Sign the petition: Pass sweeping democracy reforms

Democrats must lead in fixing our broken democracy. Tell House Democratic leaders: H.R. 1 must be a bold, comprehensive package of democracy reforms including: fair and independent redistricting commissions, citizen-funded elections and protection against voter discrimination. Add your name: Dear Katy, From massive voter suppression to the corruptive influence of money in politics, the last couple of elections have proven that our democracy is broken and must be fixed. The first order of business for the new Democratic majority in the House will be sweeping reforms to fix our democracy, but we must ensure that these efforts are not watered down or too narrow.1 That's why CREDO is joining Common Cause and more than 20 other organizations to make sure Democratic leaders know – before they even take power – that this new package must put voting rights and voter protection front and center. Tell House leaders: Make sure H.R. 1 is a bold package to fix our broken system. Click here to sign the petition. With massive numbers of voters reportedly purged from the rolls in key states like Georgia, numerous problems with voter registration and state policies that limit early or absentee voting, it is likely that hundreds of thousands of voters were prevented from casting their ballots last month. Additional hurdles like voter ID requirements kept many from even trying to vote. Confusion about voter status and provisional ballots contributed to already long lines – in some places the result of polling place closures in predominantly non-white communities.2 Any fix that Congress proposes must include an ironclad commitment to restoring the Voting Rights Act (VRA). In 2013, the Supreme Court gutted the VRA and as a result states immediately moved to put voter restrictions in place.3 So many of the state-level efforts to disenfranchise voters of color, in particular, would not be permitted with a robust VRA in place. Beyond voter protection, Congress must also look to expand voter access: making early voting easy and widespread, enacting automatic voter registration so that everyone who is eligible to vote is registered unless they opt out, and restoring voting rights to people barred for prior criminal convictions. And of course we need fairly-drawn districts. Voter participation was 10 percentage points higher in 2018 than it was in 2014, but Republican-rigged districts kept the blue wave from becoming a tsunami.4 Democracy only works if peoples' votes count equally – no matter their ZIP code. Tell House leaders: Make sure H.R. 1 is a bold package to fix our broken system. Click here to sign the petition. Voter protection and expansion are essential to a functioning democracy, but Congress must also address the major problem of money in politics. Americans are being drowned out by corporations and other big campaign spenders thanks to Citizens United. Small-donor matching, which uses public funds to amplify small campaign donations, is the best way to boost participation and make it easier for people who are not beholden to corporate or big-donor interests to run for office and be competitive. Both the 2016 and 2018 elections were unduly influenced by not just big money corporate interests but also by foreign powers. We need strong disclosure rules so that we can find out who is trying to sway our votes. The newly elected Democratic majority in the House knows that the public wants strong solutions to fix our democracy, and they are planning on taking important steps in the right direction. But before there are the inevitable attempts to compromise or moderate the proposals they include in H.R. 1, they need to hear loud and clear that voters are going to hold them to their promise to pass a bold package of reforms. Half measures simply won't go far enough. Tell House leaders: Make sure H.R. 1 is a bold package to fix our broken system. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/democracy_reform?t=8&akid=31009%2E12967895%2EaXDSv3 Thank you for standing up for democracy, Kaili Lambe, Organizing Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Ella Nilsen, "House Democrats unveil their first bill in the majority: a sweeping anti-corruption proposal," Vox, Nov. 30, 2018. Danielle Root and Aadam Barclay, "Voter Suppression During the 2018 Midterm Elections," Center For American Progress, Nov. 20, 2018. Brennan Center for Justice, "Restore the Voting Rights Act," Feb. 4, 2016. Root and Barclay, "Voter Suppression During the 2018 Midterm Elections." Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2018 CREDO. All rights reserved. This email was sent to katy63.kelso@blogger.com. To change your email or mailing address, please click here: https://act.credoaction.com/me/update/?t=20&akid=31009%2E12967895%2EaXDSv3 To unsubscribe, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?t=22&akid=31009%2E12967895%2EaXDSv3

Sign the petition: Tell advertisers to drop Tucker Carlson's racism

Tell advertisers: Drop Tucker Carlson The petition to Tucker Carlson's advertisers reads: "Stop funding Tucker Carlson's dangerous, racist rhetoric." Add your name: Dear Katy, Fox News host Tucker Carlson has made his career by spewing white supremacist rants masked as legitimate commentary. Recently he went too far, even for his regular advertisers – and he's starting to pay a price. Two weeks ago, Carlson told his viewers that immigration "makes our country poorer, and dirtier, and more divided."1 More than a dozen sponsors have left his show in response to widespread outrage.2 Describing immigrants as "dirty" is the kind of racist rhetoric that fuels hatred and violence. But some brands are still funding his extremist propaganda, including household names like Bayer, Mitsubishi and Farmers Insurance.3 These companies must stop supporting Carlson's hatred – now. Tell Tucker Carlson's advertisers: Stop funding hate. Click here to sign the petition. Carlson's latest comments are part of his well-documented pattern of racist on-air commentary. He criticized the idea that diversity is an American value4 and called the NAACP a "joke" that "should be shut down."5 He promotes right-wing conspiracy theories about threats of "white genocide" and minimizes the impact of slavery.6 Carlson regularly claims Mexico interferes in U.S. elections by "packing our electorate."7 Fearmongering leads to violence. The shooter who killed 19 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue said he was motivated to kill because of the congregation's support for immigration.8 That twisted logic depends on believing the kinds of conspiracy theories that Tucker Carlson and Fox News promote. The good news is that pressure on Tucker Carlson's advertisers is working. Before his latest comments, Carlson's program averaged 36 commercials, and afterwards the show included only 20.9 Advertisers refusing to sponsor hateful rhetoric has had a powerful effect on other Fox News shows as well. Dozens of companies recently removed their ads from Sean Hannity's show, and after Laura Ingraham's despicable ridiculing of Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg, her advertiser base shrunk by more than half.10 By keeping the spotlight on advertisers, we can push more companies to do the right thing and cut ties with Tucker Carlson. As advertisers leave in droves, we can defund Carlson and turn off his firehose of hate and lies. Tell Tucker Carlson's advertisers: Stop funding hate. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/carlson-boycott?t=7&akid=31010%2E12967895%2Ea0V08u Brandy Doyle, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Oliver Darcy, "Tucker Carlson's show has been hit by an advertiser boycott, and it's having a visible effect," CNN, Dec. 20, 2018. Ibid. Owen Daugherty and Justin Wise, "Companies pull ads from Carlson's show after 'poorer and dirtier' immigration comment," The Hill, Dec. 14, 2018. Madeline Peltz, "Tucker Carlson's descent into white supremacy: A timeline," Media Matters for America, Oct. 29, 2018. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Adam Serwer, "Trump's Caravan Hysteria Led to This," The Atlantic, Oct. 28, 2018. Darcy, "Tucker Carlson's show has been hit by an advertiser boycott, and it's having a visible effect." Angelo Carusone, "Fox News' ad chief admits that advertisers are leaving. Here's what's going on." Media Matters for America, Oct. 17, 2018. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2018 CREDO. All rights reserved. This email was sent to katy63.kelso@blogger.com. To change your email or mailing address, please click here: https://act.credoaction.com/me/update/?t=21&akid=31010%2E12967895%2Ea0V08u To unsubscribe, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?t=23&akid=31010%2E12967895%2Ea0V08u

Now is the time to act

Sign the petition: Block Trump's right-wing attorney general pick

Far-right William Barr must not become attorney general Tell the Senate: "Reject William Barr's nomination as attorney general. His long record of right-wing extremist views combined with his anti-Mueller memo disqualify him." Add your name: Dear Katy, Trump's government shutdown eclipsed some important news last week: His pick for attorney general, William Barr, wants to give him cover when it comes to the Mueller investigation. This past summer, Barr argued to senior Justice Department officials that Robert Mueller cannot investigate Trump for obstruction of justice.1 Barr's memo would be disqualifying even if the rest of his record was spotless, but of course, as a member of team Trump, his record is deep on bigotry and intolerance. Trump's loyal Republicans are trying to present Barr as an old-fashioned moderate, but he's really just Jeff Sessions 2.0.2 Tell the Senate: Reject William Barr. Click here to sign the petition. Since no one asked Barr to write his memo to the Justice Department, it appears that he was actively trying to court favor with Trump by attacking Mueller.3 He essentially signalled that he would shut down a huge portion of the Mueller investigation – the part focused on whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice – with arguments that law professors say don't hold up. The news of the memo came right after news that Acting Attorney General Matthew Whittaker overruled Justice Department ethics officials and decided not to recuse himself from overseeing the Mueller investigation. In short, Trump seems to pick attorneys general based on whether they will help cover up his alleged crimes.4 When it comes to Mueller, Barr is worse than Jeff Sessions, but he has an equally ugly record on everything else: Mass Incarceration: Barr and Sessions both want to expand mass incarceration and impose even stricter punishments. Barr even oversaw the writing of a report called "The Case for More Incarceration."5 Immigration: In the 1990s, as George H. W. Bush's attorney general, Barr led an effort that diverted Haitian asylum seekers to Guantanamo Bay. Some who were HIV positive were segregated and forced to undergo additional screening, creating what one LGBTQ activist called "the world's first and only detention camp for refugees with HIV." Barr defended it as late as 2001.6 He later went on to claim Trump's Muslim Ban was completely legal (courts disagreed) and lovingly applauded Sessions for his hard-line immigration policies like family separation.7 Right-wing agenda: Like Sessions, Barr wants to make the federal government a tool for his right-wing social agenda. He opposes Roe v. Wade, blamed secular culture for everything from HIV to crime, hailed Sessions's attempt to erase transgender Americans and once insisted that the feds should restrain what he termed "sexual immorality" like homosexuality and sex outside of marriage.8,9 The tide could be turning on Barr. Even right-leaning Democrats are saying Trump should withdraw the nomination.10 Now it's up to us. We need a loud outcry right now to make sure no Democrat supports William Barr's nomination, and every Republican knows there is a political cost to ramming it through. Tell the Senate: Reject William Barr. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/reject_william_barr?t=7&akid=30973%2E12967895%2EWKtIsG Thank you for speaking out, Heidi Hess, Co-Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Daniel Hemel and Eric Posner, "Bill Barr Just Argued Himself Out of a Job," The New York Times, Dec. 21, 2018. Jon Weiner, "William Barr: Worse Than Jeff Sessions?" The Nation, Dec. 13, 2018. Daniel Hemel and Eric Posner, "Bill Barr Just Argued Himself Out of a Job," The New York Times. Charlie Savage and Katie Benner, "A Memo and a Recusal Decision Underscore Potential Threats to the Mueller Inquiry," The New York Times, Dec. 20, 2018. Weiner, "William Barr: Worse Than Jeff Sessions?" Kate Smith, "'A stain on U.S. history': Trump's attorney general pick used Guantanamo Bay to hold thousands of Haitian refugees," CBS News, Dec. 10, 2016. Weiner, "William Barr: Worse Than Jeff Sessions?" Ibid. Jay Michaelson, "William Barr, Trump's Attorney General Pick, Wanted Government to 'Restrain Sexual Immorality,," Daily Beast, Dec. 9, 2018. Alex Rogers and Manu Raju, "Key Senate Democrat says Trump 'should withdraw' attorney general nomination," CNN, Dec. 20, 2018. Photo: Ron Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2018 CREDO. All rights reserved. This email was sent to katy63.kelso@blogger.com. To change your email or mailing address, please click here: https://act.credoaction.com/me/update/?t=24&akid=30973%2E12967895%2EWKtIsG To unsubscribe, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?t=26&akid=30973%2E12967895%2EWKtIsG

Let's put an end to single-use plastics

Sign the petition: End U.S. weapon sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

Stop the sale of American weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Tell Congress: "Stop the sale of American weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates." Add your name: Dear Katy, Earlier this month, the Senate passed an unprecedented resolution calling on Donald Trump to end U.S. support for the war in Yemen. Fifty six senators voted the right way, showing real commitment to end the U.S. role in this devastating war.1 We can't let Trump's shutdown slow down this momentum. We have to build massive opposition to Trump's multi-billion dollar arms deal with the Saudi and United Arab Emirates regimes, which are responsible not only for the crisis in Yemen, but also for brutal human rights violations against their own citizens, including Saudi Arabia's gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.2,3 Sen. Robert Menendez is temporarily holding up this deal, but Congress can take more concrete next steps to stop the United States from arming Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the next session.4 We must build on the current momentum to ensure that Congress stops the deal. Tell Congress: Stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Click here to sign the petition. Saudi Arabia is the biggest U.S. weapons buyer, accounting for 18 percent of total U.S. arms sales between 2013-2017 and the United Arab Emirates is close behind.5 Prioritizing profits over people in an attempt to ignore the Saudi and Emiratis' slaughter of civilians in Yemen, Trump continues to lie about the benefits of selling more weapons to these countries to win public favor.6 But Sen. Robert Menendez is holding up the Trump-backed weapons deal until at least January and publicly questioning the assertion that the Saudis and the Emiratis will not use the precision-guided munitions in their brutal attacks in Yemen.7 The truth is that Congress must not put the interests of dictators and defense contractors over human rights. Killing Khashoggi may be the Saudi's most publicly decried atrocity, but Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – for nearly four years now – have waged a war in Yemen that helped create the worst humanitarian crisis on Earth, killing more than 85,000 children and putting 14 million on the brink of starvation.8,9 Since 2015, the United States has provided the Saudi and UAE-led coalition with weapons and logistical and intelligence support and helped refuel coalition jets as they dropped bombs on Yemeni civilians. After one such attack in August, coalition forces dropped an American-made bomb on a school bus, killing at least 40 children.10,11 The strike was just one in a long string of coalition attacks on civilians. Calling for an end to U.S. support for this heartbreaking war is an important step, but if Congress is serious about ending the violence, it must do everything it can to stop the sale of U.S. weapons to the Saudi and Emirati governments. Tell Congress: Stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Stop_Saudi_armsdeal?t=7&akid=30996%2E12967895%2Eayec7Z Thank you for standing up for peace, Kaili Lambe, Organizing Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Scott Anderson, "The Senate Acts on Yemen," Lawfare, Dec. 14, 2018. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, "Yemen on the brink: how the UAE is profiting from the chaos of civil war," The Guardian, Dec. 21, 2018. Peter Holley, Felicia Sonmez and Karoun Demirjian, "Bipartisan calls for Saudi Arabia to face repercussions mount in wake of Khashoggi killing," The Washington Post, Oct. 21, 2018 Joe Gould, "Key US Democrat holds back support for Gulf munitions sales over Yemen," Defense News, July 3, 2018. Amanda Macias, "Saudi Arabia is the top US weapons buyer – but it doesn't spend as much as Trump boasts," CNBC, Oct. 15, 2018. Ibid. Gould, "Key US Democrat holds back support for Gulf munitions sales over Yemen." Mohamad Bazzi, "The United States Could End the War in Yemen If It Wanted To," The Atlantic, Sept. 30, 2018. Palko Karasz, "85,000 Children in Yemen May Have Died of Starvation," The New York Times, Nov. 21, 2018. Nima Elbagir et al., "Bomb that killed 40 children in Yemen was supplied by the US," CNN, Aug. 17, 2018. Hakim Almasmari, Sarah El Sirgany and Tamara Qiblawi, "Saudi-led strike kills dozens of children on school field trip in Yemen," CNN, Aug. 10, 2018. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter © 2018 CREDO. All rights reserved. This email was sent to katy63.kelso@blogger.com. To change your email or mailing address, please click here: https://act.credoaction.com/me/update/?t=25&akid=30996%2E12967895%2Eayec7Z To unsubscribe, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?t=27&akid=30996%2E12967895%2Eayec7Z

Because of you