Chop Wood, Carry Water 3/15
Hi, all, and happy Friday!
A few quick things:
First, it was really nice seeing so many of you at the Field Team Six event yesterday! I’m glad to report that they made their fundraising goal! Better yet, it seems a great time was had by all.
Second, a brief correction: my webinar next Tuesday will not be my full Activism 101 workshop—I misunderstood the brief. I will be doing a 30-minute version of my “Strategic Giving” workshop. I still hope some of you will come, but if you don’t want to hear about how best to donate political dollars then you may want to skip it.
Finally, I won’t say my thinking has evolved on the TikTok divestment bill—I still think it’s a terrible idea in an election year. But my views on the bill have become more nuanced, and this article by the amazing Matt Stoller of
had a lot to do with it. So check it out! (Also, if you’re interested in anti-trust stuff you absolutely must subscribe. Stoller’s indispensable!)Anyway, I’ll now call myself an “agnostic” on the TikTok legislation. I think it’s something we should do, but after Biden is re-elected. Whatever happens, however, we’ll make the best of it, because that’s what we do, right?
OK, all. One more day of action and then we get to put our proverbial feet up for two days.
Let’s get to work!
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I understand that there’s a new bill called the Shrinkflation Prevention Act of 2024 (S.3819), which would give state attorneys general and the FTC the ability to crack down on companies that are skimping on products to pad their profits. I am furious about corporate price gouging and strongly support such legislation. Will the Senator co-sponsor it immediately? [H/T
]Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
First, I understand that a coalition of lawmakers led by Rep. Sean Casten has reintroduced the IDs for an Inclusive Democracy Act (HR 4852), which would eliminate the cost barrier to obtaining government IDs. Will the Congressmember co-sponsor this bill? If we are going to have voter ID laws we need to make it possible for everyone to afford ID’s. [H/T
]Also, has the Congressmember yet signed on to Congressman McGovern’s discharge petition? [If yes thank. If no add:] I find that deeply disappointing. Is s/he siding with Putin over NATO? We must get Ukraine aid passed. It’s beyond urgent. Please ask the Congressmember to get on the right side of history.Thanks.
Get Smart! 📚
ANOTHER INDIVISIBLE "PERSUASION TO POWER" EVENT
Following up on the Anand Giridharadas The Persuaders event, Indivisible's new Powering Progress campaign is bringing you the educational tools you need to become the most effective communicator you can be.
At this event, you’ll hear from noted activist, intellectual, and professor Loretta Ross about how we must assess and adjust our communication approaches based on the person we’re talking to and how closely they already align with our goals.
Wednesday, March 20 at 8:00 pm ET
Spread the Word! 📣
Great news! DemCast is now organizing on the REACH app!
Key Features:
Content that can be accessed from both a browser and a mobile app
A library of timely & relevant movement content (memes, graphics, videos, etc.)
User chat groups where we can connect with each other, discuss digital strategy, and build community
Mobile app notifications about crucial messaging updates, new shareable content and social media storms
Will you give it a try and help us defeat MAGA disinformation in 2024?
ONCE YOU HAVE A REACH ACCOUNT, CLICK THIS LINK TO JOIN DEMCAST'S 2024 DIGITAL FIELD TEAM:
Join the 2024 Digital Field Team!
Win Races—phonebank! ☎️
Do you remember Tricia Cotham, the North Carolina “Democrat” who switched to the Republican party and basically blew up everything last year? Well, All in for North Carolina is phonebanking into her district on Sunday to invite voters to a MeckDems gathering on the 21st. Their ultimate goal? To oust perhaps the most loathed politician in North Carolina (at least by our side).
Can you help? Sign up here!
Win Races—postcard! 🗳
The Carroll County, Maryland School Board has recently taken a bad turn, passing
book bans, banning pride flags in classrooms, and putting other harmful
policies in place because out of 6 members, currently only one is
progressive.
Two great candidates, Muri Dueppen and Amanda Jozkowski,
are running against two Moms for Liberty candidates in this tough, very
red leaning county wide race. If they both win, they can even up the
school board and stop the regressive policies from continuing.
Dueppen and Jozkowski are both advancing to the general election in
November, so Markers For Democracy volunteers are writing postcards for them now when it is slower and holding them until an October 8th mailing date.
To get started: Follow the instructions here and select Carroll County
School Board.
P.S. The cards are going out to Dems and Independents so there can be no mention of “Democrat” or voting blue etc. on your postcards.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T Americans For tax Fairness] [Text SIGN PULPMC to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
At a time when working families are having trouble affording everything from healthcare to education to housing to food, we need a budget that lowers costs for millions of households―paid for by making the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share.
President Biden’s FY2025 budget would expand the Child Tax Credit, expand Affordable Care Act subsidies to help millions of people afford healthcare in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid, invest in free pre-K for 2 million kids, implement a national paid family and medical leave program, provide free community college, expand Social Security’s modest benefits, and more.
It would also reduce the national debt by nearly $3 trillion.
He does this by raising the corporate tax rate, implementing a 25% tax on the wealth gains of billionaires and ultra-millionaires, ending tax breaks for excessive CEO pay, closing loopholes that encourage corporations to ship jobs and profits offshore, and much more.
I urge Congress to pass President Biden’s FY2025 budget to invest in working people and our future. By wide margins, the American people think that the wealthy and large profitable corporations should pay more of their fair share in taxes. So endorsing the president’s budget is not only good policy, it’s good politics. Thanks!
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Robert Reich made an interesting point on his substack today: the American billionaires who might buy TikTok are no better than the Chinese. What we need to do is regulate it as a public utility, along with Facebook, Twitter, etc. rather than forcing a sale.
I agree that Matt's article provides an interesting perspective.
A persuasive argument can be made by the administration, but that requires the administration to make the argument.