Chop Wood, Carry Water 9/30

Look what y’all did for the Santa Clarita Democrats! THANK YOU! If anyone else wants to give you can still do so here!

Hi, all, and happy Friday!

I woke up this morning to a tweet from Dave Wasserman about the latest polls. I should know better than to read such a thing before I’ve had my tea, but apparently I don’t. The gist seemed to be that, while Democrats are doing extremely well, our chances of holding the House are still slim.

Immediately after that I read Heather Cox Richardson’s latest post about Republicans’ plans to throw the government into default should they retake the House. This, unless President Biden more or less agrees to “undo all the damage he’s done.”

The takeaway from the two readings? We MUST hold the House. We WON’T hold the House.

What a way to start the day!

And this is common, right? This waking to the twin assaults of the size of the threat we’re facing, coupled with the fact that “we’ll never beat them.”

It is the epitome of demoralization. If we let it be.

But here’s the thing, y’all—and I return to it again and again: All of the polls, all of the punditry, all of the predictions, are just reasonable guesses. Fact-based, certainly, but about as accurate as weather forecasts—which is to say, not terribly. They get in the range of the truth, for sure, but in our current climate—literally and figuratively—both the weather and the voting public are very hard to pin down. In this historical moment, in particular, both are volatile, acting in ahistorical ways, and greatly susceptible to pressure from outside forces.

Many, many factors, in short, will play into what voters ultimately do in the next 5 weeks.

WE must be the largest factor of all.

We have a few weeks before folks start voting. It is our job to “affect the weather” in every way we can. Much is out of our control, but much is not. Everywhere, campaigns are desperate for volunteers. Everywhere, young people need guidance and support to register to vote. Everywhere, grassroots organizations are doing their best without enough money (There’s a great fund for that!)

The opportunities to “make the weather,” in short, are everywhere.

So I, for one, will get off of twitter and onto the phones today. I will also finish my Greenpeace letters—I LOVE the scripts they use—and ask for more. I will bundle up yet more postcards for my burgeoning depot. I will spread the word everywhere I can about where folks’ money can go the farthest.

I will breathe in faith, and breathe out fear.

And I will take more action, knowing that in so doing I am helping to shape the future. Polls can’t do that. Neither can historians—beloved though they are.

Only we can. So let’s do so.

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

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

I’m calling to make sure that the Senator is co-sponsoring and planning on supporting S. 4573, the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act. Will s/he push Chuck Schumer to bring it for a vote right away? We need this bill passed urgently. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Let’s send an email to EPA administrator Michael Regan asking him to pursue a federal takeover of water infrastructure in Mississippi. [H/T Climate Action Now]

Dear Administrator Regan,

[Start with a sentence about why you care about water justice]

I'm writing today to urge you to pursue a federal takeover of water infrastructure in Mississippi in light of the devastating water crisis in Jackson.

Jackson residents have been the victims of decades of environmental racism, including disinvestment in their water infrastructure. Water is life, and it is clear that the state of Mississippi cannot be relied upon to deliver this basic right.

Please consider pursuing a federal takeover of Mississippi water infrastructure with all due haste. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Name

City, State

Get Smart! 📚

If you have never phonebanked or canvassed before, please take this wonderful class: Phonebanking and Canvassing for Introverts, Thu, Oct 6, 4:00 pm-6:00 pm PDT

• Phone banking and canvassing are the most effective tools we have for connecting with voters, and now is a critical time to reach them. But many of us would rather get a colonoscopy than talk politics with strangers. In this supportive workshop (led by introverts Elizabeth Chur and Myra Levy) we’ll demonstrate that you already have key skills, like the ability to listen thoughtfully. And we’ll share strategies for navigating challenging conversations with voters. 

I’ve heard incredible things about this class, and this is the last one before the midterms.

Give 💰!

Since so many people have been emailing me and asking for advice about where to give money to help us hold the House I’ll post an excerpt from my larger “Where should I give” doc here:

I recommend giving to Force Multiplier’s House Slate fund. This money will go to helping 11 of the most vulnerable Democrats in the House and 12 Democrats working to flip red seats blue. FM takes NONE of the money–it all goes to candidates. For this reason (and others) I prefer it to the DCCC.

And then, of course, GRASSROOTS ORGS!! They are registering voters and making sure they turn out. Their rising tide will lift all boats. This fund covers one super effective grassroots org in each of 7 battleground states, with special emphasis on Nevada, as we could be in trouble there.

Win Races—TEXTBANK! 🗳

Y’all, NexGen is texting young voters pretty much every day to help get out their vote. Can you sign up to send some texts? They’ll train you first! See shifts and sign up here.

Or, can you do some texting with Fair Fight in Georgia? Sign up for a text training HERE to get everything you'll need.

Or sign up to get trained with Movement Labs so you can be ready when they launch their AMAZING new Get Out the Vote campaigns!

Resistbot is taking the day off! Have a great Weekend!

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

Talk Monday!.

Jess