Hi, all, and happy Wednesday!
Hope lots of you got to watch the conversation between Tom Bonier and Simon Rosenberg this morningâwhat a dose of positivity! If you didnât get to see it Iâll try to post a link to the recording in tomorrowâs email. It was very encouraging, very educational, and very data-packed. Everything I love!
Attending the aforementioned webinar has, however, set me a bit back this morning, so Iâll keep this pep talk short.
Iâll leave it at this: what I heard there reminded me of a Dan Rather quote from a few months ago:
One of the few lessons I have learned with any certainty in my long life is that those who try to live by the crystal ball tend to eat a lot of broken glass.
I think the pundits may be eating quite a bit of glass this November. But as for us, letâs not eat any, shall we? We can avoid that by staying out of the prediction business.
Instead of forecasting the future, letâs make it.
We can do that by taking action. So letâs do that one more time.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
Iâm calling because yesterday Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a bill that would ban and criminalize abortion on a federal level. I want to be clear: the Senate should be passing the Womenâs Health Protection Act to codify the right to access an abortion in this country. Nothing less will be acceptable to the majority of Americans.
[If Democrat] Please ask the Senator to keep fighting tooth and nail to pass the Womenâs Health Protection Act and to use every tool at their disposal to protect us from Republican attacks on our freedom. We have his/her back! Thanks.
[If GOP] Please tell the Senator not to co-sponsor Lindsey Grahamâs billâ they should get on board with the Womenâs Health Protection Act instead. Otherwise their party will be voted out of power. We are not messing around. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
Iâm calling to say that I strongly oppose including the Manchin bill, or any other significant weakening of environmental and green-energy programs, in a Continuing Resolution that must be enacted in just two weeks under threat of government shut-down. That tactic limits full debate, prevents amendments, and allows members of Congress to conceal their votes behind a curtain of obscure process decisions. The Manchin bill should be brought up, debated, amended, and voted on in the regular order of business, so that we the public can see what's going on and hold our elected representatives responsible for the votes they cast. I will be watching this closely. Thanks. [H/T]
Extra Credit â
Send this to President Biden through his webform (where you can edit) or by texting SIGN PCVRND to 50409. [H/T]
President Biden, I strongly support your declarations that "Climate change is a clear and present danger to the United States" and "There is little time left to avoid setting the world on a dangerous, potentially catastrophic, climate trajectory. Responding to the climate crisis will require both significant short-term global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and net-zero global emissions by mid-century or before."
For those reasons, I adamantly oppose the Manchin payoff "side-deal" that was originally characterized as permission for completion of one pipeline but now turns out to be a major restructuring of the energy permitting process that makes it easier for Big Oil to build yet more fossil fuel infrastructure and significantly harder for environmentalists to oppose new projects on health, safety, environment, and global-warming grounds.Â
I also oppose including the Manchin bill, or any other significant weakening of environmental and green-energy programs, in a Continuing Resolution that must be enacted in just two weeks under threat of government shut-down. That tactic limits full debate, prevents amendments, and allows members of Congress to conceal their pro-Big Oil, anti-environment votes behind a curtain of obscure process decisions. The Manchin bill should be brought up, debated, amended, and voted on in the regular order of business, so that we the public can see what's going on and hold our elected representatives responsible for the votes they cast. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME. Please use your leverage to stop this nightmarish deal. Thanks.
Get Smart! đ
Want to try phonebanking but need a pep talk first? Me and a friend want to give you one! đ
If you need a little persuasion to get started with phonebanking, or if you'd like to convince a few friends to do it but aren't sure what to say - join Indivisible South Peninsula as we welcome Neal Morgan, Organizing Manager for Sister District, and Jessica Craven, Grassroots Dems HQ phone bank host and creator/coordinator of the wonderful take-action newsletter Chop Wood Carry Water, for a one-hour motivational talk on how to get started (or re-started) with phonebanking. We'll also point you towards some important phone banks to support. Fire up your phone bank engines and join us!!
Phonebanking increases voter turnout by an average of 3 percent or more, which WILL make the difference for the Democrats in many close Midterm races. Please register here for this phone banking âpep talkâ if you can!
Win RacesâGIVE đ°!
I know lots of you were at the Swing Left event last night with Jennifer Rubinâwasnât she great? So many of you probably received the follow-up email with various ways to get involved. But in case you didnât, I wanted to highlight the fund theyâre raising money forâit seems really good. Money you donate will be split between two toss-up House races, one Senate race (for Catherine Cortez Masto, who is our most vulnerable incumbent), a few key races in the Arizona state legislatureâcritically importantâand 3 excellent grassroots orgs working to register and turn out voters in CA, AZ, and NV. This seems like an excellent plan, so if youâre looking to give money, consider giving it here.
Win RacesâPHONE! đČ
Swing Left also encouraged folks to sign up to call voters. Hereâs what they offer:
Sign up for a Zoom phone bank. We call AZ, NV and/or the Central Valley, depending on the day. (All KEY KEY places to call into for winning in November)
Every Wednesday: 5-7pm PT
Every Saturday: 10am-12 noon PT
Every Sunday: 1-3pm PT
Win RacesâTEXT! đ»
NOPEâan all-volunteer run voter mobilization group I LOVEâhas put together an awesome (and constantly updated) google doc with texting campaigns happening in various battleground states. If text banking is your thing youâll want to check it out and bookmark it!
No Resistbot today, since we have one in Extra Credit. đ„°
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! Youâre amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess
Yes, I loved the seminar with Tom Bonier and Simon Rosenberg. Lots to be positive about! I am following them now. I have a newsletter for Democracy Activists in Fairfield County, CT, and I repeatedly recommend signing up for Chop Wood, Carry Water. The Dan Rather quote today advising us not to predict the future, but to MAKE THE FUTURE through our action is a gem. In Unity we win.
As always Iâm your big fan and grateful fir your leadership. I am very concerned, however, that we not cut off our nose to spite our face re: going green. I am ALL ABOUT climate activism, but I urge all of us to consider Thomas Friedmanâs column in yesterdayâs NYT. We MUST thread the needle of responsibility for the future of the planet with responsibility and regard for the preservation of democracy all around the globe. We canât push our European friends into an untenable position.