Tuesday 15 June 2021: McQonnell is done being coy, he’s gone full SCOTUS Justice Nazi on us! No SCOTUS Justice for you Dems, not if he’s Senate Majority Leader in 2022. He figgers they have the vote in 2022 sewed up. He don’t need to care no way no how about no fired up Dem base turning out and voting, the state legislatures will just dismiss those votes and hand the races to Repubes! Welcome to the Republican Dystopia, y’all!
Get off yo’ couch and call yo’ mo’fo’n senators today and like Stacey Abrams says, EVERY mo’fo’n DAY this summer cuz it is hot call summer from Fair Fight! Here’s what you do:
(1) Call 1-888-453-3211 to get YOUR senators’ contact info, but we know you got it on speed dial cuz you call so often, right? Or you can use the handy-dandy links in the info section of this post.
(2) Tell your senators to (a) lobby Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, and they friends to modify the filibuster to save our democracy from the demagoguery of McQonnell and the GQP (if they is progressives); (b) support modifying the filibuster and make a big ass announcement to the world about it cuz they want to save us from the Republican Dystopia (if they are mOdErAtE Dems and oppose modifying the filibuster); or (c) be the tenth Repube vote to break the filibuster because we like democracy and not the pseudo kind that McQonnell and company want us to have.
(3) Pass the freaking For the People Act, already! Stop this GQP voter suppression Tom fuckery in its tracks!
Once you’ve done all that, let us know in the comments, please!
Anyone who’s following the news knows that few if any of Biden’s agenda is advancing in the senate. The three major initiatives, the American Jobs Plan (infrastructure), the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and the For the People Act. The GQP has been negotiating in bad faith on the infrastructure and policing acts. We know ain’t no ten GQP senators going to vote for any compromise none of those folks come up with. And, the For the People Act doesn’t have snowball’s chance in hell of getting even one GQP vote muchless ten.
To advance their agenda, the Dems have to overcome the GQP’s dishonest faithless stalling negotiations. I know I know Sens Tim Scott (R – Uncle Tom’s Cabin) and Shellac Me More Crapitall (R – WV) are good people and sincere and yadda yadda gag me while trying to swallow a McQonnell lie sandwich. None of that nEgOtIaTiOn is going to result in nothing worthwhile passing the senate and becoming law.
What can a lowly voter do?
You can call YOUR senator. The rest of the post is as follows: (1) an outline of what to tell your Democratic senators, (2) an outline of what to tell your Republican senators, (3) scripts for every type of senator, (4) tips for calling, (5) suggestions for other things you can do, (6) informational links to find contact info for your senators, and (7) a reminder to join Indivisible.
For a Dem Senator
You can call YOUR Democratic senator. Don’t call Manchin or Sinema or anyone else. Call YOUR senators. Here’s what you tell them:
- Our democracy is under attack. The GQP state legislatures are moving to suppress the vote and gerrymander House districts everywhere they can.
- The GQP won’t cooperate with the Democratic party. Mitch McQonnell has already said 100% of his focus is on stopping the Biden agenda, so why believe they will negotiate in good faith about anything?
- The one strategy that the Dems have to change the history of midterms is to pass legislation that helps the American people. The GQP knows this. They ain’t gonna help with that.
- To pass legislation we need to stop the filibuster.
- Talk to Manchin, Sinema, and other moderate Dems in the senate about modifying the filibuster so that we can defend our democracy against the authoritarian grab the GQP is mounting.
That’s what you tell your Democratic senators. Modify the filibuster. Talk to Manchin, Sinema, and other Dem senators that don’t wanna.
For a GQP Senator
You want to tell your Republican senators that the Republican Party no longer supports democracy. Trump and MAGA nation no longer supports democracy. It is time for them to stand up to the party, stand up to MAGA nation, stand up and support Biden’s agenda to save our democracy, save our economy, and save our climate. They should become one of the ten Republican senators to vote for Biden’s agenda.
From here on out in the post you’ll find (1) scripts for each type of senator you might be calling.
The Scripts
Call YOUR senators to express your support for modifying the filibuster. Following Indivisible’s lead, we’re tailoring our appeals to each of the five types of senators. Search through for the types that best fit each of your two senators.
Calling or Writing
Use this script when calling or writing your senators and adapt as needed.
Regardless of the type of senator you have, they all should begin the same:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [STATE and LOCALITY].
I’m calling today to support the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. With the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, we finally seem to have momentum to do something to end the police misuse of force. Unfortunately, with each passing day we seem to have another instance of the police misuse of force against a Black American or an American of Color. We have tolerated the abuse of our fellow citizens long enough. Congress must act to limit the misuse of force by police.
Find your type of senator from the list below and continue with that script.
The Member of Leadership (Democratic)
We cannot allow the Republicans, no matter how sincere they are, to derail Biden’s agenda. To pass the George Floyd Policing Reform Act and For the People’s Act, we must, at the very least, modify the filibuster. Please do everything you can to convince senators Manchin, Sinema, and other moderate Democrats to support modifying the filibuster. It is the only way to pass Biden’s agenda and to have a prayer of winning the mid-terms.
The Moderate Democrat
We know that the Republicans will brand everything that Democrats do as far-left extremism no matter whether its been negotiated with one of their members or passed with a straight party-line vote. We also know that the will end the filibuster the next time they are in the majority. We have to modify the filibuster in order to pass Biden’s agenda and have a chance to win the mid-terms. Please support modifying the filibuster so that we can pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the We the People Act. Please convince your colleagues like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema to do so, too.
The progressive Democrat
We greatly appreciate your support for progressive policy positions in general and abolishing the filibuster specifically. We know that abolishing the filibuster is the only way to pass Biden’s agenda and to have a prayer to hold Congress after the mid-terms… and so do the Republicans. Please, contact Sens Manchin, Sinema, and other moderate Democrats to ask them to reconsider their position on the filibuster.
The conservative Democrat
For the past ten years Mitch McConnell has done everything he could do to thwart the Democratic agenda. He is the person held Merrick Garlands’s Supreme Court seat open for a year to put a Republican nominee in it and rushed Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination through before the election. He will never allow any Democratic legislation to pass the senate and will end the filibuster the next time they are in the majority. To have a chance at holding Congress in the mid-terms, the Democrats must pass Biden’s agenda even if it means modifying the filibuster.
The RepubLICAN
The Republican Party under Donald Trump and supported by MAGA Nation is no longer democratic. You must stand up for our democracy and become one of the ten Republican senators to vote for Biden’s agenda and support abolishing the filibuster.
Thank you for your time and attention.
IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied.
Tips for Calling
When you call your representative’s office, please remember the following:
- Only contact YOUR MoC! They only listen to their constituents and dismiss requests from non-constituents.Ask for the aide working on the policy-related issues.
- Be polite! No matter whose office you’re calling. No matter what their positions are. No matter how inflamed you are about the issue — and you should be very passionate — be polite.
- Remember that the people you are talking to are people! So, be nice.
- Call during business hours of the area code their office is in. Typically, that is 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
- Have a script or notes to follow so you don’t forget anything.
- Maybe call with friends. You know like a party.
Other Suggestions
I’ve heard back from readers that some MoC’s voice mail boxes are always full! It’s as if they don’t want to hear from their constituents. Kinda like those MoC’s who don’t hold town halls or other open forum meetings. Here are some other ways to contact your MoC:
In Addition to Calling
- in person visit, or what passes for in person during the time of #COVID19. Being in their office either in person or virtually and talking to the Congress person or a staff member is your best bet for getting your message heard.
- Send a postcard to their office. Nothing says I care like kicking it old school and using snail mail.
- Email their office. Lay out your concerns in a brief email and send it in. We all know how easy it is to email. Make sure you include the issue you are addressing in the subject line.
- Use the contact page on their website. This is the surest way of getting a message to them. Each MoC has an official government website and each has a contact page that comes with it automatically.
