Three Wins Today: Sept 25, 2025

The truth about the CR

Okay. Yesterday I did something stupid. I do something stupid a lot. I make a post with the assumption that most people know at least the basics of what I know, and I am consistently proven wrong. I want to be very clear I think this misunderstanding started when Schumer REALLY fucked up explaining why he was voting for the CR back in March. I think having to give accurate messaging when his was so utterly inaccurate is hard.

But I’m going to try. What SHOULD be happening is that there are 12 committees that create funding bills. Those bills go to the appropriations committee, including what each committee needs and what fits within the budget, the government is funded for a year. That has happened FOUR times since 1977, including ‘77, ‘89, ‘95 and ‘97. Yes, 1997 was the last time the government was funded on time.

The other way to keep the government open is through a CR, which is officially called a Continuing Resolution. That’s because it should just continue the current funding levels while the kinks are worked out in the fiscal year spending bill.

This past year, the entire year, the government was funded through CRs. And that’s likely what will happen going forward as well, since no one can agree on anything.

Even with a government shutdown, at some point, something is going to need to be passed to reopen the government, so either Republicans come back to the table and negotiate with Dems now, or later. A shutdown really just delays the inevitable and hurts a huge swath of the country in the process.

We don’t want a government shutdown if we can at all avoid it. If we can’t, so be it, but we have five days to try.

When I say we need Republicans to come back to the table, we are talking about the CR, not the approprations bills. This is not about killing trans healthcare or any number of other things you have heard about the potential appropriations bills. This is just about continuing the current levels of funding till they fight some more and the deadline approaches again.

But Democrats won’t agree to the current levels of funding without concessions, namely, healthcare. Their main demand, at this moment is to continue the ACA premium tax credits. If that is included in the CR and only if that is included in the CR they will sign. However, there are other options as well, such as protecting SNAP or Medicaid etc. Basically Republicans have to reverse at least one thing from the Big Ugly Bill or the rescission package for Democrats to vote yes on the CR.

This either happens now, before a shutdown, or during a shutdown when many people are in dire straits.

I was in a briefing with

Senator Elizabeth Warren

(MA) yesterday and she put it like this:

We have a chance right now to reverse Republicans’ health care cuts and we have to take it.

Sen Cory Booker (NJ) said much the same thing in a briefing last week. To paraphrase - this is about forcing the national conversation, if we change the conversation it leads to a chance that they negotiate. That’s the GOAL and we have 12 days to change the conversation.

We don’t have 12 days anymore we have 5. But we have changed the conversation in a lot less.

These electeds, along with Reps Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Debbie Dingell (MI-06) and Sen Amy Klobuchar (MN) created briefings especially for creators, because we are the ones with the power now.

Republicans will not come back to the table just from hearing from Dem elected officials. They think they can pin the shut down on Dems, making it in their best interest to let a shut down happen.

But we have the power to change that narrative. Did we stop the Big Ugly Bill? No, but WE DID make sure the ugliness happened with as many eyes on it as possible and the approval rating plummeted.

It’s likely we don’t actually stop a shutdown, but we CAN make sure Republicans don’t control the message by demanding they come back to the table.

Of course this starts with calling your electeds. If they are a Dem, making sure they’re standing strong, and if they’re a Republican, demanding they come back to the table. And it’s not just calls, it’s social media and e-mail and letters and in person protests and their offices, they are all in town, or they should be.

But it also means telling your story on social media, posting how much your ACA healthcare costs will be increasing (obviously block out your personal info.) Talking about the rural hospitals that are closing and how that could negatively affect you or a loved one.

We want to avoid a shutdown if at all possible, and if we can’t we want everyone to know damn well who is responsible.

But we can’t do that with everyone giving up in advance. And that’s what I saw in my post yesterday. We have to try, we have to change the messaging and we have to annoy Republicans as much as humanly possible.

No one is talking about this, they think they’re home free.

We MUST show them otherwise.

This was really long, so if you read to the end comment 🫡 (salute) cause you have your marching orders.

Now, for the wins (promise, they’re shorter)

One of three businesses that have pulled their advertising from Sinclair stations in Seattle (photo from: Overlakehospital.org)

Seattle, WA

Ongoing - Thanks to a grass roots campaign, three local advertisers have pulled their commercials from Sinclair station, KOMO. You can track the running list here. I don’t know why Seattle has been able to come together, like this, faster than other markets, but I say it’s an incredibly hopeful thing to watch. Money talks, we know this. Getting their advertisers to pull out is, without a doubt our most powerful tool.

If you live in a Nexstar, Tegna or Sinclair, and you have cable, watch an episode of something on the station, and keep track of the commercials. Write down the companies in a spreadsheet, or just a post on social media, with their phone number and email, especially if they’re local. I was given this list for KTLA, Nexstar’s most profitable station.

Use Seattle as inspiration. Let’s show these companies what they’re up against.

For more info on this story check out Seattle Times.

South Carolina

Wed Sept 10 - In a 6-3 shadow docket decision (we know because Goursuch, Alito and Thomas say they would have ruled differently), the SCOTUS denied to stay the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal’s injunction that allowed a 9th grade trans boy to use the men’s restroom. Now, this only applies to this one kid, but it’s still a win.

Alexandra Brodsky, Litigation Director for Public Justice’s Students’ Civil Rights Project, which filed the initial lawsuit said:

Today’s decision from the Supreme Court reaffirms what we all know to be true: Contrary to South Carolina’s insistence, trans students are not emergencies. They are not threats. They are young people looking to learn and grow at school, despite the state-mandated hostility they too often face. We are so thrilled that our client will continue to be able to use boys’ restrooms while his appeal continues, and hope today’s decision will provide hope to other trans students and their families during these difficult times.

We don’t get many wins out of the Supreme Court these days, so when we do, we must celebrate them

National

Mon, Sept 15 - The American Bar Association released a statement against the SCOTUS decision to allow racial profiling. President Michelle Behnke said:

The ABA recognizes that the United States has the right and responsibility to establish limits on who is permitted to enter the country’s sovereign borders and to take actions that protect our national security and public safety interests.

However, the ABA opposes detention of citizens and noncitizens in immigration enforcement proceedings, unless there is a specific determination that the individual presents a threat to national security, a threat to public safety, a threat to another person or persons, or a substantial flight risk. That determination should occur in a hearing and be subject to judicial review.

It matters that the ABA keeps fighting back and standing up for what’s right. They were never a political organization before, but times have changed, and they stand firmly on the side of saving Democracy. Now if other supposed non-partisan orgs would do the same.

---

So those are some recent wins I wanted to highlight today. Remember, there are wins happening all the time, all over the country and the world. Just cause you might not hear about them, doesn’t mean they’re not there.

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