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ACTIONS FOR Monday 5/6/2024 – 5/19/2024
ELECTION 2024
1. Look to the States
One thing we have learned during the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade is how important state legislatures and supreme courts are for protecting reproductive rights and democratic institutions. The Sister District Project works to strengthen the Democratic presence in state legislatures. Their mission is to build enduring progressive power in state legislatures and establish Democratic majorities. You can read their impressive 2023 Impact Report here.
Take action: Review Sister District’s 2024 election strategy and learn how you can help build Democratic majorities in critical states. You can also learn more about critical state level races by registering for Swing Left San Luis Obispo’s webinar on state-level races that are up for grabs in 2024. The virtual event will be held on Thursday, May 16th, 6:00-7:00pm PT.ister voters in critical swing states.
Take Action: Find out how you can volunteer to help with voter registration campaigns at this site, or join Field Team 6 to adopt a state where you can support their efforts.
CALLS TO ACTION
US CONGRESS
2. Repeal the Comstock Act and Protect Access to Medication Abortion
As a testament to the power of voter backlash, the Arizona state legislature narrowly voted to repeal the 1864 abortion ban that had been revived by the Arizona Supreme Court. The fact that Republicans had blocked earlier efforts to repeal, and only a handful of Republican legislators ultimately voted for the repeal, highlights the need for abortion rights protection in the state constitution.
In the meantime, another 19th century law is still on the books at the national level: the Comstock Act, which right-wing groups see as a way to ban abortion nationally because it outlaws the use of the mail for the purposes of sending or receiving any object that could be used for an abortion. In 1971 Congress removed contraceptive devices from the law but let the rest of the act stand. Congressional Democrats, led by Minnesota Senator Tina Smith, are looking to repeal the Comstock Act in its entirety.
Take action: Contact our members of Congress and let them know you want to see the repeal of the Comstock Act accomplished as soon as possible. In addition, encourage them to support the Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Act of 2023 (HR 767; S.4467).
3. Make Court Reform a Priority
The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in Trump’s case for presidential immunity last month, which may delay a decision long enough to hold up trials in other cases against Trump until after the November election.This decision is just one more indication of the need for Congress to act on judicial reform measures.
Take action: Read the Brennan Center for Justice report on the compelling need for Court reform. Then contact our members of Congress and let them know you want them to support the following legislation:
LOCAL ENVIRONMENT
4. Support Environmental Action in Goleta
On Tuesday, May 7th, the City of Goleta Council will vote on two proposed ordinances that will help our region reach its zero-carbon goals (see meeting agenda here):
- Agenda item C.2: Electric Vehicle reach code to expand EV charging infrastructure in newly constructed buildings
- Agenda item C.3: Opting up municipal accounts to 100% renewable electricity
Take action: The Community Environmental Council is urging residents of Goleta to provide public comment in support of these initiatives by attending the May 7 meeting in person or via zoom, or submitting a written comment by email to cityclerkgroup@cityofgoleta.org.
SPREAD THE WORD
5. Be(a)ware of Project 2025
Do you know about Project 2025, the lengthy agenda developed by the Heritage Foundation (a far-right conservative think tank) for what the government should do if the GOP wins the White House in 2024? Project 2025 projects a dystopian vision for our country with untrammeled executive power concentrated in the presidency, loss of personal freedoms, elimination of public welfare programs, and unregulated corporate greed.
Take action: Although we generally want to focus attention on the positive accomplishments and future vision of the Biden presidency, it behooves us to be aware of the intentions of right-wing power brokers and the dire consequences of a second Trump presidency. A good place to start is this Substack piece, How to tell your friends about Project 2025.
CALL YOUR REPS DAILY!
Senator Laphonza R. Butler Washington, DC: (202) 224-3841; San Francisco: (415) 393-0707; Los Angeles: (310) 914-7300; San Diego: (619) 231-9712; Fresno: (559) 485-7430; Email
Senator Alex Padilla Washington, DC: (202) 224-3553; Sacramento: (916) 448-2787; Fresno: (559) 497-5109; Los Angeles: (310) 231-4494; San Francisco: (415) 981-9369; San Diego: (619) 239-3884; FAX: (202) 224-2200 Email
Congressman Salud Carbajal Santa Barbara/Santa Maria: (805) 730-1710; San Luis Obispo: (805) 546-8348; Washington, DC: (202) 225-3601; Email
CALIFORNIA Senator Monique Limón (D), CA State Senate, District 19 Sacramento: (916) 651-4019; Santa Barbara: (805) 965-0862; Oxnard: (805) 988-1940
Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D), CA State Assembly, District 37 Sacramento: (916) 319-2037; Santa Barbara: (805) 564-1649
Program your representative’s local AND DC phone numbers into your phone. Republicans outnumber Democrats in calling 4-1, and 11-1 on hot button issues. If you are still grappling with how Obama’s administration were not able to get anything done, this is how they did it. We MUST constantly call and continually exert pressure. If you can’t manage daily, pick a day, mark it recurring on your calendar, and call weekly.
DAILY CALLS:
- Call your senators about an issue of concern EVERY DAY.
- Always provide your ZIP CODE,
- Call about ONE subject only, per call.
- Call once per day, or multiple times per day with one ask for each call.
- Leave a message if you can’t speak to a person.
- If you can’t get through, try again later.
Failing that, DO send an email, one ask per email. Both Feinstein and Harris’ offices have said they tally emails as well as phone calls.
CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS
In the House of Representatives, Congress continues to debate funding and pass bills. It is helpful for our Representatives to hear a large outpouring of support from his constituents. Our Representatives become bolder when they hear from a lot of us. To see what is happening on the floor throughout each day, bookmark the Office of the Clerk. This site also has a live video stream of floor proceedings, and guides about how the legislative process works. It’s an amazing resource. Govtrack is a website that makes it easy to track certain legislation, you may sign up for alerts. It also can help you find your representative. Their twitter account @govtrack posts all the legislation as it passes, live. congress.gov is an incredibly useful resource, which has every position on every bill.
GRAB YOUR WALLET
#GrabYourWallet was a movement that began during the election, started by Shannon Coulter. The Grab Your Wallet boycott began on October 11, 2016 and ended on November 8, 2020. It lasted exactly 1,489 days. The boycot was a peaceful, nonpartisan protest of the cruelty and divisiveness of the Trump administration. It has been credited with over 70 large companies cutting financial ties with the Trump administration (see “Dropped Companies” tab). The retail boycott was so effective that by August 2019, just 12 companies remained on the list. As a postscript, The Grab Your Wallet spreadsheet now includes an archived special section to track which U.S. officials are backing Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the outcome of the 2020 election, along with their contact information. Find it here.
THERE IS A NEW @WHITEHOUSE ON TWITTER!
Follow the new official Biden administration Twitter accounts, which started from zero and need to build followers. @PresElectBiden is now the @POTUS account. @FLOTUSBiden is now @FLOTUS. @SenKamalaHarris is now @VP. @Transition46 will become the new @WhiteHouse. Douglas Emhoff’s official account is @SecondGentleman. Note that the previous administration’s archived account is at @WhiteHouse45.
DAILY ACTIONS
Resistbot (text your number to automatically write your Member of Congress) 5 Calls (provides numbers and scripts for issues)
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
MoveOn.org ACLU – American Civil Liberties Union