Daily Dems Doing the Work, Making Noise and Fighting Back Day 72
I am so excited for this post today because there are four fighters who I’ve never mentioned before!
Please make sure to engage with their posts, especially with comments, because the comments don’t look so great for most of these electeds right now.
Let’s begin!
Repping the Rep: Chris Pappas (NH-01)
Who, yesterday, held a round table with NH healthcare providers about the budget bill Republicans are trying to pass.
This is not his first time holding this round table. He first met with them back in February, when the potential content of this bill was made public the first time. So not only has he been keeping them aware of each step of the process, but he’s been working directly with them as well.
I also think this helps demystify these round tables a bit. It’s very easy to write them off, since most of what we hear about them is in short posts with a handful of photos attached. But they aren’t a one-time thing. It’s not placating, which I assume some people believe, it’s about making sure they know what’s going on every step of the way and can maybe offer suggestions on things like amendments and messaging.
Reps Ted Lieu (CA-36), Pete Aguilar (CA-33), Adam Gray (CA-13), Tim Kennedy (NY-26), and Andrea Salinas (OR-06)
All spoke at today's weekly House Dems press conference. The main topic was tariffs.
Gray spoke about growing up in a farming family in the San Joaquin valley and how the tariffs will affect his mostly farming constituents.
Kennedy spoke about how close his district is to Canada and how severely those tariffs will affect his community.
And Salinas spoke about all the businesses in Oregon that will be affected.
We also heard from Lieu about the Lithuanian soldiers, and how DT just doesn’t care, our win in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, and the success of Hands Off 2025 on Saturday.
If anyone complains that there aren’t weekly press conferences, make sure to show them this.
Rep Joe Morelle (NY-25)
Gave today’s Democratic Daily Download. This was about the poll tax, also known as the SAVE act.
The focus has been on how it will be much more complicated for married women and military members and their families to vote, but Morelle lays out several other things in the bill that I didn’t even know about. For instance, all these documents are needed by everyone, it’s just the married women don’t have the documents with the right name. This means that it all has to be done in person. If this were to pass, there would be no more online voter registration. My county board of election office is not close, and yours might not be either.
You’re only hearing about a small part of the SAVE act, but, turns out, it’s even worse than the bad we already know.
Luckily, it has almost no chance of passing filibuster, but it shouldn’t even pass the House. I mean, this won’t just affect Democrats, all Republicans will be affected too.
Huge thanks to Morelle for mentioning some of the less known parts of this disastrous bill.
Congressional Dad’s Caucus
Held a press conference about tariffs. Each of the six members present spoke for a couple minutes: Reps Chair Jimmy Gomez (CA-35), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Shomari Figures (AL-02), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), and Derek Tran (CA-45).
But the coolest thing they did was have a table full of things parents with young kids need that are becoming more expensive from food to clothes that young kids quickly grow out of.
It’s one thing to talk about hypotheticals, but it’s another to show exactly what you are talking about. When you know how something feels and you can see it with your own eyes, that has far more power than just words and statistics.
This is one of those tactics that, if it went viral, I believe could easily change hearts and minds, but the trick is, making it go viral, and that is on us.
Rep Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37)
Posted an amazing video, but, what’s new?
This time she talks about how she agrees with Ted Cruz for the first time in her life in regards to these tariffs being harmful. However, he has the power to do something about it, and he won’t, so she talks directly to him and tells him what he could be doing, but isn’t.
I know I use Kamlager-Dove in this series all the time, but I can’t help it. She never makes things overly complicated or expects us to understand complicated topics. She makes sure to make everything perfectly understandable and is as transparent as possible.
For instance, I’ve seen a few reps post about this Cruz interview. And some of them have framed in a “this is good for bipartisanship” way. But, Kamlager-Dove doesn’t do that. She audibly shutters that she is forced to agree with him.
Rep Jared Huffman (CA-02)
Posted another episode of his The Flip Side. In this episode, while Republicans have filed multiple articles of impeachment against judges who rule against their views, on the flip side, Democrats and 4,000 members of the legal community have written a letter to Pam Bondi demanding that she follow the rule of law.
First off, I missed that story entirely, until now. Secondly, it’s really apalling how stark the difference is between the two parties. That said, Huffman does a fantastic job showing the differences with this series, which is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
IG | Threads | Blue Sky | YouTube
Rep Bonnie Watson-Coleman (NJ-12)
Posted a really fabulous video about the government sanctioned abductions.
She explains why due process is so important and how it’s not being followed. If you have any questions about what’s happening with these abductions, this video is a must-watch. She explains it so thoughtfully and completely. I even understand the situation a bit better after watching.
And finally…
Sen Ruben Gallego (AZ)
Put his military experience to good use. He explains, in 4 points, why Sec Noem should never be anywhere near a loaded gun, or our deportation system using a photo she recently posted.
The video is kinda snarky, in the best way, but it’s also informative. I am the least educated person when it comes to the military, so this was incredibly helpful to understand how unserious she truly is.
Threads | Blue Sky | YouTube | IG
And those are just a small smattering of today’s fighters.
Please remember to amplify their posts, they need positive engagement!
If you made it this far, comment 🗳️ (ballot box) cause it’s not likely that the SAVE Act will pass the Senate, but wouldn’t it be great if it gets killed in the House
Our voices are superpower, but ONLY when we use them!
🗳️ I’ve been following the SAVE act particularly ever since I first heard about it. Seeing more voices of those who have been elected to places of power speaking out against it and outlining the particulars of some of the more hidden details within the act is so very hopeful for me.
Thank you for sharing the positives you find each day and reminding us of the power we ourselves also hold.
🗳️ as soon as I heard about the SAVE act I called my mom and told her to get a passport. Planning for the worst while hoping for the best.