In the email version of the post I misspelled Charlie Dingman's last name. It has been corrected in the on line version on the Hopium site, and I apologize to the good Chair!
Great interview. For me, when I learned last year how under-funded state parties have been, funding the states’ Democratic party infrastructure was easy to get excited about. I’m glad we’ve been doing this.
Me too. We are woefully underfunded here in NJ as we are everywhere, and it makes a difference in ability to respond to details at local level and build for the long-term. So glad Chair Martin is on the case.
Janet Mills has been a good governor for Maine, but she's going to be 79 years old on January 3, 2027. That's not a disqualification in itself, but she may face the same problem Barbara Lee faced in California in 2024 running against Adam Schiff and Katie Porter: Good candidates who are also younger.
Personally, I'm leaning toward Graham Platner. But still, Mills' entry shows that the Democrats aren't having any problem getting high-profile candidates to challenge for seats, and that's a good development.
I have to say I agree. I'm generally predisposed to support women candidates because women are still underrepresented in government. Also, I believe that Gov. Mills has done a good job standing up to Trump. But as a senior citizen myself, I do think she's too old. Senators serve six year terms. Graham Platner is young enough to hold the Senate seat for several terms and he seems to be appealing to a younger group. He has a unique way of reaching out to more conservative voters. It's up to the Democrats in Maine, but I'd like to see my generation make way.
Catherine, there's a sense that I want younger energy and those who need $$$ in charge. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm sick of senior citizens representing so many when that's not who makes up the average-aged citizen. At a certain point, take the lesson from President Washington-go sit under the vine and fig tree...
Agree that Janet Mills should not run for that seat. And the DNC needs to stop getting so "preferential" for candidates like her. Yes, she's been an excellent governor. But Tim, Catherine, Lauren are all correct: we need younger blood in that particular race. She'd be 83 or 84 when done with her first term!
To be clear Dan raises the question of the role of the DSCC, the Senate campaign arm, not the DNC. The DNC would not get involved in something like this.
I'm looking forward to watching the interview. I am spoiled, coming from Minnesota, where Ken Martin led the party; I had always assumed other states were the same. That Maine primary is going to be quite interesting.
I have a monthly donation set up to the Audacious Fund. If I could wish one philosophy on our movement it would be what Simon just said: "audacious....but necessary."
And yes, our side needs to be very careful about disinformation, and also to take a step back and understand the complexity of a situation. I am saying this as much as a reminder to myself as to anyone else. But it strikes me that there were ostensible progressives who were willing to give over our country to authoritarianism over Biden's support for Israel, and now are criticizing what a Nobel Peace Prize winner does to save her country from the same. Always ask: Who does the story serve? Who does it serve to reject the people fighting against authoritarianism in their countries?
It's refreshing to see the party at the state level making investments in local work. Since Clinton the party has pulled away from local organizing and the loss of those local voices is one of the things that has made the Dems' messaging so tone-deaf and morally empty. Go Charlie & Company!
well, salon has a piece by andrew o heir that is not flattering to either her or the nobel committee; you can't argue that o heir is a leftist tool; i've had my differences with him, but he is a legit journalist. but as was once said by someone somewhere, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.....
I looked up the Salon piece and found it too glib. The writer wants to say giving the award to Machado was somehow all about bending the knee to Trump. I don’t buy that. Of course, Zelenskyy has had to be polite to Trump, even though in his head, I suspect his thoughts run in a different direction. I don’t really see how Machado being polite to Trump differs all that much—a question of expediency. I am not knowledgeable about all this—just wasn’t persuaded by the Salon argument.
well, its like this, i once considered tim miller, rick wilson, and bill kristol my sworn enemies....but we are all in this together against trump now, and so there's that
Thank you Gerri, and I'd like to voice my agreement with you and with our wonderful Simon Rosenberg -- who as always makes his points with diplomacy and restraint. What is it that people in our privileged bubble fail to understand about the enemy of our enemy being our friend? The heroic María Corina Machado and her allies are in a desperate struggle for democracy and against a vicious Putin-loving dictator. Many of her allies have already paid a high price for their commitments and valor, and she is at ongoing risk herself. With apologies for a mixed metaphor: If those who criticize Corina Machado for accepting support from Trump were in her shoes, they'd be talking out of the other side of their mouths.
gave to audacious fund again. we cant lose maine to repubs! cant lose another state! and well, floriduh. havent heard about david jolly in a while now.
Thanks for the focus on Maine. State elections are the key to national leadership. Access to early voting is the life of participation and Nov 2025 referendum must be defeated. A vibrant primary will demonstrate healthy democracy with five new energy candidates and an ol’ faithful servant in the run. All good candidates with hard choices to discern the best overall. Im all in for Jordan Wood and know I can support any of the others. Rank choice voting will be a factor. Whoever wins the challenge against Complicit Collins begins now!
Excellent interview with Maine chair, thanks. I admire his statement that the state party will stay “scrupulously neutral” in the primary. Equally, the party must support whoever emerges from a competitive primary, unlike what happened in NYC when Mamdani won. All praise to the increasingly impressive Kathy Hochul for endorsing Mamdani.
Sharing a link to Dan Pfeiffer’s post today about the national Democrats and Janet Mills. She’s a totally admirable bad ass, but she is really old.
Thanks for the update Simon. And a big Thank You !!! to the audacious anonymous $50K donors. every little bit helps, but its great to get that kind of infusion and see that kind of commitment from those with more means.
Have a nice Sunday everyone. Rest and recharge, for tomorrow is another week.
Simon, I shared the entry on Facebook about Machado simply to express my confusion. Confusion, means: I'm looking for a deeper understanding of why she feels that Trump can be of assistance to undo Banduro. The crisis we are in forces all of us to grow beyond who we are today, to clean our lenses and/or replace them with better ones that correct our myopia. That's what I am trying to do for it's our only way to build a stronger foundation for our democracy.
So, could you please bring the speaker back in who could explain more in depth why Machado's reach to Trump makes perfect sense? Or, could you share some resources that can describe the current situation in Venezuela. I'll start looking too.
My liberal self is going through many shockwaves recently, including this one: Does it take a scoundrel like Trump to convince another scoundrel like Banduro to bring democracy to Venezuela? Does it take a scoundrel like Trump to convince a scoundrel like Netanyahu to cease fire in Gaza? Scoundrel + Scoundrel = more effectives strategy to bring peace than liberals standing up against scoundrels?
I'm confused, yes. Naive too, I'm sure. But my heart is open to learn because I want to contribute to peace. Hope I'm making at least a little bit of sense. Thanks for listening.
The resources I've shared so far: 1) an interview with one of the leading English speaking Latin American journalists and intellectuals 2) his WaPo op-ed 3) links and quotes from the Nobel Committee on why they choose her 4) A major NYT on her, with a gift link 5) a New Yorker article on what is happening to the besieged emigre communities in South Florida 6) Lots of data about the movement of Hispanic voters away from Trump due to his policies
More will come but these posts over the past few days have been an effort to inform on a complicated issue now at the forefront of our politics. I would also say that the recent interview with Adam Smith talks about Trump's shifting of the Pentagon's focus from Europe and Asia to the Americas which is related to everything happening here. Thanks for weighing in Bea and let's keep learning, together - Simon
Russia has really played the long game in Venezuela. I remember years ago my family visited to attend one of my cousin's weddings. My uncle is an engineer and took us on a tour of the steel plant where he was doing support work. My dad was so impressed that he wanted to invest in it -- my mom shot him a look of horror and that was the end of that. And it was a good thing, because the following year the Russians bought the plant. Venezuela is chock full of mineral wealth, and China and Russia have taken full advantage of their corrupt government to steal the wealth from the country and ship it to their own coffers. One thing they probably didn't fully appreciate was how incompetent and stupid Maduro is. He nationalized all the industries and fired anyone who refused to pledge loyalty (sound familiar?). He then appointed stooges to the petrol companies, and production ground to a halt. (Citgo is owned by the Venezuelan government, so if you have a choice, don't go there!)
Maduro's wife is from a prominent narco-trafficking family, and in 2015, two of her nephews were arrested while trying to bring 800 kilos of cocaine into the US. The family has gorged itself on drug money and live like kings while ordinary citizens turn to crime and rooting through the trash to support their families.
As I've said before, I don't know anything about Maria Corina Machado's opinions about Trump, but I know a bit about Venezuelan history and what life is like under the regime, and I'm glad to have the chance to talk about it. I hope that public attention brings some change.
o
Thanks, Simon. Lots of good info.
In the email version of the post I misspelled Charlie Dingman's last name. It has been corrected in the on line version on the Hopium site, and I apologize to the good Chair!
Hello everyone,
Just wrote this "pro-vaccine PSA," created with the help of the unlikeliest of sources: https://davidsalzillo.substack.com/p/a-pro-vaccine-psa.
Feel free to check it out. It's short and sweet, and I would love to get your feedback on it. Thanks so much!
Great interview. For me, when I learned last year how under-funded state parties have been, funding the states’ Democratic party infrastructure was easy to get excited about. I’m glad we’ve been doing this.
Me too. We are woefully underfunded here in NJ as we are everywhere, and it makes a difference in ability to respond to details at local level and build for the long-term. So glad Chair Martin is on the case.
Janet Mills has been a good governor for Maine, but she's going to be 79 years old on January 3, 2027. That's not a disqualification in itself, but she may face the same problem Barbara Lee faced in California in 2024 running against Adam Schiff and Katie Porter: Good candidates who are also younger.
Personally, I'm leaning toward Graham Platner. But still, Mills' entry shows that the Democrats aren't having any problem getting high-profile candidates to challenge for seats, and that's a good development.
I have to say I agree. I'm generally predisposed to support women candidates because women are still underrepresented in government. Also, I believe that Gov. Mills has done a good job standing up to Trump. But as a senior citizen myself, I do think she's too old. Senators serve six year terms. Graham Platner is young enough to hold the Senate seat for several terms and he seems to be appealing to a younger group. He has a unique way of reaching out to more conservative voters. It's up to the Democrats in Maine, but I'd like to see my generation make way.
Catherine, there's a sense that I want younger energy and those who need $$$ in charge. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm sick of senior citizens representing so many when that's not who makes up the average-aged citizen. At a certain point, take the lesson from President Washington-go sit under the vine and fig tree...
Today's Messge Box also raises the issue of Mills' age and the appropriate roll of the DNC
https://www.messageboxnews.com/p/are-democrats-about-to-blow-it-in
Agree that Janet Mills should not run for that seat. And the DNC needs to stop getting so "preferential" for candidates like her. Yes, she's been an excellent governor. But Tim, Catherine, Lauren are all correct: we need younger blood in that particular race. She'd be 83 or 84 when done with her first term!
To be clear Dan raises the question of the role of the DSCC, the Senate campaign arm, not the DNC. The DNC would not get involved in something like this.
I'm looking forward to watching the interview. I am spoiled, coming from Minnesota, where Ken Martin led the party; I had always assumed other states were the same. That Maine primary is going to be quite interesting.
I have a monthly donation set up to the Audacious Fund. If I could wish one philosophy on our movement it would be what Simon just said: "audacious....but necessary."
And yes, our side needs to be very careful about disinformation, and also to take a step back and understand the complexity of a situation. I am saying this as much as a reminder to myself as to anyone else. But it strikes me that there were ostensible progressives who were willing to give over our country to authoritarianism over Biden's support for Israel, and now are criticizing what a Nobel Peace Prize winner does to save her country from the same. Always ask: Who does the story serve? Who does it serve to reject the people fighting against authoritarianism in their countries?
Such a good point!
Agree with every word. It is our strength to be thoughtful, not reactionary. Maria Machado is in hiding and under constant threat of death.
It's refreshing to see the party at the state level making investments in local work. Since Clinton the party has pulled away from local organizing and the loss of those local voices is one of the things that has made the Dems' messaging so tone-deaf and morally empty. Go Charlie & Company!
yes, we can't be so "pure" as to say Machado can't take help from whomever will help her get rid of a despot. Just like we made alliances in WWII
well, salon has a piece by andrew o heir that is not flattering to either her or the nobel committee; you can't argue that o heir is a leftist tool; i've had my differences with him, but he is a legit journalist. but as was once said by someone somewhere, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.....
I looked up the Salon piece and found it too glib. The writer wants to say giving the award to Machado was somehow all about bending the knee to Trump. I don’t buy that. Of course, Zelenskyy has had to be polite to Trump, even though in his head, I suspect his thoughts run in a different direction. I don’t really see how Machado being polite to Trump differs all that much—a question of expediency. I am not knowledgeable about all this—just wasn’t persuaded by the Salon argument.
well, its like this, i once considered tim miller, rick wilson, and bill kristol my sworn enemies....but we are all in this together against trump now, and so there's that
Thank you Gerri, and I'd like to voice my agreement with you and with our wonderful Simon Rosenberg -- who as always makes his points with diplomacy and restraint. What is it that people in our privileged bubble fail to understand about the enemy of our enemy being our friend? The heroic María Corina Machado and her allies are in a desperate struggle for democracy and against a vicious Putin-loving dictator. Many of her allies have already paid a high price for their commitments and valor, and she is at ongoing risk herself. With apologies for a mixed metaphor: If those who criticize Corina Machado for accepting support from Trump were in her shoes, they'd be talking out of the other side of their mouths.
gave to audacious fund again. we cant lose maine to repubs! cant lose another state! and well, floriduh. havent heard about david jolly in a while now.
