Chop Wood, Carry Water 2/4
Be a mosquito
If you think you are too small to make a difference you haven’t spent a night with a mosquito.
~ African Proverb
Hi, all, and happy Friday!
Once again I’m multitasking—I’m at my monthly SoCal AQMD meeting waiting to make public comment about port pollution. So forgive me if my words seem scattershot.
I’ll just say this: Ben Wikler’s talk yesterday was as fantastic as I thought it would be. He underscored once again how important Wisconsin is in the fight to stop MAGAs from undermining our democracy. He also took pains to remind us that Wisconsin has very important elections coming up on April 5th—some of those races will determine who’s in charge of elections and vote counting in November, so it’s critical that folks volunteer for the WisDems NOW, not later.
He also reminded us that the Senate race isn’t the only critical one in Wisconsin in November. Governor Tony Evers has vetoed six different voter suppression bills this year. A new bill has been introduced that would nullify elections if the margin of victory is within the number of absentee ballots (!!) We can only get laws like this overturned if we have a Democratic Governor who can veto them. But the Republican candidates running against Evers in November are “stop-the-stealers.” The threat of elections being overturned if he loses his Governor’s race, in short, is real. We need a Democratic Governor in that state.
The good news, according to Wikler, is that the energy in the state is amazing. Volunteers are seasoned and galvanized, and are already hard at work. But they need more help. So once again I urge you, if you haven’t yet decided what state you want to focus on, to “adopt Wisconsin” by going here. You’ll find links to donate to the WisDems, or Tony Evers, or any of several fantastic grassroots groups in Wisconsin. There are also several Run For Something candidates to support if you choose—some of them may be running to help administer elections. We need them!
You’ll also find lots of ways to volunteer, including a link to sign up with the Wisconsin Dems to phonebank. I can’t recommend it highly enough—their trainings are literally my favorite. Again, the time to act is now. I trust Ben when he says the April 5th elections are more important than anyone realizes. Let’s knock them out of the park.
And, of course, let’s spread the word.
And call our reps.
And send our Resistbots.
And give ourselves a hug. Because it’s Friday, and WE are on the right side of history. 🥰
P.S. There were 8 people at my Arizona phonebank yesterday! Woot!
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I want the Senator to push through a concurrent version of the House bill H.R. 55 – the Emmett Till Antilynching Act and the H.R. 1727 – Emmett Till and Will Brown Justice for Victims of Lynching Act 2021. These bills are no-brainers and should be passed immediately—ideally during Black History month. Thanks. [H/T]
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I understand that the House is planning to vote as soon as next week on the 2021 Postal Reform Act (H.R. 3076), which will make sweeping and necessary changes to the U.S. Postal Service. I’m glad to hear that it has bipartisan support and want the Congressmember to support it. Thanks.
Extra Credit
Today is National Thank A Mail Carrier Day! Beyond general appreciation for your mail carrier by saying hi or clearing snow and ice on their path, today is the perfect day to thank postal workers for packing and delivering millions of COVID-19 tests to every household in the U.S. This isn’t just being nice—we are really trying to push back against the DeJoyists—who want to cut USPS services—by highlighting that the USPS is capable of great things when given the chance.
Please take a picture of your USPS delivered COVID-19 tests and post it on social using the hashtags #FreeAtHomeCovidTests #ThanksPostalWorkers & #ThankaMailCarrierDay – or check out this toolkit with sample tweets and posts. If you do one thing this week to save the post office, this is it!
Extra Extra Credit
This week, the Biden administration and the EPA took new steps to halt the USPS’s plan to spend $11.3 billion on a new fleet of USPS trucks. Citing the environmental implications of this being a mostly gas-powered fleet, this plan is incongruent with Biden’s goal to convert all federal vehicles to electric.
Please sign this petition to the USPS Board of Governors and Louis DeJoy demanding they listen to the EPA. We’ve been working on this for awhile, and we need a final push—let’s do this!
Chop Wood, Give Dollars 💰
Per a subscriber’s request I’ve put together a list of the 4 or 5 places I think are best to give political donations to right now. Here it is, along with a couple of sentences on why each one is so critical. I’ll continue to update it as I learn of new places, but I assure you these groups will remain top of list.
Don’t feel like clicking? If I had to do one I would choose either the Wisconsin Democrats (see above) or the Run For Something Black History Month fund. Read this article to understand why. Or this one. Or—even better—listen to this podcast interview with Amanda Littman, the founder. I’m telling you, this group is going to save the country—if we fund it.
Get Smart!
On Tuesday, 2/8 at 12pm ET Big Tent will be hosting Jackie Payne, founder & Executive Director of Galvanize USA. I LOVE WHAT THIS GROUP DOES!!!
Jackie will discuss Galvanize’s research-backed and year-round approach engaging white women in rural, small-town and suburban America to protect against toxic polarization (and get them voting our way!)
Galvanize is moving the margins where it matters most and protecting our democracy in the process.
Win Races! 🗳
WisDems is hosting a phone bank every Saturday—including this one— from 4:00pm- 5:30pm CST. Folks will be calling Democrats in Wisconsin and encouraging them to sign up for Vote by Mail for the April 5th elections—they’ll then stay signed up for the November elections, so win win!
Moderators will do a great training first. Can you sign up here?
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here!)
[to all 3 reps] [H/T and H/T] [Quick send text SIGN PTETGI to 50409]
Right now, members of the House and the Senate have access to an enormous amount of information about our economy and business environment that isn’t available to the public.
Existing ethics laws don’t go far enough to stop senators and representatives from using the information you receive in the course of your legislative duties for personal profit.
As a voter and your constituent, I’m urging you to do everything in your power to pass legislation that bans members of Congress from buying or selling individual stocks while they’re in office. This is a bipartisan issue that the majority of Americans support—and you should too. The House needs to pass H.R. 336: the TRUST in Congress Act and H.R. 6490: Banning Insider Trading in Congress Act. Senators should support S. 3494: the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act and S. 3504: the Banning Insider Trading in Congress Act.
This is critical if Congress is going to start to earn back our trust. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess
Being a Cheesehead from Northern Wisconsin, I thank you for your good words today! Also, I really appreciate the guidance from you on how to spend my efforts on the many things we can do!
🦟🦟🦟