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Support Minority Candidates for Congressional Internships

Support minority candidates for Congressional internships.

 

Do you remember this infamous #SpeakerSelfie photo taken by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, of him and his Capitol Hill interns?

 

If not, click through to this Time magazine piece to see it (you’ll have to scroll down a little):

http://time.com/4410815/paul-ryan-intern-selfie/

 

Thousands of people instantly spotted what was wrong with this picture. Virtually everyone in it is white.

 

At least a few Democrats have managed to pick a more diverse group of Congressional interns, as shown in rebuttal photos by House Rep Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Democrat from Texas, and House Rep Xavier Becerra, Democrat of California.

Click this CNN link and scroll down to see the rebuttal photos:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/21/politics/dc-intern-selfie/index.html

 

…but the #SpeakerSelfie controversy sheds light on a bigger, thornier problem.

 

If you want a career in politics, you need a Congressional internship. But these internships, by their nature, tend to shut out anyone who’s working class or poor.

 

The positions are paid in academic credit–not dollars. Interns are responsible for wrangling their own lodgings, business attire, transportation, and food.

 

Together, these costs, which can easily run into the four-figure or even the low five-figure range, pose a formidable barrier to entry to candidates from low-income families. And as you well know, many low-income families happen to be non-white as well.

 

A lack of money closes the avenues to the halls of power, which in turn stops talented working-class and poor people from rising through the political ranks.

 

You can do something about that.

 

First, check the web sites of your MoCs. Do their sites say anything about how they choose their interns? If so, do the pages on interns include an explicit statement that commits the MoCs to selecting a diverse group of candidates?

 

If your MoCs’ websites say nothing about diversity among their interns, or say nothing about interns at all, call their offices and ask how they handle this issue. If they don’t give you a satisfactory answer, call and write periodically until they finally do.

 

Another option is to donate to Congressional intern scholarship programs.

 

Congressional Interns chosen by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CFBC) receive a stipend worth $3,000 as well as local dorm housing. Read more about the program at the link below:

http://www.cbcfinc.org/internships/

 

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gives its Congressional interns a stipend ($3,750 for spring and fall, and $2,500 for summer), all-expenses-paid housing, domestic round-trip transportation to Washington, D.C., and other benefits. Read more about the program at the link below:

http://chci.org/programs/internships/Eligibility_and_Program_Details/

 

 

Donate to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and specify that the funds are for its Congressional internship program:

http://www.cbcfinc.org/donation-form/

 

 

Donate to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and specify that the funds are for its Congressional internship program:

https://chci.org/donate/

 

 

Read more about what Congressional interns face:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/opinion-here-s-why-there-s-little-diversity-among-congressional-n611731

https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/04/how-congress-gets-away-not-paying-its-interns/329629/

 

 

Read about the #SpeakerSelfie controversy and responses to it:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/18/paul-ryan-intern-selfie-capitol-hill-diversity

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/07/20/the-story-behind-congresss-dueling-intern-selfies/?utm_term=.1c1861452221

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/21/politics/dc-intern-selfie/

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Follow the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation on Twitter:

@CBCFInc

 

 

Like the CBCF page on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CBCFInc

 

 

Follow the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute on Twitter:

@CHCI

 

 

Like the CHCI page on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CHCIDC?ref=mf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Action Alerts · Call Your Members of Congress · Community Activism · Impeachment Proceedings · Marches and Protests

Impeachment Update, February 4: Call Your Senators and Attend a Reject the Coverup Rally on Wednesday, February 5

Impeachment update, February 4, 2020: Keep calling your Senators, and see if you can get to a Reject the Coverup Rally on Wednesday, February 5.

 

Choose your Core Four for 2020 PLUS a Voting Rights organization to support:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2019/12/27/choose-your-core-four-plus-a-voting-rights-org-to-support-in-2020/

 

If you need to do something NowRightNow to fight against [Fresh Horror]:

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

 

On Friday, January 31, 2020, the GOP-controlled Senate voted against hearing witnesses in President Trump’s impeachment trial, ensuring that it would be a sham.

 

Closing arguments took place Monday, February 3. Final votes to wind it all down take place on Wednesday, February 5.

 

We at OTYCD recommend that you keep calling your Senators. Yes, even now. Because it’s  not over just yet.

 

The GOP-led Senate might be in cahoots with Trump to control the proceedings, and they are hell-bent on bringing this to a close even though there’s a multitude of polls showing that between 72 and 80 percent of Americans want the trial to hear witnesses and consider evidence (you know, like an actual trial would).

 

That doesn’t mean we have to make it easy for them.

 

Be like the spike strips at a car rental place that are there to stop someone from going in the wrong direction. Sure, they can try doing that, and the car might be driveable afterward, but they’ll fuck up the undercarriage and flatten the tires.

 

Make the GOP Senate feel the phantom limb pain where their souls used to be.

 

You should also call if you have Dem Senators who are thoroughly sensible and sane. Their pro-GOP constituents will be bombing them with irate calls. Counter those calls and encourage them to stay steady.

 

Then call your House rep and express support for the House delegation of impeachment managers that argued case for removal. It’s extra-important to call if your House rep is Nancy Pelosi or one of the seven impeachment managers.

 

See the list of impeachment managers here:

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/15/794256540/who-are-the-impeachment-managers-pelosi-unveils-diverse-team-for-trump-trial

 

Before you place your own daily call, check the Twitter feed of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter), so you can tailor your comment about the impeachment inquiry to the day’s events. 

 

She is quick on the draw with calling scripts–way faster than I could ever hope to be–and will have a template you can use or adapt when making your calls to MoCs.

 

Even if she doesn’t have a specific template, she will retweet and comment on events that you can cite in your new daily call.

 

You can also look to the resources cited in our post on what you can do NowRightNow to fight [Fresh Horror] for fresh news you can cite. The link is above but here it is again:

 

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

Know also: Protests against the end of the trial are being planned as we prepare this post.

 

The largest effort appears to be the Reject the Coverup rallies, which are planned for Wednesday, February 5.

 

Protest partners include United We Dream, the NAACP, Greenpeace, NextGen America, MoveOn, Resistbot, Indivisible, Common Cause,and many others.

 

You can see the closest event to you by going to this link. Unfortunately, as of Sunday February 2, when we readied this post, there appeared to be no consensus on start times. Please keep checking the Reject the Coverup website and social media for this info.

 

If there isn’t an event near enough to you, or if there is and you can’t go, do what you can to make it possible for others to go. Offer gas money or bus fare. Offer care-giving services. If you’re a business owner, give your people paid time off to attend the protest.

 

You can also spread the word about the protest and boost the #RejectTheCoverup hashtag on social media.

 

Also continuing are the #SwarmTheSenate protests in Washington, D.C., in the Hart Building. Those have been going since January 6, 2020.

 

Elsewhere in D.C., the #KremlinAnnex folks continue their nightly protests in Lafayette Square.

 

And, apparently separate from the #RejectTheCoverup protests, a #TakeItBack protest will take place in Manhattan at Columbus Circle on Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at 5:30 pm, EST.

 

If we at OTYCD hear of other protests related to the Senate impeachment trial, we will update this post accordingly.

 

See the main site for the Reject the Coverup protest:

Home – Events

 

And to step back to Celeste Pewter, godddess of call scripts, please show your support for her and her noble work in one of these ways:

 

You can follow her on Twitter: @Celeste_Pewter

 

You can donate money to her through her Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/A012IFW

 

You can tweet about calling your MoCs, using the #ICalledMyReps hashtag.

 

You can follow @ICalledMyReps on Twitter.

 

And you can subscribe to her peerless newsletter, It’s Time to Fight:

http://itstimetofight.weebly.com

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

Action Alerts · Call Your Members of Congress · Community Activism · Marches and Protests

Impeachment Update, February 3: Call Your Senators and Attend a Reject the Coverup Rally on Wednesday, February 5

Impeachment update, February 3, 2020: Keep calling your Senators, and see if you can get to a Reject the Coverup Rally on Wednesday, February 5.

 

Choose your Core Four for 2020 PLUS a Voting Rights organization to support:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2019/12/27/choose-your-core-four-plus-a-voting-rights-org-to-support-in-2020/

 

If you need to do something NowRightNow to fight against [Fresh Horror]:

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

 

On Friday, January 31, 2020, the GOP-controlled Senate voted against hearing witnesses in President Trump’s impeachment trial, ensuring that it would be a sham.

 

Closing arguments begin today, Monday, February 3. Final votes to wind it all down take place on Wednesday, February 5.

 

We at OTYCD recommend that you keep calling your Senators. Yes, even now. Because it’s  not over just yet.

 

The GOP-led Senate might be in cahoots with Trump to control the proceedings, and they are hell-bent on bringing this to a close even though there’s a multitude of polls showing that between 72 and 80 percent of Americans want the trial to hear witnesses and consider evidence (you know, like an actual trial would).

 

That doesn’t mean we have to make it easy for them.

 

Be like the spike strips at a car rental place that are there to stop someone from going in the wrong direction. Sure, they can try doing that, and the car might be driveable afterward, but they’ll fuck up the undercarriage and flatten the tires.

 

Make the GOP Senate feel the phantom limb pain where their souls used to be.

 

You should also call if you have Dem Senators who are thoroughly sensible and sane. Their pro-GOP constituents will be bombing them with irate calls. Counter those calls and encourage them to stay steady.

 

Then call your House rep and express support for the House delegation of impeachment managers that argued case for removal. It’s extra-important to call if your House rep is Nancy Pelosi or one of the seven impeachment managers.

 

See the list of impeachment managers here:

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/15/794256540/who-are-the-impeachment-managers-pelosi-unveils-diverse-team-for-trump-trial

 

Before you place your own daily call, check the Twitter feed of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter), so you can tailor your comment about the impeachment inquiry to the day’s events. 

 

She is quick on the draw with calling scripts–way faster than I could ever hope to be–and will have a template you can use or adapt when making your calls to MoCs.

 

Even if she doesn’t have a specific template, she will retweet and comment on events that you can cite in your new daily call.

 

You can also look to the resources cited in our post on what you can do NowRightNow to fight [Fresh Horror] for fresh news you can cite. The link is above but here it is again:

 

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

Know also: Protests against the end of the trial are being planned as we prepare this post.

 

The largest effort appears to be the Reject the Coverup rallies, which are planned for Wednesday, February 5.

 

Protest partners include United We Dream, the NAACP, Greenpeace, NextGen America, MoveOn, Resistbot, Indivisible, Common Cause,and many others.

 

You can see the closest event to you by going to this link. Unfortunately, as of Sunday February 2, when we readied this post, there appeared to be no consensus on start times. Please keep checking the Reject the Coverup website and social media for this info.

 

If there isn’t an event near enough to you, or if there is and you can’t go, do what you can to make it possible for others to go. Offer gas money or bus fare. Offer care-giving services. If you’re a business owner, give your people paid time off to attend the protest.

 

You can also spread the word about the protest and boost the #RejectTheCoverup hashtag on social media.

 

Also continuing are the #SwarmTheSenate protests in Washington, D.C., in the Hart Building. Those have been going since January 6, 2020.

 

Elsewhere in D.C., the #KremlinAnnex folks continue their nightly protests in Lafayette Square.

 

And, apparently separate from the #RejectTheCoverup protests, a #TakeItBack protest will take place in Manhattan at Columbus Circle on Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at 5:30 pm, EST.

 

If we at OTYCD hear of other protests related to the Senate impeachment trial, we will update this post accordingly.

 

See the main site for the Reject the Coverup protest:

Home – Events

 

And to step back to Celeste Pewter, godddess of call scripts, please show your support for her and her noble work in one of these ways:

 

You can follow her on Twitter: @Celeste_Pewter

 

You can donate money to her through her Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/A012IFW

 

You can tweet about calling your MoCs, using the #ICalledMyReps hashtag.

 

You can follow @ICalledMyReps on Twitter.

 

And you can subscribe to her peerless newsletter, It’s Time to Fight:

http://itstimetofight.weebly.com

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

Action Alerts · Call Your Members of Congress · Community Activism · Impeachment Proceedings · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends

Impeachment Update, December 23: Call to Voice Your Support for Nancy Pelosi’s Plan

 

Call your Members of Congress (MoCs) to express support for the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, and encourage all your friends across the country to do the same. 

 

Also, your 2019 To-Do List:

https://onethingyoucando.com/your-2019-to-do-list/

 

And if you need to do something NowRightNow to fight against [Fresh Horror]:

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

The House of Representatives held the full floor vote on two articles of impeachment against President Trump on December 18, 2019.

 

It was as expected, mostly. The two Democratic House reps who made noises about voting no did so. All Republicans voted against both. Trump burbled and fulminated and styled himself as the victim, and the GOP crowd dutifully repeated his claims.

 

The few bits of weirdness: Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, who is running for president, showed herself utterly unserious about anything by voting “present” on both articles. Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, voted yes on the first article (abuse of power) and no on the second (obstruction of Congress). He told his local paper he felt it was the right thing to do, but didn’t explain how he decided the first article was solid but the second wasn’t quite, by his reckoning.

 

Anyway. Trump is only the third president impeached since America and its Congress became a thing. He is the only president impeached in his first term. He’ll be the first president to run for a second term after having been impeached (at least it looks that way in December 2019). And while, technically, Trump’s impeachment drew the most raw votes, see this Snopes explainer that offers historical context.

 

Most of us watched the proceedings with grim resolve, convinced that the Senate will vote to acquit, regardless of the strength of the evidence. To complete the second and final step of the process–removal–67 Senators would have to vote to remove. That would require 20 GOP Senators to join all the Democrats and the two Independents (Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont) to vote yet.

 

Barring the arrival of a smoking 21-gun salute to join the smoking guns already uncovered, virtually no one believes the GOP Senators will break ranks and do the right thing.

 

Worse, two sitting Senators have already said, in public and on the record, before the House voted on impeachment, that they will violate their oaths as jurors in the Senate trial of Trump. Both Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell have said they have no intention of being impartial.

 

Fortunately, Nancy Pelosi had a plan. She announced soon after the vote that the House would consider holding off sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate until the two chambers hammer out acceptable rules under which to hold the trial.

 

From the Washington Post article linked in the above paragraph: “[Oregon House Rep Earl] Blumenauer said that if McConnell does not agree to call the Democratic witnesses and stage a fair trial, Democrats could simply hold on to the articles indefinitely and continue to investigate Trump. The House is involved in multiple court cases seeking documents and testimony that have yet to be resolved.”

 

McConnell claimed that the delay doesn’t bother him, telling NBC News, “I admit, I’m not sure what leverage there is from refraining from sending us something we do not want.”

 

But the longer the trial is delayed, the antsier Trump gets. The delay also gives more time for others to muster the courage to step forward and voice support for removing Trump from office. Between the Wednesday vote and December 22, two headline-making articles went public.

 

Christianity Today, a publication founded by the late Billy Graham for the evangelical Christian community, released an editorial with the blunt title, Trump Should Be Removed from Office. And Jeff Flake wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post, urging his former Senate GOP colleagues to straighten up and fly right with regard to the coming Senate trial, and put country over party.

 

Among other things, Flake wrote, “My simple test for all of us: What if President Barack Obama had engaged in precisely the same behavior? I know the answer to that question with certainty, and so do you. You would have understood with striking clarity the threat it posed, and you would have known exactly what to do.”

 

You can argue over whether and how these two articles have had an impact on GOP Senators and Trump’s base. It’s harder to argue that articles like these won’t have an effect if they keep coming from people and entities with similar stature. The longer Pelosi waits, the more time that others have to follow the lead of Christianity Today and Flake.

 

Pelosi further proved her political genius by issuing a relatively early invitation to Trump to give the State of the Union address on February 4, 2020. Trump accepted, but make sure to read her letter, considering the phrasing she uses (straightforward on first pass, very “bless your heart” on subsequent passes) and the timing of the date that she chose, given the ongoing wrangling over the Senate impeachment trial, and what stage the trial might have reached by February 4. The Daily Beast reproduced the December 20, 2019 letter on its letterhead

 

All caught up now? Good. While we wait for the House and the Senate to hammer things out, we at OTYCD are asking you to make a few more pro-Impeachment calls to your members of Congress.

 

If your House Rep did the right thing, THANK him or her. (See the full list of how everyone voted on both articles.) Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents shows them you care about this issue and helps them stay on their path.

 

If your House Rep did the wrong thing (again, here’s the full list of how everyone voted on both of them), respectfully voice your disagreement with his or her vote. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents matters, because their staff keeps tabs on how many calls they receive on specific issues.

 

Regardless of how your House Rep voted, tell him or her that you support Nancy Pelosi holding back the articles of impeachment from the Senate until the leadership in both chambers can negotiate rules that provide for a fair trial. Point out that both McConnell and Graham have said they will not uphold their oaths as jurors, and cite that as one of many reasons to put the time needed to ensure the coming trial is not a sham.

 

Then call your Senators, cite how your House Rep voted, and ask them to do their level best to honor their oaths as jurors in the upcoming impeachment trial, which will take place in the new year. Do this regardless of how they lean, for the same reasons given above. It’s important that they hear from you.

 

And! You need to continue to urge your friends and family to call their Congressfolk and say they support the impeachment process.

 

Tell your friends and family that their efforts matter, and tell them they do need to call and speak to a live person or leave a voicemail, or alternately, send an email. If they don’t know who their Congressfolk are or how to reach them, use this tool to look them up:

https://whoismyrepresentative.com

 

Before you place your own daily call, check the Twitter feed of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter), so you can tailor your comment about the impeachment inquiry to the day’s events. 

 

She is quick on the draw with calling scripts–way faster than I could ever hope to be–and will have a template you can use or adapt when making your calls to MoCs.

 

Even if she doesn’t have a specific template, she will retweet and comment on events that you can cite in your new daily call.

 

If she goes silent (she has deadlines to meet before the year ends and might not be on Twitter every day), look to the resources cited in our post on what you can do NowRightNow to fight [Fresh Horror] for fresh news you can cite. The link is above but here it is again:

 

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

If you’ve ignored all the OTYCD posts urging you to call on impeachment to date, now is the time to get involved. Trumpistas will, are, and will continue to ring the offices of their members of Congress to scream and bleat and threaten as impeachment comes to a head in the House; it’s extra-important for you to step up and voice your support, for that very reason.

 

Important backstory: Impeachment starts in the House of Representatives before moving to the Senate. An impeachment inquiry is pretty much like the grand jury stage of legal proceedings—witnesses are called, and a fair amount is done in secret.

 

When you hear the phrase “impeachment and removal,” that refers to the House acting to impeach and the Senate voting to remove Trump from the office of the president. While the U.S. Congress has impeached presidents, none have been removed—they’ve either quit before the Senate trial and vote, or the Senate voted to acquit.

 

Now that the full floor vote has taken place in the House of Representatives, its role in impeachment is largely finished.

 

You should call your Senators even though the Senate trial isn’t happening yet. These calls should start with “I realize the trial has not started yet” or some other statement that recognizes it’s not yet underway in the Senate.

 

Rephrase your statement for your House rep in terms that ask your Senators to publicly support the recent actions of House Dems, or to make note of the recent actions and ready themselves to be jurors.

 

Another point I like to hit when talking to my Senators, who are both Dems, is to talk to their GOP colleagues. I’ve asked them to stress the fact that we’ve had almost three years to watch Trump’s performance in the job, and the only thing he’s learning is how to stifle oversight and abuse the powers of the presidency more effectively. I also ask them to voice the fact that things are only going to get worse, not better, until Trump is impeached and removed.

 

Point friends and family to Celeste’s feed as well, or copy and paste Pewter’s latest script and send it to them, if that works best.

 

Making phone calls is still the best way to reach your MoCs. If it’s after hours or a weekend, leave a voicemail. If you can’t call your reps, email them.

 

Help friends find their MoCs and the relevant contact information for each of the three.

 

Give them all the help and support they need to make the calls. Don’t nag. Just encourage, and celebrate every action they take.

 

After you make your daily MoC calls, please show your appreciation for Celeste Pewter in some fashion.

 

You can follow her on Twitter: @Celeste_Pewter

 

You can donate money to her through her Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/A012IFW

 

You can tweet about calling your MoCs, using the #ICalledMyReps hashtag.

 

You can follow @ICalledMyReps on Twitter.

 

And you can subscribe to her peerless newsletter, It’s Time to Fight:

http://itstimetofight.weebly.com

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

Action Alerts · Call Your Members of Congress · Community Activism · Impeachment Proceedings · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends

Impeachment Update, December 22: Keep Calling, and Keep Recruiting Friends and Family to Call

 

Call your Members of Congress (MoCs) to express support for the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, and encourage all your friends across the country to do the same. 

 

Also, your 2019 To-Do List:

https://onethingyoucando.com/your-2019-to-do-list/

 

And if you need to do something NowRightNow to fight against [Fresh Horror]:

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

The House of Representatives held the full floor vote on two articles of impeachment against President Trump on December 18, 2019.

 

Odds are the House voted to impeach on both counts. Odds are it was along party lines. As much as we at OTYCD would be pleasantly surprised to see at least some House Republicans keeping their integrity and voting based on the facts before them… yeah, probably won’t happen.

 

This much is true: Angry Trumpistas are calling their members of Congress to bleat and whine and threaten and fulminate against the historic vote. They started calling before The Big Vote, and they’re still calling, and will probably keep calling.

 

So! It is That! Much! More! Important! That you call your members of Congress, starting with your House rep, to voice support for impeachment.

 

If your House Rep did the right thing, THANK him or her. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents shows them you care about this issue and helps them stay on their path.

 

If your House Rep did the wrong thing, respectfully voice your disagreement with his or her vote. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents matters, because their staff keeps tabs on how many calls they receive on specific issues. Even if pro-impeachment calls don’t change their vote, it shows them the risk they are running, and shows them how their voters feel on the issue.

 

Then call your Senators, cite how your House Rep voted, and ask them to do their level best to honor their oaths as jurors in the upcoming impeachment trial, which will take place in the new year. Do this regardless of how they lean, for the same reasons given above. It’s important that they hear from you.

 

And! You need to continue to urge your friends and family to call their Congressfolk and say they support the impeachment process.

 

Tell your friends and family that their efforts matter, and tell them they do need to call and speak to a live person or leave a voicemail, or alternately, send an email. If they don’t know who their Congressfolk are or how to reach them, use this tool to look them up:

https://whoismyrepresentative.com

 

Before you place your own daily call, check the Twitter feed of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter), so you can tailor your comment about the impeachment inquiry to the day’s events. 

 

She is quick on the draw with calling scripts–way faster than I could ever hope to be–and will have a template you can use or adapt when making your calls to MoCs.

 

Even if she doesn’t have a specific template, she will retweet and comment on events that you can cite in your new daily call.

 

If she goes silent (she has deadlines to meet before the year ends and might not be on Twitter every day), look to the resources cited in our post on what you can do NowRightNow to fight [Fresh Horror] for fresh news you can cite. The link is above but here it is again:

 

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

If you’ve ignored all the OTYCD posts urging you to call on impeachment to date, now is the time to get involved. Trumpistas will, are, and will continue to ring the offices of their members of Congress to scream and bleat and threaten as impeachment comes to a head in the House; it’s extra-important for you to step up and voice your support, for that very reason.

 

Important backstory: Impeachment starts in the House of Representatives before moving to the Senate. An impeachment inquiry is pretty much like the grand jury stage of legal proceedings—witnesses are called, and a fair amount is done in secret.

 

When you hear the phrase “impeachment and removal,” that refers to the House acting to impeach and the Senate voting to remove Trump from the office of the president. While the U.S. Congress has impeached presidents, none have been removed—they’ve either quit before the Senate trial and vote, or the Senate voted to acquit.

 

Now that the full floor vote has taken place in the House of Representatives, its role in impeachment is largely finished.

 

You should call your Senators even though the Senate trial isn’t happening yet. These calls should start with “I realize the trial has not started yet” or some other statement that recognizes it’s not yet underway in the Senate.

 

Rephrase your statement for your House rep in terms that ask your Senators to publicly support the recent actions of House Dems, or to make note of the recent actions and ready themselves to be jurors.

 

Another point I like to hit when talking to my Senators, who are both Dems, is to talk to their GOP colleagues. I’ve asked them to stress the fact that we’ve had almost three years to watch Trump’s performance in the job, and the only thing he’s learning is how to stifle oversight and abuse the powers of the presidency more effectively. I also ask them to voice the fact that things are only going to get worse, not better, until Trump is impeached and removed.

 

Point friends and family to Celeste’s feed as well, or copy and paste Pewter’s latest script and send it to them, if that works best.

 

Making phone calls is still the best way to reach your MoCs. If it’s after hours or a weekend, leave a voicemail. If you can’t call your reps, email them.

 

Help friends find their MoCs and the relevant contact information for each of the three.

 

Give them all the help and support they need to make the calls. Don’t nag. Just encourage, and celebrate every action they take.

 

After you make your daily MoC calls, please show your appreciation for Celeste Pewter in some fashion.

 

You can follow her on Twitter: @Celeste_Pewter

 

You can donate money to her through her Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/A012IFW

 

You can tweet about calling your MoCs, using the #ICalledMyReps hashtag.

 

You can follow @ICalledMyReps on Twitter.

 

And you can subscribe to her peerless newsletter, It’s Time to Fight:

http://itstimetofight.weebly.com

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

Action Alerts · Call Your Members of Congress · Community Activism · Impeachment Proceedings · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends

Impeachment Update, December 21. Keep Calling, People!

 

Call your Members of Congress (MoCs) to express support for the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, and encourage all your friends across the country to do the same. 

 

Also, your 2019 To-Do List:

https://onethingyoucando.com/your-2019-to-do-list/

 

And if you need to do something NowRightNow to fight against [Fresh Horror]:

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

The House of Representatives held the full floor vote on two articles of impeachment against President Trump on December 18, 2019.

 

Odds are the House voted to impeach on both counts. Odds are it was along party lines. As much as we at OTYCD would be pleasantly surprised to see at least some House Republicans keeping their integrity and voting based on the facts before them… yeah, probably won’t happen.

 

This much is true: Angry Trumpistas are calling their members of Congress to bleat and whine and threaten and fulminate against the historic vote. They started calling before The Big Vote, and they’re still calling, and will probably keep calling.

 

So! It is That! Much! More! Important! That you call your members of Congress, starting with your House rep, to voice support for impeachment.

 

If your House Rep did the right thing, THANK him or her. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents shows them you care about this issue and helps them stay on their path.

 

If your House Rep did the wrong thing, respectfully voice your disagreement with his or her vote. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents matters, because their staff keeps tabs on how many calls they receive on specific issues. Even if pro-impeachment calls don’t change their vote, it shows them the risk they are running, and shows them how their voters feel on the issue.

 

Then call your Senators, cite how your House Rep voted, and ask them to do their level best to honor their oaths as jurors in the upcoming impeachment trial, which will take place in the new year. Do this regardless of how they lean, for the same reasons given above. It’s important that they hear from you.

 

And! You need to continue to urge your friends and family to call their Congressfolk and say they support the impeachment process.

 

Tell your friends and family that their efforts matter, and tell them they do need to call and speak to a live person or leave a voicemail, or alternately, send an email. If they don’t know who their Congressfolk are or how to reach them, use this tool to look them up:

https://whoismyrepresentative.com

 

Before you place your own daily call, check the Twitter feed of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter), so you can tailor your comment about the impeachment inquiry to the day’s events. 

 

She is quick on the draw with calling scripts–way faster than I could ever hope to be–and will have a template you can use or adapt when making your calls to MoCs.

 

Even if she doesn’t have a specific template, she will retweet and comment on events that you can cite in your new daily call.

 

If she goes silent (she has deadlines to meet before the year ends and might not be on Twitter every day), look to the resources cited in our post on what you can do NowRightNow to fight [Fresh Horror] for fresh news you can cite. The link is above but here it is again:

 

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

If you’ve ignored all the OTYCD posts urging you to call on impeachment to date, now is the time to get involved. Trumpistas will, are, and will continue to ring the offices of their members of Congress to scream and bleat and threaten as impeachment comes to a head in the House; it’s extra-important for you to step up and voice your support, for that very reason.

 

Important backstory: Impeachment starts in the House of Representatives before moving to the Senate. An impeachment inquiry is pretty much like the grand jury stage of legal proceedings—witnesses are called, and a fair amount is done in secret.

 

When you hear the phrase “impeachment and removal,” that refers to the House acting to impeach and the Senate voting to remove Trump from the office of the president. While the U.S. Congress has impeached presidents, none have been removed—they’ve either quit before the Senate trial and vote, or the Senate voted to acquit.

 

Now that the full floor vote has taken place in the House of Representatives, its role in impeachment is largely finished.

 

You should call your Senators even though the Senate trial isn’t happening yet. These calls should start with “I realize the trial has not started yet” or some other statement that recognizes it’s not yet underway in the Senate.

 

Rephrase your statement for your House rep in terms that ask your Senators to publicly support the recent actions of House Dems, or to make note of the recent actions and ready themselves to be jurors.

 

Another point I like to hit when talking to my Senators, who are both Dems, is to talk to their GOP colleagues. I’ve asked them to stress the fact that we’ve had almost three years to watch Trump’s performance in the job, and the only thing he’s learning is how to stifle oversight and abuse the powers of the presidency more effectively. I also ask them to voice the fact that things are only going to get worse, not better, until Trump is impeached and removed.

 

Point friends and family to Celeste’s feed as well, or copy and paste Pewter’s latest script and send it to them, if that works best.

 

Making phone calls is still the best way to reach your MoCs. If it’s after hours or a weekend, leave a voicemail. If you can’t call your reps, email them.

 

Help friends find their MoCs and the relevant contact information for each of the three.

 

Give them all the help and support they need to make the calls. Don’t nag. Just encourage, and celebrate every action they take.

 

After you make your daily MoC calls, please show your appreciation for Celeste Pewter in some fashion.

 

You can follow her on Twitter: @Celeste_Pewter

 

You can donate money to her through her Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/A012IFW

 

You can tweet about calling your MoCs, using the #ICalledMyReps hashtag.

 

You can follow @ICalledMyReps on Twitter.

 

And you can subscribe to her peerless newsletter, It’s Time to Fight:

http://itstimetofight.weebly.com

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

Action Alerts · Call Your Members of Congress · Community Activism · Impeachment Proceedings · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends

Impeachment Update, December 20. The Trumpistas Are Still Losing Their Shit, We’ll Bet. Your Job? Yep, Keep Calling.

 

Call your Members of Congress (MoCs) to express support for the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, and encourage all your friends across the country to do the same. 

 

Also, your 2019 To-Do List:

https://onethingyoucando.com/your-2019-to-do-list/

 

And if you need to do something NowRightNow to fight against [Fresh Horror]:

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

The House of Representatives held the full floor vote on two articles of impeachment against President Trump on December 18, 2019.

 

Odds are the House voted to impeach on both counts. Odds are it was along party lines. As much as we at OTYCD would be pleasantly surprised to see at least some House Republicans keeping their integrity and voting based on the facts before them… yeah, probably won’t happen.

 

This much is true: Angry Trumpistas are calling their members of Congress to bleat and whine and threaten and fulminate against the historic vote. They started calling before The Big Vote, and they’re still calling, and will probably keep calling.

 

So! It is That! Much! More! Important! That you call your members of Congress, starting with your House rep, to voice support for impeachment.

 

If your House Rep did the right thing, THANK him or her. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents shows them you care about this issue and helps them stay on their path.

 

If your House Rep did the wrong thing, respectfully voice your disagreement with his or her vote. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents matters, because their staff keeps tabs on how many calls they receive on specific issues. Even if pro-impeachment calls don’t change their vote, it shows them the risk they are running, and shows them how their voters feel on the issue.

 

Then call your Senators, cite how your House Rep voted, and ask them to do their level best to honor their oaths as jurors in the upcoming impeachment trial, which will take place in the new year. Do this regardless of how they lean, for the same reasons given above. It’s important that they hear from you.

 

And! You need to continue to urge your friends and family to call their Congressfolk and say they support the impeachment process.

 

Tell your friends and family that their efforts matter, and tell them they do need to call and speak to a live person or leave a voicemail, or alternately, send an email. If they don’t know who their Congressfolk are or how to reach them, use this tool to look them up:

https://whoismyrepresentative.com

 

Before you place your own daily call, check the Twitter feed of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter), so you can tailor your comment about the impeachment inquiry to the day’s events. 

 

She is quick on the draw with calling scripts–way faster than I could ever hope to be–and will have a template you can use or adapt when making your calls to MoCs.

 

Even if she doesn’t have a specific template, she will retweet and comment on events that you can cite in your new daily call.

 

If she goes silent (she has deadlines to meet before the year ends and might not be on Twitter every day), look to the resources cited in our post on what you can do NowRightNow to fight [Fresh Horror] for fresh news you can cite. The link is above but here it is again:

 

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

If you’ve ignored all the OTYCD posts urging you to call on impeachment to date, now is the time to get involved. Trumpistas will, are, and will continue to ring the offices of their members of Congress to scream and bleat and threaten as impeachment comes to a head in the House; it’s extra-important for you to step up and voice your support, for that very reason.

 

Important backstory: Impeachment starts in the House of Representatives before moving to the Senate. An impeachment inquiry is pretty much like the grand jury stage of legal proceedings—witnesses are called, and a fair amount is done in secret.

 

When you hear the phrase “impeachment and removal,” that refers to the House acting to impeach and the Senate voting to remove Trump from the office of the president. While the U.S. Congress has impeached presidents, none have been removed—they’ve either quit before the Senate trial and vote, or the Senate voted to acquit.

 

Now that the full floor vote has taken place in the House of Representatives, its role in impeachment is largely finished.

 

You should call your Senators even though the Senate trial isn’t happening yet. These calls should start with “I realize the trial has not started yet” or some other statement that recognizes it’s not yet underway in the Senate.

 

Rephrase your statement for your House rep in terms that ask your Senators to publicly support the recent actions of House Dems, or to make note of the recent actions and ready themselves to be jurors.

 

Another point I like to hit when talking to my Senators, who are both Dems, is to talk to their GOP colleagues. I’ve asked them to stress the fact that we’ve had almost three years to watch Trump’s performance in the job, and the only thing he’s learning is how to stifle oversight and abuse the powers of the presidency more effectively. I also ask them to voice the fact that things are only going to get worse, not better, until Trump is impeached and removed.

 

Point friends and family to Celeste’s feed as well, or copy and paste Pewter’s latest script and send it to them, if that works best.

 

Making phone calls is still the best way to reach your MoCs. If it’s after hours or a weekend, leave a voicemail. If you can’t call your reps, email them.

 

Help friends find their MoCs and the relevant contact information for each of the three.

 

Give them all the help and support they need to make the calls. Don’t nag. Just encourage, and celebrate every action they take.

 

After you make your daily MoC calls, please show your appreciation for Celeste Pewter in some fashion.

 

You can follow her on Twitter: @Celeste_Pewter

 

You can donate money to her through her Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/A012IFW

 

You can tweet about calling your MoCs, using the #ICalledMyReps hashtag.

 

You can follow @ICalledMyReps on Twitter.

 

And you can subscribe to her peerless newsletter, It’s Time to Fight:

http://itstimetofight.weebly.com

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

Action Alerts · Call Your Members of Congress · Community Activism · Impeachment Proceedings · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends

Impeachment Update, December 19. The Day After. Yep, You Know the Drill. KEEP CALLING.

Call your Members of Congress (MoCs) to express support for the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, and encourage all your friends across the country to do the same. 

 

Also, your 2019 To-Do List:

https://onethingyoucando.com/your-2019-to-do-list/

 

And if you need to do something NowRightNow to fight against [Fresh Horror]:

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

The House of Representatives held the full floor vote on two articles of impeachment against President Trump yesterday.

 

We at OTYCD had to prep this post ahead of the vote. We’re guessing the House voted to impeach on both counts, and we’re guessing the vote went along party lines. As much as we’d be pleasantly surprised to see at least some House Republicans keeping their integrity and deciding how to vote based on the facts before them, we’re not holding our breath.

 

This much is true: Angry Trumpistas are calling their members of Congress to bleat and whine and threaten and fulminate against the historic vote. Still. Now. As you read this.

 

So! It is That! Much! More! Important! That you call your members of Congress, starting with your House rep, to voice support for impeachment.

 

If your House Rep did the right thing, THANK him or her. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents shows them you care about this issue and helps them stay on their path.

 

If your House Rep did the wrong thing, respectfully voice your disagreement with his or her vote. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents matters, because their staff keeps tabs on how many calls they receive on specific issues. Even if pro-impeachment calls don’t change their vote, it shows them the risk they are running, and shows them how their voters feel on the issue.

 

Then call your Senators, cite how your House Rep voted, and ask them to do their level best to honor their oaths as jurors in the upcoming impeachment trial, which will take place in the new year. Do this regardless of how they lean, for the same reasons given above. It’s important that they hear from you.

 

And! You need to continue to urge your friends and family to call their Congressfolk and say they support the impeachment process.

 

Tell your friends and family that their efforts matter, and tell them they do need to call and speak to a live person or leave a voicemail, or alternately, send an email. If they don’t know who their Congressfolk are or how to reach them, use this tool to look them up:

https://whoismyrepresentative.com

 

Before you place your own daily call, check the Twitter feed of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter), so you can tailor your comment about the impeachment inquiry to the day’s events. 

 

She is quick on the draw with calling scripts–way faster than I could ever hope to be–and will have a template you can use or adapt when making your calls to MoCs.

 

Even if she doesn’t have a specific template, she will retweet and comment on events that you can cite in your new daily call.

 

If she goes silent (she has deadlines to meet before the year ends and might not be on Twitter every day), look to the resources cited in our post on what you can do NowRightNow to fight [Fresh Horror] for fresh news you can cite. The link is above but here it is again:

 

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

If you’ve ignored all the OTYCD posts urging you to call on impeachment to date, now is the time to get involved. Trumpistas will, are, and will continue to ring the offices of their members of Congress to scream and bleat and threaten as impeachment comes to a head in the House; it’s extra-important for you to step up and voice your support, for that very reason.

 

Important backstory: Impeachment starts in the House of Representatives before moving to the Senate. An impeachment inquiry is pretty much like the grand jury stage of legal proceedings—witnesses are called, and a fair amount is done in secret.

 

When you hear the phrase “impeachment and removal,” that refers to the House acting to impeach and the Senate voting to remove Trump from the office of the president. While the U.S. Congress has impeached presidents, none have been removed—they’ve either quit before the Senate trial and vote, or the Senate voted to acquit.

 

Now that the full floor vote has taken place in the House of Representatives, its role in impeachment is largely finished.

 

You should call your Senators even though the Senate trial isn’t happening yet. These calls should start with “I realize the trial has not started yet” or some other statement that recognizes it’s not yet underway in the Senate.

 

Rephrase your statement for your House rep in terms that ask your Senators to publicly support the recent actions of House Dems, or to make note of the recent actions and ready themselves to be jurors.

 

Another point I like to hit when talking to my Senators, who are both Dems, is to talk to their GOP colleagues. I’ve asked them to stress the fact that we’ve had almost three years to watch Trump’s performance in the job, and the only thing he’s learning is how to stifle oversight and abuse the powers of the presidency more effectively. I also ask them to voice the fact that things are only going to get worse, not better, until Trump is impeached and removed.

 

Point friends and family to Celeste’s feed as well, or copy and paste Pewter’s latest script and send it to them, if that works best.

 

Making phone calls is still the best way to reach your MoCs. If it’s after hours or a weekend, leave a voicemail. If you can’t call your reps, email them.

 

Help friends find their MoCs and the relevant contact information for each of the three.

 

Give them all the help and support they need to make the calls. Don’t nag. Just encourage, and celebrate every action they take.

 

After you make your daily MoC calls, please show your appreciation for Celeste Pewter in some fashion.

 

You can follow her on Twitter: @Celeste_Pewter

 

You can donate money to her through her Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/A012IFW

 

You can tweet about calling your MoCs, using the #ICalledMyReps hashtag.

 

You can follow @ICalledMyReps on Twitter.

 

And you can subscribe to her peerless newsletter, It’s Time to Fight:

http://itstimetofight.weebly.com

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

Action Alerts · Call Your Members of Congress · Community Activism · Impeachment Proceedings · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends

Impeachment Update, December 18: It’s the Day of the Big Honking Historic Vote. Yep, You Know the Drill. KEEP CALLING.

Call your Members of Congress (MoCs) to express support for the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, and encourage all your friends across the country to do the same. 

 

Also, your 2019 To-Do List:

https://onethingyoucando.com/your-2019-to-do-list/

 

And if you need to do something NowRightNow to fight against [Fresh Horror]:

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

The House of Representatives will hold the full floor vote on two articles of impeachment against President Trump today.

 

Odds are the House votes to impeach on both counts. Odds are it’ll be along party lines. As much as we at OTYCD would be pleasantly surprised to see at least some House Republicans keeping their integrity and voting based on the facts before them, we’re not holding our breath.

 

This much is true: Angry Trumpistas are calling their members of Congress to bleat and whine and threaten and fulminate against the historic vote. Now. As you read these words. No joke.

 

So! It is That! Much! More! Important! That you call your members of Congress, starting with your House rep, to voice support for impeachment.

 

If your House Rep does the right thing, THANK him or her. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents shows them you care about this issue and helps them stay on their path.

 

If your House Rep does the wrong thing, respectfully voice your disagreement with his or her vote. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents matters, because their staff keeps tabs on how many calls they receive on specific issues. Even if pro-impeachment calls don’t change their vote, it shows them the risk they are running, and shows them how their voters feel on the issue.

 

Then call your Senators and voice your support for the impeachment process. Do this regardless of how they lean, for the same reasons given above. It’s important that they hear from you.

 

And! You need to continue to urge your friends and family to call their Congressfolk and say they support the impeachment process.

 

Tell your friends and family that their efforts matter, and tell them they do need to call and speak to a live person or leave a voicemail, or alternately, send an email. If they don’t know who their Congressfolk are or how to reach them, use this tool to look them up:

https://whoismyrepresentative.com

 

Before you place your own daily call, check the Twitter feed of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter), so you can tailor your comment about the impeachment inquiry to the day’s events. 

 

She is quick on the draw with calling scripts–way faster than I could ever hope to be–and will have a template you can use or adapt when making your calls to MoCs.

 

Even if she doesn’t have a specific template, she will retweet and comment on events that you can cite in your new daily call.

 

If she goes silent (she has deadlines to meet before the year ends and might not be on Twitter every day), look to the resources cited in our post on what you can do NowRightNow to fight [Fresh Horror] for fresh news you can cite. The link is above but here it is again:

 

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

If you’ve ignored all the OTYCD posts urging you to call on impeachment to date, now is the time to get involved. Trumpistas will, are, and will continue to ring the offices of their members of Congress to scream and bleat and threaten as impeachment comes to a head in the House; it’s extra-important for you to step up and voice your support, for that very reason.

 

Important backstory: Impeachment starts in the House of Representatives before moving to the Senate. An impeachment inquiry, which is what’s happening now, is pretty much like the grand jury stage of legal proceedings—witnesses are called, and a fair amount is done in secret.

 

When you hear the phrase “impeachment and removal,” that refers to the House acting to impeach and the Senate voting to remove Trump from the office of the president. While the U.S. Congress has impeached presidents, none have been removed—they’ve either quit before the Senate trial and vote, or the Senate voted to acquit.

 

Only the House is actively involved in impeachment proceedings right now. Your House rep may be in a position to act on the impeachment inquiry. Your calls to your rep should focus on things your rep can do.

 

You should call your Senators even though the Senate is not involved yet. These calls should start with “I realize the House is still working on impeachment” or some other statement that recognizes it’s not yet with the Senate.

 

Rephrase your statement for your House rep in terms that ask your Senators to publicly support the recent actions of House Dems, or to make note of the recent actions and ready themselves to be jurors.

 

Another point I like to hit when talking to my Senators, who are both Dems, is to talk to their GOP colleagues. I’ve asked them to stress the fact that we’ve had almost three years to watch Trump’s performance in the job, and the only thing he’s learning is how to stifle oversight and abuse the powers of the presidency more effectively. I also ask them to voice the fact that things are only going to get worse, not better, until Trump is impeached and removed.

 

Point friends and family to Celeste’s feed as well, or copy and paste Pewter’s latest script and send it to them, if that works best.

 

Making phone calls is still the best way to reach your MoCs. If it’s after hours or a weekend, leave a voicemail. If you can’t call your reps, email them.

