"Fighting For An Affordable America," Getting Troy Jackson Launched And Ready To Win, "Republicans See ‘Scary’ Lack Of Enthusiasm Among Core Voters"

We have one job now - winning the election and taking back power next January

Morning all. When I get up each day there are a few routines I go through to ground and orient myself to get ready to go to work with all of you. One of them is to repeat some version of this:

There is nothing Trump and MAGA wants more than for us to be fighting with each other and not with him. We have one job now - elect as many of these wonderful candidates running for the House and Senate as we can. It’s where our focus must be. It’s a year of opportunity for us across the country. We must seize it, together.

We have important work to do this week all. First is getting Troy Jackson launched and ready to win in Maine. We kicked off a campaign yesterday to rush him $50,000 so he can staff up, build a real general election campaign, and go out and beat Susan Collins. Remarkably, in less than 24 hours we’ve already raised almost $40,000 to that goal. Amazing work all!

If you haven’t chipped in yet you can do so here. We can do this people!

Another way we can help ensure that we win and take power next January is by continuing to fight the nomination of Todd Blanche to be Attorney General. As of this morning he still does not have the votes so we must keep calling the Senate all! Calls to Cornyn and Tillis remain the most important! Keep making calls everyone!

As we get ready to do our work today we cannot for one minute forget how much harm Trump has done to the country, and the American people, and what a profound and historic failure he has been:

Or how his many manifest failures, soaring unpopularity, and impending election defeat are driving him deeper into madness. Here’s a summary of a Twitter post from Harry Sisson from late yesterday afternoon:

Trump is having a mental health episode on social media right now. He’s been posting nonstop all day:

11:16 AM - AI photo of Kaitlan Collins as Dylan Mulvaney

11:43 AM - AI image attacking Bruce Springsteen

3:22 PM - An AI art installation of Trump throwing a ‘Trump 2028’ hat

3:23 PM - Photo of him standing next to a TV with Biden’s final Oval Office address playing 3:23 PM - AI art of him giving his speech at the WHCD

3:23 PM - AI photo of Chris Christie fighting Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler

3:23 PM - AI image attacking Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Stephen Colbert

3:24 PM - Trump 2028 poster that says “give the enemy nightmares.” Nobody is scared of him

3:24 PM - AI image attacking Rosie O’Donnell

3:25 PM - Fake movie poster of him in Star Trek

3:25 PM - Another Trump 2028 poster

3:31 PM - AI poster of the U.S. attacking Kharg Island in Iran

3:31 PM - AI image of him taking over an Iranian oil tanker

3:32 PM - AI image of him taking over an Iranian oil tanker x2

3:33 PM - AI image of him taking over an Iranian oil tanker x3

3:47 PM - Posts an AI image of an Iranian ship being blown up

4:36 PM - AI image of him taking over an Iranian oil tanker x4

4:36 PM - AI image of him taking over an Iranian oil tanker x5

4:37 PM - AI image of him taking over an Iranian oil tanker x6

4:39 PM - AI image of him cosplaying as a Navy Commander

4:39 PM - AI image of him smoking a cigar wearing a Trump 2028 hat

4:40 PM - AI poster of him with founding fathers

4:41 PM - Poster of himself saying “the man who saved America” which couldn’t be further from the truth

4:41 PM - Weird photo of him standing behind a pillar

4:45 PM - AI image of himself saying “Guardians of the world”

4:47 PM - AI image of American jets saying “Guardian Angels of the world”

4:48 PM - Another AI photo of an Iranian ship being blown up

4:49 PM - AI image of himself saying “Guardians of the world” x2

4:52 PM - AI photo of lightning over the Capitol building saying “panic in DC”

4:53 PM - A photo of himself saying “plan trusted”

4:54 PM - AI image of an eagle and a jet saying “America is back” which certainly isn’t true

4:54 PM - AI photo of a beach saying “Trump’s America” which is ironic given that the image is fake lol

4:55 PM - Photo of him giving a speech

4:56 PM - Photo of himself pointing at members of his cabinet 4:57 PM - AI photo of himself and JFK

4:58 PM - Fake photo of himself wearing a pink Trump 2028 hat

4:59 PM - AI photo of a Trump 2028 mug surrounded by crying people

4:59 PM - Photo of him putting on his Trump 2028 hat at the WHCD

5:00 PM - Posts graph downplaying American casualties in Iran

5:01 PM - AI photo of an air filter between the United States and Canada

5:04 PM - Attacks Republican Senator John Thune

5:04 PM - AI image of him as a doctor

5:16 PM - Fake movie poster of him and George Washington in a time travel movie

Perhaps it was this front page story in yesterday’s Washington Post that set him off:

An excerpt: (gift link):

Republican pollsters and political groups are raising the alarm that their party faces a listless and demotivated base ahead of November’s midterm elections.

