Some Early Thoughts On What Comes Next After The Big Ugly Bill

Tara McGowan Joins Us Live Wed at 1230pm ET/Hopium Paid Subscribers Gather Wed at 7pm

Morning all. What now? Got a few early thoughts for you today, some new events and a new podcast….

New Discussions, New Pod With Greg Sargent Of The New Republic - sat down late Friday afternoon with Greg Sargent of the New Republic for his terrific daily podcast. Was my first extended conversation about what comes now after the big ugly bill. Get to it when you have the time. It’s a good one, and audio only, no video.

For more conversations this week about what comes next the great Tara McGowan joins us live Wednesday at 1230pm ET, our paid subscribers gather Wednesday night at 7pm and Founding Members 1pm ET on Friday. We will also be sharing at least two new recorded conversations with those on the frontlines and remember you can find always find my Hopium hosted interviews on the site under Podcast and on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify too.

Trump Now Has To Take His Agenda And Pass A Budget Through Congress - Trump and Republicans now have to take the big ugly bill and his other actions - gutting of NOAA, HHS/NIH, FAA, etc - and turn it all into an annual federal appropriation for the fiscal year that begins October 1st. So all of this ugliness will now have to move from notional and/or slash to a line item Congressional appropriation and then voted on all over again at some point before the end of the year. It’s going to force Republicans to now reckon with what they’ve done, and then vote on it all over again. It is not going to be an easy process for them; and we will get another opportunity to challenge vulnerable Rs who will once again be voting on things that are doing to do material harm to their constituents. Will be a backdrop to everything that happens this fall.

State and Local Governments Are Going To Start Discussing What The Big Ugly Means For Them - The incredible tragedy in Texas these past few days has begun a national debate about what the new Trump agenda of sabotage, plunder and betrayal really means states and localities across the country. How will communities deal with a gutted NOAA, FAA, FEMA, HHS, DHS intel sharing on threats? How to take care of people given the draconian cuts in health care and food assistance, some of which kick in this year? What does a roided up ICE mean for businesses, schools and families? How best to manage the higher costs tariffs are bringing to businesses and the residents of the states?

These debates will be happening in red and blue state and local governments. They are going to be hard and contentious as state and local governments have to grapple with how to respond to the US government just walking away from what have been core Federal responsibilities for decades with no transition plan. That the immediate reaction of the Texas Emergency Management chief was to blame Trump and a gutted NOAA for the death of dozens of Texans is a sign of the incredibly hard debates to come. Note this Facebook post from the long time trusted meteorologist at Austin, Texas TV station KXAN. The debate about Trump’s “more for me, less for you” LET THEM CAKE agenda and its impact on the states is already here.

The Tariff Shitshow Continues - From Semafor this morning:

US President Donald Trump made fresh tariff threats against major trading partners even as his Treasury secretary suggested extending a pause on the levies. The sharply diverging remarks encapsulated the White House’s headspinning trade policy: Trump threatened to impose a 10% duty on countries aligned with the BRICS bloc following a weekend summit, while Scott Bessent voiced openness to continuing trade negotiations beyond Wednesday, when a reprieve on Washington’s “Liberation Day” duties expires. Global stock markets fell amid the uncertainty. The White House’s rhetoric has become more circumspect recently: The administration predicted it would reach 90 trade deals during its 90-day tariff suspension, but is now targeting a handful of agreements while postponing the most vexing issues.

I remain convinced that Job One for us in the coming months is to continue to make the case against Trump’s economic agenda, one that is slowing the economy, creating global chaos, raising prices, stripping workers from businesses across the US, weakening the dollar, vaporizing our global scientific leadership, wrecking our health care system, slowing our energy transition, and endangering the financial integrity of the United States. Our engagement with him now has to be on his whole wrecking ball agenda, not just the big ugly.

Trump = sabotage, plunder and betrayal.

Trump’s Long Alliance With Putin Is Not OK, And We All Need To Say So - In a new Atlantic column, The US Is Switching Sides, Anne Applebaum writes:

The American president wrote, “Vladimir, STOP!” on his Truth Social account in April, but the Russian president did not halt his offensive in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian president called for an unconditional cease-fire in May, but the Russians did not agree to stop attacking Ukrainian civilians from the air. Donald Trump repeatedly promised, during his campaign, that he would end the war “in one day,” but the war is not over. He spoke to Vladimir Putin yesterday, and Putin responded with more drones and missiles than ever before. This morning, parts of Kyiv are burning.

The invasion of Ukraine does not merely continue. It accelerates. Almost every night, the Russians destroy more of Ukraine from the air: apartment buildings, factories, infrastructure, and people. On the ground, Ukraine’s top commander has said that the Russians are preparing a new summer offensive, with 695,000 troops spread across the front line.

Russian soldiers also continue to be wounded or killed at extraordinary rates, with between 35,000 and 45,000 casualties every month, while billions of dollars’ worth of Russian equipment are destroyed every week by Ukrainian drones. The Russian economy suffers from high inflation and is heading for a recession. But Putin is not looking for a cease-fire, and he does not want to negotiate. Why? Because he believes that he can win. Thanks to the actions of the U.S. government, he still thinks that he can conquer all of Ukraine.

Putin sees what everyone else sees: Slowly, the U.S. is switching sides. True, Trump occasionally berates Putin, or makes sympathetic noises toward Ukrainians, as he did last week when he seemed to express interest in a Ukrainian journalist who said that her husband was in the military. Trump also appeared to enjoy being flattered at the NATO summit, where European leaders made a decision, hailed as historic, to further raise defense spending. But thanks to quieter decisions by members of his own administration, people whom he has appointed, the American realignment with Russia and against Ukraine and Europe is gathering pace—not merely in rhetoric but in reality.

Yes, we in the pro-democracy movement must force a serious debate in the coming days about Trump’s ongoing dangerous fealty to Putin and whether the American people think it is a good idea for America and young Americans to go to war with Putin against both Ukraine and our traditional European allies. The big conversation about Trump selling out America to Putin is long overdue, and it needs to happen now. America is weaker and more vulnerable to an outside attack than we’ve been in many generations, and it is time for us to go on offense here.

For more on this topic be sure to watch/listen to my recent discussion with Anne Applebaum. It’s one of the best and most popular discussions we’ve ever done at Hopium.

What Is Trump Going To Do These Next 16 Months? - He needs the daily bread and circuses to distract while he betrays us all. There won’t be a lot of legislating. Global leaders hate him and he hates global gatherings. His poll numbers are likely to remain far too low for their comfort. More Wag The Dog? Military adventures abroad? Migrant hunger games here at home? Start arresting his domestic opponents?

Seriously, what is Trump going to do these next 16 months? How does he regain his STRENGTH and BE STRONG, how does he get his “WINS”?

Those are some initial thoughts. Interested to hear from you. What else should we be thinking about? Share good articles or podcasts in the chat, and now let’s get to work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s Get To Work

Support Hopium’s Priority Candidates - Friends, you all rallied these last few days. We hit our $25,000 goal for our newly endorsed Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Senator Jon Ossoff - thank you! Our revised fundraising goals are for Labor Day, remarkably, only two months away, with the November elections now only four months away. We can do this people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Mikie Sherrill NJ Gov - $200,000 goal, $32k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch Our Interview

• Abigail Spanberger VA Gov - $250,000 goal, $148k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch Our Interview

• Jon Ossoff GA Senate - $200,000 goal, $30k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer

• Hopium House 7 - $250,000 goal, $156k raised - Donate | Learn More, Volunteer, Watch Our Interviews

We also have ongoing campaigns to support the new DNC, the Anderson Clayton and the North Carolina Democratic Party and to thank Senator Cory Booker for his spirited leadership in a time of enormous challenge. Lots of choices - do something to support these great candidates and parties today!

I am grateful to all of you who fought so hard against the Trump’s terrible bill. We worked hard peeps. It was righteous and good work. As I said to you in my latest video we need to learn from these last few months and continue to get better, stronger, more powerful. For while we are making progress we are clearly not where we need to be.

In the coming days as I reflect on what just happened, and listen to all of you, we will be reworking and updating our collective summer and fall actions. Here is what we have now, with more to come, soon:

1 - Get The Military Off Our Streets, Fight Trump’s Inhumane Immigration Escalation - Contact your Rep and Senators to demand they fight Trump’s illegal use of the National Guard and Marines in California. Encourage Democrats at all levels of government to a stand with Governor Newsom and the California - for Trump is not just attacking California, he is attacking the rights and freedoms of all of us. See my recent interviews with Joe Garcia, Leon Krauze and Senator Chris Van Hollen for more.

In the coming days I want to work with all of you to do something more explicit about demanding the end of masked, plain clothes “police” snatching people here in America without warrants.

2 - Join Our Resolutions Project - Inspired by the tactics of our Founders, learn about how Hopium members are advancing “resolutions of condemnation” in their communities across the country and consider bringing this initiative to your state, country or city/town. Our resolutions passed in two New Mexico counties last week, and we now have 40 resolutions moving in 14 states. Amazing stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3 -Volunteer To Help Your State and/or Local Democratic Parties Stand Up Voter Registration Efforts - In the presentation he made to our community recently Tom Bonier made a persuasive case that Democrats must once again make partisan voter registration a national priority. State and local Democratic Parties are in the planning stages to take this on. Members of our community should consider contacting their state and local parties and offer to help stand up these vital efforts in the coming months.

For more on the need to make partisan voter registration great again see my recent interview with Jane Kleeb, Nebraska Democratic Party Chair, DNC Vice Chair and President of the Association of Democratic State Committees.

Last Monday the DNC, the DSCC, the DCCC, the DGA and the ASDC announced a major new “Organizing Summer” project. Learn more about it here. I hope to have someone join us in the coming days to help us understand how we can support this exciting new initiative. Organizing to win these 29 Republican held House districts will be one of most important collective priorities for the next 16 months:

4 - Stand Up For Science - Sign on to the critically important Bethesda Declaration and watch my interview with Stand Up For Science’s Executive Director Colette Delawalla. Signing on to the Declaration is one concrete way you can take action today. Another is to back over 700 employees of the EPA who have taken a courageous stand challenging EPA Administration Lee Zeldin this week. You can learn more and sign your name in support of this remarkable effort here.

Please self-report your activities to our daily paid subscriber chat. These reports help inspire all of us to do more and fight harder! Been impressive to see how many of you remain involved in local, in person protests of all kinds in your communities. Keep it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grow Hopium - We’ve set a goal of trying to grow the Hopium community from the 152,000 we are now to 175,000 by Labor Day. Do what you can to encourage your friends, family and colleagues to become a summer subscriber to Hopium, free or paid. If each current paid subscriber brings in just one new subscriber this summer we will hit our goal.

To encourage the growth of our community annual paid subscriptions are 10% off through Labor Day. Use that link to buy gift or group subscriptions, and join our new referral rewards program too.

Keep working hard all. Proud to be in this fight with all of you, and a fight it surely is - Simon