 

Help friends find their MoCs and the relevant contact information for each of the three.

 

Give them all the help and support they need to make the calls. Don’t nag. Just encourage, and celebrate every action they take.

 

After you make your daily MoC calls, please show your appreciation for Celeste Pewter in some fashion.

 

You can follow her on Twitter: @Celeste_Pewter

 

You can donate money to her through her Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/A012IFW

 

You can tweet about calling your MoCs, using the #ICalledMyReps hashtag.

 

You can follow @ICalledMyReps on Twitter.

 

And you can subscribe to her peerless newsletter, It’s Time to Fight:

http://itstimetofight.weebly.com

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

Action Alerts · Call Your Members of Congress · Community Activism · Impeachment Proceedings · Marches and Protests · Stand Up for Civilization · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends

Impeachment Update, December 16: Get Ready to Protest Tomorrow, and Keep Calling

MoveOn.org has hundreds of No One Is Above the Law protests scheduled for tomorrow, December 17, 2019. Can you go? ALSO! Call your Members of Congress (MoCs) to express support for the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, and encourage all your friends across the country to do the same. 

 

Also, your 2019 To-Do List:

https://onethingyoucando.com/your-2019-to-do-list/

 

And if you need to do something NowRightNow to fight against [Fresh Horror]:

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

So, we have a date for the floor vote on impeachment in the House of Representatives on two counts: abuse of power, and obstruction of Congress. It happens Wednesday, December 18, 2019.

 

The floor vote is the one that the entire House of Representatives participates in, not just the involved House committees.

 

MoveOn.org has hundreds, literally hundreds, of No One Is Above the Law protests scheduled the night before the vote to show support for the impeachment proceedings. Odds are you won’t have to go to your state capitol to make your voice heard.

 

The protests are scheduled for Tuesday, December 17, mostly on or around 5:30 pm in your local time zone, whatever that might be. (Make sure to check the individual listing for the protest location you’re most interested in. The event might take place at a different time that day.)

 

Find your nearest protest sites here by plugging in your zip code:

 

MoveOn: People-Powered Progress

 

If you can’t go, you can help in other ways, such as driving protesters to the protest site and picking them up after; pitching in for gas and parking for other protesters; giving employees time off work to join a protest; providing babysitting, petsitting, elder care, or other such services that will allow someone to attend a protest; and boosting the protests on social media.

 

It is also That! Much! More! Important! That you call your members of Congress, starting with your House rep, to voice support for impeachment.

 

Outraged Trumpistas are bombing their lines with angry anti-impeachment calls. If you didn’t step up before, you gotta step up now.

 

This holds even if you’re sure your Congressfolk will do the right thing. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents shows them you care and helps them stay on their path.

 

This holds even if you’re sure your Congressfolk won’t do the right thing. Hearing from pro-impeachment constituents matters, because their staff keeps tabs on how many calls they receive on specific issues. Even if pro-impeachment calls don’t change their vote, it shows them the risk they are running, and shows them how their voters feel on the issue.

 

This definitely holds if your Congressfolk have been squishy on impeachment (not that there are many of those, but still).

 

And! You need to urge your friends and family to call their Congressfolk and say they support the impeachment process.

 

Tell them their efforts matter, and tell them they do need to call and speak to a live person or leave a voicemail, or alternately, send an email. If they don’t know who their Congressfolk are or how to reach them, use this tool to look them up:

https://whoismyrepresentative.com

 

Before you place your own daily call, check the Twitter feed of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter), so you can tailor your comment about the impeachment inquiry to the day’s events. 

 

She is quick on the draw with calling scripts–way faster than I could ever hope to be–and will have a template you can use or adapt when making your calls to MoCs.

 

Even if she doesn’t have a specific template, she will retweet and comment on events that you can cite in your new daily call.

 

If she goes silent (she has deadlines to meet before the year ends and might not be on Twitter every day), look to the resources cited in our post on what you can do NowRightNow to fight [Fresh Horror] for fresh news you can cite. The link is above but here it is again:

 

https://onethingyoucando.com/want-to-do-more/

 

If you’ve ignored all the OTYCD posts urging you to call on impeachment to date, now is the time to get involved. Trumpistas will, are, and will continue to ring the offices of their members of Congress to scream and bleat and threaten as impeachment comes to a head in the House; it’s extra-important for you to step up and voice your support, for that very reason.

 

Important backstory: Impeachment starts in the House of Representatives before moving to the Senate. An impeachment inquiry, which is what’s happening now, is pretty much like the grand jury stage of legal proceedings—witnesses are called, and a fair amount is done in secret.

 

When you hear the phrase “impeachment and removal,” that refers to the House acting to impeach and the Senate voting to remove Trump from the office of the president. While the U.S. Congress has impeached presidents, none have been removed—they’ve either quit before the Senate trial and vote, or the Senate voted to acquit.

 

Only the House is actively involved in impeachment proceedings right now. Your House rep may be in a position to act on the impeachment inquiry. Your calls to your rep should focus on things your rep can do.

 

You should call your Senators even though the Senate is not involved yet. These calls should start with “I realize the House is still working on impeachment” or some other statement that recognizes it’s not yet with the Senate.

 

Rephrase your statement for your House rep in terms that ask your Senators to publicly support the recent actions of House Dems, or to make note of the recent actions and ready themselves to be jurors.

 

Another point I like to hit when talking to my Senators, who are both Dems, is to talk to their GOP colleagues. I’ve asked them to stress the fact that we’ve had almost three years to watch Trump’s performance in the job, and the only thing he’s learning is how to stifle oversight and abuse the powers of the presidency more effectively. I also ask them to voice the fact that things are only going to get worse, not better, until Trump is impeached and removed.

 

Point friends and family to Celeste’s feed as well, or copy and paste Pewter’s latest script and send it to them, if that works best.

 

Making phone calls is still the best way to reach your MoCs. If it’s after hours or a weekend, leave a voicemail. If you can’t call your reps, email them.

 

Help friends find their MoCs and the relevant contact information for each of the three.

 

Give them all the help and support they need to make the calls. Don’t nag. Just encourage, and celebrate every action they take.

 

After you make your daily MoC calls, please show your appreciation for Celeste Pewter in some fashion.

 

You can follow her on Twitter: @Celeste_Pewter

 

You can donate money to her through her Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/A012IFW

 

You can tweet about calling your MoCs, using the #ICalledMyReps hashtag.

 

You can follow @ICalledMyReps on Twitter.

 

And you can subscribe to her peerless newsletter, It’s Time to Fight:

http://itstimetofight.weebly.com

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!