Chop Wood, Carry Water 10/19
A significant win for democracy.
Hi, all, and happy Thursday.
I know we are all anxious, scared, and devastated by the news right now. There can be no other sane reaction—the world is in a wildly fraught place. Far be it from me to try to talk anyone out of a reasonable reaction to these very dark times. Please know that I continue to send my support and love to everyone who is struggling. I remind you that you’re not alone. There is a huge community of decent human beings trying to navigate this hellscape with you. Most are coming at the questions it raises with compassion and care. Most genuinely want to help. Most wish to see innocent life protected.
I believe that together this faction can and will lead us to a better place.
But first we must not yield the ground to those with darker motives. So hold fast, hold strong, and stay with us, please.
Speaking of darker motives, let’s stop and celebrate that Jim Jordan—he of the darkest motives possible—seems to have given up his bid for speaker. While he says he will try again in January, I suspect that’s a face-saving technique. He doesn’t have the votes now; I find it hard to imagine that he will then.
I want you to pause for a moment and consider what an astonishing turn of events this is. A few days ago we were being told by everyone in the know that Jordan’s ascension was a foregone conclusion. It might take five votes or ten, they said, but “he’ll get there in the end.”
They were wrong.
I believe your calls helped make this happen. You should be very, very proud. Many of you called all twenty of the lawmakers on my list after the first vote. Some of you went and did that again after the second vote. Because I know who you are, I know that you were kind and calm when you spoke to their staffers. These are young people, mind you, who were simultaneously being cursed at and threatened by Jordan supporters from across the country.
These staffers noticed, and so did their bosses. What you did mattered, both on a human and on a political level.
Were there other reasons Jordan’s bid failed? Certainly. For some his strong-arming tactics were too much, for others his election denial rankled, and for others the certainty that he would shut down the government did him in. Regardless of the reasons, though, he is no longer a viable candidate for speaker, and that is a giant deal for our country.
As I’ve stated a few times now, saving our democracy has never, ever, been more important. The world needs us to be stable.
You just helped edge us further from chaos.
So let’s keep up the good work. There is much over which we are powerless. But our small actions can indeed move the needle in places where it matters.
Never forget it.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I understand that Senators Whitehouse, Booker, Blumenthal, and Padilla just introduced new legislation, the Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act, to establish 18-year term limits and regularized appointments for Supreme Court justices. The bill doesn’t yet have a number but I want the Senator to co-sponsor it. We are the only large democracy whose Supreme Court justices don’t have term limits. This is one of the reasons our court is widely seen as corrupt and broken. We need term limits now. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
While we wait for next steps to emerge in the House Speaker saga I’m going to ask that everyone take time to call one or two of the representatives on this list one more time to thank them for standing strong against Jim Jordan’s bid. They received an enormous amount of pressure; some of them even received death threats. They deserve our thanks for doing the right thing.
Especially call if one of these folks is your representative, of course.
I’ve updated the script to reflect the new circumstances.
Extra Credit ✅
President Joe Biden has already moved to cancel the illegal “midnight” oil and gas leases issued by former President Trump in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But he needs to take the next step: issuing a better supplemental environmental impact statement that protects the refuge from drilling. That means a robust assessment of the climate impacts of leasing and its compatibility with U.S. climate goals. And you can help!
Climate Hawks Vote has made it easy to submit a public comment to the BLM and President Biden telling them that oil and gas activities on the coastal plain will have unavoidable destructive impacts on Arctic Refuge wildlife habitat and on the climate. All you need to do is personalize the letter slightly and send.
Get Smart! 📚
Last year, New York State played an outsized role in Republicans winning a razor-thin majority, and next year, may very well determine whether we’ll have a functioning democracy. That’s why Walk the Walk USA has partnered with leading grassroots organizations in New York to empower progressive voters of color in the state’s most contested congressional districts to flip the House in 2024.
Join them Wednesday, October 25th at 5:30 PT/8:30 ET for the next evidence-based strategy session in Walk the Walk USA’s 2023 Zoom series.
They’ll be in conversation with their amazing partner, Public Policy and Education Fund in New York, exploring the critical movement-building work we can do there and across the country right now in order to win up and down the ballot next year.
Click here to sign up now.
Chop Wood, Save the Planet! 🔥
On October 25th at noon ET Project Drawdown is hosting a webinar called “Triple Win: How humanity can solve climate change, alleviate poverty, and save biodiversity at the same time.” They’re an amazing, solution-based organization and this should be really interesting and informative. Learn more about the speakers and register here.
Win Races—CALL! 🗳
Simon Rosenberg just published a plea for helping out in Virginia I’d love you all to read. Like me, he’s feeling nervous about these elections—worried that Glenn Youngkin is going to prevail, which would be really, really bad.
I accepted his challenge and signed up for a phonebank with the Virginia Democrats this afternoon at 3PM PT / 6PM ET. Won’t you join me? Use this link to sign up.
Win Races—WRITE! ✍🏼
I have a very cool opportunity for you, courtesy of the excellent folks at Working America. They wrote me and said:
We're offering packs of 100 printed letters, delivered to volunteers, to help spread the word about the Virginia elections. We’re reaching out to Working America members, leveraging long-standing relationships by connecting on the issues that directly impact them and their communities and emphasizing the importance of voting to affect these issues.
We're mailing out on a rolling basis, with the final mail date being October 31st. We won't be including stamps, but will be including printed letters, a page of instructions, return address labels, and for at least a few folks, Working America branded pens (they've been very popular lately!)
Each letter needs to be hand addressed and hand signed (first name only in both cases.) The letter must also be hand addressed to the recipient. There is room on the letter for a short, but optional personal statement on the importance of voting from the volunteer's perspective.
Can any of you help?
Sign up for your 100 letter packet here.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[to all 3 reps] [Text SIGN PFGMBL to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER] [H/T to
for the first line].When Rep. Tom Cole nominated Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House on Wednesday morning, Cole said that one of Jordan’s leading qualifications is that he is committed to cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
I want to be really clear: I strenuously oppose any cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I will work to vote out elected members who support such cuts. Slashing these programs at the same time that we are allowing billionaires to pay a fraction of their fair share in taxes would be absolutely unacceptable and unpardonable.
Raise taxes on billionaires and corporations. Make them pay what they owe.
I will never, ever support a representative who puts billionaires over working Americans. Increase taxes on the richest Americans, keep Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid fully funded. That is what your voters—and I—overwhelmingly support. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Just wanted to share my experience thus far - I've called and left messages for most of the list of the Congresspersons who opposed Jim Jordan, but I have also reached some who have answered the phone. My message has been to thank them and to also note that I have heard about the threats that they have received and to say that it is a good thing that this is being brought to light, as it may stop this from being used as a political weapon. I have also said that I hope that they and their families will be safe. Those I spoke with said that the message was really appreciated because they are dealing with calls with a different message. So even if we aren't in their districts or aren't Republicans, this means something.
Dear Jessica, I'm grateful that you brought Working America to the attention of your readers. I was thinking about this group lately (having been introduced to them in 2022), and it will be a pleasure to send letters on their behalf to the residents of Virginia. xDeborah AND thank you for all you are doing to keep our spirits up in these troubled times.