United States Capitol, March 4, 2017                                                                                                                (Mike Painter)

 
January 7, 2021

Dear CalUWild friends and supporters—

From the time of its founding, CalUWild has said we’re as much a pro-Democracy organization as pro-Wilderness. We’ve been committed to giving people the tools and information they need to effectively take part in our democratic system. Yesterday saw an attack on our Democracy, the gravest since 9/11 (an event for which I was in Washington, DC)—only this time it was a domestic attack. And unfortunately, the attack did not just come from armed and angry protestors, but from within the Congress itself. While the loss of life yesterday was thankfully far less than in 2001, in other ways the attack was more serious, because it was directed at the basis for our entire system of governance.

And I know I speak for many of my colleagues with whom I have spent hours walking the marble floors of the Capitol and House and Senate office buildings, talking to and getting to know Senators, Representatives, and even more importantly, their staffs, that this feels personal, too.

But we must not give up. In fact, no time is more important than now to amplify our voices in defense of Democracy. However, this cannot be a partisan endeavor, though very obviously the situation has a partisan aspect to it, since the attack and its supporters come from only one political party.

So this Update has only one ACTION ITEM: Make it clear to your Senators, Representatives, and fellow citizens that this kind of action is unacceptable and that there must be severe consequences for everyone, at whatever level of involvement. Please make at least one phone call to Congress or write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper stating your concerns.

 
CalUWild’s updated Congressional Information Sheet is online here. (We will list the status of important legislation as well as contact information here as the 117th Congress progresses.) Contact information for Representatives and Senators not from California may be found at https://www.house.gov/representatives and https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact, respectively.

 
Thank you for your concern and your support,
Mike

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