In this issue:

Events

• Phonebanking Party
• March with Pride
• Experienced Dems
• SolSun Battleground America: Looking at the Policy of Guns
• Global Black Caucus Book Club
• Young Dems June Pub Night

Save the Dates!

Issues & Actions

• Election Calendar: Register, Request, Return!
• Midwest Midterm Progressive Bikeathon

Reviews

• Graz Voter Registration Pub Night
• Shining a Light on Dark Money
• Why I Am No Longer Talking [With White People] About Race

Events:

Phonebanking Party

Join DAA members and friends as we celebrate another day at the polls. Between 6 and 9pm on Tuesday, June 5th we're calling members from States who have primaries coming up and reminding them to Register, Request, and Return their ballots.

What better way to build the Blue Wave than with pizza and wine and other wave makers! Bring your laptop, charger, and earbuds/headphones with microphone. We'll supply the rest.

You've never phone-banked before? No problem! We have a training session for newbies from 6-6:30pm. We'll walk you through it, you'll be comfortable in no time. We're calling our members and they LOVE hearing from us!

WHEN:Tuesday, June 5th at 6pm - 9pm
WHERE:The listed addressis only for orientation. This phonebanking party is in a private home, please rsvp below to get the exact address.
CONTACT:Tanya Lolonis · tanya.lolonis@mac.com
RSVP: Phonebanking Party

March with Pride

Join Democrats Abroad Austria as we march and dance at this year’s Vienna Pride Parade. This year's Pride Parade theme is "Love, Respect, and Solidarity."

Agenda layout:

2pm: We will start forming our contingent. We’ll know our pride parade contingent number closer to the parade date and will keep you posted. We’ll probably start marching somewhere between the hours of 3pm - 4pm, so please remember to eat something beforehand, bring water and suntan lotion, and wear comfortable shoes.

We urge participants to bring signs—the more colorful and creative the better:)

Participants may simply join the group at the beginning of the parade route, but RSVPs are strongly encouraged. For any questions please email Juan. Our parade group is open to all. Visit us on Facebook

WHEN: June 16, 2018 at 2pm - 6pm

WHERE: TBD front of University of Vienna, Universitätsring 1, Vienna 1010

Google map and directions

CONTACT: Juan Cerda · juandcerda@gmail.com· +43 676 921 7865

RSVP: March with Pride

Experienced Democrats Meet-Up

This is the 6th monthly meeting of the Experienced Democrats. All are welcome to join us! Visit us on Facebook

WHEN: Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at 6pm

WHERE: Café Museum, Operngasse 7, 1010 Vienna

CONTACT: John Cahill: jmcahill47@yahoo.com +436766952766

RSVP: Experienced Democrats

Global Black Caucus Book Club II

Join us as we conclude our journey through "Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race" by British author Reni Eddo-Lodge. We will discuss the last four chapters (Fear of a Black Planet, The Feminism Question, Race and Class and There’s no Justice, There’s Just Us). So read up and come ready with comments, questions and reflections.

Please remember to bring a donation, as we will begin fundraising for the Innocence Project, an organization devoted to exonerating the wrongly convicted and working towards criminal justice reform https://www.innocenceproject.org/. We look forward to reading and discovering with you! Power to the readers!

WHEN: June 20, 2018 at 7pm - 10pm

WHERE: Phil, Gumpendorfer Straße 10-12, 1060 Vienna

Google map and directions

CONTACT:Faith Herbold· Faith_hg@yahoo.com· 0660 277 6485

RSVP: GBC Book Club

Solidarity Sunday #16

Battleground America: Looking at the Policy of Guns.

Join the hardy band of Solidarity Sundays activists on June 24th when we will start with the three hundred million privately owned firearms in the United States and ask: How did we get here? Is there a real chance for change? What will it take to make changes happen?


We’ll continue writing postcards reminding DA members to register, request ballots for November, and vote. Coffee, tea and snacks will be on hand to fortify the good people working to build the Blue Wave.

WHEN: June 24, 2018 at 4pm - 6pm

WHERE: Amerlinghaus, Stiftgasse 8,1070 Vienna

Google map and directions

CONTACT: Tanya Lolonis · tanya.lolonis@mac.com

RSVP: SolSun #16

Young Dems Pub Night

Dear fellow Democrats, We cordially invite you to a fun get together at our June Pub Night at Peter Pane's! We hope to see a lot of you and you’re welcome to bring friends! Please rsvpto let us know how many people to expect. See you soon!

WHEN June 29, 2018 at 7pm - 10pm

WHERE Peter Pane, Mariahilfer Str 127, Vienna 1060

Google map and directions

CONTACT David Heckenberg · david.heckenberg@gmail.com· +43 664 378 2040

RSVP: Young Dems Pub Night

Save the Dates!

• 4th of July party – TBA
• September welcome back wine and art in the Welt Museum – TBA

Issues & Actions:

Midterm Elections: Election Calendar 

– Register, Request, Return!

Lots of primaries are coming up over the next few months and many of them have June deadlines! Check below for your state’s upcoming deadlines and mark your calendar today. But why wait? Register to vote today at Vote from Abroad. Remember, by law, overseas voters MUST register every calendar year!

Tuesday, June 5:

Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota

READ MORE

Tuesday, June 12:

Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia

Tuesday, June 19:

District of Columbia, Arkansas Runoff

READ MORE

Tuesday, June 26:

Colorado, Maryland, New York Federal Primary, Oklahoma, Utah, South Carolina Runoff

READ MORE

Tuesday July 17:

Alabama Runoff, North Carolina Fed. Runoff

Tuesday, July 24:

Georgia Runoff

Saturday, August 4:

Virgin Islands

READ MORE

Midwest Midterm Progressive Bikeathon

As you may have heard, DAA Counsel Bruce Murray is planning to bike from Madison, WI (15 September) to Braddock, PA (6 November). Along the way, he wants to learn what is on the minds of Midwesterners, get out the vote, volunteer for progressive candidates, and have fun! After each week of what he calls “cycling for sanity,” he will hold rallies (Chicago, Kalamazoo, Detroit, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh), encouraging all of us to join together in ensuring that we “switch gears” with the Midterm Elections to get our country back on track!

Curious?

The Bikeathon Facebook Pageprovides a wealth of information. Click on its interactive map to see the course, calendar, and mileage. Click on the Bikeathon PODCASTand THEME SONGfor some excellent audio! Scroll down to the Bikeathon Playlist post and add your favorite biker song! Also, feel free to contact Bruce (bamurray54@gmail.com) if you have questions, feel the urge to volunteer, and/or want to cycle for sanity!

Reviews:

Graz Voter Registration Pub Night

Over a dozen Americans in Graz - and a few Austrian partners - defied the pouring rain to make it to Culture Exchange and request their ballots! I carried my printer in my stroller; parenting small children is no excuse not to participate in our democracy! Once their absentee ballot requests were printed, our members relaxed with mojitos, burgers and breakfast burritos and wrote postcards to Americans in battleground states while chatting about all things political and personal. We had a fabulous evening and are looking forward to bimonthly meetings in the future!

–Caitlin Ahern, Member-at-Large, Database Manager

SolSun #14 – Grassroots Organizing in the Time of Trump

Solidarity Sundays Vienna took a deep dive into grassroots organizing and activism on Sunday, March 29th. We remembered some key individuals (Harvey Milk, Martin Luther King Jr., Betty Friedan) and grassroots movements (civil rights movement, peace protests, the feminist movement, LGBTQ rights) from the past that spawned major social change. We touched on a few classic grassroots success stories (Love Canal, ActUp, and the Arab Spring).

We took a close look at key current grassroots movements in the states (Indivisible, gun safety legislation, environmental protection) as well as major organizations (Code Pink, She Should Run, MoveOn, Black Lives Matter). In discussion we considered issues that most inspire us personally.

– Tanya Lolonis, Solidarity Sundays Co-Coordinator

Global Black Caucus Book Club Meeting

A small group of DA Austria members attended the newly formed Global Black Caucus’ first official book club on May 29that the local Starbucks. Yes, you read that right, Starbucks. The date and location were specifically chosen to highlight the recent events following the arrest of two black men simply because they were waiting for a friend while black. 8,000 Starbucks US locations were shut down for an afternoon of racial bias training, which cost the company over 12 million in lost sales (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/business/starbucks-arrests-racial-bias.html). But is this enough to combat structural racism and implicit bias?

This question lingered in the minds of the group as they delved into the personal experiences and conceptual thoughts of author Reni Eddo-Lodge in her book entitled Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race (Bloomsbury Circus, 2017). The group discussed their first impressions about such a controversial book (in both title and content) and how those impressions were shaped by their life experiences surrounding race, culture and politics.

This was not a forum for white members to engage in self flagellation when it comes to white guilt or privilege, but rather to engage in an open and straightforward dialogue about how they view these concepts in light of their own experiences, as well as viewing them through the lens of the author and people of color. The attendance of a French born Algerian expat also added another layer of depth as she recounted her experiences being a woman of color in Europe. Overall, it was night full of revelations, laughter and learning. The group also discussed possible selections for the next book and sponsoring non-profit organizations like the Innocence Project and the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI).

