Hi, all, and happy Wednesday!
At times like this being a teetotaler feels…challenging 😂. The headlines seem to scream extra loudly; the stress level is sky high. I had to duck out of a Cook Political Reports webinar yesterday because it was just too anxiety producing. So much information, much of it contradictory, all of it high stakes and quite overwhelming.
What did I do instead? I counted postcards. I have 5000 to bundle up, after all. That’s a LOT of packets of 20. A lot of collating. A lot of folding of scripts and address sheets. A lot of rubber bands. It’s meditative. It’s repetitive. It’s quiet.
It’s PRODUCTIVE.
Look. All the webinars in the world aren’t going to save our country. What will save it is millions of us making an effort each day to take small but meaningful actions towards a concrete end. Like winning the Virginia elections, for example. Or registering some voters. Or attending a Reproductive Rights march on Saturday.
“Work the program, not the problem,” as they say in AA.
I’m in the action business, thank God. So I don’t have to figure out how we’re going to get out of the debt ceiling/government funding/Build Back Better/Bipartisan Infrastructure Package mess.
I just have to take the next right action.
And that’s what I’m going to do. Join me?
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
IF YOUR SENATOR IS DEM:
I want the Senator to refuse to allow the GOP to tank our economy by filibustering the House continuing resolution (HR.5305).
If it becomes necessary, Democrats should use the Nuclear Option to carve out a filibuster exemption for debt ceiling legislation and budgetary continuing resolutions. And if there’s a way to do it, repeal the debt-ceiling law itself so that our economy can never again be held hostage by partisan blackmail. I’ve had enough of Republican abuse. Thanks. [H/T and explainer]
IF YOUR SENATOR IS GOP:
I’m calling because I’m embarrassed and horrified that the Senator helped filibuster legislation that would raise the debt ceiling. S/he’s risking the entire economy to try to tank an agenda that 70% of America agrees with and wants. That shows me the Senator is too afraid of that agenda to face it head-on, and instead wants to drive our economy into the ground. What a cowardly way to govern. It’s shameful. I’ll be working to support a Democratic Senate and House majority. Tell him/her thanks for giving me that motivation. [H/T]
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
First, I know the Marijuana, Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, HR 3617, is getting marked up this week. I want the Congressmember to support it. [More info here]
Second, there should be no vote on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill until the Reconciliation Bill has passed. We are in a climate crisis, our healthcare system is broken, our eldercare and childcare support systems are nonexistent. Drug prices are too high and there isn’t enough housing. Meanwhile, the super-rich and corporations are paying virtually no taxes. It’s wrong and it needs to change. We need everything in the Build Back Better plan, and we need it now. [If your rep is one of the centrist Dems blocking progress add:] And before you say the price tag is too high, the Congressmember just voted for a military expenditure package of over 7 trillion. It’s not about the money; it’s about his/her cozy relationship with lobbyists, and it’s gross. Tell him/her to stop obstructing this plan or to step down if they can’t put their constituents ahead of their wallets. Thanks.
Extra Credit
Let’s call Nancy Pelosi at (415) 556-4862 or (202) 225-4965 and say:
My name is ____, I live in _____. I’m calling the Congresswoman in her capacity as House Speaker to ask her to stand firm: no vote on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill until the Senate has either passed the Reconciliation Bill or there is an iron-clad agreement that it will do so without fail.
I support the full $3.5 trillion amount. Please ask the Speaker to retain the corporate tax increases, drug-price negotiations, and provisions for climate change & green energy child and family programs, and healthcare, housing, and education. This matters more than I can say. Thanks.
Help Your Mother! 🌍
First, if you haven’t yet signed this letter to Blackrock and Vanguard asking them to put pressure on Procter & Gamble to fire their awful board member Angela Braly PLEASE do. I went to a webinar about this yesterday and it gutted me. The clearcutting and abuse of Indigenous populations P&G is responsible for in Indonesia, Sumatra and Borneo is horrific, and it’s all at the behest of Braly, the head of their Governance and Responsibility department. (Who also sits on the board of Exxon Mobil. Yup. Gross.)
Then please go here and make a quick call to your state treasurer using Stop the Money Pipeline’s easy call tool. You’ll be asking them to vote against Angela Braly at Procter & Gamble’s upcoming shareholder meeting for her role in driving deforestation at the company. State Treasurers have a LOT of power in this regard. Let’s tell them to use it! Script provided!
Please do this. If you saw the video footage I saw yesterday you’d know how urgent it is. 😭
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here!)
[to all 3 reps] [H/T]
I am your constituent, and I urge you to pass Build Back Better now, with no more concessions to corporations. The reforms in the Build Back Better agenda are overwhelmingly popular.
Over two-thirds of voters support raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations.
Healthcare is a top concern for registered voters, and most voters support Medicare for All and a public option in numerous polls.
Almost 90% of adults support allowing the government to negotiate for lower drug prices.
Most families support doing more at the federal level to make housing more affordable.
89% of the public wants the government to stop evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
70% of voters support shifting to more clean energy, reducing carbon pollution from vehicles and industry, and making homes and buildings more energy efficient. Most voters want the U.S. to get to a 100% clean energy electricity grid by 2035 to address climate change and pollution.
I urge you to pass BOTH the reconciliation package and the infrastructure bill. We can't have roads and bridges without things we need to sustain our families and communities like healthcare, housing, childcare, home care, education and addressing the climate crisis.
We can’t let corporations buy our democracy, which is why it is so important to seal the deal and pass the Build Back Better agenda now. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess