Tag: The Road to 2018

Re-Elect Dr. Ami Bera to a House of Representatives Seat in California’s 7th District (GOOD UPDATE March 2019)
Elections

Re-Elect Dr. Ami Bera to a House of Representatives Seat in California’s 7th District (GOOD UPDATE March 2019)

otycd

Update March 24, 2019: Dr. Bera won re-election in November 2018.

 

He’ll be up again in November 2020. You might want to keep him in mind for your next Core Four.

 

Update, June 9, 2018: Bera came first in the top-two primary held on June 5, earning almost 52 percent of the vote. We at OTYCD encourage you to support his re-election campaign.

 

Re-elect Dr. Ami Bera to a fourth term as the Congressional representative for California’s 7th District.

 

Bera served as the chief medical officer for Sacramento County and as a clinical professor of medicine at UC Davis before running for Congress in 2012 and defeating the Republican incumbent, Dan Lungren.

 

Bera has continued to win, but Ballotpedia regards his district as a battleground. All three times Bera has run, the numbers have been close. He got 51.7 percent of the vote to Lungren’s 48.3 percent in 2012. In 2014, Bera won with 50.4 percent of the vote to Republican Doug Ose’s 49.6 percent. And in 2016, Bera claimed victory with 51.2 percent of the vote to Republican Scott Jones’s 48.8 percent.

 

Bera opposes any attempts to weaken Medicare and Social Security. He sits on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, as well as the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

 

He voted against a bill that would criminalize abortion after 20 weeks. He also voted no on Kate’s Law, the GOP tax bill, denying federal funds to sanctuary cities, and a bill that would have undercut the Affordable Care Act.

 

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

 

 

See his website:

http://www.beraforcongress.com

 

 

See his “About” page:

http://www.beraforcongress.com/about

 

 

See his “Issues” page:

http://www.beraforcongress.com/issues/overview

 

 

Consider Bera for your Core Four in 2018:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/24/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

Donate to Bera:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/314action_bera?refcode=314website

 

 

Like him on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/BeraForCongress

 

 

Follow him on Twitter:

@BeraforCongress

 

 

Bera is supported by 314 Action. See his 314 Action page:

http://www.314action.org/ami-bera

 

 

See his Ballotpedia page:

https://ballotpedia.org/Ami_Bera

 

 

See the Ballotpedia page on California’s 7th District:

https://ballotpedia.org/California%27s_7th_Congressional_District

GOOD UPDATE! Support Conor Lamb’s Run for a Pennsylvania House Seat in a March 2018 Special Election (Another Good Update March 2019)
Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Elections

GOOD UPDATE! Support Conor Lamb’s Run for a Pennsylvania House Seat in a March 2018 Special Election (Another Good Update March 2019)

otycd2 Comments

Update, March 24, 2019: Lamb was up for re-election with the newly redrawn state of Pennsylvania electoral map in 2018. He ran in the 17th District, against fellow incumbent Republican Keith Loftus. Lamb defeated him with 56.3 percent of the vote to Loftus’s 43.7 percent.

 

Lamb is due up again in 2020. Please consider him for your next Core Four.

 

This OTYCD entry originally posted in January 2018.

 

Update March 24, 2018: This was a nail-biter. Lamb had a slight but clear lead of 627 votes by the end of the night on March 13, 2018–a margin that was smaller than half a percentage point, and smaller than the number of votes cast for the Libertarian candidate. A recount begun on Friday, March 16 increased Lamb’s lead slightly, nudging it past 800 votes.

 

Republican opponent Rick Saccone called Lamb to concede the election on March 21. Lamb will lead Pennsylvania’s 18th District until November, when new electoral maps, designed to combat the effects of pro-Republican gerrymandering, go into effect. Lamb will run in the 17th District, and Saccone will run in the 14th District.

 

Read a Washington Post story about the conclusion of the Pennsylvania special election:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/03/21/republican-rick-saccone-concedes-defeat-to-conor-lamb-in-pennsylvania-special-election/?utm_term=.fab09594cdc3

 

Original text of the post follows:

 

Support Democrat Conor Lamb’s run for the open house seat in Pennsylvania’s 18th district. The special election takes place on March 13, 2018.

 

Lamb, 33, is a former federal prosecutor who did notable work tackling the opioid crisis in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is also a veteran of the Marine corps, where he rose to the rank of captain. He comes from a political family; his grandfather and his uncle prominently served in high-profile state posts.

 

Lamb is facing Republican state rep Rick Saccone, who likes to say that he “was Trump before Trump was Trump.” Lamb has never held elected office, and PA-18 has a strong Republican reputation. Given the overperformances by Democrats in special elections and state and local elections since Trump was elected, the Democrats believe that Lamb has a decent shot at the House seat.

 

Republican Tim Murphy vacated the seat in October 2017 after news broke that the pro-life Congressman had evidently urged a pregnant mistress to abort. He had held the Congressional seat since 2003.

 

 

See Lamb’s campaign website (scroll down for his bio):

https://conorlamb.com

 

 

Consider Lamb for your Core Four for 2018 (if he wins the special election, he’ll be up for re-election in November 2018; if he loses in March, he could choose to run again):

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/24/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

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!

 

 

Donate to Conor Lamb:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/lamb-for-congress-1

 

 

Like him on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ConorLambPA/

 

 

Follow him on Twitter:

@ConorLambPA

 

 

See Ballotpedia’s page on Pennsylvania’s 18th District:

https://ballotpedia.org/Pennsylvania%27s_18th_Congressional_District_special_election,_2018

 

 

Read about the Democrats choosing Lamb for the special election (there were no primaries in this case):

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2017/11/19/Conor-Lamb-Democrats-pick-replace-Tim-Murphy-18th-Congressional-district/stories/201711190199

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/11/19/democrats-pick-former-federal-prosecutor-for-special-congressional-election-in-pennsylvania/?utm_term=.a8c9eb22c663

 

 

Read a Politico story about how the Lamb-Saccone contest could be a bellwether for the 2018 midterms:

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/23/republicans-brace-for-competitive-pennsylvania-house-race-316206

 

 

Read about the circumstances of Murphy’s retirement from Congress:

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/04/tim-murphy-abortion-mistress-243456

Call Your Senators and Support S. 2974, Which Would Modernize How the ATF Tracks Guns Used In Crimes
Action Alerts · Call Your Senators · Common-sense Gun Laws · Senate Bills, Federal · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms

Call Your Senators and Support S. 2974, Which Would Modernize How the ATF Tracks Guns Used In Crimes

otycd

Call your senators and support S. 2974, a new bill that would modernize how the ATF tracks guns used in crimes. 

 

Informally called the Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act, it was introduced in late May by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy and Florida Senator Bill Nelson (who, by the way, is up for reelection in 2018 and needs your help).

 

It would allow the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to build a computerized database of gun records.

 

What we’re going to tell you next will sound too borked to be true, but we assure you that it is.

 

When the ATF needs to trace a gun that was used in a crime, they have to rummage through cardboard boxes and pull paper records by hand.

 

Seriously. In 2018.

 

Do we need to tell you that this is a needlessly antiquated system that only makes it easier for those who commit crimes with guns?

 

Things are the way they are because a segment of American gun owners who are really closer to being gun fetishists fear the notion of the government having an accurate list of who owns guns.

 

You’ll be shocked, SHOCKED to learn that the National Rifle Association (NRA) is against any initiative that would do what S. 2974 promises to do, squawking that it would violate Second Amendment rights.

 

The bill, if passed, would give the ATF three years to build a functional computerized records system.

 

Please call your senators and voice support for this bill. And if Leahy or Nelson represent you? Call to thank them as well.

 

Sample script: “Dear Senator [Lastname,] I am [Firstname Lastname of town, zip code]. I am calling to ask you to support S. 2974, which would modernize the way America keeps and searches records of firearms sales. Right now, when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms needs to track the records of a gun used in a crime, they have to rummage through paper records. For real. No joke. That’s nuts. S. 2974 would allow the creation of a computerized database. That, in turn, would help the ATF pin down information faster, help solve crimes faster, and might prevent more crimes from being committed with the same suspect gun. It’s long past time to drag gun-tracking into the 21st century. This bill should make that happen. Please support it. Thanks.”

 

 

See the GovTrack page on S. 2974, which was introduced on May 24, 2018:

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s2974

 

 

Read a Sun Sentinel article on Senator Bill Nelson’s co-sponsorship of S.2974:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-reg-gun-database-bill-20180601-story.html

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the blue button on the upper right or checking the About & Subscribe page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Read a March 2011 MPR article on how building an accurate electronic database of gun records was seen by some as controversial and sensitive. It references an earlier records modernization bill that ultimately failed:

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2011/03/20/tracing-guns-firearms-part4

 

 

A note: We at OTYCD intend to nurture and encourage the movement sparked by the Margory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting by devoting one post at least every other week to gun safety-related issues.

 

The reason that the NRA has a death grip on Congress, and in particular, GOP Congressfolk, is that NRA members get off their asses and call if there’s a whisper of a muttering of a hint that a law might pass that could impose even the slightest imposition on ownership of guns in America.

 

That’s what the politicians are afraid of. It’s not just that some of them get metric buttloads of money for their campaigns from the NRA. Those who embrace the NRA’s outlook pounce on their phones and berate their representatives the instant they think their beloved guns are under threat.

 

So, yes, it’s on us to shout back.

 

We have to adopt the tactics of those who support the NRA.

 

We have to call our representatives often to make it damn clear that the status quo is unacceptable, and we want common-sense gun safety laws.

 

OTYCD will start out with one weekday post every two weeks, at minimum, that has to do with improving gun safety and pushing back against the NRA.

 

We do this in honor of the Parkland victims, and all victims of mass shootings in America, and everyone who has been fighting to change our laws on firearms all along.

 

If Trump finally bows to the will of Congress and imposes the sanctions against Russia for messing with the 2016 election, we will switch to devoting one post per week to these issues.

 

Honor the victims of the Parkland shooting, and all other shootings, by stepping up and calling your reps about common-sense gun safety laws, and by supporting politicians who have low grades from the NRA, and voting out those who do the NRA’s bidding.

 

#NeverAgain. For the love of all that is right and good, Never Again.

Work Like Never Before: Countdown to the Midterms
Action Alerts · Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Community Activism · Read, Educate Yourself, Prepare · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends · Vote with your Dollars · Voting Rights, Fighting Voter Suppression

Work Like Never Before: Countdown to the Midterms

otycd

Sarah Jane here. I’m the lead writer and editor on the One Thing You Can Do blog.

 

We’re post-Kavanaugh. We’re angry and exhausted but anger is winning out.

 

Here is the silver lining: The pushback against Kavanaugh scared the crap out of the GOP, and while they won (which is bad, don’t get me wrong), they won by a hair, a sneeze, a twitch, a wiggle, a blink, and they had to fight like hell and take damage and break shitloads of rules and norms and traditions to eke out that whisper of a win.

 

The GOP know how precarious it is, and they’re feeling it. The boasting at Kavanaugh’s formal confirmation ceremony (which is damn weird and wrong in context, because c’mon, we’re talking about SCOTUS here, and SCOTUS is supposed to be above politics, right?) is just as much to shore themselves up and sell themselves on what they just did as it is to perform ritual cruelty and recommit to general assholic behavior.

 

They want you to go away. GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is convinced this will all blow over.

 

Show McConnell that he is wrong. Show him this won’t blow over. Show the GOP you are not going to go away.

 

Assuming you’ve had a rest–because you should really, properly step away and rest for a bit after all this–stoke the glowing embers of your anger and light your way through the last few weeks before the midterms.

 

If you’re not using the Core Four strategy, check it out, then pick two Democrats to support in each chamber of Congress, an incumbent and a challenger for each.

 

Donate to worthy Democratic incumbents and challengers.

 

Canvass–knock on doors to talk to people in person about the merits of a candidate for office.

 

Phone-bank and text-bank–like canvassing, except it’s over the phone or via text.

 

Write get out the vote (GOTV) postcards and help underwrite Tony the Democrat’s postcard-writing army.

 

Follow Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter) on Twitter for updates on the state of the (admittedly difficult, thoroughly worth it) quest by Democrats to claim control the Senate.

 

Follow Swing Left (@swingleft) on Twitter for updates on the state of the quest by Democrats to claim control of the House of Representatives (doing well at the moment but as we’ve said before, always act like your candidates are 10 points behind, even if they aren’t).

 

Follow Flippable (@flippable_org) on Twitter for updates on efforts to flip state legislatures blue, and see what you can do for your own state’s legislature. We need to turn the state legislatures blue to, for example, remove anti-abortion laws sitting on the books that would go into effect if Roe vs. Wade is overturned.

 

Follow Tokyo Sand (@DHSTokyo) on Twitter and subscribe to the Political Charge blog for updates on state voter registration deadlines as they approach and arrive, plus vital related news about the midterms.

 

Assuming it’s not too late in your state, consider filling out and returning an absentee ballot now, to free yourself to help others get to their polling places on November 6. Take the day off work if you can and volunteer to help others vote.

 

Learn if your state is one that allows 17-year-olds to register to vote if they’ll be 18 by November 6, and help them register, if there’s still time.

 

Put campaign signs on your lawn and campaign stickers on your car.

 

Talk to friends and family about voting. Help them make a plan to vote on November 6. Help those who want to do more than just vote.

 

Be welcoming and kind to Independents, Libertarians, Republicans, and others who don’t normally vote for Democrats but are doing so in the 2018 midterms.

 

Talk to people who didn’t vote in 2016. Donate to organizations that help people register to vote.

 

Don’t compare yourself to other activists. Don’t beat yourself up for not being able to do as much as you want to do. See the value in what you are doing, and keep doing it.

 

Give as much time as you can to as many candidates as you can on the federal, state, and local levels [as well as ballot questions, if that applies in your state].

 

Months ago, we asked you to donate two hours a week to helping your preferred candidates. Now that we’re T-minus one month from the midterms, we’re asking you to take your schedules in hand and figure out how much time you can devote to the democracy bucket brigade between now and November 6.

 

Anything you do from the list above counts. Include routine self-care in there, too.

 

And, Believe It: You Matter. It’s true, and it never stops being true. You matter, your vote matters, and your activism matters.

 

Go forth and do good, people.

 

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!

Call Your Senators to Oppose SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Oct 6 Update
Action Alerts · Call Your Senators · Community Activism · Marches and Protests · Postcard Campaigns · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms · Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends

Call Your Senators to Oppose SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Oct 6 Update

otycd

Update from Sarah Jane, Oct 6: The Senate invoked cloture early yesterday. The move closed debate on Kavanaugh’s nomination and started a 30-hour clock leading to the final floor vote.

 

Lisa Murkowski delivered a surprise when she voted no on cloture, which also signaled her intention to vote no on the nomination.

 

Unfortunately, the other three Senators who had been undecided–Jeff Flake, Joe Manchin, and Susan Collins–voted for cloture and stated they would vote yes.

 

I won’t rehash their rationales. I will only remind you that today is the last day to call and oppose Kavanaugh.

 

Yes, you can still do that, provided the vote hasn’t been held when you read this. The Senators can change their minds right up until they formally enter their choices.

 

Odds are too many of them will do the wrong thing. You can still thank those who will do the right thing and make it difficult (politely! Always politely!) for those who will do the wrong thing.

 

Scroll down for calling scripts, which come courtesy of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter).

 

Another way to fight is to join an anti-Kavanaugh #NoJusticeNoSeat protest. Several are planned for today across the country. See this link to find one near you:

https://act.weareultraviolet.org/event/no-justice-no-seat_attend/search/?akid=s691842..oEaapt

If you can’t attend, watch and boost the #NoJusticeNoSeat hashtag.

 

Continue to check the feeds of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter) and Ben Wikler (@BenWikler) for news on the vote and on protests, respectively.

 

Taking some time away is perfectly legit. This Kavanaugh madness has been long and tiring. If you need my dispensation to get extra rest, you have it. Just please come back. You’ve got to stay here and carry on the fight.

 

Still another good way to direct your energy is to pour it into the campaign of a worthy Democrat or two. You’re familiar with our Core Four strategy, yes? If not, learn about it here:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/08/17/choose-your-core-four-for-2018-2/

 

Then get to work. Choose two Democrats per chamber, one incumbent and one challenger for each. Work to make sure Democrats take the House of Representatives and do what you can to help Democrats win control of the Senate (this is a longer shot but it’s not impossible).

 

The Senate is the tougher get. The map favors Republicans. If the Democrats hold all their Senate seats and gain two, they’ll win control.

 

The Road to 2018 showcases incumbent Senate Democrats (and one Independent, Angus King of Maine) who are perceived as vulnerable.

Site is here: https://www.roadto2018.com

The Road to 2018 is one of Celeste Pewter’s projects. She encourages you to adopt a Senator by supporting him or her however you can–donating, phone-banking, canvassing, spreading the word.

 

The most endangered among those shown on the page include Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, who bravely came out against Kavanaugh the day before the cloture vote; Bill Nelson of Florida, who is in a tough battle with Republican Governor Rick Scott for the seat; and Claire McCaskill of Missouri.

 

Several strong Democratic challengers are aiming to push Republican Senate incumbents out of their seats. They include:

Beto O’Rourke, who aims to unseat Ted Cruz in Texas

Kyrsten Sinema, who’s seeking the Arizona seat that Jeff Flake is vacating

Jacky Rosen, who wants to push out Nevada Republican Dean Heller

 

Once you settle on a few candidates to boost, go to ActBlue and donate, then visit their websites and see what other sorts of help they need.

 

Here are links to several past OTYCD stories on Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives. Most are challengers. This is far from a comprehensive list, and probably doesn’t include everyone we’ve written about who advanced to the general; this is just to give you ideas.

 

Katie Porter, California’s 45th District, where she faces Republican Mimi Walters:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/08/25/support-katie-porters-run-to-unseat-california-house-republican-mimi-walters/

 

Amy McGrath, running in Kentucky’s 6th District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/08/20/support-democrat-amy-mcgraths-run-for-a-house-seat-in-kentucky-s-6th-district/

 

Gil Cisneros, running for the open seat in California’s 39th District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/08/22/support-democrat-gil-cisneross-campaign-for-ed-royces-old-california-house-seat/

 

Andrew Janz, who is running against Dana Rohrbacher in California’s 22nd District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/06/09/keep-an-eye-on-andrew-janz-whos-running-for-devin-nuness-house-seat/

 

Maxine Waters, who needs no introduction:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/06/09/support-democrat-maxine-waters-for-re-election-to-a-house-seat-in-californias-43rd-congressional-district/

 

Mike Levin, who is running for the open seat in California’s 49th District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/06/09/keep-an-eye-on-mike-levin-who-is-aiming-to-push-california-republican-darrell-issa-out-of-his-house-seat/

 

Jana Lynne Sanchez, who is running in Texas’s 6th District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/05/26/keep-an-eye-on-jana-lynne-sanchez-who-is-running-for-a-texas-house-seat-in-2018/

 

Chrissy Houlihan, who is running in Pennsylvania’s 6th District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/05/26/support-chrissy-houlahan-democratic-candidate-for-a-pennsylvania-house-seat-in-2018/

 

Joseph Kopser, who is running for a seat in Texas’s 21st District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/05/26/support-democrat-joseph-kopser-who-is-challenging-republican-lamar-smith-for-his-texas-house-seat/

 

Adrienne Bell, who is running in Texas’s 14th District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/05/26/support-adrienne-bells-run-for-the-house-seat-in-texass-14th-district/

 

Conor Lamb, who is running for a corresponding Pennsylvania seat now that the state has redrawn its maps to be less gerrymandered:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/05/18/support-conor-lambs-run-for-a-pennsylvania-house-seat-in-a-march-2018-special-election/

 

Randy Bryce, aka Ironstache, who is running for the seat that Paul Ryan is leaving in Wisconsin’s 1st District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/04/08/support-randy-bryces-bid-to-unseat-house-rep-paul-ryan-in-wisconsin/

 

Same again here as with the Senators. Once you’ve made your picks, donate through ActBlue and contact their campaigns to see how you can help.

 

If you’re a regular OTYCD reader, it’s unlikely that Postcards to Voters is new to you. But! Tony the Democrat says that they’d need to recruit a few thousand more writers before they could consider assisting Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota.

This is not to imply Tony has a Heitkamp campaign lined up, or even under discussion; he simply said the postcarder army would have to add many more recruits before they could give her the help she’d need to get out the vote across the entire state.

So! How about recruiting new writers to the Postcards to Voters cause? Here’s the FAQ page for Postcards to Voters. Get fluent in these answers, and start convincing others to sign on.

https://postcardstovoters.org/faq/

 

Now, the calling scripts from Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter). Scroll past them to learn how to show your appreciation for her outstanding work.

 

For Dem Senators who are firm no votes [don’t forget to thank them]:

 

Script for bullheaded GOP Senators who are tilting toward yes:

 

 

Script for Joe Manchin (only call if you live in West Virginia):

Script for Susan Collins (only call if you live in Maine):

Script for Lisa Murkowski (only call if you live in Alaska):
Script for Jeff Flake (only call if you live in Arizona):

Script for all Senators (but only if you live in their home states, please):

Lastly, here are general tips for leaving a voicemail message:

You can show love for Celeste Pewter in many ways.

 

You can follow her on Twitter: @Celeste_Pewter

 

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

 

You can follow @ICalledMyReps on Twitter.

 

You can adopt a vulnerable incumbent Democratic Senator by checking out The Road to 2018, an organization Pewter created. Read about it here:

 

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/08/08/support-the-road-to-2018-which-defends-democratic-senators-2/

 

You can follow The Road to 2018 on Twitter: @Roadto18

 

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!

Choose Your Core Four for 2018
Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Elections · Read, Educate Yourself, Prepare · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends

Choose Your Core Four for 2018

otycd2 Comments

This OTYCD post originally appeared in January 2018, but with the mid-terms approaching and the stakes rising, we are reposting past posts that discuss key things you can do to push back against Trump.

 

* Choose your Core Four–two Democratic senators and two Democratic house reps, an incumbent and a challenger for each chamber–to support to in 2018.

 

From late 2016 until now, we’ve been going to bat for Democratic candidates in individual special elections. Usually, we’ve supported one Democrat at a time.

 

2018 will test our collective resolve as never before.

 

Literally hundreds of races–34 senators, and all 435 House reps–are taking place, and all of them will end on November 6, 2018.

 

If the Democrats are to win control of the House of Representatives (tough, because of gerrymandering, but doable) and the Senate (tougher, but thinkable now that Alabama Democrat Doug Jones won his special election Senate race in December 2017), we’ll all need to concentrate on, and help, more than one Congressional race at the same time.

 

We at OTYCD suggest that you prepare for what’s coming by choosing your “Core Four”–four Democratic candidates who will receive the bulk of your efforts.

 

Two Democrats for the House of Representatives.

Two Democrats for the Senate.

One incumbent and one challenger for each chamber of Congress.

 

 

How to Pick Your Core Four

 

There’s no right way or wrong way to choose your Core Four, but we suggest starting in your own backyard, with the members of Congress who represent your state.

 

If you don’t know who your members of Congress are, go to this website and plug your street address into the search engine:

whoaremyrepresentatives.org

 

…then research the three names–one House rep and two Senators–that come up.

 

Do you have a good Democratic House Rep? Then embrace him or her.

 

Do you have a lousy House Rep, or is your district’s seat being vacated? Look up the Democratic challengers for the seat and choose one. Look to Ballotpedia.org for help with finding challengers in your federal district.

 

One-third of all senators will be up for re-election in 2018. It’s possible that at least one of your senators (and possibly both) is due to run (but scroll down for a list of states where neither senator has to run).

 

Is one or both of your senators up for re-election? Are they good Dems? If so, embrace them and get behind them.

 

Is your senator who’s running for re-election a lousy senator? Learn about the Democratic challengers for the seat, and be ready to help a challenger however you can. As always, Ballotpedia.org is your friend here.

 

Your help can take the form of time, money, word of mouth, or some combination of the three. But you need to choose your four Democrats, and you need to think seriously about how you will juggle the needs of all four.

 

You’ll need to sit down and plot this out as you might plot a semester’s course schedule in college. The demands of the four candidates will overlap and they’ll all come due at the same time–in the weeks and days leading up to November 6, 2018. You’ll also have to factor in appointments and life events of your own, too, of course.

 

 

Choosing your Core Four: A Test Case

 

Let’s say you live in New Hampshire.

 

Your House Rep is up for re-election because they all are. Is yours a good Democrat? Then you have your House incumbent settled.

 

If your House Rep is not a good Democrat, or is a lousy Republican, or is retiring, check Ballotpedia and see who’s challenging for the seat.

 

Let’s assume for the sake of this example that your House Rep is a good Dem. There’s one of your four settled.

 

Now look for a challenger who’s aiming to take a terrible House Republican out.

 

**How about Andrew Janz? He hopes to push House Rep Devin Nunes out of his perch in California’s 22nd District. A worthy choice. Allocate time and money to him. You’ve chosen your two House Dems, one incumbent and one challenger.

 

 

Now turn to the senators. It so happens that neither of the incumbent senators from New Hampshire are up for re-election in 2018. You are free to devote your resources elsewhere.

 

Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is running for her second term in 2018. How about helping to defend her? There’s your third choice made.

 

Now look for a candidate who hopes to push out a terrible sitting Republican Senator. Hey, how about Beto O’Rourke? He hopes to send Ted Cruz of Texas packing. Hard to find a nobler cause than that.

 

 

And there’s your Core Four: Your good incumbent Democratic House Rep, Randy Bryce in Wisconsin, Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, Beto O’Rourke in Texas.

 

Of course, you can choose more than four Congressional candidates to back. But the idea here is to help you focus.

 

If you can take on more than four, do it. But four is just enough, in our opinion–more than one, but still a number small enough to count on one hand.

 

You can certainly look to orgs such as Swing Left, the Road to 2018, Emily’s List, and the like to help you make your choices. The main thing is nowrightnow is the time to think seriously about those choices.

 

 

Also, if you live in one of the states listed below, neither of your Senators is up for re-election, and you can devote your resources to incumbents and candidates in other states:

Alabama

Alaska

Arkansas

Colorado

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

New Hampshire

North Carolina

Oklahoma

Oregon

South Carolina

South Dakota

 

 

* Our ‘Core Four’ only covers federal Congress races. You might have other important races happening at the state and local level–for governor, attorney general, mayor, what have you. Please don’t neglect those races.

 

**The original suggestion we had here was Randy Bryce, aka Ironstache, a Democrat who is running in Wisconsin’s 1st District. In mid-April 2018, his lousy Republican opponent, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, announced he would not run again. We cheered for Ironstache, and then we realized we should swap in a different example of an incumbent House Rep who needs to GO. It’s a good problem to have. Here’s hoping we face it a few more times before November 6.

 

 

See the website for Ballotpedia.org:

https://ballotpedia.org/Main_Page

 

Visit the website of Swing Left, which focuses on taking back the House of Representatives:

https://swingleft.org

 

Visit the website of The Road to 2018, which focuses on defending vulnerable Democratic Senators:

http://www.roadto2018.com

 

Visit the website of Emily’s List, which helps elect pro-choice Democratic women to office:

https://www.emilyslist.org

 

See OTYCD‘s past posts on picking House Reps and Senators to support in 2018, and on starting a 2018 fund:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/09/start-scouting-for-senators-who-you-can-donate-time-and-money-to-in-2018/

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/09/think-about-which-house-reps-to-support-or-oppose-in-2018/

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/09/start-a-2018-fund/

Support the Road to 2018, Which Defends Democratic Senators
Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Elections · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends

Support the Road to 2018, Which Defends Democratic Senators

otycd9 Comments

This OTYCD post originally appeared in January 2018, but with the mid-terms approaching and the stakes rising, we are reposting past posts that discuss key things you can do to push back against Trump.

 

Support The Road to 2018, an organization devoted to defending vulnerable Democrats in the Senate.

 

America would be a better place if Democrats had control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Taking that latter chamber was always seen as a tall order. Doug Jones’s December 2017 win in Alabama makes the feat a bit less impossible, but it’s still a tough row to hoe. In order to gain control of the Senate, the Democrats must successfully defend all of its Senators who are running for re-election and win at least two additional seats as well.

 

The Road to 2018 winked into being just after the November 2016 election with the aim of defending the most vulnerable incumbent Democratic Senators.

 

It’s focusing on twelve Senators–eleven Democrats and an Independent:

Bill Nelson of Florida

Joe Donnelly of Indiana

Debbie Stabenow of Michigan

Claire McCaskill of Missouri

Angus King, Independent of Maine

Jon Tester of Montana

Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota

Sherrod Brown of Ohio

Bob Casey of Pennsylvania

Tim Kaine of Virginia

Joe Manchin of West Virginia

Tammy Baldwin of Wyoming

 

 

The Road to 2018 is well-focused and exquisitely on top of things. Please support their efforts.

 

 

See the website for The Road to 2018:

http://www.roadto2018.com

 

 

See its Senators page:

http://www.roadto2018.com/senators.html

 

 

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

 

 

See the Road to 2018 team:

http://www.roadto2018.com/about-us.html

 

 

Volunteer for The Road to 2018:

http://www.roadto2018.com/contact.html

 

 

Keep that list of Democratic Senators in mind when choosing your Core Four for 2018:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/24/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

Like it on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/TheRoadto2018/

 

 

Follow it on Twitter:

@Roadto18

 

 

Follow Celeste Pewter on Twitter, who is involved with The Road to 2018 and is seemingly on top of EVERYTHING political that the Resistance cares about, as it happens:

@Celeste_Pewter

 

 

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!

