Celebrating Juneteenth And Our Fight For Freedom, All Eyes On Virginia Now, "A Big, Beautiful Bust"

Paid Subscribers Gather Tonight, New Event Sunday in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Morning all. Let’s start with these passages from Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation issued on January 1st, 1863, 162 years ago:

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:

"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

……..

And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.

And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.

And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.

By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State

From the website of the National Museum Of African American History and Culture:

"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer."

Gordon Granger

Union General, June 19, 1865

Juneteenth is a profound and weighty day of remembrance. A day to mark our progress, certainly; but at this moment, in particular, a day to be reminded of how much work there is left to do.

Iran, Trump’s Need To Wag The Dog - Later this morning I will be interviewing Congressman Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. We will be talking about Iran, Ukraine and how Trump’s desperate need to appear STRONG will matter so much in the coming days. Look for it this afternoon, and be sure to review these two new Hopium posts as prep:

• Trump Is Wagging All The Dogs He Can Find

• Double TACOs, Dropped Papers, Declining Poll Numbers - Monty Python Or American President?

I also strongly recommend two new related Atlantic articles:

• Anne Applebaum’s This Is What Trump Does When His Revolution Sputters (gift link). Must read.

• On Iran The MAGA Coalition Has Turned On Itself (gift link).

This week’s Economist/YouGov data. Brutal!!!!!!!!

Hopium Events - Paid Subscribers Tonight, Sunday In Santa Fe - Our paid subscribers gather tonight at 7pm ET (register here) and our Founding Members get together tomorrow at 1:15pm ET (email invite forthcoming).

For those in New Mexico I’m hosting an in-person Hopium get together in Santa Fe on Sunday, June 22nd from 5 to 7pm MT. We will gather in the Loft at Chomp Food Hall, 505 Cerrillos Rd, Suite B101, Santa Fe. While this event is for Hopium subscribers feel free to bring a friend or two but please do not promote the event as space is limited and I’d rather hang out with all of you!

You can RSVP for the event by emailing community@Hopiumchronicles.com. Excited to see our active New Mexico crew in person!

A Powerful, Inspiring Announcement Video - Enjoy this powerful announcement video for Bridget Brink, our former Ambassador to Ukraine, and our new candidate in MI-07, a critical battleground House district.

Great to see patriots like Bridget Brink stepping up in this time of enormous challenge.

Virginia Has Its Statewide Ticket, Spanberger Drops First General Election Ad, 9th Annual Women’s Summit Next Weekend - Virginia had its statewide primary on Tuesday, and Democrats now have their ticket set for the November elections. Turnout was heavy on Tuesday - an encouraging sign. We will be diving deeper into Virginia in the coming days but here’s an initial release from the Democratic Party Of Virginia:

The Democratic Party of Virginia is thrilled to announce our statewide ticket that will lead Democrats to victory in November: former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger for Governor, State Senator Ghazala Hashmi for Lieutenant Governor, and former Delegate Jay Jones for Attorney General.

These experienced and principled leaders are champions of Democratic values and fighters for a better future for all Virginians. They will be joined on the ballot by our historic slate of Democratic nominees for the House of Delegates — one of the largest groups ever fielded.

Statement from DPVA Chairman Lamont Bagby:

“With more than 480,000 ballots cast — including a record-breaking number during the early voting period — Virginians have made it clear: they are energized, engaged, and ready to elect Democrats up and down the ballot this November. With Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, and Jay Jones forming the statewide ticket, and a record-breaking slate of House of Delegates nominees, Democrats are united, focused, and ready to win.

To mark the start of the general election Spanberger announced an 8 day bus tour:

On Saturday, June 21, Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger will kick off her eight-day, 40-plus-stop “Span Virginia Bus Tour” in Richmond — before embarking on stops where she will rally with supporters, visit small businesses, and hear from Virginians about the issues most important to them. She will be joined along the route by Democratic ticket mates Senator Ghazala Hashmi and Delegate Jay Jones

And dropped her first of the general (she is still introducing herself to the statewide electorate):

A reminder I will be speaking about these Virginia races and more at Network NOVA’s 9th Annual Women’s Summit on Sat, June 28th, 10:45am ET in McLean, Virginia. More info and tickets here. This is always a great event! All eyes are on Virginia now…..

“A Big, Beautiful Bust”- Is the title of Punchbowl News’ story on Trump’s terrible budget bill:

Republicans know they have a big, beautiful problem: The centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s agenda is polling like garbage.

Public surveys from this month paint a grim picture for the GOP’s most important legislative push of the 119th Congress.

A plurality of Americans oppose the GOP reconciliation bill, just 67% of Republicans support the package and 71% of independents have an unfavorable view of the effort. In other words, it’s not only Democrats that don’t like the bill. It’s independents and Republicans, too.

In case you aren’t great at math, this is bad.

And instead of spending all their time selling the bill publicly, Hill Republicans remain locked in an internal struggle over its particulars, with the stakes enormously high — both politically and policy wise.

A handful of conservatives — Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), along with Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) — are saying the bill, as currently written, is fatally flawed.

We also reported in Wednesday’s PM edition that Speaker Mike Johnson wasn’t kept in the loop about the drastic changes that Senate Republicans made to the Medicaid provider tax, a provision that could reduce funding for rural hospitals. Plus, SALT remains a huge hot spot for House and Senate Republicans. We’ll get into that further below.

This is an extraordinarily complex legislative package that will impact virtually every American if it becomes law. There could still be weeks of GOP infighting left, ending with no one totally in love with the final outcome.

