Weekly Member Update - August 18, 2025
We start this week off, once again, with Congresswoman-in-Name-Only Elise Stefanik. You all came out in force – 600 or so by our estimation – to support the Capital Region’s contribution to the national Fight the Trump Takeover Day of Action and, in particular, to celebrate Elise as the recipient of our Traitor of the Year Award. Given that Elusive Elise has not publicly met with her own constituents for years now, we weren’t too surprised that she didn’t come out to personally acknowledge her Award. But, thanks to you, we had plenty of reminders of her regardless. As usual, you blew us away with your enthusiasm, your dedication, your creative sign-making skills and your exquisite way with words.
Our local CBS6 News was less than impressed, of course, which shouldn’t surprise anyone given that good ole’ WRGB is owned by the Trumpian Sinclair Communications. Nonetheless, CBS6 did give us a look into the ballroom as the New York State Young MAGAs bestowed their “Congresswoman of the Year” Award upon Stefanik for her "selfless decision to withdraw from a presidential cabinet nomination to stay in Congress and advance President Trump's agenda," which they laughably said "proves her unwavering commitment to New Yorkers and America's future." We're pretty sure that it wasn't Elise’s decision to give up her dream job (and high-rise penthouse) at the UN but, whatever, Republican lies are nothing new. We here in Elise’s hometown were clearly on her mind, however, as she acknowledged our presence outside and ludicrously referred to us as Governor Kathy’s Hochul’s “paid protestors.” No word on whether Governor Hochul also sprung for the Antonio Delgado T-Shirts spotted in the crowd.
As a final point about the Stefanik protest, we hope you all got the opportunity to meet Dylan Hewitt, a Democratic candidate for Elise Stefanik’s seat in NY-21 who made his way down the Northway to join the fun. A South Glens Falls native and former US Trade Representative, Dylan has been running for the seat since before Stefanik got passed over, and he’s been a persistent critic of Elusive Elise’s absenteeism and descent into fascism. If you want to know more about Dylan, we recommend you give him a follow on Instagram. We sincerely appreciate it when candidates and electeds join us on the streets, and it's especially meaningful when they do it on a hot day outside their district as a show of solidarity and shared common purpose. Thank you, Dylan, and we hope to see you again soon.
While we’re on the subject of candidates for office, there's been some questions – from our members and electeds alike – about whether Indivisible Albany is in the business of endorsing. Right now? No. First and foremost, Indivisible Albany – and really the whole Indivisible movement – is focused on keeping the heart of American democracy beating. That said, because we live in a two-party system, and because the Republican Party no longer adheres to the fundamental principles of a constitutional democracy, Indivisible necessarily operates within the Democratic Party Universe. But, if you're reading this, you're probably not interested in perpetuating Democratic Party orthodoxy and making sure that there are no changes to the party that has lost to Trump twice, currently polls in the low 30s and still has no plan to save the Republic. This is the party, after all, that still hasn't fully embraced the Democratic voters’ electrifying nominee for NYC Mayor, and whose putative leadership sometimes openly works against him. So, while we remain laser focused on fighting the rise of fascism from the MAGA right, Democrats are not immune from our criticism. When we get on the other side of Trumpism – and we will – America will need a strong, bold and progressive Democratic Party to help rebuild the Country and its shattered institutions. Therefore, in our view, the work of defeating right-wing authoritarianism goes hand-in-hand with reinventing the Democratic Party where necessary. The Democratic Party needs principled, qualified and motivational leaders, not just to resist Trumpism now, but to help build a stronger and more durable democracy once the Orange King is gone.
For this reason, it is the unanimous view of those of us in Indivisible Albany leadership that robust and competitive primary elections – preferably with ranked-choice voting – are not only NOT A BAD THING, but are actually something to be encouraged. While the conventional wisdom among establishment Democrats is that primaries are inherently divisive and a waste of precious Party resources, we believe that this conventional wisdom contributes to the current negative view of the Democratic Party in voters’ eyes. Voters are not stupid. They can smell the hypocrisy when Democrats attack the anti-democratic machinations happening in Texas and other red states (as they should), while at the same time insisting that entrenched Democratic incumbents get a free pass each election cycle or that Democratic Party voters just swallow the candidate that has been chosen by Party bosses in a smoky back room. In our view, primary elections are beneficial to the candidates and the electorate alike; Democratic Party primary candidates – incumbents included – are forced to be responsive and accountable to the People they hope to serve, making the primary election victor into a stronger general election standard bearer. The electorate also benefits, as the robust policy debate that primaries engender allows voters to become educated about the issues, connect with the candidates on a base level and build enthusiasm for the general election. That's why we’re hopeful for an honest-to-goodness Democratic primary in NY-21, and why we encourage everyone to donate five bucks to Antonio Delgado (if you are able) in order to make sure that he is eligible for state matching funds and can run a viable Democratic primary campaign to be our next Governor. We’re not supporting any particular Democratic candidate for Governor, necessarily, but we are supporting the idea that our democracy works best when voters are given a choice, rather than a coronation.
In closing, be reminded that this weekend is Avelo Action time, part 5. Since May, we’ve rallied repeatedly against ICE’s favorite airline, and we’ve also wondered aloud why Albany County officials are permitting Avelo to continue its twice-weekly flights out of Albany International Airport, despite Avelo’s cruel collusion with ICE. And, if you joined in on the latest One Million Rising mass call on August 13th, you heard that the momentum against Avelo is building into a nationwide movement. Trendsetters that we are, we will be protesting outside Albany International again this coming Saturday, and we hope to be able to reveal another phase in our ongoing pressure campaign against Albany County over the next few weeks. We hope to see you this Saturday, and we look forward to engaging with you on what’s coming next!