Hi, all, and happy (late) Wednesday!
Hope youâre enjoying your holiday preparationsâif you celebrate Christmasâand staying safe from Omicron to the best of your ability.
Me? Iâm supposed to be on vacation, but Iâm finding it challenging. đ
So while this isnât a full ânormalâ CWCW, I wanted to send a midweek check-in with a few things that felt immediately pressing.
(For new subscribers, I rarely take time off. Christmas week to New Years is pretty much it for me. Iâll be back with the full five-day-a-week newsletter on January 3rd.)
Three things below, then Iâm going back to eating cookies, and I hope you will, too.
Have a Listen
I had the pleasure of being the inaugural guest on Robert Hubbellâs new podcast this past weekend. The episode is available to play now, right here. Listen and youâll get a very good sense of who I am, how this newsletter came to be, and what it aims to do. Youâll also have the pleasure of hearing Hubbell (and his wife and daughter) speak brilliantly on many subjects. Itâs pretty cool.
A Helpful Legislative Update From Indivisible
I want to quote them somewhat at length, as they offer a good summary of where we are now and what happens next:
âLetâs address the elephant in the room. You may have heard a recent interview given by Senator Joe Manchin regarding the build back better plan. That interview may have (likely did) infuriate you. But I am here to remind you of a few things: Senator Manchin didnât say he doesnât support the plan, he says he doesnât support the plan âas writtenâ; Senator Manchin did the same thing with the For The People Act, which he now supports after he gave it a new name; Senator Manchin wants the attention, which is why he made the statement on Fox; and, finally, Senator Manchin is milking this opportunity for every dollar that it is worth.
You likely heard his Fox interview but you may not have heard his interview with local news outlet, WV Metro News, during which the interviewer pushed him to be explicit about the parts of the BBB that he felt he couldnât âcome home and explainâ to West Virginians⌠if you did have a chance to listen to that interview, you would have heard him fumble through a non-answer and then eventually reveal that the real reason is because he didnât like how White House staff were negotiating and he didnât like being âbulliedâ by protesters into agreeing. Itâs important to mention that those âprotestersâ are West Virginians who want to see this bill passed so, really, his current flop has less to do with him âstanding upâ for West Virginians so much as it has to do with his ego.
Everything he is doing is a political calculation, donât ever forget that. So, what we do is take that calculation into consideration as we strategize how to beat his algorithm. Rest assured that our folks in WV are going to push him with the same vigor in which they pushed him after he wrote the Op-Ed saying he wouldnât support the FTPA. If and when there becomes an opportunity for folks from out-of-state to get involved, we will let you know.Â
Until then, congressional staff have gone home for the holidays, so making calls wonât necessarily be that effective over the next 11 days. That is why for the rest of the year, we want you to get some rest and enjoy a well-deserved winter break.Â
We hope you get that much needed R&R, because we are going to need renewed energy in 2022, when we push for BBB and democracy reform to be passed as quickly as possible.Â
We know that itâs been a long year and so many of you are frustrated with our Senate Democrats who need to get both the Freedom to Vote Act and Build Back Better over the finish line. We are too. But, as we fight for a bold recovery package and democracy reform, there is no one we would rather be in this fight than with you.Â
That last line is especially true when it comes to yâall!!
Finally, a Hail Mary Pass
Most of you know that I never, ever suggest that you call a Senator or House rep who isnât your own (unless itâs Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer.) But in this case I am making an exception.
Joe Manchin is a practicing Catholic. Letâs call him at 202-224-3954 or 304-264-4626 or 304-368-0567 and say (something like):
Senator, a line in Proverbs 3:27 says: âDo not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.â It is in your power to do so much good by supporting the Expanded Child Tax Credit provision in the Build Back Better Act. If this payment goes away 4 million childrenâ50,000 of whom live in your stateâwill fall below the poverty line immediately. You can save them singlehandedly. What an incredible power to have. Please use it for good. Thank you. [H/T]
[I am intentionally not including âMy name is ____ and my zip code is ____,â because most of us arenât constituents. Again, this is a Hail Mary Pass. But if youâre from West VA please be sure to include it.]
OK, all. Iâm sure Iâll be back before the week is out. In the meantime take care, try to rest, and know that I am fueling up for the fight of our lives in 2022.
Which we will win.
Warmly,
Jess
Chop Wood, Carry Water 12/22
I just listened to the podcast you did with Robert Hubbell and Iâm so happy to learn of your work. I was particularly happy to hear you say that you would âgo anywhere, do anythingâto to talk about Chop Wood Carry Water. As the speaker series Director for Seniors Taking Action, a group of older Americans that seeks to elect Democrats and preserve our democracy through postcard writing, phone banking and hosting candidates and organizations dedicated to our mission, we would love to have you speak at one of our sessions on Wednesdays at 11 AM Eastern time. Recent speakers included Field Team Six and Run for Something as well as many others. If youâre interested Iâm happy to send further information.
Iâm very happy to have learned about you and to be reading your newsletter now. I love the Hail Mary Pass you suggest today, may I please add a thought?
If the Sen believes folks in his state would âuse their child care $$ to buy drugsâ then presumably he knows of many folks with addiction problems, yes? If so, wouldnât this be the perfect time for him to ask Pres Biden for *extra* $$ for his state to fight addiction?
Letâs hold his feet to the fire and get something good out of his need for 15 minâs of fame.