The discussion continues in part II of Reni Eddo-Lodges’ book and will be discussed on June 20th, 2018 at 7pm at Phil. We hope to see you there! Power to the readers!

– Faith Herbold, Global Black Caucus Coordinator

In this Issue:

Events

• Experienced Democrats
  
• Young Dems Pub Night
  
• Graz Voter Registration Pub Night
  
• Solidarity Sundays #15

Issues & Actions

• Election Calendar
  
• Tiny Action: Power the Blue Wave
  

Reviews

• Solidarity Sundays Vienna #14
• DAATalks: Trump, Russia, and Purpose of Foreign Policy

Members Corner

• From Able Amateurs To Global Presence – A History of American Diplomacy

Events:

EXPERIENCED DEMOCRATS MEET-UP

This is the monthly meeting of the Experienced Democrats of Democrats Abroad Austria. Join us for conversation – political and otherwise! Find the event on Facebook

WHEN: Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 6pm

WHERE: Café Museum, Operngasse 7, 1010 Vienna

CONTACT: John Cahill: jmcahill47@yahoo.com +436766952766

RSVP: Experienced Democrats

YOUNG DEMS PUB NIGHT

This month we'll be headed outside to the Prater Hauptallee at the new grill restaurant DIE ALLEE for our monthly pub night. Voter registration will also be possible. Our reservation is at 7PM for 10 people, so please RSVP. Contact Ashley Arreola if you have trouble finding us +436503749481. Find the event on Facebook.

WHEN: Wednesday, May 16, 2018 at 7pm

WHERE: Die Allee, Hauptallee 124, 1020 Vienna

CONTACT: Ashley Arreola: ashley_arreola@yahoo.com +436503749481

RSVP: Young Dems Pub Night

GRAZ VOTER REGISTRATION PUB NIGHT

We invite everyone in the Graz area to come join us for a drink or dinner at Culture Exchange, a restaurant/cafe & bike shop, with a bike rental, library, workshops, gallery, music events, English-language movie nights, quiz nights & more. Enjoy some delicious wraps, veggie burgers, cocktails or a beer. We'll help you fill out and mail your ballot request form for the 2018 midterms! Printer, envelopes and stamps will be provided for a 1 EUR donation. We'll also share some ideas for Getting Out the Vote! Bring your friends and spread the word! Find us on Facebook

WHEN: Friday, May 18, 2018 at 5pm-9pm

WHERE: Culture Exchange Graz, Grazbachgasse 47, 8010 Graz

CONTACT: Caitlin Ahern caitlin.ahern@gmail.com

RSVP: Graz Voter Registration Pub Night

SOL SUN #15– SHINING LIGHT ON DARK MONEY

Join us as we shine a light on dark money in US politics. What is Dark Money? How does it distort our democracy? What remedies do we have?

Then we'll brainstorm on ways to raise for the Democratic Blue Wave and design a fundraiser of our own. Find us on Facebook

WHEN: May 27, 2018 at 4pm-6pm

WHERE:  Amerlinghaus,Stiftgasse 8, 1070 Vienna

CONTACT: Juan Cerda · juandcerda@gmail.com · +436769217865

RSVP: SolSun#15

Issues & Actions:

Election Calendar – Register, Request, Return!

Lots of primaries are coming up over the next few months and many of them have May deadlines! Check below for your state’s upcoming deadlines and mark your calendar today. READ MORE for full details.

Tuesday, June 5:

• Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota
  

Tuesday, June 12:

• Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia
  

Tuesday, June 19:

• District of Columbia
  

Tuesday, June 19:

• Arkansas Runoff
  

Tuesday, June 26:

• Colorado, Maryland, New York Federal Primary, Oklahoma, Utah
  

Tiny Action: Power the Blue Wave

A lot of people ask us if they can vote this year, and if voting in 2018 is worth it.

Yes. And yes.

Midterm elections are federal elections, which means that anyone who can vote in a presidential election year can also vote for Senate and House races in the midterms.

And WOW is this year’s election important. If Democrats take back Congress - and we can - we will change Washington. Which is why our single most important task this year is getting all Democrats abroad to vote. This is not a task for October. This is an action for NOW.

This week's Tiny Action: Sign up to be a phone bank volunteer, and start making those calls!

88% of members we called in 2016 submitted a ballot, but less than 2 in 10 of you signed up to phonebank when we asked in February. So we’re asking again.

Phone banking is easy, flexible, free (with an internet connection and laptop) and rewarding. Phone bankers in the U.S. are shocked to hear how often our members THANK us for calling them about voting!

