Your rights depend on them now more than ever
In response to the leaked draft opinion overturning Roe, Sen. Joe Manchin said, “The filibuster is the only protection we have of democracy right now.” It sure as hell isn’t Joe Manchin.
As much as I’d like to see Democrats pull the Women’s Health Protection Act out of their hats this summer, that’s a serious long shot. Manchin would rather defend the filibuster than women’s rights. “[S]upposedly pro-choice Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski” also oppose touching the filibuster rule, explains John Nichols of The Nation. The bill has already failed in the Senate in February:
So Democrats must do something they haven’t been very good at in recent years: prioritize statehouse elections. That does not mean that the party should abandon the fight for control of Congress. But it does mean that if the party is serious about protecting reproductive rights and a host of other rights that are now threatened, electing pro-choice governors, state attorneys general, and state legislators will become essential.
This is not just about the 21 states across the country that have retained pre-Roe bans on abortion rights or that have passed so-called “trigger laws” to implement a ban if the court acts. This is about all the states where Republican governors with legislative majorities could eliminate existing protections and further threaten reproductive rights.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Jessica Post offered a clear-eyed assessment that leaders of her party, and pro-choice activists nationwide, need to recognize. Acknowledging that “Americans will soon be living in a post-Roe world,” Post said, “This should be a tough lesson for Democrats—our policy-making power in Washington is limited and the fight to protect abortion rights will now lie in state legislatures.”
Digby yesterday featured Dan Pfeiffer’s list of organizations where your dollars can help. With multiple state chairs, I’m advising Movement Labs’ Rural Power Lab efforts to build party infrastructure in rural areas Democrats have long neglected. And Democratic leadership knows it; they are trying to fix it.
Contest Every Race, an allied effort, partners with Run for Something, the National Democratic Training Committee, and others to help under-resourced county committees recruit and support candidates for local and state legislative races. They mean to ensure that the stunning number of down-ballot races Republicans win by default in red areas because Democrats fail to contest them get contested.
Republicans are coming for your school board. Why do you think that is?
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For The Win, 4th Edition is ready for download. Request a copy of my free, countywide get-out-the-vote planning guide for county committees at ForTheWin.us. This is what winning looks like.