A raft of discouraging data from polling, door knocking and focus groups is unsettling Republicans as their party heads into a midterm election season that would be challenging no matter what, given President Donald Trump’s low standing in polls and the fact that the party in control in Washington almost always loses seats.

The lack of enthusiasm is reaching deep into Republicans’ loyal base, spreading to the party’s most consistent voters — who have shown up to vote in all of the past four primaries and general elections, according to an analysis done by Americans for Prosperity Action, a conservative super PAC affiliated with billionaire Charles Koch. This new issue with the base adds to the party’s more enduring problem of turning out less-frequent voters who support Trump but often skip midterm elections.

Politico’s lead story this morning echoes the WaPo story. They cannot run from this terrible regime, and are heading into the final months of the election having to defend the indefensible:

Yesterday, campaigning along side Bob Brooks and Governor Josh Shapiro in Bethlehem, PA House Leader Hakeem Jeffries unveiled an early version of his closing argument called “Fighting For An Affordable America.” Here’s a short video clip that does a good job capturing the essence of his closing pitch:

Here are a few more key passages from the speech with links to the related video:

On House Democrats Fighting for an Affordable America: “As House Democrats, we will build an economy that works for everyday Americans and drive down the high cost of living in every possible area, because life is too expensive. That means the grocery store, the gas pump and your housing costs. It also means that you should be able to go see a doctor and get the care that you need whenever illness strikes. MAGA Republicans can find money for Donald Trump’s reckless war of choice in Iran. They can find money for his king-like ballroom. They can find money to unleash ICE brutality on American citizens and law-abiding immigrant families. But when it comes to making your life more affordable, the cookie jar is empty. That will change on day one when you put Democrats in charge of Congress because we are fighting for an Affordable America.” CLIP

On Holding the Crooks Accountable: “We must also deliver accountability in the face of rampant corruption in Washington DC, the likes of which we have never seen in our nation’s 250-year history. So the day the American people put Democrats back in charge of Congress, here is our promise to you: we are going to hold the crooks accountable. Anyone who is stealing from the American people, screwing over the American people or shortchanging the American people is going to be held accountable beginning on Day One. We’re going to crack down on corrupt price gouging. We’re going to clean up the mess at the United States Supreme Court. And we’re going to ban the President, Vice President and Members of Congress from trading stocks.” CLIP

A recording of the entire event and a transcript of Leader Jeffries speech can be found here. Here’s another passage that does a good job outlining the three part message - lowering costs, ensuring care, holding them accountable:

House Democrats are fighting to lower the cost of groceries, gas and housing.

House Democrats are committed to making healthcare affordable, because we believe that access to high-quality healthcare cannot simply be a privilege available only to the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected. Affordable healthcare must be a right available to every single American.

But, you know, here’s the truth. Tackling the affordability crisis alone will not be enough. We must also deliver accountability in the face of rampant corruption in Washington DC, the likes of which we have never seen in our nation’s 250-year history.

So the day the American people put Democrats back in charge of Congress, here is our promise to you: we are going to hold the crooks accountable.

Anyone who is stealing from the American people, screwing over the American people or shortchanging the American people is going to be held accountable beginning on Day One.

Fighting, accountability, making people’s lives better - it’s good stuff everyone.

Here’s a passage from Politico’s coverage of the speech:

Speaking to reporters after the speech, Jeffries offered some more specifics about how he would seek to lower costs as speaker. He listed ending the Trump administration’s tariffs, extending Affordable Care Act tax credits, repealing the Republican’s co-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” and ending the war in Iran.

All of this is very consistent with the advice we’ve been offering to the family in recent months, advice you can find in these recent posts:

• On The Necessity Of Dems Getting A Clear Mandate From Voters This November - Revisiting My Conversation With Hardy Merriman

• The Importance Of Character And Virtue In The 2026 Elections

• It’s Time To Move On From The “Democrats Suck” Narrative - It’s Wrong, And We Have An Election To Win

We can run and win and on this narrative and message. Leader Jeffries has agreed to come talk to the Hopium community about this closing framework and I look forward to having him on soon!

