Welcome to Organizer’s Corner — a (free) newsletter from your friends at Get Pod Local! Because we can help you stay inform — but then what?
Enter in your weekly Call To Actions (CTA!) from our Resident Precinct Chair, Joey Cade!
This newsletter is free, but if you’d like, please buy us some coffee! xoxo
It’s A Shit Show Out There
Neighbors are being terrorized, abused, and violently abducted before our eyes. Most are struggling just to keep their families, housed, fed, and healthy, while a few have enough to feed us all. Millions are hungry or struggling to get life-saving care without health insurance. We are regularly traumatized by gun violence in our society. This is Trump’s America. It’s more painful, stressful, and dangerous to our health than ever before to live here.
Read: Trump takes populist turn against health insurers
It feels nearly impossible to track all of the illegal behavior and chaos coming out of the White House. The firehose of lies, greed, and lawlessness is meant to blind us. The chaos is on purpose. Authoritarians exhaust the people so we give up. They spread fear to divide us so we can’t rise together. Every tyrant through history has done this — and the extremist Christian Nationalists in power now are doing the same here at home.
But The American People Are Not Having It
Since January 20th, all across the country, little glimmers of resistance have sustained us. From protests large and small, to neighbors organizing safety networks and mutual aid, people are stepping up.
We’re feeding each other, learning how to protect one another, and building local systems of care. And we can feel something is shifting in the people.
We’re feeling hope again — real, collective, energizing hope.
Communities Nationwide Are Pushing Back Against Extremism
Organizers, candidates, and everyday people are joining forces, refusing to be intimidated. We’re seeing diverse coalitions form. Dem party establishment leaders and citizen-led group leaders, like 50501, Indivisible, and DSA members collaborating with, and taking leadership seats alongside, county and state party leaders. Working family, immigrant support, labor, and faith communities. Both young voters and elders. All united by a simple truth: we rise or fall together.
Here In Dallas And Across Texas….
…people have shown up in force to fight harmful policies, support immigrant neighbors, protect vulnerable families, and expand our civic power. Local mutual aid work, food drives, rapid-response organizing, and coalition-building are strengthening the social fabric we need to win. Every act of community care is resistance in action.
In Dallas, we came together and defeated a $25mil 287G proposal to have ICE work with Dallas Police (more directly than they already are…). Over 65 citizens spoke out against the proposal, with only a few embarrassing Nazis in support. The City Council voted unanimously to pass on it. (For now. We’ll be back when ICE brings their next evil idea.)
Read: ICE Came to Dallas City Hall. It Did Not Go Well for ICE.
We see influential resistance fighters and organizations coming together - making a real difference - and keeping each other and their neighbors safe and fed. Neighbors all across the DFW metroplex are participating in food drives and supporting area pantries. Gov Newsom attended a rally in Houston and Gov Pritzker came to Dallas’s annual JJ Dinner.
Read: “You woke us up”: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, energized by Prop 50 redistricting win, thanks Texas
In Texas, with all the bad amendments passing, we were reminded how much work we have to do to educate our voters and build a relationship of trust that gets them to the polls. But we have our own reasons to hope, too. In Houston, out of 10 candidates covering the full spectrum of politics, two Democrats were selected by voters and will face off in a runoff (We’re on Team Menefee!).
And in Fort Worth, Taylor Rehmet, a Dem veteran and union organizer running for TX Senate, earned more votes than either of the Republicans. And he did so only spending $65k in small donations, while his primary competitor spent $1.4 million. That proves there is enthusiasm for his candidacy and he’s headed to a runoff. Let’s help him defeat his maga challenger by sending a few bucks!
And yes — both wings of the Democratic Party are showing signs of renewed energy, with both progressive and moderate wins in the November elections. That’s exactly what we need. The idea that Democrats must choose between “going moderate” or “going progressive” is a Republican trap. The answer has always been YES, AND.
To defeat the authoritarian, racist, oligarch-controlled agenda, we need all of us.
We win when we:
Build unity inside our big liberal tent
Local mutual aid + direct action = real relationships of trust
Lift up candidates who actually represent the people
That’s what primaries are for! Get ready for primary fun starting in January
Organize where we already are
Neighborhood → precinct → city → state
That’s how grassroots power scales
Together, we are chipping away at Trumpism.
We are rebuilding community.
We are practicing democracy side by side.
And It’s Working
Movements don’t win in one sweeping moment. They win through thousands of steady acts of shared responsibility. That’s what we’re doing now — and it’s how we will create lasting change.
This is the work we’re focused on here in Texas — with leadership from our Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder.
Kendall knows what we need to do to win, and how Texas progressives brought the best ideas to our country. If you agree, become a $7/month sustaining donor today.
This is how movements win. Not all at once — but in thousands of small acts of shared responsibility. Each doing our part to chip away is what it takes to create lasting change.
Your ONE Essential CTA This Week:
Do one thing to help someone else’s holiday season be warmer.
Mutual aid during these dark times is everything. Give to a food panty, like Minnie’s Pantry or Dallas Feeds Dallas. Play Santa for a kid impacted by gun violence this year. If you’re not sure what to do, join one of the campaigns my crew at The FEDDs are doing with this Season of Solidarity & Care.
And then, get ready to TURN THE VOLUME UP. We’ve got big work ahead, and it starts NOW. Build community. Build connection. Stand up and join the resistance. We need you.
Hugs and high fives,
Joey
Organizer’s Corner is a Newsletter brought to you by our very own, Joey Cade. Lots of folks have ideas of what can help / what you should do — and while no one has all the answers, we (specifically Joey) do have some. Okay, a lot. Joey is not just a co-host of Get Pod Local …she’s also the Precinct Chair for Dallas’ Precinct 1052.
We’re Also On Youtube!
Other GPL Goodies
Get Pod Local The Podcast: Season 2 with Jalon and Joey
Joey and Jalon sit down with Politicians, Community Leaders, and movers and shakers making a difference. And almost every episode, the Dallas Mayor catches a stray. He deserves it. It’s fine. Episodes drop every Tuesday! Coming Soon!
GPL Presents: New Newsletter with Jalon Nichols
Every Friday, Jalon catches you up on what is going on out here, who is doing it, how does that impact your everyday life, and what everyone is saying about. We are based in Texas, so we have a lot of Texas news, but we cover the whole wide world. There is a LOT of stuff going on everyday, and no one can keep up with it all, but we attempt to….for you. (Clap for us).
GPL Presents: Organizers Corner w/ Joey Cade
Every Sunday night, Joey Cade, our Resident Precinct Chair, lays out our Call To Actions for the week. Because knowing what’s going on is one thing. But doing something about it is another. Let’s do both!
GPL Presents: Water Cooler with Jalon and Joey
Every morning, Jalon D’na and Joey Cade check in and talk about something we read or saw on slack. Videos drop every Thursday!
GPL Presents: Daily Briefs with Jalon Nichols
Everyday, Jalon reads you the headlines of the day — just to keep you in the know. Think NPR at the top of each hour, with a lot of shade some jokes.