It Is Time For Strength, Leadership, Doing And Making June Count. Join Me and Let's Go Win This Thing, Together
I am excited to announce that I am doing an event w/Anderson Clayton in Raleigh, NC on July 19th - Join us!
Happy Sunday all. A reminder that here at Hopium we do more, worry less. And yes there is much to be worried about right now, but that’s why this community and all of you need to lead us through this rough patch for the campaign. In my long career I have been through moments where it felt like we weren’t going to make it, that it was just too hard; and then we put our heads down and kept doing the work, the sun rose in the morning, and we got through to the other side.
This is one of those moments. A moment where you need to make the call - cut and run, or stand and fight. I am standing and fighting, and hope all of you will join me in doing so in these critical days ahead.
Many of you already have. The fundraising on this site these last few days and over the past month has been incredible. For here at Hopium we are a community of doers, and man have you all been doing these last few days. We’ve blown past our ambitious goals for Biden-Harris and our 12 House candidates, are within reach of hitting almost all of our remaining fundraising goals - which were all stretch goals I wasn’t sure we could reach - and my goal for paid subscribers here at Hopium. Honestly, I am bit stunned at what’s happening here. The power of the community we are building together is remarkable, inspiring, so so welcome in this time of cynicism, of darkness, of Trump. Together we need to lead our party, our friends, and our country forward though this challenging time. Let us not just DO in the coming days, let us summon our collective courage to LEAD.
Yesterday I shared with you early data that has found no damage to Biden. Part of my understanding of what happened on Thursday is that we continue to be in a media dynamic where Democrats are held to a different standard than MAGA. Where our strength is underestimated, theirs overestimated; and while many in the media may have become inured to Trump’s bat-shit crazy extremism voters have shown us in election after election, particularly since Dobbs, they aren’t inured - they are horrified, disgusted, repulsed by MAGA and Trump. And while the media may be focusing on Biden’s struggles on Thursday night, many voters who watched the debate were deeply unhappy with what they saw with Trump - and for good reason. It was in my mind the craziest and most disturbing performance we’ve seen from Trump on the national stage since he began his candidacy in 2015. He is deeply unwell, unfit, extreme, dangerous. Choose you words. A rapist, fraudster, traitor, felon. So yes, let’s keep talking about us and our challenges in the coming days but LET US NOT FOR ONE MOMENT STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS HISTORIC THREAT DONALD TRUMP IS TO EVERYTHING WE HOLD DEAR AND HOW CRAZY IT IS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS RALLIED BEHIND THIS HISTORICALLY TERRIBLE MAN.
Not talking about him is doing MAGA’s work for them.
In this recent video I talked about what’s at stake this November, what MAGA, Iran, Russia, North Korea and China are trying to take away from all of us, and why we must keep fighting.
We have one more day, today, to make June count. Every Democrat running for federal office from Biden on down will be reporting their fundraising numbers in a few days. This will be the last major filing until October so in many ways this one is the most important filing of the cycle. The relative strength of our Party and our candidates as we go deeper into the General Election will be to a great degree determined by this filing. So it is really critical that whatever you have budgeted to give this summer you give today. Do not wait. Your contribution matters more today than tomorrow or later this summer.
Here is where our fundraising stands as of the morning of June 30th, and how you can contribute, volunteer and make June really count:
Biden-Harris - $508,000 today, $450,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More
Yes, we’ve blown past our ambitious $400,000 goal, and our new one of $450,000 too - thank you all! Let’s just keep going
Winning The House - $411,000 today, $400,000 goal - yes!!!!! - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More. We’ve blown past our $300,000 goal, our $400,000 goal - amazing work all!
Arizona/Ruben Gallego - $234,000 today, $300,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More - Watch my interview with Ruben Gallego
North Carolina - $282,000 today, $300,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More - Watch my interview with NC Dem Chair Anderson Clayton
Nebraska/Blue Dot -$87,000 today, $100,000 goal- Donate | Volunteer | Learn More - Watch my interview with NE Dem Chair Jane Kleeb
I am excited to announce that as a way of supporting the great Anderson Clayton and her insuring effort to turn North Carolina blue that I am doing an event with Anderson in Raleigh on Friday, July 19th from 5 to 7pm at Junction West, 310 S West St Suite 110, Raleigh, NC. To attend this event you must have purchased a ticket for the big NC Dem Unity Dinner on Saturday night, July 20th with Nancy Pelosi, Josh Stein and many more (I will be there too). If you want to buy a ticket for the Unity dinner you can do so here, and you can sign up to come to our Friday night event here (but you must have a Unity Dinner ticket). Look forward to seeing folks in a few weeks!
Finally, on this critical and consequential day, I am sending along a powerful email Biden-Harris deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty sent out last night. It reminds us of the progress we’ve made under Joe Biden, and gives you things to do (so you worry less).
I want to encourage every Hopium member to sign up to become a Biden-Harris volunteer this week and sign up for a call shift into the battleground states the week of July 8th. I plan on doing at least one shift that week, hopefully more. We need to use this moment to show America and voters in the battleground that when we stumble, we get back up. For that is what patriots, who love their country, do. We fight for the flag that in our homes is right-sided up, not upside down.
Rob’s great email:
Hey, Simon,
If you're like me, you're getting lots of texts or calls from folks about the state of the race after Thursday. Maybe it was your panicked aunt, your MAGA uncle, or some self-important Podcasters. It's a tough position to be in, so I thought it might be helpful to send you a few responses.
Yes, the debate started rough, but voters saw what a threat Donald Trump is to the country. It was more than just lying -- though he did plenty of that. Trump:
Defended the end of Roe v. Wade, saying "it's been a great thing."
Said that the pro-Trump Nazi march in Charlottesville was "made up."
Said on January 6th that "we were respected all over the world."
Defended his 34 felony convictions, saying the system was "rigged" and he did nothing wrong.
Actual voters perceived this debate very differently than those who pay attention to politics a lot (like everyone who is getting this email and everyone who goes on cable news).
Breaking news: People think Joe Biden's old. They did coming into the debate, they do coming out of the debate. At the same time, though, a lot of people have rose-colored glasses about the Trump years. The most important thing about the debate was always going to be that people were reminded of what they hate about Donald Trump: that he's unhinged, out for revenge, and in it for himself. And they were reminded, in a powerful way.
Flash polls from CNN, 538, SurveyUSA, Morning Consult, and Data for Progress show what we expected: the debate did not change the horserace. In fact, following the debate, our internal dials showed President Biden led Trump on key measures of being presidential, speaking to the issues that matter, and being likable by more than 20 points.That's because the long-term impact of debates is overstated anyway.
Let us all remember that Barack Obama lost the first debate in 2012 (and the media panicked too!). Bush lost in 2004. Ronald Reagan lost the first debate in 1984. They, as you'll recall, won their elections. And those debates were in October, not June!90 minutes does not negate 3 ½ years of results.
Joe Biden is extremely good at being president. Let's not forget that the guy up on stage:Expanded health care to millions of families
Lowered the price of insulin to $35 for seniors
Created more jobs than any president in history
Vaccinated the country and reopened our schools
Took the largest climate action in the history of the world
Canceled student loans for nearly 5 million people
Rallied the world in support of Ukraine, and expanded NATO while doing it
Passed the largest national funding for passenger rail since the founding of Amtrak
Banned chokeholds and no-knock entries by federal law enforcement, and restricted the transfer of military equipment to police departments
Passed the largest investment in bridges and roads in our history
Pardoned thousands of Americans federally convicted of marijuana possession
Expanded benefits to veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals
Officially protected same-sex marriage federally
Passed the first gun violence prevention bill in 30 years
Saved the pensions of more than 1 million union workers
Averted a banking crisis (remember that?)
Expanded paid overtime to working families
Made birth control pills available over the counter
Made renewable energy the #2 source of electricity in America
Moved to reschedule marijuana
Shifted the microchip supply chain back to the United States
Put the first Black woman on the Supreme Court
And that's really all I have time to list out here!
The day after the debate, Joe Biden gave a fiery, defiant speech, where he tackled concerns about his age head-on.
I don't know if you were watching, but Joe Biden left the debate stage, spoke at a rally, went to Waffle House, got on a plane, flew to Raleigh, hung out with 200 supporters on the tarmac, went to bed, woke up, gave an amazing speech, got back on a plane, went to New York, visited Stonewall with Elton John, and then spoke at a pride gala for LGBTQ+ supporters.
