Chop Wood, Carry Water 8/16

Harris's solid plan to help American families.

Hi, all, and happy Friday!

And it’s a good day, too.

Today Vice President Harris will announce several proposals for her first 100 days in office meant to bring down costs for American families. Foremost among them will be something I’ve long wished Democrats would prioritize: addressing the housing crisis!

Harris will call for the construction of 3 million new housing units in her first four years in office, up to $25K in down-payment support for 1st-time homebuyers, protections for renters, a new tax credit to incentivize single family home builders to put up more starter homes, and the removal of key tax benefits for Wall St. investors buying homes. This is incredible stuff!

But that’s not all! Harris will propose a $6,000 tax credit for new parents and a federal ban on price gouging to lower grocery and other prices!

Per CNN:

As part of her first 100 days in office, the vice president’s campaign said she would implement a plan to keep costs down that includes authorizing the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to investigate and implement harsh penalties on companies that violate the federal ban, resources that can detect price-fixing, and more support for small businesses to potentially grow into competitors of large companies.

But there’s more! Harris wants to cap the cost of insulin at $35 and out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs at $2,000 for everyone, not just seniors. She says her administration will also work with states to cancel medical debt for millions of Americans. She’s promising to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to cover individuals and couples in lower-income jobs who aren’t raising a child in their home, cutting their taxes by up to $1,500.

These are absolutely phenomenal policies and much needed, and they build out beautifully on the stellar work President Biden has already done. The housing measures, in particular, should prove wildly popular. I’ve hoped forever now that President Biden would announce a “housing moonshot;” Harris has more or less just done it.

On Twitter, economist Mark Zandi said:

I’ve been a long-time observer of the economic policies proposed by presidential candidates. This is the only election in my memory that a candidate has put housing affordability front and center.

Let me tell you, I’m here for it. We should all be.

Harris and Walz continue to run a spectacular campaign. Our job is to continue to support them—and every Democrat below them on the ballot—with every fiber of our being! So let’s do that!

Extra Credit ✅

The Biden-Harris Administration just announced $4.3 BILLION in new EPA grants for 25 climate action projects across the nation. This is a HUGE deal, but it’s barely being discussed.

Let’s use Climate Action Now’s easy tool to ask major U.S. newspapers to report more on these transformative climate action investments! I wrote a passionate spiel in the personalization section—hope you’ll do the same!

Get Smart! 📚

You’ve been bombarded with political donation appeals. But you've probably asked yourself, "Do my political donations really matter?"  "Will they be well spent?"  "What organizations will make the best use of them?"

Climate Action Now asked David Callahan of Blue Tent to answer these and other questions you may have. (They also asked me to moderate the conversation!)

Dave has over 30 years of experience in progressive organizations and media. He is editor of Inside Philanthropy, which covers the world of philanthropic giving. He is also the author of "The Givers: Wealth, Power and Philanthropy in a new Gilded Age" and as well as seven other books. He holds a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University. And guess who is going to moderate the convo? yours truly!

Click here to submit your questions in advance.

Monday, August 26 at 4 pm PT / 7 pm ET
Registration required

Spread the Word! 📣

The always excellent messaging expert Antonia Scatton has some great advice for us on how to talk to voters about crime, immigration, and the border! Take a look!

What to Say to Voters: Crime, Immigration, and the Border

By the way, Scatton is offering her popular online political messaging training at the end of the month. The trainings are $30 and are comprised of two sessions: “How Messaging Works,” and “What to Say.” Sign up here.

Give 💰!

The Feathers of Hope network is supporting the candidacy of Dr. Kristin Lyerly in Wisconsin’s 8th district and I am thrilled about it! Dr. Lyerly is an OB-GYN pro-choice activist running for the seat formerly held by Republican Mike Gallagher, who resigned last March.

In the primary election this past Tuesday, Tony Wied won the Republican nomination. Of the 3 candidates running, Mr. Wied is the most closely aligned with MAGA and was endorsed by Donald Trump. 

The 8th district, which includes the cities of Green Bay and Appleton, is generally rated as solidly Republican. But Mr. Gallagher, who enjoyed strong support in the district, was firmly aligned with moderate traditional Republicans and was never associated with MAGA extremism. 

With access to abortion winning majority support even among Republicans, Dr. Lyerly could possibly flip this seat. Should she be elected, she would be the only pro-choice OB-GYN in the House.

To help support Kristin Lyerly’s campaign, visit her website: www.KristinForWisconsin.com

Win Races — help in Nevada! 🗳

1. Friday, August 23 -- phonebank into Nevada for Harris-Walz at 3pm ET/12pm PT. Nevada is one of the top presidential battlegrounds where the election will be decided this year.

2. Also, Activate America is currently now postcards to Democratic and independent voters across Nevada with a message focused on what will happen if Rosen is defeated. We’re not going back! Sign up HERE.

Cook Political Report just shifted this race from “toss-up” to “lean Democrat.” Let’s keep the momentum going!

Win Races —Relational Organizing! 📲

Mobilize Your Battleground State Democratic Friends with SwipeBlue

Studies show that texts from friends are 29x more powerful than texts from strangers. So what if you could text all your Democratic friends who live in the battleground states that will decide the Electoral College?

SwipeBlue makes that easy and fun! After you install SwipeBlue on your phone, all you have to do is swipe left - like Tinder - to text them a friendly message encouraging them to vote for Kamala Harris. That's it!

They also help you text your friends in states with abortion referenda to encourage them to support their state's campaign. And they help you text your unregistered friends with a link to verify their registration - and register if needed! WOW!

Over 36,000 Democrats have used SwipeBlue since 2020. So try it today - and tell all your friends!

Win Races—Grab a DCCC Texting Slot!

The DCCC is doing texting every Wednesday in October for their House candidates and slots are going fast. Sign up here if you’re interested.

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

[To: all 3 reps] [H/T Save the Post Office coalition] [Text SIGN PHJIAH to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]

Yesterday Congressmembers Greg Casar, Jamie Raskin, Judy Chu, and 74 other Members of Congress sent a letter calling on USPS to immediately implement the nation’s first-ever federal heat rule to protect postal workers from increasingly frequent heat waves and the triple digits across the country this summer. I want to express my strong support for this letter and ask you, if you weren’t a co-signer, to immediately echo this request. The federal government needs to do more to address the danger to its workers of extreme heat, and the USPS is a perfect place to start.

While we’re on the subject, please ask the Postal Board to fire Louis DeJoy—he’s literally the worst. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess