Chop Wood, Carry Water 12/5

Hi, all, and happy Monday!

I’m delighted to report that I finally tested negative for COVID this morning. It’s the first time in almost two weeks! The relief is indescribable. My energy feels better, too. And just in time, because everything seems to be blowing up at once.

Below please find some really, really important calls: there’s a script—inspired by Joyce Vance’s excellent piece from this weekend—for those of you with Republican representatives about Trump’s anti-constitutional rant, as well as a script for all of our representatives about Joe Manchin’s dirty deal, which he’s now trying to sneak into the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act. Sigh. There’s literally always something.

And, of course, today’s a huge day for the Georgia run-offs. I’ll be calling with Fair Fight at 2PM PT—I know some of you will be joining me—but there are no end of other opportunities—pretty much every organization in the GA resource doc will have phonebanks today, and there’s another really important opportunity listed below.

I know we’re tired. I know it feels like a firehose of insanity is pointed at us all the time. And I haven’t even touched on Hunter Biden’s laptop (which received excellent and truly helpful coverage in last night’s

Today's Edition Newsletter

— I highly recommend reading Hubbell’s masterful explication of what, exactly, is happening with this festering and pathetic GOP obsession.)

But here’s the thing. Let’s take it one day at a time, one call at a time, one simple action at a time. It’s all we can do, and we know that, when enough of us join in such simple actions, we can prevail. We’ve done it over and over again.

So breathe in calm; breathe out anxiety. And let’s get to work one more time.

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

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

[If you have a Republican Senator:]

On Friday Donald Trump called for “the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” He called for a coup. Again. For the end of American democracy. And I want to know exactly where the Senator stands on this. Does s/he still support Donald Trump? Does s/he support replacing the Constitution with Donald Trump? If not, where can I see his/her statement denouncing this post? [Push for an answer in writing. If they refuse to answer say:] If the Senator refuses to answer I will take that as tacit support for the end of American democracy. I will be amplifying this fact everywhere. Thanks. [H/T Joyce Vance]

[To all Senators]

I’m strongly opposed to Manchin’s Dirty Deal being attached to the National Defense Authorization Act; that bill needs a separate markup and a stand-alone vote. I will be watching closely — do NOT sneak this awful bill in while you think we aren’t paying attention. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

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

[If you have a Republican Congressmember:]

On Friday Donald Trump called for “the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” He called for a coup. Again. For the end of American democracy. And I want to know exactly where the Congressmember stands on this. Does s/he still support Donald Trump? Does s/he support replacing the Constitution with Donald Trump? If not, where can I see his/her statement denouncing this post? [Push for an answer in writing. If they refuse to answer say:] If the Senator refuses to answer I will take that as tacit support for the end of American democracy. I will be amplifying this fact everywhere. Thanks. [H/T Joyce Vance]

[To all Congressmembers:]

I’m strongly opposed to Manchin’s Dirty Deal being attached to the National Defense Authorization Act; that bill needs a separate markup and a stand-alone vote. I will be watching closely — do NOT sneak this awful bill in while you think we aren’t paying attention. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Please call Sen. Schumer's DC office at 202-224-6542 and share that you're against the Manchin dirty deal being added to the NDAA. You can also try (518) 431-4070 or (212) 486-4430 if you can’t get through in DC.

You can just say:

My name is _______, I’m calling from [city, state]. I’m calling the Senator in his capacity as Senate Majority leader because I am hearing that Joe Manchin’s dirty side deal could be added to the National Defense Authorization Act. This is unacceptable. We do not want that side deal passed, and we will be furious if it’s snuck through in a must-pass bill while you think no one is watching. Please ask the Senator to ensure that Manchin’s deal is kept as a stand-alone bill. Those of us who just helped Democrats win a historic midterm victory will be watching carefully. Thanks.

Then please call the House Armed Services Committee at 202-225-4151 and say:

My name is _______, I’m calling from [city, state]. I’m calling because I am hearing that Joe Manchin’s dirty side deal could be added to the National Defense Authorization Act. This is unacceptable. We do not want that side deal passed, and we do not want it snuck through in a must-pass bill while you think no one is watching. Keep it out of the NDAA please! Thanks.

Get Smart! 📚

Want to help turn Texas blue? Great news! The amazing folks at Blue Ohio are launching Blue Texas on Thursday!!! It's like its sister group, but with a twist because it’s being created in a partnership with Power the Vote. 

(PTV was founded by the people who ran the voter protection program in Georgia in '20. Their work cured more ballots than Biden's margin, so without their voter protection program, Trump would have won Georgia.)

The launch event on Thursday (at 7PM Central) will feature Luke Warford (of UnF*ck the Grid fame), David Pepper, and Kim Allen, who founded PTV. Texas has been named the hardest state in which to vote in the country – and Dems left a whopping 36 state house seats uncontested in '22. (Ugh.) It’s time to change that!

Here's the zoom registration link. They will share a recording with anyone who registers in case folks are interested but can't attend. 

Win in Georgia! 🍑

[Don’t forget, the whole “Help Us Win in GA” doc is here.]

From Indivisible National:

Tonight is the final night of reaching out to Georgia with our phenomenal partners at Gaslit Nation! But now the stakes are even higher than ever before. Tonight we will be reaching out to voters whose mail-in ballots MAY NOT HAVE BEEN COUNTED YET! So, we are asking each of you to join us on this evening to help us ensure that every single voter has a chance to make their voice heard in this critical runoff election. 

Because of the special nature of the situation that has developed in Georgia, we will be doing two sets of phone calls on this event. We still have voters who we haven't spoken with and who we need to make sure know how to get out to vote tomorrow, so we will still have some people doing general turnout calls via Hubdialer. Everyone else will be making calls to these voters whose votes may not have been counted yet! Please join if you can!

Tonight, 2PM PT / 5PM ET Register here.

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

Today I have two Resistbots for you:

✍🏼 Send President Biden a Resistbot asking him to stop construction on the Line 5 pipeline in Michigan. Text SIGN PPEVJU to 50409. [H/T here. Full text of letter here]

✍🏼 Send your Senators a Resistbot urging them to pass critical bills with bipartisan support before the break. Text SIGN PRLRCY to 50409. [Full text of letter here.]

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

Talk tomorrow.

Jess