Chop Wood, Carry Water 8/12

Aug 12, 2022

Hi, all, and happy Friday.

I am commencing to write this opening at 9:54 AM, Pacific Time. I almost guarantee that by the time I finish and hit send on this email something else explosive will have happened. The news is coming thick and fast. It’s also extremely crazy.

Many more qualified people than me have written about the latest round of news and what it means. Robert Hubbell, Heather Cox Richardson, Jay Kuo, and Lucian Truscott all have great, freshly published posts about what’s happened in the last 24 hours. I recommend them all.

Me, I’m going to remind you to breathe. Because this is a lot.

And when the next outrageous thing happens, when the next Republican lie erupts, when the next Trump follower encourages violence, when next you feel afraid, to remember a few things:

There are more of us than there are of them. By many millions.

Americans, by large majorities, oppose violence and extremism. They also support the policies Democrats are running on by wide margins.

We can—assuming we do the work—hold (and expand) our majorities in November. Even pollsters are starting to agree. But regardless of their opinion I am telling you it’s true. We. Can. Win.

The rule of law still exists.

Democracy still exists.

We can keep it that way. And we will. So let’s get to work doing just that one more time.

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

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

I’m calling because I’m extremely concerned about a new Washington Post piece describing multiple ways that Inspector General Cuffari of the Department of Homeland Security is obstructing the investigation into his handling of missing Secret Service text messages from January 6th. Cuffari and his staff have refused to release documents, tried to block interviews, and complained to Republican Senators, asking them to slow down the investigation. This is outrageous. I want the Senator to demand that Biden fire IG Cuffari for cause. Inspectors General should be independent, ethical and apolitical. Cuffari is none of the those things. Tell Biden to fire him now. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

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

I’m calling because I’m extremely concerned about a new Washington Post piece describing multiple ways that Inspector General Cuffari of the Department of Homeland Security is obstructing the investigation into his handling of missing Secret Service text messages from January 6th. Cuffari and his staff have refused to release documents, tried to block interviews, and complained to Republican Senators, asking them to slow down the investigation. This is outrageous. I want the Congressmember to demand that Biden fire Cuffari for cause. We need to be able to trust that Inspectors General are independent, ethical and apolitical. Cuffari is none of those things. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Republicans are lying about the Inflation Reduction Act to try to distract from the fact that they sided with special interests instead of voting to lower costs. Help the DNC uplift these stories to push back on Republicans’ false claims—remember, YOU are the best emissary we have, because your friends and family will listen to you.

Washington Post: Hyperbolic GOP claims about IRS agents and audits
AP FACT CHECK: GOP skews budget bill’s impact on IRS, taxes
TIME: Trump Allies Are Attacking Biden For a Plan to Hire 87,000 New IRS Agents That Doesn't Exist
Bloomberg: US Tax Bill Costs Corporations Nearly $300 Billion More, While Middle Class Pays Less
PolitiFact: Kevin McCarthy’s mostly false claim about an army of 87,000 IRS agents
NY Magazine: Republicans Say Biden’s Plan Taxes the Middle Class. That’s False.

By the way, I get an email from the DNC with talking points like this every weekday. If you’d like to be added to their list let me know!

Get Smart! 📚

If you missed the Red, Wine and Blue event on Wednesday, no worries…you can watch the recording right now. And you didn’t miss the most important thing, which is to sign up for their Great Troublemaker Turnout, their relational voter turnout program for the midterms. Whether you live in one of the swing states where they have organizers on the ground — MI, PA, NC, or OH — or you live anywhere else, they have a role for you (they need at least 500 Troublemaker Coaches, for example).

Once you sign up here, they will get you all the information you need to become a Troublemaker or a Troublemaker Coach. Each role is critical.

Message Message Message! 📣

If you use social media regularly I have a way you can really, really help the Democrats win this November. It’s simply by using DemCast’s incredible, constantly updated “Mobilize the Midterm” social media toolkit to post informational, inspiring and/or galvanizing content about the Midterms (and the Democratic candidates running in them) on your favorite social media platforms. I have it bookmarked, and I regularly use it to post new messages they’ve already pre-written—they’re so well curated, and always get a lot of engagement. It literally takes two clicks to do!

People often say “why don’t the Democrats do a better job of messaging?”

This toolkit does it brilliantly, and you can help with a couple of clicks.

Go here to get started.

Win Races! 🗳

I have a new postcarding opportunity for you!

Please sign up now to help Postcards to Swing States rally Democrats to vote in 41 competitive House races from California to Maine this November!

You'll need to provide your own postcards and stamps for this program. They recommend progressivepostcards, an online store that sells postcards with several of their designs for less than most sellers (I’ve ordered from them before—their cards are really high quality and cheap) but you can get your postcards anywhere, as long as they have a voting theme. After you sign up, they'll email you a list of voters and instructions, which will include an October mailing date and three message options (I highly recommend option A. Read why here.)

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

[to all 3 reps] [H/T] [quick send link: text SIGN PJOBMT to 50409]

Senator Manchin is demanding Congress overrule the President, the courts, and the millions of Americans who want climate action by passing his 'pipeline permitting bill' in exchange for the clean energy investments he agreed to in the Inflation Reduction Act. I say no! It's not ethical, safe, or in the interest of our climate or communities to give a single concession to the fossil fuel industry—not if we want our children to grow up on a livable planet.

I’m asking you to reject Manchin's fossil fuel permitting bill. Hands down. We must turn all of our attention, ingenuity, and legislation towards transitioning off of fossil fuels, not streamlining permits for pipelines that will worsen the climate crisis.

I’ll be watching your vote. Please do the right thing. Thanks.

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

Talk tomorrow.

Jess

Chop Wood, Carry Water