Update 4/22/24: The Biden Administration just opened applications for the American Climate Corps. From Sunrise “Four years ago, Sunrise began campaigning for a Climate Corps. We walked hundreds of miles. We protested in the streets in DC and around the country. We built coalitions. Now 20,000 young people will work this summer and fall to care for their communities and tackle the climate crisis through the program. Check out the open positions and share them with every young person you know. CHECK OPENINGS 

The media still hasn’t found a path forward to help protect Democracy. They uplift disinformation, don’t hold radicals accountable and cover only bad news. But you can make a real difference by talking to real people! From Uber drivers to that neighbor or relative, you may have a chance to talk about Biden’s accomplishments or other good news that the media ignores.  Remember, most people do not pay for a newspaper or even watch the news – whatever the reason, they just don’t pay attention. Here are some conversation starters!

Biden and Climate

This won’t be your grandfather’s CCC, though – Biden has centered equity and environmental justice at its core.  That simply means fairness.  It means creating good jobs in communities most affected by pollution, usually disadvantaged areas.  It’s not an accident that industrial pollution is worse in communities already suffering; they don’t always have the resources to fight back.  So, the American Climate Corp will create good jobs, where investment will make a huge difference in the health and well-being of its residents.  I’d sure like to see that program continue and expand under another Biden term!

Conversation Tip:  

This might be a great way to bring generations together!  My grandfather was in the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps – his (all-white male) unit built roads and bridges in the Colorado mountains.  What did your family do in the 30s?  Was the New Deal meaningful to your family?  It’s almost 100 years since then – can we use it again to lift people out of poverty and give back to the nation at the same time?

More good climate news

In August, Montana youth won their lawsuit arguing that their state violated their right to a clean environment.  Why is this so important?  The district court was striking down a Republican state law barring Montana from considering climate impacts when permitting energy projects.  Yes, that’s correct – Republicans wrote a law to say you couldn’t even talk about climate issues during zoning and permitting processes.  

Montana’s constitution is unique in that it includes the right to a “clean and healthful environment,” added in 1972.   The Court affirmed that climate is included in this right. 

Currently, the Republican government of Montana has promoted fossil fuels, especially coal, which is significantly dirtier than natural gas.  The plaintiffs, from age 5 to 22, testified that “climate change has jeopardized their recreation, traditions, mental health and physical health.”  The Indigenous plaintiffs testified that climate change threatens their land and culture.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that 2022 was the 50th anniversary of Montana citizen’s 1972 state constitutional convention that changed their state from a “corporate colony to an era of grassroots democracy.”  It’s an inspiring story of people rising up to do what is right for the land and themselves.  I bet learning about this history helped inspire the current lawsuit!

Conversation Tip:

Ask someone to share their experience in nature.  What makes it important to protect and preserve our natural spaces?  Who really benefits when Republicans allow corporations to industrialize?  Who is hurt?  Climate Change is such a broad term – what does it mean for our wild spaces? 

The media still hasn’t found a path forward to help protect Democracy. They uplift disinformation, don’t hold radicals accountable and cover only bad news. But you can make a real difference by talking to real people! From Uber drivers to that neighbor or relative, you may have a chance to talk about Biden’s accomplishments or other good news that the media ignores.  Remember, most people do not pay for a newspaper or even watch the news – whatever the reason, they just don’t pay attention. Here are some conversation starters!

Biden and Gun Safety

Frustrated with the lack of action from Republicans in Congress, President Biden signed an executive order to create the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.  Vice President Harris will oversee the Office, which was created this September.  The leadership team also includes Stephanie Feldman, Greg Jackson, and Rob Wilcox, activists who have been working on gun safety policy for a decade.  This new WH Office is an important way to devote resources and expertise to implementing executive actions, rules and regulations through the DOJ .  They will also provide a critical function often overlooked by activists-making sure the existing laws are fully put into practice. 

Biden was able to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in June, 2022, the only significant gun safety legislation in 30 years.  This legislation keeps guns out of the hands of minors, improves mental health services in schools, and invests in community violence interventions.  It makes it easier for communities to pass “Red Flag” laws by providing coordination and funding.   It also gives the DOJ more authority to prosecute firearm traffickers.

Biden’s Executive Orders include holding rogue gun dealers accountable, keeping repeat shooters and dangerous weapons off our streets and providing resources to address the root causes of gun violence.

