Dr Martin Luther King Jr's final speeches as we helped launch the revival of the Poor People's Campaign, which will be a big part of our activity through the spring. We also joined the Women's March events in Lawrence and Topeka, and the impromptu march in KC! They say that action is oxygen, and it's so true: when the news is overwhelming, nothing revives our spirits like getting out into the community and doing the work of organizing, uplifting, resisting and persisting.

In Missouri news, Republican legislators have begun to call for Governor Greitens' resignation after it was revealed that his taxpayer-funded counsel made an effort to hush up his sex and blackmail scandal (see our Missouri news roundup for more!); and anti-worker bills are already moving through committees in the legislature. One we're especially worried about makes it even easier for employers to use paid arbiters to settle employee disputes outside the court system. For more, read here on how forced arbitration facilitates sexual harassment in the workplace, and check out our blog where our legal expert explains the details of the legislation currently being considered. We'll be keeping a close eye on it!

In national news, we're in the middle of a government shutdown. It was especially frustrating to see Senator Blunt repeat Senator McConnell's talking point that Democrats were choosing Dreamers over CHIP when we've been asking him for months to get his party to move on both. A vote is expected to happen today but who knows? Take a look at the Indivisible Guide's Trump Shutdown Guide -- which includes background, Q&A, and action items you can take:

• Call your MoCs who haven't committed to protecting the DREAMers
• Visit your MoC's office during the shutdown, and let them know what they've missed

It's never too late to call your MoCs about the very issues that have shut down the government. As the majority party, any time Republicans want to bring up a vote for a long-term re-authorization for CHIP, they can.  






Any time Republicans want to bring up a vote for a permanent path forward for DACA recipients, they can. Both have broad bipartisan support -- there's simply no reason for the government to shut down over either, and NO excuse for the GOP to hold one group of young Americans hostage to another group.

What's going on this week?

Kansas has become a national leader in voter suppression under SoS Kris Kobach, and Missourians can learn a lot from our neighbors next door as the fight to retain voter rights spreads to our state. Indivisible KC is teaming up with Mainstream Coalition in Kansas to host an expert panel on voter rights on Thursday.

From our friends:

Did you know that in the state of Missouri, people can be legally discriminated against, and even denied housing or employment because of their LGBT+ status? 2018 marks the 20th year Missouri Nondiscrimination Act has been introduced in the legislature. For Missouri Mondays with Indivisible Missouri, tell Speaker Richardson & your State Rep. that 20 years is long enough - It's time to pass MONA (MO Non-Discrimination Act - HB2100)!Remember Jefferson City Lobby Days are coming up on January 31st and Feb 13th.

As has become abundantly clear on the federal level this week, the functions of government are defined by the budget: How decisions about revenues and expenditures are made; who wins and who loses. There is nothing more important in politics and government than determining how funds for public services and benefits will be raised and distributed. This Monday, Heartland Alliance for Progress will host Jeremy LaFaver, with the Center for Tax Fairness of the Missouri Budget Project, who will describe how our state legislature and governor can create fiscally responsible public policies that advance the well being of all Missourians, particularly our most vulnerable families who too often don’t have a voice in policy decisions.

As both the Trump administration and Indivisible KC turn one year old, we're committing to staying focused, staying alert, and continuing to hold our Members of Congress accountable as we thwart Trumpism in all its ugliness. We're glad to be here, shoulder to shoulder, with you.

In solidarity -

Indivisible KC