Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/17

An anti-plutocracy vision

Source: Fact Post—the DNC’s new rapid response social account

Hi, all, and happy Friday.

I’m thinking a lot these days about how we fight back against plutocracy. Because that’s what we’re living in now, right? A plutocracy, in case you didn’t know, is essentially rule by a small group of very wealthy people. It’s a form of oligarchy, but wealth is the key factor—the thing that sets it apart.

And that matters, because therein, I think, also lies the cure. Americans, across parties, are enraged about income inequality in the U.S. They resent billionaires, and they loathe giant corporations. They especially don’t like that these groups aren’t paying their fair share in taxes—support for a billionaires tax is very high—or that they’re buying politicians. Messaging that plays on all of this tends to resonate with them.

“But wait,” you may say. '“Americans voted for Trump! They knew he was for the billionaires and not working Americans! We tried to warn them. They didn’t care! They must WANT a plutocracy.”

Nonsense. First, remember that more eligible voters stayed home in November than voted for anyone. As Mike Podhorzer puts it in his must-read analysis, “America didn’t swing rightward, but couchward.” Trump picked up 3 million more votes than he had last time—a tiny increase—but it was the huge losses in turnout on our side that killed us. Harris got 7 million fewer votes than Biden did! Still, and contrary to popular belief, Trump won the election by only the fourth narrowest margin in history. And many who voted for him did so despite disliking him intensely. My guess is this was caused by misogyny and racism, but there was also Trump’s repeated promise that he would bring prices down. People hear what they want to hear. They wanted to hear that they’d get relief at the cash register. Trump promised they would.

Remember, too, that the swing voters who ultimately decided the race were the lowest of low information voters. They knew virtually nothing about politics; they were paying no attention. They’d likely never heard of Project 2025. They were uniformed about Trump’s billionaire backers. They simply weren’t tuned in at all.

All of that is to say that “America chose this” is a simplistic and misleading statement. Most didn’t choose anything; out of the remaining voters 75 million chose Harris and slightly more chose Trump, in many cases reluctantly.

Which brings me back to my assertion that the vast majority of Americans didn’t sign up to live in a plutocracy and won’t like it a bit.

So our job is to make sure they know it’s happening. This starts with endlessly repeating the fact that there are 813 billionaires in the U.S. and at least 11 of them will be in Trump’s cabinet. Another two, Musk and Ramaswamy, won’t be official cabinet members but will be in hugely powerful positions, from which they’ll be imposing austerity measures on the rest of us.

In fact, Trump’s administration includes more billionaires than any other in American history, with a combined net worth that exceeds the GDP of 172 different countries.¹

Trump’s entire plan consists of governing to enrich them, and himself, while slashing programs we rely on to pay for it.

So make sure you’re pointing that out clearly and often. This DNC War Room post has a ton of great information you can use. I also recommend Inequality.org and Americans For Tax Fairness. They’re great organizations doing valuable work, and their websites are chock full of data and resources.

But it’s not enough to point out the problem. We need to present a positive alternative as well.

I see this as having two parts:

First, we must unite around electing lawmakers who are actively anti-plutocratic. This means, among other things, that they should pledge to decline stock trading while in office, refuse corporate PAC money, promise to work to overturn Citizens United and reform SCOTUS, and swear to resign if they violate any of those promises. They must also commit to prioritizing anti-trust measures and passing a billionaire’s tax over all else.

Notice I didn’t say “we must unite around electing Democrats.” That’s because I think it’s important to emphasize policy positions instead of candidates’ parties. For many Americans the Democratic brand is deeply damaged. So let’s focus on public servants, not their parties.

Second, we must take a long, hard look at our consumption. We have very little governmental power right now, but we do have a great deal of purchasing power. How will we use it? Will we endeavor to support brands who are supporting democracy, like Target, Patagonia, and Costco? Will we try to the best of our ability to stop supporting those that don’t? Will we move our money to credit unions so we’re not funding the massive banks that are backing Republicans (and fueling the climate crisis?) Will we shop at small businesses whenever possible? Will we do all we can to reduce our fossil fuel consumption so we stop funding the oil and gas companies that are Republicans’ top donors? Will we make a concerted effort to stop (or reduce) our usage of Amazon? To cease buying anything advertised on Meta? To not use generative AI unless absolutely necessary?

The answer to that remains to be seen. If we want to stop living in a plutocracy, though, I hope we say “yes” and follow through.

Enough on that for now. But if you’d like to add to my “anti-plutocracy vision” please do so in the comments. We need to formulate a plan and work to execute it. It’s not enough to say “this is wrong!” We must also declare “here’s what’s right, and how we get there.”

Because remember, there is life after MAGA. We need to start dreaming of it now.

