Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/14

Never give in.

Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to the convictions of honor and good sense.

—Winston Churchill

Hi, all, and happy Thursday.

Nice to see some of you on the NOPE call yesterday. I enjoyed it a good deal—it was another reminder of how important it is to be in communities of likeminded people right now. I think we all felt better for the hour together.

The call contained several parts, but my favorite was when one of NOPE’s leaders did a short presentation on the races we won this cycle. It turns out that, while we got beaten in a lot of places we tried desperately hard to win, we also won some significant victories.

Here are some of them:

In Wisconsin turnout was up by 1.3%. Trump won by his smallest margin there—proof that good organizing makes a difference. We re-elected Tammy Baldwin, which was far from a foregone conclusion, and flipped 14 seats in the WI statehouse. FOURTEEN! Four in the Senate and ten in the Assembly. This is a big deal—we broke the supermajority in the state!

In North Carolina Democrats won Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General! Jeff Jackson is a particular favorite of mine, so this last bit is particularly welcome news. Mo Green also won Superintendent of Public Schools, another tremendously important victory. I met Green when I was in Charlotte. He’s a great guy, hugely qualified, and was running against a bonkers MAGA homeschooler. Public schools will be in excellent hands—and safe from extremism—with him and not Michelle Morrow in that seat.

We also broke the supermajority in the NC statehouse, which may sound trifling, but it isn’t. It means Republicans there can’t pass any more awful bills, like abortion bans or anti-LGBTQ legislation! Stein can and will veto them and Republican lawmakers won’t be able to override that veto. It’s huge—and makes me feel like my trip to Charlotte wasn’t a total waste of time.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats retained their majority in the statehouse. In a state where we otherwise saw a lot of disappointing losses this is a real bright spot.

There’s more. We won our U.S. Senate races in 4 out of 5 battleground states. Once again, our work in these states, while inadequate to win the presidency, made our losses in the Senate far fewer than they could have been. This is going to help us in all kinds of ways going forward, and make it slightly easier to flip the chamber back in 2026.

But there’s more! We got two new female Black Senators! In Delaware, Lisa Blunt Rochester won her race, and in Maryland Angela Alsobrooks did as well. Amazing!

We also had important state Supreme Court wins in Kentucky and Michigan.

Seven out of ten states passed measures adding abortion rights to their state constitutions. Although these will do no good if Trump’s DOJ decides to enforce the Comstock Act, I’ll still take this as a win.

There’s more: over four hundred LGBTQ candidates won in 40 states — 12 got sent to congress, 37 to state legislatures, 12 to courts. And Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride will become the first openly transgender person to serve in Congress. HUGE.

Andy Kim became the first Korean American elected to the U.S. Senate. I’ve also met him; he’s a delight. The Senate will be a better place for his presence.

There was even a tiny bit of good news out of Arizona. One of you wrote to tell me that the “normies” maintained control of the Chandler, AZ Unified School District governing board, winning 2 of 3 open seats. I believe some of us may have written postcards for these races! Great news!

There’s likely much more. But even these are some significant wins. Please take a moment to celebrate them. We worked hard. It mattered. And again, thanks to the folks at NOPE for pulling that information together.

One last thing: if you weren’t able to attend, I encourage you to watch the Indivisible “Worth Fighting For” call from last night. Elizabeth Warren spoke on it, and co-founders Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg did a superb presentation on how we’re going to push back on and ultimately defeat the MAGA agenda. They also introduced their new guide, which can help us all navigate this next chapter. I highly recommend taking a look.

OK, all. I’m back to it. If you are, too, I’ve got some actions for you. If you’re not that’s totally OK. Mental health is going to be paramount as we enter this new and difficult era. Take breaks. Rest. Restore. Get massages if you can afford it—I’m getting one this weekend. Sometimes self-care is resistance, and this is one of those times.

And take it one day at a time, OK? If we start to think about where we’re going to be in a year we’ll lose our minds. Please try to stay in the 24 hours you’re in, remember to breathe, and know that if we keep it simple and take the next right action—chop wood and carry water—we’ll survive this and live to see better days.

