I am not sure these comments (which I see a lot of) are particularly helpful right now.
Hakeem is the minority leader until the midterms at least and we should all get behind him.
Is he perfect? No (who is?), but he does a lot well and deserves far more credit than he gets.
After the mid-terms and with a (hopefully!) strong Dem majority, then we can have a big debate about who will make the best and most effective speaker for the work that confronts us, but until that time, all the attacks are just doing R's job for them.
Thomas, IMO, people are sick of the spineless corporate Dems, especially the white spineless corporate Dems who are old enough to retire and should be in nursing homes. Think Schumer. I am not the only one who wants real representation age/sex/gender/race.
I agree with your point here, Thomas. Using a sports analogy, we're in the playoffs and the trade deadline has long passed. Perhaps we need a new QB. But, let's win (or at least play the best we can) with the team we have. If we need to upgrade the team, we'll have the chance to do so in the offseason, or next year.
So you're saying that the first black leader of the minority party who has held his caucus together despite illegal actions taken by the majority party, the executive branch, and the Supreme Court is not doing enough work for you. Who do you suppose would be better?
Now is the time for all hands on deck. Trump has made it clear that he wants to suppress as much black and brown voting as possible. Playing into his hands is probably not the smartest tactical position.
I'm sorry. I should have worded that differently. Schumer certainly wouldn't be better. But what (not white male) is there with a backbone? At this point, Jeffries has basically rolled over and played dead instead of pushing back. At this point, he cares too much about his bank account and not what's happening to most people.
Leader Jeffries has done an amazing job in the minority, he always stays on message, and he doesn’t make a lot of errors. Personally I would love to see what he could do as Speaker of the House. For one thing, he can remind us how our legislative branch is supposed to work.
I don’t agree with everything he has ever done, of course, because he is a different person than me. Heck, I don’t agree with everything I’ve ever done, either.
Remember, we don't chose the caucus leaders. They are chosen by the representatives they work with. I support both leaders. They have a tremendously tough job. And it seems their respective constituencies are with them. There have been no votes migrating to the other side.
I don’t know if this comment gets through, but you do need a common vision then a common strategy and then a common set of objectives and tasks so that you have a unified effort from the top down that gives a lot of room for the objectives for doing different things, but it goes against a common vision with a common strategy that’s how you win
I subscribed for $5 just now so I could say this: All the Dems should have been Al Green. We can listen to Kimmel and Colbert and l snicker then not listen to what they are doing. Dems should have shut it down and taken the consequences. Hakeem was full of it but the real lesson is they are killing us. Minneapolis is Kent State. Congress is complicit in this. Bernie would have beat Trump if not for DNC fuckery. The DNC has zero answers. Yeah there are folks saying great things. Saying great things and strongly worded letter aren't enough. The talking part should be over its time to start shoving back. Trump won last night that's the bottom line. There needs to be the NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY, call it that for Christ's sake. There needs to be a FDR standard (reread his Economic Bill of Rights). Epstein files now shows the American people there is rich elite that wants to violate our children and kill us and keep our young folks from having homes. I like you both. Katie is the best talker in podcasting. Still, the talking part should be over. The Civil Rights movement was direct action. Everyone should be Al Green! The Dems should have all been thrown out and leave nothing but the fascists thumping their chests. The American people would be talking about that (all of the American People).
James welcome your engagement here but we have community ground rules about tone, sentiment, not disparaging others in the family. I am bringing it here for your consideration:
Keeping It Civil In Our Daily Paid Subscriber Chat - We have a lot of new subscribers so real quick on the chat - let’s keep it civil, upbeat, focus on “doing more and worrying less,” no “dumping,” “no assholes” and no being rude or disrespectful to others. If you are making an argument back it up with facts and links, just as I do. We want to create a community of thoughtful posters, not impulsive, half-baked hot takes like so much of social media today.
A core part of our understanding here is that we work hard to put positive sentiment out into the world as a way of countering MAGA, and that it must do it here, inside our own chat, too. Our daily chat is a really important part of the Hopium project, and I promise to continue to work hard to make it a place to run towards, not run from.
I think at the next SOTU with a Democratic president and a Democratic Speaker, during the first minute, a white male Republican should be randomly selected and kicked out of the proceedings. All Al Green did this time was hold up a sign he should *never* have had to hold up. All he did was hold up a sign. Be a Democrat. And be Black. So let that white male Republican randomly selected be Mike Johnson.
My 91 year old dad lives in Houston. He voted in the Democratic primary this morning and said there were 140 candidates on the ballot. I had to look this up and sure enough all of Harris county had 280 candidates and every office had someone running on it. They also had great ideas for propositions. This gives me such Hopium! Dad is 91 and voted for US Senate, Governor and a couple of other offices. The ballot was too long for his stamina. What a great problem to have Democratic Party. This is an exciting year!
Also, Tuesday is the primary. Long ballots mean long lines, but it is worth it to have so many candidates on the ballot.
