Chop Wood, Carry Water 10/1
A decision to act
Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!
My God! 35 days to go!
There are SO MANY GOTV opportunities out there, and fewer reasons—at the moment—to call Congress. So I will continue to skip the occasional advocacy call in this newlsetter and add, instead, extra election-relation items. After November we can hopefully return to something like a “normal” newsletter. (Once we’ve all slept for a week, that is.)
There’s a great deal going on, between the absolute catastrophe of Helene, a rapidly escalating war in the Middle East, a port strike, tonight’s debate, and the usual deluge of polls, hit pieces (Tim Walz, according to WaPo, is now a “surprisingly bubble-wrapped campaigner”) and panic posts. It’s exactly as stressful as we expected it to be. Every day will bring its own portion of pandemonium.
So let’s take a moment to lower our shoulders, breathe deeply in and out, and ask ourselves not what social media app we’re going to open up next, but, instead, which of Jess’s resource documents we’ll click on? Will it be the postcarding and letter-writing one? Or the phonebanking one? How about my brand new Flip the House doc? Perhaps you feel more inclined to Adopt a State and work that way? Or maybe you’re ready to make that last big donation?
Whichever way you choose to get engaged is great. As long as you do. As Amelia Earhart said: “The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.”
Of mere tenacity we have a great deal So. let’s use it one more time.
Sending hugs—especially to those of you impacted by Helene—and great, big waves of admiration and respect.
YOU are the heroes history will sing of.
P.S. — If you'd like to support Helene relief efforts on the ground, here is a list of resources compiled by Blue Ridge Public Radio. I’ve been told over and over again that this is the list to use. Please share!
P.P.S. — I forgot the link to contact CBS yesterday! Sorry! Maybe a moot point by now, but it’s here.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I understand that there is an effort underway by House Democrats to censure House Republican Clay Higgins. Rep. Higgins tweeted one of the most explicitly racist tweets by a member of Congress targeting Haitian migrants. Higgins later deleted the post, but then doubled down on his comments on CNN, saying, “it’s all true.” It’s another example of House Republicans uplifting xenophobia, racism, and the policies of Project 2025 rather than standing up for all their constituents. I’m assuming the Congressmember will support censure?
Watch the Debate with Friends! 📺
People's Action is having a VP Debate watch party, and they'd love for you to join them at 8:30 p.m. EST as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz goes head to head with J.D. Vance!
They'll have pre-debate discussion with some exciting special guests, on-the-ground reports from their members in battleground states, and of course... debate bingo!
Spread the Word! 📣
These two videos have apparently tested really well and make viewers feel even better about Tim Walz (and worse about Trump and Vance). Please share! I’ve given you access to them on all major platforms, or you can download and share.
Economic Policies - An interview with Tim Walz from @crookedmedia, explaining his support for families with policies like paid family leave
Instagram (@crookedmedia)
TikTok (@crookedmedia)
Facebook (@crookedmedia)
X (@podsaveamerica)
Project 2025 - Governor Tim Walz fixes up his car while highlighting Trump’s Project 2025 plan for sticking it to the middle class and cutting taxes for the wealthy.
Instagram (@timwalz)
TikTok (@timwalz)
X (@tim_walz)
YouTube (@timwalz)
Give 💰!
Focus For Democracy Pre-Debate Fundraising Call Tuesday, October 1, at 5PM PT/8PM ET
ZOOM in an hour before the Walz/Vance debate and discover how we can deliver Kamala & The Coach those EXTRA SWING STATE VOTES!
Focus for Democracy will unveil a stunning program that will get low-turnout (but registered) voters to thousands of poll sites—transforming Election Day from dreary waiting to swingy, jazzy, hip-hoppy events.
Popular, professional DJs—nationwide—will publicize their Election Day gigs, bring out their constituent fans…and perform all day. A huge nationwide celebration of voting and democracy.
Like everything Focus recommends, this program has been scientifically tested and will create new, extra Democratic votes. This is a fundraiser but you don’t have to give to attend.
[H/T Louise Wollman]
Win Races—Write Letters! 🗳
On October 7 at 8PM ET get on a Zoom call with cast members from Hamilton and write some Vote Forward letters! Whooo!
RSVP to join to be in the Zoom where it happens:
Win Races—Make Phone Calls!
There are only a little over 5 weeks until the election!!! You can make a difference by calling to help Harris win and/or to flip the House in battleground states. Join one of these Zoom phone banks all with training and support—they’re all with Swing Blue Alliance, who runs GREAT phonebanks.
