The SDC Weekly for 9/5/22 (Special Edition)

Greetings Staunton Democrats !

It is Labor Day weekend and I think it is important to have fun and relax during this extended weekend but also remind ourselves of the sacrifices and contributions of the labor movement and how we need to continue to support unions, worker protections and the workers themselves for the future.  

This is a shorter version of the SDC Weekly since I want to detail the labor of love and dedication that your SDC officers and volunteers show every day while diligently working towards the goals of the SDC.  

Currently, we have approximately 67 paying members and approximately no more than 10 are doing most of the work as volunteers.  So what are we doing with those 10 people ?

• Creating and publishing the SDC Weekly and the new SDC Blog, maintaining the Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds

• Maintaining a website

• Putting on and staffing the Augusta County Fair booth

• Organizing and staffing the upcoming Candidate Forum

• Organizing fundraisers

• Maintaining the twice a month SDC Coffee at Serendipity Java Bar

• Assisting Congressional, City Council and School Board campaigns

• Membership recruitment

• Organizing and staffing the monthly SDC General meeting

• Staffing the SDC downtown office

• Trying to have a presence at School Board and City Council meetings

• Preparing for major elections in Roevember 2022, November 2023 and 2024.

• Trying to door to door canvassing throughout Staunton area

• Investment and training in technology including VAN (software that helps us locate and educate voters among many things) training, collaboration and communication software (Google Workspace is an example), phone banking, etc.

• And this does not include many other things we would like to do or do better.

• This work is continuous and we cannot take 6 months off since we need to expand our reach, register more voters, educate the public, canvass and call more voters, and become a well respected force throughout the year since the next critical election is right around the corner. 

Wait a minute !  How can fewer than 10 people do all of that ?  

I, personally:

• Write most of the blog and the SDC Weekly, 

• I am the de facto IT Committee (I installed set up and installed the SDC VOIP phone system, am evaluating Google Workspace, 

• I will soon (in a few days) be the SDC VAN Administrator and will need to set up and train people for phone banking and other VAN functions

• Assisting with designing fliers and questionnaires for events

• Assisting with setting up and staffing the Candidate Forum

• Assisted in staffing the Augusta County Fair

• Assisted with fundraising planning and events

• I am going to the meetings of the Staunton Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission (DEI)

• I hope to start going to City Council and School Board meetings while wearing a t-shirt saying “Staunton Democrats Care” so the gang of 4 knows we are watching.

• Lot’s of miscellaneous stuff

And I have only been a member of the SDC for 4 months !  Well, it is a struggle and yet there are others doing more than that !

This is why people reading this need to step up.  You need to join your local democratic committee (Staunton, Augusta or Waynesboro) and volunteer. You can change the world !

We are in desperate need for the following (membership required):

• Chair and members for the Membership Committee

• Chair and members for the Fundraising Committee

• Chairs and members for the Young Democrats, Nominating, Bylaws, Voter Registration and Precinct/Ward Committees

• Volunteers to canvass door to door and phone bank

• Staff of the SDC office downtown

• Donations (paying the membership dues is a form of donation)

We know that many volunteers are not able to spend a lot of time.  We are happy to work with you to find a convenient way for you to help that fits your skills and time constraints.

Please contact us:

• The SDC phone is 540-609-5432 - leave a message and we will call you back

• Join the Staunton Democratic Committee

• Join an SDC Committee

• Volunteer - door to door canvassing for candidates

• Spend a few hours staffing the SDC Headquarters

• Call 540-609-5432 if you want to volunteer but don’t know what to do.

• Donate to the Staunton Democratic Committee

At the very least join the SDC as a member and join a committee.  We will help you be an effective member.

Health News You Can Use

• FDA Authorizes Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines for Use as a Booster Dose

• These new vaccines are more omicron specific (Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 are the current dominant strains of Covid-19).

• Availability is apparently the week on 9/7/22.

• If you have already had your primary Covid-19 vaccine series or a booster more than 2 months ago and 18+ for the Moderna and 12+ for the Pfizer-BioNTech then you are eligible for the new Bivalent vaccine.

• Talk to your health care provider to see if the Bivalent booster is appropriate for you.

Events !

• Candidate Forum

• Tuesday 9/13/22 at 7 PM the SDC is holding a non-partisan Candidate Forum

• We have invited all the Staunton City Council and School Board candidates as well as VA 6th Congressional District candidates Ben Cline and Jennifer Lewis.  

• A moderator will officiate and ask questions of the candidates that we hope will reveal the differences between them and allow the public to make a more informed voting decision.  

• The doors open at 6:00 pm food available, the forum starts  at 7:00 pm.  Use the entrance for Tempest Bar and Lounge on North Central Ave.  

• SAVE THE DATE !

• Join Jennifer Lewis and support her campaign.  Postcard writing party with light refreshments and beverages.  Tuesday Sept 6, 6:30pm.  RSVP to flyrod9999@gmail.com to receive the address in Staunton.  See you there !

• SDC Coffee at Serendipity – what could be better than sitting at a local coffee shop with a great cup of their fresh brew (supplied by the SDC) and talking to compatriots about the news of the day.  

• I have been attending the SDC Coffee at Serendipity Java Bar and Eatery since I joined the SDC in May 2022 and have met wonderful people and learned much in the subsequent discussions.  

• This happens on the first and third Tuesdays of each month from 9-11 AM. 

• Donations are welcome to help pay for the coffee or you can order something else for yourself (including food).  

• Serendipity is located at https://bit.ly/3Pru44b .  You can find this event and many others at the SDC Event Calendar on the SDC website at https://www.sawdemocrats.com/calendar .

The SDC Blog

New posts to the SDC Blog at https://blog.sawdemocrats.care:

• 3 new letters from readers in the Learning from our Readers section and other new posts

Democratic Achievements and Related News

• Alert !  Teens adulting and fighting against book bans by Republicans.  

• In the Alaska special congressional election, Democrat Mary Peltola defeated former governor and 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin for the state’s sole Congressional seat. Peltola took 51.5 percent of the vote to Palin’s 48.5 percent, bringing at least a temporary end to Palin’s belated attempt at a political comeback.  Why is this important (aside for stopping Palin in her tracks) ?  First, Peltola would be the first Alaska Native (she is Yup’ik). Democrats have also now overperformed their 2020 margins in all five special elections held since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. And Peltola’s overperformance is the biggest yet.  Peltola turned a state Donald Trump won by 10 points in 2020 into a three-point win — a shift of 13 points.  We are on a roll !

• Gas prices continue to decline after record high in June

• New Mexico governor designates $10 million for abortion clinic near Texas border

• Labor market added 315,000 jobs in August [2022], a bright spot in the economy.  A stellar 20 consecutive months of sustained job growth more than recovered the millions of jobs lost during the pandemic.

Remember to vote BLUE in Roevember !

Meanwhile, the Republicans …

• “If there’s a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information,” said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham on Fox News, there will be “riots in the streets.”

• The award for fastest U-turn on abortion goes (so far) to Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters [as well as other Republicans], who scrubbed his website of statements saying he’s “100 percent pro-life” and erased any sign of his advocacy of a fetal “personhood” amendment, which would effectively make all abortions at any stage of pregnancy an act of murder.

• Attempted book banning by Republicans comes to Virginia.  This is real, people.  Are you ready to fight !  

• Youngkin administration outlines plan to withdraw Virginia from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.  I guess he thinks that climate change is a hoax !

Rick Scott Horror Stories

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is the Senate leader in charge of the Republicans taking control of the Senate in November 2022.  He devised a 12 point plan to “Rescue America”.  Please don’t go to his website without nausea medication.  I will be highlighting some of the absolutely harmful or hypocritical Republican proposals and providing some commentary.. 

“Begin paying down debt. Debt = politicians stealing from our future and stealing from all of us right now with inflation.”  From the Government Reform & Debt section.  

Naturally Rick Scott does not provide any actual detail on how to do this.  Perhaps a first step in reducing the debt is to get rid of Trump's 2017 tax cut for the wealthy and corporations.  Also, corporate tax rates went from 35 to 21% and the amounts that the wealthy can pass tax free to the next generation (estate tax) doubled so most estates now pay no estate tax at all.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017) cut taxes substantially from 2018 through 2025. The resulting deficits will add $1 to $2 trillion to the federal debt, according to official estimates. The debt increase will be larger if some of TCJA’s temporary tax cuts are extended.

The 2017 tax law will boost the after-tax incomes of households in the top 1 percent by 2.9 percent by 2025, roughly three times the 1.0 percent gain for households in the bottom 60 percent, the Tax Policy Center (TPC) estimates.  

The largest CTC increases go to high-income families. The credit now begins to phase out for married couples making $400,000 a year, compared to $110,000 under prior law. A married couple with two children making $400,000 are now newly eligible for a full $2,000-per-child CTC, a $4,000 increase.

A preview of the Risk Scott Horror Story for next week and it is a real Republican gem.  Please sit down for this.  “All federal legislation sunsets in 5 years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again” from the Government Reform & Debt section. 

Ben Cline (sigh!)

This section of the SDC Weekly Email has been voted the hands down favorite of our readers !  Not really but like a fender bender on the highway you cannot avert your eyes from Ben Cline’s appalling voting record !  

More detailed information about Ben Cline’s voting record is located on our Staunton Democrats Speak ! Blog – Ben Cline has his own section called “Ben Cline.  Where’s the beef ?”

• Ben Cline voted NO to admitting Washington DC as the 51st state.  

• Ben Cline NO to protecting Healthcare and Social Service workers from workplace violence !

• Ben Cline voted NO to stop wage discrimination based on sex.  This is in line with the radical right’s efforts to restrict rights for women and minority populations.

Remember to vote BLUE in Roevember ! 

Thanks for reading !  

If you have any suggestions or corrections then please email to publicity@sawdemocrats.care and put Feedback for Weekly Email 9/5/22 in the subject line.