Both TX & NC have a D running for EVERY elected office in their respective states this year. First time in a LONG time. This was made possible in part by the hard work and donations of and from this community.
I don't agree with this. We have people resigning or being removed or arrested now throughout Europe and the US. Nitpicking over language is not a great use of our collective time. Thank you.
One reason why it's important to push both narratives is that we are a nation of people descended from people who were, by definition, self-selected to be forward-thinking--that's why they came here, because they had a vision for the future. For that reason, particularly now, we're predisposed to think of truth-tellers as people who see what's coming, not people who just parrot what everyone already knows. And thanks to the last decade, we are a nation starved for truth.
We can only imagine where we'd be now if all Dems had been pushing democracy and the rule of law the way Simon has been doing all along, now that it's become increasingly obvious to the American people where this is all heading.
In that light, I agree with Katie that it was really refreshing last night to hear people in the People's SOTU talking as much as they did about clean energy, climate, pollution, and the environment. That's a next frontier Dems who want to be seen as truth-tellers downstream should be talking more about.
I watched the Swamp last night, but I'll watch the People's video. Climate has taken a backseat for too long, due to all the chaos the regime has inflicted on us.
Dana, this is not correct. Using FiftyPlusOne's average he is -19 today and was -12 six months ago. We only started polls in the mid 30s in recent months, and the ones he got this week we were the worst series of polls he's gotten this term.
We must be brave. Hakeem Jeffries is not the strong leader that we need at this time.
I am not sure these comments (which I see a lot of) are particularly helpful right now.
Hakeem is the minority leader until the midterms at least and we should all get behind him.
Is he perfect? No (who is?), but he does a lot well and deserves far more credit than he gets.
After the mid-terms and with a (hopefully!) strong Dem majority, then we can have a big debate about who will make the best and most effective speaker for the work that confronts us, but until that time, all the attacks are just doing R's job for them.
Thomas, IMO, people are sick of the spineless corporate Dems, especially the white spineless corporate Dems who are old enough to retire and should be in nursing homes. Think Schumer. I am not the only one who wants real representation age/sex/gender/race.
It's interesting to hear that stated. I was talking with my forty-something daughter over the weekend, and she said the same thing.
I agree with your point here, Thomas. Using a sports analogy, we're in the playoffs and the trade deadline has long passed. Perhaps we need a new QB. But, let's win (or at least play the best we can) with the team we have. If we need to upgrade the team, we'll have the chance to do so in the offseason, or next year.
So you're saying that the first black leader of the minority party who has held his caucus together despite illegal actions taken by the majority party, the executive branch, and the Supreme Court is not doing enough work for you. Who do you suppose would be better?
Now is the time for all hands on deck. Trump has made it clear that he wants to suppress as much black and brown voting as possible. Playing into his hands is probably not the smartest tactical position.
Not Schumer. Not a corporate Dem who sucks up to trump.
I'm sorry. Is Schumer black?
I'm sorry. I should have worded that differently. Schumer certainly wouldn't be better. But what (not white male) is there with a backbone? At this point, Jeffries has basically rolled over and played dead instead of pushing back. At this point, he cares too much about his bank account and not what's happening to most people.
Leader Jeffries has done an amazing job in the minority, he always stays on message, and he doesn’t make a lot of errors. Personally I would love to see what he could do as Speaker of the House. For one thing, he can remind us how our legislative branch is supposed to work.
I don’t agree with everything he has ever done, of course, because he is a different person than me. Heck, I don’t agree with everything I’ve ever done, either.
Remember, we don't chose the caucus leaders. They are chosen by the representatives they work with. I support both leaders. They have a tremendously tough job. And it seems their respective constituencies are with them. There have been no votes migrating to the other side.
Vicki, I agree. It's not just Jeffries. It's the spineless corporate Dems that have to go. Listen to what Waj has said.
Again, don't play into Trump's hands of eliminating black leadership/representation.
Christine, Thanks for sharing your perspective. It's too easy for us white people to see things from a white-centered perspective.
Lauren, who are the spineless corporate Dems? Name names please.
I don’t know if this comment gets through, but you do need a common vision then a common strategy and then a common set of objectives and tasks so that you have a unified effort from the top down that gives a lot of room for the objectives for doing different things, but it goes against a common vision with a common strategy that’s how you win
I subscribed for $5 just now so I could say this: All the Dems should have been Al Green. We can listen to Kimmel and Colbert and l snicker then not listen to what they are doing. Dems should have shut it down and taken the consequences. Hakeem was full of it but the real lesson is they are killing us. Minneapolis is Kent State. Congress is complicit in this. Bernie would have beat Trump if not for DNC fuckery. The DNC has zero answers. Yeah there are folks saying great things. Saying great things and strongly worded letter aren't enough. The talking part should be over its time to start shoving back. Trump won last night that's the bottom line. There needs to be the NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY, call it that for Christ's sake. There needs to be a FDR standard (reread his Economic Bill of Rights). Epstein files now shows the American people there is rich elite that wants to violate our children and kill us and keep our young folks from having homes. I like you both. Katie is the best talker in podcasting. Still, the talking part should be over. The Civil Rights movement was direct action. Everyone should be Al Green! The Dems should have all been thrown out and leave nothing but the fascists thumping their chests. The American people would be talking about that (all of the American People).
James welcome your engagement here but we have community ground rules about tone, sentiment, not disparaging others in the family. I am bringing it here for your consideration:
Keeping It Civil In Our Daily Paid Subscriber Chat - We have a lot of new subscribers so real quick on the chat - let’s keep it civil, upbeat, focus on “doing more and worrying less,” no “dumping,” “no assholes” and no being rude or disrespectful to others. If you are making an argument back it up with facts and links, just as I do. We want to create a community of thoughtful posters, not impulsive, half-baked hot takes like so much of social media today.
A core part of our understanding here is that we work hard to put positive sentiment out into the world as a way of countering MAGA, and that it must do it here, inside our own chat, too. Our daily chat is a really important part of the Hopium project, and I promise to continue to work hard to make it a place to run towards, not run from.
Thank you.
Katie, when are you running for office in Florida? We need your brilliant mind, excellent ideas and compassionate heart💙💙💙
Sadly, Katie isn't running. I wish she would. But I respect her decisions if she won't, for the sake of her family and their safety.
I love Katie Phang. Thanks for this interview, Simon.
Simon, thank you for this interview. I've missed Katie Phang.
Katie has a Youtube channel and is on Substack.
Thanks to both of you. Please have Katie on more often.
I think at the next SOTU with a Democratic president and a Democratic Speaker, during the first minute, a white male Republican should be randomly selected and kicked out of the proceedings. All Al Green did this time was hold up a sign he should *never* have had to hold up. All he did was hold up a sign. Be a Democrat. And be Black. So let that white male Republican randomly selected be Mike Johnson.
With any luck, MAGA Mike will be unelected by then. At least we can hopium.
My 91 year old dad lives in Houston. He voted in the Democratic primary this morning and said there were 140 candidates on the ballot. I had to look this up and sure enough all of Harris county had 280 candidates and every office had someone running on it. They also had great ideas for propositions. This gives me such Hopium! Dad is 91 and voted for US Senate, Governor and a couple of other offices. The ballot was too long for his stamina. What a great problem to have Democratic Party. This is an exciting year!
Also, Tuesday is the primary. Long ballots mean long lines, but it is worth it to have so many candidates on the ballot.
Both TX & NC have a D running for EVERY elected office in their respective states this year. First time in a LONG time. This was made possible in part by the hard work and donations of and from this community.
I am so excited for both NC & TX. I donate to Roy Cooper and am happy hopium is helping out some NC-11.
That is great. When we all do what we can, this community packs a power punch. Thanks for doing your part.
Thank you Simon & Katie. ❤️
Simon please be SUPER non hyperbolic
Example: “ people are falling all over the world”. Would be more accurate to say “ ( a FEW people in a couple of places in the world are ‘falling’”
I don't agree with this. We have people resigning or being removed or arrested now throughout Europe and the US. Nitpicking over language is not a great use of our collective time. Thank you.
One reason why it's important to push both narratives is that we are a nation of people descended from people who were, by definition, self-selected to be forward-thinking--that's why they came here, because they had a vision for the future. For that reason, particularly now, we're predisposed to think of truth-tellers as people who see what's coming, not people who just parrot what everyone already knows. And thanks to the last decade, we are a nation starved for truth.
We can only imagine where we'd be now if all Dems had been pushing democracy and the rule of law the way Simon has been doing all along, now that it's become increasingly obvious to the American people where this is all heading.
In that light, I agree with Katie that it was really refreshing last night to hear people in the People's SOTU talking as much as they did about clean energy, climate, pollution, and the environment. That's a next frontier Dems who want to be seen as truth-tellers downstream should be talking more about.
I watched the Swamp last night, but I'll watch the People's video. Climate has taken a backseat for too long, due to all the chaos the regime has inflicted on us.
Love the forward-thinking POV both Simon and Katie are pushing. Thrive, not just survive. Simon's global democracy movement vision. Hope with a plan.
Americans thrive when Democrats are in charge, and suffer when Republicans hold power.
I don’t know if it’s accurate to keep saying he has dropped in polls? For that 5 mos or so it seems approval polls have been and stayed at 37-38%.
I’ll be impressed once it is more like 30%
Dana, this is not correct. Using FiftyPlusOne's average he is -19 today and was -12 six months ago. We only started polls in the mid 30s in recent months, and the ones he got this week we were the worst series of polls he's gotten this term.
Here's the average - https://fiftyplusone.news/polls/approval/president
Please listen to this. She has some deeper insights worth listening to near the end.
https://heatherdelaneyreese.substack.com/p/trump-is-clearly-not-fit-for-office?r=2qhxm6&utm_medium=ios
Miles Taylor’s http://defiance.org State of the Swamp was excellent too…