Chop Wood, Carry Water 4/23
We're the only poll that matters.
Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!
Also happy day two of the Trump election interference trial. It’s really happening! Remarkable.
Speaking of elections, yesterday’s Sister District webinar about down-ballot “roll-off” was absolutely mind-blowing. Like, shocking. I wish you could all have seen it, but the main points can be found in the slide deck from the presentation. I don’t think it was recorded, but I made a TikTok summarizing my biggest takeaways—you can watch it here. Suffice it to say that we are losing an astonishing number of left-leaning voters to ballot roll-off (the practice of voting top of ticket and leaving the rest of the ballot blank.) And when I say astonishing I mean astonishing.
One quick stat from the presentation: In 2020 Democrats would have gained control of 14 more chambers in 9 states if they had decreased ballot roll off by 2% or less. These are Biden voters who skipped voting for state legislative seats. FOURTEEN MORE CHAMBERS!
Two of those would likely have been in Arizona. We would have a Democratic majority in the statehouse—and the 1864 abortion ban would already have been repealed—if we’d gotten 4,451 more votes for Democratic state legislative candidates there in 2020. In that same election, 548,000 people voted for Biden but not downballot.
It’s simply staggering. There’s more in the TikTok. This is something we can and must fix, especially because this is a Democrat problem; Republican voters roll off at much, much lower rates.
We all owe Sister District a debt of gratitude (and maybe a donation) for doing this deep research dive into such an important topic. It’s a huge problem, and that’s dismaying, but we can’t fix problems we don’t know we have. Now we know, so we can—and will—get to work solving it. Phew.
Finally, I know Marist dropped a great and encouraging new poll yesterday. Yay! That’s fabulous. Let’s ignore it.
Remember, no matter what the polls say, no matter what the pundits think, no matter what your neighbor predicts, no matter how any of us feel, the election is over six months away and polls conducted now are basically meaningless. We’ve just witnessed how unforeseen events can change the picture overnight. Did anyone see Mike Johnson’s conversion on Ukraine coming? How about the swiftness of jury selection in the Trump trial? Events that defy predictions happen every day—many of them will shape what happens in six months.
What will shape it even more? What you and I, and millions of other Americans like us, DO now. So let’s forget about polls and do what we do best—chop wood, carry water, and stay in the day.
That, my friends, is how we win. So let’s get back to work!
P.S. — Pennsylvania has elections today! The wonderful Bolts has a guide to follow these races—and know why they matter.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I want the Senator to support Ukraine aid when it comes up for a vote.
Second, I understand that the Supreme Court will be hearing arguments tomorrow about the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, and that there is a real possibility that they will rule that pregnant people aren’t entitled to emergency care that may involve an abortion unless they’re at death’s door. We have already seen that even with EMTALA in place emergency rooms in abortion ban states are turning pregnant people away with alarming frequency, and with catastrophic results. This is utterly sickening, and if SCOTUS rules for the state of Idaho it’ll get much worse. The Senate needs to pass S. 701 the Women’s health Protection Act now. This is a top issue for me — I am desperately concerned about the rollback of rights we’re seeing. Do something. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I understand that the Supreme Court will be hearing arguments tomorrow about the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, and that there is a real possibility that they will rule that pregnant people aren’t entitled to emergency care that may involve an abortion unless they’re at death’s door. We have already seen that even with EMTALA in place emergency rooms in abortion ban states are turning pregnant people away with alarming frequency, and with catastrophic results. This is utterly sickening, and if SCOTUS rules for the state of Idaho it’ll get much worse. The House needs to pass HR 12 the Women’s health Protection Act now. This is a top issue for me — I am desperately concerned about the rollback of rights we’re seeing. Do something. Thanks.
Get Smart! 📚
Join Flip the Vote this evening for the second event in their Spring Into Action Speaker Series featuring leaders of their grassroots partners in Wisconsin and Michigan. This is your chance to hear directly about the work these groups are doing to organize their communities and what they are hearing and seeing on the ground. These aren’t fundraisers. They are informational talks only.
Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (WI) and Detroit Action (MI)
Tuesday, April 23 at 5pm PT / 8pm ET
REGISTER: BLOC and DETROIT ACTION
You can also join FTV in a few weeks for another gathering, this one about North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Advance Carolina (NC) and One Pennsylvania (PA)
Wednesday, May 15 at 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET
REGISTER: ADVANCE CAROLINA and ONE PA
Spread the Word! 📣
Here are some messaging resources from the Not Above the Law Coalition (NATL) for Trump's election interference case and his claims of Presidential immunity. There are helpful talking points and other resources to amplify:
Defend Democracy Project’s primer on Manhattan election interference case
Give 💰!
This is last minute and NYC-specific but you can donate even if you can’t attend. Sounds amazing!
Did you know that 73% of elected offices in the US are held by men, and the number of women running for office is DECLINING? With so many women's issues driving people to the polls and so many recent attacks on women's rights, it's imperative that we increase female representation in our government. Her Bold Move is a group of talented creatives and producers that create pro-bono campaign advertisements and offer comms training, fundraising support and more for strong Democratic women running for office. They have a partnership with Run for Something and they're proud to report a 91% win rate within that partnership!
If you are in NYC on April 24th please come to our event to support Her Bold Move and meet Jordan Zaslow, the organization's Founder and Executive Director. You will learn about their work and get FIRED UP to be a part of their team.
RSVP here and/or just donate here.
Win Races! 🗳
Activate America just launched postcarding into Montana! Volunteers will be reaching out to voters there about reproductive rights and healthcare costs. Sign up here for a postcard list and script. You have to supply your own cards—I buy mine from various vendors on Etsy.
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
As you likely know, the White House is taking HUGE climate actions in honor of Earth Day all week, and they’re inviting us to join the White House Council on Environmental Quality on Friday, April 26 at 12:00 pm ET/9:00 am PT for a virtual briefing with senior Administration officials to learn about and celebrate these amazing developments.
Please RSVP here.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all three reps and POTUS] [H/T] [Text SIGN PMNVSR to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
Right now, there are at least 2,000 gigawatts of renewable energy waiting for permission to connect to power lines in the U.S., which is more than the total capacity of the country’s existing power plants. Wait times to connect new power plants to the grid can reach five years or more. Without rapidly improving transmission, the United States will not be able to achieve Biden's goal of 100% clean energy by 2035 or provide cheaper, more reliable electricity to American households. If the U.S. can’t build new transmission at a faster pace, roughly 80 percent of the emissions reductions expected from the Inflation Reduction Act–the largest climate legislation in U.S. history–might not happen.
That’s why I’m writing to urge Congress to pass legislation to significantly expand transmission for clean energy.
Multiple efforts are currently in play. Most recently in the House, Representatives Sean Casten and Mike Levin introduced the Clean Energy and Transmission Acceleration Act, (HR 6747) which would encourage the development of new transmission lines to carry renewable power where it’s needed while protecting the rights of communities to provide input on where lines are built and to benefit from their construction. I strongly support this bill.
But any legislation is better than none, and NONE of the bills proposed so far have been passed. This is not good.
Increasing access to clean energy will help tackle the climate crisis by ensuring the reliability of the grid and reducing consumers' bills. Renewable energies like wind and solar are quickly becoming the least expensive source of energy and we need to make sure as many people as possible get access to these clean, abundant energy sources.
Please pass a strong, fair transmission bill—like HR 6747—that prioritizes clean energy, climate change, and environmental justice. This is urgent; all of our children are counting on us to secure their futures. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
I have been ignoring the polls since the 2016 election,. We are creating a huge participatory democracy movement right now. No poll or pundit did that for us. Heads down and do the work.
I was just talking to my friend Michele Hornish about the roll-off down ballot information this morning. You are right. Absolutely mind blowing.