Daily Yopp 1.9.17 - NO on Jeff Sessions for Attorney General

A lot going on this week. Let's get started. As always, please share this Yopp!

Today's Yopp! will focus on one of the many cabinet appointment confirmation hearings set for this week. So far, there are at least SEVEN planned!! Today we're going to focus on the nominee for Attorney General - Senator Jeff Sessions. There's a lot to worry about this this guy. Details about both the approval process and concerns about Sessions are included below.

“If he is confirmed, Mr. Sessions, who is considered one of the most conservative members of the Senate, will most likely push for wholesale changes and hard-line stances on immigration, terrorism, crime, drugs and guns. Democrats fear he could wipe away progress in civil rights, changes in sentencing and police accountability.”  (Eric Lichtblau, NYT, 11/18/16)

To make the best use of your time, prioritize your energy as such:

Step 1: Skim through the list of committee member below and search for YOUR senators. If they are on there, CALL THEM FIRST. Today is your day to shine!!

Step 2: If you have sympathetic friends/family in one of the states who have senators on the committee, ask them to call their senator.

Step 3: Next call your state's two senators with the script below.

Step 4: Then call as many of the committee's Republican members as your time permits with the same script.

Step 5: Finally, call as many of the committee's Democratic members as you can with the same script.

I'm sure no one has the time to call them all, so do your best.

SCRIPT

• “I am calling to urge Sen. ________  to  oppose Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. He has a history of racist language, has supported a ban on Muslim immigration, and has opposed justice reform. We need an attorney general who is going to support civil rights and all the advances we have made for equal rights for all. He absolutely has no place in the United States Attorney General’s office.. I expect a THOROUGH set of hearings. Please make a record of my call.”

Chair: Chuck Grassley (Iowa, R)

PH: (202) 224-3744

PH: (515) 288-1145

Ranking member: Patrick J Leahy (Vermont, D)

PH: (802) 863-2525 (Burlington)

PH: (802) 229-0569 (Montpelier)

Majority member: Orrin Hatch (Utah, R)

PH: (801) 524-4380 (Salt Lake City)

PH: (801) 375-7881 (Provo)

Majority member: Lindsey Graham (South Carolina, R)

PH: (864) 250-1417 (Midlands)

PH: (843) 669-1505 (PeeDee)

Majority member: John Cornyn (Texas, R)

PH: (713) 572-3337 (Southeast Texas)

PH: (956) 423-0162 (South Texas)

Majority member: Mike Lee (Utah, R)

PH: (801) 524-5933 (Salt Lake City)

PH: (435) 628-5514 (Saint George)

Majority member: Ted Cruz (Texas, R)

PH: (512) 916-5834 (Central Texas)

PH: (214) 599-8749 (North Texas)

*Majority member: Jeff Flake (Arizona, R) - combine with Tillerson call

PH: (602) 840-1891 (Phoenix)

PH: (520) 575-8633 (Tucson)

PH: (202) 224–4521 (DC)

Majority member: David Vitter (Louisiana, R)

PH: (337) 993-9502 (Lafayette)

PH: (225) 383-0331 (Baton Rouge)

Majority member: David Perdue (Georgia, R)

PH: (404) 865-0087

Majority member: Thom Tillis (North Carolina, R)

PH: 704-509-9087 Charlotte

PH: (252) 329-0371 Greenville

Minority member: Dianne Feinstein (California, D)

PH: (415) 393-0707 (San Francisco)

PH: (310) 914-7300 (San Diego)

Minority member: Charles E Schumer (New York, D)

PH: (518) 431-4070  (Albany)

PH: (716) 846-4111  (Western NY)

Minority member: Dick Durbin (Illinois, D)

PH: (312) 353-4952  (Chicago)

PH:  (309) 786-5173  (Rock Island)

Minority member: Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island, D)

PH: (401) 453-5294 (Providence)

PH: (202) 224-2921 (DC)

Minority member: Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota, D)

PH:  (612) 727-5220 (Twin Cities)

PH: (218) 741-9690 (Virginia, MN)

Minority member: Al Franken (Minnesota, D)

PH: (651) 221-1016 (Saint Paul)

Minority member: Chris Coons (Delaware, D)

PH: (302) 573-6345 (Wilmington)

PH: (302) 736-5601 (Dover)

Minority member: Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut, D)

PH: (860) 258-6940 (Hartford)

PH: (203) 330-0598 (Bridgeport)

*************************SUPPLEMENTAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION**********************************

All the following is from a call to action put out by Solidarity Sundays.

