Dear Friend,

For generations — well before Trump’s election in 2016 — our Jewish community has been organizing to bring about the multiracial, equitable democracy we envision. But it won’t happen without strong voter protections, powerful anti-discrimination laws, and social policy that advances economic justice for the many — not just the few.

On every one of those issues, the closer we get to bending the arc of justice, the more desperate Republicans become.

Two-thirds of Americans live in states that are already voting, and November 3 — the end of election season — is less than 3 weeks away. Without winning key Senate seats, everything is at risk. Our PAC has endorsed candidates we think we can push over the finish line.

Unabashed racist and white supremacist rhetoric, and 20 years of tax policies that favor corporate welfare over people have left the GOP more morally bankrupt than ever before. Conservatives can no longer count on winning in free and fair national elections. Without any achievements or a record to run on, Trump and his enablers have doubled down on voter suppression tactics that involve intimidation, division, and fear, hoping that if they sow enough chaos, they might be able to steal the Presidential election.

They could be right.

That’s because, unfortunately, we can no longer count on the Supreme Court to protect Americans from the most egregious abuses of power. Mitch McConnell stole a Court seat for Justice Gorsuch. He changed the rules to force through the confirmation of the transparently unfit Justice Kavanaugh. And now, in the peak moment of his campaign to turn the judiciary into a GOP rubber stamp, he’s desperately trying to get Judge Amy Coney Barrett confirmed before more of his Republican colleagues contract COVID or the clock runs out.

We need a Senate majority that shares our values.

GOP senators are so determined to confirm Barrett that they’re showing up at the Capitol within 14 days of a positive COVID test — likely still contagious. If she is confirmed, most of what we've been fighting for will be at risk and decades worth of progress could be erased: voter protections, Roe v. Wade, the Affordable Care Act, LGBTQ rights, and more.

We need to write all those policies and protections into law. And the Senate candidates our PAC has endorsed will help us do it.

Just look at the U.S. House: since 2018, the Democratic majority that Bend the Arc helped build has passed a range of bills to ensure the rights, safety, and economic security of all Americans. In early 2019, the new House passed a comprehensive bill to expand voting rights and strengthen ethics laws. They passed a national minimum wage increase. They repealed Trump’s racist Muslim ban, and wrote DACA into law to protect Dreamers.

Every one of these bills was killed by Mitch McConnell without even a Senate debate or vote. Having a solid Senate majority is the key to our future and achieving long term change.

On all the issues we care about — the right to vote, control our own bodies, and live free from violence, including the right to demonstrate in front of a State Capitol without violence from the police — the conservative Supreme Court that Trump has installed will not protect us. We must protect ourselves by working harder than ever in the final stretch and not relenting until each race has been called.

We know which candidates can help us determine the balance of power in Washington next year. And we only have 19 days to get them there.

Onward,

Derek Pugh, Director
Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC