Please share your thoughts about Jefferies meeting with Kushner. Did HJ really tink he wasn't being set up for a leak form the Trump camp. What on earth was HJ thinking? If he believes anyone can negotiate with the Trump camp, clearly he has not been paying attention. SMDH
I am not at all troubled by this and not sure why Jeffries needs to not talk to Kushner. And did we all forget there was a bipartisan housing bill passed? Does that count for anything?
Unless I'm mistaken, the housing bill you mentioned was bipartisan, even though Trump didn't sign it. Kushner isn't a representative of the Republican Party—he's a proxy for his father-in-law.
So, above all else, I think a lot of us are wondering what exactly this meeting was about.
I haven't been online much these last few days. I know. Shocker! LOL Soooo, oh my, I guess I have to google this supposed meeting between Jared Kushner and Hakeem Jeffries. Lordy.
In the words of the great Zen master, “we’ll see.“ Who knows… Maybe it was just a stupid thing to do that’s blowing up in his face, but it’s also possible that he’s playing chess and is looking at several moves down the board. It doesn’t automatically mean that he’s planning to negotiate with them, he could be setting them up for something by having studied their patterns of response. There’s gonna be a lot of reactionary negativity aimed at him from the most impassioned but not always well informed voices in our party… I feel like here at Hopium, our job is to go a little bit slower than the immediate reactions and response responses, and see how certain decisions play out because my observation of both Schumer and Jefferies this year is that they have had more method to their madness quite often than they’ve been given credit for and they actually know what they’re doing more often than they don’t. But it’s not always obvious at the moment that they do something that goes public. #We’llSee
100% Steve. Regardless, the time for criticizing our Dem leaders is after November 3, not now when we are in the fight of our political lives. Let's win this thing together!
I respond to you with this, as I just, sort of, indirectly expressed my doubts. Ok I didn't indirectly express doubt but I tried to be diplomatic. You do have a very good point about criticism of our leadership right now.
Well, I am not up to date on the last couple of days of news but I do hope you are correct. I doubt it, but I would welcome you proving me wrong. As you said, #We'llSee
Simon, I'd really LOVE to hear from you re these private meetings between Hakeem and Jared Kushner.
Is this a campaign strategy that both parties seek to benefit from (working together- mutual ground - common cause), even if, as predicted, the Dems take at least the House and begin all sorts of adversarial investigations (putting impeachment aside)?
If the Dems take the House & Senate, could it be the beginning of negotiations for Trump to resign?
In my head, I imagine all manner of positive and negative outcomes from such news, including within the Dem party, those not supporting Hakeem.
shocked & dismayed. we need street fighters, not back room deals. that era of the dem party is behind us now. this is not the kind of leadership we are clamoring for. you can not play footsie with nazis, fascism, grifting criminal liars. kushner is just another grifter, way over his head. what was jeffries thinking? wink wink?? theatre of the absurd to put it politely. the house leadership should be investigating jared, not having private meetings with him. was jared there to make a deal to avoid impeachment? this is the worst possible image of dem leadership. same old.
I posted this comment above on a similar thread, but I’m reposting it here just because I hope it’s a perspective that will be considered…
In the words of the great Zen master, “we’ll see.“ Who knows… Maybe it was just a stupid thing to do that’s blowing up in his face, but it’s also possible that he’s playing chess and is looking at several moves down the board. It doesn’t automatically mean that he’s planning to negotiate with them, he could be setting them up for something by having studied their patterns of response. There’s gonna be a lot of reactionary negativity aimed at him from the most impassioned but not always well informed voices in our party… I feel like here at Hopium, our job is to go a little bit slower than the immediate reactions and response responses, and see how certain decisions play out because my observation of both Schumer and Jefferies this year is that they have had more method to their madness quite often than they’ve been given credit for and they actually know what they’re doing more often than they don’t. But it’s not always obvious at the moment that they do something that goes public. #We’llSee
I agree....still... the news itself is provocative - esp because.. Kushner? Of all people you meet with.... it's Kushner? Unofficial Trump proxy? Close enough, but no official standing?
Friends pls take a deep breath. When Hakeem is Speaker he will have to have a working relationship with the White House. It is how government is supposed to work. That there are no discussions and consultations now is historically atypical. People are free to what they want but I am staying focused on the mission.
If there is any silver lining to the Trump catastrophe, and please let me state clearly that I would do anything to be able to go back in time and avoid going through this at all, it would be that there are about 20 to 30 very serious challenges that have been bubbling and brewing for decades that the GOP has been obstructing any meaningful progress or reform to address, that Trump and his gang of idiots and buffoons along with a totally out of control greed driven oligarchy have accelerated so badly beyond tipping points, that we simply won’t have a choice but to be very bold and what we do over the next 10 years. The section in today’s write up about climate change is just one such example. I just have never seen in my life such blatant disregard for the well-being of anybody else, by people who already have more than they could possibly use or consume deciding that they need even more at any cost to any and everyone. It is just staggering. Yes, the Democrats are going to have to find the strength to clean up the system… Reform the Supreme Court, pass the popular vote interstate compact, increase the number of seats in the House of Representatives to the point where not only is the population served but that gerrymandering is nearly impossible, then ban racial and partisan gerrymandering nationwide just for good measure, make DC a state and give Puerto Rico an opportunity to decide if they want to be one as well, and pass the John Lewis voting rights act…. And in order to do any of this, they’re going to have to take the risk and find the courage to reform the cloture vote rule so that the Senate no longer requires 60 votes to accomplish anything. We cannot reform immigration without being able to rewrite statutes… We can’t raise the minimum wage through budget reconciliation… The list goes on and on and on, there are just too many things we cannot do on a simple majority vote without changing the Senate rules. It’s terrifying and I have always been against it because God knows what the Republicans would do when in power, but if we don’t reform the system, we cannot deliver properly for the American people and there would be no hope that we could ever restore faith and trust in our system. It is going to be a decade of difficult and scary choices, but it is a moment that we must meet. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to be able to stand hand and hand and arm and arm in a community like this as we navigate such rough Waters. Onward my brothers and sisters… We and future generations are worth the effort and the risk. 🔵🇺🇸
Thanks, Simon! You'll be coming back to some cooler weather in DC.
(A small edit: I think that "There is nothing Trump and MAGA wants more" should be: "There is nothing Trump and MAGA want more." Sorry, can't help myself.)
I did energy law and loved it but I often said if I were a young lawyer looking for a specialty, I'd focus on water law and never need for work in the 21st Century. I've had reason to remember that with the news about water in the West.
Getting ready for house guests the next few days but will get back to postcards for Ohio later this week.
And Pete B. spoke of Republicans trying to "win". Wrong word. Since Trumpidoodle's inauguaration, they have lost and lost and lost elections. They will never "win" again...the worry is they will cheat, steal, corrupt, and do all they can to cause chaos this November.
Americans are going to WIN this November; the trumpidoodle lickspittles can only hope to make such a mess that their lapdogs on the once-supreme Court can further pervert our Constitution and law (remember 2000?) by another of their falsifying shit-decisions.
America needs a huge wave of support for the Constitution and pro-American government in November. We need to act and reassert our faith in ourselves and our difficult history. It has been a tough road, but we can redeem ourselves by a tremendous flooding away of trumpi maggots and their corrrupt destructive hate-fllled works.
Donald Trump is the most irresponsible president in American history and has done more damage to the United States domestically and internationally than any American citizen in history. Anyone who supports him in his destruction of democracy, his
lawlessness, and his suppot of American adversaries is not an American patriot.
"Drill Baby Drill" is like saying "Eat Baby Eat" to someone who's obese.
With that in mind, the Dems should not be timid in proclaiming "Not America First, but rather American Values First." That way we get to lead the world, save the planet and feel good about ourselves too. And oh yes, I almost forgot. Win elections!
Climate change and green energy are as important as anything else right now. I'm not sure they represent where campaigns need to focus, however.
I was listening to interesting ideas about wealth tax, higher top marginal tax rate, and the need to develop tax minimums negotiated with other industrialized countries and trading partners. We need to compress wealth and income distributions like we realized after the Great Depression and the New Deal. Then we need anti trust legislation and enforcement. Some of the things I learned were from a discussion Krugman had awhile ago with Gabriel Zucman that you can find on his Substack.
Without our bases in the Middle East, maybe Trump will use the military instead to intervene in the bond markets.
I have 50 postcards that will be done tonight to MI, and then I'll get some additional ones.
I wonder if we are going to have Hopium back El-Sayed. I understand why we may not. We are stretched. It is not a "pickup". And there are reasons to be concerned. But we still need him to win and he's going to need a lot of help to do it.
I really want to donate directly to Sherrod Brown, but I can't find a link for that. So, it's not a lot of money in the big picture, but I am donating directly on his campaign page.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/23/mikie-sherrill-veterans-democrats-majority-01046847?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
"Why Mikie Sherrill thinks vets can build back power for Democrats
New Jersey's governor is betting that veteran candidates could provide Democrats a path back to power come November — and beyond."
One of the best people in the Democratic Party. Love seeing this.
Please share your thoughts about Jefferies meeting with Kushner. Did HJ really tink he wasn't being set up for a leak form the Trump camp. What on earth was HJ thinking? If he believes anyone can negotiate with the Trump camp, clearly he has not been paying attention. SMDH
I am not at all troubled by this and not sure why Jeffries needs to not talk to Kushner. And did we all forget there was a bipartisan housing bill passed? Does that count for anything?
Unless I'm mistaken, the housing bill you mentioned was bipartisan, even though Trump didn't sign it. Kushner isn't a representative of the Republican Party—he's a proxy for his father-in-law.
So, above all else, I think a lot of us are wondering what exactly this meeting was about.
I haven't been online much these last few days. I know. Shocker! LOL Soooo, oh my, I guess I have to google this supposed meeting between Jared Kushner and Hakeem Jeffries. Lordy.
In the words of the great Zen master, “we’ll see.“ Who knows… Maybe it was just a stupid thing to do that’s blowing up in his face, but it’s also possible that he’s playing chess and is looking at several moves down the board. It doesn’t automatically mean that he’s planning to negotiate with them, he could be setting them up for something by having studied their patterns of response. There’s gonna be a lot of reactionary negativity aimed at him from the most impassioned but not always well informed voices in our party… I feel like here at Hopium, our job is to go a little bit slower than the immediate reactions and response responses, and see how certain decisions play out because my observation of both Schumer and Jefferies this year is that they have had more method to their madness quite often than they’ve been given credit for and they actually know what they’re doing more often than they don’t. But it’s not always obvious at the moment that they do something that goes public. #We’llSee
100% Steve. Regardless, the time for criticizing our Dem leaders is after November 3, not now when we are in the fight of our political lives. Let's win this thing together!
True.
I respond to you with this, as I just, sort of, indirectly expressed my doubts. Ok I didn't indirectly express doubt but I tried to be diplomatic. You do have a very good point about criticism of our leadership right now.
Well, I am not up to date on the last couple of days of news but I do hope you are correct. I doubt it, but I would welcome you proving me wrong. As you said, #We'llSee
Simon, I'd really LOVE to hear from you re these private meetings between Hakeem and Jared Kushner.
Is this a campaign strategy that both parties seek to benefit from (working together- mutual ground - common cause), even if, as predicted, the Dems take at least the House and begin all sorts of adversarial investigations (putting impeachment aside)?
If the Dems take the House & Senate, could it be the beginning of negotiations for Trump to resign?
In my head, I imagine all manner of positive and negative outcomes from such news, including within the Dem party, those not supporting Hakeem.
Your thoughts about this?
Yes maybe it’s just the NY Times looking for a good headline. And getting the far left to freak out over…..what exactly?
shocked & dismayed. we need street fighters, not back room deals. that era of the dem party is behind us now. this is not the kind of leadership we are clamoring for. you can not play footsie with nazis, fascism, grifting criminal liars. kushner is just another grifter, way over his head. what was jeffries thinking? wink wink?? theatre of the absurd to put it politely. the house leadership should be investigating jared, not having private meetings with him. was jared there to make a deal to avoid impeachment? this is the worst possible image of dem leadership. same old.
I posted this comment above on a similar thread, but I’m reposting it here just because I hope it’s a perspective that will be considered…
In the words of the great Zen master, “we’ll see.“ Who knows… Maybe it was just a stupid thing to do that’s blowing up in his face, but it’s also possible that he’s playing chess and is looking at several moves down the board. It doesn’t automatically mean that he’s planning to negotiate with them, he could be setting them up for something by having studied their patterns of response. There’s gonna be a lot of reactionary negativity aimed at him from the most impassioned but not always well informed voices in our party… I feel like here at Hopium, our job is to go a little bit slower than the immediate reactions and response responses, and see how certain decisions play out because my observation of both Schumer and Jefferies this year is that they have had more method to their madness quite often than they’ve been given credit for and they actually know what they’re doing more often than they don’t. But it’s not always obvious at the moment that they do something that goes public. #We’llSee
I agree....still... the news itself is provocative - esp because.. Kushner? Of all people you meet with.... it's Kushner? Unofficial Trump proxy? Close enough, but no official standing?
Wonder if Hakeem wore a sombrero and glued on a mustache.
Friends pls take a deep breath. When Hakeem is Speaker he will have to have a working relationship with the White House. It is how government is supposed to work. That there are no discussions and consultations now is historically atypical. People are free to what they want but I am staying focused on the mission.
As I stated above, I sure hope this amounts to nothing and not further sane washing Trump and the likes of Jared Kushner.
wow! grand dancehall beeville tx capacity crowd for our dems!!!
It was so uplifting to see the picture of Bobby Pulido, Talarico and Gina Hinojosa in little old Beeville!
