Dear John,

The challenges ahead and the actions we can take to make a difference:

Holding Congress accountable
Right now, Republicans in Congress only fear Donald Trump. It’s why they’re mum on his attempt to rewrite the history of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the illegal quid pro quo that suspends NYC Mayor Eric Adam’s corruption charges in return for his obeisance to Trump’s agenda and the evisceration of Congressionally mandated federal agencies (among many other illegal, corrupt and cowardly actions from this administration). At the same time, many Congressional Democrats still show a lack of urgency and coherence in the face of the greatest set of challenges we have ever seen.

We want Republicans to fear their constituents more than Trump; and we want Democrats to work with us to meet the moment with the intensity it demands.

The best way to do that is to join our representatives and senators face to face in open, public town hall meetings.

Call your representative and senator and demand that they hold a live, in-person town hall (telephone town halls and tweeting don’t count!). The pressure works. The capitol switchboard is: 202-224-3121

Stopping Abbott
As the Texas school voucher fight comes into the final rounds, Governor Greg Abbott is swinging wildly, flustered and out of control.

After slipping and admitting that vouchers will cause public schools to lose even more funding — and thereby exacerbate the outfight of teachers and make it more likely that school districts will raise property taxes — he is trying to silence critics from both the left and right.

In fact, much of the criticism for his voucher scheme comes from conservative Republicans, especially those in rural counties (more than 150 Texas counties have no private school that would benefit from his plan).

Then on Friday State Rep. James Talarico challenged Abbott to debate school vouchers in an open forum for all the public to see. We haven’t heard a word from the governor since then.

Two things you can do:

1. If you’re on Twitter, amplify Talarico’s challenge to Abbott by sharing his tweet. Let’s push him into a corner where he either confirms his cowardice or accepts the offer to debate. x.com/jamestalarico/status/1892779832993276398
2. Call your State Representative and tell them to vote NO on vouchers: 512-463-4630

Volunteer on the ground with us
Sign up to become a Powered By People volunteer if you haven’t already. We believe in person-to-person organizing — meaning, showing up where young and low-propensity voters are. It’s not too soon to begin the work for the 2026, 2028 or 2030 elections. In fact, it is absolutely necessary that we start now.

Here is the link: poweredxpeople.org

Remember, action is the key to victory and the antidote to despair.

Have a great week,

Beto