Major Biden Speech on January 6th - Fighting For Freedom and Democracy Here and Everywhere

Early Vote Has Begun In Tom Keen's Race in FL - Please Donate, Volunteer Today!

Jan 06, 2024

Friends,

Happy Saturday all! Some toplines from recent days:

Great News - Florida Abortion Ballot Initiatve Official Qualifies for the November Ballot - From Politico:

Florida abortion rights advocates, who have seen access to the procedure erode in the state and nationally in recent years, reached a major milestone that could shape abortion access throughout the south.
Groups seeking a constitutional amendment protecting abortion on Friday secured enough state-certified signatures by the Feb. 1 deadline to put a referendum on the 2024 ballot.
If successful, voters in the country’s third-most populous state could undo Florida’s abortion bans, keeping access open to thousands of patients throughout the South who travel to Florida from neighboring states — and from as far away as Texas — to avoid more restrictive prohibitions.
It would also deliver a blow to Florida Republicans, who have tightened controls over abortion under Gov. Ron DeSantis and made it harder for groups to successfully use ballot initiatives to amend the state Constitution. The GOP is so concerned about the threat that Republican state Attorney General Ashley Moody is mounting an aggressive effort to block the measure in the state high court.

Terrific New Podcast - Enjoy Everyone! - Yesterday I joined my friends Tara McGowan and Tom Bonier for a great early look at the 2024 election with David Rothkopf of Deep State Radio. If you are looking for a political podcast this weekend this is a really good one.

In this clip from the discussion Tara (from Courier Newsroom) reminds us why the grassroots work we do is so important, as reaching and touching voters can help overcome the cynicism and distance so many feel from politics today. All this work we do together is an affirmation of our democracy itself, and is a central reason why in election after election in all parts of the country we keep winning and perfroming at the upper end of what is possible.

The President’s Big Democracy Speech - Here it is. Please watch and let’s discuss here in the coming days. Many have already said they believe it is the best speech President Biden has ever given, and it is great to see the campaign turning on. It’s time for us to get going and win this election, together. This speech was a powerful way to start.

Here’s how the speech begins:

Today, the topic of my speech today is deadly serious and I think it needs to be made at the outset of this campaign.
In the winter of 1777, it was harsh and cold as the Continental Army marched to Valley Forge. General George Washington knew he faced the most daunting of tasks, to fight and win a war against the most powerful empire in existence in the world at the time. His mission was clear: liberty, not conquest. Freedom. Not domination. National independence. Not individual glory.
America made a vow: Never again would we bow down to a king.
Months ahead would be incredibly difficult. But General Washington knew something in his bones. Something about the spirit of the troops he was leading. Something, something about the soul of the nation he was struggling to be born. In his general order, he predicted, and I quote, with one heart and one mind, with fortitude and with patience, they would overcome every difficulty, the troops he was leading. And they did. They did.
This army that lacked blankets and food, clothes and shoes. This army, whose march left bloody bare footprints in the snow. This ragtag army made up of ordinary people.
Their mission, George Washington declared, was nothing less than a sacred cause. That was the phrase he used. A sacred cause. Freedom, Liberty. Democracy. American democracy.
I just visited the grounds of Valley Forge. I’ve been there a number of times since the time I was a Boy Scout years ago.
You know, it’s the very site that I think every American should visit, because it tells the story of the pain and the suffering and the true patriotism it took to make America.
Today, we gather in a new year, some 246 years later, just one day before January 6, a day forever seared in our memory because it was on that day that we nearly lost America, lost it all.
Today, we’re here to answer the most important of questions. Is democracy still America’s sacred cause? I mean it.
This is not rhetorical, academic or hypothetical. Whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time.
And it’s what the 2024 election is all about.
The choice is clear.
Donald Trump’s campaign is about him, not America, not you.
Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power.
Our campaign is different. For me and Kamala, our campaign is about America. It’s about you. It’s about every age and background that occupy this country.
It’s about the future we’re going to continue to build together. And our campaign is about preserving and strengthening our American democracy.
Three years ago tomorrow, we saw with our own eyes the violent mob stormed the United States Capitol. It was almost in disbelief as you first turned on the television.
For the first time in our history, insurrectionists had come to stop the peaceful transfer, transfer of power in America. First time.
Smashing windows, shattering doors, attacking the police.
Outside, gallows were erected as the MAGA crowd chanted, “Hang Mike Pence.”
Inside, they hunted for Speaker Pelosi. The House was chanting as they marched through and smashed windows, “Where’s Nancy?”
Over 140 police officers were injured.
Jill and I attended the funeral of police officers who died as a result of the events of that day.
Because Donald, because of Donald Trump’s lies, they died because these lies brought a mob to Washington.
He promised it would be wild. And it was.
He told the crowd to “fight like hell” and all hell was unleashed.
He promised he would write them, write them, everything they did. He would be side by side with them.
Then, as usual, he left the dirty work to others.
He retreated to the White House.
As America was attacked from within, Donald Trump watched on TV in a private, small dining room off my oval, off the Oval Office.
The entire nation watched in horror.
The whole world watched in disbelief.
And Trump did nothing.
Members of his staff, members of his family. Republican leaders who were under attack at that very moment pled with him.
Act. Call off the mob. Imagine had he gone out and said, “Stop.”
Still, Trump did nothing.
It was among the worst derelictions of duty by a president in American history.
An attempt to overturn a free and fair election by force and violence.

We know why we are at Hopium, why we are in this fight, together. It is for all the reasons Joe Biden passionately spelled out yesterday. This morning I wake proud of my President, proud of my party, proud of my country and excited to keep doing the work with all of you to win big in 2024.

2023 was a very good year for Democrats. Let’s make 2024 even better - It’s been a remarkable few weeks for our core 2024 narrative:

Joe Biden is a good President. The country is better off. The Democratic Party is strong and winning elections across the US. And they have Trump.

Last week MSNBC digital featured my op-ed, Biden’s 2024 chances are much stronger than people realize, which advanced our narrative. President Biden talked about one of my 2024 Hopium posts at a DNC fundraiser right before Christmas. I took our big, optimistic argument into MSNBC interviews with Lawrence O’Donnell, Willie Geist on Morning Joe, and Alex Witt, below:

My insights into the 2024 election have also been featured in recent weeks in articles in NBC News, NYTimes, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin’s Washington Post column, Politico, Politico again, USA Today, USA Today again, Yahoo News, Vanity Fair, New Republic, Puck, Newsweek, The Hill, The Hill again, Vox, National Journal and the Washington Examiner.

Growth and Expansion in 2024 - Please Volunteer, Donate, Promote! - The 2023 elections are behind us, and 2024 has officially begun! We kick off 2024 with a really important Florida House special election on January 16th. Please sign up for a volunteer shift or donate today, and thanks to all of you who have already taken an action - I know many of you are already hard at work. Thank you!

Here are the “growth and expansion” projects and campaigns I’m recommending right now:

Tom Keen FL HD-35 - Jan 16th Special Election - we need to start 2024 with a win in this winnable pick up opportunity in one of the most important states in the county. Early voting has begun - please donate or volunteer today!
Tom Suozzi NY-3 - Feb 13th Special Election for Santos Congressional seat - know many are already hard at work here - thank you!
North Carolina Democratic Party - Ongoing, top 2024 battleground Presidential pickup opportunity. Watch our interview with dynamic NC Chair Anderson Clayton - well worth your time
Spreading Hopium in 2024 - Help me extend our community’s reach

2024 is finally here, and we have a lot of work to do. Excited and proud to be in this fight with all of you - Simon

Hopium Chronicles By Simon Rosenberg

Discussion about this post