February 13, 2025
Protecting public schools, #TeslaTakedown Saturday, call scripts on a constitutional crisis 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:
If you have questions, comments, and especially submissions for actions, please email us at roganslisttips@gmail.com!
THE WAR ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Trump and Musk have made it clear they will try to realize the longstanding Republican dream of eliminating the Department of Education and funneling more money to corporate schools. (Musk’s DOGE henchmen already claim to have gutted the Institute of Education Sciences, the largest funder of education research in the country, putting us at risk of losing an immense amount of public data about how our schools perform.) Dismantling the department would impact Title I funding for low-income school districts, Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA) funding to support students with disabilities, anti-discrimination protections offered by the Department’s Office for Civil Rights, oversight for for-profit universities and the administration of federal student loans. Even if these programs are ultimately shifted to other departments or block granted by the states, there will be plenty of chaos and ultimately less resources, less accountability, and less support making it to the kids who really need it. The costs for America’s public school kids would be devastating, especially those in low-income communities and those with disabilities – reduced help for the most vulnerable, bigger classes, teacher layoffs. Trump and company also plan to abolish the Department through executive action – via order or simply refusing to spend taxpayer money on what they’re supposed to, both of which would be illegal. In addition to being part of their frightening dictatorial expansion of presidential powers, they also know many Republican members of Congress do not want to take that vote. Eliminating the department is deeply unpopular, with recent polling showing even a plurality of Republicans in opposition, and would badly hurt many rural communities that vote deep red. (Just last year, more than 60 House Republicans opposed an amendment to abolish the Department of Education.) We should not let them get away with either this disastrous policy or its lawless implementation. Let’s contact our members of Congress and ask them to:
Use all procedural tools available to slow Congress and refuse to support government funding bills until the attack on the Department of Education stops
Take advantage of the confirmation hearing for Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education today to highlight the damage eliminating the department will do, especially if they’re members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
We can also join today’s national call-in opposing McMahon led by Advocates for Trans Equality and End Rape on Campus with this guide and sample script.
Do media events with teachers and students who will be hardest hit by eliminating the department in their own districts and those of their Republican colleagues, making the positive case for the department
Demand a floor vote in both the House and Senate on eliminating the department – so no member of Congress can escape accountability for it and so we can demonstrate to the nation that Trump is acting illegally and against the express wish of the legislative branch
CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS IN MOTION ON COURT ORDERS
The danger of Trump and Musk rejecting judicial limits on their power is growing. Trump is now claiming judges enforcing the law against him was “a very serious violation” and “maybe we have to look at the judges” while Musk has doubled down on calls to impeach those who cross him. Meanwhile, district court judge John McConnell has said the administration is violating his order to lift a blanket freeze on federal spending, and a senior official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency was caught explicitly ordering her team to hold grant funding hours later. We are starting to see minimal signs of pushback from the Republican Party, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and a handful of other senators reaffirming that the president must comply with the courts. It is not enough. Let’s continue to rally leadership against this constitutional crisis. We can find scripts here to reach out to our elected officials at all levels and push them for public statements that these threats are unacceptable and a plan for how they will respond if the White House explicitly rejects the check of the judiciary. We can also bookmark and share this tracker from the Revolving Door Project of where the administration has not complied and what judges have done in response.
#TESLATAKEDOWN – PROTESTS AT LOCAL TESLA SHOWROOMS SATURDAY
The state has been captured. Elon Musk, an unelected billionaire, has functionally seized control of much of the United States government. And he’s set to profit off of it – he now has veto power over or has kneecapped multiple agencies that were investigating and regulating his companies and is in position to use state power to cut his own taxes, bolster his business interests and burden his competitors. Tesla, in particular, stands to benefit – and it’s a pressure point the public can press to fight back. On Saturday, activists led by The Disruption Project are calling for a #TeslaTakedown – setting up picket lines to protest at Tesla locations nationwide, and encourage folks to sell Teslas and dump the stock. Let’s join in the protests. We can find actions near us or sign up to host our own at TeslaTakedown.com, and find more information on the #TeslaTakedown hashtag - or just show up ready to picket at a Tesla location near us at 11AM Saturday. We can also do some flyering of Tesla vehicles on our own with these.
WAYS TO HELP IN WISCONSIN THIS WEEK
New fundraising numbers are a clear sign of the stakes in April’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race – Democratic pick Dane County Judge Susan Crawford and Republican former attorney general Brad Schimel combined to raise more than $7 million in January alone. The majority is up for grabs on April 1st with liberal justice Ann Walsh Bradley retiring – along with abortion laws, collective bargaining rights for public employees, and the redistricting process. Crawford has represented Planned Parenthood and stood up in court for voting and workers’ rights, including arguing for the teacher’s union against the notorious union-busting law Act 10. Schimel pledged to defend Act 10 when he was AG and has endorsed the state’s 175-year-old abortion ban as good law. Let’s help Judge Crawford win this race by:
Phonebanking with Indivisible Northampton–Swing Left Western Mass TONIGHT and every Thursday from 5:30pm-7:30pm Eastern – sign up here
Phonebanking with Grassroots Democrats HQ Sundays and Wednesdays – sign up here
Phonebanking with Swing Blue Alliance on Mondays – sign up here
Volunteer recruitment phonebanks with WisDems Tuesdays and Wednesdays – sign up here
Postcarding with Postcards to Voters – request addresses here
Look for more opportunities with the Wisconsin Democrats here
DROP “TRUTH BOMBS” AND LEARN EFFECTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGING STRATEGIES - BRIEFING TODAY
Civic Sundays LA is hosting a virtual briefing led by Johanna Siegmann TODAY 5PM Eastern/2PM Pacific on Zoom. This event introduces a new way of communicating in response to modern political challenges. Inspired by Marc Elias and Timothy Snyder, the briefing focuses on “truth bombs” — short, powerful, and non-confrontational social media messages designed to counter disinformation, which played a major role in the 2024 election outcome. Attendees will learn how to create, target, and deploy these messages effectively. The goal is to strengthen opposition messaging, embrace discipline, and adapt to today’s fast-changing political landscape. We can sign up here to learn more about what Truth Bombs are and how to make and use them effectively.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
CO – FIXING THE HIGH-CAPACITY MAGAZINE LAW
Despite banning high-capacity magazines back in 2013, Colorado still sells the weapons that can hold them. And every state that borders ours still legally sells high-capacity magazines. As long as anyone can drive to a neighboring state, buy a high-capacity magazine, and attach it to the firearm that they legally purchased in Colorado our state's high-capacity magazine ban will be incomplete. Legislators have introduced Senate Bill 3, a common-sense fix to our state's existing high-capacity magazine law that prohibits the sale, manufacture or purchase of semiautomatic weapons if they use detachable magazines. It should get its first full vote in the Senate as soon as today. Let’s use this tool from Everytown to message our senators and let them know we want them to vote yes. We can also use this same language to contact Governor Polis, who has not yet said he will sign the bill if it passes.
KEEPING AN EYE ON…
Amazon union organizing phonebanks through Friday… Don’t cross the picket line at Colorado supermarkets… Gabbard confirmed, Kennedy passes key test, Senate Judiciary Committee to vote on Patel today… Los Angeles wildfires contained, need for relief remains… keep distributing Know Your Rights cards…
My father didn't fight across Europe in 1944-5 to see this in America. And while in the U.S. Army Medical Reserves as Gulf 1 unfolded, I knew I'd be taking care of my countrymen.