I am removing this post. Make your case without denigrating others. I wildly disagree with you and that's okay. We have not been here before. This is a new place. Calling me foolish it out of bounds. Do better or find some other place to hang out.
You need to be able to accept comments from those who disagree with you and make valid counterpoints. This should be a discussion. Removing my comment is what is out of bounds. I want more than anything to see maga go down in flames, but we HAVE been here before. He was impeached, even, with the help of Republicans. We have all believed, on countless occasions, that sure THIS will be the thing brings him down. And yet. So until it happens decisively, it has not happened. That does not mean we cannot still have hope and work toward a massive victory.
I think the point is, that there are loads of places on the internet to throw a tantrum, rant and rave and doom monger, absolutely loads.
Hopium doesn't need to be another one.
We all feel terrible about things sometimes, but mostly try to keep things positive and pro-action in this comments section, as it is more beneficial that the alternative.
I don't "NEED" to do anything. Calling me foolish is out of bounds, particularly when your argument is 100% wrong. We have never been in this place before. He has never been this unpopular. The generic has never been this encouraging for us. We have never had the special and electoral wins. The economy has never been this bad, nor has he done anything like the failed war. We haven't seen the kind of clear rebellion against him that we've seen in recent days. Your assessment of what is happening is wrong, and you are calling me foolish for making the case which is literally being made by every major news outlet in the country. I am open to debate but I will not let folks here call one another foolish. No place here. Here we act with respect towards one another, at all times. Make your case but do not denigrate and never, ever tell other people what to do or believe. I am happy to refund your subscription if you believe it appropriate to label other people in the community fools.
There was no tantrum or doom-mongering, and my points are certainly not 100% wrong. I am simply being realistic and pointing out that, to declare with certainty that the tide is turning, is short-sighted and overly optimistic, given EVERYTHING we have seen over the past 10+ years of that narcissistic monster.
Yes, for sure there IS cause for hope, and I'm clinging to it with my life, but we need to see a lot more decisive actions before declaring R's are done with their corrupt leader.
It's disappointing that you can't abide having a subscriber disagree with you in this forum. Must we only praise? I take back the word foolish, but i stand by every one of my points. Are you simply unwilling to acknowledge any possibility that you may not be 100% right?
I don't want a refund, I've paid for the year. I find much of your content very valuable, but I will never disagree with you publicly again.
Don't be a baby. Come here, engage in respectful dialogue. No issues. Don't denigrate. I don't care what you said today other than you called me foolish and my ideas dangerous. Here at Hopium we just don't talk to one another that way. Don't make it about me not taking criticism. That's not what happened here, and that you attempting to put it on me rather than owning your shit is disappointing. I literally said come back and make your case without denigrating. I don't care what you believe I care that you feel comfortable denigrating others.
Ya know, I'll take that refund now that you've resorted to name-calling, but I can't say that it's foolish to take a victory lap at this stage. 👋🏼 You are no gentleman.
I’ve been posting about my 5/19 school board race. On Tuesday I received +2300 votes, equal to the entire turnout in recent school board elections, which have been uncontested for years. But this was not a normal year. The election board had 7000 ballots on hand. THEY RAN OUT OF BALLOTS!!!! They had to collect and manually count the last several hundred ballots because THE VOTING MACHINES WERE FULL!! We ran a phenomenal campaign and turned out thousands of people who felt for the first time that this election mattered. But the incumbents, afraid of losing and with help from the NY Republican Party, sent out a flyer portraying me and my co-candidate as animals, with all the right-wing tropes about our Socialist agenda, anti-trans, Mamdani in the background, the works. People responded to their fearmongering campaign, and we lost. I ended up with 1/3 of the vote, but we built something that didn’t exist in this town, from scratch, with a few scrappy volunteers and a shared passion.
I want to thank Inese and BeeBee for contributing to my campaign (and any Hopiumite whose name I didn’t recognize) and helping amplify blue voices in a red area. The fight is not over. This is happening all across the country as we head into the midterms.
That is amazing turnout! You clearly built something important and made them spend money where they didn't think they'd have to. It's sounds like you're not going to disband - is that correct? It is so important to keep building awareness, trust, and power year-round.
So proud of your service and the campaign you built. Truly, these are seeds for future success. Look forward to a future victory for you and your team of plucky volunteers!
Democrats need to stop playing nicely and start brawling. Ken Martin is disappointing and needs to move on so we get scrappers willing to do battle and enlarge the tent. Quit the purity tests.
Martin wrote that the report was not up to his standards and wouldn't be up to ours. True enough. But, is there a strategy Martin outlined that you oppose or one that he didn't list that you'd offer? The plan seems sound to me and has been working. I agree about not needing purity tests; he's not the source of them, right?
Rachel Poliner: Do you think Ken Martin, in hindsight, should have just released the Report? I haven't read it but it seems he had good reason not to release it but by then everyone was expecting it. Therefore, it seemed as if he was hiding something. The plan sounds sound to me and is pretty much what Simon and people here have been talking about for a year. 🤷🏻♀️. I don't know. I just want to win. I truly believe we can agree to disagree. We can politely debate and exchange ideas and differences of opinions without getting nasty. I think because most of us care so much about what is happening before our eyes to our country, we sometimes, take our differences of opinion personally. I try to remind myself, we all want the same thing.
I think it was a mistake to not release it since it was widely expected, but it needed to be a high-quality report, and I can't understand why it wasn't.
That said, the plan going forward makes sense to me and that's where my energy is. I've got my own analysis based what I've learned from Simon, Krugman, Morris... so not having an official analysis doesn't feel like a personal obstacle, but I do think it's important for organizations to have collective shared understandings.
We learn from our mistakes which Ken is trying to do. It will take time to build the party again to where we want it to be. If you have ever done a major remodel on your home, you know the kinds of things that can and will go wrong long before you see the final result. We're just getting started to rebuild the Democratic brand. Try a little grace, patience and actually get involved in the process.
Janet. I ran for local office last year and won a seat so I am working to correct this. I am part of two progressive groups and the League of Women Voters and knocked doors for local and state candidates. The issue is that the bad guys don't give a damn about grace. So we need to stop trading on what we used to know and take a few pages from their playbook. What are you doing? 😉
All I can say is the best speaker ever, Nancy Pelosi, would NEVER have allowed a vote to start and then be pulled. Mike Johnson is incompetent.
Enjoy the long weekend Hopium-mates. And honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we can fight to save our country, our freedoms and our rights.
"The bipartisan anti-Israel consensus in the United States will grow and harden"
I know this is Kagan talking and not Simon, but I don't think most Democrats are "anti-Israel," I think they are anti-Netanyahu and his far-right coalition. Kagan might as well say Democratic opposition to Trump is "anti-American." We support Israel, but not their current government. Big difference.
I don't know if we know that to be true any longer, just as we don't know whether the American brand will recover globally after Trump despite who are leaders are.
I think it is a valid point but I am not sure we actually know the answer to this any longer.
It's a fair point, Simon. Just like Americans and Trump, Israelis have put Netanyahu in charge repeatedly - neither one is an anomaly. I guess I'm projecting but I hope that people in general don't blame an entire nation for the faults and failures of their leaders. I suspect that the American brand will never recover because we have proven we cannot be trusted. Hell, I don't trust the American people not to do this all over again, I can't expect anyone else to trust us.
I've had discussion with my Jewish life partner about this. She wasn't even aware of AIPAC until I brought it up a few months ago. I have always been very strong for a two state solution with existing Israeli borders and Palestinians having autonomy in the occupied territories (a U.N. term, Israel refers to them as the disputed territories) The atrocities and war crimes of Oct 7 by Hamas, and the military genocidal response by Israeli forces with U.S. support (that is honestly how I perceive it) have inflamed the Middle East with major ramifications all the way into our politics.
Simon has spoken about respectful conversation/debate as valuable in his last two Wednesday talks. I agree with him that Anti-Netanyahu sentiment can be conflated and devolve into anti-semitism, which is a rabbit hole to be avoided. For me, anti-semitism is racism; i.e. pre-judging individuals based on skin color, cultural or religious or national identification, or gender affiliation is wrong... period. We are all human beings first, a spark of the divine.
Here is a fact that needs consideration about anti-Israeli sentiment I found through Google AI sourced to a group called Genocide Watch: "Surveys indicate that approximately 76% of Jewish Israelis agree with the statement that there are "no innocent people in Gaza", while roughly 82% support the forced expulsion of Palestinians from the territory."
I was shocked and disheartened to learn this. My hopes for a two state solution seem far fetched at this point. This fact does not change my attitude towards Jews. It does however impact my attitude towards Israel. It reinforces my negative attitude towards AIPAC, as well.
What can we do to support the minority of Israeli Jews who have compassion for Palestinians? This will be a long, long road.
In a bit synchronicity, I totally randomly stumbled onto this excellent conversation between Jon Stewart and Peter Beinart from 2025. Peter has written a book, "On Being Jewish After Gaza".
Some time ago, I came to the realization that the state of Israel absolutely needs to get rid of Netanyahu and his vile right wing sycophants for many of the same reasons that we in the U.S. need to get rid of Trump and his Republican worshippers. I fully support the right of Israel - and all Israelis, including non-Jews - to exist but their government seems to have left the track of honor, justice and compassion.
I also think it’s way past time to ask why evangelicals— who support Israel because it hastens the second coming and then expect Jews to convert or die— aren’t also considered anti-semitic. Frankly I can’t understand why any Jewish person would consider evangelicals an ally on the Israel question. I know I wouldn’t want to hang around people who believe that, whether or not I thought their beliefs would ever come true.
Faith, have you listened to what Waj and others have said? I want to put things into context. Because the Orthodox "Christians" and extremely far right Orthodox Jews, the Hasidic Jews are very pro-netanyahu. I'm all for friends/their siblings over there. I'm anti-netanyahu. I'd like to see a 2-state solution. Israel is further to the left than the US. So are many countries. BUT they are 1 of the only countries many want wiped off the face of the Earth. Yes, you can defend yourself without a genocide. Ya know?
Louise, I think it's worth remembering that the Israeli political system (like many countries) is further to the left than ours. Our right is basically their left. I'm not defending netanyhau. Far from it.
I'm sorry, but parsing your comment makes less and less sense to me. When you talk about "the Israeli political system", are you referring to their system of government, the actions of their current leadership or the attitudes of their people?
