Chop Wood, Carry Water 5/16

Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!

And it’s not just any Tuesday.

Today is, in fact, one of the busiest electoral days of the year! BOLTS (a stellar publication—please subscribe!) has a guide to everything voters will be deciding today here, and you can visit their Election Night guide throughout the night and tomorrow to find out the results! I’ll be crossing my fingers for Donna Deegan in Jacksonville, FL, Heather Boyd in PA’s HD 163, and Helen Gym in Philly. But there’s a whole lot more on the ballot today—again, I highly recommend checking it all out here.

I did a bit of phonebanking for Pennsylvania yesterday and will try to do more today, (I’ll post the info below), but my voice is pretty shot and I have a doctor’s appointment right when today’s shift is scheduled to start. Hope some of you can pick up the slack for me if I can’t make it!

One more thing before I go: I’m starting to hear a lot of rumors that Biden is negotiating with Republicans on the debt ceiling. I’m hoping against hope it isn’t true, but I’ve got really important call scripts for you below in case it is. Please, even if you don’t call regularly, try to do so today. The White House comment line is only open for a few hours a week, so do your best to get through today or else set an alarm to do so tomorrow.

It ain’t over til it’s over, y’all. Fight! Fight! Fight!

After all, that’s what we know how to do best.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

[If Democrat:] I’m calling to say please do NOT let President Biden cave to House Republican extortion on the debt limit! If he betrays us by doing so Republicans will simply do this every time. Don’t give in! The debt limit is unconstitutional, and is in any case superseded by spending bills passed into law by Congress and signed by the President. Do not cave to extortionists. We are counting on you. [H/T]

[If GOP:] I’m calling to say that I oppose every single provision of the House Republican debt bill. I will be furious if the Senator votes yes on it. We need a clean debt ceiling in place before budget negotiations should continue, and I firmly oppose cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, veterans’ programs, or ANY of the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. I also oppose permitting reform being snuck through in a must-pass bill. Please tell the Senator that I will work to vote out any lawmaker who supports any of that. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

[If Democrat:] I’m calling to say please do NOT let Democrats and President Biden cave to House Republican extortion on the debt limit! If Democrats betray us by doing so Republicans will simply do this every time. Don’t give in! The debt limit is unconstitutional, and is in any case superseded by spending bills passed into law by Congress and signed by the President. Do not cave to extortionists. We are counting on you. [H/T]

[If GOP:] I’m calling to say that I oppose every single provision of the House Republican debt bill. We need a clean debt ceiling passed before budget negotiations should continue, and I firmly oppose cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, veterans’ programs, or ANY of the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. I also oppose permitting reform being snuck through in a must-pass bill. Please tell the Congressmember that I will work to vote out any lawmaker who supports any of the above. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Call President Biden at ‭(202) 456-1111.‬ The switchboards are open until 3PM ET today, tomorrow, and Thursday.

I’m calling to ask the President NOT to cave to House Republican extortion on the debt limit! If he betrays the country by doing so Republicans will just do this every time. Please tell him not to give in! The debt limit is unconstitutional, and is in any case superseded by spending bills passed into law by Congress and signed by the President. Tell him not to cave to extortionists. We are counting on him. Thanks. [H/T]

Get Smart! 📚

Did you know that Virginia is one of only three states whose constitution does not automatically restore the right to vote to former felons? 

In 2016 Governor Terry McAuliffe instituted automatic restoration of rights upon release from prison; Governor Northam continued the same practice, and more than 200,000 returning citizens had their rights restored. Governor Glenn Youngkin, however, has ended the decades-long practice and is creating his own version of who could/should be allowed to vote. 

Join Reclaim Our Vote and guest speakers working on this issue in Virginia on Thursday to discuss where we are now and how we change the Virginia constitution.

Thursday, May 18 at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET. RSVP HERE

Spread the Word! 📣

🚨 From my friends at Vote Vets 🚨 :

In yet another despicable move by House Republicans, they're seeking to slash $14.7 BILLION from the PACT Act's Toxic Exposures Fund for burn pits victims—dishonoring their promise to those who selflessly risked everything for us. This is yet ANOTHER outrageous GOP assault on Veterans! 

We will be sharing content throughout the day and days to come and would appreciate any or all amplification. Please follow us at @votevets on Twitter, IG and FB and please share!

Here are a couple posts from today: Statement / More info. 

I posted this on IG if you want to share.

Give 💰!

Friendly reminder that tomorrow is the Blue Tennessee event I’m co-hosting. Ya’ll, if you care about democracy in TN please come! The speakers will be outstanding!

Wednesday, May 17th, 4:30PM PT / 7:30 PM ET. Register here.

No donation required to attend but they will, at some point, ask for donations—which are optional.

Win Races! 🗳

You can make ballot chase calls today into Philadelphia to help ensure that Helen Gym, a progressive, wins. Sign up here.

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

[to all 3 reps] [H/T] [Quick send text SIGN PJDDCB to 50409 or share]

As your constituent, I am urging you to reject the House-passed legislation that would impose red tape roadblocks on participants in SNAP, TANF, and Medicaid likely to result in millions of people losing vital health care, food, and income support.

These work rules will do nothing to encourage work or improve the economy. But research confirms they will make people hungrier and unable to get medical care. And it will be Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities that will be hit the hardest.

Due to centuries of racial discrimination in employment, housing, education, and several other fields, communities of color have a higher poverty rate than white communities. They’re enrolled in SNAP, TANF, and Medicaid at significantly higher rates, which is why these programs are so vital—they play a huge role in alleviating racial disparities.

Not only are these work requirements cruel, they’re completely unnecessary. The majority of working age people without disabilities who receive SNAP benefits are working or have worked recently. They just happen to work in unstable, low-paying jobs. SNAP benefits help them fill in the gaps between what they earn and the rising cost of groceries. It also frees up more money in their paychecks for housing and medical costs. The House GOP bill would expand the already harsh work reporting requirements in SNAP to include people aged 50 through 55—putting nutritional assistance of nearly 1 million people at risk.

Under the Trump administration, Arkansas instituted work requirements for Medicaid, and the result was that 18,000 people lost their health insurance. Many were actually still eligible, but they did not successfully provide proof of work or exemption from work—sometimes because they never received notices. If that plan is instituted nationwide, nearly 21 million people would be at risk. We can’t allow that to happen. Further, the additional restrictions in TANF could push 1 million more children into poverty.

These are critical programs that are already severely underfunded and the last thing we should do—as the richest country in the world—-is force vulnerable people to lose essential aid because they cannot jump over bureaucratic hurdles to get the care and support they need. Please reject these cruel cuts. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess