Chop Wood, Carry Water 2/8

Feb 08, 2022

The smallest deed is better than the grandest intention.
—Anonymous

Hi, all, and happy Tuesday.

First of all, thanks to reader Kate F. for pointing me towards this Michael Moore essay, which offers a strong, necessary, and even salutary pep talk for Democratic voters. The name alone says it all: “A Letter From Me to your Defeated Self.” I don’t always agree with Mr. Moore, but on this piece I say yes, yes, yes!

Second of all, I, like you, am enraged by last night’s Supreme Court shadow docket ruling. It’s nauseating. And we haven’t even arrived at their overturning Roe v Wade, which is, sadly, coming. But all of these outrages merely fuel my determination. I will keep working until we’ve expanded the court. I don’t care if it takes years. It will happen.

And it could—in theory, at least—happen soon if we flip a couple more Senate seats in November. Which we CAN. So remember to adopt your state, and then get to work, the sooner the better! THIS is when it matters. October will be too late.

Speaking of flipping Senate seats, I hope to see some of you at my North Carolina voter registration event later today. The more webinars I attend about the Midterm elections—and my GOD I’ve attended a lot—the more it becomes clear just how critical voter registration is going to be to our victory.

So let’s do some of that.

Remember, this is a battle of years, not days. We’re in it for the long haul, and we’re in it to win it. EVERYTHING is on our side—demographics, numbers, common sense, moral right.

Our job? Persistence. Vigor. Courage.

Please find them in yourself—through doing some “simple deeds” now. 💙

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

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

I’m furious that the Supreme Court just voted by shadow docket to restore an Alabama congressional map that’s in blatant violation of the Voting Rights Act. This Court’s extremism does not in any way reflect the will of the American people. The majority of us support voting rights, worker protections, climate action, gun safety, and reproductive rights, but this court is gutting all of them. We have no choice but to expand the Supreme Court by four justices to rebalance it. Is the Senator yet a co-sponsor of S. 1141, the Judiciary Act? If not I’d like them to sign on right away, or explain to me why they won’t. [H/T]

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

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

I’m furious that the Supreme Court just voted by shadow docket to restore an Alabama congressional map that is in blatant violation of the Voting Rights Act. This Supreme Court’s extremism does not in any way reflect the will of the American people. The majority of us support voting rights, workers protections, climate action, gun safety, and reproductive rights, but SCOTUS is gutting all of them. We have no choice but to expand the court by four justices to rebalance it. Is the Congressmember yet a co-sponsor of HR 2584, the Judiciary Act? If not I’d like them to sign on right away, or explain to me why they won’t.

Extra Credit ✅

Read this wonderful Op-Ed, then—no matter what your age— sign a pledge to switch banks by the end of 2022 if the four biggest banks don’t stop funding climate catastrophe. Come on, we can do this! And we have to. Go here to sign.

(Also read this to see the pressure coming from the other side. Hideous. We need to be louder.)

Expand the Court! 🧑🏽‍⚖️

If you’re angry about last night’s SCOTUS shadow docket ruling and you want to see court expansion happen please sign up with Demand Justice; court expansion is essentially their raison d’être. Join their mailing list here, and consider signing up for a letter writing session with them here. It’s a fun and easy way to ask your elected representatives to support the Judiciary Act.

Register Voters! 🗳

Join me today to Defend Democracy by registering voters in North Carolina! We’ll be using Field Team Six’s lists and scripts and registering new Democrats! I’ll train you first. 4-6 PM PST on Zoom.

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

[to your Senator] [H/T] [Quick send code: text SIGN PZYAKI to 50409]

I know that last week President Biden quietly renominated a Trump-selected federal judge, Jennifer Rearden, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. I’m completely and utterly opposed to her confirmation, and I expect the Senator to vote NO.

Rearden’s law firm represented the oil behemoth Chevron in its yearslong legal assault on environmental and human rights attorney Steven Donziger. This fact alone should be disqualifying. Her corporate clients have included Home Depot, Uber, Lehman Brothers, Barclays Capital, and Patriarch Partners. Rearden has long been a donor to Republican politicians in the tri-state area. She’s political, she’s venal, and she’s utterly tied to lobbyists and corporate money.

Jamie Henn, director of Fossil Free Media, has called the president's renomination of her "atrocious."

I am incredibly disappointed by this nomination, and I expect you to vote no. Thanks.

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

Talk tomorrow.

Jess

Chop Wood, Carry Water