Chop Wood, Carry Water 12/19

Hi, all, and happy Thursday!

I’m back in L.A. and back to work—at least for a few more days. I’ll likely take most of next week off, barring something extraordinary, (which, in this moment in history, will almost certainly arise.) I hope you, too, will unplug a bit for the holidays if you can.

But for now we’re still in it.

I’ll start with the good news: the Ethics Committee voted to release the Matt Gaetz report! Folks, this is a victory for which we all can and should take some credit. This group is responsible for making literally thousands of calls about this, both to House members and the committee itself. From what I understand the final vote was taken in secret; the fact that the AYES prevailed means that at least one Republican on the committee sided with the Democrats. Wow!

Someone wrote me a couple of days ago to ask “do our calls even matter?” This is (more) proof that they do.

A reminder—we’re not going to win every fight right now. In fact we won’t win most of them. But we are fighting, and we are notching some victories. That matters! Every (figurative) blow we land on our opponents is a victory; we should take it as such. Gaetz will be unmasked. This is a great thing—not just because it’s right, but because he was one of Trump’s first cabinet nominees. This is egg on the face of the new administration. It’s also justice; I’m here for all of it.

In other news, Mike Johnson and the “Musk/Trump administration” have fallen out—majorly—over the budget. Chaos will now ensue.

Here’s what we know so far:

Yesterday Johnson presented Congress with a long (over 1500 pages) Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded through March 14. The CR—basically a stopgap measure—contained a lot of provisions and huge programs, some of which Democrats supported. It was not a “skinny” CR, which Republicans prefer. It was, shall we say, well-fed. It even had a small raise for Congress tucked into it.

It also, needless to say, had a very large price tag.

Freedom Caucus Republicans, of course, hated it, but it still would likely have passed quickly—and in fact was expected to—except that late yesterday Trump and Musk (should we just start calling them Trusk?) weighed in—vehemently—against it. Musk told a bunch of lies about what was in the bill; Trump followed suit. Outrage built. Musk told Republicans they needed to scrap it. Trump agreed. He added that he wanted a bill that did the bare minimum on funding and raised the debt ceiling—something that won’t happen with Democrats still in control in the Senate and Presidency.

Johnson agreed to scrap the bill and start over.

Now he’s got 48 hours to come up with a solution that’ll have the votes necessary to pass. The government starts shutting down at midnight on Friday. Everyone is furious at Johnson—a convenient scapegoat—and no one knows what comes next.

It’s a mess, but it’s not of our making. How things play out is entirely up to Republicans. If I were a betting person? I wouldn’t place a bet here at all. It’s that unpredictable. So we’ll keep monitoring events and make a call about them when we’ve got something cogent to say—there’s plenty of other stuff for us to call about in the meantime, believe me.

[Late breaking news: Rand Paul has just suggested that Elon Musk be the next Speaker of the House. No words.]

Look, we’re going to see a lot of this sort of chaos, folks. We must brace ourselves for it. The dysfunction level is going to be stratospheric starting pretty much now.

People in Alanon, (the recovery program for families and friends of addicts), have a saying: “Don’t get between an alcoholic and their bottom.” We must heed this advice. Republicans are going to break a lot of things. We’ll try to prevent as much as we can, but sometimes we’ll have to stand back and let them screw up. We won’t have a choice. Plus, millions of Americans voted for this. They apparently need to learn the hard way what their choices will cause.

Our main job will be to make sure Americans know what’s happening, and understand that it wouldn’t have happened with Democrats in charge. We must provide an opposition party’s vision of how things could look instead. It is vital!

More on that anon. Let’s get to our small actions and then move on with our day. It’s almost Christmas! Almost Hanukkah! Kwanzaa approaches, too. We’ve got better things to do than worry about GOP clowns. Like eating cookies! Hugging loved ones! And, in some cases—ahem, mine—packing for more trips.

Remember, connecting with beauty, nature, our traditions, and our loved ones will save us now. Let’s make sure we attend to that as assiduously as we do to our calls.

THAT is how we’ll thrive. It’s also how we’ll win.

