Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/17 🪣

Hi, all,

I’m watching a presentation right now, so I’m going to be quick.

I’ll admit, I’m also reeling a bit from the loss of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker—in more ways than one. There’s a lot of disappointment and sadness—it’s hard enough losing the House, but to realize that we’re going to lose it by so few seats and lose the magnificent Speaker Pelosi in the process is painful indeed. I keep asking myself if I could have done more on our CA races—I’m sure many of you are asking yourselves the same question—especially if you live in CA or NY.

But, as my husband reminds me, I wasn’t sitting on a couch eating bonbons this year. None of us on this list were. We had fires burning everywhere. All of us were out there every day with buckets. We simply didn’t have the numbers to extinguish so many flames.

The good news is we saved a burning structure. Most of the rooms are intact. No lives were lost. We can not only stay in the building, but we can keep building it!

And we must.

I will admit, losing the House hurts, and it hurts badly. But we know how to keep going in the face of loss. We’ve done it innumerable times already. If anything, we’ve grown stronger out of such losses.

So, like a phoenix, we will rise out of these ashes one more time. We will find a way to make good of a bad situation.

And we will relentlessly focus on the shocking and plentiful wins we did have.

Remember, what we focus on grows.

So let’s focus on our many victories…and continue to work, undeterred, towards more.

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

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

[First either thank your Senator for voting for the Respect For Marriage Act yesterday if they did, or tell them how disappointed you are if they didn’t. Then say:]

I want to urge the Senate to pass S. 4573, the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 during the lame duck period. It has bipartisan support; it’s incredibly important. It needs to be passed. Thanks.

[If Democrat add:] I also feel it’s critical that Democrats use this time to try to pass legislation to end partisan gerrymandering. If we don’t do it now we may not have another chance. Please make this a top priority. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

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

I urge the Congressmember to support a year-end funding package that advances continuous and expanded Medicaid and CHIP eligibility and coverage, increases Medicaid funding to Puerto Rico and all the territories, and addresses the Black maternal health crisis. Funding for the CHIP program should also be made permanent. This is how we keep millions of people from losing their health coverage when the COVID emergency ends. It’s also how we care for our most underserved citizens. Thanks. [H/T]

Extra Credit ✅

Please personalize the below and send it to Starbucks via their webform (as a subject choose “corporate social responsibility” from the dropdown menu.) And seriously, y’all, please consider getting your coffee elsewhere until they fix these issues. [H/T]

In 2019, your company joined other big international companies in promising to cut global warming pollution from all its operations by 50% by 2030.

But it turns out your big climate promise is a lie: since promising to cut emissions, Starbucks has actually emitted MORE global warming pollution, year after year, every year, even when the pandemic forced you to close stores and reduce operations.

Starbucks is failing our planet and feeding us empty promises. You’re running out of time to turn your operations around in order to hit your promised goals. At the same time you’re breaking your promise on climate change, Starbucks has launched a massive union busting campaign, firing more than 125 union leaders across the country. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued 31 official complaints that include over 800 allegations of employer misconduct.

I demand Starbucks stop greenwashing and union-busting immediately. Until you do, I'll be buying my coffee elsewhere. Thanks.

Get Smart! 📚

This is last minute but should be great:

Join the Fair Fight team for a debrief on the election and a look ahead into the Georgia Runoff today. Thursday, November 17th at 4:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM CT / 1:00 PM PT

With Cianti Stewart-Reid, Executive Director, Zoe Chernicoff, Research and Policy Director, and Craig Walters, Director of Organizing.

Fair Fight is one of the preeminent grassroots orgs in Georgia. This briefing should be well worth the time.

To RSVP Click Here

Give 💰!

Whooo! Force Multiplier is holding a fundraiser for Rev. Warnock next Tuesday and they’ve got some exciting speakers: Senators Amy Klobuchar + Sherrod Brown!

Tuesday, November 22, 5:00-6:00pm ET on Zoom

REGISTER + DONATE

Suggested donation is $100 but literally give whatever you can to attend.

Win Georgia! 🗳

[Don’t forget, the whole “Help Us Win in GA” doc is here.]

Join Vote Riders for a letter-writing party into Georgia tonight, Thursday, November 17th at 7pm ET. Sign up below to take action!

Sign up here.

P.S.—Short on money for stamps? Vote Riders is offering 100 stamps and return address labels to the first 50 volunteers who pledge to write at least 100 letters to Georgia voters between now and their final send date of November 28! Write to volunteer@voteriders.org if interested!

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

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

I’m writing as your constituent to urge you to swiftly pass a pathway to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth nationwide. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' recent decision makes it clear that the only path forward is for Congress to follow through on its promise and deliver permanent protections for immigrant youth — this year.

Without a clear pathway to citizenship for immigrants who grew up in this country, our nation will face more economic uncertainty. Hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients are employed in essential jobs and ending the DACA program without permanent protections in place would cost the economy $433 billion over the next 10 years.

Across the country, DACA recipients pay $9.5 billion in local, state, and federal taxes every year. They also own over 68,000 homes, contributing $760 million in mortgage payments and $2.5 billion in rental payments annually.

Passing a pathway to citizenship is also politically popular. A recent poll by the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund shows that over 70% of voters in battleground states and across the political spectrum broadly support citizenship for immigrant youth.

DACA recipients are our neighbors, loved ones, community leaders, and essential workers in our communities. It’s past time for Congress to recognize immigrant youth for the important role they play in our country.

You and other members of Congress have the power and ability to do what is right for immigrant youth and our country. I urge you to prioritize a pathway to citizenship in this year’s legislative session. Thanks.

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

Talk tomorrow.

Jess