Chop Wood, Carry Water 9/9

Trust your gut. AND do the work.

Download this GIF here.

Hi, all, and happy Monday!

What a weekend! I hope your many, many voter engagement activities went well! Friday’s comments section, by the way—in which readers reported on their plans for the weekend—was once again so, so inspiring. If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and do so. You’ll feel wildly better about the state of our democracy when you see the breadth and scope of volunteer activities in which your peers are engaging. You’ll feel better about the election, too!

And you may need that after the New York Times’s latest “doom drop.” Although really, this latest Times-Sienna poll told us nothing new; it finds that the race is extremely close and within the margin of error. Period. This is something we have been told repeatedly, and we’re being told so again. Fine. Polls can keep saying this, and I’m going to go ahead and keep telling you that they’re getting this election wrong—again. This is what they did in 2022. It’s what they did in 2023. It’s what they did in the Republican primaries. I’m not falling for it and neither should you.

Instead, I’m going to ask you to do a hard thing: trust your gut.

Because, while the press tells us that this election could go either way—that Trump still could eke out a victory, that Kamala’s refusal to sit down with Legacy Media, or her lack of White Papers, or her laugh, or the nation’s misogyny, could cost her the race—our guts tell us something different.

Our guts tell us that Americans are hellbent on stopping Trump. That these huge volunteer numbers will translate into huge turnout numbers. That Trump’s threats of violence, his depraved sexism and his rapid mental deterioration can’t be going unnoticed. That most Americans don’t want to live in chaos, hate, and division for another four years. That women are furious and will manifest that at the polls as they’ve done in every election since Dobbs. That young people are furious (and scared) and will manifest that at the polls as they, too, have been doing for years. That those exploding voter registration numbers mean something big.

Our guts tell us that we will win.

Our guts are right. Listen to them. And, of course, keep doing the work. Remember: it is because of the work—not because of our feelings—that we will succeed. REACH FOR THE LANDSLIDE. We can get there. We can do this.

Block your ears. Screen out the Nates. Ignore the pundits. Remember that pollsters, too, have agendas. Keep doing what you’re doing. Recruit a friend. Push a little bit harder. Breathe in strength. Breathe out fear.

Finally, write this on a post-it note and stick it on your bathroom mirror: “The object in this mirror is stronger than it appears.”

Because you are. You can do this. We can. We are.

Now let’s get to work one more time.

P.S. — I’m doing a short Instagram Live with Mandy Patinkin and his terrific wife Kathyrn Grody today at 12:30 PM PT. We are going to do a pep talk / how-people-can-help sort of thing. Feel free to come watch on their IG feed!

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

I want the Senator to vote “NO” on the racist and deliberately misleading SAVE Act (S.4292), whose real purpose is to prevent Americans from voting. Instead, I want the Senator to support and prioritize bills which would ensure that the voices and votes of all eligible voters are heard in our elections—bills like S.4 – the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, S.2344 – the Freedom to Vote Act, and S.51 – the Washington, D.C. Admission Act.

[If GOP add:] Voter suppression is despicable. It also smacks of desperation. If Republicans want to win elections maybe they should try advocating for policies that Americans support instead of trying to make it harder for us to vote. Thanks.

[H/T and more info Indivisible Ventura]

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I want the Congressmember to sign and support the Discharge Petition to get H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act, to the floor. The legislation would repeal provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for three million Americans, including police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other public servants who have dedicated their careers to serving their communities. Congress can and must fix this.

Also I want the Representative to vote against allowing the GOP’s racist and deliberately misleading SAVE Act from being added to any funding bills. I’ll be watching this issue closely—I know voter suppression when I see it, and the SAVE Act is exactly that. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

[H/T

Rogan's List

]

Tomorrow, September 10, the two presidential candidates will debate each other at 9 PM ET in Philadelphia. ABC will host the debate which will also be streamed elsewhere. 

To help viewers get the most accurate information, live fact-checking is essential. Let’s contact ABC News and tell them we want real-time, on-screen fact checking during the scheduled presidential debate to ensure we know immediately when a candidate is not being truthful. We can call their news department at 1-818-460-7477 (press 2—you’ll be asked to leave a voicemail) or use their online contact form here.  

In my voicemail I said simply that it was dangerous for our democracy and for a free press to allow Trump to lie continuously during a debate without challenging those lies. I pointed out that he had been found to have lied somewhere between 20 and 30 times, depending on who you asked, during the last debate, and that the moderators’ refusal to address this had been a catastrophic failure. I pleaded with them to include live fact-checking as part of this debate. Please do the same!

Get Smart #1! 📚

Tomorrow, September 10 at 12:00PM ET BigTent is thrilled to host Lucille Wenegieme, Executive Director of HeadCount. Lucille will discuss HeadCount’s impactful work in fostering voter engagement and civic involvement with young voters, through music and culture. She will highlight their strategies and innovative approaches to promote voter registration and democratic participation.

Please use this link to register!  

Get Smart #2!

Join Climate Action Now for the third event of their How We Win series! In this one you’ll hear from Andrea Miller of The Center for Common Ground, Ariel Volk of Galvanize Action, and Lakiesha Lloyd of Common Defense about their work to galvanize key voting blocs, including voters of colors in voter suppression states; moderate white women in rural and suburban areas; and veterans fighting for progressive values. The discussion will be moderated by me.

Register for How We Win with Key Voting Blocs on Wednesday, September 11 at 7PM ET!

Spread the Word! 📣

Please post this on your social media, and if you’re in Georgia MAKE THE CALL!

🚨 Red Alert for Georgia 🚨

The pro-Trump GA State Election Board is changing election rules to help Trump win the state. Their actions are ILLEGAL & Gov Kemp can shut it down.

Go to http://CallKemp.com and demand he take action!

You can also download and add this video to your share via the Digital Drumbeat’s Reach page. But even just the text above is very helpful.

[H/T and more info Digital Drumbeat]

Give 💰!

From the folks at Indivisible South Bay LA—can we help them?

Help us win Arizona for Harris/Walz, and win seats all the way down the ballot!

One last push! Indivisible South Bay LA is writing letters to voters in Arizona, for the presidential election and also for elections all the way down the ballot to the state house. We’re writing to low propensity left-leaning voters, to increase turnout and help us win. Our letter-writers are breaking new records - just in the last month our projection has gone from about 50,000 to over 60,000 letters! Our main expense is stamps at $.73 each; funding is the only thing holding us back from reaching our goal. This community came through for us last month, and we hope you can do it again.

Remember, Biden won Arizona in 2020 by less than 10,000 votes! We can do this with your help - one last time. Thank you! Donate here

Win Races! 🗳

Join Sister District’s Early Efforts Celebration and Pre-Debate Happy Hour on Tuesday, September 10th at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT. This event will highlight the incredible early money contributions and phonebanking efforts of Sister District volunteers, provide on-the-ground insights as we approach the GOTV phase, and feature a few special guests and familiar faces. This event is open to all! Register HERE.

Win Races—Save Jon Tester! 🏔️

[H/T Stephen Schear, with additions by me]

The election most likely to impede our ability to move the country in a positive direction is Jon Tester’s Montana Senate race. If he doesn’t win, we are very unlikely to hold the Senate, and Dems won’t be able to get much done even if Harris wins. Losing the Senate will eliminate our ability to pass progressive legislation and damage our ability to make gains in the 2026 midterms.  

I don’t usually recommend donating directly to candidate campaigns. They don’t build the kind of long-term electoral infrastructure we need. This situation is an exception. Tester is fielding a serious ground game. His campaign has knocked on over 100,000 doors to date. That’s a lot in Montana, but a lot more neighborhoods remain to be canvassed. Tester also needs money for TV ads, which are especially important in a rural state like Montana, where lots of voters are hard to reach. The Republican candidate, Tim Sheehy, is a multi-millionaire and the Republicans are pouring money into this race. They recognize that if they beat Tester, they can win back the Senate.

Tester is a great candidate for Montana, a native son with moderate politics and a warm personality. He can win, but he really needs our help. So please donate generously to Tester’s campaign directly here. 

OR Force Multiplier has identified four grassroots groups in Montana who are mobilizing infrequent youth, Indigenous + rural voters in partnership with America Votes. GIVE TO THEM HERE. (Highly recommend this fund).

OR make “deep canvassing” calls into Montana by phone banking with BigSky55+. You will be talking with older voters to get their votes for Tester. Training will be provided. Deep canvassing is both more fun and more effective than other types of persuasion. You can sign up for BigSky55+’s phone bank here.  

OR if you can go to Montana to canvass, fill out this form and someone will get in touch with you.

AND Activate America is doing a deep dive webinar on how we win in Montana this Wednesday. You can sign up HERE.

Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥

I’ll be at Calls For Climate tomorrow at 3PM Pt. Please join me. We’ll be making calls for Sue Altman to help flip the NJ-07 district red to blue!

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

[To: ] [H/T Moms Clean Air Force] [Text SIGN PUJFHY to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]

According to the EPA, most people in the US spend about 90% of their time indoors. And studies have shown that sometimes, the air we breathe indoors can be 2-5 times—and occasionally up to 100 times—more polluted than outdoor air. Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) is one of the top environmental risks to public health, responsible for over 3 million deaths globally each year. Here in the US, the Clean Air Act has led to significant improvements in outdoor air quality in the past few decades, but no similar law exists for indoor air quality.

Children are especially vulnerable to poor IAQ, largely due to their still-developing respiratory systems. I want children and families across the country to have access to clean air in all the spaces in which they live, work, and play: that’s why I’m writing to ask you to support the bipartisan Indoor Air Quality and Healthy Schools Act (H.R. 9131). Introduced by Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), this bill would ensure that EPA has the authority and resources needed to protect the public from unhealthy indoor air.

The bill would update, expand, and codify the work of EPA’s Indoor Environments Division; require EPA to establish and regularly update a list of significant indoor contaminants and develop health-based, voluntary guidelines to reduce the public’s risk of exposure to these contaminants; direct EPA to develop or recognize voluntary certifications for buildings to minimize risks from indoor air pollutants; and establish a regularly updated national assessment of IAQ in schools and childcare facilities, as well as supporting the development of technical assistance, guidelines, and best practices to improve the indoor air conditions in these facilities.

Please consider adding your support to this important legislation. Thanks!

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

Talk soon.

Jess