Chop Wood, Carry Water 9/13

“Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.”

—David Orr

Art by Celeste Byers via Amplifier

Hi, all, and happy Tuesday.

After yesterday’s rather lengthy opening I think it’s appropriate to keep this one short.

Suffice it to say that Lindsey Graham just introduced a national abortion ban; the Republicans are doubling down on their unpopular and extremist positions. This is both encouraging—it should help us at the polls!—and scary, as their cockiness is unnerving. I can’t imagine what the strategy is in introducing this bill now, when poll after poll shows that support for abortion rights is growing, but I’m sure there is one.

Whether it proves to be a winning strategy? That depends on us.

So please, grab hold of a Get Out the Vote activity (I’ve even got a 24-hour option on offer below) and do it. Strategy be damned. This is a streetfight now.

And I, for one, intend for our side to win.

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

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

I know the Senate will be voting soon on a Marriage Equality bill, and I want to ensure that the Senator plans to vote yes? The bill is S 4556, the Respect For Marriage Act.

Also, I am horrified at how broken the Supreme Court is. The majority of justices on it are extremist, highly partisan, and legislating from the bench, which they are not supposed to do. Is the Senator yet co-sponsoring S 1141, the Judiciary Act? If not will s/he? There is literally no other way to restore Americans’ trust in our highest court. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

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

I am horrified at how broken the Supreme Court is. The majority of justices on it are extremist, highly partisan, and legislating from the bench, which they are not supposed to do. Is the Congressmember yet co-sponsoring HR 2584, the Judiciary Act? If not will s/he? There is literally no other way to restore Americans’ trust in our highest court. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Let’s contact CBS, ABC and NBC and tell them what we think of the fact that they didn’t cover Joe Biden’s speech on democracy.

Contact ABC programming feedback page here.

Contact NBC News through their FB page—just DM them.

Contact CBS News here.

I said (obviously feel free to write your own version):

I'm writing to say that I am horrified that ____ News neglected to cover President Biden's address about the danger our democracy faces right now. It was an important and historic speech, and Americans needed to see it. Your coverage of Prince Charles's accession to the throne, on the other hand, has been relentless. Can you please get your priorities in order? You're supposed to carry important, relevant, need-to-know NEWS. The President making a speech about our democracy being under attack is exactly that. Do better or I'll find another channel to watch. Thanks.

Get Smart! 📚

This should be good!

Jennifer Rubin: Why We Can Win The Midterms!
Today, Tuesday, Sept 13th, 6-7:30 pm Pacific Time

Jennifer Rubin writes opinion columns for The Washington Post and contributes to MSNBC. She covers politics and policy provides insight into the right-wing's extremism.

Learn about the latest trends in the midterms, why they defy common wisdom, and understand how we can have the most effective impact.

Register here!

Register Voters! ✅

Subscriber Nancy D. sent me the below! Thanks!

“I wanted to make sure you’re aware of a wonderful organization I volunteer with – Headcount.org. Their model is brilliant – they set up a voter registration table at concerts, staffed by volunteers who register voters and help them update addresses etc. before the show starts and through the opening act. Once the headliner starts, the volunteers are free to watch the show. It’s a great way to engage young voters (and volunteers).

They’ve just added a ton of new concerts to the roster for the fall so need all kinds of volunteer help – here’s where people can go to learn more and sign up. “

Win Races! 🗳

Knowing that a lot of postcarding campaigns need a lot more volunteers, I made a TikTok to recruit folks. To accompany it I put together a document with all of the postcarding opportunities I know of—I figured it would be good to have it all in one place. On the assumption that this might be helpful to some of you, I am posting the doc here. Please use it, share it, and let me know if you know of campaigns I can add to it. It’s at https://tinyurl.com/writepostcards

Oh, and here’s the Tiktok in case you’d find sharing it with the document helpful. (It’s on IG, too.)

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

[to your Senators] [H/T ACLU] [Quick send text SIGN PTCURM to 50409]

[Yes, we are doubling down on this, as the vote will happen any day now.]

As your constituent, I’m urging you to vote YES on the Respect for Marriage Act to safeguard the protections that marriage has brought to hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples and their families across the country.

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, I became alarmed by the likelihood that other rights could soon come under attack— like marriage equality.

In July, your colleagues in the House of Representatives passed this crucial bill with a bipartisan vote of 267-157, making it the most pro-LGBTQ vote in Congressional history. Now, the Senate must do the same.

The Respect for Marriage Act would guarantee federal recognition of the lawful marriages of same-sex couples, fully repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, and protect a couple’s lawful marriage regardless of state lines. This bill is critical to ensuring that all Americans are treated fairly and equally under the law.

I urge you to vote YES on the Respect for Marriage Act without delay.

---

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

Talk tomorrow.

Jess