Chop Wood, Carry Water 4/17

Go Pope Leo! / A FISA win! / Stop Trump from expelling our Haitian neighbors! / Pass the SAFE Act / call Black voters in VA / postcard into GA / And more!

From the Democrats on X

Hi, all, and happy Friday!

WE MADE IT THROUGH ANOTHER WEEK!

And we’ve had some big developments in the last 24 hours, too!

First, Trump claims that he and Iran have arrived at a deal allowing the Strait of Hormuz to be “fully opened” until the end of the ceasefire (six days from now), with the hopes that it could lead to a permanent reopening.

Trump is crowing about this as if it’s an accomplishment, when in reality, of course, the following is actually the case:

(If you’re not following Charlotte Clymer, by the way, you should. She’s brilliant.)

Markets are responding exuberantly to this announcement, and of course I hope their optimism is warranted. But Trump and Hegseth have also been deploying more servicemembers to the Middle East this week—there are some who believe this “truce” is simply a pause so both sides can retrench. Knowing what we do about the new leadership in Iran, as well as about Bibi Netanyahu, Hegseth and Trump, I’m not super optimistic that this ceasefire will last. But we should all, of course, pray that it does.

The best case scenario is that the fighting stops, the Strait stays open, Trump takes a horrible deal—ie: he unfreezes 20B of Iranian cash—but secures Iran’s uranium, and we move on. My worry, though, is that he’s planning on taking the enriched uranium and then attacking Iran again—and if I’m worried about that I’d imagine Iran’s leadership is, as well. It’s hard, in other words, to see how two deeply evil and mendacious groups come to an agreement they can both trust; let’s hope they do.

A 10-day ceasefire has been announced in Lebanon, as well, by the way, but Israel has already violated it.

Speaking of which, Democratic lawmakers are changing how they vote on Israel, and it’s happening fast. On Wednesday night Bernie Sanders forced two resolution votes —one to block the sale of Caterpillar bulldozers to Israel that are used to knock down Palestinians’ homes, and one to stop a sale of bombs to Israel. In total, 40 Democratic Senators supported the bulldozer resolution. That is HUGE. A majority of Democratic senators also voted with Sanders on the other resolution.

These votes are a big deal. As Truthout wrote: “Sen. Sanders’s measures still failed to pass, but they document a historic shift in Democratic consensus on Israel aid.” I know this is a contentious issue, but it’s important to note that Democrats are following their voters, and their voters don’t want them to keep giving Bibi Netanyahu a blank check. I’m glad of it.

Now on to some good news on FISA. We had a win—even if temporary—on this issue last night. Mike Johnson tried to sneak through a late-night, amended FISA re-authorization that looked, on the surface, like it contained a reform or two. It didn’t —AND it extended FISA for 5 years, not 18 months, as Trump had originally wanted. The good news is that it failed, with all but three Democrats voting against it and twenty House Freedom Caucus members also opposing it. The 3 Democrats, by the way, were Marie Glusenkamp Perez, Josh Gotthiemer, and Jared Golden. Shame on all of them.

There was then a second vote on a rule for an 18-month clean extension. This failed too, although this time FOUR Democrats voted for it (the same three as above plus Tom Suozzi). There is really no overstating how outrageous it is that any Democrat voted for any Republican rule, and especially this one. I’ll have phone numbers and call scripts for the four reps in question below.

Johnson had to settle for a two-week extension on FISA, which is a huge win for us. It gives us 14 days to force all Democrats to support passing very simple and easy reforms: closing the “data broker loophole” and ending warrantless searches of Americans’ data. ANYONE should be able to get behind that. IN fact, Senators Mike Lee and Dick Durbin co-authored an Op-Ed in today’s New York Times saying just that (gift link here.) There is growing, and bipartisan, support for these reforms!

One last thing on FISA: I was on a long call this morning with some Hill insiders who they made clear that while Rep. Jim Himes vote the right way on these rules he was likelythe one pushing the four Democrats to vote as they did. As the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee he can’t vote yes on a Republican rule without risking the chairmanship of his committee. Those votes, in other words, were more or less proxies for him. So he is not out of the proverbial woodshed at all. Rep. Gregory Meeks of NY is also whipping votes for a clean re-authorization. We need to work on him, too.

For a great explainer on FISA and why these reforms are so important you can watch this David Sirota interview with Ken Klippenstein or read the Brennan Center’s explainer.

Another bit of great news: Pope Leo is NOT backing down in his “fight” with Trump. It’s actually a fight against greed, warmongering, and “manipulating relgion for military or political gain,” and I, for one, am here for it. We should continue to uplift this courageous man, as well as any other person standing up for what’s right. I know I am! Great way to use your platform, Monsignor!

Oh! One last thing! Democrats continue to win across the map, including last night in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, where Rep.-elect Analilia Mejia won her race by wide margins! Since Trump took office, Democrats have won or overperformed in 265 out of 296 key elections — a rate of nearly 90%. Thought you’d like that information. (:

Anyway. There’s a lot more happening, but we’ll never get to our calls if I keep yapping. Let’s go take the actions that we can see are making a difference!

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

First, I’m glad to see that the House defeated a FISA reauthorization last night that would have done nothing to close the data broker loophole or end warrantless searches. I want the Senator to only support a reauthorization that DOES include these reforms. We have every reason to believe that Donald Trump and Stephen Miller are abusing the ability to surveil Americans—it will only get worse now that they can use AI to make their searches more efficient. I will be watching any FISA vote closely and expect my Senator to protect my privacy.

Also, please support the Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act, a bipartisan bill that would reauthorize the valuable core FISA while enacting reasonable safeguards to protect the Fourth Amendment rights of all Americans.

Lastly, please ask the Senator to support H.R. 1689 to stop Trump from expelling our Haitian friends and neighbors! It just passed the House! Thanks! [You can sign a petition here, too!]

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

First, I’m glad to see that the House defeated a FISA reauthorization last night that would have done nothing to close the data broker loophole or end warrantless searches. May I ask how the representative voted? [If they opposed thank. If they voted yes add:] I find that deeply disappointing. Going forward I want the Congressmember to only support a reauthorization that includes real reforms. We have every reason to believe that Donald Trump and Stephen Miller are abusing the ability to surveil Americans—it will only get worse with AI in the mix. I will be watching any FISA vote closely and expect my Congressmember to protect my privacy. They will lose my support going forward if they do not.

Also, I’m angry that Republicans are attempting to slash the IRS and the Election Assistance Commission budget, while at the same time blocking witnesses like Scott Bessent from coming to testify on the impacts of such cuts. This is not the way appropriations are supposed to work. We want transparency, we want hearings, and we do NOT want cuts made to the already underfunded IRS and EAC. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Let’s ALL call the four Democrats who voted so poorly last night.

Tom Suozzi 202-225-3335 or 516-861-1070 or 718-631-0400

Jared Golden 202-225-6306 or 207- 249-7400 or 207-492-6009

Marie Glusenkamp Perez 202-225-3536 or 360-695-6292

Josh Gottheimer — 202-225-4465 or 201-389-1100 or 973-940-1117

Say:

My name is ______ and I’m calling to say that I am appalled at the representative’s support for Miller and Trump’s warrantless surveillance bill . Please ask them to change course immediately and stop supporting a so-called “clean FISA.” We want the data broker loophole closed and warrantless surveillance of American citizens to end. I will be watching their votes on this closely and will make sure everyone knows where they stood when our rights were under attack.

[Optional add:]

This is NOT about national security. The surveillance capabilities of Section 702 have already been reauthorized until March of 2027. The idea that we could “go dark” is a lie. The time for reforms is now. Please stop helping Trump and Miller. Thanks.

Get Smart! 📚

New States Win Substack: “Most political donations don’t matter. Here’s when they do.”

“Does my $20 really make a difference?” Lara Teich, States Win’s Head of Development, has answers. In their latest Substack, Lara lays out the data on how small-dollar donations drive outcomes at the state level as federal races drown in dark money. She shows why state legislature giving is one of the highest-impact investments you can make. I’VE BEEN SAYING THIS FOREVER!

States Win, by the way, used to be Sister District. They know of what they speak!

Read it here.

Win Races—WRITE! 🗳

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Win Races—CALL! 🗳

Andrea Miller, the head of Center for Common Ground said on a Tuesday zoom they need more help calling Black voters in Virginia. They have regular phone banks and they also have 2 different dialers for phoning on your own with a large range of hours when you can make calls. Center for Common Ground is telling voters that President Obama and the NAACP want them to vote yes.

Please join them if you can.

No Resistbot letter today—sorry!

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

Talk soon.

Jess