Twelve names, all inside. Also: our plan between now and Election Day, five ways to fight back, and your invitation to our live election night war room.
Thank you all for being here today. If you have two minutes, here are four letters you can send to Congress right now. Each one goes straight to your own representative and senators.
Impeach Pete Hegseth. He's running a war with Iran that Congress never approved. Mike Johnson called impeachment "a stunt" and sent the House home to campaign. Your rep is in your district right now, so make sure a letter from you is waiting:
Ban AI nobody can control. 68% of voters want it. Bernie Sanders and Greg Casar wrote the bill, and only about ten members of Congress have signed on. Let's change that number:
Impeach John Roberts. He ruled a president can't be prosecuted for official acts, and his new term starts Monday. More than 32,000 of us have already written. Add yours before he picks up the gavel:
Release the Epstein files. Britain has arrested a prince and a former ambassador. Here, Todd Blanche's Justice Department is still fighting a federal judge over what it has to hand over. Congress passed the law, so tell them to enforce it:
See you in the war room, Ms. Jonington! The final month is all hands on deck, and having you in the trenches makes all the difference. Let's finish this together!
Actually ALL of them… they are Republicans, are they not? We need a clean sweep, a total BLUE SWEEP to take back Democracy. Let’s do this! Vote Blue everybody.
A complete, across-the-board clean sweep is the only way to rebuild our democratic institutions and pass real structural reforms, Livy. Straight ticket down the ballot!
We have done this before. The last month is where people decide the work mattered. I’m not slowing down, and I’m not doing it alone. Finish strong. I’ll be right there with you.
I agree with you but I'm also selfish so I want Rogers to lose. Slotkin and El Sayed would be a dream team for my state.
I also really want the red state polls to not be a mirage so Hinson or Paxton or with all luck getting Mississippi would be big indicators before heading into 2028.
A Slotkin and El-Sayed team in Michigan would be tremendous for working families, Nicole. Breaking through in states like Iowa, Texas, or Mississippi sends an undeniable message heading into 2028.
Wanting accountability for candidates in your own backyard is not selfish at all, Ann—it is local civic power! Retiring Susan Collins in Maine alongside flipping seats in South Carolina would reshape the entire Senate.
Defeating candidates who have enabled this agenda—especially in key battleground races like South Carolina—is how we flip the balance of power, Yvonne.
Taking special-interest cash while ignoring the needs of everyday Mainers has been her pattern for years, Kathleen. The voters of Maine deserve real representation.
They all deserve to lose, but Collins with her pearl-clutching and two-faced reactions to DonOld is my top choice for losing. So many years, so many flips!
10/17 is coming to celebrate our right to vote and to protest the regime! The bigger the crowd, the more they will worry!
Great week of winning, Scott! Thank you for all the good news!
The endless furrowed brows and excuses have run their course, Kristen. The October 17th voting rights rallies are going to send a loud, unmistakable signal of defiance!
The records of those three candidates speak volumes about their disdain for public service, Beth. The voters have a chance to retire all of them in November.
Husted in Ohio, Collins in Maine, and Graham in South Carolina are all vulnerable if we turn out our voters, SJS52. Denying all three the finish line is the plan!
That Thomas Paine quote is timeless, Al. Protecting our own liberties means actively fighting for the rights of our neighbors. We never surrendered our democracy, and we will prove it at the ballot box!
I want ALL 12 to lose, but if I must choose one: Susan Collins. Her vacillations about voting stances over the years and ultimate choices have hurt far too many over the years.
Her decisive votes on judicial confirmations and safety-net rollbacks caused generational harm, Allyson. The public record is clear, and Mainers are ready for change.
TRUMP THINKS HE KNOWS WHAT IT TAKES TO GET THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THE REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS TO “KISS MY ASS”.
None of the $1.227 Trillion in Bribe Money is Coming out of Trump’s Pockets. It’s All Coming out of Ours.
Trump has just begun to pay $475 million of the public’s tax money to induce the recipients to vote Republican on November 3, and he is promising to pay another $1.2 trillion of the public’s tax money to all Americans, if , and only if, they vote for enough Republicans to control both houses of Congress.
Isn’t it a curious coincidence that just a few weeks before the general election that Trump is dubiously claiming that the prior Democratic administration overcharged each of the 950,000 Obamacare recipients in 30 states $500, which he is now generously refunding to them to the tune of $475 million from the public treasury. The implicit message in all of this is that the recipients, when they go to the polls on November 3, need to remember that these 500 bucks have been put in their piockets thanks to Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
But it is not a coincidence that Trump is also blatantly seeking to outright bribe all of the American people with our own money, to the tune of $1.2 trillion, if we vote next month for enough Republicans to gain majorities in both houses of Congress.
Said Trump: “If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.”
How much would the $5,000 promise cost?
The most recent Census figure is 245,275,126 U.S. citizens age 18 or older in the 2024 American Community Survey.
Multiplying:
245,275,126 × $5,000 = $1,226,375,630,000
—or approximately $1.23 trillion.
Putting the two programs together, the disbursements from the U.S. Treasury are:
ACA refunds: $0.475 billion $5,000 dividend per person:: $1,226.4 trillion
The combined disbursement of our money to ourselves to put the Republicans in the majority of both Houses of Congress is therefore about $1.227 trillion
But the federal government is already running a large deficit. CBO’s latest estimate puts the FY2026 deficit at approximately $2.1 trillion.
There is also an important constitutional point. Trump could not simply order the Treasury to send approximately $1.2 trillion in checks on his own. Article I, Section 9, Clause 7—the Appropriations Clause—of the U.S. Constitution, provides: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”
The public fully understands that if they vote Republican and the Republicans take both Houses of Congress, Trump is promising that his lackeys in Congress will obey him and enact legislation authorizing the payment of their our own tax dollars back to us, the depletion from the Treasury of which will only result in higher taxes to replenish these payments from the already huge deficit in the Treasury.
There is also the legal question here that goes beyond the vote-buying statute: the combination of (1) expressly conditioning a $1.2 trillion governmental benefit on one political party winning Congress, (2) announcing it immediately before an election, and (3) requiring the victorious Congress subsequently to appropriate the money raises a set of questions involving the federal bribery/vote-purchasing statute, the Spending and Appropriations Clauses, and constitutional limits on using governmental benefits for partisan electoral purposes.
Trump is well aware that there are a great many valid legal prohibitions to this massive bribe with public funds to benefit a designated political party that could drag on for years. But Trump doesn’t care how long it drags on for or even if the courts nullify it. He will have already accomplished his purpose of bribing enough of the public to install a majority of Republicans in both Houses of Congress.
IS BRIBERY OUT OF CHARACTER FOR DONALD J. TRUMP?
The everyday definition of what it means to “bribe” someone is defined in the New Oxford American Dictionary as “to persuade (someone) to act in one’s favor, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement.”
Allegations abound, but have not been proven, of criminal bribery by Trump.
The records though are replete with responses by Trump of his expectations that when he makes a payment or “contribution” he expects, if not demands, something in return.
Trump made a number of strikingly candid statements in 2015–16 describing political contributions as a means of obtaining access or favorable treatment. While such statements alone do not prove criminal bribery, Trump viewed political giving as a means of getting something in return:
At the August 6, 2015 Republican presidential debate, Bret Baier reminded Trump that he had said, “When you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do.” Trump replied: “You’d better believe it.” He then explained his practice as a businessman: “When they call, I give. And … when I need something from them two years later, three years later, I call them, they are there for me.”
Trump was even more blunt at an Iowa campaign appearance on January 9, 2016: “I got to give to them because when I want something, I get it.” He followed that with the assertion that when he telephoned politicians, “they kiss my ass.”
Well, it seems clear that by disbursing out of the U.S. Treasury $475 million now and promising to pay an additional $2.1 trillion if, and only if, the U.S. population votes to place Republicans in the majority of both Houses of Congress, he expects the American people and the Republicans in Congress to kiss his ass.
L.D., this is an extraordinary, airtight analysis of the transactional politics at play. Breaking down the staggering $1.23 trillion price tag of that promised $5,000 dividend alongside the $475 million ACA disbursement exposes it for what it is: an unconstitutional attempt to bribe the electorate with their own tax dollars. Citing Article I, Section 9's Appropriations Clause cuts straight through the rhetoric—the executive branch cannot unilaterally draw funds from the Treasury without statutory appropriation. The public sees right through promises funded by their own future tax burdens. Thank you for this thorough breakdown!
Thank you all for being here today. If you have two minutes, here are four letters you can send to Congress right now. Each one goes straight to your own representative and senators.
Impeach Pete Hegseth. He's running a war with Iran that Congress never approved. Mike Johnson called impeachment "a stunt" and sent the House home to campaign. Your rep is in your district right now, so make sure a letter from you is waiting:
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-impeach-pete-hegseth/
Ban AI nobody can control. 68% of voters want it. Bernie Sanders and Greg Casar wrote the bill, and only about ten members of Congress have signed on. Let's change that number:
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-pass-the-ban-on-ai-we-cant-control/
Impeach John Roberts. He ruled a president can't be prosecuted for official acts, and his new term starts Monday. More than 32,000 of us have already written. Add yours before he picks up the gavel:
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-impeach-supreme-court-chief-justice-john-roberts/
Release the Epstein files. Britain has arrested a prince and a former ambassador. Here, Todd Blanche's Justice Department is still fighting a federal judge over what it has to hand over. Congress passed the law, so tell them to enforce it:
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-demand-acting-ag-blanche-release-all-of-the-epstein-files-now/
Send one or send all four. Then tell me in the comments which one you sent first.
