OUR STORY.
In early 2017, a national network of thousands of birddoggers came together to help defeat the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. We showed up at town hall meetings, and then put our bodies on the line in Washington to stop the Members of Congress who wanted to take away our healthcare.
We've helped save the ACA, won scores of important commitments from candidates in the 2018. We’re showing up to candidate events and asking members of all parties to support the policies we need— policies that bring us closer to care and justice for all.
KEY MOMENTS.
ACA Fight - In 2017, we created Birddog Nation with Housing Works. We flooded town halls across the country with birddoggers telling healthcare stories, explaining why they needed the ACA to survive, and demanding that Reps vote NO on a repeal of the ACA. We then descended on DC for months of civil disobedience in Senate offices and continued telling our stories. We convinced 3 Republican Senators to break ranks, and we helped save the ACA. At the time, few thought the ACA could possibly survive the Trump era, but it still exists today, and we just helped expand it through the IRA.
Tax Bill - Ady Barkan birddogged Jeff Flake on an airplane, explaining that supporting Trump’s tax bill would threaten disability funding. Ady met Lizz Jaff on the plane, who tweeted the videos in which Ady urged Flake to be a hero. The two launched Be a Hero together after this birddogging encounter.
Kavanaugh protests - We staged weeks of direct actions/civil disobedience trying to stop the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. Notably, our then-Co-ED. Ana Maria Archila birddogged Jeff Flake in an elevator, telling her personal story of sexual assault and asking him to take action. Shortly afterwards, Flake postponed the vote on Kavanaugh by a week so the FBI could investigate him.
2018 Midterms – sent birddogers to townhalls across the country, moved Democrats closer to our values on multiple issues, confronted Republican candidates, helped fuel the Blue wave that flipped Congress.
2020 Primaries – sent birddogers to townhalls across the country, moved Democrats closer to our values on multiple issues – including getting every Democrat POTUS candidate to co-sponsor the CARE Act to confront the overdose crisis, and moving candidate-Biden to embrace a more progressive approach to climate policy.
Current Day – training birddoggers and launching expeditions nationwide ahead of the Midterms to protect and expand Democratic power in Congress, win key commitments on Climate, Healthcare, Criminal Justice, and confront insurrectionist Republicans for their attempts to end Democracy.