While I'm sorry to hear of your anxiety, may I suggest that the best therapy for an "absolute freak-out" is to DO SOMETHING. And there's a lot you can do. There's a lot we can all do to work hard and worry less. If you don't know what I'm talking about then you need to read more of Simon's Substack posts. This community helped me get off the ledge, kick myself in the ass and get to work. Haven't had a freak-out since! 😊
Daniel - I like to think I’m pretty tech savvy but I don’t fully understand how the FT6 text systems work. Could you give a quick overview of how it works for the volunteer and what you do as a text bank volunteer. I think it’s something I could do but want to know what I’m getting into and the description on the FT6 site still leaves me wondering how it works.
I am going to keep remind everybody of how Tom Suozzi was up 1 in the polls going into the special election, and wound up winning by eight points.
I also remember Jay Kuo thinking that the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court election would break one to two points in favor of the Democrats, and it wound up being a 10-point victory.
As for me -- my county opted to send ballots out a week early, so I got to vote yesterday. Straight Democratic up and down the ballot! Picked up my ballot at 4:35 p.m., took a half-hour walk to the drop box and dropped it off at 6:10 p.m. Day One, baby!
Yes! Another reminder: The 2022 Kansas Constitutional amendment to ban abortions was ahead by 4 points in a poll taken two weeks before the election. Yet when voters made their voices heard, the measure was resoundingly rejected by 18 points!!!
These United States are worthy of a leader who understands the experiment of our representative democracy; clearly sees the great potential of Americans, both individually and collectively; who is future-focused: a leader who works on our behalf to build a foundation of strength, hope, grit, and possibility.
You, Tom Bonier, and Joe Trippi keep me sane. Every time I look at MSM I see dispiriting headlines about polls - but then I think, that’s the GOP plan unfolding.
Yes, it's the GOP plan to dispirit us. I also feel that it's the media's way of grabbing attention. Anything that encourages outrage, fear, panic, anxiety or reactivity gets attention. I'm tired of it. I truly enjoyed Howard Stern's interview with Kamala Harris. He covered topics and issues I cared about. I also learned more about her, such as her love of Prince. How is it that Howard can mature into an excellent journalist while the legacy media is failing by amplifying right wing talking points?
Yes, a plan to dispirit us. And, more nefariously, to set the stage for the inevitable screams of "stolen election" after Kamala Harris wins. Which is why we need to pull out all the stops and win by a landslide.
I was on a postcard/letter writing call this afternoon and had to talk a couple of people off the ledge by sending links to Hopium to explain how red wave polls influence the polling average and the fact that newly registered voters aren't included in any polling.
Then someone got on a riff about worrying about what happens after the election with GOP interference, so I got another opportunity to channel Simon around not worrying about stuff we can't impact and just focus on GOTV to maximize turnout and make it harder for the GOP to create a "plausible" false narrative about a stolen election.
The negative energy can be exhausting!
Which reminds me about the discussion from Wed. evening's Hopium call about fundraising scare tactics! I have been lax about unsubscribing to all the political email that I receive. But I am going to be more aggressive going forward - especially for groups that fundraise off of scare tactics. And if there is an option to say why I am unsubcribing I am giving them an earful!
This afternoon, one PAC was trying to panic me because absentee ballot requests were "down xx% from 2020". Really? Have they forgotten that 2020 was in the middle of a freaking pandemic BEFORE vaccines were available? Besides, in some states (like NC where I live) it isn't always the most convenient option - in fact I ended up not using the absentee ballot I requested in 2020. I will follow my normal voting plan of in-person early voting. I usually early vote with in the first couple of days, but this year I will be voting on Day 1 (which is Thursday).
The aggrievating email also stated that early voting was way down (even though it has barely gotten started except in a handful of states). Raw numbers are meaningless anyway - the only sensible analysis is the one from Simon & Tom Bonier - how big is OUR slice of the early voting pie?
I applaud you for spreading Hopium. And for choosing not to participate in worry or panic. I believed Joe would win in 2020. I believe Kamala will win now. Joe has all the levers of power watching for interference. Look at DoJ shutting down Russian web pages, arresting Iranian hacker, indicting Russians. And with Trump's old lawyers being disbarred, his new lawyers will be a bit less insane IMHO. We got this. We are ready to turn the page. And have a Trump-free Thanksgiving!!!!!!
I 100% agree that using scare tactics for fundraising is irresponsible and ultimately self defeating. I too have been lax about unsubscribing but am getting back on it. Sometimes the unsubscribe page has a place where you can put a a comment and if the sender is using such scare tactics I say that is why I'm unsubscribing. I doubt anyone reads those comments, but can't hurt.
It seems like he's grown up a bit from his previous iterations. I still remember all the BS and "Fartman" on Letterman back in the day. I've never really gotten him.
Patrick, I found Howard's maturation to be quite surprising. Shocking, even. He has a new grandbaby, and they talked about the child tax credit. It's so important for families just getting started. He cares for an elderly parent, and they discussed elder care being covered by Medicare. His biggest worry was that the rest of the world needs to US to be a democracy. He fretted that so many countries will faulter if we lose it here. He was genuinely thoughtful and interesting.
I've matured as I get older too. It doesn't surprise me too much. Aging and maturing are not the same thing. I can name at least one orange man-baby that will never grow up.
Dang, ran out of postcards this morning! (On a whim I initially purchased 600 and never thought I would come close to using them all.) I immediately ordered new ones and went extra for expedite to hopefully arrive by Thu.
As soon as I see another BS headline about TFG pulling ahead, I start banging out a few more. "Do more, worry less."
You get the lists, message, and addresses from winningthehouse.com. You need to register.
I get my postcards from Voters Mailbag on Etsy. They ship really fast from Minneapolis, getting here in about 3 days. There are address lines on the postcards
Activate America, click postcards, you will have choices depending on where you live or write postcards for congressional candidates with Hopium (see Linda above, or link below). https://www.activateamerica.vote/postcards
Our presidential elections would be much fairer if we got rid of the electoral college. Where else in the democratic world can the candidate who receives fewer votes win the national election?
I just want to say how easy it is to volunteer for the phone banking. You can literally do 20 minute increments if you are strapped for time. I took advantage of this yesterday by spreading my calls throughout the day. I have been sharing the link with family and friends, all who are as equally concerned as I am.
I've been disappointed at the tone of some of the media hosts and campaigners recently. You'd think Harris/Walz were flailing. They are not. The early vote is great, the money raised is great, the newly registered voters (who are not included in polls) are great. There are three weeks left to explain the Opportunity Economy. The massive increase in businesses and jobs around electrification and clean energy. The USA could be the 'arsenal of clean energy', making and exporting equipment for wind, hydro, solar and tidal power. There's a world of customers waiting. New life sciences and medical research breakthroughs, new opportunities in engineering, agriculture, housing and so much more. There's no need for the frowning and scowling, for throwing up hands in despair. If we keep faith with what Kamala has gifted - new light, a breath of fresh air, joy and laughter, optimism and hope - we will beat the repulsive creature. 'Souls to the polls', students following 'The Coach' to the polls, everyone VOTE!!!! Thank you all in Hopium for doing so much!
Hi PN, Yes I'm in Wales in the UK. There are so many people in UK, Europe, Australasia and around the world who are emotionally invested in the outcome of this election. Trump is uniquely horrible as a human being - Harris must win. I think she will as long as Democrats vote and help their family, friends, neighbours, work colleagues, communities vote. It's all about GOTV now - let's show the pollsters!
Maureen Dowd was at it today, asking if Harris campaign has stalled.....I mean we don't have another debate, so all she can do is media interviews. What do they want, for her to buy 3 hours on network tv and talk, like Ross Perot? Ain't gonna happen.
Like I said in my comment, the MSM makes their money by stirring up fear and making it appear like Harris/Walz are doing worse than they actually are. Also, conservative media outlets like Fox are *not* doing the same rn with Trump, they’re still acting like he’s absolutely going to win like they have the entire year; that’s unlikely to benefit them in the end, as we’ll have tons of energized Harris and anti-Trump voters out voting like their life depends on it, and a bunch of Trump supporters being more likely to stay home, because they’ve been deluded into thinking he can’t lose (and will just steal the election if he does). Like I really don’t see the GOP’s strategy rn working out well for them.
While I'm sorry to hear of your anxiety, may I suggest that the best therapy for an "absolute freak-out" is to DO SOMETHING. And there's a lot you can do. There's a lot we can all do to work hard and worry less. If you don't know what I'm talking about then you need to read more of Simon's Substack posts. This community helped me get off the ledge, kick myself in the ass and get to work. Haven't had a freak-out since! 😊
A friendly request to please leave all freak-outs at the door when you visit HC. Here we do more, worry less. It’s a freak-out-free zone.
Suze, these kind of posts are inappropriate for this community. Thank you.
We don't freak out with Hopium. Do More, Worry Less.
Super thankful you chose to link full Obama speech in your post Thursday. This way we could help my 95 year old mother watch it !!!
And of course thanks for all!!
Thank You Simon!
In a few minutes FT 6 will text to 343K Pennsylvanians to register likely Democrats and Independents. Starting 2 pm.
https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/?show_all_events=true&tag_ids=22573
Also 800,000 Pa veterans.
80,000 Ukrainian Americans. 800,000 Polish Americans.
There is still enough time to flip some of them. https://rvat.org/
Well placed comments on social media...."Not suckers or losers" to vets groups, military, military dependents, history sites.
Trump hates dogs.
Trump stole from kids with cancer.
Daniel - I like to think I’m pretty tech savvy but I don’t fully understand how the FT6 text systems work. Could you give a quick overview of how it works for the volunteer and what you do as a text bank volunteer. I think it’s something I could do but want to know what I’m getting into and the description on the FT6 site still leaves me wondering how it works.
https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/?show_all_events=true&tag_ids=22573
3 separate systems. BYOP uses Google Voice. Today used TextOut.
You need to attend the training.
FT6 is awesome! I love their work.
and 800,000 Polish Americans in PA who are desperate to stop Putin!
I am going to keep remind everybody of how Tom Suozzi was up 1 in the polls going into the special election, and wound up winning by eight points.
I also remember Jay Kuo thinking that the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court election would break one to two points in favor of the Democrats, and it wound up being a 10-point victory.
As for me -- my county opted to send ballots out a week early, so I got to vote yesterday. Straight Democratic up and down the ballot! Picked up my ballot at 4:35 p.m., took a half-hour walk to the drop box and dropped it off at 6:10 p.m. Day One, baby!
Yes! Another reminder: The 2022 Kansas Constitutional amendment to ban abortions was ahead by 4 points in a poll taken two weeks before the election. Yet when voters made their voices heard, the measure was resoundingly rejected by 18 points!!!
Love this, thank you!!!!!
LOVE THIS, thank you!!!
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you, thank you for the reminder! 🙏🏻
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
These United States are worthy of a leader who understands the experiment of our representative democracy; clearly sees the great potential of Americans, both individually and collectively; who is future-focused: a leader who works on our behalf to build a foundation of strength, hope, grit, and possibility.
If I could "like" today's Hopium multiple times, I would. It's super encouraging! Making another donation to NC and Harris/Walz now.
Happy weekend, everybody!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/fashion/2024/10/11/fashion-kamala-harris-vogue-cover/
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cover-story/malika-favres-the-candidate
You, Tom Bonier, and Joe Trippi keep me sane. Every time I look at MSM I see dispiriting headlines about polls - but then I think, that’s the GOP plan unfolding.
Yes, it's the GOP plan to dispirit us. I also feel that it's the media's way of grabbing attention. Anything that encourages outrage, fear, panic, anxiety or reactivity gets attention. I'm tired of it. I truly enjoyed Howard Stern's interview with Kamala Harris. He covered topics and issues I cared about. I also learned more about her, such as her love of Prince. How is it that Howard can mature into an excellent journalist while the legacy media is failing by amplifying right wing talking points?
Yes, a plan to dispirit us. And, more nefariously, to set the stage for the inevitable screams of "stolen election" after Kamala Harris wins. Which is why we need to pull out all the stops and win by a landslide.
I was on a postcard/letter writing call this afternoon and had to talk a couple of people off the ledge by sending links to Hopium to explain how red wave polls influence the polling average and the fact that newly registered voters aren't included in any polling.
Then someone got on a riff about worrying about what happens after the election with GOP interference, so I got another opportunity to channel Simon around not worrying about stuff we can't impact and just focus on GOTV to maximize turnout and make it harder for the GOP to create a "plausible" false narrative about a stolen election.
The negative energy can be exhausting!
Which reminds me about the discussion from Wed. evening's Hopium call about fundraising scare tactics! I have been lax about unsubscribing to all the political email that I receive. But I am going to be more aggressive going forward - especially for groups that fundraise off of scare tactics. And if there is an option to say why I am unsubcribing I am giving them an earful!
This afternoon, one PAC was trying to panic me because absentee ballot requests were "down xx% from 2020". Really? Have they forgotten that 2020 was in the middle of a freaking pandemic BEFORE vaccines were available? Besides, in some states (like NC where I live) it isn't always the most convenient option - in fact I ended up not using the absentee ballot I requested in 2020. I will follow my normal voting plan of in-person early voting. I usually early vote with in the first couple of days, but this year I will be voting on Day 1 (which is Thursday).
The aggrievating email also stated that early voting was way down (even though it has barely gotten started except in a handful of states). Raw numbers are meaningless anyway - the only sensible analysis is the one from Simon & Tom Bonier - how big is OUR slice of the early voting pie?
I applaud you for spreading Hopium. And for choosing not to participate in worry or panic. I believed Joe would win in 2020. I believe Kamala will win now. Joe has all the levers of power watching for interference. Look at DoJ shutting down Russian web pages, arresting Iranian hacker, indicting Russians. And with Trump's old lawyers being disbarred, his new lawyers will be a bit less insane IMHO. We got this. We are ready to turn the page. And have a Trump-free Thanksgiving!!!!!!
I 100% agree that using scare tactics for fundraising is irresponsible and ultimately self defeating. I too have been lax about unsubscribing but am getting back on it. Sometimes the unsubscribe page has a place where you can put a a comment and if the sender is using such scare tactics I say that is why I'm unsubscribing. I doubt anyone reads those comments, but can't hurt.
It seems like he's grown up a bit from his previous iterations. I still remember all the BS and "Fartman" on Letterman back in the day. I've never really gotten him.
Patrick, I found Howard's maturation to be quite surprising. Shocking, even. He has a new grandbaby, and they talked about the child tax credit. It's so important for families just getting started. He cares for an elderly parent, and they discussed elder care being covered by Medicare. His biggest worry was that the rest of the world needs to US to be a democracy. He fretted that so many countries will faulter if we lose it here. He was genuinely thoughtful and interesting.
I've matured as I get older too. It doesn't surprise me too much. Aging and maturing are not the same thing. I can name at least one orange man-baby that will never grow up.
Question: Postcarding with Tony Vargas on 10/17 or 10/18? I have read both.
I have enjoyed these sessions with a wonderful bunch of grassroots advocates!
Thursday, 10/17. They are all on Thursdays.
Dang, ran out of postcards this morning! (On a whim I initially purchased 600 and never thought I would come close to using them all.) I immediately ordered new ones and went extra for expedite to hopefully arrive by Thu.
As soon as I see another BS headline about TFG pulling ahead, I start banging out a few more. "Do more, worry less."
Ballot Cure for Pennyslvania. Training and curing sessions through the week including this afternoon:https://www.mobilize.us/2024pavictory/event/676131/
I’m signing on at 2pm EST
Hey anyone -- I want to write some postcards. I even have the stamps. Need the cards and the address labels. Where do I go? Thanks!
You get the lists, message, and addresses from winningthehouse.com. You need to register.
I get my postcards from Voters Mailbag on Etsy. They ship really fast from Minneapolis, getting here in about 3 days. There are address lines on the postcards
Activate America, click postcards, you will have choices depending on where you live or write postcards for congressional candidates with Hopium (see Linda above, or link below). https://www.activateamerica.vote/postcards
Got it. Ordered. Thanks!
Our presidential elections would be much fairer if we got rid of the electoral college. Where else in the democratic world can the candidate who receives fewer votes win the national election?
Hey everyone,
I just want to say how easy it is to volunteer for the phone banking. You can literally do 20 minute increments if you are strapped for time. I took advantage of this yesterday by spreading my calls throughout the day. I have been sharing the link with family and friends, all who are as equally concerned as I am.
Thank you, Anne. It's those 20 minute shifts, one at a time, from now thru Election Day, that are gonna win this election for Kamala Harris.
https://www.mobilize.us/grassrootsdemocratslahq/event/549753/
I just hang on for the full 3 hour shift and take lots of mental health breaks. I'm taking a break right now in fact.
I've been disappointed at the tone of some of the media hosts and campaigners recently. You'd think Harris/Walz were flailing. They are not. The early vote is great, the money raised is great, the newly registered voters (who are not included in polls) are great. There are three weeks left to explain the Opportunity Economy. The massive increase in businesses and jobs around electrification and clean energy. The USA could be the 'arsenal of clean energy', making and exporting equipment for wind, hydro, solar and tidal power. There's a world of customers waiting. New life sciences and medical research breakthroughs, new opportunities in engineering, agriculture, housing and so much more. There's no need for the frowning and scowling, for throwing up hands in despair. If we keep faith with what Kamala has gifted - new light, a breath of fresh air, joy and laughter, optimism and hope - we will beat the repulsive creature. 'Souls to the polls', students following 'The Coach' to the polls, everyone VOTE!!!! Thank you all in Hopium for doing so much!
Hi PN, Yes I'm in Wales in the UK. There are so many people in UK, Europe, Australasia and around the world who are emotionally invested in the outcome of this election. Trump is uniquely horrible as a human being - Harris must win. I think she will as long as Democrats vote and help their family, friends, neighbours, work colleagues, communities vote. It's all about GOTV now - let's show the pollsters!
Maureen Dowd was at it today, asking if Harris campaign has stalled.....I mean we don't have another debate, so all she can do is media interviews. What do they want, for her to buy 3 hours on network tv and talk, like Ross Perot? Ain't gonna happen.
Maureen Dowd is unbearable. I stopped reading her years ago.
Like I said in my comment, the MSM makes their money by stirring up fear and making it appear like Harris/Walz are doing worse than they actually are. Also, conservative media outlets like Fox are *not* doing the same rn with Trump, they’re still acting like he’s absolutely going to win like they have the entire year; that’s unlikely to benefit them in the end, as we’ll have tons of energized Harris and anti-Trump voters out voting like their life depends on it, and a bunch of Trump supporters being more likely to stay home, because they’ve been deluded into thinking he can’t lose (and will just steal the election if he does). Like I really don’t see the GOP’s strategy rn working out well for them.