Chop Wood, Carry Water 9/9
Help good people get elected.
Hi, all, and happy Thursday!
Yesterday a few activist friends and I held a small fundraiser in the park for CA Assembly candidate Fatima Iqbal-Zubair. We’d been planning it for about a month, but, as is so often the case, everything came together very last minute.
Yet in the end we had a lovely event.
Listening to the speakers, all of whom happened to be moms and grassroots activists, I was reminded of the power we as individuals have to make change once we decide to try. Take Fatima--a mom, STEM teacher, and environmental justice activist. She decided to run for the Assembly when she realized that the guy currently holding the seat takes so much money from Big Oil and Gas that he’ll never protect his community from the pollution and fouled water caused by oil drills in the district.
She’s not a politician. She’s not rich. She’s not connected.
But she is determined.
Fatima ran in 2020--she even got an endorsement from Bernie Sanders!--but lost narrowly. Undeterred, she is trying again in 2022.
When she wins, we will have been a part of it. THAT is an incredible feeling.
Know a grassroots candidate running in your area? Why not become a “super volunteer?” Commit to their race. Raise money for them--it doesn’t have to be a lot. Offer to knock doors. Volunteer your home for a phonebanking event.
Remember, if we want better representatives, it is incumbent upon us to help good candidates get elected.
If you want to give a few dollars to our fundraiser, by the way, it’s still going--we’re just a couple hundred dollars short of our stretch goal. Go here to give.
Now let’s make some calls.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I’m calling to ask the Senator to urge President Biden to nominate a Federal Reserve Chair who will curb climate risks to our economy and use all the tools the Fed has to protect the economy from the impacts of the climate crisis and rein in banks’ recklessness—including their financing of fossil fuels.
I’d also like the Senator to co-sponsor the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act.
Finally, the Senate needs to pass legislation to protect a woman’s right to choose and to protect ALL Americans’ ability to vote. [to Dems add:] Abolish the filibuster and get this done! Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m furious about the Texas abortion ban. I want the Congressmember to co-sponsor and push to pass both HR 3755, the Women’s Health Protection Act, and HR 2584, the Judiciary Act, because this Supreme Court needs to be expanded, NOW. Thanks.
[The judicial advocacy group Demand Justice has launched a $1.5 million grassroots program aimed at pressuring Democrats to expand the Supreme Court. Consider signing up for their mailing list!]
Extra Credit
Post this on social media (download GIF here):
Hey #TEXAS! You can still have safe abortions by accessing:
✅ aidaccess.org
✅ mahotline.org (for advice from pro-choice doctors on self-managing a miscarriage or abortion),
✅ reprolegalhelpline.org (for info about legal rights & self-managed abortion).
P.S. -- Did you know we can order Plan C stickers to put up around town (in public restrooms, at bus stations, what have you?) Go here to print them, and here to order a bunch pre-printed. They have a QR code on them so folks can quickly access the website.
Get on the Phones! ☎️
It’s For the People Phonebank Day! We’re aiming to get 100 calls into targeted Senators’---ahem Sinema and Manchin--offices. The Senate is set to reconvene next week; we need to turn on the heat to get the For the People Act passed. We’ll be calling constituents and patching them to their Senator’s offices. You will be trained at the start of each shift! Go here to sign up.
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here!)
[to all 3 reps] [Big old H/T]
I’m writing to let you know how angry I am at the passage of Texas Bill SB8, which, aided by the Supreme Court’s tacit permission, overturns the protections of Roe v. Wade. I’m aware that this situation has been caused by the unlimited flow of corporate and dark money into our political system from those, such as the Federalist Society, who are in favor of a radically regressive social and economic agenda they could never achieve legislatively. I expect you to do the following to protect our democracy:
First, push S.1 – For the People Act through with all its finance system reforms intact, filibuster be damned. These reforms are supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans.
Second, please support H.J. Res. 48/ S.J.Res.11 – a constitutional amendment saying that rights belong to natural persons only.
Next, please vote “YES” on H.R. 3755/ S.1975 – the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021.
Finally, I want you to vote “YES” on expanding and re-balancing this lawless Supreme Court with H.R. 2584/S.1141 – the Judiciary Act of 2021. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess