Please discuss donations via Act Blue versus responding to email or text directly from candidates. I am concerned that many of those messages are spam, bots, etc. so, I have been donating via Act Blue. But, I recently read that there is “trouble” there. Are they reliably doling out appropriate funds to individual candidates? Does the national Democratic Party put funds behind the candidates in upcoming critical elections? Thank you, Jessica!
Falling back on my cybersecurity training for work, _never_ click on or respond to a link in a text sent to you from someone unknown, and even then... If it's something to support, hop on a browser and look them up and support them that way. Or go to ActBlue.
The Wisconsin race, while super important, receives far more promotion than the special elections to the Congressional House that are taking place in two weeks (also April 1st) in FL districts 01 and 06 to vote Gay Valimont and Josh Weil in and reduce the tiny margin the Rs have in Congress. Add NY when they finally have it, and the Ds could retake the House in months! I suspect the degree to which these two special elections have been ignored reflect the thinking that they are in red districts and Ds can't win, but poles show the gap has been closing and news about SS, Medicare, lack of support for home-care, the end to Zoom doctor visits and so on offer a rare opportunity for Ds to take these districts and possibly even turn them blue for the future by showing their voters what works better. Please promote these races.
I'm hoping that even if they don't win but do lose only by a much smaller margin than the Rs expect that will increase the uneasiness around the safety of red district seats and around supporting this coup. They're both really good candidates in very different ways.
I was just on a call yesterday with the NY candidate, Blake Gendebein. He went through the numbers and I think he’s got a decent chance if we can turn out Dems. One interesting factor in that race is both the interconnected economy and close personal relationships between Northern NY and Ontario, Canada. Trump’s attacks on Canada may alienate a lot of voters.
One frustration I've had is not finding good short video clips or promotions to forward to people in those districts to ask them to share. I get emails from both candidates and those aren't in very shareable form, except I can cut and paste, so
I'm a little worried this might be rude, because very long, but here is the body of an email that just came in minutes ago from Josh Weil's campaign (a fundraiser of course). True, he is the candidate that has always had the smaller margin behind the R candidate, but at first the prognosticators were saying "well, it would take a minor miracle", and I know we can't get too excited, but... well, it Is exciting, isn't it! Here:
"Early voting stats from the special election in Florida’s 6th Congressional District are coming out in local media and it is clear that we have made a historic breakthrough.
In the most populous county of our district, Volusia County, we trail our opponent by just 17 votes.
In a district that went for Trump by 64% in 2024, Democratic mail-in-ballots trail Republican ballots by a margin of 42.7% to 40.2% - meaning we trail by just 2.5%. Considering 17% of mail-in-ballots have come from voters with no party affiliation, a segment of voters we poll extremely well with, we are likely leading in vote-by-mail by a sizable majority.
Democrats have overperformed in every special election of 2025. But those races have all been state and local races - this is the first major congressional race of 2025 and by the looks of it, the Democrat has an incredibly real shot at winning.
Our GOP opponent is freaking out—yelling on conservative radio about our campaign, spreading lies and disgusting smears like that we have MS-13 knocking doors for us and that Josh is a Jihadi - even calling for Josh to be arrested just two weeks before E-Day.
While promising for us, these early voting stats are going to ring out as a distress beacon to every major Republican PAC and donor to bail out our opponent. We are now competing at the highest level against everything in the MAGA arsenal.'
I was going to ask the same about the Ides of Trump postcards - is there anyone checking with the news stations to see if they even know to watch for it? Anyone local to the W.H. going to videotape the mail delivery from the outside? Anyone able to talk to the local post office to see if they are starting to come in? I'm afraid all of that effort will just vaporize without anything to show for it including not amusing (which is energizing!) the senders. Worse, as people remember their efforts (some sent huge numbers!) and never heard a thing from it they are apt to feel discouraged or be less apt to put effort into the next one.
I think the organizers might be suburban or urban rather than rural, where I live. Pickup is in the Morning Saturdays, when I was wrangling with a WiFi and Electricity problem. So, the next pickup after I mailed them (6) wasn't until about 5 pm Monday. If they have anything to say about that, I'd be interested--I know it means they wouldn't all arrive at once.
I worry that the postcards to the White House won't have any effect. There is no action to be taken even if they are noted and received. As you said, that people might feel they have nothing to show for that effort. Postcards to Voters for specific races are much more consequential. Here is a linktree with info about signing up (and more) for Postcards To Voters for the races in both WI and FL. You can choose the ones you want to write for. https://linktr.ee/postcardstovoters
Made the calls. In addition I left blistering message on Padilla Sacramento phone because the Washington phone cuts you off. And won't take messages after business hours
Washington time. Which leaves his constituents ahit out of luck.
Also resist botted. And did the extra credit letter. All with a cat on my chest.
Jess, I'm so glad you made the comment about responding to emails...and please don't feel bad...it's called growing!! In the old days of snail mail, once a public figure got to a certain level of popularity, they had to hire someone to take care of their mail. Email makes it much harder to set boundaries...you don't even have to open an envelope!
