Issue and Opposition: Indivisible is a grassroots movement of thousands of local groups. The coalition fights for electoral reforms and aims for getting progressive politicians elected. It also fights for social justice and to establish democracy in American society. The coalition acted effectively against Trump after he was elected as the president. Republican Representative Paul Cook (California’s 8th Congressional District) was one of the political leaders who were conspicuous by their absence. In 2017, the local Indivisible group organized a dilemma action targeting Rep. Cook.
Dilemma Action: The activists pretended that they were acting out of serious concern for Rep. Cook because he was missing in action for a long time. As “responsible” constituents of his district, the activists posted Missing Person notices on milk cartons and on social media where they created a website and a Twitter account, @WhereIsPaulCook. The activists urged people to report back if Cook was seen anywhere. The accompanying hashtag with the tweets- #prayforpaul- became viral among netizens. The activists replicated this action for other political leaders who were missing in action such as GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, California.
Outcome: Indivisible did a commendable job in creating a counter-narrative and grabbing traditional and social media attention, besides providing hearty laughter for all. No one was arrested or harassed for participating in this action but it did not have much effect on Cook. It might have embarrassed him a little. However, it did nothing to jeopardize his political career as he continued his position until 2020.