P.S. — I printed an error in Tuesday’s email. Early voting in Loudoun County, VA started last Wednesday, December 11, not yesterday. It continues until Saturday, January 4, and Election Day is on January 7. So sorry about that and thanks to the readers who wrote to correct me!

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

First, I’d like to know how the Senator voted on the National Defense Authorization Act yesterday.

[If they voted yes say:] I can’t express how disappointed I am that s/he voted for it with such an awful anti-trans provision in it. Trans kids and their families matter and I won’t support lawmakers who don’t fight for them. I will not forget this vote.

[If they voted no say:] Please give them my thanks for standing up for trans kids and their families. I won’t forget it.

Also, I want the Senator to demand the full FBI report on Pete Hegseth before voting on his confirmation—which I expect him/her to oppose. The man running the DOD should be above suspicion and beyond reproach. Hegseth is neither. I expect the FBI report to prove that; I want the Senator to review it fully and carefully and then vote no. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I’m glad that President Biden came out in favor of ending stock trading for congressional members this week. This is something most Americans agree on: nobody in Congress should be able to make money in the stock market. I know several bills have been introduced that would get this done—the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act is one, Rep. Spanberger’s TRUST in Congress Act (HR 345) is another. Congress needs to pass one of these and make this ban happen. Enough is enough. Thanks.

[If Dem add:]

Also, may I ask who the Congressmember supported in the Oversight Comittee vote on Tuesday?

[If AOC say:] Great! Please thank him/her for listening to his/her constituents. We may not all agree on every issue but we know one thing for sure: we need fighters in these top positions. AOC would’ve been amazing. I so appreciate that they voted the right way.

[If Gerry Connolly say:] That’s really disappointing. S/he is clearly not listening to his/her constituents. We want fighters in these top positions. We want fresh blood. We feel ignored, and it’s a problem. I will not forget how s/he voted on this.

Extra Credit ✅

As President Biden enters the final days of his term, climate activists (which should be all of us) are demanding that he lock in climate action every way he can, hold polluters accountable, and ensure they pay for the damage they cause to our environment and communities before Trump takes office. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!

Fossil Free Media has asked me to circulate a petition to him asking just that. We’d love it to get as many signatures as possible.

Sign here.

Get Smart! 📚

Galvanize Action conducted a survey of two groups of moderate white women from October–November 2024. In it they examined how racial resentment and internalized sexism shaped these womens’ votes (ahem—a lot). It’s really worth a look. FASCINATING.

Read the report here.

Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥

Today, as the United States continues to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, President Biden is announcing a new climate target for the United States: a 61-66 percent reduction in 2035 from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions. Learn more here and watch this video message from President Biden.

You are invited to a virtual briefing on the United States’ 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) TODAY, December 19 at 3:30 PM ET/12:30 PM PT. Hear directly from Biden-Harris Administration officials on how the new climate target keeps the United States on a steeper than straight-line path to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050.

Speakers include:

· John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy

· Ali Zaidi, Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor

· Sue Biniaz, Principal Deputy Special Envoy for Climate, U.S. Department of State

Register to attend this briefing and submit questions for the speakers here.

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

[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PZRTZS to Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, or by text to 50409]

I am a concerned constituent writing to express my strong opposition to the American Confidence in Elections Act (ACE Act) and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act).

Most Americans believe our democracy is stronger when voters have equal access to the ballot box and when the voices of everyday Americans can be heard. Both the ACE Act and the SAVE Act go against those democratic values by disenfranchising millions of eligible voters.

The ACE Act is an extreme anti-voter proposal that would erect restrictive barriers to voting while increasing the role of big money in politics, drowning out the voices of everyday Americans and prioritizing the interests of wealthy corporations over the needs of our communities. This bill would also further strip the rights of District of Columbia residents, who already lack full representation in Congress.

Similarly, the SAVE Act would do nothing to safeguard our elections, but it would make it much harder for all eligible Americans to register to vote and increase the risk that eligible voters are purged from voter rolls.

I urge Congress to reject the ACE Act and the SAVE Act, and instead focus on measures that expand access to voting, protect the integrity of our elections, and ensure that every voter’s voice is heard. Democracy thrives when it includes all of us. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess