Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/25

Hi, all, and happy Monday,

It’s the beginning of a holiday week; I hope many of you are already taking a break and resting your bodies and spirits. If you’re not, however—and/or if you’re ready to do a bit of work before you go shopping for your corn casserole ingredients—I’ve got a few super important actions for you to take.

Why? Well, among other things, Leader Schumer is weighing making a terrible deal with Republicans: in order to smooth the way for other judicial nominees he’s considering sacrificing four appeals court vacancies and letting the Trump administration fill them. It’s a bad move, and we’re going to spend some time today trying to stop it.

Fighting our own lawmakers is frustrating, but remember, we’re going to be faced with a lot of frustrations in the months and years ahead. We can’t let every one of them enrage us. Our job is to stay calm, remain firm, and push “the good guys” as hard as we can to fight back against the bad ones. Sometimes those good guys won’t want to—there are many so-called institutionalists on our side who are, essentially, stuck in the past. They cling to a time when compromise and bipartisanship were things both real and worth pursuing. It’s our job to remind them that we no longer live in such times; they need to start acting accordingly.

So we’re going to make our voices heard with our Democratic Senators and Majority Leader Schumer.

We’re also going to keep pushing for the passage of the PRESS Act. Because a free press is vital to a functioning democracy.

Oh, and we’re ALSO going to keep reminding our Republican Senators that they cannot—absolutely can NOT—allow Trump his recess appointments.

Other than all of that we’ll take the day off!

Thanks for all of your hard work. And seriously, if you need a good casserole for your Thanksgiving meal the one I linked to above is REALLY good.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

[to Dem Senators]

I’ve just learned that Chuck Schumer is considering making a deal with Republicans that would abandon 4 US appeals court nominees in order to smooth the process of confirming district court nominees. This is devastating, as it would give these critical vacancies to Trump. We can’t leave any pending judicial nominees behind at the end of this Congress, and this must include confirming the Circuit Court nominees, all of whom are incredible, especially Adeel Mangi. Democrats’ caving on this would set a terrible precedent for the fights ahead. Absolutely do not let Leader Schumer do this. Thanks.

[To GOP Senators]

I’m calling to ask the Senator to oppose recess confirmations for any of Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees. The Senate is supposed to provide advice and consent on nominees. That was the founders’ intent. Especially in the case of the most wildly unqualified nominees like Pete Hegseth, RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and Linda McMahon, there must be hearings and the Senator must vote no. Please ask the Senator to protect his/her constituents from these awful nominees. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Let’s call Senator Schumer in his capacity as Majority Leader and ask him to ditch his horrible deal. ‭(212) 486-4430‬ or ‭(518) 431-4070‬ or ‭(202) 224-6542‬ or ‭(914) 734-1532‬.

Say:

My name is ____ and I’m calling the Senator in his capacity as Majority Leader to ask him to abandon the awful deal he’s made with Republicans to give up 4 appeals court vacancies. No way! We can’t leave any pending judicial nominees behind at the end of this Congress, and this must include confirming the Circuit Court nominees—especially Adeel Mangi. Circuit Courts of Appeals have great influence and are essential to protecting our rights and liberties. Democrats’ caving on this sets a terrible precedent for the fights ahead. No deals! Fill every vacancy. Thanks.

Extra Extra Credit

Please sign Indivisible’s letter to Senator Schumer asking him, again, not to make this deal.

Get Smart! 📚

For the term that began in October, the Supreme Court is considering several cases that have the potential to shape our society and legal landscape. From LGBTQ+ discrimination to ghost guns and police use of force, the Court's decisions have the power to impact individuals and communities across the nation.

The Progressive Caucus Action Fund took a closer look at some of the key cases SCOTUS will examine this year and wrote up a short explainer about each of them. Check it out!

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

[To: your Senators] [Text SIGN PKFKPX to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages or MESSENGER]

There is a bill to protect reporters and their sources—it’s called the PRESS Act (S. 2074). I’d like the Senator to fight like hell to pass it.

The PRESS Act would keep the government from surveilling members of the press and threatening them with jail time for refusing to reveal their sources. It has bipartisan support. The House passed it unanimously in January but time is rapidly running out in the senate. I know Trump has demanded that it not be passed but that is all the more reason that it must be. Please, please pass this bill. Without a free press a democracy is nothing. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess