Chop Wood, Carry Water 10/23
You are my inspiration.
Hi, all, and happy Wednesday!
A couple of little housekeeping bits:
First, I am now aware that I spelled Heather Cox Richardson’s name wrong in a recent post. Sorry about that! I blame exhaustion, which I have in spades at the moment. Still, such a towering figure should have her name spelled correctly. I will not make that mistake again.
Second, thank you to those of you who gave to yesterday’s Native Voter effort in Nevada. Some of you wrote expressing concern that your receipt came from the TX Democrats. I checked, and this is apparently as it should be—the TX Dems are “hosting” the Act Blue link, but will pass the funds on to the Nevada canvassing group.
Finally, thank you so much to everyone who sent me links for my statewide progressive voter guide effort. I received many great resources, and have compiled them as best I can here. It’s a work in progress, but we’re off to a great start!
Many of you, ironically, wrote to tell me about Blue Voter Guide, which I thought was delightful, as I have made a huge effort to make you all aware of it! But for this project I am looking for trusted guides that simply tell people how to vote. It’s really for those who don’t want to do any work at all. But I have added Blue Voter Guide to the top of the document as a go-to resource for those who are willing to take a bit of time to fill it out.
I still need good (or any) guides for about half of the states, including the swing state of Nevada. You can click here to see what I have and what I don’t, and if you see a state missing that you can help me with please send me what you have!
Next bit of business: thank you all for responding to yesterday’s email with stories of your own post office’s stamp shortages! This sounds like a nationwide problem—of the best possible kind! Hopefully everyone has what they need to get their final cards mailed. When the USPS finds itself with extra money this year they will have us to thank! And when the election goes better than anyone expects, the nation will have you postcarders, among many others, to thank as well.
Oh, and if you’re in the Northeast L.A. area I still have 5K cards to distribute for Milwaukee…in the next four days!
Finally, I hopped on to Simon Rosenberg’s phonebank for an hour yesterday and spent some time—with a very large crowd, I might add—making calls for Dr. Amish Shah. In the course of 45 minutes I spoke to two undecided male voters—both of whom I think I persuaded to vote for our guy. They are out there, my friends! And some of them are persuadable. While we obssess about every bit of news and every twist of the race, these are voters who just don’t care that much about the outcome either way. Lucky them.
Fortunately, we can help people like this understand why their votes are actually critical, and why this election is so existentially important. It requires a bit of time; it requires listening, too. But it’s work we must do if we are to win, and win convincingly. And win we must!
So let’s get back to it. Thank you for all you’re doing. You are the inspiration I draw from every day—it is because of YOU that we will win.
Extra Credit ✅
The Los Angeles Times has announced that it will not endorse for the Presidential election.
According to Semafor, who broke the story today:
The paper’s editorial board, which has endorsed Democratic candidates in every presidential race since it first endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama in 2008, was preparing to do so once again this election…But according to two people familiar with the situation, executive editor Terry Tang told editorial board staff earlier this month that the paper would not be endorsing a candidate in the presidential election this cycle, a decision that came from the paper’s owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a doctor who made his fortune in the healthcare industry.
Dr. Soon-Shiong, it turns out, is a friend of Trump’s and Elon Musk’s. He is on the short list for a cabinet position should Trump win.
So I’ve called and cancelled my subscription. If you happen to subscribe maybe you will consider doing so as well. The number to call is 213-283-2274.
And we can all write them a note to let them know how we feel about it. I found this to be the best place to reach out. Where it asks for the article we’re referencing I gave them this link, to the endorsement page.
I’ll tell you what I said, but it wasn’t eloquent:
The Times Editorial Board’s announcement that it’s not going to endorse in the Presidential race is absolutely unacceptable. While many of your publication’s journalists are excellent it’s clear that your paper is now being controlled by a right-wing billionaire who wants more tax cuts and is willing to sacrifice journalistic integrity—and our democracy—to get them. It's very possibly the most critical moment in our nation's history and the Times just threw the American people under the bus. Thanks for nothing. I've cancelled my subscription.
