Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/23

Hi, all, and happy Monday.

Hope you had a decent weekend, the awful news notwithstanding.

I know we’re still hurting from this weekend’s events. But we know how to take action even when we’re hurting, right? We have some practice at it. So let’s trust that taking a few small steps today is the best thing we can do to ease our anxiety, honor those who were slain, and actually get us closer to the change we so desperately want.

On a related note I have a bit of cheerful news: Ruben Gallego has officially announced his Senate bid against Kyrsten Sinema! Extremely exciting. His launch video is above—it’s excellent; I highly recommend you have a watch. His new website is here. If you feel so inspired and are able to, you can make an inaugural donation to his campaign here.

Why do I say Galllego’s campaign launch is related to the mass shooting we just experienced? Because we need more Democrats in the Senate who will support an Assault Weapons Ban. And we need Democrats in the Senate who will vote to abolish the filibuster in order to get that ban passed. And while I’m not certain of Gallego’s position on either, I’m quite certain it will be better than Sinema’s. So let’s support him!

Look, the pain is the pain. It’s real. We live in a massively troubled country right now. There’s nothing we can do to change that fact for this moment.

But there’s plenty we can do to create real and meaningful change over time. And if all of us don’t do such work, we’re pretty much guaranteed that such change will never happen.

So let’s give ourselves a hug, take a deep breath, then roll up our sleeves and get to work one more time.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

I know Senator Feinstein is going to re-introduce her Assault Weapons Ban bill tonight. Will the Senator be co-sponsoring? [If yes thank. If no or noncommital, or if leaving a voicemail add:] I’m sure the Senator doesn’t want to keep seeing shootings like the one in Monterey Park. Does s/he know that the assault pistol and high capacity magazines used by the Monterey Park gunman would have been banned by federal assault weapons ban legislation? Or that this was the 33rd mass shooting in our country since 2023 began? Or that it wasn’t even the only mass shooting this weekend?

We can’t keep living this way. Nearly 70% of Americans support an assault weapons ban. It’s time for Congress to get it done. Please ask the Senator to support this bill now.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

We need gun violence prevention laws, and we need them now. I know Senator Feinstein will be re-introducing her Assault Weapons Ban bill tonight, and I presume the House version will be re-introduced any day now also. Will the Congressmember co-sponsor it right away? After ten years of this we know that assault weapons are the gun of choice for mass shootings. It’s madness that they’re still allowed on our streets. Nearly 70% of Americans support an assault weapons ban. It’s time for Congress to get it done. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

There are still eleven Democratic Senators who haven’t signed on as co-sponsors to the Assault Weapons Ban bill.

I usually don’t recommend that we call Senators who don’t represent us, but today I’m going to make an exception. Newtown Alliance is asking us to call any or all of these Democratic Senators and say (the most important parts are bolded):

Hi, My name is _______________ and I am a (parent, gun violence survivor/gun owner/veteran/faith leader/educator/practitioner/law enforcement family member). I’m also a volunteer with Newtown Action Alliance.

Sunday morning, our nation woke up to the unfolding mass shooting tragedy in Monterey Park where a gunman killed ten and wounded ten others. This was the 33rd mass shooting in the United States just 21 days into 2023. 

As long as unfettered access to high-powered weapons continues to make it possible for hate-filled people to quickly and efficiently kill the masses, America’s sense of safety and security to gather in public spaces will be held hostage.  

The assault pistol and high capacity magazines used by the Monterey Park gunman would have been banned by the federal assault weapons ban legislation. 

I urge Senator _________ to act swiftly to cosponsor the Assault Weapons Ban which Senator Feinstein will be reintroducing tonight on the senate floor. Thank you.

For much more info on the Assault Weapons ban and what else the Newton Alliance is doing to help stop gun violence in this country check out their latest toolkit.

Extra, Extra Credit ✅✅

Please help Newtown Alliance build law enforcement support for the Assault Weapons Ban bill by contacting your police chief or other law enforcement officers and sending them this form to urge them to sign on to this letter.

Get Smart! 📚

Markers For Democracy is co-hosting an event tonight with three other grassroots groups called "What Happened in NY in 2022?" They have a great panel of 5 speakers: Alessandra Biaggi, former NYS Senator, Mikael Haxby from New Kings Democrats who has done a deep data dive on what happened in the midterms in NY, David Pepper, author and former chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder of Vote Mama and 2018 Democratic nominee for Congress in NY-02, and Ben Yee, NYS Democratic Party Committee Member.

It will be moderated by Joseph O'Neill, who writes about politics for the NY Review of Books.

Sign up here!

Win Races! 🗳

The Wisconsin Democrats are holding weekly phonebanks on Tuesdays from 5:30-7:30 PM CT to ask Democratic voters there to register to vote by mail in the critical Supreme Court election coming up. Can you help? Shifts are tomorrow and every Tuesday after that until 4/4. They will train you!

Sign up here!

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

[To your House rep] [H/T and more info at Concerned Citizens of NY-03] [Quick send: text SIGN PRGOZH to 50409]

In the history of this country a known imposter has never been seated in the U.S. House of Representatives—until now. Every day that goes by with Rep. George Santos occupying a seat there is a stain on the Republican party and an insult to the country.  

As your constituent, I ask that you call on Representative Santos to resign. I ask furthermore that you call upon Speaker McCarthy to immediately and publicly withdraw his support from Santos. This should include rescinding his committee assignments and publicly calling on him to resign.

Santos is turning the Republican party into a laughingstock. But instead of pushing Santos out, the GOP has rewarded his deceit with two committee assignments. Worse, GOP leadership seems to have known about Santos’s misrepresentations long before the election. Yet they still endorsed and fundraised for him, and even sent top political aides to help him replace his campaign team when they resigned.

Several Republican Members of Congress have stated publicly that there’s nothing they can do about Santos. That isn’t true. Speaker McCarthy has the power to oust him—either by pressuring him to resign, (the quickest course of action), or by calling for a House vote of expulsion. The U.S. constitution provides Congress with the power to expel members for any reason, with no prerequisites. The only requirement is that 2/3 of the Members of the House vote to expel. 

Every member of Congress must refuse to accept Santos’s presence in their ranks. Please make a public statement demanding that he resign and ask Speaker McCarthy to immediately withdraw his support from him and seek his ouster. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess