Chop Wood, Carry Water 8/26

Hope is making a comeback!

Hi, all, and happy Monday!

Hope you had a great weekend.

I’ll start with some miscellany:

First, a friendly reminder that I will be moderating and/or speaking at two amazing events later today: How We Win (about how to give your political dollars strategically) at 4PM PT / 7PM ET and the sure-to-be-incredible North Carolina / Mecklenberg County fundraiser with Jeff Jackson at 5PM PT / 8PM ET. Please come to either or both if you can!

Second, I did an interview with the legendary

Scott Dworkin

last week; he’s really fun to talk to. You can watch it here if you like.

Like Michelle Obama Said, Let's "Do Something!"

Third, I wanted to issue a correction: in last night’s “Extra! Extra!” I included the Washington Post’s assertion that the balloons used at the DNC convention were biodegradable. This, apparently, is false, as more than one reader hastened to tell me in the comments. Sorry about that! I should have researched the claim before I passed it on. Balloons, it turns out, are, without exception, awful for the environment and wildlife. And thanks to everyone who corrected me on this point; it matters!

Finally, I had the pleasure of speaking in person to a group of activists in Pasadena, CA, last night. They call themselves Onward Toward Progress, and they’ve been gathering during election cycles for several years now. Onward Towards Progress will be focussing on Nevada for this election cycle—they have done so several times before. They intend to organize canvassing trips there and will phonebank and postcard as well. They’ve also raised over 100K for Field Team Six’s voter registration efforts in the state. Wow!

Every time I meet with a group like this my faith in our democracy is bolstered and increased. It’s a joyous reminder that, across the country, small groups of “average Americans” (they are anything but average, of course) are doing the yeoman’s work of fighting for our democracy, and doing it in spectacular fashion! They trudge on week after week, month after month, year in and year out, good times and bad. They do so without any recognition from mainstream media, the political punditry, or even most politicians. They bring enormous creativity, industriousness, and effectiveness to their work. They receive small thanks for the massive victories their work helps bring about. Yet they continue on cheerfully, one election cycle after another.

If you belong to such a group I am deeply appreciative of the work you’re doing. When we prevail in this battle—and we will—it’ll be because of people like you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

And if you wish you belonged to such a group but don’t know of one near you please post about it in the comments! Tell us where you’re located—someone here may be able to steer you somewhere terrific!

Which would be lovely, because truly, we are stronger together.

Now, together, let’s get to work!

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

I understand 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. Does the Senator plan to vote down the Kennedy Amendment on the Senate floor? [if yes, thank them] [if no/unsure, ask for your Senator’s position in writing and leave your email address] Thanks! [H/T Newtown Action]

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I am deeply disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the federal ban on bump stocks, devices that enable semi-automatic firearms to fire at a rate similar to automatic weapons /machine guns.

This decision not only disregards the deadly potential of these devices but also jeopardizes the safety of our communities. Bump stocks serve no purpose other than to transform semi-automatic weapons into instruments of mass destruction.

I urge the House to pass HR 396, the Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act of 2023 to permanently ban these dangerous and deadly devices. Thanks! [H/T Newtown Action]

Extra Credit ✅

From subscriber Mike:

I just learned that Resistbot is testing a new service that is "a new bot within a bot” that can answer questions about Project 2025. You can access it by texting P2025 to Resistbot and following the prompts. Please test it out, they’re still working on optimizing it and making it smarter. They request you post your good and bad responses into their Discord server chat using the tag #general, if you have signed up with their channel.

I’m not on Discord, but I did try the P2025 bot yesterday and it’s EXCELLENT! Ask it anything about Project 2025 and it’ll tell you. Again, just text P2025 to 50409 (or wherever you reach

Resistbot

) and ask away!

And tell a friend!

Get Smart! 📚

Win Races in Swing States!

Join Climate Action Now—and me!—for a four-part series of How We Win events! In the final 10 weeks before the election, hear from a line-up of inspiring experts as they share on-the-ground knowledge that climate-conscious citizens need to win in November.

In the second event of the How We Win series, you’ll hear from Martha Laning of the State Party Advancement Network (SPAN) and Lewis Friedland of Win Wisconsin, on vital questions like: Why are the upper midwestern battlegrounds critical for a Harris victory? What is the key to swinging them one way or another? Can people outside those states influence voters in those states? I will be moderating the conversation!

Register for How We Win with Swing States on Tuesday, September 3 at 7 pm ET to find out!

Spread the Word! 📣

Downtown Nasty Women Social Group sends out a weekly “DemFact” in their newsletter. This one should really be shared widely!

Fact: Bill Clinton made this bold statement during his speech at the DNC: “Since the end of the Cold War in 1989, America has created about 51 million new jobs. What's the score? Democrats 50, Republicans 1.” The Washington Post confirmed that, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, former President Clinton wasn’t wrong.

The Biden-Harris administration in particular has seen strong monthly job growth, far outpacing that of the Trump administration. Overall, the Biden-Harris administration has created 15 million jobs compared to Trump's job loss record of -3 million. Even accounting for the pandemic, the data shows Biden-Harris created 7.5 million jobs in 2022-3, compared to 4.3 million jobs in 2018-19 under Trump.

You can now find all of Downtown Nasty Women’s published weekly Dem facts on their website, easily sortable by category. Visit the website here.

Give 💰!

Walk the Walk USA
Tuesday, August 27, 5:30pm PT / 8:30pm ET
Latest Recommendations: Walk the Walk USA’s 2024 Democracy Preservation Portfolio.

Walk the Walk USA funds strategic grassroots initiatives that utilize the most effective voter engagement tactics, in the most competitive geographies, supporting the most impactful voters in order to safeguard and strengthen democracy. Come learn about the latest additions to their 2024 Democracy Preservation Portfolio. They’ll be sharing evidence-backed recommendations for ways to have outsized impact with limited political dollars. In a nutshell, they support voters rather than candidates.

Attendance is free – Sign up in advance here!

Win Races—Make Calls! 🗳

Activate America is offering two new phone banking opportunities.

In Pennsylvania, they’re working with Climate Changemakers to turn out pro-environment voters in PA-07, where Democratic Congresswoman Susan Wild faces a tough election, currently rated as a tossup. You can sign up HERE if interested.

And in California, they’ve added 2 campaigns in the Central Valley to help elect Adam Gray in CA-13 and Rudy Salas CA-22! You can sign up HERE to help them turn out Democratic voters in these 2 districts, as well as their Southern California districts – CA-41 (Will Rollins), CA-45 (Derek Tran), and CA-47 (Dave Min). THESE RACES ARE SO IMPORTANT!

Join them on Zoom Monday through Thursday afternoons, or join them at one of their new Saturday options! Every session has training available too, so no experience needed. If you’re an experienced phone banker and prefer to call on your own time, you can always sign up HERE.

Win Races—Volunteer For Harris-Walz!

The DNC is running almost nightly volunteer welcome calls during which they’ll tell attendees the different ways they can help us win. The webinar description says: “This session will introduce you to our candidates, our campaign, and ways to take action to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot.”

These calls should be really helpful and informative, and we should probably all attend one if we can. Tell a friend, too! I get asked all the time “how can I help?” This is the logical first step.

Sign up link here.

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

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

I am writing to urge you to co-sponsor Senator Ed Markey and Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s Health Over Wealth Act to address the role of private equity firms control over hospitals, mental and behavioral health facilities, and nursing homes.

Private equity’s modus operandi is to reduce competition, shutter facilities, and cut staffing, all to make more money -- leaving fewer choices among healthcare providers, especially in rural areas. Without regulation, such reckless profiteering is nearly guaranteed to lead to disruption in access to facilities, higher patient costs, and reduced quality of care.

This bill will establish permanent guardrails to protect patients, providers, and communities. The bill accomplishes this by providing for public transparency, continuity of care, establishment of an HHS Task Force, HHS review of sales, public notification of closures or reduction of services, prohibiting the stripping of assets, and by licensing private equity firms that invest in healthcare facilities.

Thank you, in advance, for protecting patients, providers, and communities, and for helping guarantee that “corporate wealth will not come before public health” by co-sponsoring and passing the Health Over Wealth Act now.

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

Talk soon.

Jess