Chop Wood, Carry Water 2/5
Breathe in faith. Breathe out fear.
Hi, all, and happy Monday!
Welp. As usual, the week begins—and will likely end—in absurdity.
The text of the bipartisan immigration bill has been released; it is, as expected, a veritable Santa’s list of Republican border policy goals. Under normal circumstances such a bill would be dead on arrival for Democrats, but because we’re living in the upside down our side is mostly willing—reluctantly—to support it, while the legislation seems moribund on the GOP side of the aisle.
How we feel about the immigration legislation is likely a moot point, though—it seems likely that Trump will stop not only this, but any further legislation from being passed this year. This despite the fact that the immigration bill gives Republicans things they’ll likely never be offered again, and the tax bill passed by the House contains massive giveaways for the very richest Americans. Republicans, in other words, are being instructed to reject long-sought policy goals and cease being even minimally effective…all to benefit the re-election fortunes of a man they quietly despise. And they’re capitulating. It’s the definition of pathetic.
While last year was an embarrassingly unproductive one from a legislative standpoint, then, it may look downright fruitful compared to what Congress achieves in 2024.
It’s beyond exasperating. But we learned a long time to handle exasperation, as well as anger, outrage, fear, and disgust: by channeling them into action.
So that’s what we’ll do, taking our usual bifurcated approach: we’ll keep pushing for policies we want, even when our chances of success are slim, AND we’ll keep working to elect Democrats everywhere, up and down the ballot, so that we can get power everywhere and pass—finally—more good policy!
So exhale your outrage and inhale strength, friends. Breathe out fear. Breathe in faith. Breathe out fury. Breathe in determination. Keep this exercise going whenever you falter.
And let’s. Get. To. Work.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I support the “Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act” (S.3565), which would preserve the ACP by providing it with $7 billion in funding. Please ask the Senator to make sure it passes.
Second, I want the Senator to vote yes on the Child Tax Credit Extension and also on Ukraine funding. Whether or not it’s part of the newly released Supplemental is irrelevant to me. Having said that, we must reform our immigration laws and we must get aid to our allies and people in need in places like Gaza. Please get that done!
[If GOP add:] Finally, I’m livid that Donald Trump seems to be calling the shots in the Republican caucus. Any Senator that puts a criminal’s political demands above the needs of our allies and the American people should resign immediately.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
First, I want the House to pass H.R. 6830, the Books Save Lives Act, to counteract the rise of book bans in public libraries and school libraries. Please ensure that the Congressmember is co-sponsoring this bill. [H/T Every Library]
Second, please ask the Congressmember to support Ukraine funding immediately. I don’t like many provisions in the immigration/supplemental bill, but we must reform our immigration laws and we must get aid to our allies and people in need in places like Gaza. Please do your jobs and get this done!
[If GOP add:] I’m livid that Donald Trump seems to be calling the shots in the Republican caucus now. Any Congressmember that puts a criminal’s political demands above the needs of our allies and the American people should resign immediately. And on that note, I expect the Congressmember to vote no on Mayorkas’s impeachment as well. Enough with the performative politics. S/he works for us. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
Let’s contact the New York Times about their appalling coverage of the South Carolina primaries. Use this page to contact them (choose the “feedback on our coverage” dropdown.) I basically copied and pasted from last night’s Robert Hubbell email, then added a few lines of my own. Feel free to use the below as a template, but do change it up or they’ll ignore us all.
I said:
I am distressed at the way you're covering the Presidential primaries. Over the weekend, Joe Biden crushed the South Carolina primary by winning more than 95% of the vote in every county in South Carolina. It was a blow-out. Yet the the sub-header to the NYTimes’ headline about Joe Biden’s victory was:
"Saturday’s repeat win is an uncertain measure of wider enthusiasm for his re-election bid.”
Huh?
The authors of the story go on to say "Transposing South Carolina’s results in February to November . . . is a tricky proposition, given that Saturday’s primary was viewed by most observers — correctly, as it turned out — as noncompetitive."
What??? The race was not “noncompetitive!” Biden faced two “protest” candidates running on the platform that Biden is too old and infirm to serve a second term. Their protest candidacies received levels of support that are effectively zero and represent statistical noise in a large dataset.
Biden's performance in South Carolina was incredible--he outperformed some polls by 20 points. Why won't you just say it? The Times was happy to laud Trump's relatively lackluster performances in Iowa and New Hampshire. Why the unequal treatment?
A reminder: The media is under no obligation to serve as Biden’s cheerleader. But the fact that the Times and other media keep promoting Trump and undermining Biden terrifies and infuriates me. The two men are surrogates for tyranny and democracy, respectively. Please report accordingly. Thanks.
Get Smart! 📚
There are a lot of great organizations working to help fix our democracy. One of my favorites is RepresentUS.
