Local Groups Join Nationwide Movement in Opposition to Trump Administration

COOPERSTOWN—Members of Cooperstown/Oneonta Indivisible, Cherry Valley We Are Worth Fighting For and the local Democratic Party rallied peacefully in front of the Cooperstown Post Office on Presidents Day despite the frigid temperatures and high winds. Their message? “Elon Musk has got to go” and “No kings in the USA.”

“All these people are out here today, on Presidents Day, to participate in the national day of rallies sponsored by a whole bunch of Democratic groups to fight for democracy,” Cooperstown/Oneonta Indivisible spokesperson Virginia Kennedy said during the protest.

The groups joined a national day of protests mobilized by 50501, Indivisible, Third Act and other pro-democracy organizations on Monday, February 17. According to a press release issued Tuesday, February 18, “the protests sought to raise awareness of the unconstitutional policies of the Trump Administration, specifically the radical dismemberment of federal agencies, budgets, and services by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and Trump’s threats to ignore federal judges that hold him to account for unconstitutional actions.”

“Elon Musk was not elected president of anything,” said Kennedy. “He is a billionaire, the recipient of almost 20 billion dollars of our tax money in federal grants, who is invading every part of government, cutting services, firing thousands of public servants, and gutting the government’s ability to serve its citizens. President Trump and Musk have usurped constitutionally mandated congressional checks and balances while Republicans stay mute.”

“Trump and Musk are cutting services, deleting important scientific and health information from government websites, and firing the public service workers who keep us informed and safe, all in the name of more tax cuts for billionaires,” said Cooperstown/Oneonta Indivisible member Betsy Foster. “They are doing incredible damage; and if people aren’t noticing yet, they are going to when more planes crash or they lose their Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security.”

According to Kennedy, local pro-democracy groups like Cooperstown/Oneonta Indivisible will continue to join the growing nationwide movement to speak out against what they believe are the unconstitutional policies of the current administration through peaceful protest and educational community events.

For more information, contact Kennedy at virginiakennedy67@gmail.com or visit Indivisible.com.