These last weeks leading into elections are SO STRESSFUL.
But us freaking out and worrying is not going to help. Here are some things to calm you down.
First, early voting looks very good
Lots of people are early voting:
Early voter turnout slightly ahead of 2018 levels in Minnesota
Georgia early voter numbers breaking more records, on par with 2020 Presidential election, officials say
Record-high early voting numbers among Black voters in Georgia
Early Voter Turnout In Virginia Is ‘Relatively Strong’ So Far
AND the democratic share is UP!!!
WOW!!
Second, you can only control what you can control.
Research shows that people tend to underestimate how well they will deal with bad things happening. This means that when we face potential bad things (e.g. losing the House) we freak out *in anticipation*. Try to keep your focus. We leave it all on the field and we see how things play out.
Third, we are not alone in this!
Fourth, action can really help!
Research suggests that taking action is one of the best ways to deal with anxiety.
How can you do that?
One way is through out fundraising effort in our quest to keep the House Blue!
This is our third, and final, fundraising effort for this. So we really tried to make it count.
We took nominations from you all and then picked based on the balance between two key criteria:
1. They have a decent chance at winning (based on numbers from 538 and the Cook report)
2. They are not already swimming in cash.
So this final push is an opportunity for your money to really make a difference — it will go to 22 races that we care about, have a chance at winning, and where your dollars will make a difference.
Here is the link:
Now onto some more good news!
Democrats are great
I could watch this video all day:
USDA Provides Payments of nearly $800 Million in Assistance to Help Keep Farmers Farming
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that distressed borrowers with qualifying USDA farm loans have already received nearly $800 million in assistance, as part of the $3.1 billion in assistance for distressed farm loan borrowers provided through Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA directed USDA to expedite assistance to distressed borrowers of direct or guaranteed loans administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) whose operations face financial risk.
Today’s announcement kicks off a process to provide assistance to distressed farm loan borrowers using several complementary approaches, with the goal of keeping them farming, removing obstacles that currently prevent many of these borrowers from returning to farming, and improving the way that USDA approaches borrowing and servicing. Through this assistance, USDA is focused on generating long-term stability and success for distressed borrowers.
Farmers will get $3.1 billion in USDA loan relief from Biden
The federal government announced Tuesday a program that will provide billions of dollars in debt relief for about 36,000 farmers who have fallen behind on loan payments or face foreclosure.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the farm loan relief program funded from $3.1 billion set aside in the Inflation Reduction Act allocated toward assisting distressed borrowers of direct or guaranteed loans administered by USDA. The law was passed by Congress earlier this year and signed by President Biden in August.
"Through no fault of their own, our nation's farmers and ranchers have faced incredibly tough circumstances over the last few years," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The funding included in today's announcement helps keep our farmers farming and provides a fresh start for producers in challenging positions."
Things look very bad for bad guys
Jan. 6 committee subpoenas former President Donald Trump
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot subpoenaed former President Donald Trump on Friday for testimony and documents on his actions surrounding the bloodshed they say he instigated at the U.S. Capitol.
The subpoena calls for Trump to testify on Nov. 14 — after the midterm elections.
“As demonstrated in our hearings, we have assembled overwhelming evidence, including from dozens of your former appointees and staff, that you personally orchestrated and oversaw a multi-part effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and to obstruct the peaceful transition of power,” the committee told Trump in a letter being sent with the subpoena.
Steve Bannon sentenced to 4 months in prison for contempt of Congress in Jan. 6 probe
Stephen K. Bannon, a right-wing podcaster and longtime adviser to former president Donald Trump, was sentenced Friday to four months in prison and fined $6,500 for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Bannon is set to become the first person incarcerated for defying a congressional subpoena in more than half a century under a statute that is rarely prosecuted. The judge said he would stay imposition of the penalty pending Bannon’s expected appeal.
Trump Prosecutors See Evidence for Obstruction Charges
A group of Justice Department prosecutors believe there is sufficient evidence to charge Donald Trump with obstruction of justice, but the path to an actual indictment is far from clear.
Trump Fraud Suit Will Stay Before Judge Who Held Him in Contempt
Former President Donald Trump lost his request to transfer New York’s fraud lawsuit against him and his company to a different court division in Manhattan, ensuring the case will remain before the same judge who once held him in contempt of cour
Judge: Trump signed court document that knowingly included false voter fraud stats
Former President Donald Trump signed legal documents describing evidence of election fraud that he knew were false, a federal judge indicated on Wednesday.
U.S. District Court Judge David Carter wrote in an 18-page opinion that emails from attorney John Eastman, an architect of Trump’s last-ditch effort to subvert the 2020 election, needed to be turned over to the Jan. 6 select committee. Those emails, Carter wrote, “show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public.”
Trump’s Fundraising Machine Is Barely Covering His Expenses
Not long after the FBI executed its Aug. 8 search at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort compound, Trumpworld let the media know that the feds appeared to have awakened a giant. Fundraising, they said, was booming.
But now, a new campaign finance report from Trump reveals that was just half the story—the good half.
In a Federal Election Commission filing that covers July through September, Trump’s Save America Joint Fundraising Committee revealed that the former president’s donations had indeed surged after the search, to a record high on the year. But so did the amount he spent to make that happen.
The numbers suggest that Trump’s donor base didn’t rush to his aid all on their own. They needed a nudge, and a costly one at that, which may further stoke concerns of donor fatigue.
In fact, the spending was so steep that it ate up around 90 percent of what he raised. So while the committee took in an impressive $24 million, it spent about $22 million to get there. That means the famous dealmaker spent a dollar to make a little more than a dime.
Other Good News
First of DeSantis’ Much-Hyped Voter Fraud Cases Is a Massive Flop
One of the Floridians arrested this summer for allegedly voting illegally in 2020 had his charges tossed out by a Miami judge on Friday, dealing a significant blow to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ much-hyped but increasingly shaky crusade.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch ruled that the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor did not have the jurisdiction to charge Robert Lee Wood, 56, and his two felony voter fraud charges were dropped.
.
Liz Truss’s fall is a warning to populists everywhere
Truss’s announced departure after just 45 days apparently marks the shortest residence ever at 10 Downing Street. She made so many mistakes in so little time that it’s hard to list them all. But the most needlessly self-destructive was trying to impose simplistic right-wing economic policies that work only in theory, never in practice.
When you hear Republicans in this country say “secure the border” or “crack down on crime” or “America first,” keep in mind how easy it is to write a bumper sticker and how hard it is to actually govern in a complex, interconnected world. GOP leaders, pay attention: Britain’s Conservatives have pandered their way into ruin.
On The Lighter Side
Want to help?
We have an opportunity for your money to really make a difference — it will go to races that we care about, have a chance at winning, and where your dollars will make a difference.
Here is the link:
Let’s put our money where it will make a huge, huge difference!
C’mon it’ll make you feel good :-)
Here are some other things you can do:
And don’t lose hope. Together, we can do this!
I am so lucky and so proud to be in this with all of you ✊🏼✊🏾✊🏽🧡💚💛💜✊🏾✊🏽✊🏻
Finally, HUGE thanks to the other GNR writers who pulled me through a funk yesterday and gave me the energy (and info) to write this.