Now, an update on a more immediate concern: the Laken Riley Act. It’s not great, sadly. The Senate just invoked cloture on it 61-35. It now apparently has the requisite votes to pass the Senate, but still needs a final passage vote before it returns to the House. This was not the outcome we wanted, but I want to flag that we pulled some Senators, like Kaine, Warnock, and Hickenlooper off of the bill! That was all due to your calls! Please remember to thank them if they represent you.

My sources at Immigration Hub anticipate the House may take up the Senate-passed version of Laken Riley as early as Wednesday, January 22nd.

We need to light up the phone lines and flood the email inboxes of House members. HERE is the target list of the 49 House Dems who voted for the bill, along with their chief of staffs’ email addresses. We need to decrease that number dramatically. The only thing between this bill and Trump signing it into law is their vote.

OK, all. Let’s get to work one more time!

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

As my Senator, I expect you to vehemently oppose any nominees who are unqualified, compromised, and/or clearly intended to disrupt the services of the functions they will oversee. In particular, I oppose Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Russell Vought, Linda McMahon, and Kash Patel. These are dangerous, unqualified individuals with huge conflicts of interest. If the Senator supports them I’ll assume s/he doesn’t care about Americans’ wellbeing at all and I will vote accordingly. Thanks.

[H/T subscriber Bob Morgan. I’ll include a longer version of this as a Resistbot letter in Tuesday’s newsletter next week.]

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

First, please release wildfire relief to California right away. I find it unconscionable that Republicans are holding it up for political gain. Give suffering Los Angeles residents aid now, please. [Remember to mention if you or someone you care about lives in Los Angeles.]

Second, I know the House will be voting again soon on the Laken Riley Act. This bill is awful and I expect the Congressmember to oppose it. America is a nation of immigrants. To codify demonizing them is wrong. Don’t do it. Thanks.

Get Smart! 📚

If you don’t have other plans during the Inauguration on Monday, please consider joining me, the amazing

Jess Piper

, and my good friend

Robert B. Hubbell

for a calming, restorative, and uplifting alternative.

We’re doing a Substack Live from 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 pm ET. This is NOT an Inauguration “watch party.” Perish the thought! Instead, we will read and discuss a few important documents and speeches in American history, such as Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Washington’s Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem for President Biden, Brown v. Board of Education, etc. (We are open to suggestions).

Let’s lean into democracy—and community—together!

Messaging! Messaging! Messaging! 📣

The DNC has launched a new rapid response initiative to hold the incoming Trump administration and MAGA Republicans accountable. The @FactPostNews account will combat right-wing misinformation and call out Trump and his MAGA allies for their extreme agenda and “Billionaire Cabinet” at every turn. Be sure to follow along across platforms including BlueSky, Instagram, and Threads. Then please amplify what they post!

Win Races! 🗳

Here are two long-shot but important opportunities!

1. Make calls to help Democrat Gay Valimont flip Florida's 1st Congressional district! While TEN Republicans are battling it out in their primary, Gay is charging ahead, ensuring every Democratic voter knows about the election and re-enrolls in Vote By Mail. Phonebanks are every Monday & Tuesday, now through April 1.

2. There's a Special Election for Iowa State Senate District 35 (eastern Iowa) on Jan 28th! The district went 21 points to Trump so no illusions of flipping the seat. But if we want Democrats to run everywhere, we need to support them.
   This race pits a school board president (Dem) against an anti-vaxxer, anti-public school activist (GOP). Sign up to make calls via this Google Form.

Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥

The Climate Cabinet released a new report yesterday outlining a clear path for states to achieve carbon neutrality by midcentury while lowering household bills across the country. In it, they found that state governments can lower energy costs, create good-paying clean energy jobs, protect kids’ health by cutting pollution, and invest in communities for a better life for all Americans. It’s worth a read if you care about climate. Again, the report is here.

THIS IS WHY WE CARE ABOUT STATE LEGISLATURES!!!

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

[To: your Senators] [H/T] [text SIGN PPNAHH to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]

As your constituent, I am strongly urging you to reject the nomination of Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

For starters, Dr. Oz owns $600,000 worth of stock in two of the largest Medicare Advantage providers (UnitedHealth Group and CVS/Aetna), which severely impacts his ability to be impartial when it comes to implementing policies around Medicare.

In addition, the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance has previously called him to task for his dubious claims about weight-loss drugs and 10 of his own colleagues wrote a letter to Columbia University asking them to cut ties with the doctor because he was misleading and endangering the public due to the questionable medical advice he pushes. Columbia University eventually cut ties with Dr. Oz in 2022.

Medicare enrollees are already skipping appointments, not refilling prescriptions, and struggling to pay premiums due to financial hardship.

I am deeply concerned about proposals in the new Congress that could take health care away from millions, including deep cuts to Medicaid. These proposed changes could shift costs to states plus make health expenses rise for many of us. We need someone heading the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who will strengthen both programs, not someone who has a financial incentive to privatize them. Please oppose Dr. Oz’s nomination and speak out publicly about the importance of protecting Medicare and Medicaid.

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

Talk soon.

Jess

1. DNC War Room