Chop Wood, Carry Water 3/3

Two CWCW subscribers at the protest yesterday!

Hi, all, and happy Monday.

Hope you had a great weekend. I did; Mj and I went to a Tesla Takedown Protest in Westchester yesterday and wow, was it a blast. There was a decent turnout—about 100 people—it would have been larger but there had already been two large Tesla rallies that weekend in LA, one of which Rep. Maxine Waters attended. An embarrassment of riches!

These protests are working, by the way. The AP reports that “as of Friday, [Tesla stock] has dropped 37% since Inauguration Day, a loss of $550 billion in investor wealth.” GOOD! If you haven’t yet attended a Tesla Takedown event please plan to. You can find one here. We can really, really hurt Musk by tanking this stock. Let’s do it!

There were a surprising number of CWCW subscribers at the protest, by the way. How wonderful! It was great to meet so many of you! I know loads of you were out at other gatherings across the country this weekend as well—I want to hear about it in the comments! And a special shout out to any Vermonters who were part of the JD Vance shutdown on Saturday. I could not love you enough for that, and I don’t think I’m alone.

Now on to less cheery news: I heard from a trusted friend yesterday who passed along some information she’d gotten from a lawyer friend who works in the federal government. This person, for obvious reasons, wishes to remain anonymous, but it seems clear that she works at the SSA. Her warning about what’s happening there is chilling.

She starts by saying this:

This person then goes on to list things she’s seeing happening that aren’t getting out to the public. We should raise one or more of these with our lawmakers when we call. There are ten of them; I’ve put them on a google doc here.

Her final conclusion is that we are going to start seeing interruptions to Social Security service imminently if we don’t stop what’s happening. This is being corroborated by former Commissioner Martin O’Malley, who is now saying “Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits. I believe you will see that within the next 30 to 90 days.”

It’s a five alarm fire and we need to respond as such. I’ve included a script below. I couldn’t fit everything in that that this person reported, so feel free to adapt it as you like. And for goodness sakes make it personal—tell your reps how Social Security cuts would affect you personally. They need to hear it!

I urge you to reach out to your Trump-supporting or politically disengaged friends, too, to tell them what’s happening. This is not a drill. We’re all about to lose this program or, at the very least, see payments and services cut dramatically. It can’t happen—and it won’t if we fight back.

It’s a terrible moment in history, but it’s one also ripe with opportunity. Trump and Musk are attempting to tear everything down—to shred our government completely. Maybe it’ll finally be enough to get Americans to stop fighting with each other and start fighting the billionaire class who are making it all possible. Once that happens anything is possible. Suffering will ensue in the interim, of course, and that’s awful. But the best case scenario is that we make that suffering an inflection point to start building a democracy—and a country—that finally works for everyone.

Let’s commit to it.

This is tough, but we’re tougher. I say it often, but that’s because it’s true.

We’re going to win, and you’re going to be part of it. Thanks for that. Now let’s get to work.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

First, I understand that the Senate will vote today on S. 9, the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025.” Please ask the Senator to vote no. This bill will do nothing to protect the safety of girls, but will instead put all women and girls at increased risk of harassment, violence, and traumatic physical examinations. [H/T]

Second, I am deeply alarmed about DOGE’s plans to cut roughly 7,000 workers from Social Security. It’s horrifying. I also heard that the entire Office of Transformation has already been dissolved, as well as the entire Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity. And so much more. These attacks on Social Security are outrageous. If I or someone I love loses my Social Security or has services interrupted because of these staffing cuts I will be furious. Stop Musk now. Get him out of our government. He’s destroying it. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I am deeply alarmed about DOGE’s plans to cut roughly 7,000 workers from Social Security. It’s horrifying. I also heard that the entire Office of Transformation has already been dissolved, as well as the entire Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity. And so much more. These attacks on Social Security are outrageous. If I or someone I love loses my Social Security or has services interrupted because of these staffing cuts I will be furious. Stop Musk now. Get him out of our government. He’s destroying it. Thanks.

[If GOP add:] Killing programs we’ve paid into is going to lose the Congressmember his/her seat, and make Republicans lose the House next year. I will work hard to ensure it.

[If Democrat add:] Also, Democrats can’t support any funding agreement that doesn’t stop the illegal firing of federal workers and rein in DOGE. Seriously. We have leverage. Use it. This is life or death for millions. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Someone in the comments yesterday had the beautiful idea of sending a note of apology/support/thanks to President Zelensky. You can do so at:

Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky, Embassy of Ukraine, 3350 M. St. NW, Washington DC 20007

or write to: emb_us@mfa.gov.ua

One reader wrote:

Please apologize to President Zelensky for the shameful behavior of President Trump and Vice-President Vance on Feb. 28. It was a despicable, pre-coordinated ambush by two bullies against one courageous man standing tall. Trump and Vance have forever stained the sacred honor of the Oval Office. Thank you. Sincerely,

[Name]

[city, state]

But write what you feel!

Get Smart! 📚

What if “I don’t vote” were the beginning of the conversation instead of the end? Democrats' superpower in winning elections is connecting one-on-one with voters on phone calls and front porches, one voter at a time.

If the thought of picking up the phone still scares you, don't miss Wilsonville Democrats’ Zoom call on March 4th, a chat with author Elizabeth Chur, as she discusses her wonderful new book The Joy of Talking Politics With Strangers. I actually loved it so much I wrote a blurb for its jacket! In it, Elizabeth shows us how to more effectively engage with voters to win elections and demonstrates how taking positive action builds community and creates hope.

Elizabeth will cover: The power of radical empathy and deep listening, overcoming voter apathy, the importance of listening more than talking, and self care for times like these.

This Zoom call is Tuesday, March 4th, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. (PST)

Register here.

Messaging! Messaging! Messaging! 📣

Post this on your social media.

Remember when Trump said he knew nothing about Project 2025? Guess what? We’re just over a month in to his presidency and this administration has already completed 87 actions from Project 2025, or 36% of the manifesto, with another 42 in progress. 😱

Check out the tracker here, and tell a friend.

https://www.project2025.observer/

#Project2025

Live In-Person DC Event Today!

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) invites DC locals to attend a press event today, Monday, March 3 at 5pm at HUD headquarters to send a powerful message: we stand in solidarity with the millions of low-income people and communities who will be harmed if Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency moves forward with plans to sacrifice critical housing resources and HUD staff!

Featured speakers include:

• Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA)

• Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

• Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO)

• Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (D-TX)

• Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)

• Renee Willis, National Low Income Housing Coalition

• Lisa Rice, National Fair Housing Alliance

• Donald Whitehead, National Coalition for the Homeless

• Rhoda Gibson, National ADAPT

• Alayna Waldrum, American Association of Service Coordinators

• Rusty Bennet, Collaborative Solutions

• And more!

Help protect vital HUD programs and staff and join House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) and other congressional leaders as they hand deliver a letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner and demand answers!

Please RSVP via this Google Form. For questions, contact them at outreach@nlihc.org.

Win Races! 🗳

Run For Something, one of my favorite, favorite orgs, has had a record 20,540 sign-ups since election day (and a recent surge recently from federal workers.👀) That's young people raising their hands to say they are interested in running for office. It's inspiring, and we need to make sure they know we have their backs.

On Wednesday, March 5th, at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30pm PT, they’re hosting a free briefing to talk through their 2025 plans (and beyond.) They’ll be joined by some great members of the RFS team to dig in on their priorities and how you can get involved.

RSVP now.

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

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

I’m writing as a constituent to demand that you pressure the Trump administration to re-engage with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and commit to security guarantees for our ally.

The Trump administration is currently in direct conversations with Russia regarding the war against Ukraine, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022—and has excluded Ukraine itself as well as Europe from these discussions. Trump has said he and Putin will hold meetings in the near future. Trump’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said a peace deal would require Ukraine to cede the territory Russia has seized and to end its bid for NATO membership.

This is a radical reversal of U.S. policy of supporting Ukraine against Russian invasion and in seeking NATO membership, and is not only against the interests of Ukraine, but against the interests of the US as well. We must support a sovereign Ukraine!

Trump’s pro-Putin stance against Ukraine is disturbing, suspicious, and not aligned with American values.

Please vocally and legislatively support Ukraine at every opportunity. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess