“In March the soft rains continued, and each storm waited courteously until its predecessor sunk beneath the ground.”

John Steinbeck, East of Eden

 
Can you even count the storms from last week? 
 
Today James Comey testifies before the House Intelligence Committee and Neil Gorsuch begins confirmation hearings. New week, new storms.
 
GO
  • 3/20, 1:00-2:30p: Rally at Wenstrup’s office for a “real town hall” @7954 Beechmont Ave, Anderson 

  • 3/21, 5:30p: Winning elections and Discussing Resistance @Woodward Theater, 1401 Main Street. Event features Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Aftab Pureval, Cincinnati City Councilman PG Sittenfeld, Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus, and ODP Chairman David Pepper. Various contribution levels. For RSVP/info: Carson Miller at (513) 641-9489 or cmiller@ohiodems.org 

  • 3/26, 3:00-5:00p, Healthcare Town Meeting Anderson Township Senior Center, 7970 Beechmont Ave. Sponsored by League of Women Voters. A panel of healthcare experts will be on hand to field questions about the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and how its repeal/replacement may affect citizens. Rep. Brad Wenstrup has been invited as honored panelist. All LWVUS events are nonpartisan, and conducted with civility and respect.

CALL
  • Healthcare: Ask your House MoCs how they plan to vote this Thursday. Encourage opposition.

  • Neil Gorsuch. I am following the pros and cons of an all-out effort against this nominee, and am still not convinced this is the right fight. For those who are convinced: tell your Senators that Gorsuch is #SupremelyExtreme on criminal justice, environmental protections, LGBTQ rights, consumers’ rights, disability rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights and immigrants’ rights.

 
 
Rob Portman:  513-684-3265 Other Portman office numbers.
Sherrod Brown: 513-684-1021
Brad Wenstrup: 513-474-7777
Steve Chabot: 513-684-2723
 
WRITE 
 
 
PONDER
The March 17 edition of On The Media, a weekly look into how the media shapes our view of the world, focused on the budget. One guest, former director of Athens County (Ohio) Job & Family Services, discussed the media’s continuing failure in understanding why Trump voters voted as they did, against their own interests. It’s not that they’re not smart enough to understand how they’ll be screwed by Trump’s proposed budget and Ryan’s proposed ACA replacement. They just don’t have the time to spend on Facebook or do research. They are flat-out consumed by survival: paying the rent, keeping the car running and getting to work. 
 
He asks that the media start talking with Trump voters in a non-judgmental way, to find out what their lives are like. This is the same philosophy of Knock Every Door (which has joined with the Swing Left movement). The idea is to build face-to-face relationships via conversations. This Mother Jones article explains the thinking behind conversation and provides evidence that it can indeed change minds. 
 
This morning I finally signed up with Knock Every Door, despite being turned off by the site (you have to sign in to get in, and there’s not much to do once there). I also joined the local Facebook group, and am planning to join their visit to IN-09 later next month.