Friend,

It was no surprise that 43 Republican senators voted to acquit Donald
Trump this past weekend.

What was a surprise is that the House managers agreed to not call a
witness who had proof that Trump refused to call off the insurrectionists
in the January 6 attack.

We now know that Senate Republicans threatened to use the filibuster to
hold up Joe Biden’s entire agenda if House managers called any
witnesses.(1)

Senate Republicans are using a Civil War–era rule to block the legislation
that the American people so desperately need, like COVID relief and the
$15 minimum wage. But Senator Dianne Feinstein won’t agree to vote to end
the filibuster. It's time to turn up the heat.

[ [link removed] ]Will you donate to Courage California and help rally grassroots
pressure on Dianne Feinstein to end the filibuster?

Here’s what happened: Last Friday, Republican Representative Jaime Herrera
Beutler revealed a conversation she'd had with House Minority Leader Kevin
McCarthy, in which McCarthy asked Trump to call off the insurrectionists
and Trump refused. The House managers tried to call witnesses of that
conversation, but then withdrew the request and went straight to a
vote.(2)

The New York Times revealed that Republican senators, including Lindsey
Graham and Joni Ernst, threatened to drag out the trial and block the
Senate’s work if the witnesses were called. Ernst said, “They won’t get
their noms, they won’t get anything.”(3) The GOP knew how desperately
people need COVID-19 relief legislation to pass, so they used it to help
Trump.

This is the Republican Party the Senate is working with -- they’d harm the
American people in order to protect the man who caused an attack on the
seat of government. And Sen. Feinstein needs to come to terms with that,
right now.

Feinstein has been pretty happy lately to place her relationships with
Senate Republicans above the people of California she represents. Last
fall, when Republicans rushed through the confirmation of Supreme Court
Justice Amy Coney Barrett over the will of the people, Feinstein praised
Lindsey Graham for his “leadership” in “one of the best set of hearings
I’ve participated in.”(4)

And in January, she defended Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley after they
led objections to certifying the election results.(5)

Feinstein is more interested in protecting the rules of the Senate as
she’s known them for more than 30 years than she is stopping Mitch
McConnell from blocking COVID-19 relief for millions of Americans. And
Feinstein’s refusal to end the filibuster is allowing Democratic senators
from Trump states, like Joe Manchin from West Virginia, to avoid the
filibuster question altogether. As long as an entrenched Democrat like
Feinstein is protecting the rule, there won’t be the political pressure
needed to flip Manchin.

Nearly 1 in 3 Californians disapprove of the job Feinstein is doing, the
worst approval rating she’s ever had. But she has filed to run again, and
we’re in the perfect position to pressure her to end the filibuster. We’re
collecting signatures and working with a national coalition to stop the
filibuster and finally pass the bills the Senate has been holding up.

[ [link removed] ]Will you donate to Courage California today?

Yours in the fight for our democracy,

Irene, along with Angela, Annie, Caitlin, Deepthi, Jay, Lindsay,
LisaMarie, Molly, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team)

Footnotes:
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3.
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5.
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Courage California (formerly Courage Campaign) makes sure our democracy works for ALL of us by fighting corruption in California politics. We believe the solution lies in exposing and solving systemic problems through strategic organizing, enhancing coordination between progressive organizations, and mobilizing civic engagement from our communities, particularly voters of color, young voters, and self-identified progressives.

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