If you’re anything like me, the totality of the Brett Kavanaugh nomination and all that has come with it has wreaked havoc on your brain, your soul, and your spirit. I’m furious. I’m sad. I’m somehow both emotionally spent and energized at the same time. And I’ve given myself whiplash vacillating between hopeful and utterly distraught about America’s future—especially for women.
On Friday, the GOP-led Senate plowed ahead, as Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) promised, with a final vote presumed to happen on Saturday. And at the conclusion of her speech on the Senate floor this afternoon, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced that she would vote to confirm the nominee. She delivered what felt like an endless defense of Kavanaugh that seemed to prove she had never been quite on the fence about him after all.
Democrat Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) released a statement soon after Collins’ speech that he is also a “yes” on Kavanaugh. As it stands now, someone who’s been accused of sexual assault by a woman whom President Trump himself deemed a “credible” witness will be confirmed to sit on the United States Supreme Court for the rest of his life.
Far be it from me to tell you how you should process this entire mess. (I’ve wept, screamed aloud in my apartment, self-soothed with sugar, and tried to write my way through it.) But I’ve also learned that when I can channel my rage, passion, and, yes, pain into something more tangible, I feel a hell of a lot better. So, a proposal: join me?
This weekend, three of my favorite progressive organizations—Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPFA), Swing Left, and Organizing for Action—have banded together to create a Women’s Health Day of Action. And it’s tomorrow, October 6—as in Saturday, the day that Kavanaugh might just win his nomination battle.
Their goal is simple: to help elect pro-women’s health candidates and regain a progressive majority in the House of Representatives. To that end, they have identified 16 House districts in seven states to support on October 6. Hundreds of volunteers will be working with the campaigns directly to knock on tens of thousands of doors to get out the vote in November. (In some districts, the candidates themselves will be participating.)
It’s time to activate our anger (again), ladies—and I’m all the way in.
“Everything is on the line in 2018. Women are fed up with politicians dismissing survivors of sexual assault, undermining access to Planned Parenthood health centers, and reshaping the Supreme Court to gut the constitutional right to safe, legal abortion,” says PPAF President Dawn Laguens. “Women are poised to serve a reckoning this November that is decades in the making, and this partnership is a signal that we’re all right there with them. We know that, together, our voices are too powerful to ignore.”
Literally—they are. One in five people have participated in protests since 2016, according to a Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation survey. And the number one issue that’s gotten them on their feet? The rights of women.
“The level of engagement and enthusiasm OFA has seen this cycle, among seasoned organizers and brand new volunteers alike, has been overwhelming – and women have been leading the charge,” says Katie Hogan, Executive Director of Organizing for Action. “It’s a phenomenon we’ve seen dating all the way back to the Women’s March, and that passion has only intensified as it’s become increasingly clear how much is at stake in November. We’re thrilled to be working in lock-step with both new leaders in the progressive space, like Swing Left, and long-time powerhouses of activism, like Planned Parenthood Action Fund, to elect representatives who will echo these voices in Washington.”
Here are the 16 districts that volunteers will target this weekend—and through the midterms on November 6. You can sign up to volunteer here.
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AZ-02: Ann Kirkpatrick-CA-10: Josh Harder
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CA-45: Katie Porter
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CA-48: Harley Rouda
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IA-01: Abby Finkenauer
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IA-03: Cindy Axne
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NJ-11: Mikie Sherrill
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NJ-07: Tom Malinowski
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NJ-03: Andy Kim
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TX-32: Colin Allred
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TX-07 : Lizzie Fletcher
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TX-23: Gina Ortiz Jones
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VA-10: Jennifer Wexton
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VA-02: Elaine Luria-VA-05: Leslie Cockburn
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VA-07: Abigail Spanberger
And if you don’t happen to live near one of those districts, don’t despair. Getting involved wherever you are couldn’t be easier. Contact the field office of a local candidate you support and volunteer to canvass or phone bank. Reach out to friends and relatives who aren’t routine voters to make sure they are registered (many state deadlines are fast approaching). Ask them to pledge to show up at the polls on November 6 at a site like Vote Save America.
“If we want to protect women’s health from the constant Republican attacks, it’s not enough to just vote this year. We need each and every person to knock on doors and make calls so that we can break out of our silos and bring about electoral change,” says Swing Left Political Director Katie Hogan.
LETS END WITH SENDING AUDIENCE TO SEXUAL ASSAULT RESOURCE POST IF THEY ARE FEELING TRIGGERED./story/national-sexual-assault-hotline-calls-jump-kavanaugh-news
MORE: During Christine Blasey Ford’s Testimony, Contempt for Women Was on Full Display
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