With Orban's loss in Hungary and Carney's win in Canada, things are looking hopeful. If we do the work, we can accomplish the same thing!
I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say NO money for ICE or war and that Trump is dangerously out of touch with reality and needs to be removed.
“Regret to inform everyone that Péter Magyar beat the world’s smartest illiberal populist in large measure by working incredibly hard for 2 straight years, meaning the rest of us are just going to have to get off our asses and do shit rather than just complaining.”
– Matt Steinglass
On the bright morning after Hungary’s utter rejection of Viktor Orbán and his “illiberal policies, this quote was a timely reminder. And not least because it underscores what the Hopium community has been doing since Day One. And even more so because it is so relevant to the beautiful vision Simon expresses in today’s Hopium!
There was a really good article in the Atlantic about Hungary's "lessons in defeating right-wing populists." I'd say what the article's *really* about is not how to defeat them, but how to wipe them so thoroughly off the map that you can really change things, for which Magyar needed (and got) the 2/3 majority required to roll back all of Orban's constitutional "reforms." It feels like we have the same need, not just to prevent Trump from stealing elections, but to ensure we have working majorities big enough to effect the kinds of changes that will *keep* us in power and force the GOP to reconstruct. A few good quotes:
"One of Tisza’s most illuminating campaign slogans was “Not left, not right, only Hungarians”—which promised an ideologically diverse movement to roll back Orbán’s corruption and cronyism. Emmanuel Macron’s party deployed a similar slogan, “Neither left nor right,” in 2017, when it also quickly went from nowhere to complete power in France."
"Magyar directly campaigned all throughout Hungary, including in rural constituencies that tended to go unvisited because they were considered Fidesz’s heartland..."
"Factionalism was effectively suspended. In American terms, the rallying behind Magyar (whose name is the Hungarian word for “Hungarian”) would be like an ex-MAGA Republican named Peter American winning the Democratic nomination with the endorsement of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Marjorie Taylor Greene."
"Until now, Orbán had succeeded through us-versus-them politics...but instead of taking the opposite of Orbán’s side on the wisdom of EU bureaucracy, trans rights, or the Russia-Ukraine war, Magyar constructed an entirely different debate focused on the ruling party’s corruption, inflation, and neglect of public services. (In political-science terms, Magyar succeeded because his party achieved “transformative repolarization” rather than “reciprocal polarization.”)"
"In the United States, many of Donald Trump’s most fervent critics do something rather different: When the president and Fox News criticize an idea, Democrats declare themselves to be for it. This dynamic not only allows MAGA Republicans to set the terms of the American political debate but also boxes Democrats into backing unpopular policy positions..."
It seems especially hard to do with The Atlantic. It seems like a maze of mirrors designed to remind you that you're not as up to speed as you think you are ;)
The economic impact of Trump’s war against Iran has been estimated to exceed 8 trillions USD. It pains me to think about all the good that could and should have been accomplished with such an unimaginably large amount of money!
I think this community could come up with a beautiful 16 trillion USD international budget – and dream about rewinding to the day before Trump made his catastrophic decision. Even better: rewinding to a day where Kamala Harris rather than Trump was sworn in as president on the 20th of January 2025.
Or back to 2001, Bush v Gore if you want to play that game... Global War on Terror post 9/11? Very unlikely under a Gore Administration. What would that look like today?
No disrespect A.S. but I am reminded of the saying, "If Ifs and buts were candy and nuts, every day would be Christmas."
We are here now... We need to win seats and pressure the GOP to break from, or at least legislatively restrain, the orange nutball. It feels that is becoming more possible. NYT and MTG are both talking about cognitive decline/ incapacity/mental and moral unfitness now. Outcomes sometimes seem unreachable until suddenly they happen.
Cudos to Simon for focusing today on visioning a future we want for ourselves and future generations. Doing so help keeps me sane, and hopeful.
It strikes me that a right wing SCrOTUS since the turn of the century is the biggest reason behind our current dilemma.
