Hi, all, and happy Monday!
Welp, I got the rest I needed this weekend—involuntarily—after being laid out both Saturday and Sunday by the COVID booster. I’m thrilled to have gotten it, of course, but sheesh did it do me in! Of course, I suspect that exhaustion stemming from Virginia and then my initial disappointment at seeing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act pass before the BBB had something to do with it, too. (More on that below.)
Let’s face it: living during these adrenaline-pumping and occasionally terrifying times is exhausting. Waiting to see if Congress will pass legislation that feels existentially necessary is exhausting. Watching fascists attempt to undermine our democracy is exhausting. All of this is true.
And, fighting on is an absolute necessity. This is also true,
So, although I’m still feeling sapped, I’m joining y’all back in the fray today. In fact, later today I’ll be doing my first of what I assume will be many, many Activism 101s focussed on the Midterms, because guess what? We are exactly a year out today! (It’s at 1:00PM PDT—feel free to join.)
And then I’m going to make a TikTok about how great the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act actually is. Because I can be bummed that BBB didn’t pass first and wildly aware of how incredible the bipartisan bill, on its own, is at the same time. So many things true at once!
One more thing that’s true? Our voices make a difference.
So let’s go use them one more time.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m calling to say that, while I’m thrilled that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act passed, Congress needs to pass the Build Back Better Plan as well. We needed everything in the roads and bridges bill, but we just as badly need paid family leave, lower drug prices, an extended child tax credit, funding for childcare and universal pre-K, affordable healthcare, help for DREAMERS, and a massive investment in programs to address our climate emergency. Without all of that our country will be unable to compete, workers will continue to struggle, and our children will face an uncertain future. Pass Build Back Better, and do it soon, please.
Also? Please push for the immediate passage of the Freedom to Vote Act [if Dem:] and be willing to modify, reform, or abolish the filibuster to get the job done. There is no time to lose! Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
[If your rep is Ed Case (HI-01), Jared Golden (ME-02), Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), Kathleen Rice (NY-04), Kurt Schrader (OR-05), or Abigail Spanberger (VA-07) you have a different script below.]
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
[If Democrat] I’m calling to say that, while I’m thrilled that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act passed, Congress needs to pass the Build Back Better Plan as well. We needed everything in the roads and bridges bill, but we just as badly need paid family leave, lower drug prices, an extended child tax credit, funding for childcare and universal pre-K, affordable healthcare, help for DREAMERS, and a massive investment in programs to address our climate emergency. Without all of that our country will be unable to compete, workers will continue to struggle, and our children will face an uncertain future. Please pass Build Back Better, and do it soon, please.
[If one of the Dems listed above]
I’m calling to say that I’m angry that s/he didn’t vote to pass the Build Back Better plan on Friday. I know that, despite having scores from the Joint Tax Committee and the White House, they refused to vote on the bill without first receiving a formal score from the Congressional Budget Office. And I wonder why they didn’t show the same rigor when it came to the recent military spending budget, which cost way more and does little to actually help the American people. I will be watching carefully to make sure they stand by their promise to pass the BBB before Thanksgiving. If they renege on this promise I will work every day to make sure everyone living in their district knows what they voted to take away from us. Thanks.
[If GOP] I’m calling because I understand the Congressmember is still committed to voting against the Build Back Better Plan. I was wondering why s/he opposes policies that are so popular with Americans. Does s/he know that 62% of all likely voters support the provisions in the Build Back Better plan? Or that more Republican voters support than oppose these policies? Or that Independents support them by huge margins? Would they like me to send them the data? It’s not too late for them to change their minds, and I hope they will. Constituents like me are paying close attention to their vote. Thanks.
Smack Back at Facebook!
From allowing white supremacists to plan a violent insurrection to ignoring disinformation for profit, Facebook is basically ruining the world. So concerned citizens across America are doing something to get their attention: temporarily logging out.
Please take the pledge to log off Facebook from November 10-13. Just by taking the pledge, we can get Facebook’s attention and show them that we will refuse to engage with their platform until they fix it. WE CAN DO THIS!
And we must. Go here to take the pledge. (And then actually do log out for those 3 days. I’m going to.)
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here!)
[to all 3 reps] [H/T]
It is time for Congress to establish better guardrails for our democratic institutions. We need to recalibrate our system of checks and balances to catch and address corruption and abuse of power within the executive branch. That’s why I want you to support the Protecting Our Democracy Act. It’s the first step to better serving the American people.
PODA takes bold action to restore the checks and balances necessary to root out corruption, promote transparency, and hold government officials accountable for wrongdoing. It empowers Congress to conduct rigorous oversight of the executive branch, makes it safe for whistleblowers to come forward and disclose instances of waste or wrongdoing without fear of retaliation, shines a light on how the government spends taxpayer money, strengthens the independence of inspectors general, ensures that federal vacancies for Senate-confirmed positions may only be filled by qualified professionals who have undergone thorough vetting, and incentivizes the president to fill vacancies so that the federal government is functioning at full personnel capacity.
There’s more. It’s really good, and it needs to pass. Can you let me know if you are already a co-sponsor, and if not why? Thanks!
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess