April 13, 2022

In This Issue

Crimson Goes Blue Strategy Explained

The Time to Invest in Democracy is Now

On A Positive Note

Upcoming Events

Crimson Goes Blue Strategy Explained

by Janet Singer, Political Director

The Political Landscape

With the rise of authoritarianism in the Republican Party and around the world, our democracy is in peril. We need to elect Democrats in all levels of government. The political landscape for 2022 is challenging, as it always is for the party in power during a midterm election. The road to holding the House runs through California and New York and we have good opportunities to hold the Senate because the Democrats have strong candidates and a relatively favorable map. 

Democrats are the only party working to protect our democracy. The threats to election integrity are most severe in 5 of our target states (AZ, GA, MI, PA,WI) and we will focus on the elections that will matter most in these states, along with other efforts of our voter protection team.

How can you help right now?

1. Write letters to voters to be stockpiled now and mailed at a time when they will have the most impact. (Campaigns available now for AZ, CA, GA, MI, NY, PA, WI, and more). For more letter writing opportunities, sign up for the letter-writing team at Action Team Signup and join the letters-postcards Slack channel.

2. Participate in our Voter Protection/Election Integrity team projects. First, join the CGB VoPro Slack channel. This is where the projects are organized. Our first group project is with the Michigan Democratic Party VoPro Team. We will be calling city and town election clerks to collect and record information on how each clerk will be curing ballots in upcoming elections. Ballot curing is critical. If there is an issue with an absentee ballot, such as a signature-matching issue or a missing witness signature, ballot curing allows voters to fix their ballot in order to help avoid their ballot being discarded and their vote not counting. In Michigan, each clerk has total discretion to cure ballots any way they wish. Our project is the kind of prep that needs to happen now to protect Michigan voters on election day.

3. Register voters if you live in or near AZ, CA, GA, NC, PA, WI. Earth Day is April 22 and many cities have celebrations that are perfect venues for registering Democrats to vote. Grab a friend and follow the instructions on Voter Drive-in-a-Box from our partners at Field Team 6 (food truck lines are a great place to register voters!). Field Team 6 also has in-person voter drives in CA on April 19 and 21.

4. Donate to Crimson Goes Blueprint Portfolio. Recommendations for this quarter have just come out. (See next article below.)

For info about other projects that members of Crimson Goes Blue are working on, check out:

• CGB Calendar
• CGB Slack space, with channels for all our target states and activities
• Sign up for an Action Team

At Crimson Goes Blue, we believe that whether you give your time and/or your money, everyone can be an activist. 

Please participate. Our democracy’s survival depends on it. 

And if you’re having trouble figuring out how you are going to participate, email me at janet.singer@crimsongoesblue.org and I will find a role for you.

The Time to Invest in Democracy is Now: Blueprint Update Adapts to Emerging Midterm Landscape

by John Ries

Last week Crimson Goes Blue, working with Swing Left, completed a quarterly update of political giving recommendations to target emerging opportunities in this year’s midterm elections.

The redistricting process produced some unexpected toss-up Congressional districts, and it is becoming clearer which races for state office will have the greatest impact on election integrity.

The Second Quarter (Q2) Crimson Goes Blueprint Portfolio, now live online, responds to these new midterm election realities by targeting Congressional races in California, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania, as well as state legislature races in Georgia and Pennsylvania. It supports proven grassroots organizations working to get out the vote in Georgia, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

When Crimson Goes Blue got together with Swing Left’s Blueprint team in 2020 to start our first Portfolio, members responded with a total $320,000 in donations—more than any other group working with Swing Left that year. That’s how motivated we were to put Joe Biden in the White House and turn the Senate blue.

In 2022 we face tougher challenges:

• We need to break historical midterm election patterns by preserving narrow Democratic majorities in Congress so they can continue delivering on the promise of our 2020 victories.

• In order to safeguard election integrity, Democratic candidates need to win legislature seats and other key offices in states where MAGA Republicans seek to undermine the freedom to vote.

Democracy is on the ballot this year. Election Day is less than seven months away. State primaries kick into high gear in a few weeks. There’s no better time for political donations than now, when each dollar we invest helps build the critical infrastructure to win the midterm elections and secure a more just American democracy.

To contribute or learn more, visit the Crimson Goes Blueprint Portfolio page of our website. 

We research, you give, together we protect democracy.

On A Positive Note

by Felicia Madrigal

The aim of On A Positive Note is to spread the narrative of government accomplishments and balance out the negativity coming from the extreme right. Here is our take on the best news from the last 2 weeks:

• Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to become the next justice on the Supreme Court. For generations, Black women have been locked out of the opportunity to serve on the Supreme Court. With the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson, we are taking a step towards making our justice system one that respects and reflects the very best of every kind of American. 

• The U.S. economy added 431,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate fell to 3.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of unemployed people decreased to almost the level it was at in February 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

• President Biden signed a bill making lynching a federal hate crime, and the signing followed the establishment of a new domestic terrorism unit at the Dept. of Justice. 

• Biden extended federal student loan payment pause through Aug. 31. This marks the sixth extension in the two years since the moratorium began. This gives about 41 million people a few more months without interest accruing on their student loans.

Upcoming Events

Action Team Meetings

• 4/14 3 pm ET: Blueprint Portfolio team meeting. Come help with our event planning and donor outreach. Join the meeting

• 4/18  5 pm ET: GA Action Team meeting. Join the meeting

• 4/19 5:30 pm ET: PA Action Team meeting. Join the meeting
• 4/20 7 pm ET: NC Action team Hybrid Meet & Greet. Faulkner Fox's backyard in Durham, AND on Zoom! Join the meeting

• 4/25 5 pm PT/8 pm ET: CA/AZ Action Team meeting. Register 

Events

• 4/19 8 pm ET: New Member Orientation Zoom meeting! Register
• 4/21 6 pm ET: Phonebank to PA. We’ll be calling Dems to encourage them to sign up for the Annual mail-in ballot list. Voters are much more likely to vote if they get mailed a ballot, whether they vote by mail or in-person. Register
• 4/21 7 pm ET: Meet Matt Cartwright (PA-08) , Co-Chair of the Democratic Policy & Communications Committee (with our partners at Force Multiplier) to support his toss-up race in this critical state. Register
• 4/27 3 pm ET: Saving Democracy Through Donor Activism: Crimson Goes Blueprint Portfolio Q2 Briefing. Register to learn more about making high-impact investments in Democratic campaigns and grassroots groups.

Crimson Goes Blue

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