Heard on the radio a possible retirement of one or two of the conservatives on the Supreme Court retiring so Traitor can put younger ones on the court. 🫣Anyone else hear that?
Only read this on SCOTUSblog on 4/13/2026: "Speculation has been swirling that Justice Samuel Alito, 76, will soon announce his retirement, but “the taciturn justice has not indicated even to friends whether or when he might retire,” according to The New York Times." I didn't read anything about a second one, but with this Court anything is possible!
Yes, read those same rumors. But I'll believe it when I see it. These guys don't like to give up power. And once they're off the court, fewer oligarchs will pay for their expensive vacations and shower them with gifts. Gotta milk the grift for as long as possible.
The war is just one aspect of what is going wrong. An important one. But just one part of what is going wrong.
The big losses, in my opinion, are falling behind on deployment of clean energy technology, and also the loss of available resources in the expanding national deficit. The opportunity cost of being focussed on all of the nonsense we encounter every day is almost incalculable.
We should be focussed on improving peoples' lives, moving forward on economic and technological issues. But instead, last week, we were looking at a former cabinet secretary's husband (wife?) wearing fake titties. It is endless. The distractions from real things is literally endless.
Our increasing deficit, expanded military funding, cuts to science, and an overly-large investment in AI, is going to impede our ability to evolve in other economic directions. The war is just another way federal dollars are misdirected by this regime.
Rather than moving forward addressing climate change and developing high-tech jobs in the industry, we are building vast numbers of AI data centers, which hurt the environment and provide very few jobs. And I am very skeptical that throwing large amounts of money to data centers is really going to pay dividends in improved AI technology. Usually breakthroughs come elsewhere, not from throwing more hardware at a problem.
And young people are learning about investment via crypto, sports betting, and prediction markets. These are ways to divert money to the oligarchs and enable money laundering and white-collar crime. Crypto is also massively damaging to the environment.
Our alternatives are quickly devolving to an economy based largely on vodka and steak exports, and possibly turning the country into a reality TV show.
Looking forward to this evening as well. I am still post carding a little every day.
The hopeful message is very welcome. I've always believed in the long run we'd defeat Trump. The theorem "Everything Trump Touches Dies" always works. The corollary is that he will kill authoritarianism and hence save democracy. All done by accident, of course.
I think Ukraine definitely survives as a democracy, and I think Europe will trend away from authoritarianism. There is hope elsewhere.
Thanks Simon. Your thinking is a template for hope. It inspires collaboration and intention. Along those lines, I offer the following.
Why? I couldn’t tell you. But this morning I woke up wondering what happens if you apply basic gematria—A=1, B=2, and so on—to the name TRUMP. The math is simple: T(20) + R(18) + U(21) + M(13) + P(16) equals 88.
Curious, I looked into the symbolism of that number. The results are a jarring paradox. In Chinese culture, it represents luck; in text slang, "bye-bye"; in radio shorthand, "hugs and kisses." But most chillingly, 88 is a notorious white supremacist code.
Given the "malignant narcissist" hold this leader has over his cabinet and followers, 88 feels like the combination to a safe we can't quite crack. It is time to move past reservations and expose the corruption, fiscal mismanagement, and total rejection of the Constitution that defines this administration. The connection to 88—and the fascistic undertones it carries—perfectly mirrors a leader who bankrupts every relationship he touches. To borrow a phrase from across the pond: Trump is a gangster.
Simon Rosenberg, you missed your calling. You should have been a presidential speechwriter like Ray Price (Nixon), whose hopeful, visionary language included the memorable line, “the lift of a driving dream” in Nixon’s 1968 campaign and repeated in his State of the Union address. Today’s column is the shot of Hopium I needed this morning.
“We will need to accelerate the development of a new generation of leaders comfortable fighting in today’s political and information battlefields, not yesterday’s… It is a time for courage, ambition, imagination, patriotism, and a time to reject those who market their cowardice as pragmatism.”
Absolutely, Faith--to me, the two most important things about Hungary were (a) that Orban had not only all the tools Trump has, but more, and more fully developed, and still lost (b) the size of the victory was large enough to flip over tables, as Talarico would say.
If we just win by a little, the Court, the filibuster (and for the next two years, Trump himself) will be able to sabotage us just like they did Obama and Biden (according to the media, you only have a mandate if you're a Republican [https://creativepoli.net/misinformed), and they'll be able to take everything back from a frustrated public by 2032, generating another ratchet in our national decline. There was a really good piece in the Atlantic this morning about how we can end that spiral down the drain by replicating what happened in Hungary here (gift link): https://bit.ly/orban_usa
Unfortunately, the DNC is not on board with the global fight for freedom and democracy. It still will not condemn the influence of AIPAC, proving it is out of step with the majority of potential Democratic voters.
It may be that I overstated my case but, Simon, you should know how very frustrated a lot of grassroots activists are with the party elite. My comment is my opinion and this should be a forum for free and respectful speech. Here is what the Guardian reported which,I think, is broadly in line with what I wrote."“Today’s vote once again showed that Democratic leadership is asleep at the wheel when it comes to one of the biggest existential threats to the party,” IMEU’s executive director, Margaret DeReus, said in a statement about the DNC’s decision. “Aipac’s extreme agenda for unconditional weapons funding to Israel is deeply out of step not just with most Democrats, but with the majority of the American people.” With your permission, I will let my comment stand and place it in the wider context of the need for the Democratic Party to do more to support getting money out of politics, particularly at the primary level.
Jennifer, 4 points: 1) Saying the DNC doesn't believe in democracy and freedom because of a legitimate debate on how to handle AIPAC is not "respectful" speech so I ask that you edit your original comment to make it respectful and more in keeping with the sentiment of my piece and of the moment. Make your case, express your displeasure but do so "respectfully." It's what we do here. 2) That is not "reporting" from the Guardian. It is a statement by a pro-Palestinian activist in a Guardian article. 3) I encourage anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of what happened, and why the DNC chose to table the resolution, to read the article I shared above. 4) Every Democrat in Congress with the exception of John Fetterman is on record opposing the war. It is important as we go forward in this debate to keep that front of mind. Onward, S
I tried to read the article you posted but it is not available to me here in the UK. Let's move on from this now; we agree on far more than we disagree on; perhaps we can agree that AIPAC money has damaged to image of the Democratic party and the country?
Way to go, Simon. You are stepping out about what we are FOR, not simply what we are against. Keep imagining it forward, and we will be with you. See you tonight on the screen.
Love this. But a predatory (fossil fuel based) capitalism must also be curbed. FDR saved the world for democracy, but also for American economic hegemony. We've lost that -- can we rein in the putrid polluting global oligarchs and their system?
Thanks for this repost, Simon! I do feel more hopeful than ever, despite all the horrible things still happening. Change is coming, and I think the headwinds are with us!
I made my calls on the way to work this morning and also put 200 news-boosting postcards to North Carolina voters in the mailbox.
Could not love this more. LFG!
I am, with all the fervency of my heart, imagining just this — and have been, thanks to you.
I really needed this today! How inspiring! I know we can do this because we are proud Americans!. I look forward to the call tonight! Thank you!
With Orban's loss in Hungary and Carney's win in Canada, things are looking hopeful. If we do the work, we can accomplish the same thing!
I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say NO money for ICE or war and that Trump is dangerously out of touch with reality and needs to be removed.
“Regret to inform everyone that Péter Magyar beat the world’s smartest illiberal populist in large measure by working incredibly hard for 2 straight years, meaning the rest of us are just going to have to get off our asses and do shit rather than just complaining.”
– Matt Steinglass
On the bright morning after Hungary’s utter rejection of Viktor Orbán and his “illiberal policies, this quote was a timely reminder. And not least because it underscores what the Hopium community has been doing since Day One. And even more so because it is so relevant to the beautiful vision Simon expresses in today’s Hopium!
Not saying we shouldn't "get off our asses and do shit", but there is no telling what it will take to defeat the world's dumbest illiberal populist.
There was a really good article in the Atlantic about Hungary's "lessons in defeating right-wing populists." I'd say what the article's *really* about is not how to defeat them, but how to wipe them so thoroughly off the map that you can really change things, for which Magyar needed (and got) the 2/3 majority required to roll back all of Orban's constitutional "reforms." It feels like we have the same need, not just to prevent Trump from stealing elections, but to ensure we have working majorities big enough to effect the kinds of changes that will *keep* us in power and force the GOP to reconstruct. A few good quotes:
"One of Tisza’s most illuminating campaign slogans was “Not left, not right, only Hungarians”—which promised an ideologically diverse movement to roll back Orbán’s corruption and cronyism. Emmanuel Macron’s party deployed a similar slogan, “Neither left nor right,” in 2017, when it also quickly went from nowhere to complete power in France."
"Magyar directly campaigned all throughout Hungary, including in rural constituencies that tended to go unvisited because they were considered Fidesz’s heartland..."
"Factionalism was effectively suspended. In American terms, the rallying behind Magyar (whose name is the Hungarian word for “Hungarian”) would be like an ex-MAGA Republican named Peter American winning the Democratic nomination with the endorsement of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Marjorie Taylor Greene."
"Until now, Orbán had succeeded through us-versus-them politics...but instead of taking the opposite of Orbán’s side on the wisdom of EU bureaucracy, trans rights, or the Russia-Ukraine war, Magyar constructed an entirely different debate focused on the ruling party’s corruption, inflation, and neglect of public services. (In political-science terms, Magyar succeeded because his party achieved “transformative repolarization” rather than “reciprocal polarization.”)"
"In the United States, many of Donald Trump’s most fervent critics do something rather different: When the president and Fox News criticize an idea, Democrats declare themselves to be for it. This dynamic not only allows MAGA Republicans to set the terms of the American political debate but also boxes Democrats into backing unpopular policy positions..."
Here's a gift link to the whole article (not very long): https://bit.ly/orban_usa
OOh, I missed that one - thanks! so hard to keep up with everything, that's one of the reasons why I come here!
It seems especially hard to do with The Atlantic. It seems like a maze of mirrors designed to remind you that you're not as up to speed as you think you are ;)
Thanks for the link, Tom. Good article with cogent points.
The economic impact of Trump’s war against Iran has been estimated to exceed 8 trillions USD. It pains me to think about all the good that could and should have been accomplished with such an unimaginably large amount of money!
My calculations are that it will be at least double that. See here - https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/hopiums-economic-charts
I think this community could come up with a beautiful 16 trillion USD international budget – and dream about rewinding to the day before Trump made his catastrophic decision. Even better: rewinding to a day where Kamala Harris rather than Trump was sworn in as president on the 20th of January 2025.
Or back to 2001, Bush v Gore if you want to play that game... Global War on Terror post 9/11? Very unlikely under a Gore Administration. What would that look like today?
No disrespect A.S. but I am reminded of the saying, "If Ifs and buts were candy and nuts, every day would be Christmas."
We are here now... We need to win seats and pressure the GOP to break from, or at least legislatively restrain, the orange nutball. It feels that is becoming more possible. NYT and MTG are both talking about cognitive decline/ incapacity/mental and moral unfitness now. Outcomes sometimes seem unreachable until suddenly they happen.
Cudos to Simon for focusing today on visioning a future we want for ourselves and future generations. Doing so help keeps me sane, and hopeful.
It strikes me that a right wing SCrOTUS since the turn of the century is the biggest reason behind our current dilemma.
Heard on the radio a possible retirement of one or two of the conservatives on the Supreme Court retiring so Traitor can put younger ones on the court. 🫣Anyone else hear that?
