Republicans Debate, and Get Arrested

Some Hopium Housekeeping/Subscription Drive Through Labor Day

Friends,

I watched the first GOP debate last night. Yes, the whole thing. Some takeaways:

• DeSantis just doesn’t have it.

• Vivek is a force, but has a series of way out there, disqualifying extremist positions - pro-Russia, climate denialism, pardon Trump, etc. Folks aren’t looking for a revolution right now - they want to get back to their lives post-COVID, and make things better. Think he’s more of a curiosity than a serious candidate, but we will see. Tim Scott mailed it in, and had a bad night. Haley had some good moments but still feels too small for this field.

• Doubt any of these candidates are strong enough to beat Trump. The fighting, attacks, Trump, Jan 6th all together had an ugliness to it that is a big problem for Rs. So much ugliness, vitriol, anger on the right - it’s deeply unappealing (more on that here).

• GOP narrative about Bidenomics is just too partisan, too overamped. They will have to acknowledge some of the good he’s done to get heard by swing voters. In general, their economic discourse feels very cartoonish, in part because their economic track record over the past generation has been among the worst in American history.

• Their collective struggle to talk about climate change and abortion was remarkable, and a big problem. Their ongoing attacks on “Biden’s war on energy” continue to be among the most ridiculous, fact-free memes of 2023.

• Fox allowed the crowd to play too big a role, and it undermined what was a well-moderated debate (for Fox).

But the big GOP story this week isn’t their debate, it’s what’s happening in Georgia. The party that tried to overthrow a Presidential election and end American democracy is finally being held to account:

Paid Subscriber Drive Through Labor Day - 200 New Paid Subscribers, 100 More To Go - Together we’ve brought in 200 new paid subscribers in the past few weeks and need 100 more to hit our Labor Day goal. Thanks to everyone who has reached out to friends, and thanks to all of of our new paid subscribers!

The 10% discount off annual paid membership is in effect through Labor Day - sign up today, keep encouraging others to do so. The money raised will be used to improve the Hopium experience and expand our content offerings. Keep working it peeps!

I am taking some time off, posting will be a bit lighter through Labor Day - I will be posting a bit less through Labor Day, but I’ve left our community with lots to chew on if you are needing some more Hopium:

• My new monthly political briefing, recorded Tuesday

• A new With Democrats Things Better

• New, terrific Biden campaign ads to watch

• Links to my recent postings, analysis

• Our community share of what folks are doing to protect our democracy, keep winning elections

There may even be a surprise post or two while I am away!

Keep working hard all. Having so much fun here with all of you - Simon