Chop Wood, Carry Water 10/17

Oct 17, 2024

Hi, all, and happy Thursday!

I’m wildly behind again today so this will be another truncated newsletter. I also recognize that it’s late. Sorry!

I’ve got more good voter turnout news for you! I was just on a call with a bunch of activists in North Carolina and they told us that the lines there for the first day of early voting, which is today, are BESERK! Two hours long at some polling places, an hour and a half at others. Red counties and blue—the lines are unprecedented. Of course we can’t assume that all of those votes are going to us, but somehow I suspect that a lot of them are. It’ll be interesting to see the breakdown in race and gender on these voters, but one thing we can say with certainty is that voter enthusiasm in North Carolina is very, very high.

I’m going to take it as a good sign.

In other nice news, VP Harris apparently beat the pants off of Brett Baier on Fox News last night. I didn’t watch it—I don’t have cable news and likely wouldn’t have watched even if I did. I have zero tolerance for extremist newsrooms. But I’ve seen clips and read coverage and it sounds like Harris dominated—Baier’s aggressiveness and rudeness notwithstanding. Hopefully now we can put the “she needs to sit for tougher interviews” trope to bed forever.

And that’s not all! With less than 20 days until Election Day, Vice President Harris is crisscrossing the country reaching out to the broad and growing Harris-Walz coalition wherever they are.

On Tuesday, she participated in an iHeartRadio town hall with Charlamagne Tha God where she took questions from voters across the country on everything from her Opportunity Agenda for Black men to immigration reform to faith.

Yesterday, she held a campaign rally in Pennsylvania with over 100 Republicans – including former elected officials and former Trump aides – to emphasize the importance of patriotism and upholding our Constitution as part of a bipartisan call to put country above party in this election.

It goes on and on. While Trump's handlers are putting him in safe spaces to hide his increasingly unstable behavior, Harris and her proxies seem to be everywhere!

It has to be said: Harris is running a near flawless campaign. Do I have quibbles? Of course, but that’s normal—she is running to represent 345 million people. If I agreed with everything she did and said she’d be doing something wrong! Overall, though, I’m greatly impressed and encouraged. Our chances of winning are exponentially higher because of the choices she and her team are making. This bodes well for her performance as President!

But we have to get her there first. So for us, our job remains the same. We’re in the “leaving it all on the field” portion of this election, and we are doing exactly that. It’s tiring, grueling, and occasionally anxiety-producing, but when we win WOW will it feel good.

You. Are. Saving. Democracy. Your hard work is bending history in an inarguably good and just direction. You should be proud.

Now let’s get to work!

Update on Dan Osborn Fundraiser

Lots of you wrote yesterday to ask if you could give less than the suggested amounts and attend. I wrote to the campaign and they said yes! The page was apparently not set up correctly. My contact said “They can click on ‘other amount’ and give whatever they’re comfortable giving and are welcome to join the call.”

So please do that! Literally a dollar will get you in, but of course give more if you can.

Get Smart #1 📚

Women 4 Harris/Walz’s Speaker Series has a great webinar coming up on October 22 at 3PM PT:

From Spectator to Game-Changer - Unleashing Your Political Potential, with Rachel Bitecofer and Leigh McGowan!

Rachel Bitecofer is a political scientist, election forecaster, and strategist. She is the author of "Hit 'Em Where it Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game" and "The Unprecedented 2016 Presidential Election," and has been featured in major media outlets for her political analysis.

Leigh McGowan, known as "Politics Girl," is an award-winning digital media influencer and author with over 2 million followers across social platforms. Her debut book, "A Return to Common Sense: How to Fix America Before We Really Blow It," was released in September 2024.

Join the Women for Harris-Walz grassroots coalition on Tuesday, October 22 at 6pm ET/3pm PT as they discuss how all citizens can feel more empowered to better understand, discuss, and participate in our political system, and use that power to drive meaningful change.

Get Smart #2! 📚📚

So, I don’t like to toot my own horn, but a few days ago I made a TikTok about the economic costs of mass deportation based on the American Immigration Council’s amazing webinar about it last week. The video is over 5 minutes long and wonky as hell but it’s gone somewhat viral—it has 1.5M views across platforms and is building fast. I mention this not to brag, but to say that there is obviously a LOT of interest in this topic. I offered to send interested folks the link to watch the webinar and my email inbox is exploding with people asking for it.

I pass this along just to say that this seems to be a potent line of argument against Trump and his policies. People are absolutely gobsmacked by the information. Perhaps we need to share it more widely.

If you just want to read the report it’s here.

My TikTok is here or you can see it here on IG or below on Youtube.

Spread the Word! 📣

Check out these great sticky notes to put in women’s bathroom stalls or other places where women might be reached. They are only $4 for 50 notes with fast and free shipping!

If you live in a battleground state or district, please consider ordering and placing notes wherever and whenever you have an opportunity.

If you KNOW people who live in a battleground state or district, please consider ordering some and having them shipped directly to their address!

If you are TRAVELLING to a battleground state or district, please consider ordering some to bring with you!

Give 💰!

Co-host a Flip the Vote Election Countdown Party

Flip the Vote has raised $8.4M this cycle and every penny went to BIPOC-led grassroots organizing in crucial swing states. Help them reach their $10M goal by attending one of their Election Countdown Parties.

Better yet, maximize your impact and co-host one of the Election Countdown Parties! You'll be joined from dozens of other co-hosts across the country and you can invite 5 friends or 50. Flip the Vote will provide sample emails and all of the necessary links for you to activate your community!

Win Races—see the VP in GEORGIA! 🗳

The Vice President will be in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, October 19th, for a rally. RSVP here!

Win Races—KAMALAFEST!

Kamalafest is "A Celebration of Kamala's Birthday and GOTV Event" hosted by the Women of Color Coalition for Harris/Walz, DEMCAST and Women for Harris/Walz.

It’s 10/21 @ 6pm CST/ 8pm EST. There’s a fabulous lineup of guest speakers! A must-attend event! This will be a night of fun, celebration and action. Register here!

Win Races—Make Sure You’ve Adopted a State! 🔥

Just a friendly reminder that most of the GOTV activities I hear about I send out in my state-level newsletters—there are just too many to post here. If you haven’t yet “adopted” a state for this election, please do so — you’ll receive plenty of ways you can help there. You can sign up for one of my 13 state-specific newsletters here. And please share this opportunity with a friend!

Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻

No Resistbot today, sorry!

OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.

Talk soon.

Jess

Chop Wood, Carry Water