Chop Wood, Carry Water 2/5

No off days during a coup. (:

Hey, everyone.

The newsletter is supposed to be dark today, but we’re officially in the middle of a coup, and things are moving fast. I just got this alert from an Indivisible affiliate and I wanted to share it with you:

After several Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, were turned away from entering the U.S. Treasury building yesterday, Axios’ Stephen Neukam reported that Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) announced the caucus is placing a blanket hold on all Trump nominations until Musk’s assault is pulled back.

The switch yesterday was stark—at noon, before the Treasury protest, 24 Democrats backed the confirmation of election denier Doug Coons as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. After the protest, they began voting in lockstep against Trump’s nominees.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) led the way with a blanket hold on any future Trump nominees to the State Department. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Coons (D-Del.) were the first to pledge to vote against all nominees.

They now plan to use Senate rules to dramatically slow the confirmation of Project 2025 architect Russell Vought as Director of Office and Management and Budget; at the Treasury rally Schumer confirmed that all 47 Democrats are aligned with Indivisible’s strategy on Vought.

Good! The Democratic Party's approach seems to be comprised of these three parts:

• Lawsuits to impose injunctions on every specific step the coup has imposed- closing US AID, firing 2 million Federal employees, firing close to half of the FBI agents, firing CIA agents, etc.

• Getting US Dem Senators acting to effectively to shut down the US Senate

• Getting every US House Dem to hold an Emergency Town Hall meeting and organize a popular uprising against the coup.

We can and should pressure our Democratic Senators and Congressmembers to comply with all of the above. I’ve already called my Democratic House rep this morning and said “I understand Leader Jeffries told all House Democrats they needed to hold emergency Town Halls this week. May I ask when the Congressmember’s is?” The staffer had no answer and said he’d call me back. I’ll be calling again in a couple of hours if I haven’t gotten a response.

We all need to demonstrate this type of persistence and assertiveness right now.

One more thing. I’m so sorry, but the Schiff meeting tomorrow is capped—I didn’t realize there was a limit when I wrote about it here. Ack! The limit, by the way, wasn’t imposed by Schiff’s office, as many assumed, but by the organizer of the call. It’s her event, not mine, and I should’ve double checked with her before putting out a mass invitation. My bad!

Anyway, I have already had to email hundreds of people back individually to tell them they can’t come, so please spread the word. Sorry! I’ll definitely post a recap here after it’s done.

Because this isn’t a normal newsletter, but rather a pellmell assortment on a technically “off” day, you’ll see that it doesn’t quite fit to the normal template. There are not one but two Resistbot letters, there are separate calls for your Democratic and Republican Senators, and another call about USAID that should really go out to all of your reps. (Maybe call your Senators twice?) Finally there are three “Get Smarts.” They’re all worthy and important, especially the Ezra Klein piece.

I’m rushing out the door now to go protest at Alex Padilla’s office. More tomorrow. Stay strong and hang in there, folks. And watch the Klein video. It’ll help, I promise.

Call Your Democratic Senators (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.

I’m calling because I am very, very worried. Right now we are witnessing a “sudden illegal taking of government power” by a small unelected group. That is the dictionary definition of a coup. Elon Musk is executing a coup. Senate Democrats need to act accordingly. Please orchestrate as complete a shutdown of the Senate as possible, halting every nomination, until Musk is blocked from his actions at Treasury and USAID, and Trump is stopped from purging all Federal employees, the FBI and CIA. This is a five-alarm fire. There must be absolutely no co-operation with Trump or Republicans until we put it out. Thanks.

[Especially important if your Senators are Fetterman or Welch, both of whom voted yes on Trump nominees in the last 24 hours]

Call Your Republican Senators (find yours here)📲

I’m calling because I’m angry and afraid. Right now we are witnessing a “sudden illegal taking of government power” by a small group of unelected people. That is the dictionary definition of a coup. Elon Musk is executing a coup and Senate Republicans are doing nothing to stop it. It’s despicable. Musk needs to be blocked from his actions at Treasury and USAID, and Trump must be stopped from purging all Federal employees, the FBI and CIA. Kash Patel, Russel Vought, and Tulsi Gabbard can NOT be confirmed. We are looking at the collapse of America as a superpower if the Republicans don’t stop aiding and abetting the pro-Russia oligarchs attacking our country. The Senator swore an oath to the Constitution. They need to uphold it. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲 and your Senators (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______. I’m calling to express my outrage at the actions Trump and Elon Musk are taking against USAID. Trying to shut it down without Congressional approval is illegal. The damage will be not just to humanitarian aid but to our safety and prosperity. Tens of thousands of American jobs have already been lost with more to come. And China will fill the void.

