In World War II, the Victory Garden effort helped increase local food supplies and make more resources available for the war effort. Communities planted and cultivated their own plots, sharing the effort and the yield.
We've got to do something similar now, in the information battle. Cultivate and distribute accurate information in our own communities.
MAGA lives on lies. We need to spread truth. It's the responsibility of all of us!
Highly recommend -if you haven't already - that you check out Robert B. Hubbell's Substack, today's edition of which actually addresses this very topic. Furthermore, in that newsletter's comment thread, some commenters give lists of people to contact from various publications (editorial staff etc). We can make noise - and the more of us do the better !
we have to do just what we can do - keep getting louder, spreading good info through out networks, help our candidates make their case through money and volunteers. I am going to be testing out a new slogan in the coming weeks "Do more, worry less" - what do you think?
I knew it wasn't just me! Morning Hoe complains every day anymore. As I have become fond of saying lately that show is a complete joke. Whether it's Joe sitting there wide eyed, mouth agape or Mika pouting it really is nothing but a bunch of on air moping. It should be rebranded morning negativity.
Re "the country has rejected MAGA in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023," I think it's important to always add "and in 2016." Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in an election that may have been manipulated to win the Electoral College. It's important to add this because the American people have rejected MAGA/Donald Trump in every single election they have been on the ballot. The American people rejected Trump before he was even president.
Cool. I have been checking periodically on the PTV Slack channel. I have already writtenn some postcards through Activate America (www.activateamerica.vote) for Tom Suozzi.
Mobilize also has some opportunities to phonebank for Tom Keen.
there is phonebanking for Suozzi too now. I have links on my main site for all this but I think most folks here know how to get things done when they want too.
Thanks as always Simon. I keep reading that Republicans are going to make 2024 all about immigration and we’re in trouble because that’s a “wedge issue” for Dems. That smells like red wavy BS to me but would like to hear your thoughts on this. The caravan nonsense didn’t work before and I find I hard to believe immigration is going to top women begging courts to have abortions as a more salient issue, but maybe I’m missing something.
Even if people agree that something must be done, I doubt Trump's plan for concentration camps for the undocumented will go over well. Remember that Trump's family separtion policy in 2018 was thought be a key driver in suburban women voting Democratic in the 2028 midterms.
Immigration and border issues have traditionally played more as GOP base than general election issues but they will be part of the conversation in 2024 and our goal should be to win the debate now just show up - like the economy. In the MSNBC clip in this post I talk about immigration and border issues in the context of the current legislative hostage taking we are seeing now and Trump's poisoned blood comments. We should not lose this debate with them given their extremism but we need to be in my mind a bit more forceful about where are for.
“And a little child shall lead them”, and while this man was not a child, the inferred message is the same. Speak up, stand proud and say what has to be said. Very well stated young man, very well said.
Two thoughts on RFK Jr.:1. I find that it is more effective to expose his position in favor of replacing the $US Dollar with Bitcoin or other crypto than the vaccine stuff. This would limit the power of government to trace money, a field day for drug dealers, tax evaders, international arms dealers, and white collar crooks. They aren't gonna take my IRA and convert it to Bitcoin! 2. RFK is partly enabled by our Democratic shopworn strategy of narrowing the map and showering resources on last cycles 3 or 4 swing states and starving everybody else. Here in Missouri, RFK is selling out rallies and doing real grassroots organizing -- Democrats aren't. He has stepped into a political vacuum that weak Democrats helped create.
I think if Trump wins it will be because the GOP cheated. Voter suppression, extreme partisan gerrymandering, etc.
The DNC has to use its resources strategically and that means winning in the swing states that will give the Dems an Electoral College win. Sad to say, but the "popular vote" isn't what wins the presidency.
If more people donated to their state and local Democratic party on a recurring basis, there would be be more resources available at a local level. Plus volunteer your time!! There are some fantastic grassroots organizations - get involved!!
Cheryl I am not there on the GOP cheater narrative. Gerrymandering has nothing to do with statewide elections or the Electoral college - only legislative districts. And there has been no illicit voter suppression in the recent elections we keep winning. We have to be a bit careful here, but agree with everything else you write. We have to be careful to not give anyone we are fighting against - Trump, MAGA, RFK - powers they do not have. Let's let them earn all their power and not give ours away.
I guess I am still mad about the unholy mess the GOP legislature made of the finally fair US House districts here in NC. And we all know it was deliberate.
Yes, I am aware of the differences when there are statewide races. However, I do think extreme gerrymandering contributes indirectly with regards to putting voters in the frame of mind that their vote doesn't matter much of the time... especially if the Democrats have problems fielding candidates for those gerrymandered seats. Once someone is out of the habit of voting every election, I think it is tougher to get them back.
And let's not forget the GOP tendency to purge the voter rolls just in time to disenfranchise eligible voters. I agree with Mr. Mukerjee's description of weaponized incomptence in the WaPo article below.
“I’ve been calling it weaponized incompetence,” Aaron Mukerjee, voter protection director for the Democratic Party of Virginia, said on Sunday. “First they said it was not a problem at all. Then they said it was a small, very contained problem. And now we’ve learned it’s a massive problem. I think it goes to the point that this administration can’t be trusted with the voting rights of Virginians.”
RFK Jr. sold out the Uptown theatre in KC. He is also organizing volunteers to do the nitty gritty work of getting on the ballot, not hiring a signature gathering firm. He has a at least 2 groups in Missouri based on the monthly meetup model.
Also, his core supporters seem very libertarian. RFK may very well draw more from Trump but also does well with young folks who really need to be in the Biden camp.
So I'm assuming that if Trump is able to implement his plan immigrants, we'll all have to be carrying "papers" to be produced anytime our citizenship is questioned.
Understood. Hoping people would extrapolate y'know to like what life would be for all of us. How do you know who's an immigrant and who's not? We'll all have to be showing our "papers" sooner or later.
Hi Simon, I’m here in Missoula Montana helping with a family emergency. I noticed a President Biden Infrastructure Project sign here and took pictures of the site. Is there a way to send them to you? It’s such a great local project that it filled me with pride thinking about the good things we can do together.🙏
RFK Jr. has a field office on the downtown mall in Charlottesville, VA. Frequently there is a table out and they are talking to people. I wonder if they are setting up shop in very progressive places to try and peel off voters? I don't think many people here would be falling for that flim flam man but it is concerning. I would love to see Dems with that level of grassroots presence at this point here.
I am curious about respondents to polls. My guess is that many people on our side are not answering phone calls if they don't recognize the number. I have never been personally contacted by any recognizable pollster. I get "surveys" in my inbox and texts from random organizations, but I don't answer them anymore because they always ask for money and I have no idea who they are. And sometimes the questions are phrased in ridiculous ways like: "Are you against crime?" or "Do you think terrorists should be allowed to come in through the southern border?"
So I am wondering:
1) Are the samples really random and representative?
2) Doesn't the self-selection involved invalidate the results?
3) Is it possible that MAGAs encourage people to respond to polls?
In World War II, the Victory Garden effort helped increase local food supplies and make more resources available for the war effort. Communities planted and cultivated their own plots, sharing the effort and the yield.
We've got to do something similar now, in the information battle. Cultivate and distribute accurate information in our own communities.
MAGA lives on lies. We need to spread truth. It's the responsibility of all of us!
agree with all this Wes.
Highly recommend -if you haven't already - that you check out Robert B. Hubbell's Substack, today's edition of which actually addresses this very topic. Furthermore, in that newsletter's comment thread, some commenters give lists of people to contact from various publications (editorial staff etc). We can make noise - and the more of us do the better !
we have to do just what we can do - keep getting louder, spreading good info through out networks, help our candidates make their case through money and volunteers. I am going to be testing out a new slogan in the coming weeks "Do more, worry less" - what do you think?
I knew it wasn't just me! Morning Hoe complains every day anymore. As I have become fond of saying lately that show is a complete joke. Whether it's Joe sitting there wide eyed, mouth agape or Mika pouting it really is nothing but a bunch of on air moping. It should be rebranded morning negativity.
Re "the country has rejected MAGA in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023," I think it's important to always add "and in 2016." Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in an election that may have been manipulated to win the Electoral College. It's important to add this because the American people have rejected MAGA/Donald Trump in every single election they have been on the ballot. The American people rejected Trump before he was even president.
FYI, Postcards to Voters has just added addresses for Tom Keen in FL and will soon add addresses for Tom Suozzi in NY.
Thanks, Jon !✍️
Thanks, Jon, for the heads-up. I simply would note that Activate America, nearly a week ago, added addresses for Suozzi.
Cool. I have been checking periodically on the PTV Slack channel. I have already writtenn some postcards through Activate America (www.activateamerica.vote) for Tom Suozzi.
Mobilize also has some opportunities to phonebank for Tom Keen.
there is phonebanking for Suozzi too now. I have links on my main site for all this but I think most folks here know how to get things done when they want too.
Thanks as always Simon. I keep reading that Republicans are going to make 2024 all about immigration and we’re in trouble because that’s a “wedge issue” for Dems. That smells like red wavy BS to me but would like to hear your thoughts on this. The caravan nonsense didn’t work before and I find I hard to believe immigration is going to top women begging courts to have abortions as a more salient issue, but maybe I’m missing something.
Even if people agree that something must be done, I doubt Trump's plan for concentration camps for the undocumented will go over well. Remember that Trump's family separtion policy in 2018 was thought be a key driver in suburban women voting Democratic in the 2028 midterms.
As far as I can tell our rode to victory goes through the suburbs - well one of our paths.
Immigration and border issues have traditionally played more as GOP base than general election issues but they will be part of the conversation in 2024 and our goal should be to win the debate now just show up - like the economy. In the MSNBC clip in this post I talk about immigration and border issues in the context of the current legislative hostage taking we are seeing now and Trump's poisoned blood comments. We should not lose this debate with them given their extremism but we need to be in my mind a bit more forceful about where are for.
“And a little child shall lead them”, and while this man was not a child, the inferred message is the same. Speak up, stand proud and say what has to be said. Very well stated young man, very well said.
Great MSNBC interview! Especially closing statement(s)….” We are facing the end of America as we
know it if Trump is elected.”
Ziegler video sure did make my day !👏 Florida is now one Ziegler down, one to go…
thanks Kathy!
Two thoughts on RFK Jr.:1. I find that it is more effective to expose his position in favor of replacing the $US Dollar with Bitcoin or other crypto than the vaccine stuff. This would limit the power of government to trace money, a field day for drug dealers, tax evaders, international arms dealers, and white collar crooks. They aren't gonna take my IRA and convert it to Bitcoin! 2. RFK is partly enabled by our Democratic shopworn strategy of narrowing the map and showering resources on last cycles 3 or 4 swing states and starving everybody else. Here in Missouri, RFK is selling out rallies and doing real grassroots organizing -- Democrats aren't. He has stepped into a political vacuum that weak Democrats helped create.
"Weak Democrats helped create." Absolutely correct. If Trump wins, it'll be with the help of the DNC, not the popular vote.
I think if Trump wins it will be because the GOP cheated. Voter suppression, extreme partisan gerrymandering, etc.
The DNC has to use its resources strategically and that means winning in the swing states that will give the Dems an Electoral College win. Sad to say, but the "popular vote" isn't what wins the presidency.
If more people donated to their state and local Democratic party on a recurring basis, there would be be more resources available at a local level. Plus volunteer your time!! There are some fantastic grassroots organizations - get involved!!