The larger question for Trump and Hill Republicans is this: Is the One Big Beautiful Bill a replay of what Obamacare or Build Back Better was for Democrats? Is it a bill that’s so large, complex and all encompassing that it’s impossible to sell?

Top House Republicans worry right now that Democrats are beating them to the punch in defining what this bill does and doesn’t do.

“A messaging void is political death,” one House Republican aide told us.

Republicans’ challenge. That’s the scary reality for the GOP: Big, amorphous bills with lots of disparate policy particulars are oftentimes unpopular.

And Democrats are doing a good job branding the bill – a fact even most Republicans concede.

In a recent House Democratic Caucus meeting, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries presented slides that showed very stark numbers for Republicans.

The DCCC polled the popularity of a bill that cuts food stamps, Medicaid and tax credits for clean energy while increasing border security, extending the 2017 tax cuts and temporarily eliminating taxes on tips and overtime.

The internal survey, reported here for the first time, had 61% of respondents opposing the bill while 39% support it. Those numbers got even worse after Democrats branded the bill as a “devastating scheme that takes health care and food away from everyday Americans while giving huge tax breaks to billionaire donors.”

After hearing that Democratic framing, 66% opposed the bill while 34% support it.

Furthermore, Democrats see an ability to make inroads in rural communities by highlighting cuts to rural hospitals that rely on Medicaid.

“We are seeing public support for the bill cratering in real time with a clear argument that is incredibly persuasive to voters: instead of lowering costs, Republicans are cutting health care and food assistance to pay for billionaire tax giveaways,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said. “Simply put, this vote is going to be the defining contrast of the midterms.”

Now, let’s get to work.

Support Our Priority Candidates -

• Mikie Sherrill NJ Gov - $200,000 goal, $12,000 raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer

• Abigail Spanberger VA Gov - $200,000 goal, $131k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch Our Interview

• Jon Ossoff GA Senate - $200,000 goal, $7,800 raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer

• Hopium House 7 - $200,000 goal, $132k raised - Donate | Learn More, Volunteer, Watch Our Interviews

We also have ongoing campaigns to support the new DNC, the North Carolina Democratic Party and to thank Senator Cory Booker for his spirited leadership in a time of enormous challenge.

Stop The Reconciliation Bill - Job One for us this summer remains fighting Trump’s ruinous economic agenda. We need to keep calling every day and demand our leaders vote down the reconciliation bill and roll back Trump’s terrible tariffs. This is the big, definitional battle of the summer and we need keep working it every day. Those of you in states with Republican Senators have a particularly important role to play in the coming weeks.

Get The Military Off Our Streets, Fight Trump’s Inhumane Immigration Escalation - Contact your Rep and Senators to demand they fight Trump’s illegal use of the National Guard and Marines in California. Encourage Democrats at all levels of government to a stand with Governor Newsom and the California - for Trump is not just attacking California, he is attacking the rights and freedoms of all of us.

Own The Fourth, The Flag And Patriotism - To keep our momentum going after this weekend’s No Kings events I encourage to explore ways of Owning The Fourth and make our Independence Day an ugly one for our mad wannabe king. We heard from Hopium community member Deborah Potter last week about her work advancing “resolutions of disapproval” in New Mexico. Will have more on that for you in the coming days.

Stand Up For Science - Sign on to the critically important Bethesda Declaration and watch my interview with Stand Up For Science’s Executive Director Colette Delawalla. Signing on to the Declaration is one concrete way you can take action today.

Note that we did get a great court ruling restoring the NIH grants the Bethesda Declaration calls for. Here’s an how one medical journal characterized the ruling:

District Judge William Young, a nominee of Republican President Ronald Reagan, blasted the Trump administration’s NIH cuts as discriminatory and “bearing down on people of color because of their color.”

A federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s sweeping terminations of NIH research contracts are not only illegal, but are also a clear manifestation of the government’s “racial discrimination and discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community.”

In a speech after delivering his verdict on Monday, U.S. District Judge William Young in Massachusetts called the administration’s move to cut federal funding for certain research grants “arbitrary and capricious,” going against established government standards, as per the Associated Press. Young blasted the Trump administration, which he said was “bearing down on people of color because of their color,” NBC News reported. “The Constitution will not permit that.”

Here’s a possible script to use to fight the reconciliation bill and tariffs. Use whatever works for you:

I am calling to urge you to vote against the reconciliation bill and to roll back Trump’s terrible and illegal tariffs. Together these actions have raised taxes on all of us and will explode the deficit - things Republicans have always told us they did not believe in.

But your agenda is also causing all of us to “pay more and get less” for every day things including our health care; people to loses their jobs; and the economy to slow - all so you can give your rich donors a huge tax break. Your plans will weaken this great country and are an extraordinary betrayal of everything you promised during the campaign - which was to help people like me, not Elon Musk, get ahead.

Your plans are ones of sabotage, surrender and betrayal and I urge you to abandon them and to work with Democrats to find a better way.

Please self-report your activities to our daily paid subscriber chat. These reports help inspire all of us to do more and fight harder!

Grow Hopium - We’ve set a goal of trying to grow the Hopium community from the 151,000 we are now to 175,000 by Labor Day. Do what you can to encourage your friends, family and colleagues to become a summer subscriber to Hopium, free or paid. To encourage the growth of our community annual paid subscriptions are 10% off through Labor Day and we’ve launched a new referral awards program too. So you can earn months towards a paid subscription by bringing in new subscribers to the Hopium community!

Keep working hard all and Happy Juneteenth! - Simon