Turning heartbreak and rage into action
Justice Ginsberg’s death is a gut punch and a wake up call. It’s time to DO something.
Not gonna lie. Last night was BLEAK.
The news of Justice Ginsberg’s death hit me hard. And it’s sad that we can’t even take a moment to honor her extraordinary life without the dread of the coming political shit storm.
Republican hypocrisy on SCOTUS is going to go nuclear in the weeks ahead. It’s depressing AF.
SO MUCH hangs in the balance this election. It’s terrifying.
But maybe it always has been. Maybe 2020 is just shaking the blinders off me in all my white, male, upper-middle-class privilege. And giving me a taste of urgency that so many have felt for so long.
I hate what Trump has done to our country. It breaks my heart that so many Americans can’t see him for the con man he is. I hate that the GOP has sold their soul to this incompetent fool. I’m afraid of the path they’ve put us on. I pray that we can redirect our nation this November.
But prayer isn’t enough. What can we DO?
This morning, I did a few things. It’s not enough, but it’s something:
1. Wrote my senators
I wrote my senators and urged them to fight like hell to delay the appointment of a new SCOTUS until after the inauguration. There are lots of ways to do this. https://resist.bot makes it incredibly easy.
2. Signed up to write letters to swing-state voters
I signed up to write letters to voters in swing stages. I signed up with http://votefwd.org. (It only took a few hours to get approved and I’ve already written my first batch of letters, which felt great!)
Another write-to-voters program is https://postcardstovoters.org. There are also many phone banking and texting opportunities. This organization is doing good work: https://www.votefromhome2020.org. So is https://swingleft.org.
3. Donated to Joe Biden’s campaign
I made a donation to the Biden/Harris campaign: https://joebiden.com
4. Donated to four Senate campaigns
I also wanted to donate to Senate campaigns that have the best chance of flipping the Senate to the Democrats. (Everybody should support the campaigns they feel most called to support, of course.)
The four I donated to this morning are ones where strategists think a.) the Democrat has a fighting chance and b.) your $ goes farther because it’s a state where media is cheaper and your money buys more ads.
North Carolina: https://www.calfornc.com
Montana: https://stevebullock.com
Iowa: https://greenfieldforiowa.com
Georgia: https://electjon.com
These candidates are also worth looking as these seats are thought to be flippable:
Arizona: https://markkelly.com
Colorado: https://hickenlooper.com
Maine: https://saragideon.com
Or you can donate to the Democratic Coalition, which sends money to whatever challenger needs it most: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/flip-the-senate-2020
Biden, the Senate candidates, and the Democratic coalition all use the same donation platform, so if you save your info on the first donation, other donations are one-click.
5. Continue to speak up
For the next 45 days I’m going to continue to write and post and advocate for the candidates and election outcomes I want to see in November. We all must not be afraid to advocate for the America we want.
These 12 reasons we must defeat Trump are even more acute now than when I first collected them 55 days ago…
None of this feels like enough. But it’s something. Let’s all do something.
John Kovacevich is a writer and creative director in San Francisco.
