Notes from Reclaiming the Dream, Abiquiu NM

Phil aimed to have the attendees focus on winning the up-coming mid-term elections, but they ended up having more far-ranging discussion about their ideas, plans, and goals for the next seven months.

The themes and specific comments about them

Voter education, registration, and engagement

• “Educate voters about real life consequences of choices”
• “Continue to encourage young people especially about the importance of voting”
• “Educate everybody we can”
• “Banner drops about voting”
• “Work to increase voter turnout and voter registration”
• “Just volunteered to be precinct chair in order to get out more votes”
• “Participate in voter registration drive”
• “Get people to vote”

Continuing and expanding local engagement in regular activist events like protests and rallies

• “All politics is local”
• “Contact folks in rural towns (especially those without current protests) and encourage more to hold rallies”
• “Democracy festivals - reclaim what democracy is supposed to be - fun, non-threatening ways to get folks to THINK”
• “Organize kids in Espanola at skatepark”
• “Regular monthly protest in front of Lowe’s Espanola”
• “Grow our community”
• “Do what we are doing and show up hopeful and excited”
• “Participate in protests and days of action”
• “Gather to protest with different communities”
• “Increase protest groups”
• “More Signs of Fascism”
• “Continue to protest; increase political activity in my community”
• “Work closely with youth organizations”

Be in frequent and close contact with members of Congress

• individual calls
• writing to them
• have them to group meetings

Outreach and use of media

• “Advertise through radio stations, ie KTAOS, KSFR (White Rock)”
• “Enlist more young folk and rock musicians to motivate us”
• “Get experts in social media to be louder than MAGA influencers”
• “Outreach - editorials, signs - to clarify issues”
• “Keep on writing Letters to the Editor”

Involvement in the Democratic Party at the local level

• “Be proactive in Democratic Party”
• “Just volunteered to be precinct chair in order to get out more votes”
• “Work on down-ballot elections to turn CD2 thoroughly blue”

Involvement with local and state-wide grassroots activism

• "Return to Abiquiu"
• “Volunteer for Land of Action”
• “Be proactive in new group Land of Action”
• “Keep organizing our local group and help it grow”

Goals for the primaries

• “Focus on the primaries and get the best candidates in”
• “Support candidates who will demand justice and accountability for corrupt Republicans”

Specific issues and objectives of interest

• “Get environmental protections through the NM legislature”
• “Take the U.S. House and Senate”
• “Impeach and convict Trump”
• “Change rural areas from red or purple to blue”
• “Get some pro-Trump and non-aligned voters to change their minds”
• “Build a big enough tent to shut down the economy if Trump messes with the election”
• “Highlight self-serving corruption of the administration”

Personal commitment

• “Stay involved and informed”
• “Be the change I want to see”
• “Keeping voice loud”
• “Good intentions to become more involved in activism”
• “Talk my talk and walk my talk”
• “Continue activism inside government and outside”
• “Being on front line / wall of moms protecting people”

Overarching aims

• “Save our democracy by standing up, standing strong; and never stop fighting”
• “Smash the patriarchy”
• “Defeat MAGA”
• “Liberty and justice for all”
• “Everybody can vote”
• “Make democracy much stronger”
• “Build a better democracy that includes everyone”