Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/2

Resolutions for democracy.

Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!

And again, Happy New Year.

We’re back! I’m extremely well rested; I hope you are as well. I don’t think I’ve taken two weeks in a row off from the newsletter since it started, but then again, I’ve never faced the year we’re facing, either. It’s going to be a doozy; extra rest seemed indicated.

Again, this will, in many ways, be an exceedingly difficult year. It will be seismic. It will be historic. I am cautiously optimistic, however, that it may be a surprising one, too. There will be ups and harrowing downs, but we are, at this point, so seasoned, so strong, and so organized that I feel certain we will be able to rise to the occasion and deliver unexpectedly good results.

We kind of have to.

So here are my 2024 New Year’s resolutions—at least where politics are concerned. Please feel free to adopt as many of them as seem useful to you.

1. I will do everything that I am able to do to help save democracy. Notice I say everything, because this, if there ever was one, is the year to leave it all on the field. But I add “that I am able” because we must all work within our own limits. Some will be able to do more, some less. It’s OK. Let’s all just do as much as we humanly can, while being honest about what that is.

2. I will spread good news relentlessly. Part of how we’ll win is by spreading the word about all the great things Democrats—and Biden—have accomplished. We know what they are. Many, many Americans don’t. Every one of us must now become an Ambassador for Biden and the Democratic party. (Also, keeping morale up is going to be key. This will help.)

3. I will ask everyone I talk to if they are registered to vote, and help them register if they aren’t. Whether they’re my barista, Lyft driver, babysitter, or dentist—if they’re not obviously a Trump supporter I will tell them “your voice matters!” and I will make sure they are ready to vote.

4. I will repeat the words “A vote for a third-party candidate or not voting at all is a vote for Trump” everywhere I can, as loudly as I can, as often as I can. Even if one doesn't particularly like Biden for whatever reason, by NOT voting OR voting for a third-party candidate, they are giving a vote to Trump. Again, we understand this. Less informed voters may not.

5. I will ignore polls. Like, IGNORE THEM. They. Have. No. Purpose. Whether they are “good” or “bad” our work remains the same. They are also deeply unreliable and heavily manipulated. So why look at them?

6. I will stay in the day and do what I can. Obsessing about what will happen in November, or next month, or even next week is pointless. I will ask, every day, “What can I do to be helpful to our cause today?” And I will do that.

7. I will remember to eat, to sleep, and to recreate. I will stay in touch with friends and nurture my relationships. I will take breaks from the news and be in nature. I will meditate. I will exercise. None of this is so I can be a “self-help”poster child. All of it is to make me a more effective tool for helping to save democracy.

8. I will “go where it’s warm.” In other words, I will seek out calm, determined, and generally hopeful sources of information. They must, of course, also be factual, but they should not be fear-mongering, cynical, or hysterical. I will gravitate towards those who aren’t just dwelling on the problem, but are proposing solutions.

9. I will remember, and repeat often to friends and family, that “the many are more powerful than the money.” This is not just wishful thinking. We have seen it over and over again. Remembering it is key.

10. I will write the following and post it on my bathroom mirror: “The object in this mirror is stronger than it appears.” Then I will remember it. We can do this. We must do this. And we will.

That’s it. Now let’s get to work.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

[🚨 T/W Israel/Palestine. Feel free to skip.]

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

I’m calling because I understand that the Biden administration just sold more weapons to Israel without Congressional approval. This is the second time this has happened since October 7th. While I wholly support Israel’s right to defend itself I am concerned about weapons sales that take place without transparency, and also about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza these weapons will exacerbate. Both Congress and the American people deserve to hear the justification for these sales, and we should expect accountability from Prime Minster Netanyahu in return for them. Please ask the Senator to push for this. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

[🚨 T/W Israel/Palestine. Feel free to skip.]

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

I’m calling because I understand that the Biden administration just sold more weapons to Israel without Congressional approval. This is the second time this has happened since October 7th. While I wholly support Israel’s right to defend itself I am concerned about weapons sales that take place without transparency, and also about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza these weapons will exacerbate. Both Congress and the American people deserve to hear the justification for these sales, and we should expect accountability from Prime Minster Netanyahu in return for them. Please ask the Congressmember to push for this. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

A subscriber to Dan Pfeiffer’s excellent

The Message Box

newsletter posted this comment in his discussion thread this morning. I’ve decided to turn it into an action!

She said:

[Today’s] NYT Morning newsletter opens with a long article about the deficit and how it is more concerning now than ever before. The article perpetuates the myth that the current GOP and MAGA policies and politics are equally responsible with [sic] the Democratic approach. The same issue…refers to a piece by Paul Krugman that points out how well the economy is doing, but nobody knows it. He ends with “In any case, what you need to know is that America responded remarkably well to the economic and social challenges of a deadly pandemic. By most measures, we’re a nation on the mend. Let’s hope we don’t lose our democracy before people realize that.”

Seems to me the NYT has again buried the lede in name of false equivalency.

Others joined the conversation saying that they, too, had been chagrined by the Times’ post. If you felt the same and you’re a NYT subscriber—or even if you’re not—please write to them at themorning@nytimes.com and tell them you expect them to do better. Your comment doesn’t need to be long. I simply said:

I’m a long-time subscriber who is growing increasingly alarmed and frustrated by the Times’ “both-sidesism” when it comes to Republicans and Democrats, as well as to Biden versus Trump. Today’s example is “The Morning” newsletter's leading with a “less sustainable” deficit and intoning that “both parties have contributed to the situation” when the fact is that Republican policies are demonstrably more to blame for exploding the deficit than Democrats'. Your piece waits until the very end to point out that the economy is, actually, doing extremely well under Biden. You close with "By most measures, we’re a nation on the mend. Let’s hope we don’t lose our democracy before people realize that.”

We would be far less likely to lose our democracy if the Times would stop misleading its readers with headlines that exaggerate or distort every problem and downplay or, more often, ignore every one of Biden’s successes. Please do better. Thanks.

Get Smart! 📚

I think you’ll really like this piece; many thanks to the subscriber who sent it! It’s an important perspective to maintain as we head in to what’s sure to be a noisy and likely negatively-biased news year.

Why the world isn't as bad as you think

Spread the Word! 📣

The Union—a great coalition with which I partner—has announced that this year they will be working on connecting with voters who supported Donald Trump but now have concerns about the authoritarian schemes he and other MAGA elected officials have in store.

Their new Conversation Guide is a tool you can use with the persuadable Republican voters you know. Your individual outreach to them will make a critical difference in our work. I just read it and it’s good. Find it here:

Messaging Tips for Persuadable Conservatives.

Give 💰!

Here are two chances to donate to Tom Suozzi’s campaign—he’s running for George Santos’s former seat—one for bigger donors and one for anyone.

1. Are you able to make a $250+ donation to Tom Suozzi? Please join DCCC Chairwoman Suzan DelBene later today for a virtual fundraising event with the candidate. It’s at 4PM PST / 6PM CT / 7PM EST. RSVP here for Zoom and donation link.

2. On Friday, January 5, at 8:30 am ET you can join a virtual event with Tom Suozzi and Leader Hakeem Jeffries hosted by The NY Buddy Group!! Contribute here to join. The Zoom link will be provided upon RSVP. No minimum required to attend. (West coasters are out of luck on this one, unless we are VERY early risers.)

Win Races—in FL and NY! 🗳

We have important elections coming up in Florida (Jan 16th Special Election) and New York State (Feb 13th Special Election). I’ll be providing you with resources on how to help us win both. I’m a bit less informed on the Tom Keen race in Florida, but I’ve already pulled together a resource document containing ways to help with the Tom Suozzi race in NY-03. Find it here. There are phonebanks—including one every Wednesday I’ll be co-hosting— a donation link, and postcarding campaigns. Please, if you can, commit to doing something to help.

I’ll try to put together a doc for the Florida race, too—if anyone knows of phonebanks there please post them in the comments!

Register Young Voters—Write! ✍🏼

Send hand-written letters to help promote youth registration & voting in Arizona.

The wonderful Civics Center has launched a campaign focused on parents of teens in Arizona. You’ll be printing and filling out letters to send between now and January 26.

Please sign up by submitting this form by January 19. You’ll supply paper, envelopes, printing, and postage. They’ll give you all the instructions and a template to work from. This is a great idea! And if you want to get fired up about youth voter registration read this!

Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥

Canary Media has a good “2023 in Clean Energy” quiz. Take it to see what news on the energy transition you caught, and which news you missed! I got a 10 out of 15, so I’ve set the bar in the “middling” range for you.

(Also, if you’re interested in the clean energy transition I highly recommend subscribing to Canary. They’re an excellent source of climate-related news.)

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

[To: ] [H/T] [Text SIGN PBLTFF to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]

I’m writing as a constituent to ask you to protect and maintain full IRS funding.

Wall Street billionaires are using their considerable access and power to threaten IRS funding because they know that fully funding the IRS so that it can go after wealthy tax cheats, improve taxpayer services, and modernize computer systems will help apply our current tax laws more fairly. The flip side means that taking resources away from the IRS effectively redistributes money to the wealthy and corporations.

Resourcing the IRS is not just about making the wealthy pay their fair share. The IRS has an ugly history of auditing low-income and Black people at disproportionately high rates, in part because it costs more in staff time and resources to audit wealthy taxpayers, whose returns are more complicated than the average filer (and whose lawyers make these audits more challenging).

When they have the resources to go after the rich, their calculus changes. A recent investigation revealed that every additional $1 spent on auditing taxpayers above the 90th income percentile generated more than $12 in revenue.

As funding discussions persist, protecting and maintaining IRS funding is essential for achieving a fair tax code, actively eliminating anti-Black racism from the implementation of our tax policy, and ensuring the wealthiest tax cheats finally pay their fair share. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess