Chop Wood, Carry Water 10/26 🔥
[The above is a pretty remarkable summary of all of Democrats’ accomplishments over the last two years. You can find it broken up by subject here.]
Hi, all, and happy Wednesday!
Hope everyone is hanging in there. When I learned yesterday that we were exactly two weeks out from the election I must confess my stomach tightened quite a bit. But then I hopped onto my North Carolina phonebank—with 35 other people!—and forgot about my nervousness in the joy of making calls.
For the umpteenth time: The antidote to all of the anxiety, the fear, the rage, the feelings of powerlessness, the grief…is action. I don’t just believe it—I know it. I’m experiencing it every day. Most of you are, as well. You write to tell me so!
If you’re not yet, please, avail yourself of the medicine that truly cures. You don’t have to sit in terror, waiting for the outcome of the most consequential election of our lives.
Work to change the outcome and watch your mood change immediately as well.
That’s how I’ll be surviving the next two weeks, anyway.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I know that Sen. Chris Murphy is introducing legislation today that would make it illegal to possess a firearm within 100 yards of any federal election sites. It’s called the Vote Without Fear Act, and I want the Senator to vocally support it. Free and fair elections cannot happen in the face of armed intimidation at the polls. This legislation will ensure voters and election workers continue to feel safe participating in the democratic process. Thanks.
[H/T subscriber Adele G. for the heads up on this.]
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m really upset and concerned about the armed voter intimidation happening in Arizona. I know that Senator Chris Murphy is introducing legislation today that would make it illegal to possess a firearm within 100 yards of any federal election sites, and I know that there is already a companion bill to this in the House. It’s HR 4722, and I want the Congressmember to push to pass it right away. This is a no-brainer. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
[H/T Climate Hawks Vote]
In a matter of weeks, the Biden administration will decide whether to greenlight the largest oil and gas development currently proposed on public lands – the Willow project in Alaska’s Western Arctic. There’s only one person that can stop it: President Joe Biden.Â
Can you take action with us to #StopWillow today?
Call 202-456-1414 to tell the White House to #StopWillow Â
Need a short script? Try this:
Hi My name is ___ I’m calling from [city &state]. I’m calling to ask President Biden to keep his promise and Stop the ConocoPhillips Willow project in Alaska. Willow is a massive drilling project in the Arctic. Approving it will break both President Biden’s promise to protect the Arctic, and his promise to cut global warming pollution. Please, we’re in a climate emergency. Tell the President to direct his Interior Department to Stop Willow. Thanks.
Post about it on social media—please make sure to use the hashtag #StopWillow.
To draw more attention to your posts, feel free to include the photos at the end of this toolkit (which also has a few great copy and paste social media posts.)
If you don’t have time to wait on hold for the White House operators (I did get through, but I waited on hold for almost 10 minutes) you can also copy and paste the above script, minus the bracketed parts, of course, into the WH comment form here.
Get Smart! 📚
There's a Force Multiplier Zoom House Party coming up on Thursday, October 27th at 8pm ET. You’ll hear about a powerful strategic way to do something, even in these final days before the mid-terms. And it’s an information session - not a fundraiser.Â
Force Multiplier is an all-volunteer organization that raises funds for Democratic House and Senate candidates and grassroots voter empowerment groups in battleground states. They do the research, so you don’t have to, which helps when you're feeling weary from the battle.
Since its founding in 2017, Force Multiplier has raised over $14M with the generosity of more than 11,000 donors. Its focused research targets key candidates whose races are neither long shots nor sure bets.Â
Here's the registration link for the Force Multiplier House Party on Thursday:
After registering, you'll receive an email with a meeting link that is UNIQUE to you. So if you want to forward a link to someone else, please send the original registration link, above.
Get Relational! 👯
Activate America invites you to join them on Thursdays from 4-5 PM PT to get out the vote among your friends and family. Join them in using the Swipe Blue app to check the voter registration status of your contact list and reach out to Democrats you know in swing states and districts.
Research shows us that the most influential messengers in politics are people with existing personal relationships to the voters they’re reaching out to.
Interested? Sign up HERE. They’ll teach you how to use the app and who to target, and you’ll be texting that old college roommate and your favorite second cousin in no time!
Get Kids to the Polls via Text! 🗳
Join the Civics center as they text first-time voters to encourage them to participate in the upcoming Midterm Elections! Unlike many textbanks, theirs focuses on young people who are new to the election process and may need help with registration, voter ID, and finding their polling place. Their textbanks will be held Oct 31 at 12pm PT, Nov 1 at 4:30pm PT, and Nov 2 at 12pm PT.
Please note that they'll be limiting each textbank to 8 registrants, so please only register for a time you can attend. Volunteers should also be prepared to field responses for 30-60 minutes after the event concludes, and again on the following day, as they've historically seen a large number of responses come in the day after the event.
P.S. The Civics Center is doing a ton of stuff like this and needs to raise 25K to fund it. I’d say it’s money REALLY well spent. Please donate here if you can.
Phonebank with a Senator!
This Thursday, October 27 from 6 – 8pm EDT the DNC Call Crew will be making calls with Senator Cortez-Masto! This should be a lot of fun—you’ll get to hear from the Senator herself! Plus the DNC has an awesome dialer, great trainers, and you’ll simply be helping Blue voters make a voting plan. Fun and easy!
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.)
[to all 3 reps] [H/T] [Quick send text SIGN PTTMSE to 50409]
While I know we’ve made a ton of progress under democrats, millions of children in the United States are still facing hunger. I’m writing to ask you to please prioritize policies that will help ensure kids and families across the country have access to the meals they need to thrive. Such legislation should:
- Increase flexibility for summer meal programs, including the option for kids to eat meals off-site.
- Streamline meal program regulations for community-based providers so they can feed children with one program year-round.
- Provide a summer grocery card to families with low incomes to supplement household food budgets when school is not in session.
- Strengthen access to and the quality of school meals, which not only boost health but support learning, too.
- Increase participation of eligible families in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
And of course, I’d LOVE to see the Extended Child Tax credits Come back. Those made such a huge difference to so many people.
In short, please prioritize helping kids stay fed. This really matters. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess
I tried clicking on the picture of the blond lady with the arrow, but it doesn’t open. Maybe I’m supposed to go to Twitter and hunt up the fellow who posted it?
DONE! Thanks Jessica for all the actions. Best antidote to the chaos and news.