Chop Wood, Carry Water 6/3

Keep rowing. 🚣🏼‍♂️

Hi, all, and happy Monday.

Long time no speak!

I’m running on zero sleep, so I’m going to keep this brief. I’ve arrived in DC and am about to take off for the Smithsonian to try to get in my American history fix before succumbing to exhaustion.

I know things seem a bit out of control right now. Republicans are escalating their rhetoric in a way that feels irresponsible and even dangerous, while folks on our side are panicking about Dems’ messaging; it’s a great deal of stress, furor and noise—and it will exhaust us if we let it.

So let’s not.

Look, I see things the way both Heather Cox Richardson and Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo do. Republicans’ anger and stridency looks to me like an obvious attempt to cover up panic. Their ship just took on an unsupportable amount of water. They know it. It’s palpable. They’re bailing for their lives, but we can all see the state of their vessel. It’s got a gaping hole in its side. DO NOT LET THEM TELL YOU IT’S SEAWORTHY.

It’s not. They’re the Titanic and Trump is their iceberg. The collision has happened. Cue Celine Dion.

Our ship, on the other hand, is strongly built, crewed by the best seamen, and adding oars all the time. All we need do is set our sails correctly, allow the wind to do its job, and row like our lives depend on it.

In so doing we will not only stay afloat but travel far.

I’ll leave you with a line from Edmund Gibbon:

“The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator.”

That would be us. So let’s get to it. ⛵️

P.S. — No audio versions until I get back to L.A. on Wednesday—sorry!

P.P.S. —Forgive me if this newsletter is incoherent or typo ridden.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

First, I know the Right to Contraception Act (S. 1999) will hit the Senate floor this week, with a vote slated for Wednesday. I expect the Senator to vote yes, and if s/he is planning on voting no I’d like to know why in writing, please. [If VM leave email address.]

Second, I’m disappointed that Speaker Johnson and Leader Schumer have invited Benjamin Netanyahu to come speak before Congress. Netanyahu is a failed leader and an extremist who has been ignoring President Biden’s advice. He should be resigning, not appearing before Congress. I’d like the Senator to boycott his appearance, just as 58 members of Congress did in 2015. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I’m disappointed that Speaker Johnson and Leader Schumer have invited Benjamin Netanyahu to come speak before Congress. Netanyahu is a failed leader and an extremist who has been ignoring President Biden’s advice. He should be resigning, not appearing before Congress. I’d like the Congressmember to boycott his appearance, just as 58 members of Congress did last time he came. Thanks. 

Extra Credit ✅

Let’s send this letter to AG Garland using the DOJ’s contact form. (Thank you so much to subscriber Risa G. for putting this action together!) It’s a Hail Mary, but worth a try.

I’m writing to demand that The U.S. Department of Justice — including the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and the solicitor general –  petition the other seven justices to require that Justices Alito and Thomas recuse themselves from hearing any Jan. 6 cases as a matter of law.

The Justice Department and Attorney General Merrick Garland must invoke the due process clause of the Constitution of the United States, and the federal statute mandating judicial disqualification for questionable impartiality, 28 U.S.C. Section 455. Per Section 455(b), recusal includes a spouse’s bias. Judges must self-recuse when a spouse “is known by the judge to have an interest in a case that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding.” Ms. Thomas and Mrs. Alito meet this standard.

28 U.S.C. Section 455 is Congress’s command and is binding on the justices. Ignoring it violates the separation of powers: the justices cannot override congressional commands. Once invoked, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Sonia Sotomayor have a constitutional and statutory obligation to enforce recusal standards.

Once raised, the justices need only read their court’s own recusal decisions to conclude that the due process clause and Section 455 compel Justices Alito and Thomas to recuse themselves. 

The Constitution and Congress’s recusal statute provide the objective framework of analysis and remedy for cases of judicial bias that are apparent to the world, even if they may be invisible to the judges involved. This is not really optional for the justices.

I look forward to seeing seven members of the court act to defend the reputation and integrity of the institution.

Get Smart! 📚

On Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at 7pm ET/4pm PT BigTentUSA is thrilled to host MSNBC’s legal expert, Barbara McQuade, and Kimberly Atkins-Stohr, senior opinion writer and columnist at The Boston Globe. McQuade will discuss her new book, Attack from Within– an urgent, comprehensive explanation of the ways disinformation is impacting democracy, and practical solutions that can be pursued to strengthen the public, media, and truth-based politics. She will break down the ways disinformation has become a tool to drive voters to extremes.

Please register via this link.

Spread the Word! 📣

This is a great post about how to talk about Trump’s conviction with less plugged in voters. I just discovered

MurMur’s Substack

and it’s yet another great messaging newsletter.

Donald Trump is a Felon

(Also, here’s is a really helpful messaging toolkit on the same subject from the folks at the Research Collaborative and ASO Communications. I find the language “dos and don’ts” especially instructive. You may, too!)

Give 💰!

In the 2022 midterms, Nevada narrowly reelected their Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto by just 7,928 votes! That year, Field Team 6, in part funded by local group Onward Toward Progress, had registered 27,346 new Dem and Independent voters in that state, providing that narrow margin of victory! 

On June 8, OTP and Field Team 6 are having a fabulous fundraiser to again win Nevada and you’re invited to participate either by attending the event, bidding on the auction (yes they’ll ship to you) or making a donation! Not only is their MC the Emmy-award winning producer, actor, comedian and writer Larry Wilmore, but you’ll hear from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Nevada Representative Susie Lee, along with the inimitable Jason Berlin of FT6. Click here to buy tickets or donate.

The Viva Nevada! spectacular silent auction opened Friday, May 31 - take a look at the incredible assortment of items up for auction, including:

Dodgers vs Brewers July 5th Plus Parking and Drone Show
4 VIP Tickets to The Jennifer Hudson Show
Escape to Cabo San Lucas
Vintage Baseball Collectibles

Book Club Bonanza with local author Lian Dolan

Desserts for Democracy!

A lot of this stuff is SoCal based but not all of it. Please check it out and bid on an item if you can! And thanks!

Win Races! 🗳

Vote Forward just launched a new campaign, and you can now write letters to encourage potential voters to register! The first step towards participating in elections is registering to vote, but many Americans miss out because they don’t register in time.

In this letter campaign, you’ll be reaching out to voters who need to update their registrations, as well as households where data indicates that a resident may need to register. We’ll be sending letters to households rather than individual names, following best practices for voter registration as recommended by subject matter experts. Vote Forward’s last voter registration experiment in 2022 showed promising results, so they’re hoping to scale that up for big impact this year!

Sign up for voter registration letters here!

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

[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PEJFCO to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]

I’m writing as a constituent to urge the House and Senate to develop a Farm Bill that ensures that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is protected and strengthened and that benefit adequacy, equitable access, and program administration remain core tenets of the program.

I oppose any Farm Bill — including the House Agriculture Committee’s Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 — which proposes cuts to SNAP including restricting future Thrifty Food Plan benefit adjustments, nearly $30 billion in cuts over 10 years according to the Congressional Budget Office, in addition to provisions outsourcing administrative functions currently required to be performed by public sector merit employees.

The Farm Bill presents a unique opportunity for Congress to make progress against food insecurity and hunger, especially considering that food insecurity touches people in every Congressional District.

Every dollar invested in SNAP is a dollar we invest into our nation and its people. And this investment has a strong ripple effect. Studies show that increases in SNAP benefits directly correlate to improved health outcomes and decreased visits to emergency rooms, which decreases Medicaid costs. In addition to its health, nutrition, and overall improved well-being attributes, SNAP also supports local economies — each dollar in federally funded SNAP benefits generates between $1.50 and $1.80 in economic activity during a weak economy.

Equally important, Congress must protect SNAP from damaging policies that would undermine its effectiveness and increase hunger and food insecurity. This includes ensuring that future Thrifty Food Plan adjustments allow benefits to keep pace with the cost of a healthy diet based on factors such as the latest dietary guidance and food consumption patterns. Historically, the Farm Bill has been a bipartisan effort that has prioritized improving the lives of millions of households who struggle to get the nutrition they need.

I urge Congress to return to this core Farm Bill principle and only advance a bold and equitable Farm Bill that protects and strengthens SNAP and the commodity assistance programs that support millions of households in every corner of our country. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess