December 11, 2024
Not giving the GOP an inch, GOTV for special elections in Virginia, supporting abortion funds, and more!
Contact all members of Congress:
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: Congress.gov
By US mail: Representatives / Senators
By fax: Representatives / Senators
By Resistbot: Resist.bot
Contact White House or other federal agencies:
WE NEED STIFF SPINES IN DANGEROUS TIMES
The mission of the Democratic Party in the Trump Era must be throwing wrenches in the gears wherever it is possible to do so. Unfortunately we have seen repeated examples of Democratic elected officials who seem not to understand this assignment: progressives showing an openness to working with Elon Musk's attacks on the federal government, numerous moderates voting to empower Trump to shut down nonprofits, governors expressing willingness to work with Trump on immigration, Governor Jared Polis (D-CO) praising the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The Republican Party, for all the damage it has done, has taught us valuable lessons in the last 15 years about how to effectively obstruct a president. We need to follow their example. Let's contact our elected officials and tell them we are expecting them to do what Mitch McConnell and the Tea Party did and be clear, aggressive, proactive, unambiguous and uncompromising in opposition to the Trump agenda. They must not normalize the GOP or give them credit for good faith they have not earned.
UNSTALL ANOTHER NOMINATION FOR AN INDEPENDENT REGULATOR
While we’ve seen progress in the Senate towards confirming several nominees for independent agencies with protections against being fired by the president to serve as a check on Trump, there is still plenty more to do. The future of the nomination of Christy Goldsmith Romero as chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation remains unclear. Goldsmith Romero is well-qualified to lead regulation of the banking sector, having served as special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program during the Great Recession before joining the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under Biden. She has also been confirmed unanimously twice by the Senate to previous positions and likely has the votes for a third, but there has been no action on her nomination since a hearing before the Banking Committee in July. Let’s reach out to our senators and urge them to push for a floor vote on Goldsmith Romero’s nomination before this Congress ends on January 3rd.
SUPPORT CLEMENCY FOR SEXUAL ABUSE SURVIVORS
Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons announced it was permanently closing the women’s prison Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin. While the official announcement cited only an inability to maintain staffing levels, FCI Dublin became notorious for documented reports of widespread sexual assaults of women in custody by the staff. While survivors are now being transferred away from this dangerous institution, most are not going anywhere safer or anywhere they can get the support they need to recover. Advocates are calling on President Biden to grant clemency to these survivors, including more than 20 women with pending applications for relief. These are folks who pose no safety risk, and many of them are cooperating witnesses. Let’s contact the White House and ask them to free the survivors of FCI Dublin. We can use sample language provided by the Dublin Prison Solidarity Coalition here.
SPECIAL ELECTION IN VIRGINIA TO BEGIN 2025
Two special elections for the Virginia state legislature in January will determine whether Democrats or Republicans will control those chambers. Democrat Kannan Srinivasan is running in Senate District 32 and Democrat J.J. Singh is running for House District 26. In addition to protecting the people of Virginia from the policies of the state’s Republican governor, a Democratic-majority state legislature can jumpstart important constitutional amendments to protect reproductive freedom; establish fair, transparent rules for restoration of voting rights for people with felony convictions; and protect same-sex marriages in the event that federal protections are reversed. This is the first big electoral test for Democrats since the 2024 presidential election. Let’s consider donating to Srinivasan and Singh’s campaigns. We can also offer to volunteer for Srinivasan and/or Singh directly or with Postcards To Voters. And, if we’re in Virginia, let’s see if we are eligible to vote in these elections by using this tool. If we are, let’s make a plan to vote.
DEFEND ABORTION ACCESS LOCALLY
Abortion funds, local groups that directly support abortion seekers in their communities, are at the frontlines of the fight to allow everyone to choose their future for themselves. Their jobs will only get more difficult in the next four years, and we need to show them support! We can help the most by searching for funds near us on the National Network of Abortion Funds’ Find a Fund page, connecting with organizations in our area and learning more about what they need from us. We can also find more ways to support abortion access in this guide from Jezebel.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
IL – TELL OUR LEADERS TO DRAW THE LINE ON MASS DEPORTATION
Trump’s incoming border czar and Project 2025 contributor Tom Homan visited Chicago Monday, and promised the city would be ground zero for Trump’s mass deportations, threatening to prosecute Mayor Brandon Johnson if he protected the city’s sanctuary status. We’re not going to take this threat lightly, and our leaders can’t either. Let’s take this moment to contact our elected officials – Governor Pritzker, Attorney General Raoul, our state legislators, our mayors, our city councilors, our county supervisors, our prosecutors, our sheriffs – and tell them we want them to resist Trump’s agenda by pledging sanctuary status, refusing state or local personnel to support deportation, and blocking Trump’s goons if necessary. (We can also take this moment to get involved with immigrant support and advocacy groups near us.)
Very supportive and helpful. Thank you.
"The mission of the Democratic Party in the Trump Era must be throwing wrenches in the gears wherever it is possible to do so?? " I cannot condone this comment nor the actions you have proposed
While I certainly understand your reasoning, I think trying to work with and for bipartisan results would be much more productive. I know what you're suggesting bt it seems to me that you're promoting Democrats do the same thing they've complained the other side did for the past four years.
Two wrongs don't make a right....