Sorry. Their actual system is further to the left. The actions of netanyahu are...well...aligned with orange, in the genocide. The attitudes of the people will depend on who you talk to. Many are anti-current Israeli government, but are still further to the left than those in the US. I think many here forget there are a lot of people w/ dual-citizenship. It used to be if they served a year or 2 in the IDF and if parents/grandparents had been born there, they'd get dual citizenship. So many who live here (some born there) will go back there for basic healthcare appointments. Zero costs for mammograms, pelvics, pap smears, colonoscopies, etc. The friends I'll talk with are pro-2-state solution.
You are absolutely correct. I am not a Zionist but I support the secular state of Israel. Bebe must go, he’s been pushing US involvement in his Palestine fever dream since the Reagan/Bush years.
Many are anti-netanyahu. He's a terrorist. At the same time, many Americans forget that Israel (like many countries) is further to the left than the US. Pro-Israel? Yes and no. Not that government. Pro-the Israelis who want netanyahu gone? Sure. Pro-the rest? Nah. I say this with friends and their siblings who live over there. Some would LOVE to move back, but can't afford to. Others are stuck there because their undergrad degree is from there, and thus their jobs are over there. If their degrees were from European countries, it would be easier to move back here.
I agree 100% with one of the points you make about the Dem report: "We can’t stop campaigning at the end of an election cycle, we have to always be 'on.' " I'd love to see Dems running ads all year, every year, that make the point you've made in your "With Democrats Things Get Better" presentations. It's nuts that history shows Dems always do better with the economy and that Rs always break it and, yet, the popular perception is that the Rs are "better for the economy." Repeating a message matters.
I've called my representatives to say that Trump is not in touch with reality and needs to be removed. I'm writing postcards to Ohio voters.
Right on, Catherine. And I feel hat's one of several points Simon makes that could be addressed with more online community-building like we do here (and *beyond*, frankly--there are lots of completely untapped opportunities that Republicans--as hierarchical as they've always been, and will be, as long as they continue to be run by big donors--can never touch). Other points that online community could (and would) help address:
* "Campaign ads are not a substitute for the deep relationship building we need to do with voters to win elections...We should invest in organizing early and connecting with our communities before we need their votes."
* "We can no longer take our voters for granted. Communities that have been considered “mobilization” targets, like young voters, need to be treated like “persuasion” targets."
* "We...have to keep our eyes trained on the long-game.... We have to invest in building infrastructure and restoring credibility with communities that feel we have abandoned them."
* "A party cannot execute a permanent campaign with a seasonal workforce that burns out and churns out."
* "The modern information ecosystem is fragmented and personalized. We need to speak authentically to voters in a way that recognizes that audiences consume content differently across communities, and tailor our strategy accordingly. Voter outreach requires competent multi-platform communication."
* "When margins of victory are narrow, everything matters and we must ensure no task or tactic is left undone."
A lot of this comes down to something fundamental Simon said that caused me to sign up for Hopium to begin with: "We have to start treating our supporters like partners, not ATM machines."
One of the things that the fantastic relational organizing training from Vote Save America did was address much of the above. Relational organizing is the future, and we need to implement trainings for everyone now. Now, that does not mean I necessarily agree w Dan Pfeiffer and the Crooked Media folks that Chair Martin needs to go. I'll wait for Simon's assessment.
One of the GOTV leaders in our local Democratic group described a registered Democrat who said he wouldn’t vote because it wouldn’t make a difference. The thinking behind that was apparently that one vote doesn’t matter and elections aren’t won by single votes. (Yes, I know that is actually a common thing but this guy didn’t.)
Many Americans tend to think only of individual efforts and heroes. If they won’t be the one to get credit, they will let others do the work.
I want to start replying to such things with something like, “No Kings 3 had over 7 million people saying no to corruption. No single participant made that happen, but if it had been only 7 people it wouldn’t have mattered. It brought the coalition together but also was too big to target for retribution, unlike an individual. Being one of a million voters does matter.”
But I am not great at messaging. So I am working on it. We have our primary election in California ending in a few days, so it is relevant to me right now.
Here’s a super easy way to improve their D brand stop shitting on them and most of groups that choose to pick one thing to bash Ds with over and over need to be ignored. Every year the same group picks something that Ds just have to pick or they won’t vote for them. First it was climate change, then student loans, then Gaza, now it’s letting AIPAC breathe on them as if that PAC is only one the matters. We’re supposed to a big tent, you all get to complain but you don’t get to say your cause is the only one that matters. Democrats have been doing most of the things in that list already, the only thing is no one is acknowledging how tilted the playing field really is. We don’t have a Fox News pumping up our messaging and the MSM goes out of its way to make Ds look either feckless or corrupt while normalizing Rs. What we do have control over is ourselves and we can choose to talk about how Ds do make life better - we’ve passed legislation making healthcare more affordable- Rs undid it. We’ve passed laws protecting the environment- Rs work to take it apart. Go look for the positive (it will be worked be because MSM has trained you not to) and talk about it.
I say YES(!!!) to the Democratic Party, warts and all. But if there is no self reflection, if "that thing" stays ignored... then it can be a slippery slope.
Simon talks about the possibility of a new birth of freedom... it won't happen if the warts are always getting shoved under the rug.
BTW, Technically AIPAC is not a PAC, i.e. political action committee. It's a "public affairs committee" which is a dodge so it doesn't need to follow PAC requirements. It's insidious. It has outsized influence on both parties. It's by no means a reason to stay home from the election. But it's a problem that should not be shoved under the rug.
There is no equivalency. The GOP has abandoned democracy and the constitution. They are traitors to the Republic. But without self-reflection, without wrestling with the warts, that "more perfect union" will remain a pipe dream.
I recently became aware of a group called The States Project which sounds very worthy of support. I haven't checked it out carefully yet but it certainly makes a lot of sense and sounds important.
Howard Dean had rolled out the 50-state strategy when he was DNC chair and I was so excited! After Obama won Obama dismantled it and we’re just now putting it back together. Their heart is often in the right place but the Dems need to work on execution. I hate to get my hopes up again, but I am sadly, a forever pragmatic optimist!
I remember Dean's DLC sold $50 "Democracy Bonds" to raise money for it and get the D grassroots behind it. Seemed like a great plan and a great program.
When I first started paying attention to politics, I knew nothing and I didn't know Howard Dean. I didn't understand why so many people believed in him. After all, John Kerry was running. Then the scream happened. I shrugged and thought "the scream" was weird. It made Howard Dean look crazy which I hadn't really thought until the media went on and on about it. Yup, I totally bought into that narrative. Later, I came to understand how important the 50 State Strategy was and what a mistake, in my opinion, it was to abandon it. I realized how important and forward thinking Howard Dean was back then.
If the DNC had operated like a reasonably competent college athletic department, they would have treated him like a star football or basketball coach and given him a long-term contract. He might be approaching his third decade as DNC char and a lot of the heartache we've suffered the last decade would never have happened.
If memory serves me right, Rahm Emanuel was one of the people who had it in for Dean. Just another reason why I'm looking forward to Emanuel's humiliation if he's dumb enough to think people want him to be our presidential candidate.
I didn’t remember that it was Rahm who had it in for Dean! I’ve always deeply disliked him and never trusted him. I want to gag when I see his name float up from time to time for president.
I like your analogy about the football coach. Dean always seemed like a decent man to me who wanted the best for the party and the country!
Love the "double entendre" of "damn" in this context (i.e. "the damn is breaking"), Simon ;) Two significant defections in the last week or two that some may have been missed:
Made calls to TX senators exhorting them to “go to war” with the administration over Iran war, the slush fund, and ICE without reform. Perhaps a touch over the top, but they need to fight harder. Little cracks getting bigger.
Re the "Democrat autopsy," I live in a conservative county in Kentucky that's a suburb of Lexington. (Lexington is a blue city in a red state). The autopsy talked about the importance of competing in state and local races. I wanted to report that in the recent primary, as a Democrat I had only two races on my ballot, on for US House and one for US Senate. There were zero local races on the Democrat ballot for the county adjacent to a blue county. Out of something like 10 local races, there were no Democrats running. I would bet that's true for most of the state, as well as too many southern red states.
I know we want to beat them without becoming them; however, a true evaluation of 2024 would include how MAGA won. One big difference is that Republicans never gave up on Trump and campaigned for his win in 2024 right after his loss in November 2020. The signs and flags and billboards never came down, the right-wing propaganda never stopped. MAGA never gave up and showed the "will to win" and to do whatever it took. On the other hand, even great candidates that would have made exceptional presidents such as Hillary and Kamala are dumped as losers. All I hear is Kamala did not distance herself from Biden. 1) Why would you distance yourself from one of the most successful administrations in history? 2) After you win the presidency, you cannot "distance" yourself, you can only defend your record or quit.
Sure, anti-MAGA forces have no kings protests, which is good. We are effective at fighting against Trump. But who are you for? I don't see any Kamala 2028 signs. I'm for Kamala but if it is someone else, that is fine by me as long as they have the experience and chops to be an effective president. Perhaps, get behind a few real contenders. But to go silent and think a field of 10 or more, mostly also rans, competing in a primary starting in spring 2028 will yield a winning candidate is delusional.
I am removing this post. Make your case without denigrating others. I wildly disagree with you and that's okay. We have not been here before. This is a new place. Calling me foolish it out of bounds. Do better or find some other place to hang out.
You need to be able to accept comments from those who disagree with you and make valid counterpoints. This should be a discussion. Removing my comment is what is out of bounds. I want more than anything to see maga go down in flames, but we HAVE been here before. He was impeached, even, with the help of Republicans. We have all believed, on countless occasions, that sure THIS will be the thing brings him down. And yet. So until it happens decisively, it has not happened. That does not mean we cannot still have hope and work toward a massive victory.
I think the point is, that there are loads of places on the internet to throw a tantrum, rant and rave and doom monger, absolutely loads.
Hopium doesn't need to be another one.
We all feel terrible about things sometimes, but mostly try to keep things positive and pro-action in this comments section, as it is more beneficial that the alternative.
I don't "NEED" to do anything. Calling me foolish is out of bounds, particularly when your argument is 100% wrong. We have never been in this place before. He has never been this unpopular. The generic has never been this encouraging for us. We have never had the special and electoral wins. The economy has never been this bad, nor has he done anything like the failed war. We haven't seen the kind of clear rebellion against him that we've seen in recent days. Your assessment of what is happening is wrong, and you are calling me foolish for making the case which is literally being made by every major news outlet in the country. I am open to debate but I will not let folks here call one another foolish. No place here. Here we act with respect towards one another, at all times. Make your case but do not denigrate and never, ever tell other people what to do or believe. I am happy to refund your subscription if you believe it appropriate to label other people in the community fools.
There was no tantrum or doom-mongering, and my points are certainly not 100% wrong. I am simply being realistic and pointing out that, to declare with certainty that the tide is turning, is short-sighted and overly optimistic, given EVERYTHING we have seen over the past 10+ years of that narcissistic monster.
Yes, for sure there IS cause for hope, and I'm clinging to it with my life, but we need to see a lot more decisive actions before declaring R's are done with their corrupt leader.
It's disappointing that you can't abide having a subscriber disagree with you in this forum. Must we only praise? I take back the word foolish, but i stand by every one of my points. Are you simply unwilling to acknowledge any possibility that you may not be 100% right?
I don't want a refund, I've paid for the year. I find much of your content very valuable, but I will never disagree with you publicly again.
Don't be a baby. Come here, engage in respectful dialogue. No issues. Don't denigrate. I don't care what you said today other than you called me foolish and my ideas dangerous. Here at Hopium we just don't talk to one another that way. Don't make it about me not taking criticism. That's not what happened here, and that you attempting to put it on me rather than owning your shit is disappointing. I literally said come back and make your case without denigrating. I don't care what you believe I care that you feel comfortable denigrating others.
Ya know, I'll take that refund now that you've resorted to name-calling, but I can't say that it's foolish to take a victory lap at this stage. 👋🏼 You are no gentleman.
By November, the brouhaha over the DNC report will be a footnote to a footnote.
Agree.
I agree as well.
I really do not know why we do this to ourselves. It is just wasted energy at this stage.
Please read this : https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/stuart-stevens-on-the-democratic?utm_source=podcast-email&publication_id=3561893&post_id=198761571&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_content=watch_now_button&r=4bhysy&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
I’ve been posting about my 5/19 school board race. On Tuesday I received +2300 votes, equal to the entire turnout in recent school board elections, which have been uncontested for years. But this was not a normal year. The election board had 7000 ballots on hand. THEY RAN OUT OF BALLOTS!!!! They had to collect and manually count the last several hundred ballots because THE VOTING MACHINES WERE FULL!! We ran a phenomenal campaign and turned out thousands of people who felt for the first time that this election mattered. But the incumbents, afraid of losing and with help from the NY Republican Party, sent out a flyer portraying me and my co-candidate as animals, with all the right-wing tropes about our Socialist agenda, anti-trans, Mamdani in the background, the works. People responded to their fearmongering campaign, and we lost. I ended up with 1/3 of the vote, but we built something that didn’t exist in this town, from scratch, with a few scrappy volunteers and a shared passion.
I want to thank Inese and BeeBee for contributing to my campaign (and any Hopiumite whose name I didn’t recognize) and helping amplify blue voices in a red area. The fight is not over. This is happening all across the country as we head into the midterms.
Thank you for running!!!!
WALK PROUD!!!! I am delighted to have been a part of it.
And... please don't stop.
Thank you, Cleveresq, for stepping up to serve your local community. Keep it coming!
That is amazing turnout! You clearly built something important and made them spend money where they didn't think they'd have to. It's sounds like you're not going to disband - is that correct? It is so important to keep building awareness, trust, and power year-round.
Yes, the work continues until we flip the school board, which will take years. In the meantime we have a new Democratic base in a red area!
Yay!! That's how it's done!
So proud of your service and the campaign you built. Truly, these are seeds for future success. Look forward to a future victory for you and your team of plucky volunteers!
Democrats need to stop playing nicely and start brawling. Ken Martin is disappointing and needs to move on so we get scrappers willing to do battle and enlarge the tent. Quit the purity tests.
Martin wrote that the report was not up to his standards and wouldn't be up to ours. True enough. But, is there a strategy Martin outlined that you oppose or one that he didn't list that you'd offer? The plan seems sound to me and has been working. I agree about not needing purity tests; he's not the source of them, right?
Rachel Poliner: Do you think Ken Martin, in hindsight, should have just released the Report? I haven't read it but it seems he had good reason not to release it but by then everyone was expecting it. Therefore, it seemed as if he was hiding something. The plan sounds sound to me and is pretty much what Simon and people here have been talking about for a year. 🤷🏻♀️. I don't know. I just want to win. I truly believe we can agree to disagree. We can politely debate and exchange ideas and differences of opinions without getting nasty. I think because most of us care so much about what is happening before our eyes to our country, we sometimes, take our differences of opinion personally. I try to remind myself, we all want the same thing.
I think it was a mistake to not release it since it was widely expected, but it needed to be a high-quality report, and I can't understand why it wasn't.
That said, the plan going forward makes sense to me and that's where my energy is. I've got my own analysis based what I've learned from Simon, Krugman, Morris... so not having an official analysis doesn't feel like a personal obstacle, but I do think it's important for organizations to have collective shared understandings.
Thank you.
We learn from our mistakes which Ken is trying to do. It will take time to build the party again to where we want it to be. If you have ever done a major remodel on your home, you know the kinds of things that can and will go wrong long before you see the final result. We're just getting started to rebuild the Democratic brand. Try a little grace, patience and actually get involved in the process.
Janet. I ran for local office last year and won a seat so I am working to correct this. I am part of two progressive groups and the League of Women Voters and knocked doors for local and state candidates. The issue is that the bad guys don't give a damn about grace. So we need to stop trading on what we used to know and take a few pages from their playbook. What are you doing? 😉
Congratulations on your win and your involvement. Keep up the good work.
Thank you. It's going to take all of us to fix it. We're stronger together. 🩵💙🤍☘️
All I can say is the best speaker ever, Nancy Pelosi, would NEVER have allowed a vote to start and then be pulled. Mike Johnson is incompetent.
Enjoy the long weekend Hopium-mates. And honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we can fight to save our country, our freedoms and our rights.
Thanks Simon! I needed this!
"The bipartisan anti-Israel consensus in the United States will grow and harden"
I know this is Kagan talking and not Simon, but I don't think most Democrats are "anti-Israel," I think they are anti-Netanyahu and his far-right coalition. Kagan might as well say Democratic opposition to Trump is "anti-American." We support Israel, but not their current government. Big difference.
I don't know if we know that to be true any longer, just as we don't know whether the American brand will recover globally after Trump despite who are leaders are.
I think it is a valid point but I am not sure we actually know the answer to this any longer.
It's a fair point, Simon. Just like Americans and Trump, Israelis have put Netanyahu in charge repeatedly - neither one is an anomaly. I guess I'm projecting but I hope that people in general don't blame an entire nation for the faults and failures of their leaders. I suspect that the American brand will never recover because we have proven we cannot be trusted. Hell, I don't trust the American people not to do this all over again, I can't expect anyone else to trust us.
I've had discussion with my Jewish life partner about this. She wasn't even aware of AIPAC until I brought it up a few months ago. I have always been very strong for a two state solution with existing Israeli borders and Palestinians having autonomy in the occupied territories (a U.N. term, Israel refers to them as the disputed territories) The atrocities and war crimes of Oct 7 by Hamas, and the military genocidal response by Israeli forces with U.S. support (that is honestly how I perceive it) have inflamed the Middle East with major ramifications all the way into our politics.
Simon has spoken about respectful conversation/debate as valuable in his last two Wednesday talks. I agree with him that Anti-Netanyahu sentiment can be conflated and devolve into anti-semitism, which is a rabbit hole to be avoided. For me, anti-semitism is racism; i.e. pre-judging individuals based on skin color, cultural or religious or national identification, or gender affiliation is wrong... period. We are all human beings first, a spark of the divine.
Here is a fact that needs consideration about anti-Israeli sentiment I found through Google AI sourced to a group called Genocide Watch: "Surveys indicate that approximately 76% of Jewish Israelis agree with the statement that there are "no innocent people in Gaza", while roughly 82% support the forced expulsion of Palestinians from the territory."
https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/poll-show-most-jewish-israelis-support-expelling-gazans
Another poll from August 2025 put the expulsion number at 62% https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel-at-war/artc-poll-62-of-israelis-say-there-are-no-innocent-people-in-gaza
I was shocked and disheartened to learn this. My hopes for a two state solution seem far fetched at this point. This fact does not change my attitude towards Jews. It does however impact my attitude towards Israel. It reinforces my negative attitude towards AIPAC, as well.
What can we do to support the minority of Israeli Jews who have compassion for Palestinians? This will be a long, long road.
You make some great points and it tallies with what I have read.
I think a lot of people here would be shocked at how a majority of Israelis feel about Palestinians (and probably vice versa unfortunately).
It is also easy to judge from afar. I honestly do not know how I would feel if I was there and living it every day.
Wow!
In a bit synchronicity, I totally randomly stumbled onto this excellent conversation between Jon Stewart and Peter Beinart from 2025. Peter has written a book, "On Being Jewish After Gaza".
https://youtu.be/X5kXCdzt_us
I think this interview really moves the conversation forward. It also gives me hopium.
Some time ago, I came to the realization that the state of Israel absolutely needs to get rid of Netanyahu and his vile right wing sycophants for many of the same reasons that we in the U.S. need to get rid of Trump and his Republican worshippers. I fully support the right of Israel - and all Israelis, including non-Jews - to exist but their government seems to have left the track of honor, justice and compassion.
I also think it’s way past time to ask why evangelicals— who support Israel because it hastens the second coming and then expect Jews to convert or die— aren’t also considered anti-semitic. Frankly I can’t understand why any Jewish person would consider evangelicals an ally on the Israel question. I know I wouldn’t want to hang around people who believe that, whether or not I thought their beliefs would ever come true.
Faith, have you listened to what Waj and others have said? I want to put things into context. Because the Orthodox "Christians" and extremely far right Orthodox Jews, the Hasidic Jews are very pro-netanyahu. I'm all for friends/their siblings over there. I'm anti-netanyahu. I'd like to see a 2-state solution. Israel is further to the left than the US. So are many countries. BUT they are 1 of the only countries many want wiped off the face of the Earth. Yes, you can defend yourself without a genocide. Ya know?
Louise, I think it's worth remembering that the Israeli political system (like many countries) is further to the left than ours. Our right is basically their left. I'm not defending netanyhau. Far from it.
I'm sorry, but parsing your comment makes less and less sense to me. When you talk about "the Israeli political system", are you referring to their system of government, the actions of their current leadership or the attitudes of their people?
Sorry. Their actual system is further to the left. The actions of netanyahu are...well...aligned with orange, in the genocide. The attitudes of the people will depend on who you talk to. Many are anti-current Israeli government, but are still further to the left than those in the US. I think many here forget there are a lot of people w/ dual-citizenship. It used to be if they served a year or 2 in the IDF and if parents/grandparents had been born there, they'd get dual citizenship. So many who live here (some born there) will go back there for basic healthcare appointments. Zero costs for mammograms, pelvics, pap smears, colonoscopies, etc. The friends I'll talk with are pro-2-state solution.
You are absolutely correct. I am not a Zionist but I support the secular state of Israel. Bebe must go, he’s been pushing US involvement in his Palestine fever dream since the Reagan/Bush years.
Many are anti-netanyahu. He's a terrorist. At the same time, many Americans forget that Israel (like many countries) is further to the left than the US. Pro-Israel? Yes and no. Not that government. Pro-the Israelis who want netanyahu gone? Sure. Pro-the rest? Nah. I say this with friends and their siblings who live over there. Some would LOVE to move back, but can't afford to. Others are stuck there because their undergrad degree is from there, and thus their jobs are over there. If their degrees were from European countries, it would be easier to move back here.
Thanks, Simon, great summary.
I agree 100% with one of the points you make about the Dem report: "We can’t stop campaigning at the end of an election cycle, we have to always be 'on.' " I'd love to see Dems running ads all year, every year, that make the point you've made in your "With Democrats Things Get Better" presentations. It's nuts that history shows Dems always do better with the economy and that Rs always break it and, yet, the popular perception is that the Rs are "better for the economy." Repeating a message matters.
I've called my representatives to say that Trump is not in touch with reality and needs to be removed. I'm writing postcards to Ohio voters.
Right on, Catherine. And I feel hat's one of several points Simon makes that could be addressed with more online community-building like we do here (and *beyond*, frankly--there are lots of completely untapped opportunities that Republicans--as hierarchical as they've always been, and will be, as long as they continue to be run by big donors--can never touch). Other points that online community could (and would) help address:
* "Campaign ads are not a substitute for the deep relationship building we need to do with voters to win elections...We should invest in organizing early and connecting with our communities before we need their votes."
* "We can no longer take our voters for granted. Communities that have been considered “mobilization” targets, like young voters, need to be treated like “persuasion” targets."
* "We...have to keep our eyes trained on the long-game.... We have to invest in building infrastructure and restoring credibility with communities that feel we have abandoned them."
* "A party cannot execute a permanent campaign with a seasonal workforce that burns out and churns out."
* "The modern information ecosystem is fragmented and personalized. We need to speak authentically to voters in a way that recognizes that audiences consume content differently across communities, and tailor our strategy accordingly. Voter outreach requires competent multi-platform communication."
* "When margins of victory are narrow, everything matters and we must ensure no task or tactic is left undone."
A lot of this comes down to something fundamental Simon said that caused me to sign up for Hopium to begin with: "We have to start treating our supporters like partners, not ATM machines."
One of the things that the fantastic relational organizing training from Vote Save America did was address much of the above. Relational organizing is the future, and we need to implement trainings for everyone now. Now, that does not mean I necessarily agree w Dan Pfeiffer and the Crooked Media folks that Chair Martin needs to go. I'll wait for Simon's assessment.
One of the GOTV leaders in our local Democratic group described a registered Democrat who said he wouldn’t vote because it wouldn’t make a difference. The thinking behind that was apparently that one vote doesn’t matter and elections aren’t won by single votes. (Yes, I know that is actually a common thing but this guy didn’t.)
Many Americans tend to think only of individual efforts and heroes. If they won’t be the one to get credit, they will let others do the work.
I want to start replying to such things with something like, “No Kings 3 had over 7 million people saying no to corruption. No single participant made that happen, but if it had been only 7 people it wouldn’t have mattered. It brought the coalition together but also was too big to target for retribution, unlike an individual. Being one of a million voters does matter.”
But I am not great at messaging. So I am working on it. We have our primary election in California ending in a few days, so it is relevant to me right now.
Here’s a super easy way to improve their D brand stop shitting on them and most of groups that choose to pick one thing to bash Ds with over and over need to be ignored. Every year the same group picks something that Ds just have to pick or they won’t vote for them. First it was climate change, then student loans, then Gaza, now it’s letting AIPAC breathe on them as if that PAC is only one the matters. We’re supposed to a big tent, you all get to complain but you don’t get to say your cause is the only one that matters. Democrats have been doing most of the things in that list already, the only thing is no one is acknowledging how tilted the playing field really is. We don’t have a Fox News pumping up our messaging and the MSM goes out of its way to make Ds look either feckless or corrupt while normalizing Rs. What we do have control over is ourselves and we can choose to talk about how Ds do make life better - we’ve passed legislation making healthcare more affordable- Rs undid it. We’ve passed laws protecting the environment- Rs work to take it apart. Go look for the positive (it will be worked be because MSM has trained you not to) and talk about it.
