Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/22

Hi, all, and happy Friday!

We had a win yesterday, and we had a loss. Each contains possibilities.

First, the win: Matt Gaetz, facing a second allegation of assault against a minor, dropped his bid to be the Attorney General. This is a big deal.

Remember last week I was talking about how the Trump Administration is, at the moment, “testing the fences” just like the velociraptors did in Jurassic Park? Well, one fence, at least, has held, and we should celebrate it. Team Trump got huge pushback on Gaetz, the Ethics Committee received huge pressure—including from many of you—to release their report about him, and Democrats in the Senate were working to see the FBI report about him. The combination proved fatal to his nomination. GOOD!

I really can’t overstate what a big deal this is, folks. A lot of us feared that there would be no pushback, no guardrails, and absolutely no concern from the incoming administration about public blowback. While I still think this is true to a great extent, we have found they they are still vulnerable to public opinion at least to some extent. We now know that in some cases they will back down. To me, at least, this win was a real shot in the arm. Dan Pfeiffer felt the same; you can read his piece about it here.

This doesn’t mean, of course, that we’ll succeed in every fight, or even in most of them. We almost definitely won’t. But a win this big this early on is a morale booster, an embarrassment to Trump, and a righteous victory. I’ll take it on all three counts.

Will Gaetz now slink away and disappear from public “service?” Doubtful. He’s said he won’t return to Congress; my guess is he’ll run for Governor of Florida (insert vomit emoji here) since DeSantis will be terming out. We’ll keep pushing for the release of the Ethics Committee report regardless. He deserves to be exposed for his crimes. Maybe if we stay loud he will.

Now for the loss: the House did vote to pass HR 9495 yesterday. The good news is that we were able to turn most of the Democrats who supported it last time into opponents this time. Last week 52 of them voted yes. This time 15 did (they are listed in the “Call Your House Rep” section below). This, too, is a really big deal! Lawmakers don’t switch their votes easily—the fact that 37 did within a week of their last vote is a testament to all of you.

And make no mistake: our advocacy has put the future of this legislation in serious doubt. It passed the House this time, but it’s become toxic. As Kia Hamadanchy, Senior Policy Counsel for the ACLU, wrote after the floor vote:

Offices definitely felt the pressure and while we lost the vote I think we’ve won the larger battle in that this is now seen as partisan/controversial enough that it’s not going to be very easy to move in the Senate before the end of the year.

We will immediately start letting our Senators know that they can’t support this legislation. Chuck Schumer has already said he won’t introduce it this session, but we’ll need to make sure it doesn’t get snuck into other “must-pass” packages. Scripts below!

Finally, here’s a short video from Field Team Six founder Jason Berlin thanking you for the gift you gave him. Look how happy you made this man!

OK, all. Lots to do, and the weekend is nearly upon us. Let’s get to work.

P.S. — I will be traveling all week next week, so newsletters may be few and far between. Ideally I’ll have one to you on Monday and Tuesday at least, but may then be MIA until Sunday, when I will send out an “Extra! Extra!” I hope you’ll all appreciate the down time!

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

I know HR 9495 passed in the House yesterday, and I’m very disappointed about it. I’m hearing that Senator Schumer won’t bring it up in the Senate this session, which I’m glad about, but I worry it could get put into a must-pass bill before the end of the year. I oppose this bill strongly—it would give Donald Trump unlimited power to shut down nonprofits he doesn’t like—and I want the Senator to vocally oppose it. Please ask him/her to make a statement saying that s/he will vote against any package that contains it this session, and that they will be a staunch opponent going forward. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

First, I urge the Congressmember to keep pushing the House Ethics Committee to release the full results of their investigation into former representative Matt Gaetz. The allegations against him go to the heart of his fitness for any role in public service. Even though Gaetz has dropped out as a nominee for Attorney General, we still deserve transparency and accountability.

Second, may I ask how the Congressmember voted on HR 9495 yesterday?

[If they supported it, as did all Republicans and the 15 Dems listed below:] I find that incredibly disappointing. This bill would give Donald Trump unlimited power to gut nonprofits he disagrees with. The Congressmember is obviously not interested in fighting totalitarianism. I will remember it on Election Day.

[If they opposed—especially if they were a flip (see list below):] Please sincerely thank the Congressmember for me. I appreciate their standing up to Donald Trump’s authoritarian impulses and want them to keep doing so. We’ve got their back. Thanks.

Get Smart! 📚

Interested in abortion rights?

Join Shout Your Abortion Executive Director Amelia Bonow and Organizing Director Jex Blackmore in a special session of Abortion Academy. Building strong, resilient networks with the people around us is the best way we have to prepare for the difficult times ahead. Amelia and Jex will talk about the connection between abortion access and forging strong communities, and offer some concrete suggestions for how to build yours. Please join them and come prepared with your questions for these two seasoned activists.

REGISTER

Read This! 📖

This column about Trump’s mass deportation plan by Maribel Hastings from America’s Voice is worth a read. It ran in several Spanish-language media outlets earlier this week. It gives you a good sense of the history, the potential for what’s coming, and the folks who are planning to execute it. None of it is pleasant to contemplate, but all of it must be understood in order for us to be prepared.

Give 💰 and Win Races! 🗳

There's a runoff election for a seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court on Tuesday, Nov. 26th!  Rural Ground Game is raising funds to text voters to inform them of this important election and to ensure they vote for incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens.

Justice Kitchens has the endorsement from the Southern Poverty Law Center and will be a voice on the court that speaks for everyday Mississippians, not big corporations. His opponent, State Senator Jenifer Branning, has no judicial experience, supports the state’s abortion ban, and voted against expanding Medicaid.

Your donations will pay for technical costs only. Please give and say NO to MAGA.  

Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥

Join me and Climate Action Now on Wednesday, December 4 at 7 pm ET for a We’re Still In Action Party! You'll learn from one of the most proactive climate advocates in the New York State Assembly; an Environmental Project Specialist from Juneau, Alaska where climate challenges are already looming large; the manager of the popular Climate XChange State Climate Policy dashboard; and an Olympian who advocates for local leaders to build great places to ride bikes. Throughout the event, you’ll be able to send helpful resources and ideas about innovative approaches to your own local and state legislators using the Climate Action Now app.

Register here.

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

[To: your Senators] [H/T Moms Clean Air Force] [Text SIGN PQKFAM to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / MESSENGER]

As someone concerned about climate and air pollution, I’m asking you to pursue tough questions during the nomination hearing of Lee Zeldin to head the EPA. I realize this nomination will not be considered until the new Congress returns on January 3, but it is too important not to start talking about now.

We all depend on the EPA to protect our air and water from pollution. I worry that Lee Zeldin would be a gift to the extremely powerful chemical and fossil fuel industries. His nomination comes at a crucial time, as the plastics and petrochemical industries are preparing an onslaught to shortcut the process of getting chemicals onto the market—and we already are awash in toxic, cancer-causing, and hormone-disrupting chemicals.

Lee Zeldin’s record of voting against critical environmental protections—and his stated goal of launching a deregulatory spree—makes clear he would be quick to support corporate polluters.

This nomination is not a matter of Republicans versus Democrats. It is a matter of caring about human health and safety, protecting all that we love and hold dear. The nomination of Zeldin is profoundly alarming.

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

Talk soon.

Jess