Chop Wood Carry Water 4/1

A big day in Wisconsin and Florida!

Hi, all, and happy Tuesday.

Today’s a big day! I doubt I’m the only one who’s awaiting the outcome of the elections in Wisconsin and Florida with huge anticipation. I’m not just waiting, though; I’m making calls to help improve our chances—because that’s what we do here, right? We don’t just watch history unfold—we help shape it!

Speaking of which, last night I was unable to find the Zoom link for the Grassroots Dems HQ Wisconsin phonebank for which I’d signed up—almost certainly user error—so I hopped on to the DNC’s instead. Ken Martin was there to kick it off and he was terrific. I must say, he’s growing on me! I feel cautiously optimistic that he may, indeed, be able to change our party for the better.

Once Martin had finished speaking we all went off to make our calls. It was, as always, a great experience. I spoke to people who were supporting Crawford but didn’t know about the other races on the ballot, people who hadn’t made up their minds at all, a former Republican who was supporting Crawford because “Republicans these days think empathy is a weakness,” and one very feisty 88-year-old woman who was on the fence about voting at all due to the difficulty of getting to the polls—I think I persuaded her to call the voter protection hotline to ask for a ride. There were, too, a couple of Schimel supporters, but, being Wisconsinites, they were very polite about it.

I had to hop off early to pick up Mj, but even my hour of calls felt so worthwhile. While I myself only gained us a handful of votes, I was one of hundreds or even thousands on the phones yesterday. With numbers like that you really start to make change!

One other detail? Every single person with whom I had a conversation of any length expressed their absolute disgust with Elon Musk. They were well aware of his shenanigans in their state, and they were furious about it. Good! If most people in Wisconsin share the vehemence of their feelings we’re going to win commandingly today. Fingers crossed!

On an unrelated note, many of you know that I had the pleasure of interviewing Isaiah Martin, candidate for Congress in TX-18, yesterday on my Substack Live; it was a terrific conversation. Take a listen if you get a chance (Isaiah comes on at the halfway mark); I sense a real Democratic star in the making. Viewers seemed to agree, at least judging by their very enthusiastic comments.

I mention this to underscore that, while things are incredibly dark right now, we do have a bright future ahead of us if we manage to drag our democracy back from the brink. Our vision is good; our bench is deep. The candidates are there! We just need to survive this particular era, and we can.

How?

By doing what’s in front of us to do, with all the will and vigor we can muster, and then letting go of everything else. As Epictetus said:

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.

Right! So let’s take our daily actions, and know that, whatever comes tomorrow, we’ll deal with it with the same courage and resourcefulness with which we’re meeting the current moment. There’s no use agonizing over things like Trump’s potentially running for a third term. The very question is years away. It’s wasted energy to lose sleep over it now. There are many more such examples. Let’s focus on what we can control today!

Finally, remember what Seneca said:

No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself.

You, then, are happy indeed, for you are proving yourself right now—to be a patriot and a hero. Thanks for that. Without you this democracy wouldn’t stand a chance. But because of you?

It absolutely does.

Now let’s get to work.

P.S. — Speaking of “proving himself, Senator Cory Booker is STILL talking on the Senate floor—he’s been there for over 16 hours. Remarkable.

P.P. S. — Don’t forget the Democrats’ hearing on Social Security today! It’s at noon PT / 3PM ET. You can watch it here.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

[If GOP say:]

I’m calling because I know Senate Republicans are about to introduce their new budget resolution, and that they are going to great lengths to hide the fact that it will cut Medicaid and SNAP and blow up the deficit to give tax cuts to rich people. I want the Senator to know that I see exactly what they’re doing and I am outraged. Republicans want to take food away from children and deny health care to those who need it most so that billionaires can get even richer—it’s disgusting. I expect the Senator to stand up for their constituents, not Trump’s billionaire friends, and vote no on this budget. Thanks.

