Hello Durham Dems Action. Are you finding this newsletter useful? Is it helping you take action and feel slightly less helpless? Would you like more information, or less, or did we hit just right? Let us know what works for you in these posts and what doesn’t! Know that you can’t do everything, but everyone can do something. Showing up at protests to raise awareness and be in community, making your voice heard by calling your reps, talking to voters by calling or knocking doors are ways we can fight back in this war against our democracy.
Among all the bad news…good news! Senate Dems defeated a damaging and hateful anti-trans bill. Antivaxxer RFK. JR. changed his stance and now recommends MMR vaccines. Target boycott is making a difference. Pushback works. Also, our national Dem electeds are stepping up their game. For up to the minute news about what they are doing, follow Ariella Elm on Substack. We promise, it will help to read and SHARE her posts.
You can also follow @durhamdems on IG for up to the minute actions. A few other accounts we like on IG are @bullcityindivisible, @ncdemocrats, @carolinaforward, Anderson Clayton (@andibreeze), @juliefornc @katebarrcantwin and @momsfornc
Then read this story from “Engaged Durhamites 4 Democracy” to inspire and give some solace. This is a master class in calling! This is how it’s done.
Yesterday, I talked with --- in Senator Budd’s office. This is the second time I have talked to her. I could hear her typing and looking up my name, so I know she was recording my concern. I expressed my concern about our partnership with Putin given the Oval Office debacle, Hegseth reducing cybersecurity against Russia, and Elon saying he wants to pull out of NATO and the UN. I told her that isolationist foreign policy does not work and will hurt us. I asked her to let Senator Budd know many of us are very concerned for our country, with Europe pulling away from us. I told her I have not heard anything from him about this and that I would like a response from him about what he plans to do as most of us think Putin is our enemy.
We were talking conversationally, so before I hung up, I told her I appreciated that Senator Budd was on the Science committee as I am a scientist who depends on research. This prompted her to ask me where I worked, and I told her I worked at the Duke Cancer Center. She then told me she is a survivor of cancer and told me she was treated at Duke. This got us talking about the fact that she is young to have had cancer, and maybe she could consider serving as a patient advocate to help researchers develop programs for younger patients with cancer. Through this real connection, I then was able to ask her if she would share some data given I am a scientist. I asked about the calls they have been receiving and whether she has noticed a shift. She said that normally she hears more from people who are happy with what Senator Budd is doing. She said in the last month, she estimated about 70% were calls with folks who were not happy. Wow!! Many of us are really calling and more of us are calling than Republicans!!
Senators Budd and Tillis live in a purple state. It is about time he knows that half of us (or more) do not like what he is doing, and he is not representing us! … We are not stopping. We are not going away. Once engaged, we will continue to be engaged and let our elected officials know what we NEED them to do. We have lent them our power. We can take that power back and give it to someone else.
We did talk a bit more (sorry for those trying to get through as I monopolized her time), about how so many folks were angry when they called her (that was how she gave me the estimate, about 30% are happy and 70% are angry, with many of them yelling at her). I empathized with her and told her that when I encourage people to call, I ask them to be respectful and kind. I told her I was scared and upset. This does not mean I am going to yell at her as her job is to record my concern and convey it to Senator Budd. She really appreciated my saying that. I told her I was a communication coach, and she said she could tell! She asked that when I call Budd again that I call her rather than staffers in other offices. Connection! Empathy! Kindness! It works!!! I might have found an ally yesterday, one who will listen to my concerns, and I hope will make more of an effort to convey them to Senator Budd as I related to her human to human.
Making calls can be scary. And you might need to use the script the first few times. Please remember, we are calling humans. We can find common ground with them and possibly that common ground can help us move toward a common goal.”
ACTIONS
Call our Senators!
Tillis: (202) 224-6342, (919) 856-4630 (704) 509-9087
Budd: 202-224-3154, 984-349-5061, 336-941-4470
Keep calling as often as you can. Use 5calls.org or Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water for daily scripts.
Or here’s one from Jess Craven today:
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I am deeply alarmed about DOGE’s attacks on the Social Security Administration. The former Commissioner is saying we’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits within the next 30 to 90 days. This is an emergency! Musk and Trump want to privatize Social Security so they’re hollowing it out from the inside. Stop them, now. I expect the Senator to make this a top priority. [Optional add:] I care about this deeply because [insert personal story about SS and how it affects you or someone you love.] I understand that Republicans aren’t speaking up because they fear for their personal safety, but enough is enough. We’re all afraid. We still have to be brave. It’s time for the Senator to summon his courage and speak out against what’s happening. He knows it’s wrong. If he can’t do that he should resign. Thanks.
TUESDAY MARCH 4, 6-8 ON ZOOM: CALL THE GRIFFIN LIST
Republicans are asking the courts to throw out the votes of 60,000 North Carolina citizens to overturn Allison Riggs' State Supreme Court victory and install Republican Jefferson Griffin instead. We're calling those voters to let them know their vote is being targeted and how to have their voice heard. There will be training at the beginning. Register here
Also on tonight!!!: The State of Our Union
Roland Martin will broadcast: The State of Our Union. 7 pm EST
Broken into 30 minute blocks, there will be Congressional Black Caucus members, labor leaders, civil rights, voting rights, business, grassroots activists and millennials.
When Trump walks to the mic, we will go live to New Haven, Conn. where Rev. Barber will deliver OUR speech.
Spread the word! Watch here
WEDNESDAY MARCH 5
Siembra NC Immigrant Defense Planning 7 pm virtual register here
Thursday March 6
TESLA PROTEST 4 pm register here
Engaged Durhamites for Democracy are partnering with Durham Democrats to protest at the Tesla car dealership to stand up against Musk, DOGE, and our constitutional crisis. This is a nonpartisan event, all are welcome! This will be a nonviolent protest in which we want to make our voices heard that we reject Musk and need him to go.
FRIDAY MARCH 7
Stand up for Science 12-4 Halifax Mall Raleigh register here All ages welcomed!
Stand Up For Science 2025 is a national day of action calling for robust, interference-free scientific research and policies that ensure science serves everyone. In Washington, DC, state capitals, and cities around the country, people will gather to advocate for continued government support for science, defend against censorship, and push back on attacks against diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in research and education.
North Carolina will be particularly hard hit by cuts to science, given the large amount of tech and research in the Triangle: Duke alone is facing a nearly $200 million annual reduction in funding.
Saturday March 8, 2-4 pm
Canvass with Durham Dems in unorganized precincts. Unorganized precincts are those without precinct chairs. We need 5 registered Democrats from a precinct to attend a precinct meeting in order to elect precinct officers. This is an important part of grassroots party building. Precincts that are organized generally have more volunteer involvement and higher voter turnout. Register here
MARCH 12 NCDP PROTEST DOGE ON HALIFAX MALL: COME IF YOU CAN AND We NEED SPEAKERS WHO ARE IMPACTED BY CUTS!
They're saying they're improving government efficiency, but they're really just cutting jobs and funding to make room in the budget for tax cuts for their billionaire friends.
We won't accept cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security. We won't accept DOGE firing Forest Service workers who saved lives in Hurricane Helene. We won't accept Donald Trump and his co-president Elon Musk tearing our government apart from the inside out, and we're going to let Thom Tillis and the other Republicans rubber-stamping the Trump-Musk agenda know how we really feel.
REGISTER HERE with the North Carolina Democrats in Raleigh on March 12th at 12pm.
DURHAM DEMS “CUTS HURT” GROUP is partnering with a State Senator to find people who have been impacted by DOGE cuts and are willing to speak on March 12.
We need your help in finding these folks, or any others who are impacted by DOGE cuts, including veterans, scientists, people who work at the VA, EPA, USAID, have NIH grants, etc. Please send contact information to Julia Borbely-Brown at juliaborbelybrown@yahoo.com or Liz Conroy at conroyliz@gmail.com
People who have asthma or other breathing difficulties. We want to show how cuts of workers at agencies like the EPA impact our health. The EPA at RTP works on regulations for clean air.
People for whom cancellation of teacher training grants impact their Durham Public School students.
Families potentially impacted by potential Medicaid cuts.
Air traffic safety impacted by cuts to controllers.
Lives impacted by cuts to NOAA - will forecasts of hurricanes, high winds, tornadoes, fire danger be accurate going forward?
Thursday March 13 2-4 pm Durham Progressive Democrats protesting Medicaid Cuts at Durham Co. Dept Social Services. register here
Remember Upcoming Boycotts!
AND FINALLY:
I find this Substack really helpful, and I'm grateful that Durham Dems are putting this out. I'm sharing it on my few socials. I had a similar experience with a young man in Budd's Asheville office a few weeks ago. I was calling about HUD offices closing and the impact that will have on the recovery of WNC, where we have a small second home near Elk Park. Avery County is still in really bad shape; our home was spared serious damage, but the property is a mess of downed trees and we can see the damage to nearby homes. We connected on that - he shared that Tillis and Budd are meeting with Gov Stein and are aware of the issues around both passing funding and getting it where it needs to go. It was a human conversation. When I brought up my second point (which I honestly don't recall, there have been so many), which was more critical to the senator, he listened attentively, responded with what he knew, pleasant tone. I'm more critical in my emails than in my calls, though I remain respectful.