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JANUARY 6 HEARINGS POSTPONED
After the Summer's January 6 Committee's hearings ended, I've been really looking forward to them resuming this month. But it appears that Mother Nature had other plans.
“In light of Hurricane Ian bearing down on parts of Florida, we have decided to postpone tomorrow’s proceedings," wrote Chairman Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in a statement. "We’re praying for the safety of all those in the storm’s path."
"The Select Committee’s investigation goes forward and we will soon announce a date for the postponed proceedings," they added.
If you'd like a refresher of what's happened to date - like they do when TV shows resume after hiatus - as well as a teaser of what's to come, here's a good rundown:
January 6 Panel Postpones Wednesday Hearing Due to Hurricane Ian - Spectrum News / AP News
It's postponed, but it IS coming! I can't wait. Hold onto your hats, folks. This is gonna be GOOD.
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WORDS and ACTIONS
You may already know about McCarthy's "Commitment to America," unleashing the GOP's "plan" for when they think they're taking over after Midterms. The outline was launched by both McCarthy and Republican Elise Stefanik, who, like McCarthy, has become an unabashed MAGA sycophant and was handpicked by him to take over the House Republican Conference after McCarthy booted Liz Cheney for, well, for having morals. The plan is being touted as the GOP's policy agenda, and is launched with six weeks before the midterms to try and boost GOP voter turnout.
McCarthy Rolls Out GOP Commitment to America Ahead of Midterms - ABC News
This "Commitment" is a joke. It's all vagaries, GOP catch phrases, and platitudes, with no specifics or details on what exactly they mean by (insert GOP scare tactic here), or how they plan to achieve any of it. Perhaps that's why it can all fit on a flimsy pocket card, as McCarthy proudly showed off when he hosted his dog and pony show in Pennsylvania (crucial swing state) on Friday. (You can see McCarthy in all his smarmy glory via the video link embedded in the article above.)
I love that President Biden immediately called out McCarthy (and subtly, Newt Gingrich, who helped McCarthy in constructing the farcical plan that's nothing more than bullet points, the GOP trying desperately to capture the House like they did in 94 after Gingrich fashioned the ludicrous "Contract with America," which was also filled with empty promises), by calling it a "thin series of policy goals with little to no detail."
"In the course of nearly an hour, here's a few of the things we didn't hear: We didn't hear him mention the right to choose, we didn't hear him mention Medicare, we didn't hear him mention Social Security."
The president also hit Republicans for saying they want to "preserve constitutional freedom" while they've supported the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade and for discussing election integrity while some members of the party still spread falsehoods about the 2020 election.
"With a straight face, Kevin McCarthy says that MAGA Republicans are gonna restore faith in our elections. As we say in my faith: 'Bless me, father, for I have sinned,'" Biden said.
I don't know who is advising Biden these days, but him taking off the gloves and saying it straight is not only refreshing, it's necessary in this post-Trump era. Nobody pays attention when "we go high" (sorry Michelle - you're still my favorite). If we are to have any hope of maintaining the House and increasing Dem seats in the Senate in November, those gloves must come off.
This "Commitment" is simplistic and empty, while attempting to capitalize on the very things that the Biden Administration HAS accomplished in less than two years.
As writer and political historian Heather Cox Richardson points out in her September 23 Letters From An American:
...the first topic—making the economy strong—is a paraphrase of what the Biden administration has been doing. The Republicans call for fighting inflation and lowering the cost of living, making America energy independent, bringing down gas prices, strengthening the supply chain, and ending the country’s dependence on China.
This is quite literally the platform of the Democrats, but while the Republicans offer no actual proposals to contribute to these goals, Biden has taken concrete steps to address inflation by taking on the shipping monopolies that hiked transportation costs, for example, while Democrats in Congress have passed legislation capping the cost of certain prescription medications... The incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act are designed specifically to make America energy independent while addressing climate change, and Biden’s extraordinary efforts to support economic development in the Indo-Pacific region, along with the CHIPS and Science Act, were explicitly designed to reduce U.S. dependence on China.
It feels rather as if the Republicans recognize that Biden’s policies are popular, and are hoping that voters haven’t noticed that he is actually putting them in place.
The problem is, of course, that this joke of a plan DOES fit on a small pocket card, that it IS simplistic bullet points, that the GOP is once again using Willie Horton racist scare tactics and slimy catch phrases to appeal to the lowest common denominator voters. The ones who believe Fox News and want to be told how to think and what to believe, rather than to investigate and learn the facts. It is these voters who ushered in the nightmare that was/is Donald Trump and all that MAGA has wrought.
It's nothing but propaganda. Smoke and mirrors. As Heather Cox Richardson points out:
In short, the document feels like the doublespeak from George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. To defend the indefensible, Orwell wrote in an essay titled “Politics and the English Language,” “political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness…. The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.”
So, as much as I'd like to laugh off this ridiculous "Commitment," we can't. We need to fight the misinformation and the slight of hand Three-Card Monte scam that the GOP is throwing out AGAIN.
We have less than six weeks till Midterm Election Day. If you haven't yet, get out there and phonebank, write cards, text, donate, volunteer for Democratic Candidates and Organizations that are doing their darndest to combat the Radical Republicans and their damaging, anti-democratic agenda. We've got Rudy Salas and Marisa Wood right here in the Central Valley. John Fetterman in Pennsylvania. Mark Kelly in Arizona. Stacy Abrams and Rev. Raphael Warnock in Georgia. Gretchen Witmer in Michigan. Charlie Crist and Val Demings in Florida. Beto O'Rourke in Texas. Catherine Cortez Masto and Steve Sisolak in Nevada. Tim Ryan in Ohio. Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin.
Factbox: Eight U.S. Senate Races to Watch - Reuters
All are worthy. All are crucial in our fight for the soul of our nation.
I've got information on organizations laid out for you in the sections below, and/or search for a candidate and donate directly.
If we don't rise up and get involved, we have no one but ourselves to blame. On the other hand, thinking positively and putting this out into the universe, BECAUSE we did something, WHEN we hold the House and increase our lead in the Senate this Roevember, we can give ourselves a mighty big pat on the back.
So, LET'S DO THIS.
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PHONEBANKING, TEXT BANKING, AND POSTCARD WRITING FOR LOCAL CANDIDATES
Postcarding Queen Hortencia Cabral has kickstarted her weekly postcard writing parties for KCDCC endorsed candidates for the 2022 midterms, including Rudy Salas, Marisa Wood, Leticia Perez, Eric Arias, Manpreet Kaur, and more!
This is a fun, informal and easy way to engage with your fellow Kern County Dems and make a real difference! The Postcarding Party will meet at 6pm every Tuesday until the midterm elections in November at the KCDCC HQ, located at 330 H Street in Bakersfield. There is ample parking both in the lot and on surrounding streets.
And this week I received an email from KCDCC Secretary/Candidate for Greenfield School Board Hortencia Cabral regarding helping to support Text Banking efforts. Hortencia writes:
Our friends over at Santa Clara County are once again stepping up to the plate in helping our community GOTV. I am emailing you today because I want to encourage you to donate money for texting efforts towards CD22. No amount is too small.
Please donate for texting efforts at the following link: https://act.myngp.com/Forms/-389482136855508224
Election day is right around the corner and we need to turn our community blue. Let me know if you have any questions.
Much love to all of you.
Hortencia Cabral
Secretary for KCDCC
But wait, there's MORE! Remote Phonebanking for CD22, Rudy Salas' campaign for House of Representatives is happening now! We can join Team Salas every Thursday at 6pm to participate in a phonebank that they will lead.
To register, volunteers can easily sign up on mobilize using this link: https://www.mobilize.us/dashboard/rudysalasforcongress/event/499322/?created=true
Upon signing up, our team will reach out with a direct link to the Zoom event. After a brief training with our organizers, they will receive a link to access the PDI Phonebanking Data!
This list will specifically target Kern County where and the Phonebank script will prompt volunteers to engage voters about Rudy Salas for Congress, Leticia Perez for Assembly and other Democratically-endorsed candidates in overlapping districts.
Remember, EVERY SEAT COUNTS! Prevent Kevin McCarthy from becoming Speaker! Save Democracy and help Democrats Keep the House and Take the Senate!
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VOLUNTEER OR DONATE TO THESE ORGANIZATIONS HELPING TO GOTV IN 2022 AND BEYOND
Join Planned Parenthood on the Campaign Trail This Fall
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We need leaders who will trust YOU to make the best decisions for YOU. Period. This is why we're committed to helping our endorsed candidates cross the finish line and win in November.
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Sign up today to join us on the campaign trail this fall!
In the June Primary Election, we contributed $34,000 to sixteen candidates in targeted races, mobilized volunteers in ten races and knocked on nearly 3,000 doors.
We trained candidates and campaign staff how to talk about abortion access in their races.
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Of our endorsed candidates, not including incumbents, 80 percent made it out of the Primary and onto the General election or won their races outright.
This November we need to:
- pass ballot measures in California and Nevada
- re-elect Nevada’s Governor, Attorney General and U.S. Senator and
- hold our reproductive freedom majority in the California legislature.
All of this is possible with your help.
Join our October road trips to Reno, or canvassing in California, or both.
Together, we can create the political landscape needed to support patients and providers in every corner of the affiliate.
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See you on the campaign trail!
Cheri Greven
Executive Director
Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte
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HOW TO HELP VOTE SAVE AMERICA / NO YEARS OFF FUND
Forwarded From Dan Pfeiffer's Message Box
Vote Save America is launching a new “Midterm Madness” program to mobilize volunteers to protect and grow our progressive majorities. Sign up HERE:
Vote Save America @votesaveamerica
East! South! Midwest! West! Join your region and go! Whether you live in a purple, red, or blue state, we’ll help you get involved with at least one Senate race, the nearest House race, and important local races! votesaveamerica.com/midterms
Click HERE to Learn More, Volunteer and/or Donate to VSA / NOW
HOW TO HELP FIELD TEAM 6
From the FT6 website:
Against all odds, we won the White House, House, and Senate – saved America’s life – and bought ourselves two years of oxygen. Yet our democracy hangs by a thread. History says we will lose control of Congress in the midterms. So there’s only one thing to do... Defy history. To do that, we need to save the Senate – save the House – and win down-ballot along the way.
The solution is as simple as it is powerful: talking to strangers. It’s the proven #1 way to win elections. Did you know that 60% of unregistered voters have never been asked to register? To win in 2021-22, we register Democrats where they’ll make the most impact – in the most flippable states and districts, where small numbers of Democrats can swing elections up and down the ballot.
We meet people where they are – via phone, text, postcard, social media, and soon at in-person, Covid-safe voter drives!
In 2022, FT6 is targeting key Congressional Districts in California, like CA27 (formerly CD25), CD21 and CA22 that have become much more winnable thanks to redistricting. They are also amassing voter drives for Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Click HERE to Learn More, Volunteer and/or Donate to FT6.
HOW TO HELP GRASSROOTS DEMOCRATS
It is such a thrill to share with you that thanks to your hard work, we have written nearly 329,000 postcards since the start of this election cycle! Your postcards in support of Josh Harder (CA-09), Rudy Salas Jr. (CA-22), Jay Chen (CA-45), Katie Porter (CA-47), and a special campaign for both Rep. Katie Porter and Supe. Katrina Foley (CA-47/BoS D5) are reaching voters.
Pat yourselves on the back-- your hard work is helping us to make an impact this November! |
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| Postcards are also available for pick up and delivery in West Los Angeles! We have both non-candidate-specific postcards, and special postcards for Christy Smith. Please select the button for whichever postcards you would like and fill out the appropriate form. |
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Click HERE to Learn More, Volunteer and/or Donate to the Grassroots Dems.
HOW TO HELP SWING LEFT
Elections are our thing. To build the future we want to see, Swing Left is committed to helping elect Democrats to strengthen our democracy. We believe that action towards a goal is the antidote to anger and despair. Our entire community is brought together by a focus on what we can all do to effect positive change in the near and long term. In 2021 and beyond, we're focused on protecting the Democratic majorities in Congress and strengthening our democracy by winning key races and gaining majorities in the states. We help people make better decisions about how to spend limited time, effort, and resources to help Democrats win. We prioritize impact today and impact tomorrow, ensuring that our team, community, and campaigns have the internal and external resources they need to succeed, now and sustainably over the long haul.
Click HERE To Learn More, Volunteer and/or Donate to Swing Left.
HOW TO HELP FAIR FIGHT
From the FF website:
We promote fair elections around the country, encourage voter participation in elections, and educate voters about elections and their voting rights. Fair Fight Action brings awareness to the public on election reform, advocates for election reform at all levels, and engages in other voter education programs and communications.
Voter suppression, particularly of voters of color and young voters, is a scourge our country faces in states across the nation. Georgia’s 2018 elections shone a bright light on the issue with elections that were rife with mismanagement, irregularities, unbelievably long lines and more, exposing both recent and also decades-long actions and inactions by the state to thwart the right to vote. Georgians and Americans are fighting back, and Fair Fight Action was founded to organize collective efforts to expose, mitigate, and reverse voter suppression. We engage in voter mobilization and education activities and advocate for progressive issues.
Fair Fight PAC has initiated programs to support voter protection programs at state parties around the country and is engaging in partnerships to support and elect pro-voting rights, progressive leaders.
Click HERE to Learn More, Volunteer and/or Donate to Fair Fight.
HOW TO HELP COMMON CAUSE
From the CC website:
Since 1970, Common Cause has been working to hold power accountable through lobbying, litigation, and grassroots organizing. Our non-partisan, pro-democracy work has helped pass hundreds of reforms at the federal, state, and local levels. Our more than 1 million members and more than 30 state organizations around the country work to strengthen our democracy by empowering the voices of everyday Americans in government.
Working together across party lines, we’re building a democracy that works for everyone. Common Cause is a nationwide network of skilled advocates, organizers, activists who are working every day to strengthen our democracy and the people’s right to speak, assemble, and critique our government to level the playing field for everyday people.
In recent years, Common Cause helped pass groundbreaking anti-gerrymandering ballot measures in Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, and Virginia. We succeed when we show voters that there’s something fundamentally wrong with letting politicians pick and choose their voters. Once this happens, in state after state, voters have clearly demonstrated their willingness to translate this concern into action at the ballot box.
As I write this, our action teams are preparing to employ every tool in our toolbox. From the ballot initiative process to local and state referendums, lobbying state legislatures, litigating, and organizing… wherever and whenever maps are being drawn, we must be prepared to respond.
This is a historic opportunity for us -- right now -- to fundamentally move the way our government represents us in a more fair and equitable direction. But we’ll only be able to get it done if Common Cause supporters like you can step up to make it possible.
Click HERE to Learn More, Volunteer and/or Donate to Common Cause.
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UPCOMING VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON EVENTS
No new ones this week!
Do YOU have an organization or candidate you would like to include here? Please send me your event details in an EMAIL or FACEBOOK MESSAGE no later than Tuesday and I will make sure it gets into this weekly newsletter.
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