Happy Friday all. A few thing for you today:
Suozzi’s Up in 3 Polls Now, And Is Closing Strong - A third poll in NY-3 was released late yesterday and it had Tom Suozzi up 4, 52-48. So of the 3 polls released in these closing days he’s up 4, 4, and 3 points. Encouraging, but close. We can and should win here but only if we do the work in these final 4 days. So please - donate, volunteer, today - let’s close strong and help Tom win this thing…..
Donate - Learn More - Canvass - Make Calls - Watch My Interview w/Tom
A huge thank you to everyone who has already taken taken an action for Tom in this critical election. Our community has now raised $90,000 for Tom - amazing stuff - thank you all!
One of my followers on Twitter posted this story yesterday. So proud of all of you:
Today I remembered that I have an old-coworker/friend who lives in #NY03. So naturally I texted her to find out whether she was going to vote early (or at all), what she's seeing on the ground, etc. Couple of interesting tidbits...
First, my friend is a registered Independent who pretty consistently votes blue. Her husband is also an independent, but I'm not sure how he votes. Anyhow, she's been getting Suozzi people knocking on her door one a week and 3 fliers a day, also for Suozzi.
Of note: Despite being an Ind, NO ONE from Mazi Pilip's camp has knocked on her door. She hasn't voted early yet, but will try to this weekend with family. I told her - per @SimonWDC's Vote on Day 1 Rule - the sooner she votes early, the sooner the doorknocking will stop lol.
My friend has also gotten postcards and letters from activists reminding her to vote! "I've never seen anything like it," she said. Well done all you postcard-writing Democrats in #NY03! And her parents are voting for Suozzi as well.
So, while this is all anecdotal, it seems clear that Tom Suozzi's campaign is putting in the work to win this election, and the awesome postcard writers out there are doing their part as well. Great job to everyone involved trying to win this race!
Here’s more on the importance of Voting on Day 1 and winning the early vote - and yes we can do this people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The 2024 Elections - Posts, Presentations, Interviews and Pods - Why I Am Optimistic About Winning This Year - The video above is my opening 20 minutes of remarks from our paid subscriber discussion last night. In it I explain why I am so optimistic about winning this year.
I will have more to say about the Special Counsel report in the coming days but two initial points: 1) unlike Trump, the President was cleared of wrongdoing in the probe; 2) it is long past time for Democrats to make the Republican Party’s corruption of the Judiciary a kitchen table issue in America, as it is one of the most profound and dangerous manifestations of their escalating illiberalism. Countering and challenging this corruption is the type of project that would be in keeping with the recommendations I make in my New Republic essay, below.
Hopium Posts - 4 Things Biden Should Do Now, Another Huge Jobs Report, Notes on Recent Polling, The Democratic Party Is Strong, The Republican Party Is Broken, Building The Most Powerful Democratic Machine We’ve Ever Had, Not Clear Israel-Hamas War Is Hurting Biden
Video Interviews - MSNBC’s Last Word, CNN’s Amanpour, MeidasTouch, David Pakman
Podcasts (Audio) - The Ezra Klein Show, Deep State Radio w/David Rothkopf and Tara McGowan, Rick Wilson’s Enemies List
“4 Things Biden Should Do Now” - My New Essay In The New Republic - I was asked to write a short essay for a cover package of stories in the New Republic this month on what Biden should do now. In my piece I make 4 basic recommendations:
Reimagine and Reinvent The War Room
Build The Largest Youth Engagement Program In History
Anchor The Second Term Around Countering Climate Change and The Fight For Democracy
Offer A Big Reform/Clean Up Washington and A Strategy To Raise Life Expectancy
Here’s the opening:
I start off 2024 very optimistic about Joe Biden’s reelection and excited for what a second Biden term may bring. My working take on 2024 is that Joe Biden is a very good president, the country is better off today than when he came to office, and he will have a persuasive case for reelection. The Democratic Party has been winning elections all across the country, particularly since the Dobbs Supreme Court decision in 2022. The Republicans, on the other hand, are making a huge mistake in renominating Donald Trump, who is far more degraded, extreme, and dangerous than he was in 2016 or 2020. Current commentary is wildly discounting his negatives, but it will be hard for him to overcome them once the Biden campaign reminds voters of what Trump has done and plans to do. For all these reasons, it is far more likely that Joe Biden wins than loses this year.
But the aspiration of Democrats and our pro-democracy allies must be not just to win the election, but to win big, making 2024 a clear and unequivocal rejection of MAGA. For only once Republicans view MAGA as a political loser will they begin to walk away from their recent reckless embrace of extremism.
So, in that spirit of going big, here are four things Biden world should consider (and in some cases may already be working on). The first two are campaign-related. The second two for when the president begins to roll out his agenda for a second term:
Reimagine and Reinvent the War Room
When we think of the campaign war room, we think of 20 sweaty kids drinking Red Bulls and cranking out TikTok videos. But this year, I hope the Biden campaign can reimagine the war room as two, three, four million patriots networked together, amplifying the good works and the second-term agenda of the president through their networks. Republicans have what I call a “loudness advantage” over Democrats, and for Democrats to have the election they want this year, they need to be creative in finding ways to close that gap. The Biden team should ask supporters not just to help on campaigns in all the traditional ways, but also to become “information warriors” this year and help their side get very, very loud. We left the broadcast era of politics long ago, and it is time to start building campaigns not around top-down advertising but around bottom-up and shareable organic content appropriate for the networked information age we are now in.
You can read the whole essay here, and the broader package has some terrific essays I think you will find useful. Enjoy.
Thursday, February 15, 7pm EST - The Monthly Gathering of the entire Hopium community, now 37,000 strong! I will kick it off with 20 minutes of opening remarks about our current political moment and then take your questions. Register here. Hopefully we will be celebrating a big Suozzi win, together! A video recording of this event will be available to all members of the Hopium community who cannot make it live.
Let’s Do More, Worry Less - In our 2024 spirit of growth and expansion, I’m encouraging members of the Hopium community to get involved and take an action in four campaigns and projects, below. A hearty thank you to the thousands here who’ve already donated, volunteered and spread some Hopium:
Flip NY-3 - Tom Suozzi leads in the early polls and will win if we give Tom the resources and volunteers he needs. The election is Feb. 13th and early in person voting has begun so please take an action to help Tom today! If you want to learn more watch my recent interview with Tom, and take an action here:
Donate - Learn More - Canvass - Make Calls - Watch My Interview w/Tom
Elect Joe And Kamala, Beat Trump - Please donate to Biden-Harris today, join the campaign and start planning for what you will do to help them spread their message through your networks and win the core 7 battlegrounds AZ, GA, MI, NC, NV, PA, WI. Beating Trump is Job 1 this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Get Early Resources to North Carolina, Our Most Important 2024 Expansion State - Our number one Presidential battleground expansion opportunity this year is North Carolina, and I am encouraging the Hopium community to support the Democratic Party of North Carolina and its dynamic new chair, Anderson Clayton. Watch my recent interview with Anderson and learn how to donate and volunteer here. Help us turn Carolina blue!
Spread Hopium - Help me bring Hopium to more people this year. Our goal is to get to 50,000 total subscribers by March 31st (we are at 37,000 today). Please encourage others in your network to sign up and become part of this wonderful community of proud patriots and info warriors today!
Keep working hard all. Proud to be in this fight with all of you - Simon
Why I Am Optimistic About Winning This Year (Video), Big Final Push For Suozzi, 4 Things Biden Should Do Now