Activism in the Age of Trump: Does the Fight to Save the ACA Provide a Model for Future Organizing & Resistance?

Please join The Global Health Justice Partnership, The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy, Program in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, The American Constitution Society, The USHJ Collaborative, Yale APHA, National Lawyers Guild, Global Health Interest Group and The Yale Healthcare Coalition for an amazing event!

 

YLS Room 120

4:10 – 6:00pm

Non-Pizza Dinner Provided

 

Moderator: Ben Wikler, MoveOn

 

Speakers:

Jen Flynn, Center for Popular Democracy

Nick Holtzhum, ADAPT

Mari Cordes, Right to Democracy, Vermont

Margarida Jorge, Healthcare for America Now

 

The fight to save the ACA from various forms of “repeal and replace” by the Republican Congress has now gone down to defeat twice, despite the Republican Party’s majorities in both houses. In no small part, the defeat of this key legislative priority for the GOP was due to grassroots organizers, who kept the pressure on members of Congress in their home states and districts, and in Washington, DC, where waves of civil disobedience and protest greeted Senators and Representatives throughout 2017. The grassroots protests, particularly in DC, were led by the disability rights group ADAPT, progressive groups around the country – many affiliated with the Center for Popular Democracy – as well as a coalition of HIV/AIDS groups, clergy and healthcare providers.

This session will explore the history and future of the battle to save the ACA (and to improve it!) with representatives from many of the organizations on the frontlines and will be moderated by MoveOn’s Ben Wikler. The panel discussion will maintain a forward-looking emphasis, examining whether the ACA fight offers a model for how grassroots, progressive organizing can be used to resist the regressive policies of the current administration and also rebuild politics at local, state and national levels.