Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/6

Hi, all, and happy Friday.

Such as it is, of course.

It’s a grim anniversary, and things in the House of Representatives are grimmer still. Kevin McCarthy may yet win his speakership, but the price he—and all of us—will pay is extortionate. Every additional vote he picks up comes, one assumes, from what should be unthinkable concessions—concessions that will lead to suffering for regular Americans, an unforgivable waste of taxpayer money, and less accountability for those who should, if anything, be receiving more.

It’s hard, at such times, to stay positive, but we must try. At the very least, we must stay active. Our feelings are important, but it’s what we DO that will affect America’s future. So let us chop wood and carry water, taking the small actions today that we know, from vast experience, will lead to more democracy tomorrow.

This is how we honor those who have struggled, fought, or even died for our country, not just on January 6th, but in every battle that came before. This is how we show patriotism.

This is how we win.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

I understand that the Republicans—should they ever get their act together and elect a Speaker—want to repeal the investments in the IRS passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. I want the Senator to push back on this hard. Defunding the IRS is a terrible idea—it would allow the richest 1% to continue to avoid paying $160 billion in taxes that they owe each year. No way. If I pay my taxes billionaires should have to pay theirs. Do not allow that funding to be cut, please.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I understand that the Republicans—should they ever get their act together and elect a Speaker—want to repeal the investments in the IRS passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. I want the Senator to push back on this hard. Defunding the IRS is a terrible idea—it would allow the richest 1% to continue to avoid paying $160 billion in taxes that they owe each year. No way. If I pay my taxes billionaires should have to pay theirs. Do not allow that funding to be cut, please.

Extra Credit ✅

Southwest Airlines’s union members have been warning for years that a crisis was inevitable. They were right. Southwest’s outdated technology led to the airline being unable to match flight crews with their flights during the busiest travel week of the year -- resulting in the cancellation of more than 15,000 flights.

Now, Southwest has announced that it plans to shower its wealthy shareholders with $428 million in stock dividends -- money it should be using to keep its planes, crews, and passengers in the air.

Click here to personalize and send a message to the board of directors demanding that the CEO of Southwest Airlines be fired.

Get Smart! 📚

There is so much going on this week that Simon Rosenberg and the NDN team have decided to do a pop-up political briefing today, Friday, Jan 6th at 3pm ET. 

Simon will offer some initial remarks, and then open it up to written questions.  

You can RSVP here, and feel free to invite others - all are welcome!

Spread the Word! 📣

Republicans in disarray: 

House Republicans are making history as their first few days of the 118th Congress have been pure chaos. While Democrats are laser focused on fighting for the issues that impact everyday families, like lowering costs and protecting a woman’s ability to make her own health care decisions, Republicans are fighting each other. Kevin McCarthy has given away the store to the most extreme MAGA Republicans, and even if he does eventually become speaker, it’ll be the most right-wing Republicans who are truly in charge of the House Republican caucus. Help the DNC uplift this video after Day 3 of Republicans’ chaos. (I also posted it on IG here.)

Win Races—VA! 🗳

🚨 IMPORTANT RACE ALERT!! 🚨

We have an opportunity to win important special elections in VA on Tuesday, January 10th. In the 7th Senate district especially we have the chance to flip a competitive open seat and elect Democrat Aaron Rouse.

Winning this seat early can help to protect the Democratic Senate majority in Virginia and build momentum ahead of November. Electing a Democrat will safeguard abortion rights and ensure the governor and Republicans in the statehouse can’t get bad laws passed. 

Here are TWO ways you can make an impact in this critical race:

1. Donate through the States Project here. Please, please, please!

2. Phonebank! Here is a link to sign up! There are shifts every day between now and the election. Remember, every phone call can make a HUGE difference in these smaller state house races, which are often decided by one, two, or three votes!

Win Races—WI!

Here are some other postcarding options for the WI Supreme Court race (thanks to subscriber Marilyn Hartman for flagging!):

• Help voters vote by mail. Wisconsin voters must sign up for Vote By Mail each year. Write postcards with Activate America to remind registered Wisconsin Democrats  to sign up to vote by mail. Be prepared to provide your own postcards and stamps. Get addresses here.

• Help register likely Democrats. Sign up for postcards with Field Team 6. Their postcards require a QR code that can be easily added to your own postcards or you can purchase postcards directly from them. You can get addresses here.

A note about postcard stamp prices. Prices are set to increase from $.44 to $.48 on January 22, so stock up!  You can order them (currently discounted) from the USPS here.

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

Talk soon.

Jess