Tell Democratic legislators to stay in session for the rest of the year so we can minimize the harm Republicans are planning to do after regaining power in the House. The FIRST thing Democrats must do before they lose their House majority is raise or eliminate the debt ceiling to protect our social safety net programs. Make sure your legislators hear you by calling daily!
Then they must pass bills to secure the democratic processes that we took for granted before Trump’s administration. This includes a bill to prevent Trump, or a similar GOP tyrant, from replacing a merit-based professional civil service with a “spoils” system started under Andrew Jackson that American history refers to as a”vast public evil.” His executive order lays in waiting, dormant, unless we take action now. The Electoral Count Reform Act would prevent electoral vote fiddling by clarifying the vice-president’s role along with a number of other ambiguous or chaotic rules.
Action #1: Call/email your senators.
Minimal script to your senators: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Sen. [___] to stay in DC and spend every minute of available time working to RAISE or ELIMINATE THE DEBT CEILING NOW through budget reconciliation. Then, I want [him/her/them] to push through bills to protect the democratic processes that we took for granted before Trump’s administration, including S.4573 – Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act Act and S.4702 – Preventing a Patronage System (PPSA) Act of 2022
(PPSA Act prevents another would-be dictator from firing civil servants who stand in the way of corruption. It passed in the HOUSE. (H.R.302) Read more about it here.)
Contact:
- Senator Feinstein: email, DC (202) 224-3841, LA (310) 914-7300, SF (415) 393-0707, SD (619) 231-9712, Fresno (559) 485-7430
- and Senator Padilla: email, DC (202) 224-3553, LA (310) 231-4494, SAC (916) 448-2787, Fresno (559) 497-5109, SF (415) 981-9369, SD (619) 239-3884
- Who is my senator?: https://whoismyrepresentative.com
Action #2: Call/email your representatives.
Minimal script to your representatives: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep. [___] to stay in DC and spend every minute working to RAISE or ELIMINATE THE DEBT CEILING NOW through budget reconciliation. Then I want [him/her/them] to concentrate on passing H.R.8846 – Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act Act.
Contact:
- Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26): email, DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779
- or Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24): email. DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348
- Who is my representative?: https://whoismyrepresentative.com
Action #3: Tell Biden that we do not consent to be pawns in a game of “Debt Ceiling Chicken.”
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/)
Dear Joe,
There was an alarming article in the Washington Post that you and your advisors aren’t actively encouraging Democrats in the House to raise or eliminate the debt ceiling before they lose power. One of your advisors told Politico last week “Although there is grave risk to the economy, the gun is in Republicans’ hands. And there is little question as to who will get blamed for this.”
Assuming that you can transform destruction of our credit rating, or worse, savage and irreparable cuts to Social Security and Medicare into an albatross around the GOP’s neck come 2024 is a dangerous game. It’s just as likely that people will blame the Democrats for irresponsibly allowing the GOP the opportunity to cause this damage, like knowingly handing car keys to a 10-year-old. People who end up hurt by what the GOP does may not forgive you, nor have the bandwidth left to worry about voting in 2024.
The GOP has communication professionals working 24/7 to be sure you are blamed for everything. They have been very effective, and even if their lies don’t completely work for this, voters will still find out that you and the Democrats stood by passively, instead of doing everything in your power to protect us.
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 