Wisconsin: Mondays 6-8 ET and Saturdays 3-5 ET: Elect Rebecca Cooke and go Red to Blue against a MAGA Republican and for Harris
North Carolina: Wednesdays 6-8 Elect Democrats! Safiyah Jackson and get out the vote in Mecklenburg County (Charlotte)
Pennsylvania: Thursdays 4-6 Chris Deluzio: Recruit volunteers from strong Dems.
Maine: Thursdays 6-8 Call for Harris for the Win in Maine. Secure 4 electoral votes for Harris.
Pennsylvania: Thursdays 6-8 and Sundays 4-6 Janelle Stelson. Flip the House: Fire Scott Perry and turn PA Blue
North Carolina: Sundays 6-8 Mecklenburg County. Build the vote for Harris and other Democrats in NC.
Georgia Mondays 4:30-6 and Thursdays 6:30-8: Recruit Georgia Poll Observers across the State
Win Races—Canvass in Montana!
Let’s Save the Senate - Come Canvass in Montana.
Holding the Senate most likely depends on Jon Tester winning in Montana. Montana’s pro-democracy state supreme court is also threatened this year.
Stephen Schear is going canvassing for Tester and two Montana state supreme court candidates, Jerry Lynch and Katherine Bidegaray, from Oct. 15-22. He’ll be staying in the Livingston/Bozeman area. Let him know if you are interested in coming to MT at the same time. Traveling with others saves on expenses and you can leave most of the logistics to him.
Another option is going to western Montana, where you can also canvass for Dem Monica Tramel, who has a chance of defeating the incumbent GOP Congressman Ryan Zinke (the awful former Secretary of the Interior) in MT CD-1. Robin Cooper, a Bay Area activist, can provide housing near Missoula from Oct. 20-27 and from Oct. 31 till election day, Nov. 5. It’s also possible she will have housing for the days in between (Oct. 28-30) but she can’t commit to that yet. If you are interested in staying at Robin’s place, email her at robincooper50@gmail.com.
If you want to canvass at other times or places in Montana, fill out this form. Madison Lewis, a Montana Democratic Party organizer, will get in touch with you. If you don’t hear back from Madison within three days, send her an email at Lewis@mtdems.org.
Win Races—Text Bank for Debbie Mucarsel-Powell!
Join the Union’s enthusiastic group of text bankers TONIGHT or many other dates and times to help get Debbie Mucarsel-Powell elected to the US Senate in Florida! Training is available.
Sign up HERE
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
Worried about the climate emergency? Do something about it!
Make calls with Call For Climate on Tuesdays! They are calling ONLY into tight House districts where the Dem candidate is excellent on climate. I’m worried about the House. We need more volunteers to make calls like these!
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PHKKEF to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
As your constituent, I support the public Medicare program, which has saved countless lives and protected millions of people from financial hardship. Seniors in your district rely on this program every day, and we need you to stand up and protect it from profiteers.
Make no mistake: Medicare is under attack. The authors of Project 2025 have proposed making so-called “Advantage” plans the default option for people enrolling in Medicare. This would erode the public program, force cash-strapped hospitals to drop “Advantage” plans entirely, and cause real harm to patients.
If Medicare becomes fully privatized, then every senior in your district will be exposed to harm from insurance corporations, including prior authorization delays, surprise medical bills, and outright denials of care. They will not be happy about this.
I urge you to stand up for Medicare! Please make clear—publicly and forcefully—that you oppose the Project 2025 proposal to privatize our hard-won Medicare benefits.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Gosh your posts are always what I need to hear/see! Thank you for continuing to remind us to stay the course with love, kindness and determination.
Here's what I have been up to this week in addition to textbanking...My GenZ daughter and I have launched 🍩Donuts+Democracy🗳️ and have already partnered with 27 colleges in battleground states/districts and HBCUs with more being added every day. The premise is simple - students host a GOTV event - Your Donut - Your Vote - Your Future - and we fund the donuts. We test-piloted this program in 2022 midterms in NV and it was magic. And at $2 a donut is the most effective and least expensive GOTV strategy. Plus young voters are the key to winning and have the most room for growth. To learn more and support our efforts (we need to raise $30K in 7 days and in less than 24 hrs are 1/2 way there!) https://open.substack.com/pub/democratsdeliver/p/donuts-democracy-magic?r=51f18&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Thanks for all that you are doing! Saw you speak briefly at Swing Blue Alliance's fundraiser for PA-10 and PA-01 US House and PA House candidates. Eagerly awaiting your adopt-a-state material for Nebraska. I would like to help with virtual phonebanking into NE-02 to help elect Tony Vargas to the US House, win the electoral vote for Kamala, and (to reach NE-02 and blue dots statewide) to help elect Dan Osborn to the US Senate, and pass the pro-choice ballot measure.