Yeah, that was a GREAT event!
If there is any silver lining to the Trump catastrophe, and please let me state clearly that I would do anything to be able to go back in time and avoid going through this at all, it would be that there are about 20 to 30 very serious challenges that have been bubbling and brewing for decades that the GOP has been obstructing any meaningful progress or reform to address, that Trump and his gang of idiots and buffoons along with a totally out of control greed driven oligarchy have accelerated so badly beyond tipping points, that we simply won’t have a choice but to be very bold and what we do over the next 10 years. The section in today’s write up about climate change is just one such example. I just have never seen in my life such blatant disregard for the well-being of anybody else, by people who already have more than they could possibly use or consume deciding that they need even more at any cost to any and everyone. It is just staggering. Yes, the Democrats are going to have to find the strength to clean up the system… Reform the Supreme Court, pass the popular vote interstate compact, increase the number of seats in the House of Representatives to the point where not only is the population served but that gerrymandering is nearly impossible, then ban racial and partisan gerrymandering nationwide just for good measure, make DC a state and give Puerto Rico an opportunity to decide if they want to be one as well, and pass the John Lewis voting rights act…. And in order to do any of this, they’re going to have to take the risk and find the courage to reform the cloture vote rule so that the Senate no longer requires 60 votes to accomplish anything. We cannot reform immigration without being able to rewrite statutes… We can’t raise the minimum wage through budget reconciliation… The list goes on and on and on, there are just too many things we cannot do on a simple majority vote without changing the Senate rules. It’s terrifying and I have always been against it because God knows what the Republicans would do when in power, but if we don’t reform the system, we cannot deliver properly for the American people and there would be no hope that we could ever restore faith and trust in our system. It is going to be a decade of difficult and scary choices, but it is a moment that we must meet. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to be able to stand hand and hand and arm and arm in a community like this as we navigate such rough Waters. Onward my brothers and sisters… We and future generations are worth the effort and the risk. 🔵🇺🇸
Thanks, Simon! You'll be coming back to some cooler weather in DC.
(A small edit: I think that "There is nothing Trump and MAGA wants more" should be: "There is nothing Trump and MAGA want more." Sorry, can't help myself.)
I did energy law and loved it but I often said if I were a young lawyer looking for a specialty, I'd focus on water law and never need for work in the 21st Century. I've had reason to remember that with the news about water in the West.
Getting ready for house guests the next few days but will get back to postcards for Ohio later this week.
And Pete B. spoke of Republicans trying to "win". Wrong word. Since Trumpidoodle's inauguaration, they have lost and lost and lost elections. They will never "win" again...the worry is they will cheat, steal, corrupt, and do all they can to cause chaos this November.
Americans are going to WIN this November; the trumpidoodle lickspittles can only hope to make such a mess that their lapdogs on the once-supreme Court can further pervert our Constitution and law (remember 2000?) by another of their falsifying shit-decisions.
America needs a huge wave of support for the Constitution and pro-American government in November. We need to act and reassert our faith in ourselves and our difficult history. It has been a tough road, but we can redeem ourselves by a tremendous flooding away of trumpi maggots and their corrrupt destructive hate-fllled works.
Donald Trump is the most irresponsible president in American history and has done more damage to the United States domestically and internationally than any American citizen in history. Anyone who supports him in his destruction of democracy, his
lawlessness, and his suppot of American adversaries is not an American patriot.
"Drill Baby Drill" is like saying "Eat Baby Eat" to someone who's obese.
With that in mind, the Dems should not be timid in proclaiming "Not America First, but rather American Values First." That way we get to lead the world, save the planet and feel good about ourselves too. And oh yes, I almost forgot. Win elections!
Climate change and green energy are as important as anything else right now. I'm not sure they represent where campaigns need to focus, however.
I was listening to interesting ideas about wealth tax, higher top marginal tax rate, and the need to develop tax minimums negotiated with other industrialized countries and trading partners. We need to compress wealth and income distributions like we realized after the Great Depression and the New Deal. Then we need anti trust legislation and enforcement. Some of the things I learned were from a discussion Krugman had awhile ago with Gabriel Zucman that you can find on his Substack.
Without our bases in the Middle East, maybe Trump will use the military instead to intervene in the bond markets.
I have 50 postcards that will be done tonight to MI, and then I'll get some additional ones.
I wonder if we are going to have Hopium back El-Sayed. I understand why we may not. We are stretched. It is not a "pickup". And there are reasons to be concerned. But we still need him to win and he's going to need a lot of help to do it.
I really want to donate directly to Sherrod Brown, but I can't find a link for that. So, it's not a lot of money in the big picture, but I am donating directly on his campaign page.