[If Democrat say:]

I’ll calling to say that I love what Senator Booker is doing [or just did, if it’s over], and I want every Democratic Senator to do something similar. THIS is the kind of energy and determination we want to see, and we are so grateful to him for it. Republicans are tearing our country apart and shredding our Constitution. We need more bold moves like Booker’s from the Democrats. Speaking of which, the Senator needs to call for Chuck Schumer to step aside. His weak leadership is killing us. We need fire. He doesn’t have it. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I’m calling to say that I’m outraged by Congressional Republicans’ attacks on the courts. I want the Congressmember to vote no on H.R.1702 the JUDGES Act, which would allow President Trump to appoint 22 new lifetime federal judges, enabling him to stack courts with loyalists. I want the Congressmember to vote no on H.R.1789 the PEPPER Act, which would dramatically expand executive power by allowing officials to move cases against them from state to federal courts. And I want the Congressmember to vote no on H.R.1526 the NORRA Act, which would severely restrict federal judges' ability to issue nationwide injunctions against unconstitutional executive actions. Protect our courts! Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Let’s call Cory Booker’s office today to thank him for making his marathon speech. His office numbers are (973) 639-8700 or (856) 338-8922 or (202) 224-3224.

We can say something like:

I’m calling as an American citizen to thank Senator Booker for making his marathon speech last night and today. THIS is the kind of energy and determination we want to see, and we are so grateful to him for it. Also please thank him for reading letters from American workers who’ve been hurt by Trump and DOGE—these stories need to be aired widely. Senator Booker is a true patriot. Again, please thank him.

Get Smart! 📚

Join Laura Brill from the Civic Center, Robert Hubbell of Today’s Edition, and me for a Substack Live TODAY at 4PM PT / 7PM ET about youth voter registration!

To join the live stream, use the Substack app to “follow” Laura Brill on Substack. To do this use the search dialog box (with magnifying glass at top) and type Laura Brill. Click “follow.”

Once you have followed Laura Brill, all you need to do is open the Substack app at the appointed time and you will see a notification that she is live streaming. Click on the notification to join!

To download the Substack app, if you haven’t, use the following links: Substack on the App Store or Substack - Apps on Google Play.

Give 💰!

Movement Voter Project Briefing: Is This Momentum??

Thu, Apr 3 ⸱ 2-3pm ET • 1-2pm CT • Noon-1pm MT • 11am-Noon PT

Join MVP for a briefing on the Battleground Alliance, an unprecedented collaboration of year-round organizing groups working to block the Trump agenda, flip the House in 2026, and build local power that lasts beyond any single election.

Register here. We raised almost 135K for Movement Voter Project a couple of weeks ago—they remain one of my top three picks for your political dollars. Please attend if you can—their briefings are always very inspiring.

Get in the Streets! 🪧

1. Don’t forget about the Hands Off mass call today! It’s from 8-9PM ET and all the big orgs will be there talking about this moment and how Saturday will play out. Register here.

2. MoveOn is sponsoring online de-escalation training TOMORROW at 8PM Eastern, teaching folks how to recognize escalating behavior, respond calmly, and diffuse potential conflicts – with opposition groups, bystanders or law enforcement – and still stay aligned with our event goals. This will help us ensure everyone stays safe and MAGA can’t hijack our narrative. We can sign up here. [H/T

   Rogan's List
   ]

3. Check out today’s Grassroots Connector article: “Preparing for April 5: Songs, Signs & Socials.” Perfect to share with your community. My favorite part is the playlist--inspiration songs for sign making.

Win Races! 🗳

Want to make calls into Wisconsin today? Grassroots Dems HQ has phonebanks all day. Sign up here.

Want to make calls into Florida’s 1st or 6th districts? Go here!

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

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

More than 20 million Americans have gotten more affordable health insurance thanks to the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credit in the American Rescue Plan. It’s contributed to a record decline in the number of Americans without insurance and saved $705 a year for eligible enrollees – including many of your constituents. If Congress refuses to act and lets this program expire at the end of this year, it will force hard-working folks to pay more, a lot more, for coverage – or drop it entirely. Average payments will rise by 75% and in 12 states people would see their premium payments literally double. 4 million people will lose insurance altogether. Our government cannot stand by and allow this to happen. This subsidy must be extended and made permanent. Senators Shaheen and Baldwin and Rep Underwood have introduced the Health Care Affordability Act to stop costs from spiking, and I urge you to join them in working to make it law as soon as possible – before insurers start finalizing their rates in just a few months.

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

Talk soon.

Jess