 

Set Aside Two Hours Per Week To Work For Your Chosen 2018 Candidates
Elections · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms · Uncategorized

Set Aside Two Hours Per Week To Work For Your Chosen 2018 Candidates

otycd

This OTYCD post originally appeared in February 2018, but with the mid-terms approaching and the stakes rising, we are reposting past posts that discuss key things you can do to push back against Trump.

 

2018 will test us like never before. We have to support more than one campaign at a time, and we have to pay attention to races on the federal, state, and local levels.

 

We’ve already asked you to choose your Core Four for 2018–four Democrats, two incumbents and two challengers, for each chamber of Congress:

 

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/24/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

To serve those four candidates well, you’ll need to school yourself on their voting records and their backgrounds. If they’ve written books, you need to read them. You need to become expert in them so you can persuade people to vote for them and defend them to those who are skeptical or hostile.

 

Once you feel like you have those four under control, you should see whether you can add other races to your load. A total of 36 gubernatorial races happen in 2018, and several state races for Attorney General take place, too. And you might have state senators and state house representative contests to watch. Plus, your local electeds might be running, too.

 

In order to stay on top of it all, find a way to commit a minimum of two hours a week to state, local, and federal 2018 races. Money always matters, of course, but time can be even more valuable to a candidate. If you’re an excellent political volunteer, your time might be worth several times more than your dollar donations.

 

You don’t have to give your time in a two-hour block. You can chop it up as needed–four half-hours, an hour here and an hour there, twelve 20-minute blocks, twenty-four ten minute blocks, whatever works best for you.

 

Research, reading, attending speeches, going to Indivisible meetings, and talking to other people all count, as does phone-banking, canvassing, and writing GOTV postcards.

 

If you can give more than two hours a week, great! But the key thing is to aim to give at least two hours a week, and stick to it.

 

As we head toward Labor Day 2018, you might want to think about rearranging your schedule to give even more time to 2018 races. Almost all of them will end on November 6, 2018, and campaign needs will grow more intense as early November approaches.

 

It makes sense to sit down now and plan how September through November will go, particularly if you’ll have other standing obligations to work around, such as school, or your kids’ schools, or holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the blue button on the upper right or checking the About & Subscribe page. And tell your friends about the blog!

Support Democrat Barbara L’Italien’s Run for a Massachusetts House of Representatives Seat #MA3
Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Elections · Health Care

Support Democrat Barbara L’Italien’s Run for a Massachusetts House of Representatives Seat #MA3

otycd

Support Democrat Barbara L’Italien’s run for the open House of Representatives seat in Massachusetts’s 3rd District.

 

L’Italien is a Massachusetts state Senator and has been since 2014. She also served in the state’s House of Representatives from 2003 to 2011.

 

As a state legislator, she defended marriage equality and fought to improve public schools and expand access to health care. She also opposed a $3.3 billion natural gas pipeline project that would have ended in Dracut, a town that she represents in the state senate.

 

In particular, L’Italien championed a state law that require private health insurers to cover services for those diagnosed with autism, and a second law that extended the autism coverage requirement to MassHealth, the state’s public health insurance option. One of her four children has autism.

 

If she wins the September 4, 2017 primary and gets elected in November, she will be the only sitting member of the 535-member federal Congress who has parented an autistic person.

 

Massachusetts’s 3rd District seat is open because five-term representative Democrat Niki Tsongas has chosen not to run again. (L’Italien ran against Tsongas in 2008 for the federal seat and lost to her.)

 

L’Italien is one of 11 Democrats who have committed to the primary. Two Republicans are running as well.

 

The 2018 Massachusetts primary promises to be extra-challenging because of the calendar. It falls on Tuesday, September 4, 2017–the day after the Labor Day holiday, and at the end of the summer season. Both facts will likely combine to depress turnout.

 

The Cook Political Report rates Massachusetts’s 3rd District as Solid Democrat.

 

Note: Sarah Jane, lead writer of the OTYCD blog, chose L’Italien for her Core Four.

 

 

See L’Italien’s campaign website:

http://www.teambarbara.com

 

 

See her Meet Barbara page:

http://teambarbara.com/bio.html

 

 

Donate to her campaign:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/barbara-l-italien-7?refcode=website_header

 

 

Volunteer for L’Italien:

http://teambarbara.com/getinvolved.html

 

 

Choose L’Italien for your Core Four for 2018:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/24/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

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

 

 

Like L’Italien on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/teambarbara

 

 

Follow her on Twitter:

@teambarbara

 

 

See her Ballotpedia page:

https://ballotpedia.org/Barbara_L%27Italien

 

 

See the Ballotpedia page on Massachusetts’ 3rd District:

https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts%27_3rd_Congressional_District_election,_2018

 

 

See L’Italien’s State Senate scorecard from Progressive Massachusetts:

http://www.progressivemass.com/189thscorecard-senate

Combat Trump’s 2018 Midterms Strategy By Defending Vulnerable Democratic Senate Incumbents
Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Community Activism · Elections · Fighting Bigotry, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Transphobia... · Health Care · Read, Educate Yourself, Prepare · Russian Scandal, Emoluments Clause · Stand for Science · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends · Vote with your Dollars

Combat Trump’s 2018 Midterms Strategy By Defending Vulnerable Democratic Senate Incumbents

otycd1 Comment

Fight back against Trump’s 2018 midterms strategy by defending vulnerable Democratic Senate incumbents.

