Chop Wood, Carry Water 2/27
Watch them squirm
Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!
I feel a bit better than I did yesterday. I think it’s the schadenfreude.
Watching Republicans scramble to deal with the massive blowback from the Alabama ruling is delicious—it’s the gift that keeps on giving. They’re trapped in a logical fallacy, and they know it. No matter how much they insist they’re reasonable people who “support IVF,” they’re not, and they can’t—not while simultaneously embracing fetal personhood, which they must if they’re to keep the abortion kooks happy.
Most of us already knew it, but a new sliver of Americans is waking up to just how dire the consequences of Republicans’ extreme policies are—even for people who have heretofore supported or ignored them. Good.
Will we be saved by the Alabama ruling? Of course not! But sometimes we get a moment to stand back and watch our opponents juggle a whole bunch of dirty diapers, and this is such a moment. Enjoy!
Also, don’t forget to hit them—hard—while their hands are full. They deserve it.
Speaking of which, a government shutdown is immanent. Since Mike Johnson loves a “laddered” Continuing Resolution, we are facing only a partial shutdown on Friday; the rest of the government shuts down a week later. The Freedom Caucus is, as usual, trying to extract a bunch of awful policy riders that no Democrat in their right mind will support, and without which they say they won’t yield. So it’s unclear where this will go. I made a TikTok explaining how we got here and some of the different ways it could play out. Use it if it’s helpful.
Remember this: we have only today. Let’s use it to walk towards progress, not away from it, to bring love where there’s hate, to bring unity where there’s division, to bring solutions where there are problems, and to bring hope where there is despair.
It’s a design for living that can not only heal the country, but can heal and lift us up as well.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m calling to find out if the Senator is co-sponsoring S. 1999, the Right to Contraception Act. This bill does one thing: it protects access to contraception in the U.S. I’m assuming the Senator supports it?
[If yes] Great! I want them to push for passage immediately. We can no longer take anything for granted. We need access to contraception codified into law now.
[If no or noncommittal or just a GOP member] I can’t emphasize strongly enough how much the Senator’s lack of unqualified support for this basic right disappoints and infuriates me. Do better. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m calling for two reasons today:
First, I want the Congressmember to support getting funding for Ukraine before the full House for a vote. That the speaker has not brought that legislation to the floor is a gift to Putin. Not funding Ukraine is a gift to Putin. Not standing firmly with our NATO allies is a gift to Putin. Please show the world that America stands with democracy, not a murderous dictator. [H/T Small Deeds Done]
Second, it is unthinkable that a government shutdown once again looms because some in Congress want to politicize the appropriations process by introducing extraneous, cruel, and controversial policy riders that only will delay bill passage and jeopardize the health and prosperity of our country. Pass a clean budget bill now, please. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
Let’s contact the Biden Administration and the Department of Justice to ensure the DOJ hears America’s youth-led climate case, Juliana v. United States.
In nearly nine years, the DOJ has made twenty-two attempts to kill Juliana and silence the 21 Juliana youth plaintiffs. No other case in history has faced this kind of government persecution.
If the DOJ succeeds, the Juliana youth won’t be heard in open court. If we succeed, the youth will go to trial and they will win—and force the United States, the BIGGEST contributor to climate change in the world, to make systemic change and phase out fossil fuels.
Please email a letter to the Biden Administration and the DOJ telling them to stop blocking this case. There’s sample language there you can use for your message, but please personalize!
Get Smart! 📚
Ooh this sounds amazing!
On Feb. 29 please join Swing Left for a deep dive into their 2024 Super States Strategy.
They’ll dig into why they chose their 12 Super States and how the critical races up and down the ballot in each will determine the balance of power in our country come Election Day. They’ll also give more details on this year’s organizing programs and trainings, discuss tools and community resources, and highlight all of the ways you can get involved to elect Democrats this year.
Swing Left’s team of political and strategy experts will be joined by special guests Rep. Ruben Gallego, Arizona Senate Candidate, and Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden-Harris 2024 Campaign Manager. We hope to see you there!
Thursday, Feb. 29 at 5pm PST/8pm EST. You can register here.
Spread the Word! 📣
The DNC has a social ambassadors training twice a week! For those of you interested in helping to spread the Democrats’ message via social media this is right up your alley!
From the DNC:
Social Ambassadors are a community of volunteers that enable Democrats to create lasting organizing power through online collaborative story and content sharing. Our mission is to spread our message online by using shareable content and social media best practices to help amplify achievements of both the Democrats and the Biden-Harris administration over our personal social media networks.
Get more info and sign up for a training here!
Give 💰!
Whether or not you’ve yet given to my Chop Wood, Carry Statehouses Giving Circle, (which is raising money to win statehouse seats in Arizona and Pennsylvania), you may want to attend the State Project’s “State Preview Series” gathering tonight, in which they’ll talk about their strategies in AZ, KS, and NV. I am signed up.
These talks are always amazing, inspiring, and informative, and for those of us working on raising money to flip statehouses, clearly understanding the goals in one of our adopted states couldn’t be more critical.
Sign up here. It’s at 8PM ET.
Win Races—California! 🗳
Commit to Democracy made 5,000 calls to help bring in the vote for Tom Suozzi in New York. Now, they’re focussed on bringing in the vote for the California primaries on March 5th. And this is so important, as voter turnout is LOW in CA so far!! They are phoning to get out the vote for Democratic Candidate Adam Gray in CD-13 every Wednesday. Can you help?
Win Races—Arizona!
Swing Blue Alliance is recruiting volunteers to go to Phoenix or Tucson to canvas and do on-site tabling SOON—like, before it gets too hot. To find out more, read this information sheet. We need you!
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: All three reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PLUOIT to Resistbot at 50409]
The current Supreme Court is the most conservative in nearly a century. Rather than being a neutral arbiter of the law, the GOP-packed Court is advancing a far-right agenda and undermining our democracy.
The majority of Americans have lost faith in this unethical Court because of their continuous attacks on our fundamental freedoms and willingness to ignore precedent to hand out big wins to partisan extremists.
I want you to support legislation already introduced in Congress to rein in this out of control Court, including HR 2584 / S. 1141 the Judiciary Act and H.R.5566 the TERM/BATL Act in the House or S 3096 the Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act of 2023 in the Senate. The Judiciary Act would restore ideological balance to the Court by adding four more seats to the bench and implementing 18-year term limits for current and future justices would align the Court more closely to the democratic choices of the American people and ensure that every president gets to appoint an equal number of justices.
As a voter and your constituent, I am urging you to co-sponsor legislation that would expand the Supreme Court bench and implement term limits. It’s time for Congress to perform its constitutional duty and act as a check on the Supreme Court’s extreme partisanship. Do your job! Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
"Remember this: we have only today. Let’s use it to walk towards progress, not away from it, to bring love where there’s hate, to bring unity where there’s division, to bring solutions where there are problems, and to bring hope where there is despair."
Such a keeper, this collection of words. Thank you, Jessica!
Whenever we start to tell about the danger to our democracy, remember how the same is undermining our republic, and maybe change the word. A stable republic (Ben Franklin"if you can keep it") is crucial to support our messy democracy. The Orange Bully is out to destroy us both. (not repeating the name Frame.
Biden; Freedom from Fear.