Chop Wood, Carry Water 2/1
Our voices, on repeat.
Hi, all, and happy Thursday!
I’ll start with good news: last night the House passed a tax bill that will also increase the Child Tax Credit! Nice work on those calls! It now goes to the Senate,
There, however, we have a problem. Trump, once again, seems to have gotten into the mix, and now Republicans are hemming and hawing, with Chuck Grassley admitting that the GOP doesn’t want to hand Democrats a “win” by passing this bill. Because if Biden wins in November, he had the audacity to add, “we won’t extend the 2017 tax cuts.”
You really can’t make this stuff up. Feeding children on the one hand or tax cuts for Elon Musk on the other? Republicans have no problem making the latter choice. They don’t care about anything—anything!—but saving their own skins and passing tax cuts for rich people. Absolutely despicable.
Nevertheless we will persist, demanding the Senate does pass this bill, and continuing to work for a Democratic trifecta in 2025.
Now back to better news: Ken Buck has come out in opposition to the Mayorkas impeachment. Should he stick with this position Republicans will only be able to lose two more votes. I’m hearing that Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) is also wobbling. If we can get him to vote no we’re almost there.
There is, in other words, a real chance we can stop this baseless, politically-motivated impeachment. And we should try. I’ve provided those of you with Republican representatives a script focussed on just that. If you have a GOP rep get loud, please!
On that note: you’ll notice that some of my call scripts repeat the same ask many days in a row. You may be asking “is it really worth it to call about ______ again if I did so yesterday?”
The answer is an unequivocal and resounding yes. Remember, staffers are tallying how many calls they get per day, not who is making them. They report to their bosses along these lines: "You got x number of calls in favor of ____ and x opposing ____." They don't list the names of the people who made those calls.
So yes, repetition works.
Speaking of repetition, let me close by telling you something I’ve told you many times:
Your actions matter. You matter. You’re more powerful than you know.
And together we’re undefeatable.
P.S. — One of you was kind enough to send me the link to the recording of that amazing Indivisible messaging interview with Anand Giridharadas. Watch it! You’ll thank me!
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m furious that House Republicans are essentially tanking the immigration bill being crafted in the Senate without even seeing it. While the legislation will likely contain provisions I dislike, the idea that any progress at all can be stopped by Trump—a weak, self-serving loser who’s not even in office—is appalling. Congress needs to address the crisis at the border now. And it must pass Ukraine funding immediately.
Also, I want the Senator to vote YES on S.1992 - the Working Families Tax Relief Act of Child Tax Credit, which passed in the House last night.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m furious that House Republicans are essentially tanking the immigration bill being crafted in the Senate without even seeing it. While the legislation will likely contain provisions I dislike, the idea that any progress at all can be stopped by Trump—a weak, self-serving loser who’s not even in office—is appalling. Congress needs to address the crisis at the border now. And it must pass Ukraine funding immediately—even if it has to be separated from everything else. We need that funding passed, and soon.
[to GOP reps only]
One more thing: I am disgusted by the Republicans’ baseless, politically motivated impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas. I am watching the Congressmember’s vote closely, and if s/he supports this charade s/he will lose my vote permanently. Vote no. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
[H/T
]Folks, America’s pharmacists are in real trouble. I’ve been hearing rumors of it for a while, but the warning bells are getting louder.
Activists are looking to build on the momentum of recent walkouts of retail pharmacy staff, formally launching a national push to help these workers unionize in the face of unsafe working conditions. The Pharmacy Guild aims to unionize 90% of pharmacists working for Walgreens and CVS in five years – benefiting workers and patients at the same time.
Let’s show them some support. We can start by sharing this video by More Perfect Union and signing their letter to the CEOs of Walgreens and CVS endorsing their demands.
Get Smart! 📚
Working America, a group that does an amazing job increasing Democratic electoral margins by building trusted relationships with non-union workers, is having a volunteer meeting to talk about their strategy for 2024. I really can’t recommend this group more highly. They are one of Focus For Democracy’s top picks to receive donations because of their effectiveness at turning out voters.
I plan on attending, and hope some of you will as well.
They’ll do a deep dive into their plans for the year and give volunteers an inside look at the unique approach of Working America.
February 5th, 7 pm EST / 4 pm PST
Spread the Word! 📣
Today, more than 85 advocacy organizations representing labor, women’s health, environmental activists, and more released a letter calling for the Senate to ramp up efforts to combat court corruption and issue subpoenas to Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow. (This newsletter, in fact, is one of the signatories!)
Please help us amplify the letter, as well as the pressure on Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin to launch a full-scale investigation into allegations of ethical violations by Supreme Court justices. There’s a social media toolkit here. (You may have to check the tags to make sure they’re right for your social media platform.)
Or just post this:
Disturbing revelations about financial ties, conflicts of interest, and ethical failures within the Supreme Court are deeply concerning. I applaud @SenSchumer and @SenatorDurbin for their steps so far, but the Senate must escalate efforts to confront this unprecedented threat. Americans' freedoms are at stake. weareufd.com/JudicialCrisisLetter
Give 💰!
Please consider signing up for Sister District's first State Bridges fundraiser! It’s for four amazing grassroots organizations in Michigan and Wisconsin on Wednesday, February 7 at 5pm PT / 8pm ET!
This year, Sister District is supporting Citizen Action of Wisconsin, WISDOM, Mothering Justice, and We The People, who collectively made over 800,000 voter contact attempts in Michigan and Wisconsin in 2022. Because of their year round organizing, these organizations will play an outsized role in 2024. If you’re as worried as I am about Michigan this is a GREAT way to help.
Join Sister District on February 7 to hear directly from these organizations and from Lt. Governor of Wisconsin and Sister District Alum, Sara Rodriguez. We know that progressive victories are possible when we support local power-building organizations and the activists that lead them. This type of work is so important because it helps foster civic engagement that translates into voter participation.
Can't make it? Donate here instead (these are special links tagged to keep track of how much CWCW readers donate, but the money goes to the same place, obviously).
Win Races! 🗳
Last chance to request letters from Swing Left for the NY-03 election! You’ll receive Vote Forward-style letter templates and addresses for Suozzi’s race! Last day to request addresses is tomorrow, February 2nd!
Sign up for a Zoom letter writing party here—there are four more between now and the election.
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
Read this great explainer! Is clean hydrogen a climate solution? Depends how it’s made — and used.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: ] [H/T] [Text to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
No Resistbot letter today. I’m very behind!
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
The administration has announced that FEMA will be financing the installation of solar arrays on all of the commercial buildings they are involved in restoring. It's not everything, but it's a good start.
I'd post the article but it's 4 pages of bureaucratic gobbledygook so I decided just to share the news.
Just a reminder about the power of state legislatures to undo democracy- sent by The States Project:.
Friends,
Last week, The New York Times published this piece which says what we’ve been saying since 2020: rightwing-controlled state legislatures are a massive threat to voters’ right to select the next president.
The authors say that a 2020 ruling from the Supreme Court gives state legislatures the power to direct electors how to cast their electoral votes — which means rightwing state lawmakers could claim the ability to award electors to their preferred candidate, no matter who voters choose.
This is only one way that anti-democratic rightwing power in state legislatures is a legitimate threat to the upcoming presidential election. In the coming weeks, we’ll take a closer look at why state legislative power in our 2024 states is critical to protecting the free and fair presidential election — and our democracy.
The good news? Together in 2022, we won enough new governing power in state legislatures to make this kind of anti-democratic power grab much more difficult! But the risk from state legislatures persists – and the results in key states in 2024 could be the difference.