Absolutely correct.
It is infuriating.
Even happens in the comments on Hopium I am afraid.
I say YES(!!!) to the Democratic Party, warts and all. But if there is no self reflection, if "that thing" stays ignored... then it can be a slippery slope.
Simon talks about the possibility of a new birth of freedom... it won't happen if the warts are always getting shoved under the rug.
BTW, Technically AIPAC is not a PAC, i.e. political action committee. It's a "public affairs committee" which is a dodge so it doesn't need to follow PAC requirements. It's insidious. It has outsized influence on both parties. It's by no means a reason to stay home from the election. But it's a problem that should not be shoved under the rug.
There is no equivalency. The GOP has abandoned democracy and the constitution. They are traitors to the Republic. But without self-reflection, without wrestling with the warts, that "more perfect union" will remain a pipe dream.
I repeat... 5% in house 95% beat MAGA
I recently became aware of a group called The States Project which sounds very worthy of support. I haven't checked it out carefully yet but it certainly makes a lot of sense and sounds important.
Howard Dean had rolled out the 50-state strategy when he was DNC chair and I was so excited! After Obama won Obama dismantled it and we’re just now putting it back together. Their heart is often in the right place but the Dems need to work on execution. I hate to get my hopes up again, but I am sadly, a forever pragmatic optimist!
I remember Dean's DLC sold $50 "Democracy Bonds" to raise money for it and get the D grassroots behind it. Seemed like a great plan and a great program.
I didn’t know about the “democracy bonds” — interesting way to promote it!
Yep. Big Deaniac here. They shoulda left it the way it was. BIG F mistake.
When I first started paying attention to politics, I knew nothing and I didn't know Howard Dean. I didn't understand why so many people believed in him. After all, John Kerry was running. Then the scream happened. I shrugged and thought "the scream" was weird. It made Howard Dean look crazy which I hadn't really thought until the media went on and on about it. Yup, I totally bought into that narrative. Later, I came to understand how important the 50 State Strategy was and what a mistake, in my opinion, it was to abandon it. I realized how important and forward thinking Howard Dean was back then.
If the DNC had operated like a reasonably competent college athletic department, they would have treated him like a star football or basketball coach and given him a long-term contract. He might be approaching his third decade as DNC char and a lot of the heartache we've suffered the last decade would never have happened.
If memory serves me right, Rahm Emanuel was one of the people who had it in for Dean. Just another reason why I'm looking forward to Emanuel's humiliation if he's dumb enough to think people want him to be our presidential candidate.
I didn’t remember that it was Rahm who had it in for Dean! I’ve always deeply disliked him and never trusted him. I want to gag when I see his name float up from time to time for president.
I like your analogy about the football coach. Dean always seemed like a decent man to me who wanted the best for the party and the country!
Imagine after all this, maybe Fart Face really does “drain the swamp,” unintentionally of course :-)
Love the "double entendre" of "damn" in this context (i.e. "the damn is breaking"), Simon ;) Two significant defections in the last week or two that some may have been missed:
* Ivan Raiklin, his self-styled "Secretary of Retribution," with Trump's doing Massie dirty apparently his final straw: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-revenge-secretary-turns-against-140947710.html?guccounter=1
* Brian Morrissey, his top lawyer at Treasury, and a former clerk for *Clarence Thomas,* who quit as the administration announced its slush fund + tax immunity "settlement" with Trump: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/treasury-lawyer-quits-as-government-settles-trump-irs-suit-0658a44a
Made calls to TX senators exhorting them to “go to war” with the administration over Iran war, the slush fund, and ICE without reform. Perhaps a touch over the top, but they need to fight harder. Little cracks getting bigger.
Re the "Democrat autopsy," I live in a conservative county in Kentucky that's a suburb of Lexington. (Lexington is a blue city in a red state). The autopsy talked about the importance of competing in state and local races. I wanted to report that in the recent primary, as a Democrat I had only two races on my ballot, on for US House and one for US Senate. There were zero local races on the Democrat ballot for the county adjacent to a blue county. Out of something like 10 local races, there were no Democrats running. I would bet that's true for most of the state, as well as too many southern red states.
I know we want to beat them without becoming them; however, a true evaluation of 2024 would include how MAGA won. One big difference is that Republicans never gave up on Trump and campaigned for his win in 2024 right after his loss in November 2020. The signs and flags and billboards never came down, the right-wing propaganda never stopped. MAGA never gave up and showed the "will to win" and to do whatever it took. On the other hand, even great candidates that would have made exceptional presidents such as Hillary and Kamala are dumped as losers. All I hear is Kamala did not distance herself from Biden. 1) Why would you distance yourself from one of the most successful administrations in history? 2) After you win the presidency, you cannot "distance" yourself, you can only defend your record or quit.
Sure, anti-MAGA forces have no kings protests, which is good. We are effective at fighting against Trump. But who are you for? I don't see any Kamala 2028 signs. I'm for Kamala but if it is someone else, that is fine by me as long as they have the experience and chops to be an effective president. Perhaps, get behind a few real contenders. But to go silent and think a field of 10 or more, mostly also rans, competing in a primary starting in spring 2028 will yield a winning candidate is delusional.