Cheryl I am not there on the GOP cheater narrative. Gerrymandering has nothing to do with statewide elections or the Electoral college - only legislative districts. And there has been no illicit voter suppression in the recent elections we keep winning. We have to be a bit careful here, but agree with everything else you write. We have to be careful to not give anyone we are fighting against - Trump, MAGA, RFK - powers they do not have. Let's let them earn all their power and not give ours away.
I guess I am still mad about the unholy mess the GOP legislature made of the finally fair US House districts here in NC. And we all know it was deliberate.
Yes, I am aware of the differences when there are statewide races. However, I do think extreme gerrymandering contributes indirectly with regards to putting voters in the frame of mind that their vote doesn't matter much of the time... especially if the Democrats have problems fielding candidates for those gerrymandered seats. Once someone is out of the habit of voting every election, I think it is tougher to get them back.
And let's not forget the GOP tendency to purge the voter rolls just in time to disenfranchise eligible voters. I agree with Mr. Mukerjee's description of weaponized incomptence in the WaPo article below.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/10/29/youngkin-virginia-elections-voter-rolls/
“I’ve been calling it weaponized incompetence,” Aaron Mukerjee, voter protection director for the Democratic Party of Virginia, said on Sunday. “First they said it was not a problem at all. Then they said it was a small, very contained problem. And now we’ve learned it’s a massive problem. I think it goes to the point that this administration can’t be trusted with the voting rights of Virginians.”
Here in Missouri...
Are you familiar with Blue Missouri (https://bluemissouri.org/). If not, you should check them out.
I'm a monthly donor!
can you expand a bit on what RFK is doing there?
RFK Jr. sold out the Uptown theatre in KC. He is also organizing volunteers to do the nitty gritty work of getting on the ballot, not hiring a signature gathering firm. He has a at least 2 groups in Missouri based on the monthly meetup model.
Also, his core supporters seem very libertarian. RFK may very well draw more from Trump but also does well with young folks who really need to be in the Biden camp.
"The party of Reagan is now the part of Putin." -- BRAVO.
So I'm assuming that if Trump is able to implement his plan immigrants, we'll all have to be carrying "papers" to be produced anytime our citizenship is questioned.
What Trump is proposing is a nightmare for the whole country not just immigrants.
Understood. Hoping people would extrapolate y'know to like what life would be for all of us. How do you know who's an immigrant and who's not? We'll all have to be showing our "papers" sooner or later.
Am postcarding for Suozzi and am grateful for this community.
thank you!
Hi Simon, I’m here in Missoula Montana helping with a family emergency. I noticed a President Biden Infrastructure Project sign here and took pictures of the site. Is there a way to send them to you? It’s such a great local project that it filled me with pride thinking about the good things we can do together.🙏
hit reply to the email and send - it should get to me.
Opps . I’ll try again. The pics didn’t go through.
WH just dropped a memo I will feature in tomorrow's post - https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/LaBolt-Memo_Biden-Harris-Agenda-Delivered-in-2023.pdf
Important.
RFK Jr. has a field office on the downtown mall in Charlottesville, VA. Frequently there is a table out and they are talking to people. I wonder if they are setting up shop in very progressive places to try and peel off voters? I don't think many people here would be falling for that flim flam man but it is concerning. I would love to see Dems with that level of grassroots presence at this point here.
any one else seeing RFK field offices, campaign workers? Where?
They have done signature gathering training, in person, in St. Louis and KC. No idea if they are doing it elsewhere.
I am curious about respondents to polls. My guess is that many people on our side are not answering phone calls if they don't recognize the number. I have never been personally contacted by any recognizable pollster. I get "surveys" in my inbox and texts from random organizations, but I don't answer them anymore because they always ask for money and I have no idea who they are. And sometimes the questions are phrased in ridiculous ways like: "Are you against crime?" or "Do you think terrorists should be allowed to come in through the southern border?"
So I am wondering:
1) Are the samples really random and representative?
2) Doesn't the self-selection involved invalidate the results?
3) Is it possible that MAGAs encourage people to respond to polls?
4) Should WE be responding to polls?
Thanks
Do more worry less is a good mantra