In my post, Subsole requested a post, really a weekly post, but this one will be weakly as it is post workout, so that people can list in comments the local and state organizations they are part of or know of that are doing counter-political and/or civic action to oppose the Republican attempts to revise state election laws to disenfranchise Americans and, as a result, manipulate election results.
So if you are working with a local or state group or know of one, please list it in the comments. It can be most of us haven’t heard about or something, like Stacey Abrams’ organization in Georgia and Ben Wikler’s work with the Wisconsin Democratic Party, that a lot of us have heard about.
ETA at 3:35 PM EDT
If you’ve got links to these groups’ websites, please include them in your comments listing them.
Open thread!
Also, current state post workout:
Ignoring the Ecosystem Because You’re Telling People They Can’t See the Forest for the Trees
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Shontel Brown. A Demcorat’s Democrat.
sab
Photo three is not appropriate to your comment. Photo three is a cat just re-homed against his will (alternative was life alone in the neighboring 1000 acre metropark with a lot of coyotes) who is terrorizing the human members of his new adoptive family. The canine members keep clear. The feline members are also fully clawed and think he is a thoughtless rude interloper. I am starting to agree. Even Shadow the meankitty thinks I have a point of view although she thinks he is cute and possibly redeemable.
Omnes Omnibus
BLOC and Voces de la Frontera are doing really good work in Milwaukee. Four Directions, we all know about. Minority turnout – actually majority turnout in Milwaukee. I have donated to all three; I do not volunteer because the last thing they need is a middle-aged white guy. They know what they need to do and how to do it. They just need resources.
sab
Yes we ride. POC fault at horrifying odds for centuries. We can’t hang in for 25 years?
Adam L Silverman
@sab: I just spent an hour doing supersets in a 103 F heat index. Could you maybe, just maybe try again using small words.
zhena gogolia
I’m on a monthly to Stacey Abrams’ group, the name of which I can’t remember right now. I got on it for Warnock and Ossoff but have just stayed on. Fair Fight?
zhena gogolia
@Adam L Silverman:
She’s talking about the cat and pitbull she and her husband just took in so that her stepdaughter could move.
Adam L Silverman
@zhena gogolia: I’m going to put a cool compress on my head and lie down under the bed for a while…
zhena gogolia
@Adam L Silverman:
We were about to start our walk yesterday at 5 PM, about 95 degrees and high humidity. We had done it the day before and it was fine. But our neighbor was out and he said, “Don’t go for a walk! It’s too hot!” We did it anyway, but I was having the vapors the whole time. The mind can do strange things.
rikyrah
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Been sending her a donation with every paycheck.
Redshift
Slightly OT, but I was waiting for a political thread where it’s not completely OT.
A friend asked for advice on the crowded primary fields for our statewide office primaries today. I explained that it was tough to choose, because I actually like most of the people running. And I was very pleased with myself for coming up with this:
MomSense
Right now I’m donating small amounts to Four Directions, Maine Dems, DSCC and DCCC. I anticipate that I will do a lot of phone banking as I do every election. LePage is going to run for Governor again and I am going to work my heart out for Governor Mills’ re-election. She and her administration have been extraordinary throughout COVID, but she has also established herself as a leader on climate change and reproductive rights.
rikyrah
@sab:
I don’t understand any of this and it still made me LOL
rikyrah
@MomSense:
Phucking kidding me…
UGH about LePage.
O. Felix Culpa
A couple of organizations to check out:
Benw
I guess I prompted Subsole’s request so I’ll ask my questions more specifically here (and I appreciate the responses I got in the last thread!):
I’m in a red district in a big blue state, so I feel kinda helpless. I want to put effort into groups that are helping the fights in swing states, but am not sure where to start. I know not to cold call or email pols from those states. I think there are other blue staters here who’ve expressed similar feelings.
I did volunteer for the congressional Dem candidate in our district (we got crushed by the incumbent Trump humper) and will do it again.
I feel like me starting grass-roots organizing locally is great longer term, but I agree with Adam that we’ve just bought ourselves until 2022, really, so it would be best to pitch in with already established groups. I’ve signed up for Fair Fight (Stacy Abram’s org). Who next?
sab
@Adam L Silverman: My stepdaughter had to move because landlord wants to sell her place. We got grand-daughter’s cat ( our sixth cat.)
Tiny, timid frail looking thing with terrifying functional claws. Lures you in with sweet wide eyes on a tiny cat. Purrs and gently meows plaintively. Then you teach out gently to let him sniff your hand. He sniffs and purrs, lets you get a couple of scritches in, rhen he slashes with all his claws at full force.
If we didn’t have our other cats to defend us we would be afraid to go into the basement.
I wondered why my bestcat stopped sleeping with me and moved to the chair by the door. He is defending me
ETA I know he is scared and unhappy. So am I.
O. Felix Culpa
@Benw: See my post at #15.
Benw
@O. Felix Culpa: yes, thank you.
sab
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I like her a lot.
sab
Adam Silerman,
Cureently I find kitten claws to be terrifying. I could defend myself easily by killing the kitten, but I would never do that. Meanwhile the frightened kitten rampages (big claws on that little sucker.)
CaseyL
@sab: Forgive me in advance if you’ve already done this, but hae you consulted with a vet about some kind of sedation? Maybe only needed long enough for the new guy to adjust?
sdhays
@MomSense: Good lord, LePage again? Are there any “independents” looking to muddy the waters and give him another shot at a tiny plurality win?
Adam L Silverman
@sab: I am now tracking.
I am sorry to read this.
sab
@CaseyL: We have maxed out on sedation. Rescheduled our Monday appointment because 1) doubt we could catch him and 2) afraid for us and vet to try to take him in. My vet has massive cat charisma, but so does my husband, and cat clawed a chunck out of his hand. He thinks cat is nuts. I think cat is terrified, with a naturally bad/skittish personality which aggravates things ( sounds like my husband.)
MomSense
@sdhays:
God I hope there are no Indie spoilers.
sab
@Adam L Silverman: Cat is only 5. We will all get through this. Thank God other cats are on our side.
Subsole
Thank you so much, Adam.
I know when I was living out west, part of what made the threat so daunting is that it often felt like I was facing it more or less alone. The only lib in town.
There are more of us, folks.
Never forget that.
They wouldn’t be pulling this despicable shit if that weren’t the case. We just have to keep pushing.
And thanks to everyone for their contributions.
As far as suggestions, I heard good things about postcards to voters during the election. Worth a look.
Omnes Omnibus
@Benw: Honestly, we’ve always just bought time until the next election. There never will be a victory so great that we never have to struggle again. We just need to accept this fact.
ETA: Maybe this is why some people get so discouraged. It’s an endless slog. We can and should take breaks to celebrate wins, but the next moment we need to defend what we just won.
James E Powell
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The last poll I saw had Turner at 50%, Brown at 15%. Is there a chance that’s wrong?
FlyingToaster
I’m on the monthly donation cycle to Groundwork Project (announcement). Their website is pretty bare-bones (sends you on to ActBlue). They’re partnering with local groups on redistricting and candidate recruitment. Daily e-mails (you’ve been warned).
I’m also on with WarrenDemocrats, for the obvious reasons.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@James E Powell: I saw that poll, too. I didn’t recognize the outfit that published it, but I’m really hoping it’s wrong.
Shana
@Redshift: So who’d you vote for? I picked Carol Foy, Mark Herring and Sean Perryman. May not see your answer for a while, I head back to my precinct in a bit until 7pm to try to get folks’ contact info for a party I’m hoping to throw later this year.
James E Powell
@Benw:
I’m in a deep red pocket in California. White pickups with two flags: USA & Blue Line. Trump yard signs the size of pickup trucks. And lately, a lot of “Prayer Changes Things” signs in varying configurations.
My congressional district is R+7. Last year, I gave to both of the Orange County Ds who lost. I think we can get them back. I’m used to doing door to door & volunteering for events. Hoping we are back to that in 2022.
UncleEbeneezer
@Benw: See if you have a SwingLeft in your area. They focus on swing districts/states nearby. I’m in a blue area of a deep blue state, but there are still a couple House districts CA-25, 39 that are only an hour or so away that we want to win back in 2022. SwingLeft does postcards, phone banking and even canvassing. If you can find a chapter in your area (or state) they are probably already working on the most winnable/flippable district nearby you.
Kristine
Monthly donations to Fair Fight and the DLCC. Also my Dem rep and a slate of Act Blue picks.
Another Scott
Thanks for this thread.
Before I go overboard below, I’d urge everyone who uses Amazon to signup for Amazon Smile and pick a charity you like. 0.5% of your purchase goes out of Bezos’s pocket to that charity and costs you nothing. (Yeah, he probably gets a tax break for it, but it’s still money going to your charity of choice.) I have mine directed to VoteRiders. I’m reasonably sure you can still use it with affiliate links (like the one here).
