Daily Dems Doing the Work, Making Noise and Fighting Back Day 227

I was 6 on 9/11, but what I really remember was Halloween. My dad and I went out Trick or Treating and we were, quite literally, the only people who did. No one even had their porch light on. We were all so scared it was going to happen in our city. It’s a different type of fear than now, this fear brought us together, rather than tearing us apart.

Repping the Rep: Brad Schneider (IL-10)

Was on Sunrise Over The Hill, the Hill’s morning show. The segment was about the Chicago ICE raids, but at the end, the host asked if there was anything else he wanted to say that they didn’t ask. There was:

What kind of country are we becoming? This is a nation that was built by immigrants, my family came in the later part of the 1800s, early part of the 1900. I am the grandchildren of immigrants, and I’m proud of that history, it’s a part of my identity. And I was in Germany this past summer, Monday will mark the 90th anniversary of the passing of the Neurenburg race laws. What the president is doing, the ruling of the Supreme Court yesterday, that segregates people based on the color of their skin, the language they speak. Next thing you know, will they be having people wear yellow stars if you’re Jewish or some other identity just to separate us? We’re a country, E Pluribus Unum, we need to come together as one and that’s what this administration should be working on rather than trying to divide us.

I didn’t know that was Monday. Part of the reason I didn’t know is because it was ostensibly history, not even mine. Like Schneider’s family mine also immigrated to the US in the late 1800s. But as a Jew, it’s still part of my story, and he’s right, that specific part, looks a whole lot like what the Supreme Court just said about racial profiling. I’m glad he said it, and didn’t try to talk around it.

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Representative Rob Menendez (NJ-08)

Was one of many who discussed 9/11 today, as it should be, but he was one of the first ones I saw who gave a speech on the House floor. He spoke about how he was in high school and how unified we were, and how he truly believes we can be again, that this divisive rhetoric and political violence can and will stop. I really hope he’s right.

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Rep Salud Carbajal (CA-24)

Joined his House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force colleagues in signing a letter led by Rep Mike Thompson (CA-04) to Speaker Johnson begging him to give a shit about the gun violence epidemic.

But the most clever part was how they did it. Cause this is Johnson, it’s no like he listens to logic and reason. But, he does listen to God and the bible, so they tried that:

Scripture shows examples of leaders like Moses and David standing up to evil to protect their people. Their prayers were not passive but supported them to action.

Will this generation of Republican leaders pray not only for the victims, but also for the strength to end gun violence?

Will this generation of Republican leaders look their children and grandchildren in the eyes knowing that they worked to protect them from the leading cause of death for kids and teens?

Will this generation of Republican leadership protect kids from gun violence while praying, or at school, or in the grocery store, or at a parade…?

Will this generation of Republican leaders join Democrats in action to protect our kids?

Will it work? No, probably not, but, that doesn’t mean it isn’t an impressive and creative attempt nonetheless.

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Rep James Walkinshaw (VA-11)

Was officially sworn in yesterday. No delay from Speaker Johnson, just an uncomfortable expression during the swearing in. You have to click on the BlueSky preview to see that, it’s the fourth photo, and my favorite in the set, though Walkinshaw at his desk with his son is a very close second.

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Senator Peter Welch's Substack (VT)

Came to the Senate floor within 30 minutes of leaving the hearing with RFK Jr. Who “accused Democrats of being shills for big pharma,” which is quite laughable, considering that’s exactly what Republicans are.

So Welch proved it. He put his and Amy Klobuchar’s (MN) bill “Strengthening Medicare and Reducing Taxpayer (SMART) Prices Act” up for a unanimous consent agreement, knowing it wouldn’t pass, but it would prove that Republicans are the shills.

And it did. There was an objection from a Republican.

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And finally…

Sen Chuck Schumer (NY)

Broke Senate procedure in such a way, that Republican sources told The Hill:

This will be viewed as a hostile act by our folks. We were engaged in bipartisan talks on amendments, and this could jeopardize that.

Basically, while Republicans were debating what the amendment order should be for the NDAA, Schumer took his amendment, which would force Pam Bondi to release all the Epstein files, and bypassed the line. Of course, the amendment didn’t pass, but the goal is to divide Republicans. This is a topic that they don’t agree on, so the more we push that, the better change we have of taking away some of Trump’s perceived power.

I wish people were talking about this as as big a win as it is. You don’t have to love Schumer, but he did something very right and very creative here, and he deserves the praise for it.

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So I hope you learned something, and found a new fighter today.

If you made it to the end of this post, comment 🛩️ (plane) because, we must never forget, what happened on 9/11, and as 2001 gets further into the past, that becomes much more likely.

If you watched or read any of these stories, comment 🙋🏼‍♂️(a blonde man raising his hand) because despite fear that Johnson would pull something, he didn’t, and Rep Walkinshaw was sworn in right on schedule.

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