Only read this on SCOTUSblog on 4/13/2026: "Speculation has been swirling that Justice Samuel Alito, 76, will soon announce his retirement, but “the taciturn justice has not indicated even to friends whether or when he might retire,” according to The New York Times." I didn't read anything about a second one, but with this Court anything is possible!
Thanks!
Yes, read those same rumors. But I'll believe it when I see it. These guys don't like to give up power. And once they're off the court, fewer oligarchs will pay for their expensive vacations and shower them with gifts. Gotta milk the grift for as long as possible.
Wow 🤩
The war is just one aspect of what is going wrong. An important one. But just one part of what is going wrong.
The big losses, in my opinion, are falling behind on deployment of clean energy technology, and also the loss of available resources in the expanding national deficit. The opportunity cost of being focussed on all of the nonsense we encounter every day is almost incalculable.
We should be focussed on improving peoples' lives, moving forward on economic and technological issues. But instead, last week, we were looking at a former cabinet secretary's husband (wife?) wearing fake titties. It is endless. The distractions from real things is literally endless.
Our increasing deficit, expanded military funding, cuts to science, and an overly-large investment in AI, is going to impede our ability to evolve in other economic directions. The war is just another way federal dollars are misdirected by this regime.
Rather than moving forward addressing climate change and developing high-tech jobs in the industry, we are building vast numbers of AI data centers, which hurt the environment and provide very few jobs. And I am very skeptical that throwing large amounts of money to data centers is really going to pay dividends in improved AI technology. Usually breakthroughs come elsewhere, not from throwing more hardware at a problem.
And young people are learning about investment via crypto, sports betting, and prediction markets. These are ways to divert money to the oligarchs and enable money laundering and white-collar crime. Crypto is also massively damaging to the environment.
SO MUCH THIS^^^^^ Breakthroughs come from unexpected places, but mostly from lots and lots and years and years of research. Which we've now defunded.
This is right.
Our alternatives are quickly devolving to an economy based largely on vodka and steak exports, and possibly turning the country into a reality TV show.
Looking forward to this evening as well. I am still post carding a little every day.
The hopeful message is very welcome. I've always believed in the long run we'd defeat Trump. The theorem "Everything Trump Touches Dies" always works. The corollary is that he will kill authoritarianism and hence save democracy. All done by accident, of course.
I think Ukraine definitely survives as a democracy, and I think Europe will trend away from authoritarianism. There is hope elsewhere.
Thanks Simon. Your thinking is a template for hope. It inspires collaboration and intention. Along those lines, I offer the following.
Why? I couldn’t tell you. But this morning I woke up wondering what happens if you apply basic gematria—A=1, B=2, and so on—to the name TRUMP. The math is simple: T(20) + R(18) + U(21) + M(13) + P(16) equals 88.
Curious, I looked into the symbolism of that number. The results are a jarring paradox. In Chinese culture, it represents luck; in text slang, "bye-bye"; in radio shorthand, "hugs and kisses." But most chillingly, 88 is a notorious white supremacist code.
Given the "malignant narcissist" hold this leader has over his cabinet and followers, 88 feels like the combination to a safe we can't quite crack. It is time to move past reservations and expose the corruption, fiscal mismanagement, and total rejection of the Constitution that defines this administration. The connection to 88—and the fascistic undertones it carries—perfectly mirrors a leader who bankrupts every relationship he touches. To borrow a phrase from across the pond: Trump is a gangster.
Simon Rosenberg, you missed your calling. You should have been a presidential speechwriter like Ray Price (Nixon), whose hopeful, visionary language included the memorable line, “the lift of a driving dream” in Nixon’s 1968 campaign and repeated in his State of the Union address. Today’s column is the shot of Hopium I needed this morning.
Thank you Simon. There will be much work to do, but We, all together, will make it happen!
Dismantle concentration camps and restore those illegally deported. To be credible, WE MUST NOT FORGET!
