A decisive victory against the Republican Recall!
The Recall Battle Is Over But the VA Election’s Just Getting Started
THANK YOU so much for making calls, sending texts, writing postcards, hanging the banners, staffing our events and talking to your friends. All our hard work paid off and we defeated the recall with a 63% NO vote! On a call with Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, she talked about just how important the Newsom win was for the whole country. Meanwhile, the VA State House is up for grabs and early voting started this week, so continue to remember Sundays Are For Phone Banks as we join with Sister District CA-3 and East Bay Activist Alliance each Sunday at 3 PM on Zoom to make calls. And ask your friends to sign up: https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/401532/
Fighting for a bold reconciliation bill
The House is in the final phases of negotiating a reconciliation bill and members are under enormous pressure to cut the size and scope. Currently, the House version doesn’t include many of our key health priorities: Lowering the Medicare eligibility age; capping out-of-pocket costs; quickly phasing in dental benefits (without co-pays). And we want the rest of the bill to be bold and inclusive as well! Overall, we’re asking for our representative to support the Congressional Progressive Caucus priorities: a pathway to citizenship, public health expansion, and investments in climate, the care economy, and housing. (See here for details: https://indivisible.org/resource/recovery-priorities) As soon the House sends its bill over, we want the Senate to pass it..
Eliminate the filibuster and pass the Freedom to Vote Act
The Senate’s new version of the democracy reform bill is called the Freedom to Vote Act: a “transformative democracy reform bill that builds on the For the People Act and brings us closer to passing critical voting rights and fair redistricting provisions this Congress“. There is still no chance that Republicans will help pass it, and that means in order to protect voting rights we need our Senators to eliminate the filibuster. Sen. Padilla was one of the key negotiators for the Freedom to Vote Act and has been vocal about the need to eliminate the filibuster. However, Sen. Feinstein has been incredibly weak on the issue and refused every call to step up. We need her to get on board.
Call scripts and other actions are below, including Fight Back Fridays and a registration link for the Oct. 2nd Women’s March Sacramento event in Defense of Reproductive Rights.
Sen. Feinstein, Sen. Padilla, and Rep. Garamendi OR Rep. Matsui: pass a bolder recovery bill
- Sen. Feinstein: 415-393-0707 (SF) 202-224-3841 (D.C) (email)
- Sen. Padilla: 916-448–2787 (Sacramento) 202-224-3553 (D.C.) (email)
(Note: only contact your own Representative. You can find out whether it’s Garamendi or Matsui here)
- Rep. Garamendi (530) 753-5301 (Davis) (202)-225-1880 (D.C.) (email)
- Rep. Matsui (916) 498-5600 (Sacramento) (202) 225-7163 (D.C.) (email)
Sample Call Script:
Hi, my name is [YOUR NAME] from [YOUR CITY, ZIP].
I’m calling to ask [Sen. Feinstein/Sen. Padilla/Rep. Garamendi/Rep. Matsui] to fight for a bolder reconciliation bill. Please fight to lower the Medicare eligibility age, cap out-of-pocket costs, and quickly phase in dental benefits (without co-pays). We need a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants; investments in climate, including a Clean Energy Standard (with no fossil fuels!) and a Civilian Climate Corps; investments in the Care Economy, including universal child care, federally guaranteed paid leave for all, and creating good jobs in the home and community based-care sector; investments in housing, especially deeply affordable housing and housing for unhoused populations; and we can pay for all of this while addressing extreme wealth inequality by taxing the ultra-rich and big corporations so they finally pay their fair share.
Tell Sen. Feinstein: Eliminate the filibuster and pass the Freedom to Vote Act
Sen. Feinstein: 415-393-0707 (SF) 202-224-3841 (D.C) (email)
Sample Call Script for Sen. Feinstein:
Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME]. I’m a California voter from [CITY, zip code] and I’m a member of Indivisible Yolo.
I am calling today to urge Senator Feinstein to take a stand to protect voting rights. I would like to know if she will pledge to eliminate the filibuster in order to pass the Freedom to Vote Act. We cannot keep allowing Republicans to destroy our democracy, and I need to see Sen. Feinstein taking decisive action to get this bill passed. Thank you.
Fight Back Fridays
You can head to this event series held by the 2020 Coalition Sacramento every Friday from 12:30-1:30 pm at 501 I St., the Federal Courthouse in Sacramento. Activists are demanding the passage of the For the People Act and for bold climate action in the reconciliation bill. Details here: https://www.mobilize.us/2020coalitionsacramento/event/412859/
Sundays Are For Phone Banks: The Virginia state House is up for grabs- we’re joining with Sister District CA-3 and East Bay Activist Alliance each Sunday at 3 PM on Zoom to make calls. And ask your friends to sign up: https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/401532/
Save the Date: Saturday, October 2nd- MOBILIZE AND DEFEND Our Reproductive Rights! We’re joining the Women’s March Sacramento event ahead of the Supreme Court reconvenes. More info and registration here: https://www.womensmarchsac.com/october-2021-event-info
