Chop Wood, Carry Water 7/11
Another mea culpa!
Hi, all, and happy Thursday!
First off, it was great seeing so many of you on the Blue CD2 New Mexico call yesterday. I left it feeling inspired, grateful for our community, and very fired up. If you missed the event and want to watch a recording of it I’ll post it soon. If you want to help raise the 5K or so more needed to make their goal you can give here.
Second, I want to address the Project 2025 video I posted in yesterday’s newsletter. Boy, did I get raked over the coals for it! Folks, I’m sorry. I had watched the first half of it and saw it as an informational video that might be useful to you, but apparently its non-partisan and “anodyne” approach was enraging to many. One woman told me she was unsubscribing because I’d posted it!
My friends, I am human and I do my best. I am trying to get you information you can use, and in this case it looks like I chose poorly. Apologies. I’d still argue that, for some, a bland and nonpartisan approach can work, but it’s clearly not what most of you are looking for. If you want something more partisan the best I can offer you, for now, is my video from four weeks ago, which is still making the rounds on social media. I intend to make a new Project 2025 video today and I’ll share it with you as well when it’s done.
Also, CAP Action sent me an email this morning that I thought summarized Project 2025 very well. It’s here if you want something in writing. And don’t forget that the DNC is hosting a webinar about Project 2025 later today!
Finally, as icing on the Project 2025 cake, I am posting a Lincoln Project video below that should make you all very happy. It’s absolutely terrifying, brilliantly done, and will satisfy anyone looking to show the stakes in November. It’s as effective a demonstration of what Project 2025 would look like in execution as I can imagine. Those of you who hated yesterday’s video offering—and everyone else—will love it.
One last thing: I just learned some great news: We stopped the Kennedy Amendment in the Senate Appropriations Committee! The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025, aka the MilCon Appropriations bill, is moving forward WITHOUT the Kennedy Amendment! THIS IS HUGE! A commensurately huge thanks to everyone who sent the Resistbot letter about it earlier this week.
The fight is not over, though. I’m told the amendment will likely come up for a floor vote in a few weeks. We must continue to push our Senators to block this dangerous amendment on the floor. So we will!
There’s lots going on and lots to do, so with that great news and my mea culpa out of the way let’s get back to the important work of saving our democracy.
With you and me working together we absolutely cannot lose.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I just heard that the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025, aka the MilCon Appropriations bill, is moving forward without the Kennedy Amendment in it. Good! I want to make sure that it stays out when this comes up for a floor vote. The Kennedy Amendment is dangerous, bad for veterans, and bad for us. Please ask the Senator to make sure it stays out of this bill. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I understand that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has introduced articles of impeachment against U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Good! I want the Congressmember to support this effort. Thomas and Alito are deeply corrupt and compromised. They have destroyed Americans’ trust in the Supreme Court. They need to go.
Extra Credit ✅
One of my subscribers, Leah D. S., wrote an excellent Resistbot letter asking Congress to reform the Insurrection Act so that a rogue president can’t use it against protestors. Great activism, Leah!
Let’s help her get this letter out there by sending and sharing it! Read it here and send it by texting SIGN PAWBPK to 50409.
Get Smart! 📚
I’ve heard this woman talk and she is EXCELLENT. Highly recommend!
Abortion Academy Session 13
Erika Christensen - Later Abortion Part II
Thursday, July 25 | 5pm PST/8pm ESTErika Christensen from Patient Forward and WhoNotWhen returns to Abortion Academy to take a deeper dive into abortion later in pregnancy. Abortion is on the ballot everywhere this election season, and understanding policy proposals can be confusing. We'll talk about ballot measures, how limited protections harm us, and how abortion bans work to punish pregnant people beyond abortion. She'll also dive into effective ways to talk about later abortion while centering core values, support, and destigmatization. You'll come away with a better understanding of why ALL abortion bans are not only unnecessary, but work directly against widespread abortion access.
Erika Christensen (she/her) is a later abortion patient advocate and co-director of Patient Forward. Patient Forward works to decriminalize pregnancy outcomes and ensure everyone has equitable access to abortion care—as early as possible and as late as necessary.
Visit Erika’s first session on Later Abortion at their website. It. Is. Amazing.
Spread the Word! 📣
This is the video I mentioned above. Absolutely smashes it.
Give 💰!
Join Focus for Democracy’s next event on Tuesday, July 16th!
Focus for Democracy develops data-driven recommendations for programs that have proven they can make a big difference this election cycle. Each recommendation has been thoroughly vetted by the same scientific method testing used in vaccine trials.
In this webinar donors will:
Find out how our side can counter disinformation and set the terms of the conversation.
Stay the course with a strategy that will generate the votes needed to win.
Tuesday, July 16th
5:00pm PT / 8:00pm ET
Registration link: https://bit.ly/F4D16July
Win Races! 🗳
Postcards to Swing States’ incredible postcard writers have signed up to write 14.6 million postcards to voters in presidential and Senate battleground states. Sign-ups are complete for Arizona, Montana, Nevada and Wisconsin. But they still have 2.2 million postcards left for Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas. Sign up here to write postcards to these states.
And they’ve just launched postcards into House districts! Lots of them! So many states, including lots of blue ones! Sign up for those here!
Remember: Postcard stamp prices will increase from $0.53 to $0.56 on July 14, 2024. Postcard stamps hold their value forever, so I strongly recommend stocking up before the July increase. The easiest way to buy stamps is from USPS.com. Also, don't fall for scams that offer big discounts on stamps — those are counterfeit! There are no "bulk discounts" on stamps.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: your Senators ] [H/T Alan Unell’s Healthcare Advocacy] [Text SIGN PREQMK to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
I am your constituent. Please cosponsor Senator Markey’s State-Based Universal Health Care Act, the companion bill to Rep. Ro Khanna’s bill HR 6270.
This bill moves us toward universal health care:
Mandates that participating states guarantee healthcare coverage for at least 95% of residents in the first 5 years, thus reducing the uninsured and underinsured populations to less than 5% (currently 30% in most states).
Requires any state-based plan to have benefits equal to or greater than those received by beneficiaries of federal healthcare programs.
Allows states to cooperate on multi-state plans. Section 1332 of the ACA does not.
Enables states to integrate Medicare funds into a state plan. Section 1332 does not. This is critically important for equity. Thank you!!
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
The Lincoln project video you posted on 2025 is very powerful, very frightening . And sorry about the feedback on the previous video you posted. You do so so much, ( even while recovering from Covid) you should not ever have to feel or say “ mea culpa.”
Thank you for sharing the Project 2025 video yesterday. It presented the information in a visual way that I could understand. I shared it widely. This is indeed a threat to our democracy!