For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
~ Amanda Gorman, January 20, 2021
Happy Friday, Activists!
We hope you're having a good week and feeling the holiday cheer.
You’ve likely read the news that Build Back Better is likely to be shelved until next year and that President Biden is now focusing on democracy reform and changing the filibuster rule. After all the work we’ve done, it’s frustrating to be here. We just need to keep pushing before the Senate leaves D.C. for the holidays.
We highly recommend you read Indivisible’s statement on these latest developments, including that Joe Manchin is testing us to see if we’ll hang tough. There’s even some hopeful news in there! At this point, Senator Casey and President Biden need to hear clearly from us that we’re counting on them to fulfill their commitment to passing BBB and delivering on democracy reform. Urgently. Here’s what to do: See our Call To Action in Tuesday’s newsletter and make the call to Senator Casey on BBB and voting rights. And no holiday recess until they get voting rights done!
Good news! You can skip calling Senator Toomey now and focus on something new (yay!).
Contact White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. He is very active on Twitter (@WHCOS). Tweet at him and tell him that you’re counting on the President to finally get involved in the fight on voting rights. And, remind him that he assured us he had 50 votes on Build Back Better. We’re not going to let him off the hook.
Despite this news, we will keep doing what we do - advocate for progressive policies and Get. Out. The. Vote. We'll all stay at it.
OUR MEETING WITH A.G. JOSH SHAPIRO Join us for a one-hour virtual meeting with Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is running for PA Governor next year. We’ll have a lot to ask him about why he’s running and his vision for the state. Bring your questions too! When: Monday, January 24, 7:30 pm Where: Zoom Sign up here.
NEW -- UPCOMING EVENTS FOR DEMOCRACY REFORM
THIS SUNDAY 12/19
Join Indivisible this Sunday, 12/19, at 4 pm ET for a Movement Call about Capitol Insurrection anniversary vigils and more, featuring Congressman Adam Schiff, for activists across the country to learn about the upcoming January 6 Nationwide Day of Remembrance and Action. We’ll be joined by organizers and leaders within the movement who will discuss the need to raise our voices on January 6.
A January 6 Vigil for Democracy is already scheduled for Philadelphia (we are not hosting this) and you can see the details and sign up here.
NEXT MONDAY 12/20
Join Senator Casey at City Hall next Monday, December 20, at 11:00 am to rally for democracy reform. Below is all the info:
THIS WEEK'S MESSAGING - UPDATED See our full Messaging explainer from a recent newsletter here. See last week’s message in last Friday’s newsletter here. What is the purpose of these messages you may ask? We are suggesting we use these weekly messaging ideas in our everyday lives with our family and others, and in our social media channels. These are meant to help us express what we stand for, what we believe with accurate framing. And the messages themselves are not meant to be a script, but as a guide for expressing our beliefs. We hope you find them helpful! Reply to this email with your comments! We love what you've sent us so far. Here is this week’s messaging In Pennsylvania, we believe that voters pick our leaders; our leaders don't get to pick their voters. But power-hungry politicians are dividing our communities to try to silence some of us, based on what we look like or where we live. So let them know: when it comes to our districts, we draw the line. By joining together to speak out for fair districting, we can make our PA communities whole and deliver what our schools and families need for a decade to come. NEW Twitter Version: PA voters know we pick our leaders - leaders don't pick their voters. Power-hungry politicians divide our communities to try to silence some of us, based on what we look like, where we live. Let them know we’re joining together to demand #fairdistricting https://bit.ly/3E2QeEb
We hope you're feeling the holiday spirit. Have a great weekend!