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Ezra Levin Profile picture
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8 Jun, 6 tweets, 2 min read
Hi 👋 Nate, author here. The question isn't how Trump performed in WV, but how popular democracy reform is. This is a legislative fight after all. And the For the People Act is wildly popular in WV among Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.
If you're wondering why this bill is so darn popular, you could read what the democracy experts are saying...which is that our republic is at risk of crumbling if we don't pass it. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Back to your point about bully pulpit research - it's a small dataset but there is research! You might check out this old interview with the political scientist who conducted "the most in-depth study of the bully pulpit." theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
The headline sounds bad! But the conclusion is pretty clear: changing minds is hard, but rallying the public around something popular is really great.

"Presidents succeed in rallying the public when the public already agrees with them."
And, oh happy day, the For the People Act is *wildly* popular - among voters of all parties, in Arizona, in West Virginia, and across the country.

So, it turns out, this is PRECISELY the situation where the presidential bully pulpit is effective.
Hope that convinces you to join this fight for our democracy. indivisibleteam.medium.com/so-what-the-he…

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More from @ezralevin

Ezra Levin Profile picture
13 May
The For the People Act is wildly popular...in West Virginia:
-Require disclosure of political funders: 87% favor
-Strengthen lobbying rules: 85% favor
-End gerrymandering: 84% favor
-National voting standards: 79% favor
-Ban electeds from serving on for-profit boards: 76% favor
That's why, if you're in West Virginia, you're probably seeing ads like this (identified by an Indivisible volunteer in the state): Image
The anti-democracy reactionaries are dropping $$$$$ *because they're scared*. They don't think they've won. They're taking this democracy threat seriously.

As bad as the ad is, it's a good sign! First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Read 5 tweets
Ezra Levin Profile picture
30 Apr
Manchin does *not* oppose DC statehood, but rather he thinks a constitutional amendment is needed. That's a common misconception - statehood can indeed be granted through legislation, and we look forward updating his staff after their deep dive into this. washingtonpost.com/local/dc-polit…
To be clear, it would have been easy for Manchin to say "nope, I'm opposed to DC statehood." He didn't. He raised a process concern based on a false assumption. Up to us to correct the assumption.
No state has EVER been admitted by constitutional amendment - not even WV, which was admitted through a questionable process in the middle of the Civil War.

So where does this argument come from? Well, the Koch Brothers helped. A little history:
Read 9 tweets
Ezra Levin Profile picture
30 Mar
WOW WOW WOW. Leaked recording from 2 days after the Jan 6th Capitol mob. Koch-funded operation & McConnell's staff worry about how popular HR 1 is. So popular - even among conservatives! - that they advise simply killing it with the filibuster instead of debating it publicly.
This is also 3 days after Dems won the Georgia senate seats, giving them the trifecta that could allow the to pass the For the People Act.

At the same time at the state level, Georgia GOP started scheming to introduce the major voter suppression bill just enacted last week.
Pulling it all together:
1. Dems win Georgia + senate control
2. Driven by the Big Lie, a mob storms the Capitol
3. Georgia GOP accelerates voter suppression in support of the Big Lie
4. Dems prioritize democracy reform
5) McConnell plans to filibuster in support of the Big Lie
Read 4 tweets
Ezra Levin Profile picture
24 Mar
Paul Weyrich, founder of the Heritage Foundation 41 years ago:

"I don't want everybody to vote...As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down."

@Heritage is against representative democracy- that’s in its DNA.
But read the whole article! It’s terrifying! They are systematically undermining democracy in the states explicitly as a GOP strategy to win in 2022 and 2024.
If they aren’t coming for your right to vote now, rest assured they will soon. It’s all literally part of the plan - they wrote it down!
Read 6 tweets
Ezra Levin Profile picture
22 Mar
If you care about climate legislation, this is a must read piece on the lessons from 2009 - the last time Dems had a trifecta and tried (but failed) to pass a big climate bill. rollingstone.com/politics/polit…
In 9 easy steps, you too can replicate the 2009 failure:
1) Start by crafting a climate bill with an eye toward GOP support

2) Introduce the House bill & allow conservatives to water it down further

3) Ignore progressive climate activists and amend the bill to get conservatives
4) Pass the House bill with almost no GOP support, despite all those concessions

5) Watch the donor-fueled reactionaries go into hyper-drive against the watered down bill

6) Wonder where the pro-climate activist energy has gone
Read 5 tweets
Ezra Levin Profile picture
15 Feb
I used to handle earmarks for a Member of Congress. They get a bad rap, but I think they're good if done right. Members of Congress get to direct some (less than 1%) of the federal budget to priority projects in their district.
Local reps have legitimacy here. They know their districts, represent constituents, and so *should* get to direct some fed funds.

The alternative isn't less spending - it's local reps relinquishing this power to the executive branch, or writing one-size-fits-all legislation.
Sure, this produces some funny outcomes like the "bridge to nowhere." But in general, reps want earmarks that are locally popular - they want the positive press. They want to brag about bringing home the bacon. That's a good thing - that's representative democracy in action!
Read 5 tweets

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