Hi, all, and happy Monday!
I want to thank you all so much for your kind words in response to yesterday’s “Extra! Extra!” I haven’t yet had the energy to go back and respond to your comments individually—I’m still pretty fatigued—but please know that I am deeply grateful for both your congratulations and your well wishes on my health.
I am having what I assume is a fairly typical COVID experience, which is to say it’s taking time to recover! But I am improving incrementally and will be in fine fettle in a few more days, I’m sure.
In the meantime, sending this newsletter is within my capabilities, so I’m doing it. It’s too important a week to take off!
Also, you are too important to not start my day with. 💙
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I know that Trump’s tax cuts will soon expire, and that many corporations are clamoring for theirs to be renewed. I want to make sure the Senator does NOT support this. Corporate profits are off the charts, largely due to the way big corporations are gouging US consumers. If anything, corporate taxes should be raised.
One other thing: we want the extended Child Tax Credits back. These payments were unbelievably helpful to countless Americans; they brought millions of children out of poverty and were widely popular with voters of all stripes. Instead of helping billionaires, this is what Congress should be working on right now. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I know that Trump’s tax cuts will soon expire, and that many corporations are clamoring for theirs to be renewed. I want to make sure the Congressmember does NOT support this. Corporate profits are off the charts, largely due to the way big corporations are gouging US consumers. If anything, corporate taxes should be raised.
One other thing: we want the extended Child Tax Credits back. These payments were unbelievably helpful to countless Americans; they brought millions of children out of poverty and were widely popular with voters of all stripes. Instead of helping billionaires, this is what Congress should be working on right now. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
The Newton Alliance is working hard to push Congress to pass an Assault Weapons Ban. President Biden is 100% behind these efforts—he spoke about them again as recently as this week. Want to help?
If you’d like to be on the mailing list to get invited to the Alliance’s once-weekly “Lunch and Lobby” events, during which you’ll call representatives not currently sponsoring the Assault Weapons Ban Act, sign up here.
Everyone, please sign their letter to the Senate asking them to pass this bill.
Families and survivors who have been directly impacted by gun violence are urged to sign HERE to be added to a survivor letter to Leader Schumer urging him to give us a vote on the assault weapons ban legislation that was passed in the House of Representatives in July. Please share this link with other survivors!
Get Smart! 📚
On Tuesday, November 29th at 12:00pm ET, Jen Devor, President & Co-Founder of Better Civics, will return to Big Tent USA for a PA midterm election briefing and Q&A session!
Better Civics is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to revolutionizing civic engagement and voter turnout through education. They partner with the Philadelphia community to create tools and resources that explain how government functions, encouraging individuals to be more civically engaged.
You will learn about Better Civics' ground game and how we can use their resources to help educate within our own communities!
Give 💰!
Final friendly reminder: tonight at 8pm ET/5pm PT please consider joining me, Robert Hubbell, Senate Circle, Markers for Democracy, and a few other great groups as we host Christine White of the Georgia Alliance for Progress. GAP is working to fund the best grassroots organizations in Georgia—specifically their canvassing programs, which are still woefully underfunded.
You can give here, and please feel free to share the link with friends and family who want to give. Zoom link provided upon donation of any size. See you there!
Win in Georgia—write! 🍑
[Don’t forget, the whole “Help Us Win in GA” doc is here.]
Y’all, today and tomorrow are the last two days to send Vote Riders letters to Georgia voters! They have 10k letters left to send.
These letters deliver important ID information and assistance to voters from the comfort of your own home.
Thanks to Big Tent USA, you can now request these letters in batches of 5! We need to mail as many letters as possible by no later than Tuesday, November 29th. Every letter counts! Request your letters here and someone will send you everything you need shortly thereafter.
Win in Georgia—call! 🍑
Because of the short time frame of this election—made this way, of course, by vote-suppressing Republicans—tens of thousands of Democratic voters won’t get their absentee ballots in time to mail them back. Georgia Dems' Voter Protection team still needs help to contact them so they know their options include canceling the absentee ballots and voting early. Can you help?
Multiple shifts, with training, are available every day.
Sign up here. (The heading says it’s a “cure” phonebank—disregard.)
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.)
[to all 3 reps] [H/T] [Quick send: text SIGN PZPAKG to 50409]
Railroad workers have been on the job without a contract or a pay increase for the last three years -- through a pandemic and in the midst of rising costs on everything from food to gas to housing.
Now, railroad workers have rejected a tentative agreement that continues to put the profits of the railroad industry ahead of the rights and wages of its workers. It is imperative that Congress act to prevent a potentially devastating strike.
I urge you to improve the tentative agreement by giving railroad workers more paid time off. If nothing is done, a railroad strike could result in empty grocery store shelves and bring our economy to a grinding halt.
Right now, railroad workers get no sick leave and are on-call 7 days per week, year round. This isn’t right. I urge you to act immediately to support workers and avert a railroad strike that could disrupt an already fragile economy.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess
Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/28 🍑
Responding to your comment that you haven't had the energy to go back and respond to comments individually: I want to give you permission, starting with this comment, to NOT reply to every comment - like Robert Hubble (only responds to a very few) and Heather Cox Richardson (I've never seen a response from her). You are growing and you need to take good care of you. Blessings,
Get well soon Jessica!
Thank you for these extremely practical and important opportunities each day.
I have my Senators on speed-dial, programmed into my phone.
(Both of my Senators are of the party not listening to constituents - for now.)
I contacted the Senior Senator's Washington, DC office voicemail.
I contacted my Junior Senator's local (state capital) office and was able to speak with a REAL PERSON. She answered the phone, listened as I identified myself as a constituent, and after I made my points
on the Trump tax cuts, corporate profits, and the Child Tax Credits benefits to the economy and lifting millions of children out of poverty,
she assured me she would pass the message along.
I share this in hopes that readers will be inspired to follow through on these suggestions
and encourage new readers and their friends to join in taking action -
it really IS easy, and together is effective.
A drop of water together with others becomes a ripple, then a tide, and ultimately can carve out the Grand Canyon.
Together we can not only save democracy,
but turn the priorities to things that matter
instead of minute-by-minute media coverage of what despicable egomaniac is having dinner with whom.
THANKS!!!