Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/1 🥰

Nov 01, 2022

Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!

I know these newsletters are rather jam-packed these days. Sorry about that. There are just so many ways to get involved right now, and every one of them matters so much. Please don’t think for a second that I expect any of you to do all of the below. What I’m offering, rather, is a buffet, if you will, of ways to help us win next week. No one can do them all.

But everyone can do one or two of them.

And if we all do, we will win. It’s as simple as that.

Again and again I keep hearing the phrase “these races are all within the margin of effort.” And again and again I keep thinking: “If that is the criteria, we’re going to be OK.”

Because I know how hard you’re working. Thanks for that.

Now let’s go do it one more time.

P.S. You will have gotten an email from me about a new feature Substack just rolled out—a chat feature that works through the app. It seems like it could be a fun way for us to stay in touch during the day, so I’ve started my first chat for paid subscribers. If you fall into that category enjoy and by all means chime in!

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.

I understand President Biden just threatened to seek a new windfall profits tax on major oil and gas companies unless they ramp up production to curb the price of gasoline at the pump. I strongly support this. I know Senator Whitehouse has already introduced such a bill— it’s S.3802 the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act. Is the Senator a co-sponsor? [If yes, thank. If no add] I’d like him/her to sign on right away. We need to use every tool at our disposal to hold oil companies accountable for the massive profits they're making off of the backs of regular Americans. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.

I understand President Biden just threatened to seek a new windfall profits tax on major oil and gas companies unless they ramp up production to curb the price of gasoline at the pump. I strongly support this. I know Rep. Khanna has already introduced such a bill— it’s HR 7061, the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act. Is the Congressmember yet a co-sponsor? [If yes, thank. If no add] I’d like him/her to sign on right away. We need to use every tool at our disposal to hold oil companies accountable for the massive profits they're making off of the backs of regular Americans. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Send this to President Biden via his webform (if you’d like to personalize) or by texting SIGN PVYLMD to 50409 (if you would not.)

I’m aware that the Save the Post Office Coalition, a network of over 300 public interest groups, just called on you to nominate Rep. Brenda Lawrence and Sarah Anderson to the USPS Board of Governors. I am writing in strong support of this idea.
Congresswoman Lawrence and Ms. Anderson are public servants who would bring needed perspectives and expertise to the USPS Board of Governors, at a time when the nation is looking to the board to start asking the tough questions of Louis DeJoy.
The Board as presently constituted has failed to hold Louis DeJoy accountable as he has implemented chaotic delivery directives and advanced his 10-year plan. Adding two new public interest-minded postal board members who are more representative of the postal workforce and the nation at this crucial juncture is an essential step to removing DeJoy and defending what has long been our most respected public institution.
You have the power to name two progressives to the postal board. Given the current party affiliations of the Postal Board, you are not statutorily prevented from selecting two Democratic nominees to replace Donald Moak and William Zollars. In light of mounting obstructionism from the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee’s Republican membership in refusing to confirm even moderate Democratic nominees to federal posts, and the urgency of saving the Post Office, these nominees are a compelling case for a potential tie-breaking vote from the Vice President in the evenly divided Senate. The rare freedom the bylaws of the board grant President Biden to choose nominees without partisan constraints should not be taken for granted.
USPS and the nation need governors who understand that the USPS has always been and should remain a cherished public service. The postal board urgently needs a majority of governors who will push the USPS to look at its long-term financial health, invest in its workforce, and build a union-built electric postal fleet that will be better for the planet, for mail carriers, and for frontline communities. Thanks.

Get Smart! 📚

Please join Indivisible Marin via Zoom on Thursday, 11/3, from 2:30 - 3:30 PM PT / 5:30 - 6:30 ET for "Midterms '22: The State of Play and How You Can Help." They will present the latest information on polls, ballot returns, and enthusiasm data for the battleground Senate and House races that we need to win to maintain our trifecta. They will also discuss what to expect on election night and when various races may be called.

SIGN UP HERE.

Get Social!

Demcast has created a new toolkit JUST for amplifying races in Nevada, New Hampshire, and North Carolina. Go here, pick your favorite social media platform, and AMPLIFY away! Believe it or not this is having a huge impact so let’s keep at it!

