Welcome to Catty Chats LIVE! The monthly LIVE episode of Cat Ladies for America’s weekly podcast Catty Chats.

This month's Live panel of experts is talking all things voting rights in the wake of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the U.S. Supreme Court this spring. We discuss the practical on the ground ramifications, some long and shorter term strategies to reverse all the harm that's been done, and how Team Democracy can still WIN in these mid-terms by being on top of the changes and standing up to the tricks they may yet pull this year and beyond.

THEN as we'll will with all Catty Chats Live, everyone on the livestream takes a couple quick group actions based on the information and tips from the panelists we've heard from, and vow to take one more action from our "choose your own adventure" list and check in about it before the next CCLive on Sunday, June 28!

PANELISTS:
DAVANTE LEWIS is a Louisiana Public Service Commissioner - an elected state constitutional office that oversees the state’s independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers.

DARA JOHNSON is an Associate Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Maryland. She supports a range of efforts, including litigating against voting rights attacks, lead the organization’s push to enact the Maryland Voting Rights Act. She is also a verified cat lady.

KATE BARR is founder of CAN’T WIN VICTORY FUND, which runs real candidates in serious campaigns for races they’re supposed to lose - often due to extreme, intentional gerrymandering. When Democrats don’t show up, voters don’t engage, infrastructure disappears, and nothing changes.

Sign up for our Substack to get the notes, links and calls to action from the livestream: https://substack.com/@catladiesforamerica

Wanna start or join a chapter? Visit https://catladiesforamerica.com/how-to-get-involved

CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION RIGHT MEOW!

https://www.vote411.org OR https://www.rockthevote.org

Other Voting & Election Resources
https://www.ACLU-MD.ORG

https://www.CANTWINVICTORYFUND.COM

https://www.TINYURL.COM/YallVoteTheSouth
https://catladiesforamerica.com
https://www.aclu.org
https://www.aclu.org/affiliates
https://www.AllRoadsLeadtotheSouth.com
https://www.brennancenter.org
https://www.lwv.org
https://bvmcapacitybuilding.org
https://naacp.org

This week's guest in the catio is Jack Inicker, founder of FUBAR PAC.
Their mission: political messaging & community outreach with no permission, no focus groups, no deference - just effectiveness.

The Core Problems:

• Democratic politics stuck in outdated strategies.
• Repetition of the same mistakes despite clear evidence they don’t work.
• Grassroots energy is often co-opted or sidelined.
• And also, they're not as funny as Jack.

His short videos explainer series including "Hello" and headline summary series "This SH*T Actually Happened" don't scream at our current political insanity and gaslighting, but instead calmly recount exactly what is said and done so it can stand in sharp relief to our normal mundane lives. Without all the background noise, the ridiculousness clearly and easily reveals itself as the insanity it is.

The FUBAR Approach:
- Operate outside traditional party structures.
- Use attention as a weapon: bold stunts, aggressive digital content, simple messaging.
- Focus on outcomes, not approval.

OH, and go heavy on the eyeliner if you're playing the role of JD Vance. (And YES we do have a make up lesson at the end)

This week on the podcast, Blaire sits down with Reverend Stephen Tillett, Democratic candidate for Maryland State Senate in District 32, pastor, Air Force veteran, former NAACP leader, and possibly the only politician willing to discuss public policy, Star Trek, and cottage homes in the same conversation.

Pastor T talks about growing up in Washington, DC, serving congregations across Maryland for decades, and why he says this political moment calls for people focused on service, not climbing the career ladder in Annapolis. The conversation dives into skyrocketing utility bills, housing affordability, tiny homes, healthcare access, corporate influence in politics, and why “policy is a choice.”

Blaire and Pastor T also get into Maryland redistricting fights, political courage (or the noticeable lack of it), ICE and immigration policy, environmental concerns around data centers, the criminal legal system, and why poverty in America can feel like “quicksand.” There’s also an unexpectedly passionate discussion about shower niches, luxury apartments nobody can afford, and the fact that poor people are often working harder than everybody else.

The episode closes with Pastor T’s call to “resist, rebel, and rebuild,” plus the now sacred Cat Ladies for America tradition: “Claws out. Meow.” And yes, he actually did the meow.

Find Pastor T’s campaign at FriendsOfStephenTillett.com.

Links to activism resources, representatives, and ways to get involved are in our bio.