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Dec 31Edited
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Joe, I do not agree with your theory of the case. I am here to teach the teachers, starting with us and building out. I am not trying to reach disinterested low information voters. That is not my job in the ecosystem. Trump starts with his base and builds out. We need to do the same, and we need to start with facts, data, truth and build out from there. As I write today of course it matters that Senate and House Republicans, and others here in DC, see him as weak, stumbling. To discount reality, truth as trivial, a no biggie, is a dangerous place for any of us to be.

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Joe, I am going to leave this post up but in the future do not tell me what I must do. You can make suggestions, offer advice, but in this post you are directing me to do something which is way over the line in our discourse here. You need to do better in the future. Thank you.

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Simon....last ditch. Please report from the Capitol. January 3-5, Washington, D.C. Details coming soon

https://nowmarch.org/join-the-movement/ts the burden

https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/5055171-constitution-insurrection-trump-disqualification/

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The only win I want to see is stopping Trump from becoming in office. I will have this intention and do what I can for as long as I can!! I refuse to acknowledge him if he does get in. I feel the election was interfered with and needs to be investigated!!!!

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Sheila, you can choose to join the ranks of the perpetually disappointed, but that is how we lose not win.

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Constitutional scholars agree. In spite of the ruling in Trump v. Anderson, Donald Trump remains Constitutionally disqualified from holding office.

“The upshot is that Donald Trump remains constitutionally disqualified from the presidency and may not lawfully serve in that office or any other unless Congress removes the disqualification by two-thirds majorities of both houses. Nothing in Trump v. Anderson changes that legal reality.”

William Baude and Michael Paulsen, Harvard Law Review, Sweeping Section Three under the Rug: A Comment on Trump v. Anderson

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I’m not sure what this would accomplish. If Trump is unable to serve for any reason, then the presidency would go to JD Vance, not Kamala.

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Disagree, we lose because we're not tough enough. Period.

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Helpful post, Simon! Thank you.

I just read this doc from Deb R. Do you share my view that if election-tampering evidence were credible then Marc Elias and team would be on task pursuing these claims?

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Holly shit. Harris should have demanded a recount in certain states. Democrats are such wussies. This is the future of the goddamn planet.

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I definitely think she could have waited, rather than concede. Think about it- Trump wins 7 swing states (within a margin not to trigger an automatic recount) plus he won the popular vote. No presidential candidate has won all swing states in the past 40 years. Magical thinking: something stinks?

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One angle we need to keep remarking on is that trump already got what he wanted: to stay out of jail. He doesn’t want to “lead” our country and is okay with slovenly transacting deals with power-mongers. It sucks for us no matter what, but revealing him to be disengaged with governing is important. YES, keep up the “Wizard of Oz” comparisons!

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I wonder if his age and possible dementia are rendering him incapable of being a power broker any more. So he’s acquiescing to those more powerful and stronger - like Musk. So what Trump wants is getting side-tracked.

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I agree with MLRGRMI, he just doesn't care. He's not going to jail and that's why he ran.

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Thank you for all you did to encourage us and that you continue to do to inspire us!! I look forward to your wise counsel and perspective as we enter the dark years!

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Simon, thanks for everything you did in 2024. We definitely didn’t get the election we wanted but you were a source of honesty and strength. And now, back to the hard work of preserving democracy, one interaction and one day at a time.

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What I'm trying to do at the moment and for the weeks to come is to come to terms with the reality that the Biden-Harris Administration is coming to an end. I have a difficult time with changes in general, especially when good things are coming to an end.

A new year's resolution of mine is to try not to get baited into factional infighting. I no longer follow three podcasts that do little beyond inflaming existing factional conflicts and other unproductive discussions.

I am also trying to accumulate as many "receipts" as possible on the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris Administration in order to counteract efforts by the right and even some on the left to memoryhole the last four years.

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I like the receipts idea - it helps tackle revisionism.

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I like the “receipts” strategy.

My version of avoiding factional infighting is to listen to people I encounter. They are not the enemy, they are our brothers and sisters.

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I like the “receipts” strategy.

My version of avoiding factional infighting is to listen to people I encounter. They are not the enemy, they are our brothers and sisters.

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Please share your receipts list!!!

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I'll think of creating something, maybe a Google Drive folder. Its images and screenshots I've accumulated over the years, and nowhere near comprehensive.

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The Whitehouse website, especially the blog from the briefing room, has many accomplishments listed. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/blog/

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Definitely. I don't want to forget all the good President Biden has done. With all the focus on the thing and the despicable things the GOP are doing, it's easy to do so. Let us remember what President Biden has done. Let us remember the honorable things the late President Jimmy Carter did. And this year--and every year thereafter--let's be the change and the goodness we wish to see and BE.

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This is what Biden-Harris is handing over:

As of 12/1/2024:

- Inflation: 2.2%

- Unemployment: 4%

- GDP growth: 3%

- Manufacturing is booming.

Data from the US Census Bureau showed a record-breaking 5,481,437 new businesses were started in 2023.

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Robert Reich made a video back in March or April on the Biden manufacturing boom and how remarkable it was. It's worth a watch:

https://youtu.be/t2x7LFBz8U8?si=TuhYFGIZKi444DBL

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It is clear that the Debt Ceiling can be raised (or postponed or eliminated) only with support of House Democrats.

QUESTION to Simon and the Hopium community: What should Democrats demand in return for doing so?

One of the items on my wish list is the restriction on American investments in China. As widely reported, it was precisely this that triggered Elon Musk to use the world’s biggest megaphone (Xitter) to sink the budget deal that had been negotiated.

Another item on my list: explicit protection of Social Security and Medicare, as well as continued funding of the IRS at present levels.

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Abolition of the Electoral College and replacement by popular vote?

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That requires a Constitutional Amendment, which requires a completely different and drawn-out process.

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Or passage of the NPVIC among the various state legislatures. Google it. Republics have some advantages with state power which has its basis in the U.S. Constitution.

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I am well aware of it and considered mentioning it as a workaround alternative to a Constitutional Amendment. All the same, making state-level legislation – or promises of such – a prerequisite for Congressional legislation won’t fly.

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I dont understand your point. Congress can not legislate away the E.C. but a consortium of state legislatures may. Of course, congress has numerous other powers that the states must abide.

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The thing I am worried about is the Impoundment Control Act. The Republicans are talking about essentially ceding the power of the purse to Trump which is highly dangerous.

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Those 2 need to be twinned together. Everyone can relate to protecting SS and Medicare and it’s a learning curve for restrictions on Am investments in China. Are you saying it was in the bill and Elonsky sank it to take that provision out??

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Yes, numerous Democratic legislators and credible sources have been saying this is precisely why Elon Musk sank the bill. Musk owns a Tesla gigafactory in Shanghai and has major business interests in China.

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Maybe add the Baltimore bridge?

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I find your comments to be among the most useful and interesting. Thanks much.

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Thank you for your kind words!

May we find success in our carefully-chosen battles.

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Happy 2025 Simon, I hope 2025 sees some good Democratic Party wins. More widely, I hope there's a new respect for democracy and the rule of law in the US and across the globe. Also, I hope respect, decency, compassion, kindness, integrity become recognised as being more important than greed, lies, sexual predation, corruption and nastiness. Very best wishes to Simon and family and all readers of Hopium Chronicles and your families.

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I just returned from holiday with my all-Republican family. We don’t talk politics, but this time I insisted. I decided that I can’t convert them (at least not now), but I outlined my fears for the upcoming administration, and there was agreement that the things I was concerned about were bad. The difference was they didn’t think those things would happen. So I established a framework for “bad things” that I plan to point out if they happen. Frankly I’d rather be wrong than right!

My brother is a Heritage long time policy wonk who is all about cost-cutting and doesn’t like Trump but is intrigued by DOGE. When I mentioned all the IRA projects like solar panel factories being built in red districts, he said “yeah we’re not going to be able to stop that, Republican congressmen aren’t going to vote against them.”

So that’s a Biden win as far as I’m concerned! Putting green energy $ into red districts is the best way to protect these investments and our future.

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Good for you that you were able to have what sounds like a respectful conversation about kitchen table issues that matter to everyone. I think it is interesting that your brother said "we're not going to be able to stop [IRA projects]" as if he views those as bad things. Hopefully he will recognize how those projects help his community or state and perhaps begin to be enlightened about what good Biden-Harris was trying to achieve for all Americans.

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Your brother would say the IRA projects were great if Chump or a republican instituted the projects. But because Biden a Democrat did, he acts nonplussed. Their dislike for dems is endless. I'm glad you're able to have those conversations. I abandoned relationships with family and friends because they had to be right and rigid in their political beliefs and opinions.

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My brother doesn’t like big spending no matter who does it. One of the reasons he doesn’t like Trump is because of his reckless spending and lack of concern for economic issues. He and my double hating sister (anti-Trump, anti-Harris) were so negative on Trump that there was actually a lot of deference to the issues I raised and acceptance that Trump may try to do Bad Things; they just think he won’t succeed and our laws will hold. Fingers crossed I guess 😕

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Happy New Year Simon. And thanks for all you've done, and are doing, and will do.

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This is encouraging, but at the same time -- weakness comes with its own dangers, among them the carrion crows circling around Trump. Fortunately the crows -- the billionaires, the hardcore MAGAs like Laura Loomer, and the apparatchiks like Stephen Miller -- are already at each other's throats. I've got my fingers crossed that the congressional Dems are capable of taking full advantage of this without doing their usual shoot-yourself-in-the-foot thing.

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Happy New Year, Simon! 🎉

I appreciate all that you do. 🇺🇸💙

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We need to try for the small wins as well as the big ones. This includes staying focused and involved on the state, local and community level. There will be opporunities for Democrats in in the 2025 and 2026 elections.

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Hear, hear! This is how we rebuild state and local party organizations – and this is how Democrats implement a successful and winning 50-State Strategy.

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I totally agree with keeping focus on local races. With RFKJr's antivaxx stance, schoolboard races, county supervisor races etc will be critical.

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Yes, absolutely. There's still too much focus on national races in the dialogue surrounding what Dems must do moving forward, and they're missing all the good work state parties have been doing, mostly on a volunteer basis and with paltry funding from the national party.

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Thank you Simon. Your leadership is unparalleled. I am ready for this year and am hopeful again for our opposition to everything this incoming administration is going to attempt. I have referred many friends to you so I hope they have subscribed. Happy New Year to all Hopium people.

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