Chop Wood, Carry Water 7/14
Hi, all, and happy Thursday.
I like to amplify content like the above tweet whenever I see it. Will this person, a Gen Z activist and “Democratic Strategist” end up being correct about November? I hope so. But he has as good a crystal ball as anyone else—which is to say no crystal ball at all—so why not listen to those who see the future as bright? Hope begets hope, after all.
I happen to share his opinion, mind you. But all of it is just that—opinion.
What happens in the midterms will be determined not by wishful thinking, bravado, or promising polls. It will be determined by what we do between now and November 7th.
So let’s do as much as we humanly can.
One more thing: I am going to be traveling for much of the next three weeks. Starting Monday I won’t have access to wifi at all for 4 days. So expect to hear nothing from me then, and perhaps a bit less from me for the two weeks after that. Once I return on the 10th of August we will be full out until November. And then onwards, of course.
After all, we’ve got a life or death election to win. And a country to fix. For better or worse, I don’t expect to be unemployed anytime soon.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I understand that there is real movement on S 736, the Assault Weapons ban. Is the Senator yet a co-sponsor? How about of S 190, Ethan’s Law, a child gun access prevention law? These bills should be no-brainers; their provisions are widely supported by Americans and will save children’s lives.
[If Dem, Collins, or Murkowski add:] One more thing: please ask the Senator to keep pushing to confirm as many good judges as possible in the next few months. Except, of course, for Chad Meredith, who should NOT be confirmed if he is nominated. Conservative judges are reversing progress everywhere. We need to balance the courts while we can. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I understand that there is real movement on HR 1808, the Assault Weapons ban bill. Is the Congressmember yet a co-sponsor? Will s/he vote for it when Speaker Pelosi brings it for a vote? I want him/her to very much.
[If Democrat add:] Also, I want Democrats to bring a “clean” abortion bill for a vote. One that makes abortion legal in the first trimester and always in cases of rape, incest, and danger to the mother’s life. These provisions are wildly popular with Americans across the political spectrum. Republican lawmakers will oppose such a bill at their peril—if they block it our midterm fortunes will improve dramatically. If they support it we will save lives and can pass broader legislation later. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
Let’s call Speaker Pelosi and pressure her to bring the Assault Weapons Ban to the floor. Word is that the votes exist to pass it in the House, and there is tremendous internal pressure from Gun Violence Prevention advocates as well as survivors to get this done.
Call (202) 225-4965 or (415) 556-4862. When you get the voicemail say:
My name is _____ and I live in [city, state]. I’m calling Congresswoman Pelosi in her capacity as Speaker of the House to ask her to please bring HR 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban, to a vote as soon as possible. Word is we have the votes to get it passed in the House. Such a ban is widely popular with Americans and Democrats should be pushing for it as hard as they can. Thanks.
Get Smart! 📚
Want to do more to protect abortion access but don’t know how? Abortion Access Front (AAF) will hook you up!
Here’s the deal: on Sunday, July 17th, abortion activists and experts from around the country are gathering for an all-day training experience that will be live-streamed into YOUR living room to guide you – and your friends – towards all the different ways you can join this movement.
The day will be organized around a series of five different conversations covering different areas of abortion advocacy. You'll learn about things like volunteering to escort patients, about connecting patients with financial assistance through your local abortion fund and about how to talk to politicians about abortion. And much more. You will also meet the people who are doing much of the on-the-ground work.
Organizations involved include The Brigid Alliance, ARC southeast, Abortion Care Network, the National Council of Jewish Women and HODG (from whom I got this alert). Please join them.
OPERATION SAVE ABORTION (“It’s not a march, it’s a training day.”)
Sunday, July 17 8AM - 3:30PM PT
Postcard For Abortion Rights!
Yay! Postcards to Voters is doing postcarding against the Kansas Constitutional Amendment that would pave the way to an abortion ban in the state! We have until 7/17 to send these cards. If you’ve written for PTV before you can text Abby the address bot and get your addresses and script that way.
If you’ve never written with Postcards to Voters before go here to get set up. You will need to provide your own postcards.
Win Races! 🗳
As usual, I will be doing my Arizona phonebank today from 3-5 PT / 6-8 ET. It’s been so nice having subscribers show up and call with me. Will you be one today? I will train you!
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.)
[to all 3 reps] [H/T] [Quick send: text SIGN PIIHIO to 50409]
If Congress doesn’t act by September 30th millions of households will receive letters that they will either need to pay more out of pocket or lose their health coverage.
Three million Americans will likely lose their health coverage at the end of this year while at least 10 million more will see their premiums skyrocket. The newly uninsured will join 2 million poor adults who are now denied Medicaid in 12 states but who are too poor to afford any other form of coverage.
Last year, the U.S. House passed a tax and investment package that raised more than $2.2 trillion in new revenue. You have the ability to invest in American families while making the rich and corporations pay their fair share.
I urge you to act now to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies, originally passed as part of the American Rescue Plan, and to close the Medicaid coverage gap. With inflation costing the average U.S. family $460 each month, Congress must do all it can to prevent skyrocketing health care costs for millions of Americans. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess
Can we get a recording of it?
Hi, I looked for more info re the postcards to KS and didn't see anywhere the 7/17 deadline. I know that whenever you request addresses, they always give you 3 days for the ones you request so maybe that's where your 7/17 date came up. Needless to say, however, we don't have much time because the KS election is just 2.5 weeks away, so postcards need to be mailed sooner rather than later. (I don't know if they have early voting or not....)