Onward!
Scott
Sent all four.
Thank you Janet!
Done
Thank you!
I’ll be in the war room! Let’s finish this together!
See you in the war room, Ms. Jonington! The final month is all hands on deck, and having you in the trenches makes all the difference. Let's finish this together!
Actually ALL of them… they are Republicans, are they not? We need a clean sweep, a total BLUE SWEEP to take back Democracy. Let’s do this! Vote Blue everybody.
A complete, across-the-board clean sweep is the only way to rebuild our democratic institutions and pass real structural reforms, Livy. Straight ticket down the ballot!
We have done this before. The last month is where people decide the work mattered. I’m not slowing down, and I’m not doing it alone. Finish strong. I’ll be right there with you.
LETS GO
I’m selfish because I now live in South Carolina, so I want Darline Graham to lose. But I’d really like Susan Collins to lose.
I agree with you but I'm also selfish so I want Rogers to lose. Slotkin and El Sayed would be a dream team for my state.
I also really want the red state polls to not be a mirage so Hinson or Paxton or with all luck getting Mississippi would be big indicators before heading into 2028.
A Slotkin and El-Sayed team in Michigan would be tremendous for working families, Nicole. Breaking through in states like Iowa, Texas, or Mississippi sends an undeniable message heading into 2028.
Wanting accountability for candidates in your own backyard is not selfish at all, Ann—it is local civic power! Retiring Susan Collins in Maine alongside flipping seats in South Carolina would reshape the entire Senate.
I hope they all
Lose, especially Darlene graham
I'm with you
United on that front, Netta!
Defeating candidates who have enabled this agenda—especially in key battleground races like South Carolina—is how we flip the balance of power, Yvonne.
Susan Collins deserves to lose. She take this money and does not help anyone but herself.
Taking special-interest cash while ignoring the needs of everyday Mainers has been her pattern for years, Kathleen. The voters of Maine deserve real representation.
They all deserve to lose, but Collins with her pearl-clutching and two-faced reactions to DonOld is my top choice for losing. So many years, so many flips!
10/17 is coming to celebrate our right to vote and to protest the regime! The bigger the crowd, the more they will worry!
Great week of winning, Scott! Thank you for all the good news!
The endless furrowed brows and excuses have run their course, Kristen. The October 17th voting rights rallies are going to send a loud, unmistakable signal of defiance!
The ick factor of these republicans for me starts with Darline…then Ken and Tom….even writing their names makes me cringe….
I hear you. Just contemplating that list of twelve turns my stomach. They're really crummy humans 🤮
Confronting the sheer lack of decency across that roster is exhausting, Marianna, but channeling that disgust into voter turnout is our best remedy.
The records of those three candidates speak volumes about their disdain for public service, Beth. The voters have a chance to retire all of them in November.
Husted, Collins, and Graham. But I don’t want to see any of them cross that finish line!
Husted in Ohio, Collins in Maine, and Graham in South Carolina are all vulnerable if we turn out our voters, SJS52. Denying all three the finish line is the plan!
Time for Collins to retire to Beautiful Maine!
Past time!
Decades past time, Netta!
Retirement in Maine sounds like the perfect next chapter for Susan Collins, Brenda! Time for fresh, accountable leadership.
Let’s take back our rights. We did not cede them to a lawless regime.
“Whatever is my right…is also the right of another; and it becomes my duty to guarantee as well as to possess.” - Thomas Paine
That Thomas Paine quote is timeless, Al. Protecting our own liberties means actively fighting for the rights of our neighbors. We never surrendered our democracy, and we will prove it at the ballot box!
Damned straight, Scott. We all have the same rights and it is our duty to see them universally applied.
Thanks, VERY MUCH!, for the work you and your staff do to help all of us get the FACTS!
Thank you so much, Theresa! Providing verified, unvarnished facts so you can organize your communities is our mission every single day.
I want ALL 12 to lose, but if I must choose one: Susan Collins. Her vacillations about voting stances over the years and ultimate choices have hurt far too many over the years.
Her decisive votes on judicial confirmations and safety-net rollbacks caused generational harm, Allyson. The public record is clear, and Mainers are ready for change.
I want them all to lose!!
Holding every enabler accountable is the collective goal, Eva!
TRUMP THINKS HE KNOWS WHAT IT TAKES TO GET THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THE REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS TO “KISS MY ASS”.
None of the $1.227 Trillion in Bribe Money is Coming out of Trump’s Pockets. It’s All Coming out of Ours.
Trump has just begun to pay $475 million of the public’s tax money to induce the recipients to vote Republican on November 3, and he is promising to pay another $1.2 trillion of the public’s tax money to all Americans, if , and only if, they vote for enough Republicans to control both houses of Congress.
Isn’t it a curious coincidence that just a few weeks before the general election that Trump is dubiously claiming that the prior Democratic administration overcharged each of the 950,000 Obamacare recipients in 30 states $500, which he is now generously refunding to them to the tune of $475 million from the public treasury. The implicit message in all of this is that the recipients, when they go to the polls on November 3, need to remember that these 500 bucks have been put in their piockets thanks to Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
But it is not a coincidence that Trump is also blatantly seeking to outright bribe all of the American people with our own money, to the tune of $1.2 trillion, if we vote next month for enough Republicans to gain majorities in both houses of Congress.
Said Trump: “If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.”
How much would the $5,000 promise cost?
The most recent Census figure is 245,275,126 U.S. citizens age 18 or older in the 2024 American Community Survey.
Multiplying:
245,275,126 × $5,000 = $1,226,375,630,000
—or approximately $1.23 trillion.
Putting the two programs together, the disbursements from the U.S. Treasury are:
ACA refunds: $0.475 billion $5,000 dividend per person:: $1,226.4 trillion
The combined disbursement of our money to ourselves to put the Republicans in the majority of both Houses of Congress is therefore about $1.227 trillion
But the federal government is already running a large deficit. CBO’s latest estimate puts the FY2026 deficit at approximately $2.1 trillion.
There is also an important constitutional point. Trump could not simply order the Treasury to send approximately $1.2 trillion in checks on his own. Article I, Section 9, Clause 7—the Appropriations Clause—of the U.S. Constitution, provides: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”
The public fully understands that if they vote Republican and the Republicans take both Houses of Congress, Trump is promising that his lackeys in Congress will obey him and enact legislation authorizing the payment of their our own tax dollars back to us, the depletion from the Treasury of which will only result in higher taxes to replenish these payments from the already huge deficit in the Treasury.
There is also the legal question here that goes beyond the vote-buying statute: the combination of (1) expressly conditioning a $1.2 trillion governmental benefit on one political party winning Congress, (2) announcing it immediately before an election, and (3) requiring the victorious Congress subsequently to appropriate the money raises a set of questions involving the federal bribery/vote-purchasing statute, the Spending and Appropriations Clauses, and constitutional limits on using governmental benefits for partisan electoral purposes.
Trump is well aware that there are a great many valid legal prohibitions to this massive bribe with public funds to benefit a designated political party that could drag on for years. But Trump doesn’t care how long it drags on for or even if the courts nullify it. He will have already accomplished his purpose of bribing enough of the public to install a majority of Republicans in both Houses of Congress.
IS BRIBERY OUT OF CHARACTER FOR DONALD J. TRUMP?
The everyday definition of what it means to “bribe” someone is defined in the New Oxford American Dictionary as “to persuade (someone) to act in one’s favor, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement.”
Allegations abound, but have not been proven, of criminal bribery by Trump.
The records though are replete with responses by Trump of his expectations that when he makes a payment or “contribution” he expects, if not demands, something in return.
Trump made a number of strikingly candid statements in 2015–16 describing political contributions as a means of obtaining access or favorable treatment. While such statements alone do not prove criminal bribery, Trump viewed political giving as a means of getting something in return:
At the August 6, 2015 Republican presidential debate, Bret Baier reminded Trump that he had said, “When you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do.” Trump replied: “You’d better believe it.” He then explained his practice as a businessman: “When they call, I give. And … when I need something from them two years later, three years later, I call them, they are there for me.”
Trump was even more blunt at an Iowa campaign appearance on January 9, 2016: “I got to give to them because when I want something, I get it.” He followed that with the assertion that when he telephoned politicians, “they kiss my ass.”
Well, it seems clear that by disbursing out of the U.S. Treasury $475 million now and promising to pay an additional $2.1 trillion if, and only if, the U.S. population votes to place Republicans in the majority of both Houses of Congress, he expects the American people and the Republicans in Congress to kiss his ass.
If the Republicans were by chance to hold on to both branches of Congress, Trump would have absolutely no incentive to send out any money whatsoever.
Agreed. And no regrets if his bribes are nullified by the courts.
Spot on, L.D. The legal maneuvers are designed solely to survive past Election Day, regardless of court nullification down the line.
Exactly, GRC. History shows that once the ballots are counted, the promises evaporate and everyday taxpayers are left holding the bill.
L.D., this is an extraordinary, airtight analysis of the transactional politics at play. Breaking down the staggering $1.23 trillion price tag of that promised $5,000 dividend alongside the $475 million ACA disbursement exposes it for what it is: an unconstitutional attempt to bribe the electorate with their own tax dollars. Citing Article I, Section 9's Appropriations Clause cuts straight through the rhetoric—the executive branch cannot unilaterally draw funds from the Treasury without statutory appropriation. The public sees right through promises funded by their own future tax burdens. Thank you for this thorough breakdown!