August 28, 2023
Flip a seat in New Hampshire, marking the March on Washington, protecting kids in prisons and public schools, and more!
Contact all members of Congress:
- By phone: (202) 224-3121
- By email: democracy.io
- By US mail: Representatives / Senators
- By fax: Representatives / Senators
- By Resistbot: Resist.bot
Contact White House or other federal agencies:
- VOTER TEXTING AND PHONING DEMYSTIFIEDLet’s kick MAGA Republicans out of power in 2024! By each of us doing our part to engage Democratic-leaning voters in battleground states and districts, we can hold the White House, gain Senate seats, and turn the House blue—and advance policies that uplift all Americans. Together We Elect has resources to teach us the basics of texting and phoning prospective voters. Let’s sign up for one or more:
- FLIP A SEAT IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE HOUSE
Democrats won another special election for the New Hampshire House of Representatives on Tuesday, leaving the House at 199-197-2 with two special elections coming up to fill the vacancies. One of those seats is deep blue, so we have an opportunity to evenly divide the House in the face of a Republican gerrymander if we can win the other in a competitive district on September 19th. The Rockingham County District 1 seat was vacated by a Republican, but Maggie Hassan won the constituency during her reelection campaign last year and Democrats fell only 10 votes short of taking one of the three seats up for grabs. Former Nottingham Selectman Hal Rafter, a reproductive rights advocate and environmentalist, is the Democratic nominee, and he’s up against Jim Guzofski, who believes homosexuality is unnatural, the COVID vaccine infected people with the virus and abortion is a blood sacrifice to the god Molech. Let’s sign up to phonebank with Swing Blue and help Hal win, or consider a donation through Daily Kos.
- THE DREAM OF RACIAL ECONOMIC JUSTICEToday marks the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of racial economic justice remains stubbornly unfulfilled, as this report from the Economic Policy Institute documents. The report explains that government policies have actually worsened racial disparities in wages and wealth, and identifies legislation that can start to turn things around. Let’s send the report (here’s the link: https://www.epi.org/publication/chasing-the-dream-of-equity/) to our Members of Congress, and let’s tell them to co-sponsor and pass the bills that the report recommends:
- Raise the Wage Act, H.R.4889, S.2488
- Protecting the Right to Organize Act, H.R.20, S.567
- Housing for All Act, S.2701
- Freedom to Vote Act, H.R.11, S.1
- NATIONAL OUTCRY FOR CHILDREN IN LOUISIANA PRISONSThe criminal legal system of Louisiana has been “temporarily” (it’s been nearly a year) holding incarcerated teens—mostly Black boys—in a section of a maximum security adult prison once reserved for death-row inmates. The Angola State Prison is located on a former forced work camp (a/k/a “plantation”) for enslaved people. The imprisoned children have been subjected to brutal treatment and inhumane conditions, and have been deprived of schooling and mental health services, according to advocates. There’s a federal lawsuit seeking to stop Louisiana from imprisoning children in Angola, but use of the facility continues. Let’s raise our voices for these children. We can sign this petition. Even better, let’s contact Governor John Bel Edwards directly and tell him to release all children from this outrageous prison, stop punishing them, and start providing them with the education and services they need. h/t Black Voters Matter Fund
- PROTECT THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACTAccording to Earthjustice.org, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is one of the strongest tools communities have to protect their own environments. Under the Trump administration these regulations were severely weakened and now the Biden administration is aiming to strengthen them again. We can read more specifically about the new rules here, and then submit a public comment on the federal register here.
- HELP UNDER-ATTACK ORGANIZERS FLIP THE ARIZONA STATE SENATE
As Arizona continues to turn blue, Republicans are hanging on to a very narrow edge in the state senate – holding a 16-14 majority. The route to flipping control runs through Legislative District 17 in the Tucson area, which Katie Hobbs won in 2022. Their current state senator is Justine Wadsack, who won her seat 51-49 and who in this legislative session has pushed measures to target the LGBTQ+ community and drag queens, allow book bans, criminalize homelessness, and block gun control. Local activists are organizing a recall effort. However, they’ve been subject to continued harassment by Wadsack and her supporters. With a September 5th deadline to turn in signatures, they need our help to get the word out. If we’re in the district, let’s make sure we sign their recall petition, and all Arizonans can volunteer to help gather signatures. If we’re outside the state, let’s help spread the word by following and boosting the #SackWadsack campaign elsewhere on social media.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
- OK – RYAN WALTERS AND BOMB THREATS TO TULSA ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
The notorious stochastic terrorist Chaya Raichik, aka LibsOfTikTok, targeted a Tulsa elementary school librarian last week, doctoring one of her TikToks to remove the caption clarifying that the “woke agenda” she was pushing was teaching kids to love books and be kind. Her posts led to four days of bomb threats against Union Public Schools. Her campaign against this librarian was amplified by none other than Oklahoma’s state superintendent of schools Ryan Walters. Walters also successfully forced the superintendent of the Tulsa Public Schools to resign as he continues to threaten their accreditation. This comes on top of the FBI investigation into misused COVID relief funds under Walters’ supervision, his policies possibly costing Oklahoma a quarter-billion in federal grants, pushing publicly funded religious charter schools, calling the teachers union terrorists, and insisting we shouldn’t teach the Tulsa Race Massacre was about race, along with book bans, bathroom bans, and bullying trans kids. He’s now physically endangering our students, and it is time to say enough is enough. Let’s reach out to our state legislators and urge them to impeach Ryan Walters. We can also ask them to specifically publicly name LibsOfTikTok as responsible for encouraging the threats to our kids, beyond just a general call to turn down the temperature.
AND FINALLY, SOME GOOD NEWS
- LAST WEEK’S WINS
We’re in this battle for the long haul, so it’s important to acknowledge the victories we’re earning along the way. Here’s a summary of some of the best news from the last week from our friend and ally Jessica Craven at Chop Wood, Carry Water, including resistance to Black history bans in Arkansas, Ecuador voting to keep fossil fuels in the ground, and a gigantic victory for union organizers before the National Labor Relations Board.