- Contact them using social media. It’s hard to break through all the noise on social media, but it can’t hurt to try given all the time we all spend using it. Be sure to tag your MoC’s when social mediaing about about a specific issue. Be clear and respectful, though, when addressing an issue that you want your MoC to act upon. Make sure you let them know you are a constituent.
- A form letter or petition. You see these on social media all the time. Text to this number and they’ll send a postcard. Sign the petition and they’ll deliver it. It makes it easier for you to do, and I guess it makes up for its lack of impact through its larger numbers? But, you wouldn’t be here reading this and thinking about calling your MoC if you were all about ease and comfort. There’s nothing easy, comforting, or comfortable about reading my syntactically garbled ranting snarky posts.
Coordination Makes an Impact
- Group Action. Visiting, calling, or mailing letters as a group has a bigger impact than just one person doing it, and it’s more fun. So, get your friends, neighbors, acquaintances, kidnap victims, whoever together and pass the phone around. Make it a day drinking game. Call in sick to work. It’s fun for the whole family!
- Join an Indivisible chapter. If you haven’t already joined an Indivisible chapter, consider doing it now. There are thousands of them dotted across the land. They sprouted and grew like invasive bamboo or mushrooms after 2017.
- Subscribe to Email Groups. I know those emails that claim to be from Elizabeth Warren, other political celebrities, or at least a real name are annoying, but they do help coordinate national action on issues. So, if a Congress person realizes that they just got a gazillion calls on issue X on the same day, then they know there’s a group that is pushing the issue and has voters behind it. See how that works for the anxious-to-be-re-elected Congress critter?
Film at 11:00
If you meet with your Congress person or staffer, film the interaction — this is where having a group comes in handy, one person talks, another one glares, and the third one films. So, if they are squirming or hemming and hawing or saying stupid stuff, you could go viral, and isn’t that everyone’s dream in this age of social media?
Use the Local Press
Again, if you’re going down as a large group, the press will cover it. If you’ve got a large phoning party, the press will cover it. And, you know who reads the local press? Congress folk, do, or at least their interns do. If you make the hometown newspaper or TV news, you’ve got that Congress person’s attention! So, go on, grab ’em by the press!
Informational Links
Useful links for getting the contact information for your MoC’s and anyone else in government local, state, or federal as well as tracking legislation, activism, and other information.
- Common Cause will give you the names, party affiliation, direct phone number, website link, and social media platforms of all of your federal, state, and local elected officials.
- USA.gov is the official guide to information and services of the US government. This page explains clearly how to contact everyone from the Ol’ Pussy Grabber to your representative to specific government agencies. Through it you can find the following information about your MoC’s:
- Their phone numbers: DC and state offices
- Their mailing addresses both in DC and their state offices
- Official website with their contact page including email, request a meeting, town hall schedules, and social media
- And, the committees they sit on
- Congress.gov is the official clearinghouse of information on all bills before Congress. You can find the sponsors, summaries, text, and status of every bill before Congress. It is a great tool.
- LegiScan uses the LegiScan API to search the LegiScan Data Service to provide a non-partisan federal and state legislation tracking service.
- 5 Calls: Sign-up for 5 Calls because they help you contact your member of Congress and keep you abreast of on going issues that are important to you! Now, that is a good deal.
- The Capital Hill Switch Board: (202) 224-3121.
- MassacreMitch and #MoscowMitch: His DC office, (202) 224-2541.
- Nancy Pelosi: Her DC office, (202) 225-4965; her California office, (415) 556-4862
- The WH Switchboard: (202) 456-1414 or the comments line at (202) 456-1111 during business hours
Join Indivisible
Follow the link to Indivisible to find a group near you, their campaigns, events in your neighborhood, and download their handy-dandy booklet!
If you want to be more active in our democracy and make your voice heard, sign up for our email list and never miss a post!