Those of us who have known you from back when will joyfully celebrate your growth, recognize you have a life underneath your activism, and enjoy what connections we do have with you through your work. Much love, Terry
Robert Hubbell in his substack said "There is no better resource for daily acts of resistance than Jessica Craven’s website." You go, Jess!!! With the link!!
Happy to have found CWCW upon the recommendation of a good friend. When we mentioned this to our daughter in L.A., she said "oh, I know Jessica from Civic Sundays!" She (Hannah) is so happy to have that CS community.
Regarding your “Tesla Takedown” protests: Have some compassion. Not everyone can afford to sell the Tesla that they bought for environmental reasons. We are not rich, but we bought the car two years ago because we believed it would help fight climate change and it was superior to other electric vehicles. We can’t afford to sell the car at a loss (the resale market has crashed). And how does that hurt Elon Musk? Protesting at stations where EV cars need to charge is also not kind. Go ahead and protest at Tesla dealerships, but have some compassion for Tesla owners. We’re not bad people.
Con you send out information as to how we can contact Supreme Court Justices. I think we should be l contacting as to how important their job is to our democracy. They are really going to be our final line of defense!
Also I would like to thank Federal Judge James Boasberg, do you know how I could get in touch with him. I think we all owe him a huge thanks!!!
Please discuss donations via Act Blue versus responding to email or text directly from candidates. I am concerned that many of those messages are spam, bots, etc. so, I have been donating via Act Blue. But, I recently read that there is “trouble” there. Are they reliably doling out appropriate funds to individual candidates? Does the national Democratic Party put funds behind the candidates in upcoming critical elections? Thank you, Jessica!
I'm actually about to ask this question on a webinar--I'll get back.
You're like a magician/sorcerer!!! <3
Good Q. I hope some knowledgeable person responds.
Falling back on my cybersecurity training for work, _never_ click on or respond to a link in a text sent to you from someone unknown, and even then... If it's something to support, hop on a browser and look them up and support them that way. Or go to ActBlue.
Please do get back to us on this! Thx so much!
Yes, important question, thanks!
The Wisconsin race, while super important, receives far more promotion than the special elections to the Congressional House that are taking place in two weeks (also April 1st) in FL districts 01 and 06 to vote Gay Valimont and Josh Weil in and reduce the tiny margin the Rs have in Congress. Add NY when they finally have it, and the Ds could retake the House in months! I suspect the degree to which these two special elections have been ignored reflect the thinking that they are in red districts and Ds can't win, but poles show the gap has been closing and news about SS, Medicare, lack of support for home-care, the end to Zoom doctor visits and so on offer a rare opportunity for Ds to take these districts and possibly even turn them blue for the future by showing their voters what works better. Please promote these races.
I have definitely talked about them a number of times. They are suuuuuuper long shots but I think very worth fighting for.
I'm hoping that even if they don't win but do lose only by a much smaller margin than the Rs expect that will increase the uneasiness around the safety of red district seats and around supporting this coup. They're both really good candidates in very different ways.
I was just on a call yesterday with the NY candidate, Blake Gendebein. He went through the numbers and I think he’s got a decent chance if we can turn out Dems. One interesting factor in that race is both the interconnected economy and close personal relationships between Northern NY and Ontario, Canada. Trump’s attacks on Canada may alienate a lot of voters.
Been writing pcs to district 6 for Josh Weil. I’m ‘hopeful’ about his chances vs a Randy Fine although it’s a tough sprint in that area.
One frustration I've had is not finding good short video clips or promotions to forward to people in those districts to ask them to share. I get emails from both candidates and those aren't in very shareable form, except I can cut and paste, so
I'm a little worried this might be rude, because very long, but here is the body of an email that just came in minutes ago from Josh Weil's campaign (a fundraiser of course). True, he is the candidate that has always had the smaller margin behind the R candidate, but at first the prognosticators were saying "well, it would take a minor miracle", and I know we can't get too excited, but... well, it Is exciting, isn't it! Here:
"Early voting stats from the special election in Florida’s 6th Congressional District are coming out in local media and it is clear that we have made a historic breakthrough.
In the most populous county of our district, Volusia County, we trail our opponent by just 17 votes.
In a district that went for Trump by 64% in 2024, Democratic mail-in-ballots trail Republican ballots by a margin of 42.7% to 40.2% - meaning we trail by just 2.5%. Considering 17% of mail-in-ballots have come from voters with no party affiliation, a segment of voters we poll extremely well with, we are likely leading in vote-by-mail by a sizable majority.
Democrats have overperformed in every special election of 2025. But those races have all been state and local races - this is the first major congressional race of 2025 and by the looks of it, the Democrat has an incredibly real shot at winning.
Our GOP opponent is freaking out—yelling on conservative radio about our campaign, spreading lies and disgusting smears like that we have MS-13 knocking doors for us and that Josh is a Jihadi - even calling for Josh to be arrested just two weeks before E-Day.
While promising for us, these early voting stats are going to ring out as a distress beacon to every major Republican PAC and donor to bail out our opponent. We are now competing at the highest level against everything in the MAGA arsenal.'
How did the ides of Trump postcard deluge go? Any idea if organizers met their goal of one million mailed? Thx!
Yes I would love to know too? I wonder if they even got past the Post office at the White House
Ha. I had a bit about this in the newsletter this AM and cut it. I'll talk about it tomrorow.
I was going to ask the same about the Ides of Trump postcards - is there anyone checking with the news stations to see if they even know to watch for it? Anyone local to the W.H. going to videotape the mail delivery from the outside? Anyone able to talk to the local post office to see if they are starting to come in? I'm afraid all of that effort will just vaporize without anything to show for it including not amusing (which is energizing!) the senders. Worse, as people remember their efforts (some sent huge numbers!) and never heard a thing from it they are apt to feel discouraged or be less apt to put effort into the next one.
I'll address this whole thing tomorrow.
I think the organizers might be suburban or urban rather than rural, where I live. Pickup is in the Morning Saturdays, when I was wrangling with a WiFi and Electricity problem. So, the next pickup after I mailed them (6) wasn't until about 5 pm Monday. If they have anything to say about that, I'd be interested--I know it means they wouldn't all arrive at once.
I worry that the postcards to the White House won't have any effect. There is no action to be taken even if they are noted and received. As you said, that people might feel they have nothing to show for that effort. Postcards to Voters for specific races are much more consequential. Here is a linktree with info about signing up (and more) for Postcards To Voters for the races in both WI and FL. You can choose the ones you want to write for. https://linktr.ee/postcardstovoters
I'll be writing about this tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Made the calls. In addition I left blistering message on Padilla Sacramento phone because the Washington phone cuts you off. And won't take messages after business hours
Washington time. Which leaves his constituents ahit out of luck.
Also resist botted. And did the extra credit letter. All with a cat on my chest.
Love it! Thanks!
Thanks for giving us direction when there is so much to oppose.
Of course!
Thanks for the info on Resistbot.
I live in Wisconsin. Received 4 postcards encouraging voting for Susan Crawford! Thank you all for supporting Dems in my state!
Amazing!
Did my calls and resistbot today! Thank you for making it so easy. Took 5 mins.
Jess, I'm so glad you made the comment about responding to emails...and please don't feel bad...it's called growing!! In the old days of snail mail, once a public figure got to a certain level of popularity, they had to hire someone to take care of their mail. Email makes it much harder to set boundaries...you don't even have to open an envelope!
Those of us who have known you from back when will joyfully celebrate your growth, recognize you have a life underneath your activism, and enjoy what connections we do have with you through your work. Much love, Terry
Something like 110K subscribers here *a week or two ago* ... I remember when she was under 10k!
**OMG just checked it's over 150K now!!!!!**
Yeah it’s been insane. ☺️
Robert Hubbell in his substack said "There is no better resource for daily acts of resistance than Jessica Craven’s website." You go, Jess!!! With the link!!
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile
Happy to have found CWCW upon the recommendation of a good friend. When we mentioned this to our daughter in L.A., she said "oh, I know Jessica from Civic Sundays!" She (Hannah) is so happy to have that CS community.
Oh yay! Yes! So wonderful to have you here!
Thank you for sharing my petition!
Hope you get lots of signatures! Thanks for writing it!
1,100 and counting.
Hi!
Please help promote the MOST POTENT LEGAL ACTION WE ALL CAN TAKE...GENERAL CONSUMER STRIKE.
We need to hold the American economy hostage until basic demands are met.
1) The pres. Must respect the rule of law.
2) The pres. Must acknowledge separation of powers.
--please buy only necessities.
--sell American stocks if possible.
--postpone travel and renovations.
If we don't spend, the economy slows...and more people don't spend.
$$$ talk, both to Trump's base and Tech Bros.
Will this hurt everyone? Yes. But Trump has declared war on our legal system and constitution. War hurts.
We regularly boycott businesses and countries that don't respect basic human rights, democracy and rule of law. We have become one of those countries.
HOW CAN WE SURVIVE AN ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN?
--donate what you can to neighbors and food banks.
--join the gift economy through sites like Buy Nothing and Nextdoor.
--ask neighbors and friends for what you need.
Thanks and pass it on to anyone feeling helpless!
I support this idea, as long as people keep shopping at small businesses.
Regarding your “Tesla Takedown” protests: Have some compassion. Not everyone can afford to sell the Tesla that they bought for environmental reasons. We are not rich, but we bought the car two years ago because we believed it would help fight climate change and it was superior to other electric vehicles. We can’t afford to sell the car at a loss (the resale market has crashed). And how does that hurt Elon Musk? Protesting at stations where EV cars need to charge is also not kind. Go ahead and protest at Tesla dealerships, but have some compassion for Tesla owners. We’re not bad people.
Con you send out information as to how we can contact Supreme Court Justices. I think we should be l contacting as to how important their job is to our democracy. They are really going to be our final line of defense!
Also I would like to thank Federal Judge James Boasberg, do you know how I could get in touch with him. I think we all owe him a huge thanks!!!