Good morning all. Got a few things for you today:
My Interview With Governor Martin O’Malley, Candidate For DNC Chair - Yesterday afternoon I interviewed one of the leading candidates for DNC Chair, Governor Martin O’Malley. A video recording of our discussion is above. I’ve known Governor O’Malley for many years, and as you will see in the interview he is bringing a lot of experience and a compelling vision for our path forward to the race. I hope you watch and share our discussion with others you think might be interested.
You can catch my recent interviews with two other leading candidates for DNC Chair, Ben Wikler and Ken Martin, here. There you can also find interviews with two other inspiring party leaders, North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton and Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb.
I’ve offered some recommendations on how we can improve and modernize the DNC in two recent posts and a video presentation:
Raising Our Game, Building The Next Thing, Going 24/7/365 (includes my current working 7 top recommendations on the path forward)
The vote for DNC Chair and other national party offices is February 1st. The next DNC candidate forum is tomorrow in Detroit, Michigan. From the DNC’s press release:
On Thursday, January 16, the DNC and POLITICO will co-host an in-person candidate forum for DNC officer elections in Detroit, Michigan focused on the Midwest region. The forum will be moderated by POLITICO journalists Eugene Daniels, Dasha Burns, Jonathan Martin, Elena Schneider, and Holly Otterbein.
The forum will begin at 1:30 pm ET and feature candidates for Chair, Vice Chair, Vice Chair of Civic Engagement and Voter Participation, Secretary, Treasurer, and National Finance Chair. The forum will also be livestreamed on the DNC’s YouTube Channel, on POLITICO.com, and on POLITICO’s YouTube Channel.
Enjoy the interview with Governor O’Malley. He is making an important contribution to our discussion about what comes next.
Hegseth, Insurrection and Secession - Yes, we got to see the ridiculous Pete Hegseth yesterday in all his MAGA manly glory - a drinker, assaulter of women, adulterer, fraudster, serial liar, failed non-profit exec, religious and political extremist, Fox News buffoon and obnoxious, belligerently ill-informed asshole. The dude’s red flags have red flags. To be very clear - Hegseth could not pass a background check for jobs in most corporations in America. And here we are, debating whether he should run the largest government agency in the world responsible for the safety of literally billions of people - one he could not get hired to work for as a low-level employee.
Yesterday, Hegseth had in what would been in olden times many, many disqualifying moments. Let me share three. The first was this exchange where he admits, on camera, that he was barred from serving in his reserve unit by the Pentagon in 2021 for he was flagged as a political extremist by HIS OWN UNIT.
Yes, the Pentagon has ALREADY DETERMINED Hegseth is unfit to serve.
The next is this exchange with Senator Angus King where he says America will not be bound by the Geneva Conventions or other international agreement:
Hegseth said he would not be bound by international agreements; refused to rule out the use of military force against American civilians; has derided NATO and was shockingly unaware yesterday of core security alliances we have around the world. Watch this clip. America Fucking First Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are all struggling to make sense of what’s happening in America, where Trump and MAGA are going to take us. The overwhelming sense I have this morning is that we need to see MAGA as a secessionist movement. Not geogragraphic secession, but an ideological and political one. MAGA is seceding from the rule of law here at home and the American-led rules-based order globally. Force, strength, AMERICA FIRST!!!! It all represents a remarkable betrayal of the American creed. The 2021 insurrection was justified in their view for the system Trump and MAGA attacked - American democracy itself - is not something they believe in. Why the J6 pardons are going to flow and Jack Smith could be locked in the closet by MAGA Justices and judges. It’s why Trump felt justified in lying and defrauding the government for years, in assaulting E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room, in stealing Americas secrets and putting them in a MAL bathroom, in threatening to seize the territory of sovereign nations and our closest allies, in putting forward these outrageous unqualified and dangerous nominees. Because Trump is not bound by the rules and laws of our democracy or the global system we imagined and built. Trump is an Uberman, or in his ancestral German, an Ubermensch. He is “over” or “above” us, not bound by silly conventions, norms, rules or laws.
If all this sounds incompatible with democracies and rules-based orders it’s because it is.
I talked about Hegseth’s ugly day and the need to defeat the Unacceptable 4 in a talk with Stuart Stevens last night. I hope you watch and listen when you have time. We spend a lot of time discussing the need for the pro-democracy movement to evolve from a governing coalition into a ferocious opposition…..
I shared our experience with making calls to our representatives these past few weeks and how this needed to get dramatically scaled up in the coming months (keep calling everyone!!!!) If we can make tens of millions of GOTV calls and send over 80m postcards, we can make millions of calls to Senate and Congressional offices on the big issues of the moment. I also talked about how Senate and House Democrats need to figure out how to engage and collaborate more effectively with the broad pro-democracy movement, and build us into a muscular new opposition force. In fighting Hegseth and Trump’s other nominees Senate Dems are going largely alone right now. We - our big pro-democracy family - are not integrated into their fight, not augmenting and amplifying their story telling. This is old think and it needs to change fast. For Trump’s first 100 days is upon us, and we have a lot of work to do.
A few more things:
Govenor Gavin Newsom has launched a site to battle the disinfo around the fires. Leon Krauze reminds us that many of the people who are going to rebuild Los Angeles are the same people Trump is targeting for deportation
Trump’s bat-shit crazy agenda is already raising prices here and around the world, and we need to be saying so, loudly
We’ve endorsed Abigail Spanberger for Governor of Virginia. Watch my recent interview with her, learn more, volunteer and consider donating to her campaign. Our goal is to raise $100,000 for her by March 31st. We’ve already raised $15,000 - thank you all!
I am speaking to Commit To Democracy live today at 5pm ET (all are welcome) and to a major political gathering in person at the University of Southern California on Thurdsay, January 30th. My panel starts at 215pm PT - join us in person if you can!
For those coming up for renewal for your paid Hopium subscription please make sure your payment info is current. Paid subscribers keep this place going and the Hopium flowing!
The next Hopium live paid subscriber get together will be Wednesday, January 22nd at 7pm ET
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We close today with more inspiring words from Martin Luther King Jr:
I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits
Keep working hard all. Proud to be in this fight with all of you - Simon
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