This weekend, on Saturday, I went to canvass for Fatima Iqbal-Zubair, an amazing young candidate in the Carson area. She’s a brilliant progressive running against a truly dirty Democrat, and I want her to win SO BADLY. So, despite not wanting to go, I did.
The canvass was, by all normal standards, a total bust. We were knocking doors in Watts, and the neighborhood was so impoverished and, I gather, stricken by crime, that almost every single house was walled off by gates or fencing of some kind. It was block after block of literally fortressed homes. Sadly, I was able to knock on just TWO out of the 50 doors I was assigned.
Of those two doors only one was opened.
The guy I spoke to hadn’t heard of Fatima, but by the end of the conversation he’d promised that he and his two family members would all vote for her. It was obviously the first time anyone had come to his door; he seemed happy to have had the conversation.
So. Two hours—three votes. It was, again, by all normal standards a bust.
And yet.
Races have been won or lost by 3 votes—or less—many times. Turnout in primaries is notoriously low. I have no idea how many people that one guy will talk to.
Democracy’s a funny game. Sometimes we can make a huge impact; more often we make a tiny dent.
But it’s all about the collective results of our individual actions. So, if I got 3 votes on Saturday, and so did the 5 other canvassers who came, that’s not a terrible haul for a two hour shift.
It all matters.
So let’s do our tiny bit today and trust that lots of others are doing theirs as well. We may make a small dent, we may make a large one. But together?
We will change history.
P.S. I’m doing an Activism 101 today for a group in North Carolina. It’s at 1PM PDT, and CWCW subscribers are welcome to join us! Zoom link here.
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I want the Senate to confirm Gigi Sohn NOW. The fifth FCC commissioner's seat has stood vacant for too long, interfering with that agency’s ability to work on critical projects like expanding broadband into rural communities and restoring net neutrality rules. Please ask the Senator to fight for this nominee. Thanks. [H/T and petition]
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I want the Congressmember to stand up for seniors and those with disabilities who rely on traditional Medicare, and demand an end to Medicare Direct Contracting and REACH. This program pays third-party middlemen to manage seniors’ care, allowing them to keep as profit what they don’t spend on medical services. Even worse, seniors who chose Traditional Medicare are being automatically enrolled in Direct Contracting without their knowledge or consent. We can’t let Wall Street profiteers take over Medicare. I want the Congressmember to join the fight to end Direct Contracting and REACH before it’s too late. Thanks. [H/T]
[Send a related letter to President Biden by texting SIGN PGAQKH to 50409]
This is unacceptable. I wrote them an email here. Please join me.
I said (but feel free to write your own, of course):
I'm sickened to see you platform Kellyanne Conway, an apologist for a twice-impeached, Nazi-embracing, insurrectionist, sexually assaulting former president. How can you justify this? I'm a subscriber and I'm seriously considering cancelling my subscription over it. Why are you normalizing someone who worked to legitimize an administration that paved the way for the current chaos we're living in, up to and including last week's shooting in Buffalo?
Of COURSE present different points of view. But the Goebbels of the Trump administration? Shame on you.
I also tweeted this—feel free to do the same or amplify mine:
.@washingtonpost are you kidding me? You've invited Kellyanne Conway to speak at your event? An apologist for a twice-impeached, Nazi-loving, sexually assaulting insurrectionist? 🤮
Of COURSE present different points of view. But the Goebbels of the Trump admin? Shame on you.
Get Smart! 📚
Care about flipping a Senate seat blue in Wisconsin?
Then please attendLooking Forward and Federal with Mandela BarnesonThursday, May 26th at 5pm PT/ 8pm ET, hosted by the Center For Common Ground. They’ll discuss how Wisconsin is engaging voters of color and why we all need to be paying attention to BIPOC voters in the state.
You will also learn more about labor and voting rights in the state, and how the labor movement in Wisconsin impacts the economics of voting in the BIPOC community.
Mandela Barnes serves as Wisconsin's 45th Lieutenant Governor. He is the first African American to serve as a Lieutenant Governor in Wisconsin, and the second African American to ever hold statewide office. He’s also very likely to be the Senate candidate!
Want to help win in Michigan and get a chance to hear a pep talk from…me?
Tomorrow, Tuesday 5/24, at 9:00am PT/ noon ET Big Tent is holding a letter-writing social hour, and I’ll be your entertainment! You’ll hear a bit about the electoral landscape in Michigan and why races there are so important in November. Meanwhile, you can write Vote Forward letters to Michigan Democrats!Â
How will you acquire these letters? You will go here, sign up for the session, and request as many as you like (they come in batches of 20); the Big Tent team will email you the letters in advance of the meeting! Then you can print them up, write them with us tomorrow, save them until October, and mail them!
If you’ve never written Vote Forward letters you will need a printer and some paper, and ideally a non-black pen. The rest of the instructions will come with your letters! Trust me when I say it’s EASY! And effective at getting voters to turn out!
And if you can’t attend tomorrow AM but still want to write some Michigan letters simply write to info@bigtentusa.org and ask for some!Â
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.)
[to your Senators] [H/T] [Quick send to Senators text SIGN PBCRAB to 50409]
I’m writing as someone who is VERY worried about gun violence in our country to urge the U.S. Senate to swiftly confirm Steve Dettelbach as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). At a time when gun deaths and injuries are on the rise across the country, our nation deserves a proven leader to help address the growing public health crisis and ensure that more families don’t suffer the pain and heartache so many survivors live through every single day.
As a highly respected former-U.S. Attorney and career prosecutor at the Department of Justice, Mr. Dettelbach is an outstanding choice to lead the ATF, which hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed director since 2015. Having successfully led a major law enforcement office at DOJ, he has worked closely with the ATF as well as other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies for decades to fight violent crime, domestic violent extremism, and international gang and violent criminal enterprises.
A Senate-confirmed ATF Director is crucial for robust implementation and enforcement of existing federal gun laws, including the new ghost guns rule, and will finally lead the agency into the 21st century in its efforts to shut down gun trafficking and rogue gun dealers. Mr. Dettelbach has demonstrated his commitment to supporting victims and survivors, and will be the strong leader the ATF desperately needs.
Mr. Dettelbach has significant bipartisan support including from top law enforcement officials, federal prosecutors from Republican and Democratic administrations, and organizations like the American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Federation of Cleveland, American Pediatric Surgical Association, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Major County Sheriffs of America, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, The International Association of Chiefs of Police, and Women in Federal Law Enforcement Foundation.
Steve Dettelbach is more than qualified to oversee the only federal agency tasked with enforcing the nation’s lifesaving gun laws and regulating the firearms industry. I urge you to promptly confirm him to this critical position. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
You are amazing! Thank you for your ongoing efforts to save democracy.
Good actions! I'll do them. And ask others to act. TY