It's Time To Move On From The "Democrats Suck" Narrative - It's Wrong, And We Have An Election To Win

Happy Fourth All!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Morning all. Before I get into the guts of my post a reminder that we had two meaningful conversations this week that I encourage you to get to if you haven’t gotten to them yet:

• A Conversation With Heather Cox Richardson

• “Right Now Democracy Is Holding” - A New Conversation With Marc Elias

We also released new interviews with three really terrific candidates working to flip red seats blue this November - Rebecca Cooke (WI-3), Jamie Ager (NC-11), and Sarah Trone Garriott (IA-3).

Now, let’s get to it. My talk this week generated a spirited discussion in our chat yesterday about what I will call for today the “Democrats suck” narrative that ripples through/poisons our discourse every day. Fighting what I have believed to be false and overly negative narratives about the Democratic Party - and America more broadly - was a central reason I started Hopium back in 2023. Here is what I wrote in that very first Hopium post:

I am calling it Hopium Chronicles because I want this to be a journey guided by hope and optimism, of belief in ourselves, of love of country and a clear understanding of the nature of the conflict we are in. I have become convinced that part of Greater MAGA’s strategy is to intentionally poison our discourse with negative sentiment every day. They want us to feel bad about America, our democracy, our leaders, our institutions, our success, each other, ourselves. We cannot let them do that any more. While they talk American down every day, we need to talk it up. While they spread lies, we respond with truth and data. Hopium is a rejection of the darkness they are trying to spread. It is a way of standing up for our great country and its remarkable people. It is the key to how we win.

Throughout the 2024 election cycle each month I showed a presentation called With Democrats, Things Get Better (link) that shows, conclusively, how much better things get for the American people when Democrats are in charge. That the two parties are not the same. That when we are in power things get better for the America people, something that cannot be said when Republicans have been in the White House. The most recognizable bit of data from that presentation was cited by Bill Clinton at the Democratic Convention in 2024:

In With Dems I go through lots of data including that under Biden we had the lowest uninsured rate in American history, the lowest poverty rate in American history, the lowest unemployment rate in a peacetime American economy since WWII, and the most robust growth of new businesses ever recorded. The contrast to all that progress we made under Biden and Obama and Clinton and what is now happening under Trump could not be more stark.

I want to be clear that the goal of this kind of work is not to be pollyannish, but to forcefully challenge the facile, overly negative narratives about this great country and the Democratic Party itself. To create a more rounded, and more accurate in my mind, picture. So, let’s bring this sensibility to present day and this election.

Right now Democrats have one of our strongest Party ID advantage of the post-Cold War era, and our largest lead since 2008. This directly challenges the "we are only doing well because Trump is unpopular and Democrats suck” narrative that flows through our discourse right now.

Another direct challenge to that narrative is what’s happening in the Senate battlegrounds. Look at how many of our candidates have hit 50+% in recent polls - that is an affirmative vote for them. 6 of our candidates are running more than 10 points ahead of Harris in 2024 - extraordinary performances by our candidates right now. This is not data consistent with a “weak party.”

there is no reliable recent independent polling in Florida

Additionally, the anger and disappointment among Democrats towards the Party and its leaders is overstated. Look at this June YouGov data, favorable/unfavorable, among registered Democrats:

• 84%-13% - Democrats in Congress

• 86%-14% - The Democratic Party

Here’s their most recent data on Leaders Schumer and Jeffries among Democrats (adults), favorable/unfavorable:

• 45%-36% - Leader Schumer

• 56%-23% - Leader Jeffries

What this data tells us is that among Democrats right now the number of people with expressly negative or unfavorable views of the Party, Congressional Democrats, or our Congressional Leaders is a small minority. Small, but yes very vocal and very organized. And of course Trump aligned powers, foreign and domestic, are going to do everything they can to amplify these voices to make this sentiment appear far more pervasive than it really is, and weaken us as we head into the general election. I have already seen a significant uptick of this kind of inauthentic amplification on my YouTube channel.

So far the DSA and/or Bernie aligned candidates who have been successful this year have been so in very Democratic, non-battleground electorates. We will learn how that politics will play in battleground electorates through a variety of races this November, including in the Maine Senate race, and perhaps Michigan too. Given the data we’ve seen this week from Maine so far this experiment is not going very well. In the NYT Maine poll released this week Platner is running 9 points below the generic ballot, which is 53% Dem - 42% GOP; and in the Fox poll he is running 10 points below Harris. He is the only battleground Senate nominee to be running underneath Harris right now in the whole country. Greg Sargent has more on the new Platner polling in a new article in the New Republic.

In Michigan while Abdul El-Sayed may win his primary for him to win the general election he will need the support of those Democrats - a majority - who are not angry at the Democratic Party and Senator Schumer. He will also need tens of millions of party money and the party infrastructure to run his field operations. So while this angry, Democratic Party sucks politics can win in very Democratic electorates, I believe that it is not a good fit right now for general election candidates in the battleground states we need to win this November. But we will see.

And let’s be very clear about one thing - if you think the Democratic Party sucks, and you say so, you are giving people permission to not vote for us this November. For why should anyone vote for a party that sucks? Which is why this ongoing sustained attack on “Establishment Democrats” in this moment of opportunity for us is so reckless, and also I believe a misread of the broader trends in our politics right now.

“Establishment Democrats” have been winning elections and overperforming in hundreds of critical election since early 2025. Establishment Democrats had one of the strongest off year performances in 2025 of any party in recent memory. Establishment Democrats have one of the largest Party ID leads in the last 50 years of American politics; our Senate candidates are putting in some of the most remarkable battleground performances in recent memory; and are viewed favorably by 86% of Democratic voters. Establishment Democrats have nurtured a politics where an overwhelming majority of our campaign monies comes from every day people not wealthy people or corporations. Establishment Democrats won the 2018 mid-terms by 8.6 pts and flipped the House. Establishment Democrats took the Presidency away from Trump in 2020 and flipped the Senate; we had the best mid-term performance by a party in power in 2022 in almost 100 years; and in 2024 our Senate candidates outperformed Harris throughout the battleground and won, and we gained a seat in the House. Let us be very clear - absent a rancid North Carolina redistricting in 2023 Hakeem Jeffries would be Speaker right now. The SCOTUS/GOP alliance that has rigged the system is why we do not control the House, not our electoral performance in a tough year in 2024.

I am not saying we should be content with where we are. I understand the disappointment, the frustration, the legitimate fear we all have about what Trump is doing to the country and our future. Everyday here at Hopium I am calling for us to be stronger, to fight harder, to make No Kings the very heart of our offering to voters and not just kitchen table issues. For there is one bit of data from the 2024 Exit Polls that should be informing everything we do as a Party:

Voters must believe that we are strong enough to “bring needed change.” It simply isn’t enough for our hearts to be in the right place, or have a good agenda. We must be seen as being strong enough to deliver for the American people when in power; to overcome the oligarchs, the inertia, the corruption, doomerism, to truly deliver for them. And the only way that happens is by taking on tough battles, fighting, and winning again and again and again, starting with winning this election this November. We must not only be right we must also be strong and willing to fight.

And the fight that matters most right now is for us to beat Republicans in the battlegrounds and take back control of Congress.

All the focus now has to be on beating Republicans, not beating up on and defeating other Democrats. The general election is here. Ads are flying. Early voting begins in eleven weeks. We are going to be outspent. Trump is going to do whatever it takes to keep Republicans in power. This is not going to be easy, and we need to get on with it now…..

Yes, It’s Time To Get To Work Everyone!!!!!!

Winning The Midterms, Competing In Red States and Red Places, Expanding The Map

(Please be patient as we overhaul and update this section. Note that we have now changed our ActBlue default settings so that your contact information is only shared with a campaign if you give your affirmative permission. Many of you have asked for this and it is now our standard operating procedure. )

Winning The House

Hopium’s Winning The House Campaign - $937,100 raised, $1,000,000 goal - Donate to all twelve of our endorsed 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 win, the House will flip, no matter redistricting madness the Rs execute in the coming days. So eyes on the prize here everyone!

Winning The House - The Second Wave Fund - $166,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | We’ve launched a second House fund, one targeting candidates who’ve recently emerged from primaries or running in new districts. Our initial crew is Rebecca Bennett (NJ-07), Bob Brooks (PA-07), Cait Conley (NY-17), Johnny Garcia (TX-35), Bob Harvie (PA-01), Denise Powell (NE-02), and Bobby Pulido (TX-15).

A donation to the Second Wave Fund is split evenly among these seven, 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 all of seven of these intrepid leaders here. We are off to a great start here everyone!

Winning The Senate

Our New Winning The Senate Fund - $452,100 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), Graham Platner (ME), James Talarico (TX), and Josh Turek (IA). The $465,000 figure is what we’ve raised for these six so far, as you see will below.

You can also continue to contributions to their individual campaigns here:

Roy Cooper For NC Senate - $128,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn more through my new discussion with Gov. Cooper

Mary Peltola For Alaska Senate - $113,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn more through my uplifting conversation with Mary Peltola as she fights to turn Alaska blue

Graham Platner For Maine Senate - $7,900 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn more and volunteer

James Talarico For Texas - $100,100 raised, $250,000 - Donate | Learn more from my inspiring interview with Rep. Talarico as he fights to turn Texas blue

Josh Turek For Iowa Senate - $27,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn more and volunteer | Watch my wonderful new interview with Josh Turek

Jon Ossoff For GA Senate - $201,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn more through my uplifting conversation with Senator Ossoff

Expanding The Map - Investing And Winning In Key Expansion States

Winning Iowa - $14,100 raised, $100,000 goal - We’ve also set up a new Winning Iowa campaign that splits a contribution three ways - to Turek, to gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, and to the Iowa Democratic Party and its great chair, Rita Hart

Winning Ohio - $171,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Our new campaign splits contributions evenly among Sherrod Brown, the Acton/Pepper ticket, and the Ohio Democratic Party | Donate today and help turn this critical 2026 battleground blue

Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $618,100 raised, $1,000,000 goal (new stretch goal) - 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 | Catch interviews with the five intrepid state chairs leading their troops into battle this year - will get you fired up! and use the link to make contributions to any of the state parties directly | Contribute to all five state parties with one contribution split evenly among these five critical battlegrounds.

Some Things To Call Congress About This Week

• Yes to making American oligarchs pay for Trump’s failed Iran war - not every day Americans

• Yes to the Ukraine Support Act, get it passed through the Senate and to the President’s desk

• No to the ballroom, the Arch, the gilded statues, the slush fund, the corruption, self-enrichment……

• Hell no to Todd Blanche as Attorney General, and yes to very tough questioning of the new DNI nominee, Jay Clayton

• Hell hell no to the new OMB regs that will destroy government-funded science in America. Join the new Stand Up For Science campaign to Stop Vought. Save Science today.

See the Hopium Agenda Project for what we can and should be fighting for now….

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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 all across this great country to win, together! - Simon