Chop Wood, Carry FL 4/15 🍊

Hi, all!

Bet you didn’t expect to hear from me today. This list has been dormant since the midterms, and I expected it to remain so until some time next year. But with everything happening in Florida I did want to check in, send you a virtual hug, and tell you about one Florida-based event coming up that seems really important.

It’s called Walkout 2 Learn and it’s on April 21st. It’s for high school and college students in Florida, but it needs all of our support. Please check out their website and either plan on attending, if you live in Florida and fit the demographic, or help spread the word if you don’t. Young people will be walking out of their classes in protest of the Republicans’ attacks on education and LGBTQ rights, and the greater their numbers, obviously, the better.

Now, one more thing: I know a lot of folks have given up on Florida; it’s understandable. Things are very grim there right now.

But I had an interesting conversation yesterday with a veteran political data analyst—she’s also the former Chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. She now runs an incredible organization called SPAN that’s focussed on helping state Dem parties streamline, digitize, and improve their tactics. She gave me some fascinating data about how much Democrats actually increased voter turnout in Florida in 2020—apparently the numbers were through the roof—and how much progress we were actually making there until the DNC came and fired everyone running the state party (long story, but it was undeserved) and replaced them before the midterms. The replacement team were inadequate to the task, so we had a terrible 2022.

Now the replacement team has been replaced, and the Florida Dems have another new set of leaders. SPAN is working with them, and apparently they’re really, really good! So, as bad as I know it is there right now, please remember that it ain’t over ‘til it’s over. NOTHING is hopeless with enough people working tirelessly for change. We may not get there in a year or even five, but we can get there. We can not write off the state of Florida. We can help change it. And we must.

So let me know if you’re still in to help. Florida may be our most challenging state, but it’s also an area of tremendous opportunity…if we don’t quit before the miracle.

More soon, y’all.

Jess