Chop Wood, Carry Water 10/3 ☕️
Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!
This newsletter is especially late today as I’ve gotten sucked in to watching the House floor vote—right now we are waiting to see if a motion to table gets approved, in which case Kevin McCarthy will live to fight another day. (It failed, 208 to 218. That tees an up-or-down vote to remove McCarthy.)
While the drama is (mildly) enjoyable, it’s important to remember that this is not what our government is meant to be spending its time on. These internecine battles between hard-right factions are not just distracting—they’re taking valuable time and resources away from the many, many pressing issues that only Congress can address. There isn’t room to list them all here; you’re as aware of them as I am. Suffice it to say that the time available to address them becomes far more limited when so many hours are being devoted to theatrics like this. We should make sure to tell our Republican lawmakers as much when we call them.
And call them we should, to keep pressing them on Ukraine funding and more.
On that note, I received a fairly passionate comment from a reader yesterday, demanding to know if I had “completely inhaled the propaganda of Biden” in supporting more funding to Ukraine.
I want to post my response here, as it matters a great deal.
Y’all, it is imperative that we stand with Ukraine in their battle against Russian aggression for a few reasons:
First, aiding Ukraine weakens Putin, which weakens Trump and his MAGA cronies. This is critically important to our interests.
Second, we are allies to Ukraine. This means something; it’s not just words. It means staying steadfast even when the chips are down. We are also allied to the larger cause of democracy, which is, at present, under extraordinary threat. If we walk away it’s entirely possible the whole edifice crumbles.
But finally, and perhaps most importantly, helping Ukraine now directly affects the lives of Americans. If Ukraine falls, Putin will continue west to retake former Soviet satellites which are now our NATO partners. That will inevitably drag our servicemembers into a grueling conflict in Europe, because of our commitment to NATO. (NATO countries rushed to our defense on 9/11 and committed troops to Afghanistan. If Putin attacks them, we would defend them.)
So, neglecting Ukraine isn't merely a breach of trust with our allies; it directly jeopardizes the American troops who would bear the tragic cost of such a conflict.
The war to save democracy has many fronts, y’all. Ukraine is one of them. Our fight against Trump and MAGA is another. Lose one, and we’re far more likely to lose the other.
This can’t happen, and it won’t. Not if we have anything to do with it.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m calling to ask that Congress immediately pass a standalone bill to give Ukraine the funding it needs. The fight against Russian aggression is one all Americans should be behind. It’s a fight between democracy and authoritarianism, and we must stand on the right side of it. More importantly, it is our servicemembers who will be called to fight if Vladimir Putin defeats Ukraine and continues West to attack our NATO allies. Let’s not be “pennywise but pound foolish.” We MUST support Ukraine now, wholeheartedly, lest we all get dragged in to a larger war later.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m calling to ask that Congress immediately pass a standalone bill to give Ukraine the funding it needs. The fight against Russian aggression is one all Americans should be behind. It’s a fight between democracy and authoritarianism, and we must stand on the right side of it. More importantly, it is our servicemembers who will be called to fight if Vladimir Putin defeats Ukraine and continues West to attack our NATO allies. Let’s not be “pennywise but pound foolish.” We MUST support Ukraine now, wholeheartedly, lest we all get dragged in to a larger war later.
Extra Credit ✅
Waffle House workers have launched a set of powerful demands to improve their situation, which is pretty unfortunate:
Safety at work.
An end to unfair paycheck deductions.
(Waffle House has a mandatory meal deduction policy, even if its workers don’t eat!)A fair wage from their employer.
Let’s sign this petition to Waffle House demanding they give in to their workers’ demands.
Get Smart! 📚
Virginia Briefing and Call to Action tonight at 7pm ET!
The wonderful
and Network NOVA are hosting a deep dive tonight on the all-important Virginia elections with Delegate Dan Helmer and others. It’ll be great! 4PM PT / 7 PM ET. Go if you can, you won’t be sorry!Spread the Word! 📣
New Navigator polling tells us that a plurality of American voters oppose the impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Please check it out, share it, and use the messaging they recommend to talk about the impeachment.
An example:
The most convincing statements in opposition to the impeachment inquiry center on Republicans not focusing enough on actual issues affecting everyday Americans. 62 percent of Americans find it convincing that “Republicans in Congress are focusing too much on issues like impeaching President Biden and not enough on issues that impact everyday Americans, like inflation,” including 54 percent of independents.
Win Races! 🗳
I’ve signed up to make calls into Virginia with the Center for Common Ground today (before I hop over to the phonebank I’m running for the Grassroots Dems.) Are you free to join me? The phonebank runs from 3-5 PM PT / 6-8 PM ET. Use this link to sign up.
You could also join me at my second Virginia phonebank of the day at 4PM PT / 7PM ET. I’ll be doing the training! Sign up here.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[to all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PALQEH to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
I am a concerned constituent and I urge you to strongly oppose any pesticide preemption language in the upcoming Farm Bill. This language is a direct attack on the ability of local governments to act and protect their communities and the people who live there.
Pesticide preemption in the Farm Bill would prohibit local governments from adopting pesticide laws that are more protective than federal rules. Passing a bill with this language would overturn legal precedent and is in opposition to rulings of the Supreme Court (Wisconsin Public Intervenor vs Mortier) that support the right of communities to adopt pesticide regulations tailored to their needs.
There are almost 200 different communities across the country that have passed policies to restrict the use of a wide range of pesticides. These laws reflect the specific needs, circumstances and conditions of each location and reflect the concerns of the constituents who live there. Some areas have unique ecological conditions that require prudent measures beyond the minimums set by FIFRA and enforced by the states. Others responsibly place restrictions on the use of hazardous pesticides near playgrounds and public spaces where the most vulnerable of our population might be exposed and harmed.
Federal pesticide preemption language in the Farm Bill would undermine the important role of local government in our country. Their connection to the needs of the people and their relatively small size provides a mechanism for government to quickly respond to emerging health hazards or damage to the local environment and resources. In contrast, federal protections in response to these threats can take years, or decades, to realize.
Thank you for standing up and protecting our right to see to the safety of our local communities by strongly opposing any pesticide preemption language in the upcoming Farm Bill.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
For those who are on the fence about Ukraine find Timothy Snyder (scholar and professor at Yale who when TFG was elected produced a best seller called On Tyranny) who posted an episode on Substack called Thanking Ukrainians. Very convincing 10 points on why we should be thanking Ukraine.
Regarding aide to Ukraine- Ukraine used to be the third-largest nuclear power in the world. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, thousands of nuclear arms were left on Ukranian soil. Ukraine made the decision to completely denuclearize in a 1994 agreement known as the Budapest Memorandum. In exchange, the US, the UK and Russia guaranteed Ukraine's security. The signatories of the memorandum pledged to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and inviolability of its borders, and to refrain from the use or threat of military force. Russia breached these commitments with its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and it's invasion into eastern Ukraine. So, one of the many reasons to support Ukraine is because we told them we would when negotiating the Budapest Memorandum.