April 11, 2017

The SC House just passed an insane bill on to the SC Senate which would allow 'constitutional carry,' which states that all people who are allowed to own guns would be allowed to carry them on their person as a concealed weapon without a permit. There is no purpose to this bill other than to prove they can and it would make life in SC immeasurably more dangerous and our personal freedoms more insecure. Call your SC senator TODAY to say NO to Bill H3930

April 10, 2017

Help turn a red dot blue. Instead of manning phone banks go door to door with a team of volunteers working with the Spartanburg County Democrats to help drum up Democratic support for the upcoming elections. Click the link below to sign up through SignupGenius.

March 20, 2017

The House is set to vote on ACA repeal on 3/24 (this coming Thursday). Click the link below for  a spreadsheet showing estimates on how many people will lose health care in each district. In District 4 (Trey Gowdy), 25,116 will lose coverage. Please call and remind your Representatives with these numbers. If you're one of the people who will lose coverage, tell them that.

March 12, 2017

Using local police to enforce immigration law makes communities less safe by discouraging naturalized citizens, people of color who may be targeted due to their appearance and non-citizen residents from reporting crimes to their local police force.

Call: Your local police/sheriff’s non-emergency number (linked below)

Script: I’m a resident of (your town and county in South Carolina) and am calling to find out whether city/county police/sheriff plan to act on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I’m concerned that ICE wants to use our local resources and make law enforcement’s job harder. Can you tell me what your policy is on using local law enforcement for Immigration Enforcement engagements?

February 28, 2017

Please call your US House Representative now and ask them to vote NO on House Bill 610 the Choices in Education Act.This bill will effectively start the defunding process of public schools, in hand with eliminating student rights and programs that address poverty, etc. It also takes away nutritional standards for school lunches.The bill will eliminate the Elementary and Education Act of 1965, which is the nation's educational law and provides equal opportunity in education. ESSA is a big comprehensive program that covers programs for struggling learners, AP classes, ESL programs, programs for students of color including Native Americans; as well as Rural Education, Education for Students who are Homeless, School Safety (Gun-Free schools), Monitoring and Compliance and Federal Accountability for these and other Programs. The bill also abolishes the Nutritional Act of 2012 (No Hungry Kids Act) which provides nutritional standards and funding to states for in-school breakfast and lunch. If you want to make calls but are nervous or unsure about what to say on the phone (for this or for any other issue,) you can always keep it simple and just state your name, your zip code, and then say "I'm calling to oppose House Bill 610, The Choices in Education Act, introduced in the house."

February 24, 2017

Yesterday, the Trump Administration rescinded the guidance policy of the Obama Administration that barred schools from discriminating against transgender students under Title IX in its first explicitly anti-LGBTQ action. This callous action doesn’t change the fact that all schools still have a responsibility to protect all of their students, but it calls into question whether the federal government is fully committed to protecting their dignity and safety. Please take action to show your opposition to the action taken by the Trump Administration to rescind the Title IX Guidance for transgender students. If you or someone you know has been a victim in a school, please briefly tell your own story at the bottom of the letter provided through the link.You can also call the White House, Department of Justice and Department of Education to tell them to keep Title IX protections in place! 

February 20, 2017

Staffers at Sen. Graham's Greenvile office say that Graham is "coordinating" a town hall and they are taking names and email addresses of everyone who calls to inquire  who they will contact as soon as the meeting is scheduled. Call and get your name on the list. When your voice is heard at the local level, it is heard at the national level.

February 18, 2017

Our new Lt. Governor, Kevin Bryant, has an Op-Ed in the Greenville News promoting his recent proposal to arm school personnel so as to prevent school shootings. I encourage you to respond to him either in the comments or with a letter to the editor. 

February 18, 2017

A repeat posting, but an important one. Call, email, write (postcards get through faster than letters) Sen. Scott, Sen. Graham and your Member of Congress to request an in person Town Hall meeting during the upcoming congressional recess. If these requests keep coming from a broad base of constituents they cannot continue to claim opposition in Town Hall meetings is from paid protesters only. Take a tip from the Tea Party and get out in person! 

February 15, 2017

Senator Harvey Peeler chairs the medical affairs committee of the S.C. Senate. His office is taking email feedback on the importance of adopting Sen. Tom Davis's medical marijuana law. Email can be sent to harveypeeler@scsenate.gov. Amy in Senator Peeler's office (803-212-6430) says emails should come in as soon as possible on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The committee will have the emails in front of them during a subcommittee hearing on Thursday morning. Sen. Brad Hutto of Orange County also supports the bill. Ask our SC representatives to consider the benefits of medical marijuana in terms of pain relief, opiate addiction avoidance, seizure control in epileptic children and revenue increase as a taxable commodity for South Carolina.

February 15, 2017

From The Ground Up is committed to forward thinking, progressive action, not just reaction! Help us organize and get ready for the actions to come by filling out our survey indicating your interests, availability and level of engagement. Then come to our potluck on Feb. 24th (check the calendar for more details) and let's start putting our boots on the ground! If we are all Us then there is no Them!

