Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/18

Breathe in strength. Breathe out fear. Repeat.

Hi, all, and happy Monday.

Hope you were able to get a bit of rest this weekend. I know many of us are still in the grieving process—that is totally normal and to be expected after such a huge shock. I threw my back out yesterday, so clearly my body is still not feeling great. Some are unable to think about politics at all without crying. Still others have moved into anger and motivation. Others are simply checking out. I understand all of it, and encourage everyone to follow their needs as they must.

For those of you who are ready to do some work, however, I have some for you. And it’s important! The House will vote on HR 9495 again this week—the so-called Stop Terror Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. For background on this bill you can read the ACLU’s press release about it. It was brought up on suspension last week but voted down—it needed two-thirds of the House to pass—but it is now being brought up under regular order so will only require a simple majority to pass. We will fight to ensure that it doesn’t get those votes, or that it only does so with the offending clause removed. Script is below.

We’re also going to keep pushing Senate Democrats to confirm judges, Senate Republicans to block recess appointments, and everyone in the Senate to pass a bill protecting press freedom. And we’ll urge President Biden to do everything in his power to protect abortion rights and our other freedoms before he leaves office.

I know it’s a lot. I know it also doesn’t feel like enough. But remember, we are going to take this one day at a time and we are going to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We will not win every fight—heck, we won’t even be able to fight every fight. We know Trump is going to “flood the zone with sh*t,” so it’s our job to pace ourselves, pick our battles wisely, and get used to losing many of the battles we choose. We have done this before and we have survived. We can do it again. The important thing is that occasionally we WILL win, and the rest of the time we will slow the bastards down. That matters.

It’s also going to be important to know when to step away. Mental health breaks will be paramount. Chop wood, carry water. Then go walk your dog, make a lovely meal, or hug your kids. THAT is how we’ll survive this.

Finally, I know lots of you are new here and have questions about calling your representatives. Some were answered in the comments on Friday, but I also wanted to make you aware of my CWCW FAQs document —it contains answers to many of your queries. Going forward I will keep it pinned to the top of the newsletter.

OK, my friends. Breathe in strength. Breathe out fear. We can do this.

Let’s get to work.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

Congress has two months to pass the most important press freedom legislation in modern history and I’m asking them to do so. The bill is called the Protect Reporters From Exploitative State Spying Act, or the PRESS Act. Its number is S. 2074. It would shield reporters from court-ordered disclosure of their sources of information, except in cases in which it’s necessary to prevent an act of violence. It’s already passed in the House—please pass it in the Senate so President Biden can sign it into law. Thanks.

[If Democrat add:] One more thing: Democrats need to pull out all the stops in confirming judges and agency heads while they still can. Leave it all on the field, please. We just did. Now it’s your turn to protect us.

[If Republican add:] One more thing: I am infuriated that Trump wants to use recess appointments to get his unqualified nominees through. I expect the Senator to oppose this. Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hesgeth, and RFK Jr. are incompetent, unqualified, and dangerous. They will destroy the agencies they’ve been nominated to lead. The Senate is required to give advice and consent—if you let these nominees through via recess appointment you will have abdicated that power. Don’t do it. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I want the Congressmember to oppose H.R. 9495, The Stop Terror Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. This bill would give the secretary of the Treasury the unilateral power to revoke a nonprofit's tax-exempt status and it would be abused by the Trump Administration. Alternatively, I know that Representatives Doggett and Beyer have submitted an amendment to the bill which strikes section 4 from it. This is the part I object to. So please ask the Congressmember to either vote no on the bill completely or insist that the House Rules committee adopt the Doggett Beyer amendment before s/he will support it. Thanks. [H/T and more info]

[Here's a list of the Dems who voted yes last time. If your MOC is on this list please be extra sure to call.]

Extra Credit ✅

Move On is circulating a petition asking President Biden to do everything in his power to protect American citizens before he leaves the Oval Office. Sign here. Democratic lawmakers are pushing him to do this as well—you can read about it here.

Get Smart! 📚

You’re invited to Swing Left’s 2024 Post Election National Strategy Update on 11/19 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. Come and hear more about their strategy for 2025 and 2026, including:

- Building state power in 2025 and 2026.

- Winning back the House with a strong Democratic majority in 2026.

This should be good—Swing Left is an excellent organization staffed by super knowledgable people. I’ll be there.

RSVP here.

A North Carolina Event with me!

Come to the All In For North Carolina Volunteer Appreciation event later today!! Monday, November 18, 4:00 PM ET

From them:

Join us for a time of celebration with the AINC community of volunteer canvassers, callers, and donors. Your outstanding efforts were critical to the successes of the state and local races. We’ll include a summary of down-ballot election results, including the important wins you helped make possible. 

Our special guest will be Chair Drew Kromer, Mecklenburg County Democratic Party, and Jessica Craven, author of Chop Wood, Carry Water. We will have two panels of volunteers who will talk about their experiences over the past 24 months. 

RSVP here.

Win Races! 🗳

We really need ballot cure volunteers for Derek Tran! He is now up by a tiny amount—we can win this seat but we need EVERY SINGLE VOTE.

Phonebank here.

Canvass here.

We also need ballot curing for Adam Gray! There are phonebanks three days a week for another week and a half. Sign up here.

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

[To: President Biden] [H/T subscriber Stacey] [Text SIGN PEUJVA to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages or MESSENGER]

I’m writing to urge you and your administration to do everything you can to protect the freedom to reproductive healthcare in the US before Trump takes office. For too long, your administration has left abortion vulnerable to extremist conservatives who want to take away our freedom and our right to our own lives and bodies. Now it is essential to do as much as possible.

1. Please pardon all abortion providers for past, present, and future abortion care. Prevent rogue prosecutions by the next AG (we know he’ll be rogue) and pardon anyone for abortion-related crimes in the Comstock Act. 

2. It’s time to remove Louis DeJoy from running the United States post office. Put someone in place who can be trusted to serve Americans. DeJoy has for too long put citizens’ rights to swift and sure and secure mail delivery at risk, and his USPS will ensure that abortion pills are more vulnerable. 

3. You MUST push through as many judicial nominees who will protect reproductive healthcare rights in the last two months of your administration. This is something your administration has done well in the past - keep it up; don’t stop now. Make sure that there are as many reproductive freedom-supporting justices confirmed as possible. 

4. Sign an executive order that restricts “personhood” status to people who are already born. Sign such an anti-fetal-personhood executive order to force Republicans and Trump to reverse it. It’s critical that we don’t let them just take away our rights quietly and secretly. We need to throw every obstacle in their way that we can. They will not hesitate to sneak away with our civil liberties in the dead of night if we let them.  

Protect our civil liberties and freedoms with every power you have before you lose it in January. If you don’t, women will keep dying at higher rates from preventable causes for generations to come. 

Thank you.

---

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

Talk soon.

Jess