I donate regularly to several organizations: DNC, DCCC, DSCC, DLCC. I don’t always agree with any particular decision they make, but they’re plugged in to their partners’ needs and we need strong national organizations (especially when the press makes such a big deal about quarterly fundraising numbers).
I regularly support the ACLU, NAACP, LWV, VoteRiders, FairFight, and others.
I donate to a state/local politics blog – bluevirginia.US And chip in here. ;-)
I donate to other political blogs too, because it’s important to be able to talk about this stuff with like-minded people, and they’re often a good source of information that one doesn’t always see in the national press: Wonkette, Driftglass, Eclectablog
I support ProPublica.
Maybe if/when I retire I’ll be able to do more than donations and being wordy on the internet, but for now helping to provide resources in some small way is what I’m able to do…
Cheers,
Scott.
Geminid
@James E Powell: Well the poll was commissioned by the Turner campaign, so there is that. I believe the same pollster had Sanders trailing Biden by single digits in last year’s South Carolina primary, and Biden beat Sanders by 30 points.
Mary G
I have been giving to Maricopa County Democrats to protect Mark Kelly and keep Arizona going blue. They had a fire in their HQ and are still rebuilding that infrastructure. Suzanne has vouched for them and their emails have a colorful rising sun header that looks pretty as I delete them.
Mark Elias has launched Democracy Docket to fund all the lawsuits he is so good at winning.
Redshift
@Shana: I voted for Caroll Foy, Rasoul, and Herring. It was close between Rasoul and Ayala for LG, but Rasoul impressed me more than any of the others at a candidate forum a while back.
debbie
@CaseyL:
Sab probably needs it more.
Sandia Blanca
Here are some organizations doing excellent work in Texas:
1. MOVE Texas https://movetexas.org/
2. Powered by People (the Beto O’Rourke group) https://poweredxpeople.org/
3. The Texas Civil Rights Project https://txcivilrights.org/
4. Jolt https://jolttx.org/
Josie
I make regular small donations to Four Directions and Beto O’Rourke’s Powered by People.
ETA: I like both groups because they reach out to people personally.
Subsole
Also take a look at terikanefield.com/things to do
May give you some useful ideas, or at least start you looking in the right direction.
cain
@James E Powell:
As a non-white, I’ve reached out to my asian american caucus and working on stepping up to help plan and help our community in Oregon.
There is a lot of local stuff to protect – specifically, we need to watch out for various right winger groups trying to get into the local school board. We do not want to give anybody a start into a political career anywhere.
This is some of the important we work we need to do at the local grassroots level – do not give oxygen to right wing ideologues if we can.
Michael Cain
@Subsole:
The Interior West representation in the US Senate is nine Democrats, seven Republicans. One more (D) from the Interior West than from the traditionally defined Midwest. Overall, 17 of the our 50 seats in the Senate are from western states (18 of 51 if you include VP Harris). Compared to when my wife and I moved here 33 years ago, these are strange times.
Elizabelle
@cain: Yea for you. Wonderful work.
School boards are the nurseries for craziness. Stop them in the cradles.
sab
@debbie: I don’t. Spouse does. He is a tiny little cat. Looks like a kitten, but packs a whallop in his big paws.
He has not been fed properly. He should be twice his size ( to match his feet.)
I feel bad for him. He shouldn’t be so scared and angry.
Benw
@Omnes Omnibus: each one now feels A LOT more urgent since 2016
Benw
@Sandia Blanca: thanks!
Benw
@UncleEbeneezer: thanks, I’ll check out SwingLeft!
Sandia Blanca
@Subsole: I second this recommendation. Teri Kanefield is a knowledgeable and pragmatic commentator, and she always has lots of suggestions for actions to take.
Madeleine
Avoiding groups already named, I’m phone banking with Common Cause tomorrow for the first time. They phone bank every day shifting targets (tomorrow is to get AZ voters to call Sinema). I stick around the edges of the Poor Peoples’ Campaign and there’s local and national Indivisibles and I get info from VoteVets and all the national Dems (donate monthly to them but plan to shift to state level groups like Beto’s). Also give to Warren, Booker and gave to the MI senators when I lived there (the Repubs are really aggressive).
I need to check my ActBlue and other records tomorrow ‘cuz I’m forgetting groups—the weather is getting to me.