February 14, 2017

Petition Senators Graham and Scott to hold a Town Hall meeting so we can express our views face-to-face. 2,500 more needed to reach 5,000!

February 06, 2017

Support a bill to remove Steve Bannon from the Nat. Security Council. Call your districts congressman and say: Hi! I’m a constituent from _ZIP code_ and am concerned about Steve Bannon’s role on the National Security Council. I would like _Rep. Name_ to support Rep. Stephanie Murphy’s bill to remove him from this role. Can you tell me his/her position on this?

Note: Contrary to circulating memes, Bannon does not require senate vote as an “invitee” to council, so it is important that our congressional representatives speak for us..

February 01, 2017

H3036 is an attempt to change the SC Constitution to make it so that the SC State Superintendent of Education is NO LONGER AN ELECTED POSITION, but a position APPOINTED BY THE CURRENT GOVERNOR. Protect your right to have a voice in your own government and in your child's educational future. Call your local Representative NOW and tell them to Vote No to H3036. We cannot allow our focus on national politics to distract us from the power grabs going on at the local and state level. Follow the link to the right to find your SC State Legislature Representative.

January 31, 2017

Oppose religious discrimination by contacting the White House.

Call: The WH comment line is closed, however, use:

Email: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact (scroll down past the photo)

Script: I oppose the executive order banning entry to the US by green card-carrying residents, dual passport-holding residents, legal citizens, and vetted, peaceful refugees. This action is unconstitutional and unamerican.

Then, talk to Donald Trump in the only way he actually listens. Those of you with Twitter accounts Tweet: .@realDonaldTrump  and tell him how foolish it looks for a POTUS to prevent legal residents + peaceful immigrants from entering the USA. Tonally: aim for shame. This is not a reasonable human. This is not a human who will react rationally to critique. What Trump has shown us time and time again, however, is that he can be motivated to switch positions in response to shame. Shame motivates narcissists, not criticism. 

January 30, 2017

Call Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Tim Scott and your district's Representative and demand that they oppose President Trump's Executive Order on Immigration. A short script:

Hi, my name is __________ and I am a (teacher, parent, business owner, whatever makes it personal) in (your town) South Carolina. I calling today to urge Sen. Graham/Sen. Scott/Your Representative to oppose President Trump's Executive Order on Immigration which is not only dangerously short-sited and inhumane, but a direct violation clearest command of the Establishment Clause is that one religious denomination cannot be officially preferred over another. I stand with the ACLU's denouncement of this Order and support their lawsuit. I need to know that my elected officials do too. Thank you for your time. 

January 27, 2017

Tell your Representative to support HR 669, Senator Markey and Representative Lieu's Trump-proof anti-nuclear bill. Call Senator's Graham and Scott and your districts Representative in Congress. Here's a brief script:

Hello, my name is _____________ and I'm a voter in Greenville County, South Carolina. As as (parent, educator, grandparent, veteran, or whatever else makes you a person to them) I am deeply concerned with the Trump administrations attitude toward nuclear proliferation and their unwillingness to condemn the nuclear option. Given the President's volatile, the only responsible choice for our elected representatives to make it to support HR 669 and make a nuclear strike possible only after Congress has voted to declare war on the target country or organization. Thank you for sharing my concerns. Please do the right thing. 

January 24, 2017

Take this pledge at RISE When We Fall to commit to becoming a citizen watchdog in your community. Take a tip from the Tea Party and create political pressure on the local level by showing up to your local Town Hall Meetings. When you sign up you receive updates on when Town Hall meetings are being held and information on your Congress persons' voting position and a list of suggested questions to ask them. Connect with a group to attend with you through our facebook page, From the Ground Up

January 23, 2017

Oppose the appointment of Betsy DeVos to Secretary of Education ASAP.
Even if you’ve already called and/or left a message,call again. If you get voicemail, leave a message. (Instructions on the next page.)

Call: Senate HELP Committee Chair, Lamar Alexander (R-TN) 202-224-4944

Call: HELP Committee Ranking Member, Patty Murray (D-WA) 202-224-2621

Call: Your two senators: Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott (numbers to the right on the page)

Script: Hi! I am calling to oppose Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education. Her confirmation hearing has exposed her deep ignorance of and unsuitability for the job of Secretary of Education. I believe to strongly in the importance of our children to let that stand.

January 21, 2017

Write call and email your congressmen (daily, weekly, whatever you can do) — and tell them to vote against the Trump administration repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). See the list of senators and representatives here on this page. Check back soon, and we will update with a link to download a letter or call script.

January 14, 2017

Check our Links page for places and organizations, both local and national, where you can volunteer your time, money or resources. We will update this section soon with more information and ideas.

January 07, 2017

Wear a safety pin to let everyone know you're a safe space, a safe person, an ally in the face of fear. Show your support for anyone that feels discriminated against. And if you see something, say something — speak out when you see discrimination and hate speech. Learn more at www.safetypinamerica.com