This must be stopped. If trump wants to shut USAID down he needs to go through regular channels. Please make sure to write and sign any letters that protect USAID, talk to your colleagues to convince them to push back, and do everything you can to support any legal action taken. Thanks.

[If Democrat add:] Also, I understand Leader Jeffries told all House Democrats they needed to hold emergency Town Halls this week. May I ask when the Congressmember’s is? [Push hard on this, folks. These reps need to follow through.]

Get Smart #1

Please watch this video Op-Ed by Ezra Klein. Listen to every word. It is the single best thing I’ve heard yet about why these two weeks are showing Trump to be not strong, but weak. It’s so good. Please watch, and please share. Once you understand the logic you can explain it to friends. It’s actually a bit reassuring.

Get Smart #2

Join People’s Action TODAY for a teach-in where they’ll dive deep into the impact of Trump’s dangerous cuts to programs we all need, and how we can push back together.

This teach-in will focus on Republicans’ attempts to deliver their biggest handout to billionaires and corporations, all while gutting funding for critical services.

Wednesday, February 5 at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT

Register here.

Get Smart #3

Indivisible is doing weekly “What’s the Plan?” calls on Thursdays at 3PM ET. I’ve posted about them here before but we have so many new folks that I’m dropping this info one more time. These calls are really, really helpful and informative. I consider them must-attend at this point, as Indivisible is essentially leading the opposition.

RSVP here.

Win Races! 🗳

We have 2 special House elections coming up in Florida! They are in deep red seats but we are going to fight like hell for them anyway, because these are extremely unusual times. Winning them would be a massive coup of our own.

In FL-01 - Democrat Gay Valimont is running to flip Florida's 1st Congressional district. There are SIX other candidates on the ballot (GOP, unaffiliated and write-in)! This crowded field works to Gay's advantage and our efforts are crucial!

Phonebank now through April 1.
On Mondays —sign up here.
Tuesdays —sign up here.
Can't make calls? Donate!

FL-06 - Josh Weil is a single father and public school educator running to flip Fl-06. Josh will offer real world solutions—not just talking points—that address real problems for the people of Florida's 6th district.

Phonebank daily. Sign up here.

Can't make calls? Donate!

Resistbot Letter #1

[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PXHTGI to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]

As your constituent, I am strongly urging you to reject proposed cuts to Medicaid.

As of October 2024, 72,058,701 people in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. were enrolled in Medicaid, and eight in ten Americans view Medicaid favorably.

Capping Medicaid per enrollee costs or dramatically reducing federal Medicaid spending would take away millions of people’s access to life saving medications, treatment for chronic health conditions, and increase medical debt among millions of people who are already struggling under high inflation costs. Proposals to cut Medicaid spending would blow a hole in our state’s budget, and could force cuts in many other needed services.

Medicaid is an essential program that must be protected. That Medicaid cuts are being proposed to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations and anti-immigrant measures is simply unacceptable. I urge you to reject cuts to Medicaid in the tax and funding packages currently being negotiated.

Resistbot Letter #2 (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻

[To: your Senators] [H/T Newtown Action] [Text SIGN PIGNSU to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]

I am writing as someone who worries profoundly about gun violence to implore you to save the FBI from the Trump/Musk purge.

The FBI's top priorities are stopping national security threats, but the Bureau continues to play a key role in combating violent crime in large municipalities and local communities across the United States.

The FBI has been committed to working with its partners to protect schools, workplaces, houses of worship, medical facilities, transportation centers, government facilities, other public gathering sites, and communities. Shortly after the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012, the FBI sought ways to better assist its law enforcement partners. The bureau works to protect our children and loved ones by preventing active shooting incidents.

Dozens of federal prosecutors and FBI officials were terminated over the past several days. On Friday, the Acting FBI Director Driscoll was ordered to provide a list of all FBI employees involved with January 6 investigations. Lawyers for current and former career employees at the Justice Department and the FBI told a top official on Sunday that the dismissals underway at the department violated the law and warned against making public the names of those who worked on cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

I expect my elected members of Congress to take immediate action to prevent a mass ousting of FBI employees who kept their oath to uphold the constitution and put their lives on the line for our nation. Please use any and all authority of Congress to stop the FBI purge.

Also, I urge you to vote NO on Kash Patel's confirmation as FBI director. He is a known gun rights extremist who would not say if the FBI background checks are constitutional during his confirmation hearing. He does not support common sense gun laws and he is supported by Gun Owners of America, an extreme gun lobby group.

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OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.

Talk soon.

Jess