Chop Wood, Carry Water 6/18
Hey, all, and happy Tuesday!
It’s another busy week, and there are a couple of things I want to flag for you as we head into the day.
First, I’m hearing that Senator Heinrich will request Unanimous Consent on his bipartisan BUMP Act—a bill to ban bump stocks—this afternoon at around 4:15pm ET. That’s coming up soon!
Between now and then please call your Senators and urge them to pass this crucial bipartisan lifesaving legislation. I’ve put a script below. If you have Republican Senators it’s especially important to deluge them with calls in the next couple of hours. Ask a friend to do so, too. Ask your family. Ask your pharmacist. Ask your babysitter. There is literally almost no American who doesn’t strongly desire this bill to pass. So spread the word!
Having said that, there is almost no chance Republicans will cooperate. One of them will block Unanimous Consent, giving some version of “Second Amendment! Freedom! Amuricah!” as an explanation. It’s an outrage and should be treated as such. So if when the bill fails it will be our responsibility to make sure everyone knows it, and knows exactly why, too.
Don’t forget, when you tell folks that Republicans just blocked a bump stock ban—assuming they do—it’s important to remind them that that’s not all: in just the last two weeks Republicans have also blocked a bill to create a binding code of ethics for the Supreme Court, a bill to protect Americans’ ability to do IVF, and a bill to protect our right to access contraception. All in less than two weeks.
And believe me when I tell you that 90% of Americans don’t know it. It’s our job to change that. Make sure everyone you know understands how deeply unpopular and out of touch the GOP’s positions are. Be very clear that these bills could all be law now if the Republicans hadn’t stopped them. Be unsparing in your assessment of these betrayals. Shout them from the rooftops. They would, were the tables turned.
OK. On a more positive note, after decades of Congressional gridlock, today the President will announce TWO major immigration policies to keep families together, strengthen the economy and reduce inflation. They are:
1) Work permits and legal status for around 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens who, on average, have lived and worked in the U.S. for 23 years.
2) Streamlining the process for Dreamers to file for legal work permits.
These actions are morally right, economically important and wildly popular, supported by 76% of American voters. Let’s make sure we amplify them! If you need talking points to combat the sure-to-come nativist rants from the GOP, here are some good ones from America’s Voice. And let’s thank President Biden, too, for doing what’s right. I’ve made that easy below.
OK, all. Isn’t it satisfying to be fighting for the “good guys?” Let’s keep it up! The stakes are high, the work is hard, and the burden of carrying democracy can feel heavy, but we’re strong, smart, and seasoned enough to do this!
So let’s get to work one more time.
P.S. — THANK YOU to everyone who gave to our Chop Wood, Carry Statehouses Giving Circle yesterday! We need raise only another $2500 to make our match! Let’s goooooo!
P.P.S. — In the interests of getting this out as soon as possible, there will be no House call today.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I know Senator Heinrich will request Unanimous Consent today on his bipartisan bill S.1909, Banning Unlawful Machine Gun Parts (BUMP) Act of 2023. I’m assuming the Senator will enthusiastically support it?
Second, I support the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences or EXPLORE Act, a bill that would modernize and expand outdoor recreation. It passed the House in April unanimously as H.R.6492. It has also unanimously passed out of the Senate Energy Committee, but it hasn’t been brought up before the full Senate. Encouraging and facilitating outdoor recreation is a no brainer. Please ask the Senator to push for a vote on this bill. Thanks!
Extra Credit ✅
Let’s thank President Biden for his immigration-related actions today. We can send him the below quick Resistbot by texting SIGN PMUEVK. Of course you can also write your own note and send it to the President via his contact form.
Thank you very much for today’s announcement of two new major, deeply fair, and long-needed immigration policies.
These actions will keep families together, remove bureaucratic barriers to legal status for deeply-rooted immigrants, and provide stability for thousands of American children.
These are the types of positive, uplifting actions we need more of! An orderly, compassionate approach to immigration is something I—and the majority of Americans—strongly support. Thanks again.
Get Smart! 📚
Sister District x Red Wine & Blue State Power Series—How You Can Fight for Reproductive Freedom: 2 Years Since Dobbs
I’m joining Sister District and Red Wine & Blue for a panel event on June 24 to discuss our fight for reproductive freedom two years after Dobbs. It’s going to be amazing! Please come!
Moderated by: Gaby Goldstein, Sister District Co-Founder, & Julie Womack, Head of Organizing for Red Wine & Blue
Monday, June 24 at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET
SPECIAL GUESTS: Virginia State Senator Lashrecse Aird, author & filmmaker Asha Dayha and activist Jessica Craven.
Spread the Word! 📣
This
piece about messaging Joe Biden vs Trump on the economy is really helpful and contains important suggestions. Please read it — I’m praying it’s not paywalled — and please share!
Give 💰!
Galvanize Action is the only national organization developing messages proven to move moderate white women in swing states towards progress. Their messages are developed based upon deep listening and are carefully tested to ensure they are effective. Galvanize Action has been selected by Focus for Democracy to be featured on Thursday, June 20 at 4 pm PDT/7 pm EDT. Focus for Democracy rigorously evaluates and selects a few groups who they determine are the best investment for democracy. If you value rigorous research and evaluation, please register by clicking on this link.