Image Attribution
“Filibuster” by Tobias Higbie is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Categories: Politics
The Psy of Life 
Reblogged this on cabbagesandkings524 and commented:
Calico Jack – Calls to make
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What’s at stake? Nothing less than democracy itself, to which the GOP is no friend, seeking nakedly for single party rule. The “moderate” Democrats keep trying to resurrect bipartisanship, only to find themselves with a briefly twitching zombie. Remember that scene in the original Frankenstein movie with the doctor maniacally screaming, “IT’S ALIVE!”? I picture a certain Senator in that scene doing that, only to then hear Igor say (preferably played by Marty Feldman as in Young Frankenstein) say, “Well, it’s dead again.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Howdy Bob!
That is a meme worthy image!
I have thought about writing about how the GQP assault on our democracy defies belief for some people.They just refuse to believe it. They get all myopic about it, and if they have a contrarian side to their personality like many people close to the personality disorder pole of the spectrum do, then they just dig in their heels. Joe Manchin is the Chamberlain of our age. He’s trying to appease the unappeasable. I figure the only people who have a prayer of convincing him to change his ways are his colleagues.
Huzzah!
Jack
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I think you are right. The attempts to reach a compromise on any of the important, arguably necessary, parts of the Biden agenda cannot produce anything meaningful that the necessary number of Republicans in the Senate will vote for. Another factor that might move Manchin on the infrastructure bill could be big money donors in his state who stand to gain from that spending, but mainly it will be the Republicans in the Senate who will prove to him that there is no bipartisan path forward.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Howdy Bob!
Senators Tim Scott and Shelly Capito may be negotiating in good faith, but Mitch McConnell isn’t. He’s just using them whether they realize it or not. The “moderates” who are developing a bill acceptable to five, six, seven Republican senators will result in a bill that is as much of a failure as the American Jobs Plan. It will just move us that much closer to the mid-terms and improve the chances of the GQP of retaking Congress.
Huzzah!
Jack
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Yep 😦
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The “moderate” Democrats are failing to understand that the GOP obstructionism is not mindless or for its own sake. The strategy goal is to prevent Democrats (especially Presidents) from keeping their promises. It does not really matter what those promises are. The effort is not primarily ideological. The goal is that the Democrat President must be seen to fail (Mitch McConnell said so). The Democrat voters must be disappointed and discouraged. As you have often pointed out, the goal is single party pseudo democracy. The rest is details, BS, and distraction.
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Howdy Bob!
Maybe it is my own failings but I can’t help but think the moderates just can’t believe that their friends and colleagues of the past ten to twenty years are not only willing to destroy our democracy, but also, deliberately and methodically destroying our democracy as a political strategy. It might be worth making a typology of the Democrats similar to that of Republicans.
Of course, it could be that Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have been bought off, but I doubt it. I think they are being useful idiots to the cause driven by their own personality disorder adjacent personal issues and needs.
It is so maddeningly frustrating to watch them go through these motions when it is so “clear” what is happening. Talk about feeling powerless. Hopefully our experience in the past three elections has taught us that we aren’t powerless and will turn out in sufficient numbers that the results cannot be challenged.
Huzzah!
Jack
LikeLiked by 1 person
One of the features of all (3 now?) “bipartisan” infrastructure proposals that confirms my “broken promises” thesis is the taking of already appropriated money in the Cares Act to pay for it. My impression is that it is mainly the funds to help state and local governments, thus putting the Dems in the position of breaking that promise, again.
Yep, turnout is the answer. But no matter how overwhelming, the GOP will still challenge and cry “fraud”. They’ve been building in the idea that any vote they loose must be fraudulent or rigged for more than 30 years. It has become a Pavlovian level response, including in the base.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Howdy Bob!
Many of the voter suppression bills have provisions for either the state legislature or state judges to overturn results or instigate recounts and challenge ballots. They directly negate turnout. And, it is a self-reinforcing cycle. No matter how many voters vote against them, they can always throw out those ballots. Self perpetuating.
Huzzah!
Jack
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The acceptance of election results (with graceful concession) is an absolute minimum for a functioning democracy. We have one of two political parties that has given up on that.
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Howdy Bob!
Ergo, we don’t have a functioning democracy, and the GQP wants to take the democracy out of that phrase.
Huzzah!
Jack
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Truth
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