Spread the Message!

Post this new ad on your social, please. THIS is the messaging we need.

Use a caption like this:

Powerful story of this moment - must watch! Vote until Nov. 8 to #ProtectOurFreedoms

Twitter link to share can be found here. Also Facebook link, Instagram link, YouTube link.

Win Races—Vote Triple! 🗳

If you live in AZ, CA, FL, GA, MI, NC, NV, OH, TX and WI—Join Vote Rev Action Fund’s high traffic on-the-spot vote tripling program, the latest in site-based relational turnout programs! This high-impact tactic is easy to execute: no experience is necessary, and you can volunteer in your own community.

Win Races—Call North Carolina!

📲 Volunteer for Carolina Federation’s PHONE BANK. Especially good for beginners because they have both staffers and volunteers who orient and train new folks.

📲 Volunteer for Down Home North Carolina’s Deep Canvassing Phone Banks. “All you need to bring is an open heart and an open mind.

📲 Come call into NC with Sister District today, from 2-4 PT / 5-7 ET. I’ll be there for the first hour. Register here.

📲 Come call into NC for Wiley Nickel today from 3-5 PT / 6-8 ET. I’ll be there! Register here.

Win Races—Call Low-Propensity Enviro Voters!

The Environmental Voter Project is looking to fill a whopping 4,435 2hr volunteer slots for their phonebanks over the final 5 days of the election (Friday - Tuesday). Every session starts with a training, and you'll be given scripts that have been proven to increase turnout in prior phonebanking campaigns.

The greatest thing about these calls—I’ve been doing a lot of them—is that you don’t talk about candidates. You ONLY ask voters about their voting plan—will they be voting by mail, in person early, or day of. Because it’s non-partisan it stays very pleasant.

Also, they know these calls are working!

Win Races—Knock on Your Neighbors’ Doors!

From Michele at Small Deeds Done:

It’s GOTV time! We all know that it’s easier to turn out folks you know. So I’m finding the Neighbor-to-Neighbor project from Indivisible pretty interesting. In a nutshell, you sign up at this link: https://indivisibleproject.formstack.com/forms/neighbor_to_neighbor
Then, Indivisible will send you a list of up to 5 likely progressives near you, a short script, best practices, and an optional printout to leave if they aren’t home. Then? You just knock on your five neighbors’ doors and remind them to vote.
It’s a simple way to make sure we’re getting every last voter to the polls. A note that this is only available in some states (AK, AZ, CA, CO, GA, MI, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OR, PA, TX, WA, and WI.). Hopefully there will be good results from this cycle and we’ll see an expanded program next election.

I just signed up. If you live in one of the targeted states, will you? (OOH I just got my list! Plus a cool printout I can write a note on and leave at their doors if they’re not home! AWESOME!)

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

[to all 3 reps] [H/T] [Quick send text SIGN PLMMIQ to 50409]

I am writing as your constituent to urge you to take swift action to expand and protect access to abortion for everyone in this country — including immigrants.

Since the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, several states have banned most abortions. On top of new restrictive state laws, immigrant communities face specific and significant barriers to making decisions about their health care. These include being denied health insurance, the risk of Border Patrol checkpoints when traveling to seek care, a lack of access to resources in preferred languages, and more.

I am urging you to support three critical bills to protect and expand abortion access:

-The HEAL for Immigrant Families Act (H.R. 3149 and S. 1660) to remove xenophobic barriers to health insurance programs so everyone can get the coverage they need and deserve — regardless of immigration status.

-The Women’s Health Protection Act (H.R. 8296 and S. 1975) to create a statutory right for doctors to provide, and people to receive abortion care, free from medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion care. 

-The EACH Act (H.R. 2234 and S. 1021) to end the ban on federal health programs covering abortion care and stop politicians from interfering with someone’s decision to receive abortion care based on how much they earn or how they are insured.

These pieces of legislation are critical to restoring and protecting the right of all people in the United States to make the health decisions that they feel are best for them. Keeping abortion safe and legal for everyone must include immigrant and undocumented communities. Thanks.

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

Talk tomorrow.

Jess

Chop Wood, Carry Water