Biden needs Congress to pass legislation to go further.  He has called on Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines; require safe storage of firearms; require background checks for all gun sales; and eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability.  Republicans and the NRA categorically refuse any gun regulation.  In order for legislation of this magnitude to pass, Democrats must have full control of the House and Senate.  

Did the Assault Weapon Ban from 1994 to 2005 prevent gun violence?

The recent gun safety legislation has renewed interest in gun violence data collected before, during and after the Federal assault weapon ban from 1994 to 2004.  The data gives rise to several conclusions:  

• Even though the ban was limited to new sales, gun deaths fell during the ban.
• After the ban expired in 2004, there was an immediate and steep rise in gun deaths.
• The calculated risk of a person in the U.S. dying in a mass shooting was 70% lower during the period in which the assault weapons ban was active. 

Do “Red Flag” Laws prevent gun violence?

Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO), are sometimes called “Red Flag” laws.  Moms Demand Action encourages using the actual name of ERPO, or Extreme Risk Protection Orders to combat the NRA propaganda around the name “Red Flag.”  There is broad public support for these laws.  16 states currently have varying versions, but basically they allow family or law enforcement to petition a court to at least temporarily remove guns from a dangerous person.  They are especially important in suicide prevention. There is not a Federal ERPO provision.

As of this writing, the latest gun massacre was in the state of Maine, which has no ERPO laws, or background checks.  The Maine shooter was known to the police for threatening acts of violence, but they had no mechanism to remove his guns.  

Even when ERPO laws exist, Sheriffs and other law enforcement sometimes refuse to enforce them, calling themselves “2nd Amendment Sanctuaries.”  Is your Sheriff elected?  Who oversees the law enforcement in your town? 

A major strength of postcards is that postcards can be highly impactful on a relational level. These powerful effects involve many interrelated people, e.g., family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances.

My friend’s daughter came home for a visit one afternoon, saying that she had received a postcard introducing a different school board candidate. The postcard caught her eye, and she shared that this new candidate sounded really interesting. My friend was intrigued, so their two families spent a week researching the candidate introduced by the postcard. Finally, all five family members decided to vote for the new candidate rather than the one supported by the school board. Five votes from one postcard! And who knows how many other people were convinced by my friend and her family.

While the above example features a local race, the ultimate effects on voting behavior may spread beyond local communities and can influence state or national races as well as local. 

One of these new group leaders, a former postcarder and friend of mine, moved to a senior community. There she found residents hungry to participate in the election process, and they were eager to write postcards. Postcarding fever rapidly spread throughout the community, as it was meaningful and not restricted by age or disability.  Postcard writing parties took place in the community’s activity room, where residents wrote postcards together. As my friend described it, the 80-year olds wrote on the postcards while the 90-year olds put on stamps and address labels! 

So how does this recruitment of new activists through postcarding directly benefit the ultimate goals of winning elections? It’s simple – activated volunteers VOTE and DONATE.

And they have friends, family, and acquaintances who are encouraged to do the same, causing a ripple effect that will definitely affect elections. 

The point here is, don’t be disheartened by research studies that find relatively small levels of effectiveness through postcarding. (Read more) Remember that even a small contribution can have an outsized effect in small or close elections! And the two examples above show that postcards can gain even more impact through relational effects.

So postcarding really works! Go for it – participate fully in the process, let your enthusiasm spread, and watch us keep winning!

In Virginia, our mission is to reclaim a Democratic majority in the House of Delegates while simultaneously bolstering our presence in the Senate. Virginia supported Joe Biden in the 2020 elections, with his winning percentage standing at 54.11%. We faced challenges as Democrats took narrow losses in both 2021 and 2022. However, the tide turned in 2023, as Democrats won victories in special elections.

The Virginia House of Delegates currently seats 48 Democrats and 52 Republicans. With the entire slate of 100 seats up for contention this year, we aim to flip three seats to gain Democratic control. Numerous open seats and retirements fuel our optimism to uphold and potentially expand our majority.

In the Virginia State Senate, where Democrats currently command 22 seats in contrast to Republicans’ 18, the critical threshold to maintain control is a maximum loss of one seat. Once again, the revamped electoral maps could help us retain our Democratic majority.

Our overarching objective is to prevent a GOP trifecta by turning the tables in the House and fortifying our position in the Senate. This strategy aims to act as a formidable counterbalance against Republican Governor Younkin’s extreme agenda.