Get Smart! 📚
Join the folks at Democracy Docket for a free, live panel featuring Congressman Jamie Raskin, political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen and Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias. They’ll give a status update one week out from Election Day and preview what to expect during the post-election period, especially if things don’t go Trump’s way.
Who:
Jamie Raskin, Maryland congressman
Brian Tyler Cohen,YouTuber and political commentator
Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket
Tuesday, Oct. 29 | 7 - 8 p.m. ET
Spread the Word #1! 📣
According to new research by Blueprint, “the best-testing closing arguments against Trump are those that emphasize his lack of support from his former cabinet and numerous Republicans (a topic the Harris campaign is running extensive ads on), his responsibility for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and his intentions to gut Social Security and Medicare and the Affordable Care Act.”
These two arguments move voters the most:
[Republican endorsements] Nearly half of Donald Trump’s cabinet have refused to endorse him. When Trump learned during the Capitol riot that his supporters were threatening to kill his own vice president, he said ‘so what?’ and refused to do anything to ensure the vice president was safe. Republican governors, senators, and House members have all said the same thing: we can’t give Trump another four years as president. (+12 preference effect for Harris, +14 with independents)
[Roe v. Wade] Donald Trump appointed the judges who overturned Roe vs. Wade. Since then, Trump abortion bans have been passed in 22 states and women are dying because they can’t get the care they need. Now he wants to go further, with plans to restrict birth control, ban abortion nationwide, and even monitor women’s pregnancies. Kamala Harris will protect our fundamental rights and freedoms, because the government should not be allowed to control women’s personal medical decisions. (+10 preference effect for Harris, +12 with independents)
Read the whole post here and please sue this messaging when you talk to voters!
Spread the Word #2
Ahead of Vice President Harris’ travel to Houston, Texas, where she will underscore the serious consequences of Trump Abortion Bans to women’s lives, the Harris campaign is uplifting a never before told story of a Texas couple through a new ad, “You Will Be Protected.” The ad takes Trump to task for his recent claim that he will be a “protector” of women through Ondrea and Ceasar’s story — who may no longer be able to have children because of the Trump Abortion Bans in their state.
It’s a tough watch, but please do share it.
Give 💰!
Folks, I am trying to close an 8K funding gap in our Chop Wood, Carry Statehouses Giving Circle. The money raised is all going to the Arizona and Pennsylvania state legislative races— it literally couldn’t be more important. This last-minute cash can be used to buy more ads, do more mailings, or support the campaigns we’re supporting in a million different ways. And remember, this will help turn voters out for the top of the ticket as well!
I would be so, so thrilled if we made it to our 150K goal. We would need to do so this week.
Please give if you can. I know we’re all bled almost dry at this point, but if you’re not—or if you know someone who isn’t—I’d be so grateful.
Win Races—CALL! 🗳
From the indefatigable Donna Jaffe:
REMEMBER: A phonebank a day keeps the fascists away!
Here's your Rx for the three next days:
WEDNESDAY, 10/23: Option 1
Zoom Phone Bank with the DNC Call Crew from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm PT
WEDNESDAY Option 2
Call Anytime Harris/Walz Phonebank Training
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm PT (Training; then call on your own schedule!)
THURSDAY, 10/24: Option 1
Zoom Phone Bank with the DNC Call Crew
From 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm PT
THURSDAY Option 2
Call Anytime House/Senate Races
Anytime! Link has video training, script and call center)
FRIDAY, 10/25:
Option 1
Zoom Phone Bank with the DNC Call Crew
From 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm PT
FRIDAY Option 2
Call Anytime Harris/Walz Phonebank Training
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm PT (Training; then call on your own schedule!)
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: ] [H/T] [Text to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
Sorry, no Resistbot letter today!
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
I can never thank you enough for doing all the hard work. I just wrote to the LA Times. Despicable
I sent this email to the LA Times today:
I am ashamed that the LA Times is not endorsing Kamala Harris because apparently Dr. Soon-Shiong is an ally of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. They are low-life bullies who want to dismantle our democracy. As a Californian and visitor to Los Angeles, I feel horrified by the Times’ decision in 2024.