DNC Talkers’ Toplines — July 20, 2022

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

TOP TIDBITS
FROM THE DNC WAR ROOM
MESSAGE TO MOBILIZE
ARTICLES TO AMPLIFY
TOP TWEETS
TALKING POINTS
 

TOP TIDBITS

1. To close out the DNC’s Defend Choice Week of Action yesterday, Democrats in Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, and Wisconsin held events blasting local Republicans for their efforts to roll back Americans’ freedom to make their own health care decisions:

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Arizona: 
NBC News: Latino Democrats: Fight for abortion rights will rally voters
The Arizona Republic: Arizona Democrats hope for long-shot election wins to restore abortion rights
KTAR: Democrats work to protect abortion rights 
Blog for Arizona: Arizona Democrats Condemn MAGA Republicans for Imposing Draconian Measures Restricting Women’s Bodily Autonomy
 
Michigan:
9and10 News: AG Nessel Reiterates Abortion Legality in Michigan
ABC Grand Rapids: AG Nessel, Rural Michigan Dems Share Impact of Abortion Ban in Rural Communities
 
North Carolina:
WXII12: Defend Choice Week of Action in Greensboro
 
Wisconsin:

2. Yesterday, 157 House Republicans voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which would enshrine marriage equality in federal law, repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and provide additional protections for marriage equality. Yesterday’s vote follows the Supreme Court’s decision to ignore almost 50 years of precedent to overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to outlaw abortion, and potentially target other rights, such as the right to same sex-marriage and the right to contraception. 

See HERE a list of the House Republicans who voted against protecting every American’s right to marry the person they love – and we encourage you to call them out for their appalling vote. 

3. Across the country, gas prices are decreasing. Average gas prices have declined by about 50 cents per gallon over the past month — see below for TPs to amplify

4. Today Mike Pence is in DC and SC. The DNC War Room released a new video you can share here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHmr_n3Rb2U

FROM THE DNC WAR ROOM

MAGA Hot Mic: MAGA Hot Mic: Michigan GOP Rep. Mike Shirkey

DNC: NEW VIDEO: What’s On The Pence-Republican Study Committee Meeting Agenda?

DNC: We Have Some Questions for Senate Republicans

@DNCWarRoom: TODAY: @Mike_Pence is heading to SC to unveil his blueprint for banning *medically necessary abortion pills* — a plan that would endanger thousands of women who may suffer from miscarriage. The GOP does not care about the reproductive health of Americans.

@DNCWarRoom: The GOP is so quick to forget. A reminder: The Trump administration sold oil from the U.S. strategic reserves to China's largest oil supplier in 2017. https://t.co/pFBsus5c45
 

MESSAGE TO MOBILIZE

Please amplify some of our top content from DNC channels below:

Betsy DeVos just said she wants Republicans to abolish the Department of Education if they win power—and Rick Scott is saying the same thing. This extremist MAGA party must be defeated at the ballot box. @TheDemocrats (Twitter), (Facebook)

Last year, every single Republican in Congress voted against the American Rescue Plan—which boosted Affordable Care Act subsidies and helped more Americans afford their health care premiums. The GOP still has no plan to lower health care costs. @TheDemocrats (Twitter)

Why are MAGA Republicans standing in the way of President Biden and Democrats’ efforts to lower costs for Americans? @TheDemocrats (Twitter), (Facebook)

While oil and gas companies experience historic profits, every single House Republican voted against a bill that would fight gas price gouging. @TheDemocrats (Twitter), (Facebook)

Want to help amplify the DNC’s message online? Join the DNC’s Greenfly to start receiving daily content updates and access to social media resources. Click here to download the app and use code: DEMSTALKERS at sign up.

Please note that individuals working for independent expenditures or Democratic primary campaign candidates are ineligible to join the DNC’s Greenfly.
 

ARTICLES TO AMPLIFY

Axios: Scoop: GOP's oil reserve amnesia

AP: Biden to announce climate actions at ex-coal plant in Mass.
 

TOP TWEETS

@POTUS: The Supreme Court made it clear after they overturned Roe: the basic right to privacy – right up to marrying who you love – is at risk. Last night, 47 Republicans and all House Democrats took an important step to codify every American’s right to marry into law.

@POTUS: The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act closes the "boyfriend loophole." If you're convicted of an assault against your partner, you can't buy or own a gun. Period.

@VP: I applaud members in the House for passing the Respect for Marriage Act. We must keep fighting to codify same-sex marriage into law and safeguard LGBTQI+ rights.

@VP: It was an honor to join @POTUS, @FLOTUS and the @SecondGentleman in welcoming First Lady Olena Zelenska of Ukraine to the White House. She embodies the bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people, whom we will continue to stand with and support.
 

TALKING POINTS

Across the country, gas prices are decreasing and American families are feeling relief.

1. Average gas prices have declined by about 50 cents per gallon over the past months.

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Gasoline prices have declined every single day for over a month. The drop is one of the fastest declines in gas prices in over a decade. In fact, just this Sunday, we witnessed the largest single-day decline in national gas prices since 2008.
 
2. According to an industry analyst, the most common price at gas stations across the country is now $3.99, with around 20,000 gas stations across over 30 states now offering gas at $3.99 per gallon or less. Over the coming days, as more gas stations lower their prices in response to lower input costs, we can expect to see average prices fall below $4 per gallon in several states.

States with at least one gas station offering gas for $3.99 per gallon or less, as of 7/14 according to GasBuddy
 
3. The result is real breathing room for American families who are now spending less on filling their cars. At current prices, the average American driver will spend about $25/month less on gasoline than they would have if prices had stayed at their June peak. Economy-wide, that means American drivers are saving around $190 million each day from lower gas prices. And, since gasoline prices affect the prices of other goods and services through transportation costs,including food, both households that drive and households that don’t directly benefit from lower gasoline prices.  

President Biden has taken historic actions to address Putin’s Price Hike at the pump and increase the global supply of oil.
 
He’s releasing a record one million barrels of oil per day on average from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) – since the president’s announcement in March, the SPR has released 84 million barrels. And, the president rallied our global partners to release a combined 240 million barrels of oil. These releases have had an outsized effect at a time when the market is especially tight. In fact, as one leading oil market analyst put it, “the US has become the world’s oil barrel of last resort, single handedly keeping prices in the energy market from exploding even higher by selling a large chunk of its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.”
 
We expect gas prices to continue to decrease in the near term.
 
If oil prices stay at or below current levels, gas prices will decline further. That’s because while oil prices have decreased by about 20 percent since their June peak, prices at the pump have only fallen about 10 percent over the same period. And while wholesale gas prices are down by about a dollar per gallon from their June highs, retail gas prices have come down by only about 50 cents. 
 
 At the same time, refiners’ profit margins per gallon of gas averaged about 90 cents last week – roughly double what’s typical for this time of year. Retailers’ profit margins per gallon of gas averaged around $1.30 last week – more than 50 cents above what’s typical for this time of year.
 
Gas prices have room to fall significantly more, and President Biden is demanding that oil and gas companies quickly bring down the price at the pump when the price of oil drops.
 
Despite the data, you wouldn’t know gas prices are coming down from watching the evening news or reading the paper.
 
During the run up of gas prices earlier this summer, there was intense media coverage of the price of gas. In the first half of June, as gas prices rose, there were 2,987 headlines including the phrase “gas prices.” Network evening news broadcasts (Monday-Friday) beat the drums about rising gas prices about 70 times in that same period. Many of those broadcasts gave airtime to Congressional Republicans baselessly placing blame for rising gas prices on President Biden.
 
Now, as prices are falling, there have been just 1,723 headlines on gas prices. And, evening news broadcasts have mentioned gas prices just over 30 times from July 1 through July 16, and often only in passing. As just one example, CBS Evening News aired four segments longer than two minutes about gas prices in the first two weeks of June.  By contrast, the fall in prices garnered less than one minute of coverage from July 1 through July 16.
 
Even the few mentions gas prices got in July weren’t necessarily focused on how prices have come down. Case in point: the Washington Post chose to speculate about how falling prices now could be bad in the future, writing “drivers relieved by the recent dip in gas prices may be in for a shock when the summer winds down, with energy analysts warning a fresh round of price surges could emerge as soon as October.”
 
The facts are clear: the sustained decrease in the price of gas over the past month is important news for families across the country. It’s important progress in giving families more breathing room – saving drivers $25 per month. Yet the media is doing its own version of rockets and feathers – covering the spike, but not the drop.  This is an issue that matters tremendously to American families and coverage should reflect the drop as intensely as it reflected the rise.