 

On May 30, 2018, Buzzfeed published a piece on how Trump might approach the 2018 midterm elections.

 

It looks like he’s shying away from House of Representatives races and targeting sitting, vulnerable Democratic senators who are up for re-election in Trump-friendly states. From the article:

 

‘A source close to Trump involved in midterm planning said it’s clear Republicans are running very different campaigns in close House races versus Senate races, and Trump will be used accordingly. “It’s a base election in the Senate and a swing in the House,” the source said.’

 

Also from the article:

‘Earlier this month, Trump followed a similar outline of what is shaping up to be his 2018 stump speech during his rally in Indiana, where he called Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly “sleeping Joe” and a “swamp person.” “You have to work every day between now and November to elect more Republicans so that we can continue to make America great again,” he told his supporters there, while praising Donnelly’s challenger, Mike Braun, as a “winner.”

And at an anti-abortion event last week, Trump spelled out the need for more Republicans in Congress in a way that would connect with the crowd. “So the story is, ’18 midterms — we need Republicans, and that will happen,” he said, going on to talk about failed GOP attempts to pass a 20-week abortion ban and the Democratic senators who have voted against it. “The United States is one of only seven countries in the world to allow elective abortions after 20 weeks, when unborn babies can truly feel the pain. Yet Democratic senators like Jon Tester, Heidi Heitkamp, Claire McCaskill, Debbie Stabenow all voted against the 20-week bill and in favor of late-term abortion.’

 

 

See the full Buzzfeed piece here:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/tariniparti/trump-campaign-senate-plan?utm_term=.ou9g4DQd8G#.rhXl9By1PZ

 

 

You can push back against Trump by supporting vulnerable Democratic senators who are seeking re-election.

 

The best resource for this, by far, is The Road to 2018, an organization that our friend Celeste Pewter is heavily involved in.

 

The Road to 2018 was created to help precisely those senators who Trump and the GOP is targeting.

 

 

See its website here:

https://www.roadto2018.com

 

If you’ve been following Celeste on Twitter–and you are, aren’t you? She’s at @Celeste_Pewter–you’ve seen her tweets about The Road to 2018 and about Democratic senators you can support.

 

To be dead clear here–flipping the Senate blue in 2018 will be tough, tougher than flipping the House. Much of this is down to math. About a dozen Democratic incumbents are vulnerable, as opposed to eight Republican incumbents.

 

In order to flip the Senate, the Democrats need to hold all their seats and gain two. (The two Independents in the Senate, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine, tend to caucus with the Democrats. King is up for re-election in 2018.)

 

Flipping the Senate will not insure that Trump can be successfully impeached. A minimum of 67 senators would have to vote in favor, and given the prevailing tribalism, we couldn’t count on Republican senators to do the right thing.

 

This is not about impeachment. This is about hampering Trump’s ability to push his noxious agenda.

 

If the Senate goes Democratic, Trump would find it a lot harder to push through lousy and unqualified nominees across the board, judicial and otherwise.

 

He’d also have to change his strategy if he wants to get any legislation passed.

 

Fighting for these senators is worth doing.

 

So! Question. Are you using the Core Four strategy yet? If not, learn about it here:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/04/08/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

Then consult the Road to 2018 and figure out which Democratic senators you can support with time, money, and effort.

 

Those vulnerable senators are:

 

Bill Nelson of Florida

Joe Donnelly of Indiana

Debbie Stabenow of Michigan

Claire McCaskill of Missouri

Angus King, Independent of Maine

Jon Tester of Montana

Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota

Sherrod Brown of Ohio

Bob Casey of Pennsylvania

Tim Kaine of Virginia

Joe Manchin of West Virginia

Tammy Baldwin of Wyoming

 

 

If one of these senators is from your state, go all-in for that person.

 

If not, and certainly if you’re from one of the states that doesn’t have any senators up for re-election this year, pick at least one of these senators to support.

 

 

See the website for The Road to 2018:

http://www.roadto2018.com

 

 

See its Senators page:

http://www.roadto2018.com/senators.html

 

 

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

 

 

See the Road to 2018 team:

http://www.roadto2018.com/about-us.html

 

 

Volunteer for The Road to 2018:

http://www.roadto2018.com/contact.html

 

 

Keep that list of Democratic Senators in mind when choosing your Core Four for 2018:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/24/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

Like it on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/TheRoadto2018/

 

 

Follow it on Twitter:

@Roadto18

 

 

Follow Celeste Pewter on Twitter, who is involved with The Road to 2018 and is seemingly on top of EVERYTHING political that the Resistance cares about, as it happens:

@Celeste_Pewter