New to phone banking?

1. Log in to democratsabroad.org and sign up to help with phone banking.
2. Review important info for first-time phone bankers.
3. You will receive an email from CallHub - the system we use to call Americans abroad - to activate your account.
4. Log in to CallHub and get started!

Returning phone banker?

1. Review the refresher materials and info on current campaigns here: https://www.democratsabroad.org/phonebanking
2. Go to https://callhub.io to enter your username and password.
3. - Your username is probably country code and name. Ex: CA-Heidi-Burch
4. - Forgot your password? Click Forgot to receive CallHub instructions to set up a new one.
5. Start making those calls!

Overseas votes HAVE decided close elections in the past, and we’ll do it again - but not without your help.

Read more and take a moment to explore the wealth of information and actions that are regularly updated at Democrats Abroad.

Reviews:

SolSun #14 – Grassroots Organizing in the Time of Trump

Solidarity Sundays Vienna took a deep dive into grassroots organizing and activism on Sunday, March 29th. We remembered some key individuals (Harvey Milk, Martin Luther King Jr., Betty Friedan) and grassroots movements (civil rights movement, peace protests, the feminist movement, LGBTQ rights) from the past that spawned major social change. We touched on a few classic grassroots success stories (Love Canal, ActUp, and the Arab Spring).

We took a close look at key current grassroots movements in the states (Indivisible, gun safety legislation, environmental protection) as well as major organizations (Code Pink, She Should Run, MoveOn, Black Lives Matter). In discussion we considered issues that most inspire us personally.

– Tanya Lolonis, Solidarity Sundays Co-Coordinator

DAATalks: Trump, Russia, and Purpose of Foreign Policy

Prior to a dynamic discussion at the Republikanischer Club on May 2nd, Dana Allin, Senior Fellow at London think tank IISS*, challenged DAA members to jettison conventional approaches to Donald Trump’s foreign policy. Americans need a better understanding of the purpose of foreign policy. Specifically, Allin made a full-throated case for restoring an ideological component to foreign policy.

Post-war American foreign policy was animated by the pursuit of American interest and values. Richard Nixon pursued détente with the Soviet Union and opening to China to change the world order and improve America’s position within it. For all the defects in George W. Bush’s response to 9/11, he grasped that his policies would inspire anti-Muslim backlash, and took steps to prevent this. Uniquely for an American president, Trump’s foreign policy is unmoored from any concept of American interest.

How might liberals articulate the purpose of American foreign policy after Trump?

Dana Allin offered two proposals. First, America needs to acknowledge that Russia’s aggression is rooted in NATO and EU expansion. George Kennan, architect of soviet containment policy, warned that no nation can sit passively while a rival studs its borders with military bases and allies. Allin’s proposal: recognize Russia’s geopolitical interests and find ways to cooperate so America can move on to other pressing international challenges like China, terrorism, and the technical revolution.

Second, current debate – is America in a new Cold War with Russia, or is America’s enemy really China? – misses an important point. Trump's and Putin’s nativism and nationalism demand a response based on liberal principles. Allin returned to the 20th-century to explain his reasoning.

Policymakers after 1945 linked affluence created by liberal economic and trade policy with the moral vision of shared prosperity (the New Deal). This approach united Americans at home and built alliances abroad. A return to uniting geopolitical goals with liberal values – civil and economic equality, democracy, internationalism – can shore up support for foreign policy both at home and among allies.

Animated discussion followed Dana Allin’s presentation. Topics ranged from North Korea, China, European social democracy, and the rise of illiberalism, to the history of America’s liberal tradition. Appropriately, no wine remained at the end of the evening.

– Tanya Lolonis, Solidarity Sundays Co-Coordinator

* International Institute for Strategic Studies is one of the world’s leading research institutes for international affairs. Dr. Allin is the author or co-author of 7 books on international topics, and is currently working on a history of American liberal thought.

Member's Corner:

From Able Amateurs To Global Presence – A History of American Diplomacy

The Austro-American Society and the U.S. Embassy in Vienna invites you to a talk by Stephen A. Hubler, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Vienna

WHEN: Thursday, May 24, 2018 at 7pm

WHERE: Clubrooms of the Austro-American Society, Stallburggasse 2, 1010 Vienna

CONTACT: Austro-American Society  auamsoc@aon.at

RSVP: Please RSVP by E-mail: auamsoc@aon.at “We are registering the following persons to the talk on “From Amateur Diplomats to Global Presence” on Wednesday, May 24th 2018: Participants: (Address, telephone, full name)”