“There will not be a magic day when we wake up and it's now OK to express ourselves publicly. We must make  that day ourselves, by speaking out publicly -- first in small numbers, then in greater numbers, until it's simply the way things are and no one thinks twice. Never doubt that we will create this world, because, my friends, we are fortunate to live in a democracy, and in a democracy, we decide what's possible.”

-- Tammy Baldwin

Senator Tammy Baldwin is the junior US Senator from Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party she served three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the 78th district, and from 1999 to 2013 represented Wisconsin’s 2^nd congressional district in the US House of Representatives. 

In 1998, Baldwin was elected as the state's first female member of Congress and the nation's first openly gay challenger sent to Congress. In 2012, Baldwin became the first woman from Wisconsin to serve in the Senate and the first openly-LGBTQ senator ever elected. Senator Baldwin was re-elected in 2018 by a near historic margin of nearly 11%. 

In the Senate, Baldwin has worked closely with the Wisconsin business community to build a Made in Wisconsin economy and drive economic growth. Baldwin has championed reforms for lowering costs and expanding access to health care, taking on Wall Street and the special interests that are calling the shots in Washington, and standing up for Wisconsin. 

Baldwin identifies as a progressive, and she has a consistently progressive voting record. She supports Medicare for All, LGBTQ rights, and gun control, and opposed the Iraq War.  Senator Baldwin is a leading co-sponsor of the Equality Act.

Even if you can't join our talk with Senator Baldwin, please support our 2021 and 2022 Get Out the Vote campaign by making a donation - large or small.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: June 16, 2021
Time: 8:30 am EDT (Washington)
13.30 BST (London)
14.30 CET (Paris)
21.30 JST (Tokyo)
22.30 AEST (Sydney)

RSVP to receive the Zoom link.

NCB is lucky to include Franconia, a world-renowned wine region. Join us for an introduction to some select summer wines and help support our voter outreach activities in the process!

Participation costs €46.  Your package includes 4 full-size bottles (750mL) — perfect for sharing with friends!  Wines will be chosen by and shipped from Weinkost Höchberg.  This event will be a Blindverkostung (blind tasting), guided by an English-speaking sommelier.  Due to shipping costs and times, we can only ship to addresses in Germany.

Democrats Abroad Germany's voter outreach efforts are conducted solely by volunteers. Proceeds from this event will support their work.

Please RSVP no later than June 14th, 2021.  In your RSVP confirmation, you will receive:

1. a link to a form to submit your shipping address
2. bank transfer payment instructions
3. Zoom virtual tasting connection details

Zum Wohl!

As US citizens living abroad, we have all watched the news with dismay as stories unfold about yet another shooting. It's very easy to feel helpless; what can we do? Many of us live in countries with comprehensive gun regulations (even "liberal" Switzerland) and we want some of those same regulations applied back home.

We have organized an amazing panel of experts to discuss the major developments in firearm policy reform that have been taking shape over the past year. Please join us as we welcome:

• Gabby Giffords, former Congresswoman and co-founder of Giffords
  As the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona State Senate and a trailblazer in other offices, Gabby represented her community in the Arizona legislature from 2000 to 2005, and then in Congress from 2006 to 2012.
  On January 8, 2011, at a “Congress On Your Corner” constituent event in Tucson, Gabby was shot in the head by a gunman who killed six people and injured 12 others. Gabby stepped down from Congress in January 2012 to focus on her recovery. As the nation’s eyes were upon her, Gabby embarked on a path to regain her ability to speak and walk, inspiring the country with her resilience and optimistic spirit.
  In 2013, after the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, Gabby co-founded the organization today known as Giffords. Over the past several years, the organization has been a leader in the national gun safety movement, making gun safety a kitchen table issue for voters. Giffords has helped gun safety champions win up and down the ballot in local, state, and federal races and worked hard to pass lifesaving legislation in states across the country and in the US House of Representatives.
   
• Peter Ambler, Executive Director and co-founder of Giffords
  Peter Ambler currently serves as the executive director of Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence, which he co-founded with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Captain Mark Kelly.
  In his capacity as executive director, Peter has guided the growth of the organization from a start-up in Washington DC to a national group with offices and staff across the country. As Giffords has expanded, Peter has overseen the organization’s defining moments as it has challenged the NRA’s dominance, changed the politics and culture of guns, won elections, and passed legislation as part of the fight for gun safety. Peter worked closely with Senate leaders on the 2013 Manchin-Toomey background check bill and with the Obama White House on the 2016 gun safety executive actions, developed and implemented innovative advertising and electoral campaigns in elections across the country, oversaw the organization’s support for the over 300 gun safety laws that have passed since Sandy Hook, and built coalitions of prominent supporters that contribute to the mission of Giffords.
   
• Phil Andrew, Principal and co-founder of PAX Group
  Phil Andrew has over 30 years of professional expertise in building great teams, cultures and strategies that navigate complex and dynamic relationships, projects and environments. Phil served 21 years as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) throughout the U.S. and overseas with expertise in violence prevention, counter terrorism, intelligence, crisis management and hostage negotiation, crimes against children, undercover work, behavioral analysis and broad investigative experience.  He has led complex investigations and deployed regularly on domestic and international kidnappings and hostage-takings and has received numerous FBI and US Department of Justice awards.
  In May 1988, Phil Andrew, then a 20-year-old college student, was shot in the chest in the aftermath of the Hubbard Woods elementary school shooting in Winnetka—one of the nation’s first modern mass school shootings.
  Andrew survived his injuries, but the experience would ultimately shape his priorities and his career. In the 33 years since the shooting, he has dedicated his life to fighting violence - as a survivor, FBI agent, crisis negotiator and subject mater expert. He has served as an instructor at the FBI Academy and expert in crisis management, negotiation, behavior analysis and undercover work. Phil has keynoted, consulted and trained clients globally. Prior to the FBI, Phil practiced law in Chicago.

Time allowing, there will be a Q&A after their presentation.

Add to your Google Calendar.

Attending a women's college, which only 2% of American women do, was both empowering and deeply sobering. As part of a community in which women were unapologetically centered, I learned how far from the center we normally reside. There is a reason why 20% of women who serve in Congress, along with 30% of women business leaders, graduated from all-female institutions of higher education. If we want progress, we have to create the legal foundation for its emergence. I have two sons, and I believe that not only their rights, but their potential to experience their full humanity continues to be constricted in a world that both overtly and subtly enshrines men as the standard-bearers of power and authority. I want the ERA for them as much as I do for my beloved goddaughters and nieces. We must demand our rights. No one is going to give them to us unless we insist and persist. I am in this fight with everyone who wants to live in a world where equality is not simply a "norm" half-heartedly enforced, but enshrined in the Constitution of the United States. It's past time. Teresa Ritterhoff, residing in Germany, voting in Illinois

Candice Kerestan's 2021 Birthday Fundraiser

As many of you know, Democrats Abroad has been a big part of my life since I moved to Germany seven(!) years ago, and it’s remarkable what the organization has accomplished in that time! This past election cycle, we engaged Americans abroad like never before and delivered decisive votes in races across the United States.

But as they say, “after the election is before the election”, and it’s important to me that we continue setting up Democrats for success in 2022. As I start this next year of my life, I invite you to join me in making a contribution to Democrats Abroad, an organization near and dear to me.

Donations are made to Democrats Abroad (Democratic Party Committee Abroad) and not to any candidate for Federal Office.

Donations to Democrats Abroad are not tax-deductible.

Have you ever made a successful change in your life? Perhaps you wanted to exercise more, eat less, or change jobs? Think about the time and attention you dedicated to the process. A lot, right? Change is hard. Creating effective social justice habits, particularly those dealing with issues of power, privilege, supremacy, and leadership is like any lifestyle change. Setting our intentions and adjusting what we spend our time doing is essential. It’s all about building new habits. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. The good news is, there’s an abundance of resources just waiting to empower you to be a more effective player in the quest for equity and justice.

About the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge 

• For 21 days, do one action to further your understanding of power, privilege, supremacy, oppression, and equity 
• This plan includes suggestions for readings, podcasts, videos, observations, and ways to form and deepen community connections. Suggestions are in the following categories:

• Choose one activity per day to further your understanding of power, privilege, supremacy, oppression, and equity.
• Diversify your habits by doing some of each.
• Use the tracking chart provided here to stay on course. You can download the editable spreadsheet or a PDF for printing.
• We think understanding white privilege and white supremacy is a powerful lens into the complexities of doing social justice work, so we’ve focused our resources on that specific issue.

Click below to receive periodic updates from the GOTV and Voting Rights teams regarding our voting rights work.  We will message you when there are important updates and developments to report.