Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/20
Work the program, not the problem.
Hi, all, and happy Monday,
I’ll be putting out fairly short newsletters today and tomorrow, then taking the rest of the week off. I am, to use a nontechnical term, fried. This weekend’s California Democratic Party convention, in case you hadn’t heard, devolved into chaos. I left when it felt like it was spiraling out of control and got an early flight home, but I won’t lie—I was rattled by it. I see most things through the filter of elections, of course, and I’m deeply worried by the division I witnessed there.
What’s the solution? I’m not entirely sure, but I know what my approach will be, since it’s the same approach I’ve always taken, and it’s one that’s never let me down. It’s “working the program, not the problem.”
What does that mean? Simply that instead of tackling an overwhelming, thorny, seemingly intractable and gargantuan dilemma, I’ll stick to taking small, simple actions that I know have been effective in the past.
That means: I’ll work to educate. I’ll work to register voters. I’ll work to spread calm. I’ll work to amplify the truth. I’ll work to unify. I’ll work to push my lawmakers towards good policy.
And, most of all, I’ll work to win elections. I hope you’ll join me.
I absolutely refuse to be part of the acrimony, the division, the all-or-nothing thinking, the antisemitism, the Islamaphobia, the hate—any of it. Again, I hope you feel the same. I suspect you do, or you wouldn’t be here. Thank you for that.
Folks, I am positive that we can succeed in beating fascism, but ONLY if we keep widening—not shrinking—our circle. We’re all in this together, like it or not. So let’s keep seeking common ground, keep leading with love, and keep remembering both our common purpose and our common humanity. In that way—and in only that way—can we win.
Sending so much love.
Get Smart! 📚
Over the past several months, Vote Forward has been finishing their analysis of their 2022 letter writing campaigns, and now they’re ready to share the results with you!
Join Vote Forward’s executive director, Yasmin Radjy, for a Zoom call on Monday, November 30, to learn more about their 2022 data!
Spread the Word! 📣
The labor movement is pushing out pro-union messaging today! This is the biggest year for unions in FOUR DECADES. Please jump in and help. The hashtag is #SolidaritySeason. DemCast has created a toolkit to make it easy for you!
Give 💰!
Blue Tent, an amazing organization that helps progressives figure out where best to give their money, has a new project — People’s House — which offers donors a way to give for voter engagement work in competitive House districts. The premise here is simple: To build a reliable majority in the House, we need to invest in infrastructure in places that donors have overlooked — like Long Island, Omaha, rural Colorado, and California’s Central Valley.
They’ve identified an excellent option for donors to help flip NJ-7 next year — and hold it going forward: Action Together New Jersey.
ATNJ is a grassroots organizing group that works year-round to educate, engage, and empower voters in New Jersey. It has a long history of working in NJ-7 and a strong plan to help defeat the GOP incumbent there. ATNJ’s activities include recruiting volunteers to register voters; helping people vote by mail; running targeted ads to promote Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill to unaffiliated voters; and running phone and texting banks for GOTV. You can give here.
Win Races! 🗳
From Markers For Democracy:
CANDIDATE THANK YOU POSTCARD PROGRAM
As our friend, David Pepper, reminds us, "Running for office IS public service. Especially so when lack of accountability & competition is fueling extremism all over."
Running in an election is hard work and especially difficult if you don't win your race. Join us in thanking the candidates who had a tough Election Day for their effort, commitment & public service. These candidates presented voters with a choice, lifted turnout, and informed debate. Especially where the race was not close, these candidates stepped up, brought accountability, and waged a battle that needed to be waged and that few people are willing to take on.
Let's recognize this particularly patriotic & essential form of public service by thanking candidates for their service by sending them heartfelt handwritten thank you postcards.
Request thank you note template(s) & addresses HERE.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[Text SIGN PQANRY to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
I understand that members of the House have introduced a piece of bipartisan legislation that would improve the tracking capabilities for mail-in ballot envelopes.
The Vote By Mail Tracking Act—HR 5658—is an administrative bill that would require envelopes to contain a U.S. Postal Service barcode that will enable the tracking of each ballot, satisfy the Postal Service requirements for ballot envelope design and machinable letters and include the Official Election Mail logo. The bill does not require states to adopt any additional mail-in ballot practices outside of the scope of the envelope itself. This should be a no-brainer, regardless of party. Will the Representative co-sponsor it?
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
You are a heroine. And completely right about not giving in to division.
When I was learning to be a line cook, a chef gave me the great advice that "when the tickets keep coming in, keep cooking." Winston Churchill, a little pithier, said "When you're going through hell, keep going." Being the motivator and instigator that you are, lack of immediate progress/gratification can be the most frustrating experience in life but be reassured that you have our support, and we will, in the end, succeed, even contra the disrupters among our own allies.