Daily Dems Doing the Work, Making Noise and Fighting Back Day 236

Sep 19, 2025

Today’s word of the day is “messaging.” I was in a briefing with Cory Booker this morning and he talked about how part of what our Dems are doing is telling stories and raising alarm so that we will go out and tell our own stories and amplify their alarm. They don’t just talk to talk. We are supposed to take it and run with it. We have the ability to get through to people they can’t.

Repping the Rep: James Walkinshaw (VA-11)

Is already superhuman. He was just sworn in last Wed, and by Friday, he had already been booed by Republicans for a speech on the House floor (the one he gave seconds after being sworn in), signed two discharge petitions, Epstein and giving federal workers their bargaining rights back (that second one hasn’t gotten nearly the same amount of attention.)

AND, oh yeah, he introduced his first bill. It’s titled Limit on Sweeping Executive Reorganization Act, and basically would have stopped Trump from dismantling the various departments.

IN LESS THAN ONE WEEK IN OFFICE!

I hope he does these updates weekly, and tomorrow we get to see how much more he accomplished with a full week under his belt.

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Reps Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) and Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06)

Have the most adorable friendship ever, and it made a wonderful Constitution Day post. They brought constitution pamplets to hand out on the House floor. Unfortunately we don’t get to see that moment, but they did show handing them to a few reps on the stairs, including Republican Mike Rulli (OH-06).

Rep Goodlander said:

Many of our colleagues here in congress have not really become acquainted with this document.

Rulli, definitely being one of them.

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Rep Deborah Ross (NC-02)

Is honoring the one year anniversary of Hurricane Helene by demanding that Trump release the funds that were already allocated for the disaster:

We are lucky to have the steady leadership of Governor Stein guiding the recovery effort, but the federal government needs to do its part too. Unfortunately, the Trump administration continues to slow down the federal relief process. That’s why I’m calling on the president to slash the red tape that’s holding back critical assistance for our state that was appropriated last year.

We KNOW that Trump backs down when there’s too much backlash, specially for something like this. Does she think that there is any sort of chance the Trump will see her plea and change his mind? No, of course not. But if enough people spread this.

If Western North Carolinians share their personal stories, and maybe other people in other places that DID get the adequate FEMA funding shar their personal stories, then, yeah it might make a difference.

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Rep Zoe Lofgren (CA-18)

Led a good portion of the California delegation, and a few others, in a press conference to reintroduce her Redistricting Reform Act, a bicameral bill to ban gerrymandering and end mid-decade redistricting.

As you know, I’ve been introducing this legislation since 2005, but i think it’s relevant now more than ever…President Trump has unleashed a redistricting war throughout the country, calling out Republican controlled states and demanding that they rig their maps.

TWENTY YEARS. She’s been introducing this bill for 20 years!

The last time what when the Dems controlled the House, and it passed the House, but thanks to the filibuster, it failed in the Senate.

First, I just want to say, I remember people saying Rep Lofgren must be selfish since her district isn’t changing for Prop 50: California Election Rigging Response Act. Her district isn’t changing because Blue districts that touch only blue districts aren’t changing. It should be very apparent to you, now that getting back in power so we can get rid of gerrymandering once and for all is one of her top priorities.

Second, of course this bill won’t pass now. But the fact that it’s been reintroduced gives legitimacy to Prop 50. Makes it clear that the changes ARE temporary and Democrats want to get rid of gerrymandering once and for all. It also is, yet again, about giving us the messaging tools. We need to get this message to our audience, to the people who listen to us, no matter how few or how many that may be. Most people don’t know what is going on, and it’s on us to tell them.

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And last, but certainly not least…

Sen Cory Booker (NJ)

Joined Sen Chris Murphy (CT), Sen Chuck Schumer (NY), Sen Chris Van Hollen (MD), Rep Jason Crow (CO-06), Sen Tina Smith (MN), Sen Alex Padilla (CA), Rep Houlahan, and Rep Maxwell Frost (FL-10) in introducing the NOPE (NO Political Enemies) Act, which would make it impossible for the FCC to do what they just did with ABC and Jimmy Kimmel.

In the briefing today, Booker talked about this next quote. He said he didn’t want to use his speech for facts and figures. He wanted to tell the story of his family, because that is what resonates with the uninformed the most.

My mom talks about this memory she had as a little girl where she was woken up in the middle of the night to help a Black family or Black person take shelter in their basement apartment while they got them food and supplies to get them over to Canada.

When he was a kid he asked why. Why would they need to go to Canada?

It was because in their southern communities, they said something to someone that offended some authority, some social moire and they faced vicious reprisals. So much so that they’d have to give up their jobs and their families and flee the government and those who they were enabling who would terrorize and target them.

Doesn’t that sound familiar?

Doesn’t that feel more powerful than hearing another speech about Jimmy Kimmel that says something vaguely similar to the last speech.

Your voices is your greatest weapon against this authoritarian regime. You never know how many lives you will change just telling your own story.

You can watch his speech and the full press conference below!

So I hope you better understand the importance of messaging now.

If you made it to the end of this post, comment with 🇨🇦 (Canadian Flag) because Sen Booker’s story and message are both so important.

And if you watched or read any of these stories comment with 🫔(a pamphlet) because Reps Houlahan and Goodlander are absolutely right, many of their colleagues need to reread it, more than once.

Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!

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