thisfinecrew | Entries tagged with senate

https://www.axios.com/gop-nervous-ahead-of-brett-kavanaugh-vote-c8162287-2dc3-4b83-b59c-4f5cbf6fd2d2.html

Meaning they are even now desperately wheeling and dealing and pressuring for those last votes.

If you have a Senator who isn't already a "no", and you can phone, PHONE. If you have friends whose Senators are swing votes, ask them if they can phone. If you can join a protest, protest.

On behalf of the rest of the world: a lot of us are watching and trying to beam spoons your way.

rydra_wong

TPM: Heitkamp Will Vote ‘No’ On Kavanaugh

Her website's promptly crashed from all the traffic, presumably from people wanting to donate.

The direct ActBlue link is: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hh4nd

She's in a very very tight race (some say doomed, some say a toss-up). And she's not everyone's favourite Democrat because of a tendency to vote with the Republicans some of the time. Nonetheless, on this one she seems prepared to take the hit.

rydra_wong

https://twitter.com/annagalland/status/1046926012305559552

Just announced: #StopKavanaugh NATIONAL VIGILS WEDNESDAY. Dr. Ford's testimony + grassroots activism forced a week's delay on Senate vote. Last chance to be heard. Events 10/3 usually @ 6pm local time. Help host: http://moveon.org/scotus #StopKavanaugh #BelieveWomen #KavanaughLied

They're looking for people to help host/organize vigils near them:

https://act.moveon.org/event/stop_kavanaugh_vigils/search/

rydra_wong

From the NYT:

Officials said the F.B.I.’s “limited” supplemental background check of Judge Kavanaugh could be finished by Monday morning.

To recap, the "FBI investigation" turns out to mean interviewing four specific people (who were selected either by Republican Senators or Don McGahn, it's unclear, and who don't seem to include either Kavanaugh or Dr Blasey Ford).

See also: The New Yorker: The Confusion Surrounding the F.B.I.’s Renewed Investigation of Brett Kavanaugh

If your Senator is not already committed to voting "no", please phone the fuckers if you can.

Two possible talking points:

a) will they agree that if Brett Kavanaugh lied to the Senate, he shouldn't be confirmed? (how is this even up for debate how how how)

b) will they demand an unrestricted investigation (as promised by the alleged President on his Twitter account, Tweets from which are deemed official statements) not limited by GOP/White House?

rydra_wong

https://twitter.com/annagalland/status/1045501207136149504

Massive response. 1000s of ppl in hours & growing.

PROTEST at LOCAL SENATE OFFICES @ NOON local time Friday.

Find offices: https://www.contactingcongress.org

Bring your own sign w/msgs like #BelieveSurvivors & #WithdrawKavanaugh.

Share photos.

Wear black.

ETA: if you want more ammunition to call your Senators with, the American Bar Association is calling for the confirmation process to be halted until the FBI completes an investigation of the sexual assault allegations: https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1045520480889901056

rydra_wong

From a former Dem aide:

https://twitter.com/brianefallon/status/1044560721755983872

The fate of Kavanaugh may well be decided in the next 48-72 hrs. As of now multiple GOP senators are undecided but they're getting A LOT of pressure from the WH and leadership to fall in line. Your pressure can make the difference. Pls call your senators 202-224-3121

Trump is publicly doubling down (and has pissed off some of the GOP senators with his Tweets, which they feel are "unhelpful" to the cause of getting Kavanaugh confirmed while also pretending they give a shit about sexual assault) but there are also rumours that he's "somewhat fatalistic" in private.

On the one hand, there's his deep identification with other abusive men; on the other, his willingness to throw people to the wolves whenever they become inconvenient to him.

rydra_wong

Current Republican plan is to demand that Dr Blasey turn up and testify at a hearing on Monday, where the only other person testifying will be Kavanaugh.

They're refusing to call any other witnesses (including Mark Judge, who she's named as accomplice/witness, and who really REALLY doesn't want to be called to testify, I wonder why) or let the FBI open an investigation, which she is asking for.

( Cut for general triggeriness and awfulness of the topic, no details included but I know people may need to protect themselves, please call your senators if you can )

rydra_wong

Now Christine Blasey Ford (note: her professional name is Dr Blasey, afaik) has come forward to put her name behind the accusations against Kavanaugh:

Washington Post: California professor, writer of confidential Brett Kavanaugh letter, speaks out about her allegation of sexual assault (content note: detailed descriptions of attempted rape, please look after yourselves)

“These are all the ills that I was trying to avoid,” she said, explaining her decision to come forward. “Now I feel like my civic responsibility is outweighing my anguish and terror about retaliation.”

There appears to be some wobble among key Senators:

TPM: Flake And Corker Support Delay Of Kavanaugh Vote To Vet Allegations
TPM: Johnson Joins Collins And Manchin In Calling For Ford, Kavanaugh To Testify
TPM: Roy Blunt Calls For Delay Of Kavanaugh Vote Over ‘Serious’ Allegations

Though the White House is reportedly determined to double down on their support for Kavanaugh and attack Dr Blasey's credibility, because as we already know, Trump feels a deep sense of kinship with men accused of sexual assault, rape, and intimate partner violence.

And those of us who are old enough to remember Clarence Thomas's confirmation hearings already know how this game plan goes. As Dr Blasey clearly does.

What they're going to try to do to her is beyond vile, and it's designed to make women keep silent because they know what's going to happen if they go public.

So. If you've got a Republican senator, or a Dem senator who's considered a possible "yes" vote for Kavanaugh, please phone them if you can, and if you can't then contact them via whatever means are possible for you. Let them know what you think. Demand they stop or at least pause the confirmation process.

And if you've got a Dem senator who's already a solid "no" vote on Kavanaugh, then it may still be worth contacting them, to ask them to stand up for Dr Blasey and have her back during this.

rydra_wong

Crowdpac: Either Sen. Collins VOTES NO on Kavanaugh OR we fund her future opponent

snickfic

Trump Administration Creates Census Crisis With Move to Suppress Immigrant Responses

The 2020 census will include a question about US citizenship for the first time since 1950, the Commerce Department announced Monday night. Civil rights groups say the question will massively depress responses from immigrants fearful of deportation and could sabotage the entire census.

The move sets up a huge legal and political battle over one of the most important tasks mandated by the Constitution. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and former US Attorney General Eric Holder have already announced their intention to sue the Trump administration over the new question. Democratic members of Congress have also said they will introduce legislation to block the new question.

Call your reps!

EDIT: Suggested call scripts in the comments of this post!

tassosss

The House just passed H.R. 620 to drastically weaken the ADA.
It's time to light up your Senators phones to make sure this does not pass.

http://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/373546-rolling-back-the-civil-rights-of-the-disabled-harms-us-all

The ADA, which passed in 1990 with overwhelming bipartisan support, was carefully crafted to balance the concerns of businesses with the need to ensure access for people with disabilities. It did not require costly retrofitting of buildings built before the ADA; businesses were required to remove barriers in those buildings where that could be done without significant difficulty or expense. But the law contemplated that businesses that could easily remove barriers would do so. They would be accessible when people with disabilities showed up at the door, to shop, to obtain services, and to work. If H.R. 620 were to pass, many more people with disabilities would encounter barriers when they showed up and getting in would require a long and arduous process.

That’s because H.R. 620 would eliminate any incentive for businesses to comply with the ADA proactively. A business that did not comply would face no consequence until after it received a legal notice from a person with a disability who was harmed, detailing the specific violation of the law. And then the business would have six months to do something about it and would merely be required to make “substantial progress” in removing barriers, instead of actually providing access.

Emphasis mine.

Quick script

-- I am strongly against HR 620 and please tell [Senator] not to vote for it.
-- HR 620 functionally legalizes discrimination against Americans with disabilities by allowing businesses to get away with barring access
-- It's not just a "people in wheelchairs" problem - disability and mobility issues affect parents with strollers, the elderly, and those injured - conditions that the majority of Americans will have at some point in their lives. (I realize this is potentially an ableist point, but disabled infrastructure helps more than just the chronically disabled and you're potentially trying to convince someone who doesn't give a shit about disabled people. Take or leave as you see fit.)

hermionesviolin

It was International Sex Worker Rights Day on Saturday (March 3) and I learned via Twitter that FOSTA ("Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act" -- H.R. 1865) passed the House and the Senate will vote on its version (SESTA -- "Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act," S. 1693) I think on March 12 though I can't now find where I found that date.

Not only do these bills conflate "sex trafficking" (which is unequivocally bad) with "sex work" (which, like all labor, can be variably exploitative/dangerous/etc. but which is in no way improved by criminalization), but it also "amends Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act to hold online publishers, apps, and services legally liable for the actions of people who post there or connect through them" (to quote a Reason article) -- 'cause who needs Internet safe harbor?

A brief phone script I saw on Twitter is: “Hi, my name is ___and I live in ___(city in district). I’m calling to urge Senator ____to vote NO on #SESTA, S. 1693 because it will lead to harm to people who trade sex, including victims of trafficking.”

If you'd rather, you could amend it to something like "because it weakens the important protections for online speech in Section 230." (more info from Electronic Frontier Foundation here -- written before the House vote)

If you're like me and want to do some more research to acquire some more talking points before you reach out to legislators (or your social media), behind the cut are some excerpts from some of the articles I've read in recent days. If folks are on Twitter, I'd encourage you to follow accounts like

swopbehindbars (SWOP = Sex Workers Outreach Project)

SupportSWRights

melissagira. For SESTA specifically, you can follow hashtags #LetUsSurvive #SurvivorsAgainstSESTA #StopSESTA.

( Read more... )

I know FOSTA already passed the House, but I emailed my rep:

I was disappointed to learn you that voted in support of H.R. 1865. I know it was advertised as a bill to protect victims of sex trafficking, but if conflates sex trafficking (which is unequivocally bad) with prostitution (which, like all labor, can be variably exploitative/dangerous/etc. but which is in no way improved by criminalization). And its proposed Section 230 changes would hurt both sex workers and people who are trafficked by pushing sex work further underground, robbing sex workers of online communities within which they can warn and be warned about dangerous clients, etc. This bill has been opposed by many sex worker and free speech organizations (as well as survivors of trafficking https://injusticetoday.com/proposed-federal-trafficking-legislation-has-surprising-opponents-advocates-who-work-with-bf418c73d5b4). I hope that, moving forward, when voting on legislation impacting sex workers, you will seek out the voices of actual sex workers (e.g., SWOP -- Sex Worker Outreach Project).

Congress.gov is not the most user-friendly website, but the Feb 27 House vote on FOSTA is here if you want to reach out to your rep about how they voted on FOSTA.

tassosss

Good news this week with Doug Jones's win in Alabama...countered by 45 threatening to fire Mueller this coming Friday. What times we live in.

Just a reminder that we now have a Friending Meme and a (locked) post where you can connect with others with live in the same area. We hope you find both of these posts useful!

Posts in the comm this week covered:

Actions
Alabama Senate race was won despite voter suppression - Organizations that Fight Voter Suppression
Net Neutrality was repealed by the FCC, now it's in Congress's court - Tips for writing your Congressperson about Net Neutrality
It's rumored that Cheeto plans to fire Mueller. Prepare to rally - Instructions for a Constitutional Crisis

Updates
Link roundup on Alabama by

snickfic

Housekeeping (the usual stuff)
Reminder that we have a suggestion post if there’s a topic that you’d like to see discussed but would like to ask the mods to look into. This can be anything from general information, or a how-to-do-a-thing, or something you may want to discuss as a community. Folks are welcome to post directly to the comm as always, but if you’re not comfortable/don’t have spoons, we can help too.

As we don't always get the time to pull things out of the suggestions post into their own separate posts, it may be worth checking every week (or tracking the post) to see if there's any new information you're interested in.

Also if you need help with tags, PM

redbird, who is our tag guru. Both [Bad username or unknown identity:   ]and I are very grateful for the help.

So, what have you all been up to in the last week or are planning to get involved in next week?

Poll #19200 This week

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

View Respondents

View Answers

called my one senator
1 (14.3%)

called my other senator
1 (14.3%)

called my representative
2 (28.6%)

called my governor
1 (14.3%)

called my state reps
0 (0.0%)

sent a postcard/email/letter/fax
4 (57.1%)

attended a town hall
0 (0.0%)

donated money to a cause
2 (28.6%)

attended an in-person activist group
1 (14.3%)

participated in phone/online training
0 (0.0%)

View Answers

went to a protest
0 (0.0%)

signed up for alerts
3 (60.0%)

took care of myself
5 (100.0%)

not a US citizen but worked in solidarity in my own community
0 (0.0%)

did something else
2 (40.0%)

committed to action in the coming week
2 (40.0%)

teaotter

A month ago, Postcards to Voters announced their most ambitious project ever: to send postcards to every Democratic household in the state of Alabama, in support of Doug Jones.

We only had about 4,000 volunteers going into this. I believe we more than doubled our numbers during this campaign. People held postcarding parties at their homes, at club meetings, at Indivisible meetings, and at retirement communities. Over 40,000 postcards were sent out last weekend alone.

Today, we finished the list.

I am in AWE.

tanaqui

Federal Communications Commission Chair Ajit Pai is expected to unveil his plans for rolling back net neutrality in the next few weeks (although net neutrality apparently isn't one of the issues that the FCC will be voting on in November).

Meanwhile, some of the ISPs (Verizon and Comcast, from what I've seen) are trying to get the FCC to rule that states can't set their own local net neutrality rules.

Various groups are currently organising a push to contact Members of Congress and encourage them to kill the FCC plan.

Information and ideas for ways to help (in addition to calling) at Battle for the Net.

Find out if your Member of Congress is holding a session where you can drop in to talk about net neutrality

Donate to the campaign

rydra_wong

Via

vassraptor:

realsocialskills: Urgent: The GOP is close to destroying the ACA and Medicaid

The GOP is trying to repeal the ACA and cut Medicaid again. They almost have the votes to do it. We have the chance to stop them from getting the votes, if we act *right now*. We need to put overwhelming pressure on every senator to vote no.