Win Races! 🗳
Lean Left Vermont has a “Power Hour” every Sunday from 3-5 pm ET via Zoom. It’s a short, friendly event where you can make a difference with a group of like-minded folks.
This week, they’re calling Democrats in Mecklenburg County, NC. These are easy calls to build community by inviting known supporters to a social event in their neighborhood. I can’t emphasize enough how fun these calls are rumored to be AND how key they are to the NC Dems’ strategy.
Sign up here for more information (indicate your experience level and, if needed, they can schedule a training for you.)
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PROPOO to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
It is time for Congress to perform its constitutional duty and act as a check on the Supreme Court’s corruption and extreme partisanship. As a voter and your constituent, I am urging you to pass legislation that would expand the Supreme Court, create a code of ethics for the body to follow, and implement term limits.
There’s a troubling pattern of corruption from several justices on the Supreme Court. We’ve seen megadonors footing the bill for Clarence Thomas’s vacations, mortgage payments, and family tuition; Samuel Alito failing to disclose his luxury vacation with a billionaire with business before the Court and putting a 'Stop the Steal' flag in his yard; and Neil Gorsuch selling property to an executive that has business before the Court just nine days after his lifetime appointment was finalized.
The majority of Americans have lost faith in this unethical Court not only because of unchecked corruption, but because of their attacks on our fundamental freedoms and willingness to ignore precedent to hand out big wins to partisan extremists.
The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act would create an ethical code for justices to adhere to. The Judiciary Act would add four more seats to the Court, ending the partisan warfare against our fundamental rights. Finally, implementing term limits would ensure that every president gets to appoint justices and align the Court more closely to the democratic choices of the American people. We need these reforms!
Congress needs to rein in this out-of-control Supreme Court. It’s time you take action and hold the Court accountable for its wrongdoing.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Dear Jess, I just used your script to call senators' offices in support of the BUMP Act, and sent the ResisBot text to lawmakers to move on SCOTUS reform. Continued thanks for all you are doing to make civic engagement on behalf of a vibrant democracy so accessible!
Ok guys, I've got a treat for everyone today (or not?). For everyone here wanting a peek into the mind of the "low-info" youth voter, I just got to have a rare politics talk with my younger brother, and the following is an as-close-to-verbatim-as-my-short-term-memory-will-allow transcription of his thoughts. He is 24, a recent college grad working at Walmart. He was an unenthusiastic Biden vote in '20, but blue again in '22. His friend group is progressive/leftist and he gets most of his news from them or social media.
On the anti-Israel protests: "I feel like they're alienating people. I am getting so f---ing tired of hearing about this one tiny strip of land. There have been other wars, but I guess those weren't a hot topic. We have one of those encampments on the quad. Now no one can use that park, and the grass is absolutely ruined. School has put up a barrier asking them to stay away from those big ole trees around the area we all love. I literally care more about that by now. I swear if they even touch one of those trees with those tents I'm gonna go down there and go ballistic on them all myself. Look, the sh-t I've seen and heard about is horrifying, but I feel like no one wants to think about how much worse it could be? Israel is jacked to the teeth because they always have had to be. They're still behaving like monsters, but... Frankly, 40k or whatever doesn't seem like that many people for a war. My problem is that the alive people's quality of life is absolute dogsh-t, and there are so many kids. I just want peace, but you're not gonna get that by talking like an idiot and ruining my commute."
On the border crisis: "Wait, what? Is that what they're actually saying? Since when? You're supposed to feel bad for those people! Look at where they're coming from! How would they know exactly what the process is? Aren't we supposed to be welcoming? RACIST. We wouldn't care if they were coming from Canada."
On crime: "I haven't noticed anything. I mean, people are always trying to steal sh-t from Walmart, but that's Walmart. Like they would feel it. OMG, wait a sec!" [Pulls out his phone, scrolls for a minute, shows me a video of a woman saying "All my man did was rob the gas station, y'all acting like he tried to rob Walmart or something!" She proceeds to sing "Release my n----!" to the tune of Feliz Navidad. He laughs.]
On inflation: "You know who is always complaining about prices in my checkout line? Old people. Almost every time it's an old person. Like, we're all just trying to get by. I'm eating ramen every day so I can go to that concert because my rent just went up $60, but I'm not complaining. I can't remember what it was when it was what the price was "supposed to be." Geez. Hey, y'know what? I've got the free Tinder, and I just set my age limit up. Time to get me a sugar momma!"
On energy policy: "I actually wouldn't care if the government doubled the gas price just to make people buy hybrid. Like, it would suck for me right now but I would get it. But it's all the companies just being greedy. We got peeps out here acting like Shell is worth paying a dollar more for like it's special. I can't wait until the Saudis and all those other guys over there are done."
On 45's conviction: "We talkin' 'bout our main opp right now. Bro more than deserved it."
On who he is voting for: "Joe has done some good stuff. I understand why people would prefer someone else, but I'll never understand why anyone would prefer the alternative. Total barf."