Wednesday's Vote Was Tough to Take

“History is watching us. Our children are counting on us. I’m still praying that we will cross that bridge. . . . But if not tonight, we will come back again. And again. And again.” ~ Senator Raphael Warnock on the Senate floor, January 19, 2022

Happy Friday, Dear Activists! We know Wednesday night's vote on the filibuster was tough to take. We're feeling it too. There’s no denying that Kyrsten Sinema, Joe Manchin, and all the Republican senators betrayed their constituents and our democracy. We lost this round, but we also made some gains. Now, after all of our activism, no Democrat can get elected to Congress if they are against reforming the filibuster, and that’s very new and a big deal. The media didn’t cover it but several Senate Dem. holdouts (including from Delaware!) have now switched sides to become filibuster reform advocates. Watch Ezra Levin's video message with his reaction and thoughts. And we made sure that Senator Casey knew that none of his votes could be taken for granted and we held his feet to the fire. We also helped shine a national spotlight on the urgency to safeguard our democracy and our voting rights (remember the Constitution Center rally?). We can say without a doubt that we left no stone unturned. So without democracy reform legislation anywhere in sight, what does all this mean for us going forward? Simple - we in Pennsylvania (and our partners around the country) have the opportunity to make those conservative senators irrelevant, by electing a Democrat to Senator Toomey’s seat. Plus electing a Democrat in our Governor’s seat. We have work to do, but this is our chance to help save democracy. The country is counting on us (no pressure!). We're so proud of all of our work together - you showed up over and over and over again. So our prescription for you now: Take a rest. Come and hear Josh Shapiro’s talk with us on Monday night. Come to our kickoff meeting in a couple of weeks (date TBD). Then we get back to work!

NEXT MONDAY! JOIN OUR MEETING WITH A.G. JOSH SHAPIRO Attorney General Josh Shapiro is running for PA Governor this year. Getting a Democrat elected is critical to ensuring democracy endures in our own state! We’ll have a lot to ask him about his vision for the state. Bring your questions too! We will start at 7:30 sharp, so try to get there on time so you don't miss anything. Reply to this email with your questions! When: Monday, January 24, 7:30 pm Where: Zoom. Sign up here.

THIS WEEK'S MESSAGING It's important right now that we recognize the Biden administration's accomplishments during their first year. It's an amazing list and we have but a few of them here. We'll have more next week!

See our full Messaging explainer from a recent newsletter here. You can use these short, strategic talking points when you’re talking to friends, family and neighbors and in your social media networks. Simply copy and paste them into your feeds. We need to promote Biden's accomplishments as much as possible! Here you go - For Facebook, Twitter, and personal conversations: Remember #OneYearAgo: We experienced record-level unemployment. Today: Thanks to President Biden, we’ve added 6.4 million new good-paying jobs, breaking all records! Remember #OneYearAgo: Lines for food banks stretched miles long. Today: Thanks to President Biden, millions of children have been lifted out of poverty. Remember #OneYearAgo: Infrastructure Week was a running joke. Today: Thanks to President Biden, we’re repairing and rebuilding our roads, bridges, airports, and railways, and moving forward as a nation.

OUR 35 DOORS PROJECT – YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE Want to save democracy?! Then our 35 Doors Project is a really powerful tool for you to get out the vote. Our Neighborhood Leaders are reaching out to their neighbors all over the city and talking to them about elections. And we need more of you! For all the info you need, come to our next 35 Doors Training on February 3 at 6:30 pm and we’ll answer your questions and give you the tools for success. Sign up here.

And more -- 1. Check out our new website page devoted to our 35 Doors Project, see some of our neighborhood leaders in action, and read all about why this is such a successful program. 2. Check out our 35 Doors videos – here’s the long one and here’s the short one. 3. Finally, did you ever consider becoming a Committee Person? By joining our 35 Doors Project you’ll get a head start. You’ll be trained in how to do that job and you'll be meeting the very neighbors who will be voting for you when you run.

POSTCARDS! Write to Philly Voters More democracy-saving happening here! We are writing to every voter in Philadelphia who does not usually vote in midterm elections, to secure Democratic victories for the open U.S. Senate and PA Governor seats. Here’s how it works – The hand-written script is short plus you’ll also write the address. We recommend you order enough cards to write over the next month. Then we’ll have updated cards. The packet you receive will include the postcards and the list of addresses. We’ll email you all the instructions and the script. Please order your postcards in multiples of 50. We ask that you donate $7.00 per set of 50 postcards to cover our costs at this link. But don’t let the donation stop you from signing up. On the other hand, if you can, please consider chipping in a little extra to cover the cost for those who cannot. Here’s how to sign up – Email us at this link to tell us how many postcards you want. Purchase your 40-cent postcard stamps online at this link or at your local post office. Donate $7.00 per set of 50 postcards at this link. (Plus an extra $5.00 if we are shipping to you.) Here’s how to receive your postcards – If you are in the Philadelphia area, we will deliver them to you or you can pick them up. If you are outside the Philadelphia area, we can ship them to you. Please add $5.00 to your donation for shipping costs.

STATE ISSUES, CONTINUED You can see our information about leaving comments for the Congressional maps and calling about HB 38 and HB 2077 in our Friday newsletter.

BEFORE YOU GO One more inspiring quote from Senator Warnock, as he shared after Wednesday night’s vote: “Despite tonight's vote, we cannot turn away. This will not be the last opportunity we get to fight for voting rights. We will meet the moment again, to try again. And again. Until we succeed.”