Huge priority on MY heart!!
YES-PREACH SIMON 🙌
“We will need to accelerate the development of a new generation of leaders comfortable fighting in today’s political and information battlefields, not yesterday’s… It is a time for courage, ambition, imagination, patriotism, and a time to reject those who market their cowardice as pragmatism.”
What's exciting about Hungary and Canada is not only were there wins, there were major majorities so they can get shit done.
Absolutely, Faith--to me, the two most important things about Hungary were (a) that Orban had not only all the tools Trump has, but more, and more fully developed, and still lost (b) the size of the victory was large enough to flip over tables, as Talarico would say.
If we just win by a little, the Court, the filibuster (and for the next two years, Trump himself) will be able to sabotage us just like they did Obama and Biden (according to the media, you only have a mandate if you're a Republican [https://creativepoli.net/misinformed), and they'll be able to take everything back from a frustrated public by 2032, generating another ratchet in our national decline. There was a really good piece in the Atlantic this morning about how we can end that spiral down the drain by replicating what happened in Hungary here (gift link): https://bit.ly/orban_usa
Unfortunately, the DNC is not on board with the global fight for freedom and democracy. It still will not condemn the influence of AIPAC, proving it is out of step with the majority of potential Democratic voters.
I’m sorry but this is a silly comment and you should take it down. Here’s a report on what happened in New Orleans - https://www.thejewishnews.com/jewish-telegraphic-agency/dnc-committee-rejects-resolution-condemning-pro-israel-lobby-aipac-specifically/article_aaa20d5b-b614-49a3-94b2-92c237438c51.html
And to go from tabling a resolution to saying the DNC doesn’t support freedom and democracy is silly. This kind of stuff has no place here.
It may be that I overstated my case but, Simon, you should know how very frustrated a lot of grassroots activists are with the party elite. My comment is my opinion and this should be a forum for free and respectful speech. Here is what the Guardian reported which,I think, is broadly in line with what I wrote."“Today’s vote once again showed that Democratic leadership is asleep at the wheel when it comes to one of the biggest existential threats to the party,” IMEU’s executive director, Margaret DeReus, said in a statement about the DNC’s decision. “Aipac’s extreme agenda for unconditional weapons funding to Israel is deeply out of step not just with most Democrats, but with the majority of the American people.” With your permission, I will let my comment stand and place it in the wider context of the need for the Democratic Party to do more to support getting money out of politics, particularly at the primary level.
Jennifer, 4 points: 1) Saying the DNC doesn't believe in democracy and freedom because of a legitimate debate on how to handle AIPAC is not "respectful" speech so I ask that you edit your original comment to make it respectful and more in keeping with the sentiment of my piece and of the moment. Make your case, express your displeasure but do so "respectfully." It's what we do here. 2) That is not "reporting" from the Guardian. It is a statement by a pro-Palestinian activist in a Guardian article. 3) I encourage anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of what happened, and why the DNC chose to table the resolution, to read the article I shared above. 4) Every Democrat in Congress with the exception of John Fetterman is on record opposing the war. It is important as we go forward in this debate to keep that front of mind. Onward, S
I tried to read the article you posted but it is not available to me here in the UK. Let's move on from this now; we agree on far more than we disagree on; perhaps we can agree that AIPAC money has damaged to image of the Democratic party and the country?
Way to go, Simon. You are stepping out about what we are FOR, not simply what we are against. Keep imagining it forward, and we will be with you. See you tonight on the screen.
Love this. But a predatory (fossil fuel based) capitalism must also be curbed. FDR saved the world for democracy, but also for American economic hegemony. We've lost that -- can we rein in the putrid polluting global oligarchs and their system?
Thanks for this repost, Simon! I do feel more hopeful than ever, despite all the horrible things still happening. Change is coming, and I think the headwinds are with us!
I made my calls on the way to work this morning and also put 200 news-boosting postcards to North Carolina voters in the mailbox.