The speech in Raleigh, by the way, has millions of views online, and you should watch and share it yourself:
The bedwetting brigade is calling for Joe Biden to "drop out." That is the best possible way for Donald Trump to win and us to lose.
First of all: Joe Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee, period. End of story. Voters voted. He won overwhelmingly. And if he were to drop out, it would lead to weeks of chaos, internal foodfighting, and a bunch of candidates who limp into a brutal floor fight at the convention, all while Donald Trump has time to speak to American voters uncontested. All of that would be in service of a nominee who would go into a general election in the weakest possible position with zero dollars in their bank account. You want a highway to losing? It's that.
And at the end of the day, we'd switch to candidates who would, according to polls, be less likely to win than Joe Biden -- the only person ever to defeat Donald Trump.
Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee, period. Rather than worrying about polls, our supporters are getting on board.
Did you see the awesome clips of our supporters on the tarmac doing the Cupid Shuffle at 2am on the night of the debate? The biggest rally of our campaign yet on Friday? Well, no, probably not, because the media is busy hyperventilating and trying to manifest drama to boost ratings. But this isn't Aaron Sorkin's fever dream. It's Joe Biden's reelection campaign.
While they were spinning out, our grassroots supporters got to work and:Raised us $27 million in two days
Signed up for three times as many volunteer shifts as on an average day
Attended more than 1,500 events nationwide
We even had three times as many people as usual apply to campaign jobs yesterday. Mercifully, while the beltway pundits are spending their time attacking Joe Biden, our people are more focused than ever.
Smart folks -- folks that care about defeating Donald Trump and winning this election -- have identified that the best way to help right now is by helping, and not by kicking their feet up and telling everyone around them to panic.
This brings me to what you can do right now.
Donate to our campaign. Seriously, it makes a difference. Of that $27 million, the vast vast majority comes from $5, $10, $25 donations. We are a campaign of grassroots supporters -- and we need you now more than ever.
Share why you support the President on social media. The internet is not real life, but your friends really are. Every social media post supporting the President reaches real voters, and also helps us counteract the negative narrative around the President. You don't need to do anything fancy to post, but if you want to let us know how it went, sign up here:
Sign up for a volunteer shift. Talking to voters is more important than fretting about polls. There's an organizer in your neighborhood who would love to talk to you. Sign up here:
Forward this email to someone who you think needs to see it. And tell them to sign up for our email list.
And lastly, but most importantly, you've got to keep the faith. I've worked for Joe Biden for five years, which is a pretty short tenure comparatively. I've watched as people counted him out after Iowa in 2020, and then he won. I've watched as they said there was no way he could win the general election (do not think I have forgotten the week of New York Times opinion pieces about how Joe Biden needed to change his campaign strategy), and then he won. I've watched as people said his legislative agenda was dead, and then he passed the Inflation Reduction Act. I've watched as people said he'd get cooked in the midterms, and then Democrats had historic wins.
There is no candidate who is better when he's backed into a corner, and there is no team that is better when we come together to do big things. That's because we, like him, keep our heads down and do the work.
As the President says, when you get knocked down, you get back up again. And as some poets once said: you're never going to keep him down.
Thanks for being in this with us.
Rob Flaherty
Deputy Campaign Manager
Biden for President
……..
I close by sharing what is to me the most inspiring piece of media the Biden campaign has produced so far. It’s called Flag and may it remind you why we are in this fight, and why we simply must win.
Keep working hard all. Proud to be in this fight with all of you. Let’s put our heads down and go win this thing, together - Simon
I want to speak to the many many emails and comments I am getting about me being in denial about Biden's condition. The election is four months away. Are folks proposing we take a few months off from the campaign to have a collegial debate about replacing Biden? I think that is exactly what Trump wants. The campaign goes on. We go on. We have to keep working or fighting or we are helping them win. Here I am fighting for our democracy, our future, our country and I am not going to let up. You all can choose to sit it out, be pissed off, be worried and attack me rather than Trump. I am not going to do that, or it appears, are many of you.
I want to restate something. We are in a challenging time. People need to be civil and not fight and argue and be respectful of one another. There is an escalating belligerence coming from some of the posters here that is unhelpful, unwelcome and will cause people to be permanently banned from the site. We do more, worry less here. Take all that energy and donate and volunteer on campaigns and please stop causing so much more additional stress and agita here.