Some of you have asked about stories circulating about the state of the DNC. I will let Chair Ken Martin address the concerns in his own words by sharing a memo he released last week called The DNC Is Building a Democratic Party That Can Win the Moment and Win the Future. I encourage everyone to read it today.

Election Day is now 99 days away. Early voting starts in 7 weeks. We have battleground candidates and state parties all across the country who need our help today - let’s get to work everyone!

Let’s Go Win Some Elections People!!!!!!!!!

Winning The House and Senate In 2026

Special Fund To Rush Troy Jackson $50,000 This Week - Donate Today! | $39,700 raised, $50,000 goal. Friends, amazingly we start the day having already raised almost $40,000 towards our $50,000 goal. In less than one day! Amazing work everyone!

Our Winning The House Campaign - $1,115,100 raised, $1,250,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Donate | Donate to all twelve of our initial wave of House challengers with a single contribution split twelve ways | Get to know Jamie Ager (NC-11), Christina Bohannan (IA-01), Paige Cognetti (PA-08), Rebecca Cooke (WI-03), Elaine Luria (VA-02), Sean McCann (MI-04), Jo Mendoza (AZ-06), Chaz Molder (TN-05), Jonathan Nez (AZ-02), Janelle Stelson (PA-10), Shannon Taylor (VA-01), and Sarah Trone Garriott (IA-03) by watching our recently recorded Hopium interviews.

Friends, if these twelve courageous candidates win, the House will flip, even with Callais and their rancid mid-decade redistricting. So eyes on the prize here everyone!

Winning The House - The Second Wave Fund (Newly Expanded) - $216,100 raised, $500,000 goal - Donate | We’ve launched a second House fund, one supporting candidates who’ve emerged from recent primaries and need a bit more help. Our newly expanded list now features Rebecca Bennett (NJ-07), Bob Brooks (PA-07), Cait Conley (NY-17), Johnny Garcia (TX-35), Bob Harvie (PA-01), Dr. Richard Pan (CA-06), Denise Powell (NE-02), Bobby Pulido (TX-15), Manny Rutinel (CO-8), Dr. Amish Shah (AZ-01), Randy Villegas (CA-22), and Marni von Wilpert (CA-48).

A donation to the Second Wave Fund is split evenly among these twelve, and more as other worthy candidates emerge from their primaries. Our total above includes money we’ve raised for directly for each candidate. You can watch interviews with those who’ve interviewed so far here. We are off to a great start here everyone!

Winning The Senate - $521,400 raised, $1,000,000 goal - Donate | This new fund splits a single donation to our six candidates must likely to flip a Senate seat this November - Sherrod Brown (OH), Roy Cooper (NC), Mary Peltola (AK), James Talarico (TX), Troy Jackson, and Josh Turek (IA). Our working total includes what we’ve raised for these six so far through direct donations to their campaigns. You can watch our interviews with each of these great candidates and/or contribute directly to any of them here.

Expanding The Map - Investing And Winning In Key Battleground And Expansion States

Winning Georgia (New) - $24,700 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | This new fund splits a contribution three ways among Senator Jon Ossoff, gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, and the Georgia Democratic Party | Watch my new interview with Georgia Dem Chair Charlie Bailey to get a terrific overview of the opportunities we have in Georgia this cycle

Winning Iowa - $27,200 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Our Winning Iowa fund splits a contribution three ways - to Josh Turek for Senate, to our gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, and to the Iowa Democratic Party | Watch my new interview with the great Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party Rita Hart to get an overview of why this is a year of such opportunity in Iowa

Winning Maine (New) - $73,800 raised, $75,000 goal - Donate | Right now this fund is only supporting the Maine Democratic Party to help them get through this challenging process of selecting a new Senate nominee. Thanks to all of you who have rallied for the Maine Dems in the past few days - it’s a big deal! | Watch our new interview with the inspiring Executive Director of the Maine Dems Devon Murphy-Anderson

Winning Ohio - $181,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Our campaign splits contributions evenly among Sherrod Brown, the Acton-Pepper ticket, and the Ohio Democratic Party and its terrific Chair, Kathleen Clyde.

Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $638,100 raised, $1,000,000 goal - Donate | Join our campaign that has helped expand our map by investing in the Democratic Parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas, all now central battlegrounds in the 2026 election | Contribute to all five state parties with one contribution split evenly among these five critical battlegrounds | Catch interviews with the five intrepid state chairs leading their troops into battle this year - will get you fired up!

Please use the paid subscriber chat to self-report the good trouble you make each day.

Keep working hard everyone. We have a country to save, and elections to win, together! - Simon