Summary of the current situation, who to contact, and an excellent script for phone calls/e-mails from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

teaotter

In a dramatic late-night vote, three Republican senators join all 48 Democrats in voting down the so-called "skinny" repeal bill. (Politico)

I was following twitter feeds of some of the reporters at the Senate during the vote-a-rama, and everyone was pretty much stunned by the turn of events. For more than an hour, Republicans refused to close the previous vote so that they'd have more time to strong-arm McCain, Murkowski, and Collins. No one knew what was being said, so reporters were describing body language and hoping. I couldn't believe it was going to go our way, even when Pence left the building.

And then the votes came in.

WE WON!

(Okay, nothing's officially dead until we get a better ACA repair bill in play, but still -- this was supposed to be a done deal in January and we've fought it to a fucking standstill and I AM SO PROUD OF US, LOOK HOW STRONG WE ARE TOGETHER!)

teaotter

Four Republican senators have come out against the Senate's ACA replacement bill.

(Of course, McConnell is now moving to repeal with no replacement, so the fight's not over yet. Keep calling!)

But I have to celebrate this moment. If someone had told me in January that we'd get this far, I wouldn't have believed it! With luck, they'll find out that the straight repeal is just as unworkable as they thought it would be in February when they decided against it. And either way, we've made them spend six months on internal backstabbing, badmouthing, and time wasting that they can't get back, and a lot of ill will generated within the Republican caucus that won't be forgiven without a lot of effort.

executrix

Vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (the name of the Senate bill) has been postponed until after the July 4 recess. And when they get back, they'll have a whole megillah about passing the budget, which has a hard deadline, so they may "forget" to take up the BCRA.

This is c&pd from a Center for Medicare Advocacy Alert:

Health Care Repeal Vote Postponed - But Keep the Pressure On

Senate leadership today announced that a vote on the Senate health care repeal bill would be postponed until after the July 4 recess. While this shows that the efforts of all those who have called and written to tell the truth about this awful legislation are working, it is not the end. We saw this happen in the House, and can’t let it happen again.

Use the July 4 recess to attend town halls, parades and rallies, and don’t stop calling your Senators to tell them not to cut or cap Medicaid.

Find a town hall event: https://townhallproject.com (Find tips for attending a town hall at http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/10/politics/town-hall-location-congress)
Call your Senators' local and state offices: Get numbers for every Senator's in-state and Washington, DC offices at https://action.seiu.org/page/content/congressional-offices

executrix

Why talk to the monkey when the organ grinder's line isn't busy?

Contacts for the staff person handling health care issues for each senator: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/senate-health-care-staffers/

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Never Give Up, Never Surrender

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Page Summary

rydra_wong - A "senior source" says they don't have 50 right now
rydra_wong - Heitkamp's a "no" on Kavanaugh
rydra_wong - Stop Kavanaugh protests Wednesday
rydra_wong - Alert alert
rydra_wong - Emergency Kavanaugh protests
rydra_wong - A good reminder
rydra_wong - Unfortunately they're stabilizing the wobble
rydra_wong - There is some serious wobble happening
rydra_wong - Also, this is kind of brilliant
snickfic - bad news for the 2020 census
tassosss - Action: Protect the Americans With Disabilities Act
hermionesviolin - Stop SESTA
tassosss - Weekly Check in Dec 17
teaotter - Postcards milestone: every Democratic household in Alabama!
tanaqui - Action to protect net neutrality
rydra_wong - Another Obamacare repeal attempt is afoot
teaotter - Senate ACA Repeal bill fails (again)
teaotter - The Senate Trumpcare bill is dead!
executrix - Ding Dong the Witch is Taking a Nap
executrix - Indivisible Guide: Contact for Senate Staffers

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Never Give Up, Never Surrender

Links and Positive Action for the next Four Years

Entries tagged with senate

A "senior source" says they don't have 50 right now

Heitkamp's a "no" on Kavanaugh

Stop Kavanaugh protests Wednesday

Alert alert

Emergency Kavanaugh protests

A good reminder

Unfortunately they're stabilizing the wobble

There is some serious wobble happening

Also, this is kind of brilliant

bad news for the 2020 census

Action: Protect the Americans With Disabilities Act

Stop SESTA

Weekly Check in Dec 17

Postcards milestone: every Democratic household in Alabama!

Action to protect net neutrality

Another Obamacare repeal attempt is afoot

Senate ACA Repeal bill fails (again)

The Senate Trumpcare bill is dead!

Ding Dong the Witch is Taking a Nap

Indivisible Guide: Contact for Senate Staffers

Profile

June 2025

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