Chop Wood, Carry Water 2/6

The solution? You.

Hi, all, and happy Tuesday,

Well. Did I call it? The supplemental is, for all intents and purposes, dead; Donald Trump will be remembered as the one who killed it. In this case I don’t enjoy being right—the fact that one of our two major parties has been subsumed into the maniacal will of a venomous, self-seeking criminal is very bad for our country. It’s also dangerous for our allies.

This isn’t to say that we’re going to stop pushing for passage of some version of the supplemental; we’re not. We’ll put our all into getting at least the Ukraine funding part of it—because they deserve that much and more from us. But with Trump putting his thumb on the proverbial scale our chances of passing any legislation going forward are slim.

Is there a silver lining to this turn of events? I’d hardly call it that, but we can and should, at least, turn it to electoral advantage. Between now and November it’s on us to constantly and loudly remind voters that Trump knows only how to create problems—not solve them. That he sows chaos, division, and dysfunction, while Biden brings order, calm, and stability. That he wants a broken border, while Biden is eager to try to fix it. That he supports dictators, while Biden is fighting for democracy. That he wants a government beholden to him, not the People, while Biden is committed to the opposite.

We must also—especially in light of the DC Circuit’s at-long-last ruling from this morning—keep reminding independent and persuadable voters that Trump is running for President for one reason and one only: to stay out of prison.

This must become the mantra of every person hoping to beat him. We must repeat it until we’re blue in the face. Every day. Everywhere. In every forum, large and small.

Meanwhile we must keep organizing, building our power and working to win everywhere at the ballot box. On that note, two quick things:

First, a reminder that I’m leading a “smart giving” event tonight for Swing Left San Gabriel Valley. The sign up info is in the “Give 💰” section.

Second: please join me as members of the Chop Wood, Carry Statehouses Giving Circle! The States Project, as you know, is one of my top picks for donations, and this year I hope to raise—gulp—100K for them. Will you help me do it?

Either way, please vote on which state you think we should raise money for. First, check out the States Project’s target states for 2024. You’ll see there are 7. Read the short blurbs for each state, then consider which one (or ones) you think we should raise money for. Finally, take my quick poll here! If there’s an overwhelming favorite we’ll choose that one. If there are a couple of top contenders we’ll do both! Either way I want you to feel like this is your Giving Circle, too—unless you run a different one—because I can’t raise that much money without your help!

Remember, for every problem there is a solution. Trump is a problem. A huge one. So is today’s Republican party. So are the people who fund them.

But we have a solution. It’s you. And me. The many. Together we’re more than enough to meet this moment.

Never forget it.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

I’m furious that Republicans are threatening to walk away from the supplemental security bill they’ve been working on for months. Why are they wasting Americans’ time and money by negotiating endlessly, getting almost everything they wanted, and then saying they won’t even consider it? It’s outrageous. We’ve got to address the border situation. We have to get Ukraine the aid they need. We have to get aid to Gazans. I don’t agree with many of the provisions in this bill, but governing is about compromise. Donald Trump is not in office and shouldn’t be calling the shots. Senators should sit down at the negotiating table and get this done. If the bill has problems fix them. But pass something! Do your jobs!

Also, please pass the bipartisan Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 now. Thanks.

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 threatening to tank the supplemental security bill Senate Republicans been working on for months. Why are they wasting Americans’ time and money? Senate Republicans negotiated for 4 months and got almost everything they wanted. Now House leadership is saying it won’t even consider the bill? It’s outrageous. We’ve got to address the border situation. We have to get Ukraine the aid they need. We have to get aid to Gazans. I don’t agree with many of the provisions in the bill, but governing is about compromise. Donald Trump is not in office and shouldn’t be calling the shots. If the bill has problems fix them. But pass something! Do your jobs! Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Please send this letter to President Biden either as a Resistbot (by texting SIGN PPDFNI to 50409) or through the White House contact form if you wish to copy, paste, and edit it. [H/T Erin Reed]

I know that, in a letter released Friday, every member of Florida's Democratic congressional delegation urged your administration to use its powers to block Florida's driver's license gender marker ban for transgender individuals using the federal Real ID act. I support this request 100%.

As the letter states:

“If [these] revisions are allowed to stand in Florida, and similar provisions are allowed to stand in other states, they will undoubtedly continue to spread, creating more confusion and inconsistency while severely hampering Americans' ability to travel, including LGBTQ+ American's ability to leave states that are hostile to their existence.”

This would be unacceptable. The United States federal government should mandate Florida to come into compliance and use every other power at its disposal to prevent discrimination against transgender individuals on driver's licenses.

The Biden administration has an important tool to utilize to counteract anti-trans Republican legislatures across the country. Please use it. Thanks.

Get Smart! 📚

Webinar: Introduction to the Environmental Voter Project on Thursday, Feb. 8th, 12pm ET / 9am PT.

You’ve got another chance to hear about the remarkable work the Environmental Voter Project is doing. Please take it if you can! You’ll be so impressed!

Register here.

Spread the Word! 📣

Subscribe to the Grassroots Connector!

The Grassroots Connector is a new Substack publication written for pro-democracy activists and anyone interested in organizing to defeat Trump and MAGA. It focuses on improving the work and results of pro-democracy grassroots electoral organizations and their allies.

The first edition features an article by Beto O'Rourke about voter registration work in Texas, and another about how grassroots groups have been able to coordinate effectively with Tom Suozzi's Campaign to win the February 13 special election to fill the New York House seat vacated by George Santos. 

You can subscribe for free here.  Please sign up today, and please pass this invitation on to others who might be interested. A more informed movement of organizers and activists will help us win the 2024 elections and build our strength for the years to come.

Give 💰!

Tonight, Tuesday, February 6 at 6:30 PM PT (sorry—it’s late for East Coasters), Swing Left San Gabriel Valley will host me as I talk about strategic donations, how to get the biggest bang for our buck in the most important election year of our lives and common mistakes left-leaning donors make. All welcome. It’ll be fun and hopefully very useful!

Register here.

Win Races! 🗳

The Special Election in NY-03 is in ONE WEEK! We need all hands on deck! Can you imagine how awful it would be to lose this election? Please take a phonebanking shift for Tom Suozzi. Just one! There are loads to choose from in this document. Remember, at this point you’ll be doing pure GOTV (Get Out the Vote) so there’ll be no persuasion necessary. You’ll just be nudging people to get out and vote and helping them find their polling place, etc. Fun!

I’ll be at the Grassroots Dems phonebank later today from 3-5 PT. Join me? Sign up here.

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

[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PJDACP to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]

I’m writing as a constituent—and as someone who’s deeply worried about the climate crisis—to say that Congressional investigations into President Biden's pause on new Liquefied Natural Gas export permits are unnecessary and ill-informed.

The facts are clear that this is a temporary pause on new LNG permits - it will not affect existing exports or new LNG export terminals that are already working or under construction. Second, only Department of Energy permits, and only those applying to LNG exports, will be covered by the pause. Our allies in Europe and beyond will not face shortages or disruptions in their fuel supplies as a result.

Climate scientists and energy economists are clear: LNG is already bad for the climate, and is already diving up prices for US consumers, at a time when our allies in Europe are already reducing demand for fossil fuels. The LNG pause is a smart decision by President Biden, and Congress should focus its effort on making it permanent, and accelerating the transition to clean, renewable energy at home and abroad. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess