Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/9
Hi, all, and happy Monday!
Welp. We’re back. Congress is in full session and so are we.
I hope everyone got a good rest over the last few weeks, because we’re hitting the ground running! Extremists are coming for all of our hard-earned victories and planning on blocking any new ones. It is our job to ensure that they fail on both counts, and that they pay a massive electoral price for it in 2024.
I will help you with this. 🙂
No matter what comes next, this newsletter will be here with suggestions, ideas, and ways to make a difference. If Republicans throw a wrench we will counter with a hammer. If they stall, we will push. If they lie, we will expose. If they seek to sneak things through, we will make sure every voter knows their plans.
If they want to get things done, we will be there to work with them.
And don’t rule out the latter possibility. I’d like to remind you of how many Republicans can NOT afford to side with the Trumpists every time. These are the seats where Rs won districts that Biden carried in 2020:
AZ-1 David Schweikert Biden margin 1.5
AZ-6 Juan Ciscomani Biden margin 0.1
CA-13 John Duarte Biden margin 10.9
CA-22 David Valadeo Biden Margin 13.0
CA-27 Mike Garcia Biden margin 12.4
CA-40 Young Kim Biden margin 1.9
CA-45 Michelle Steele Biden margin 6.1
NE-2 Don Bacon Biden margin 6.4
NJ-7 Tom Kean Biden margin 3.8
NY-1 Nick LaLota Biden margin 0.2
NY-3 George Santos Biden margin 8.2
NY-4 Anthony D’Esposito Biden margin 14.6
NY-17 Mike Lawler Biden margin 10.1
NY-19 Marc Molinaro Biden margin 4.6
NY-22 Brandon Williams Biden margin 7.4
OR-5 Lori Chavez-DeRemer Biden margin 8.8
PA-1 Brian Fitzpatrick Biden margin 4.6
VA-2 Jen Kiggans Biden margin 1.9
If one of these Congressmembers is yours, know that your voice will be especially critical this year. Remind your representative constantly that he or she will lose their seats in a higher turnout election if they stick with the insurrectionists. Tell them you’re watching them closely. Ask them to work with the Democrats to keep our country moving forward.
And all of us must work to form a wall of strength against the minority of psychopaths currently controlling the Republican party. We can do this! We are seasoned. We are smart. We are powerful. We are many, many more in number. We have proven ourselves over and over again.
We will continue to do so. Please don’t let fear or exhaustion douse your hope for this country. Hope, after all, is what we do, not how we feel, and it tends to be self-fulfilling in nature. Hopeful actions beget hopeful results.
So let us act as if we believe we can beat these monsters.
In so doing, we will indeed, succeed.
Call Your Senator 📲
I understand that the first vote Congress will take up after the rules package vote is a vote to repeal almost all new funding for the IRS. This would be a catastrophe. The IRS is starved for funds. Denying them this much-needed budget increase will ensure that rich tax cheats will get to keep cheating, and will also guarantee that regular people like me will have to wait longer to get my returns processed. Leave the funding in place, please. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
[If your representative is a Republican]
I understand the House will be voting on a rules package today that will threaten the rule of law by interfering with criminal investigations, gut Social Security and Medicare, and force spending cuts to the military using the debt ceiling as leverage, and shut down the Congressional Office of Ethics. This is absolutely unacceptable and if the representative votes for it I will do everything in my power to make sure they lose their seat in 2024. Also…
[For both Republicans and Democrats]
I understand that the first vote Congress will take up after the rules package vote is a vote to repeal almost all new funding for the IRS. This would be a catastrophe. The IRS is starved for funds. Denying them this much-needed budget increase will ensure that rich tax cheats will get to keep cheating, and will also guarantee that regular people like me will have to wait longer for our returns to be processed. Leave the funding in place, please. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
Read this Judd Legum piece about a horrifically awful teacher in Florida who is making vile racist and homophobic comments in the classroom while simultaneously working to ban hundreds of books, then please email the Escambia County School District HR director at kkrostag@ecsdfl.us and say something like this:
I’m writing about an employee in your district —her name is Vicki Baggett, an English teacher at Northview High School. I’ve just read the Popular Information article about her vile racist and anti-LGBTQ comments in the classroom, as well as her efforts to ban hundreds of excellent books, and I’m wondering why she is still employed as a teacher in your district. You told Judd Legum that you “categorically condemn any form of discriminatory speech.” and that your mission is “to reach all students, regardless of race, background, or gender identity." Yet by keeping this woman in the classroom you are demonstrating the exact opposite.
[Please insert personal info about why this bothers you].
Please fire this woman now.
Thanks,
Name
Get Smart! 📚
Force Multiplier is having their FIRST COMMUNITY CONVERSATION of 2023 and it’s with two of our favorite political strategists: Tom Bonier and Simon Rosenberg!
It’s called: “The Myth of the Red Wave + How it Shaped the Midterms,” and it’s on Wednesday, January 11, 7:00-8:00pm ET.
Bonier and Rosenberg will discuss how the red wave narrative took hold, why it was wrong, and how we can take control of the information environment in 2023-24. This intimate format invites your questions.
Spread the Word! 📣
Please amplify this article and the amazing news in it!
With the new year come new savings on drug prices for Seniors! Medicare enrollees will no longer pay more than $35 a month for insulin. They’ll get many vaccines for free. Drug companies will have to pay rebates if they hike their prices in Medicare faster than inflation.
All of this is thanks to President Biden and Democrats. Republicans, of course opposed all of it.
Elections matter. And Democrats deliver. Period.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/09/politics/inflation-reduction-act-medicare-insulin-cap/index.html?utm_term=link&utm_content=2023-01-09T15%3A00%3A12&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twCNN
Win Races #1 🗳
Aaron Rouse’s critical special election in Virginia is tomorrow—and we can WIN! Please consider giving any time you have today and tomorrow to phonebanking. You can do so anytime by signing up here. You’ll be using the DNC’s excellent Scale to Win dialer, which makes things very easy and allows you to text folks their polling location and other important info.
Win Races #2! 🗳
Another VA election is coming up!
Due to the sudden death of Congressman McEachin, Virginia's 4th Congressional District is holding a special election on February 21st.
The Center For Common Ground has just launched campaigns to turn out voters for this historic election; it could be Virginia's chance to send its first Black woman to Congress. Join them this Thursday at 5 pm PT| 8 pm ET to learn more about this critical election.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[to all 3 reps] [H/T R. Hubbell] [Quick send: text SIGN PCJHMB to 50409]
I’m writing because I understand that Republicans are contemplating cuts to Social Security and Medicare. I want you to understand that I—and most Americans—oppose these cuts vehemently.
Don’t believe me? Polls say 82% of voters want Congress to raise Social Security benefits across the board. This includes 83% of Democrats, 73% of independents, and 73% of Republicans. They want to strengthen Social Security and pay for it by making the wealthy contribute their fair share.
And according to a recent AARP poll, 96 percent of those polled regardless of affiliation said Social Security was either the most important government program or an important one compared with other government programs. And 2 in 5 of those surveyed said they will rely on Social Security as a substantial source of income in retirement. More than 69 million people — and almost 9 out of 10 of those 65 and older — get Social Security benefits.
Mess with Social Security and lose my vote. Expand it, and earn my everlasting gratitude and support. That is all. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Thanks for link/action about Judd Legum piece.Not surprisingly,this is Matt Gaetz district.
The math: 5 out of 18 won by double digits, 5 out of 18 won by more than 5 points. 10 out of 18 not bad for starters. 😈