With that, let’s get to work.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

I’m calling in strong opposition to Matt Gaetz’s confirmation as Attorney General. Gaetz has zero qualifications for being the highest law enforcement official in the land. He has never been a government attorney. He has never been a judge. He is also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee in connection with a sex-trafficking scandal and their report, which needs to be released, is apparently damning. This would be a joke if it weren’t so serious. I expect the Senator to vote no. Will s/he? [H/T]

[If your Senator is a Democrat add:]

Also, Democrats need to confirm every single judge they can in the next 67 days before Trump is sworn in. We have lots of vacancies and they need to be filled now. This is urgent. Everything else needs to take second place. Will the Democrats use every single minute to confirm judges and also get any agency appointments done that they can? Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I’m calling to demand that the Congressmember push the House Ethics Committee to release its report on Matt Gaetz. Trump has nominated Gaetz to be the highest law enforcement officer in the country. If he himself is a sex trafficker and/or statutory rapist we need to know it. If the Congressmember cares about the rule of law s/he will make this a top priority. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Let’s take

Rogan's List

’s suggestion and call Democratic members of the House Ethics Committee to urge them to ensure the public sees whatever damning information they have found about Matt Gaetz before any confirmation vote, whether by reading the report into the Congressional Record or leaking it to the press. We can reach them here:

• Rep. Susan Wild (PA, Ranking Member) - 202-225-6411

• Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA) - 202-225-2095

• Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX) - 202-225-4831

• Rep. Glenn Ivey (MD) - 202-225-8699

• Rep. Deborah Ross (NC) - 202-225-3032

A possible script:

I’m calling the Congressmember in his/her capacity as member of the House Ethics Committee. I want him/her to ensure that the public sees whatever damning information the committee has found about Matt Gaetz before any confirmation vote. Either read the report into the Congressional Record or leak it to the press. This is information Americans—and Senators preparing to vote—must have. Thanks.

Win Races! 🗳

A reader wrote yesterday that some voters in unresolved races whose ballots need curing are reachable by postcard through Postcards To Voters. To write making sure they have the right phone number to call and know to call it, contact requests@abbyaddresses.org.

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

[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN POQAEM to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / MESSENGER]

As your constituent, I am urging you to pass a comprehensive disaster relief package that includes funding for essential nutrition and housing programs to ensure that federal disaster recovery resources reach all impacted households, including those with the lowest incomes who are often the hardest-hit by disasters and have the fewest resources to recover afterwards.

I urge Congress to provide $30 million in emergency funding for WIC to support state agencies recovering from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, ensuring WIC participants in impacted states can continue to receive service and benefits without disruption or delay. Amidst the challenges arising from these disasters, state and local WIC agencies have continued to serve families and certify new participants, due in large part to waiver flexibilities allowing participants to be certified by phone or video appointment. I hope Congress will make these flexibilities permanent in any year-end legislative package to ensure all future WIC participants can benefit from a more modern service delivery, better meeting the needs of busy families.

In addition, many food banks are struggling to meet the additional needs while some of their facilities were destroyed during recent disasters. I join others in calling for Congress to provide an additional $245 million in supplemental TEFAP foods to meet both the immediate and long-term needs in areas impacted by natural disasters. This funding will help ensure that local emergency feeding organizations can supply food without disruption.

In addition, Congress should permanently authorize the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) to provide grants that help rebuild affordable housing and critical infrastructure to ensure an efficient and equitable recovery process so that our most vulnerable communities aren’t left out.

As the climate crisis grows more and more dire, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and stronger, and the need for increased funding becomes more necessary. It is critical that federal disaster recovery efforts reach all impacted households, including the lowest income seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and other at-risk populations who are often the hardest-hit by disasters and have the fewest resources to recover afterwards.

I am urging you to prioritize programs that reach people with the lowest incomes by passing comprehensive disaster relief legislation now.

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

Talk soon.

Jess