Chop Wood, Carry Water 6/15

Jun 15, 2022

Hi, all, and happy Wednesday.

Yesterday we had a pleasant surprise here in LA. Ballots are still being tabulated in many CA races—lots of voters chose to vote by mail, so their votes are still being counted by the hundreds of thousands. New “ballot dumps” are announced on Tuesdays and Fridays.

These dumps are having a particularly big impact in my hometown.

The new Los Angeles vote totals were dropped in the late afternoon. And lo and behold, one of the candidates for whom I canvassed the most, and whose chances I had given up on completely, came up from behind and is now in first place! She now leads our awful, corrupt incumbent City Councilmember by 294 votes!

There are more ballot dumps coming, and her current lead isn’t guaranteed to hold, but it’s likely it will; progressives—as we were reminded at the January 6th hearing this week—prefer to vote by mail. I am cautiously optimistic that we may even expand her winning margin.

Not just hers, either. All over L.A. we are seeing progressive candidates take the lead. These are folks who took no PAC money and had no mega donors, who are committed to actually working to serve their communities and expand transparency. They’re succeeding because of people power! It’s incredibly exciting.

But the biggest takeaway for me? Most of these races will be determined by a few dozen or a couple hundred of votes. Maybe less.

NEVER let it be said that every vote doesn’t matter. Every one does, and because of it we may get some real change in this major metropolis.

It’s a beautiful thing.

You have power. So do I. Let’s get out there and wield it one more time.

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

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

First, I know that a large number of young people traveled to DC to rally today for climate funding. They are demanding that Congress pass $555 billion in climate investments this year to protect their right to a livable future. That’s the bare minimum we should do. Please listen to them.

Speaking of young people, when will the Senate pass Chris Murphy’s bipartisan gun bill? We want legislation NOW to protect our kids. The fact that gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teens in this country is shameful and sickening. May I know what the status of the negotiations is and where the Senator stands? [Thank if in support, chide if not.]

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

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

On a related note, I’d like the Congressmember to co-sponsor and strongly support H.R. 7439, the Energy Security and Independence Act of 2022. We need to end our dependence on fossil fuels by building an equitable, just and renewable energy system for all. Thanks. [H/T]

Extra Credit ✅

We’re going to call Dick Durbin AGAIN, because Steve Dettelbach’s nomination to the ATF still seems to be stalled.

It is urgent that Senator Durbin expedite the appointment of Steve Dettelbach as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and bring his nomination to a vote on the Senate floor.

Call 312.353.4952 or 217.492.4062 or 618.351.1122 and simply say:

My name is ____ and I’m calling from _____. I’m calling the Senator in his capacity as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee to ask that he schedule a hearing to get Steve Dettelbach’s nomination approved there so it can move to the full Senate floor for a vote. I’m really frustrated that no timeline has been announced. We need an ATF director and we need one NOW! Thanks.

Get Smart and Give 💰!

Force Multiplier, a great volunteer-run organization that fundraises for strategic races and grassroots orgs across the country in order to hold the House and expand our Senate majority, is having a big virtual fundraiser on Monday, June 20, 7:00-8:00 PM ET. If you can afford to give any amount, please go and hear their incredible speakers!

You’ll hear from:

Keron Blair: Chief Field and Organizing Officer, New Georgia Project

Diana Robinson: Civic Engagement Director, Make the Road PA

Eric Jeng: Director of Outreach, Asian Community Development Council (NV)

Your contribution will support 5 groups in FM’s Democracy in Action slate.

REGISTER + DONATE here.

The suggested donation is $100 but it looks like you can give whatever you want if you want to attend. (If you would like to make a donation from an RMD or DAF, please contact them.)

Win Races! 🗳

Vote Riders has another letter writing event on Thursday, and this week their partners from HeadCount will be joining the party to uplift their Vote With Pride and #TransPeopleVote campaigns. Come kick back, enjoy some music, and take action to help make sure every voter has the ID and info they need to cast their ballot with confidence!

RSVP here to join them on Thursday, June 16th at 7 PM ET (4 PM PT / 6 PM CT)

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

[to President Biden] [H/T] [Quick send: text SIGN PLMOFL to 50409]

The reactionary activists on the Supreme Court are about to strip away half a century of the established right of all Americans to make their own decisions about planning their families. I support and agree with the Senators who have demanded that you use your executive power to protect reproductive justice in America. These four steps would be a great start:

Direct the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to drop the remaining FDA restrictions on mifepristone, including requirements that pharmacies obtain a special license to distribute it to patients.
Direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to aggressively enforce federal requirements that guarantee Medicaid beneficiaries the right to seek family planning services from a provider of their choice as specified by the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1396a; 42 C.F.R. § 431.51).
Direct the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to require that all federal employees, military personnel and dependents, and persons in custody or being provided healthcare, be given paid time off and reimbursement for expenses necessary to access abortion.
Given the risks now presented by states that are criminalizing reproductive decision-making, direct the HHS Office for Civil Rights to require that websites or mobile applications that collect information related to reproductive health (such as period trackers) adequately and proactively protect personally identifiable information and other sensitive data.

Please get creative and get aggressive. The Supreme Court has been hijacked by a reactionary minority. You can help save us. Thanks.

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

Talk tomorrow.

Jess

Chop Wood, Carry Water