August 2025 ⋆ Rescue Our Democracy

29Aug, 2025

🌟 Welcome Diane, Our New Social Media Guerilla! 🌟

We are thrilled to welcome Diane, from Southern California, as ROD’s new Social Media Guerilla! She brings an engaging personality and extensive experience connecting with people from all backgrounds. Diane’s ability to communicate effectively and inspire others makes her a perfect fit to help ROD grow our community and reach more supporters.

In her new role, Diane will launch and lead ROD’s social media efforts, creating content that informs, energizes, and connects people with our mission. Through her creativity and experience, she will help us expand our reach across multiple platforms, ensuring more people learn how our government works and how voters can make a real impact.

Additionally, Diane will launch a podcast with ROD. Her episodes will explore a wide variety of topics about government, civic engagement, and voter empowerment. We hope the podcast will draw in curious and motivated listeners and inspire them to take action. Diane’s engaging style will make complex subjects approachable, interesting, and meaningful for everyone.

I am personally grateful for Diane joining the team. Her passion for voter education, storytelling, and community engagement will help ROD connect with more people, strengthen our outreach, and empower voters to take action. Furthermore, Diane’s dedication and energy will bring fresh ideas and perspectives to our work, helping us continue building a stronger, more informed democracy.

We are so excited for this next chapter with Diane on board. Please join us in giving her a warm welcome! 💙

29Aug, 2025

Good Riddance, Joni Ernst

Joni Ernst has built a career in Washington on snappy one-liners, cruel policy positions, and loyalty to special interests over the people of Iowa. Now, reports say she is preparing to announce that she will not run for re-election in 2026. If true, Iowa has every reason to breathe a sigh of relief.

A Career Defined by Cruelty

From the start, Ernst sold herself as a “tough Iowa farm girl” with that infamous pig-castration ad. The image stuck. However, behind the theater, she pursued policies that hurt working Iowans.

When Iowans begged her not to slash Medicaid, she brushed them off with a shocking retort: “We all are going to die.” That moment crystallized her approach to governing—dismissive, callous, and unwilling to wrestle with the real consequences of her votes. For over 600,000 Iowans who rely on Medicaid, Ernst’s words were not just flippant. They revealed how little she cared about whether her constituents lived with dignity or not at all.

What She Supported

Over the years, Ernst consistently backed legislation that undermined social programs and tilted power toward the wealthy and well-connected. She supported deep cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, opposed expanding the Affordable Care Act, and embraced the privatization of essential safety nets.

She pushed for abortion bans, voted to block Planned Parenthood funding even for cancer screenings and other vital health services, and stood in the way of wage increases for working families. Ernst also opposed environmental protections, denied climate science, and favored tax policies that benefited corporations over everyday Iowans.

Taken together, her record shows a senator who valued ideology and party loyalty above the well-being of her state.

What She Fought Against

It wasn’t just what Ernst supported—it was what she stood against. She opposed restoring net neutrality, resisted marriage equality until it became politically impossible, and blocked even the most basic efforts to expand voting rights. Again and again, Ernst put herself on the wrong side of progress and on the wrong side of history.

At every turn, her resistance to change slowed Iowa down. Instead of helping Iowa move forward, she clung to outdated talking points while ignoring the voices of those she represented.

The Counter-Argument

To be fair, some will argue that Joni Ernst gave Iowa a strong national profile. She rose quickly in Republican leadership, became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Iowa, and often touted her military background as proof of toughness. Supporters will say she brought grit and authenticity to Washington, and they credit her with keeping defense spending high for Iowa’s bases and contractors.

Yet, these accomplishments cannot outweigh the harm she caused. A senator should represent more than party slogans and defense contracts. Ernst’s “grit” too often translated into cruelty, and her authenticity blurred into dismissiveness. Even if her rise was historic, her legacy will be remembered as one of neglecting the everyday people who trusted her to fight for them.

Why Iowa Is Better Without Her

If Ernst truly does step aside, Iowa will finally have the chance to elect someone who actually listens. The state deserves leadership rooted in compassion, common sense, and responsibility. Ernst’s brand of politics has run its course.

Iowa is good to be rid of Joni Ernst—not out of spite, but out of hope. Hope that the next senator will see Iowans as more than political props. Hope that the people’s voices will matter more than wealthy donors. And hope that the dignity of ordinary families will finally outweigh cruel one-liners.

So yes, let the chair-dancing begin.

Resources

27Aug, 2025

I’m not going blind!

I’ve been diagnosed with a severe case of Superficial Punctate Keratitis in both of my eyes.

My treatment plan includes two different prescription eye drops four times a day and an eye ointment overnight. My doctor is confident it should heal within 6 weeks to 2 months, but I’ll need weekly check-ins until then.

I’m not sure yet how this will affect my role in our organization during this time, but I want to be upfront that updates, articles, and PDFs may come a little slower as I focus on healing.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding. Taking care of my eyes is the priority right now so I can get back to doing this work fully.

– Judy T.

26Aug, 2025

🗓️ Upcoming Iowa Events: August 27 – September 1, 2025

Check our Upcoming Events Calendar for more info!

🗓️ Upcoming Iowa Events: August 27 – September 1, 2025

August 27 (Wednesday)
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Nathan Sage – Meet & Greet
📍 Arandas 3 Mexican Restaurant, Wapello (Louisa County)

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Nathan Sage – Midwest Old Threshers Harvest Day Parade
📍 Henry County

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Nathan Sage – Fairfield Farmers Market
📍 Jefferson County

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM: Action Iowa Indivisible – August Community Event
📍 Des Moines

August 28 (Thursday)
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM: Nathan Sage – Guthrie County Fair
📍 Guthrie County

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM: Weekly Protest – Ames

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM: Nathan Sage – Produce in the Park Farmers Market
📍 Atlantic, Cass County

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM: Weekly Protest – Panora

August 29 (Friday)
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Weekly Protest – Jefferson (Jefferson Square)

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Fed-up Friday
📍 Federal State Building, Des Moines

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM: Nathan Sage – Town Hall
📍 Maquoketa Brewing Co., Jackson County

4:30 PM – 7:30 PM: Freedom Family Picnic
📍 Location TBD

5:30 PM – 6:30 PM: Nathan Sage – Town Hall
📍 Great Revivalist Brewing, Clinton County

August 30 (Saturday)
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM: Nathan Sage – Buchanan Farmer’s Market
📍 Independence, Buchanan County

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM: Nathan Sage – Jones, Delaware, Dubuque & Jackson County Dem Gathering
📍 Anamosa, Jones County

10:30 AM – 1:00 PM: Nathan Sage – John L. Lewis Labor Festival
📍 Lucas County

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Weekly Rally – Wayside Park (Decorah, by Indivisible)

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Weekly Protest – WERESIST Perry (Big Bicycle, 1st & Willis)

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Weekly Protest – Boone

1:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Nathan Sage – End of Summer Blast
📍 McGregor, Clayton County

August 31 (Sunday)
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Fort Dodge Labor Day Weekend Picnic
📍 Fort Dodge

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Nathan Sage – Iowa Craft Beer Bash
📍 Millstream Brewing Co., Amana, Iowa County

September 1 (Monday – Labor Day)
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Ames Rally for the Working Class
📍 Ames Bandshell Park

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Newton #WorkersOverBillionaires Labor Day Rally
📍 Newton

10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Des Moines Labor Day Parade
📍 Downtown Des Moines

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Labor Day Parade with Team Sand
📍 Location TBD

10:30 AM – 1:00 PM: Nathan Sage – South Central Iowa Federation of Labor Parade & Picnic
📍 From State Capitol to State Fairgrounds (Polk County)

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM: SCEA joins NW Iowa Labor Federation Picnic
📍 NW Iowa

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Spirit Lake #WorkersOverBillionaires Labor Day Rally
📍 Spirit Lake

11:00 AM – 3:00 PM: Cedar Rapids Educators at Hawkeye Area Labor Council Picnic
📍 Cedar Rapids

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Decorah #WorkersOverBillionaires Labor Day Rally
📍 Decorah

1:00 PM – 3:30 PM: Nathan Sage – Dallas County Dems BBQ
📍 Dallas County

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Iowa City #WorkersOverBillionaires Labor Day Picnic
📍 Iowa City

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM: Weekly West Des Moines Protest
📍 Walgreens on Grand Ave, across from Normandy Terrace Hy-Vee

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Labor Day Picnic for Patriots
📍 Location TBD

26Aug, 2025

ROD Update: Moving Forward Together

I want to take a moment to be open with you all. Over the past couple of months, I’ve had to step back from Rescue Our Democracy because of illness and ongoing health challenges. What I thought would be a short break turned into a much longer one. I was also feeling weighed down by the constant flood of troubling headlines and the sheer amount of work it takes to keep everything running.

On top of that, I was juggling the website, keeping the events updated, creating educational PDFs, and trying to manage all of it on my own while still building out the site. I pushed hard, but eventually I hit a wall — I burned out, and my health took a turn.

My health is still not 100%, but I’m easing back in and focusing on the behind-the-scenes work. To help keep things manageable, I’ll only be updating events once a week moving forward. That means if an event isn’t posted before Wednesday, it won’t make it onto our calendar for that week. I want to be consistent, but also realistic about what I can take on.

I’m excited to share that we’re also welcoming a new staff member to ROD! She’ll be handling social media and launching a podcast to help expand our reach and conversations. This is a big step forward for us.

Finally, I want to be clear about where our focus will be. For now, we’ll be centering our efforts in Iowa and California. Those are the two states we’ll maintain resources and event calendars for until we have active members ready to represent additional states. This way, we stay focused, effective, and sustainable.

Thank you all for your patience, encouragement, and understanding while I’ve been regrouping. We’re still here, still building, and still fighting for democracy — one step at a time.

16Aug, 2025

What More Do You Want Us To Do?

First, my thanks for your patience and my apologies for my personal health issues getting in the way…

I haven’t been able to keep up lately. My health has hit me hard, and I’ve been exhausted in every way — physically, mentally, emotionally. Still, even from the sidelines, I keep hearing the same complaint over and over: “Democrats aren’t doing enough.”

And I have to ask… what exactly do you want us to do?

Do you want us to start rioting? Do you want us to loot? Do you want us to set fires in the streets or start shooting at each other? Is that the answer? Because if it’s not — then explain to me what “enough” looks like.

I see Democrats standing up. I see them writing bills, speaking loudly, refusing to play along with corruption. I’ve seen them go into hiding to stop gerrymandering. I’ve seen them take risks, even when it looks like nothing changes. And maybe it doesn’t feel like enough, but here’s the hard truth: we can’t actually change anything until the people who are complicit in the Trump agenda are voted out.

That’s the part no one wants to hear. Real change doesn’t happen instantly. It doesn’t happen because we yell louder on Twitter or complain at each other. It happens when we replace bad politicians with better ones. Period.

So when people say Democrats aren’t doing enough, I want them to answer me honestly: what more can be done, right now, before the midterm elections? What magic solution exists that I’m not seeing? Because all I see are two choices: give up, or keep fighting the only way we actually can — with votes, with organizing, with persistence.

Yes, it feels slow. Yes, it feels like nothing’s moving. But burning it all down won’t save us. Tearing down the people who are trying won’t save us.

So if you want more, then be more. Step up. Volunteer. Educate. Organize. Don’t just sit back and complain. Don’t attack the very people holding the line.

Even better for us, join ROD today and help us teach about voter education, policies, and more. We NEED YOU.

I’m tired. I’m sick. I’m frustrated. But I’m not blind. I know the only way out of this mess is through it — together, and with our ballots.

Judy T.

16Aug, 2025

When Fear Became Policy Marketing

History offers cautionary examples: take the U.S. internment of Japanese Americans during WWII—a policy sold through posters and propaganda films casting it as a national security necessity. Public reaction varied: early approval born of wartime panic, later shame and legal reversals, yet the messaging never fully unraveled. The law lived on; so did the spin.

From War Boards to Messaging Machines

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Writers’ War Board and Office of War Information blurred the line between truth and hype, marshaling the media to rally support for government action—even when self-interest lay buried beneath patriotic slogans.

And Now,… One Big Beautiful Bill Ads

Fast-forward to today: Americans for Prosperity (AFP)—a Koch-backed libertarian advocacy group—has launched a national ad and grassroots campaign to “counter misinformation” and extol the virtues of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which is already law, by Americans for Prosperity. Their ads spotlight “permanent tax cuts, border security, lower energy costs, and Medicaid reforms” Americans for Prosperity. Social channels confirm it’s a sweeping digital, connected-TV, and event-driven blitz launched just last week Americans for Prosperity Facebook.

During my illness, I was watching streaming services, binge-watching and I was inundated with these ads, which I personally find offensive. It’s already law, move the hell on, right?

AFP’s real job? To ensure that lawmakers who backed the bill remain politically safe. As AFP’s Kent Strang admits, “we need to make sure this good policy is also good politically for the lawmakers who supported it” Americans for Prosperity.

When Ads Quiet Debate, Democracy Suffers

Let’s call it what it is: a post-law marketing campaign posing as civic education. The questions of merit and democratic debate vanish behind polished endorsements and emotional storytelling. The law isn’t standing on its logic—it’s propped up by commercials.

Unfit to Govern: If You Must Advertise…

When an administration can’t trust its own policy to win hearts without ads, democracy is on the ropes. Laws should stand on first principles, not focus-grouped slogans. If your policies are worth passing, they should be worth defending—without having to persuade through propaganda.

9Aug, 2025

Support Rescue Our Democracy

Rescue Our Democracy is powered entirely by passionate volunteers who believe in protecting our democracy, building community, and empowering people to take action. We’ve come this far without outside funding—just dedication, time, and personal contributions.

So far, our founder has invested over $400 and our SE Iowa Head Guerilla, Stef, has contributed $100 toward getting our movement off the ground. These funds have gone toward website hosting, essential tools, printed materials, and event costs.

We’re now opening the door for supporters like you to help us keep building.

Your contributions will help cover:

Website hosting and domain renewals
Premium site plug-ins to improve resources and accessibility
Printing and materials for events, outreach, and education
Other overhead costs needed to keep our mission strong

A Note on Tax-Deductibility

We’re not yet an independent nonprofit, so donations are not tax-deductible at this time. We have a dedicated account earmarked exclusively for Rescue Our Democracy transactions, so every dollar you give goes directly to the cause.

Other Ways to Support

Purchases from our online store, Head Guerillas Bananas, also go directly into the same account to help sustain our work.

Every contribution—whether $5, $25, or more—helps us grow stronger, reach more people, and continue standing up for democracy.

DONATE NOW

Together, we can make our voices impossible to ignore.

6Aug, 2025

Perry ROD Meet & Greet – Rescheduled

📅 Saturday, August 23rd
🕐 1:00–3:00 PM
📍 Perry Public Library – Conference Room
1101 Willis Ave, Perry, IA 50220

Change doesn’t happen all at once. It starts when people come together with purpose, passion, and a plan. That’s why I created Rescue Our Democracy (ROD).

This movement didn’t pop up overnight. Instead, it’s grown slowly and deliberately—built on trust, community, and commitment. I’ve been behind every part of it: the website, the design, the strategy, and the organizing. ROD is deeply personal to me because I believe in people power and the strength of local voices.

Now, I’d love to meet you in person.

🗣️ At this Meet & Greet, you can:
• Talk with me about what ROD is really about
• Share your concerns and hopes for the future
• Help shape our next steps together
• Learn how to volunteer, join a committee, or become part of our growing team

This event is casual, welcoming, and open to anyone who cares about where we’re headed. You don’t need to be an expert—just someone who believes we can do better, and who’s ready to talk about how.

We’re building something real, and we need more voices at the table.
Let’s make it happen—together.

See you August 23rd!

4Aug, 2025

Monthly Archives: August 2025