MORE ON WHY JEFF SESSIONS IS A PROBLEMATIC NOMINEE

Jeff Sessions is Trump’s pick to be Attorney General, aka the head of the Justice Dept. Yes, this is the same Jeff Sessions who was deemed too racist to confirm to a federal judgeship by a Republican Judiciary Committee in 1986. And he would be in charge of the Department of Justice. If confirmed, he would be responsible for enforcing the country’s civil rights laws, despite a history of calling a black subordinate "boy," "joking" about supporting the Ku Klux Klan, and calling the ACLU and NAACP "un-American." His anti-woman record speaks for itself: He said "I don't characterize" grabbing women by the genitals "as sexual assault," voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act and against bipartisan legislation to curb sexual assault in the military – twice. He opposes legalization of marijuana, including medicinal and CBD, which 29 states have already voted into law. He is opposed to immigration reform, and he has argued against even legal immigration, saying it hurts Americans. He is especially opposed, and has voted against, legal pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

OVERVIEW OF CABINET NOMINATION PROCESS

Immediately after his “election”, Tr*mp began to nominate members of his Cabinet. And they’re pretty much all horrible. His nominees and rumored picks have promoted white nationalism, attacked climate science, and used their power as Wall Street insiders and corporate lobbyists to fleece working families. We need to fight to block and resist every Trump nominee who embraces racism, xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia, climate denial, and Wall Street greed.

The first scheduled hearings are for some of the most disturbing of all the incredibly disturbing nominees: Rex Tillerson (Jan 11th), Jeff Sessions (Jan 10th), and Betsy DeVos (Jan 10th).

All Cabinet-level officials, except the White House chief of staff, require Senate confirmation, including: the secretaries of agriculture, commerce, defense, education, energy, health and human services, homeland security, housing and urban development, interior, labor, state, transportation, treasury, and veterans affairs, as well as the attorney general, director of the Office of Management and Budget, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. trade representative, ambassador to the United Nations, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and administrator of the Small Business Administration.

Before the Senate can confirm, each nominee must go through a hearing that is held by the relevant Senate committee. The Senate divides its tasks among 20 committees, 68 subcommittees, and 4 joint committees. The chair of each committee and a majority of its members represent the majority party.  The chair primarily controls a committee’s business.  Each party assigns its own members to committees, and each committee distributes its members among its subcommittees.  

How the confirmation process Works:

• A nomination is given to the relevant Senate committee. The Senate Judiciary Committee, for example, handles the attorney general nomination.
• That committee holds hearings, and votes to move the nomination straight to the Senate floor for a vote or not move on it at all (in which case, the committee effectually kills the nomination).
• After hearings, the committee votes to report a nomination to the full Senate, requiring a simple majority. It may vote to report the nomination favorably, unfavorably or without recommendation. If a committee sits on an appointment, the full Senate may vote to invoke cloture and move the nomination along.
• If a nomination clears committee, it moves to the Senate floor for a simple majority vote. Filibusters are not an issue here because Democrats changed Senate rules three years ago to eliminate the 60-vote threshold for most nominations. Supreme Court picks are still subject to filibuster.

The Senate will be narrowly divided 52-48 between Republicans and Democrats in 2017 and many key Senate committees will be split 10-9 or 11-10. If Democrats stick together it could only take one or two principled Republican votes to derail some of Donald Trump's critical Cabinet-level nominations, which need to be approved by a 51-vote majority of the U.S. Senate. Let’s be real: THEY WILL LIKELY ALL BE CONFIRMED. BUT IT IS STILL WORTH MAKING NOISE.

Tips for making phone calls to MoCs: If calling on a Sunday, you will likely just be leaving voicemails. Be polite and respectful, and feel free to go off script—our scripts are suggestions, but this is your call. Use your voice! Feel free to add personal details and say more about who you are and why the issue matters to you. If calling during business hours and you get a real live human—still be polite! Be very polite. The staffers who take calls are humans, doing a job, and are more likely to take you seriously and relay your concerns if you’re nice. State your concerns, and ask that the staffer make a record of your call. If you’re anxious about making phone calls, remember: you’re either leaving a message or speaking to a staffer. You’re not calling the actually politician. You don’t have to be an expert, or know all the facts. It’s fine if your voice shakes, if you mess up, if you cry. And if you’re still anxious—close your eyes, and envision a world where Tr*mp is president and nobody resists or does anything about it. Now open your eyes and make the call. :) Note: Though it is most effective to contact your own MoCs, this is an urgent and time-sensitive issue, and we want to flood the offices. In this case, we urge people to call all Senators, even if you’re not a constituent. If you have a personal connection to the state (used to live there; have a friend or family member there; etc) you can mention that, and say you’re calling on their behalf, or because you know many people there, etc. As you go through the list, make note whether you know people who live in the states repped by the Senators. If so, you have a SECONDARY ACTION: Call, text, or email those people and ask them to call, too. Send them the script and the info. Ask them to share with friends. DO THIS TODAY, as part of your SolSun actions. Finally: there are A LOT of contacts on this list! Do your best to make as many calls as you can, and feel free to continue to make calls through Tuesday 1/10. If Education is your top concern, start with DeVos, etc. Additionally, some Senators are listed more than once, so feel free to combine calls if you’d like (i.e. ask Senator Perdue to oppose both Sessions and DeVos).