RepresentUs describes themselves as “America’s leading anti-corruption organization working city by city, state by state to fix our broken political system.” And they’re really good at what they do. Right now they’re supporting more pro-democracy and anti-corruption campaigns than ever before.
Join them for an important strategy call and learn how you can join the movement to strengthen American democracy. You’ll also get to hear from four frontline leaders working to pass Ranked Choice Voting in their states.
RSVP to their Feb. 7th 7pm ET Strategy Call!
(You can also sign up to volunteer with them here. I just did!)
Spread the Word! 📣
Here’s a new Third Way email about No Labels. Please read it and keep spreading the word about how sketchy and dangerous they are!
I’m still working on finding an easier way for you guys to sign up for this list, but in the meantime if you want to receive these weekly No Labels updates please email kdegruyter@thirdway.org and ask to be added. You can tell her I sent you.
Give 💰!
Want to start your own States Project Giving Circle? Want to hang out with
and ? How about both?The Downtown Nasty Women Social Group is co-hosting a zoom event on Tuesday, February 6 at 8pm ET - A Conversation with Robert Hubbell & David Pepper: State Legislatures, the 2024 Elections, & the Power of Giving Circles. It’ll be amazing!
RSVP to get the zoom link.
Win Races! 🗳
Newtown Action Alliance has partnered with Activate America for a postcarding campaign to write to voters in critical districts represented by Republicans standing in the way of gun safety. These are seats that Democrats can flip!
Sign up HERE to begin postcarding. Watch a great webinar about this effort HERE.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: your House rep ] [H/T America’s Voice] [Text SIGN PPLUZN to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
I’m writing to express my opposition to the unprecedented effort to impeach the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. There has not been a serious attempt to impeach a Cabinet secretary since 1876, when in that case corruption and bribery were clearly established. I urge you to reject this brazenly political and reckless effort which is baseless, ahistorical, and sets a dangerous precedent while weaponizing dangerous extremist rhetoric.
Constitutional experts across the political spectrum agree that the GOP-led effort to impeach Secretary Mayorkas is “a stark departure from the Constitution” and has failed to produce any evidence of a high crime or misdemeanor that would warrant these proceedings.
Worse, the efforts to impeach Secretary Mayorkas have been filled with white nationalist conspiracy theories that not only detract from the legitimate policy discussions Congress should be having, but also threaten the fabric of our democratic institutions. Impeachment is a serious and consequential constitutional process that demands a robust and fact-based foundation. To invoke this process based on dangerous conspiracy theories undermines the integrity of our democracy and risks normalizing baseless accusations as a means to sow violent unrest and achieve political goals.
The House has wasted time and taxpayer money throughout most of 2023 investigating President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas and failed to produce a single impeachable offense that comes close to previous, historical standards. Simply put, policy differences do not warrant impeachment. The flagrant abuse of this vital component of democratic checks and balances cannot be legitimized.
I urge you to to disavow this baseless impeachment effort and vote against the impeachment articles brought against Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas. In addressing the challenges our nation faces, it is paramount that we unite against unfounded conspiracy theories and political stunts and prioritize the best interests of the American people. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
I so appreciate your supplying us with specific, actionable, and eminently doable actions. I'm making informed calls to my congressional reps (and sending emails to NYT) because you're equipping me with the right tools. Cheers!
Jess, I too was spurred to action by Robert Hubbell's outstanding piece this morning. Here is what I wrote:
"Imagine for just one second that Donald Trump defeats Nikki Haley in South Carolina 70% to 30%. Think about what your headline is going to be. Is it going to be about Trump’s weakness with voters?
Of course not, and yet here is your sub-headline after Joe Biden defeats two rivals 95% to 5%:
“Four years ago, Black voters in the state revitalized President Biden’s political fortunes. But Saturday’s repeat win is an uncertain measure of wider enthusiasm for his re-election bid.”
"I suggest you try plugging in what you would say in my scenario. Probably something a bit like this, “Four years ago, American voters were tired of Trump’s chaos and mishandling of the pandemic, but yesterday’s dominant win in South Carolina shows his ongoing popularity with his base.” Am I close?
"What are you doing? I know your editorial board recognizes the danger of a Trump autocracy, and yet you persistently paint him as strong and inevitable and Joe Biden as weak and unpopular. What percentage of the vote would it take for you to give Biden a positive headline?
"You have an important role in how American voters perceive the world. Your role in derailing Hillary Clinton’s campaign and your justification of the invasion of Iraq are two examples that should help you keep this in mind. No one expects you to be the Fox News of the left, but please try to be balanced both in your reporting and your headline choices, and remember to focus on the stakes over the odds."
I hope they receive many, many similar letters from your readers and Robert's.