Thanks for the focus on Maine. State elections are the key to national leadership. Access to early voting is the life of participation and Nov 2025 referendum must be defeated. A vibrant primary will demonstrate healthy democracy with five new energy candidates and an ol’ faithful servant in the run. All good candidates with hard choices to discern the best overall. Im all in for Jordan Wood and know I can support any of the others. Rank choice voting will be a factor. Whoever wins the challenge against Complicit Collins begins now!
Fantastic effort!!! 🤞
Excellent interview with Maine chair, thanks. I admire his statement that the state party will stay “scrupulously neutral” in the primary. Equally, the party must support whoever emerges from a competitive primary, unlike what happened in NYC when Mamdani won. All praise to the increasingly impressive Kathy Hochul for endorsing Mamdani.
Sharing a link to Dan Pfeiffer’s post today about the national Democrats and Janet Mills. She’s a totally admirable bad ass, but she is really old.
https://open.substack.com/pub/messagebox/p/are-democrats-about-to-blow-it-in?r=366pw4&utm_medium=ios
Friend due over in 30 minutes to knock out postcards for Mikie Sherrill.
thank you!
Thanks for the update Simon. And a big Thank You !!! to the audacious anonymous $50K donors. every little bit helps, but its great to get that kind of infusion and see that kind of commitment from those with more means.
Have a nice Sunday everyone. Rest and recharge, for tomorrow is another week.
I second that thank you to the big donors!
Simon, I shared the entry on Facebook about Machado simply to express my confusion. Confusion, means: I'm looking for a deeper understanding of why she feels that Trump can be of assistance to undo Banduro. The crisis we are in forces all of us to grow beyond who we are today, to clean our lenses and/or replace them with better ones that correct our myopia. That's what I am trying to do for it's our only way to build a stronger foundation for our democracy.
So, could you please bring the speaker back in who could explain more in depth why Machado's reach to Trump makes perfect sense? Or, could you share some resources that can describe the current situation in Venezuela. I'll start looking too.
My liberal self is going through many shockwaves recently, including this one: Does it take a scoundrel like Trump to convince another scoundrel like Banduro to bring democracy to Venezuela? Does it take a scoundrel like Trump to convince a scoundrel like Netanyahu to cease fire in Gaza? Scoundrel + Scoundrel = more effectives strategy to bring peace than liberals standing up against scoundrels?
I'm confused, yes. Naive too, I'm sure. But my heart is open to learn because I want to contribute to peace. Hope I'm making at least a little bit of sense. Thanks for listening.
The resources I've shared so far: 1) an interview with one of the leading English speaking Latin American journalists and intellectuals 2) his WaPo op-ed 3) links and quotes from the Nobel Committee on why they choose her 4) A major NYT on her, with a gift link 5) a New Yorker article on what is happening to the besieged emigre communities in South Florida 6) Lots of data about the movement of Hispanic voters away from Trump due to his policies
More will come but these posts over the past few days have been an effort to inform on a complicated issue now at the forefront of our politics. I would also say that the recent interview with Adam Smith talks about Trump's shifting of the Pentagon's focus from Europe and Asia to the Americas which is related to everything happening here. Thanks for weighing in Bea and let's keep learning, together - Simon
Russia has really played the long game in Venezuela. I remember years ago my family visited to attend one of my cousin's weddings. My uncle is an engineer and took us on a tour of the steel plant where he was doing support work. My dad was so impressed that he wanted to invest in it -- my mom shot him a look of horror and that was the end of that. And it was a good thing, because the following year the Russians bought the plant. Venezuela is chock full of mineral wealth, and China and Russia have taken full advantage of their corrupt government to steal the wealth from the country and ship it to their own coffers. One thing they probably didn't fully appreciate was how incompetent and stupid Maduro is. He nationalized all the industries and fired anyone who refused to pledge loyalty (sound familiar?). He then appointed stooges to the petrol companies, and production ground to a halt. (Citgo is owned by the Venezuelan government, so if you have a choice, don't go there!)
Maduro's wife is from a prominent narco-trafficking family, and in 2015, two of her nephews were arrested while trying to bring 800 kilos of cocaine into the US. The family has gorged itself on drug money and live like kings while ordinary citizens turn to crime and rooting through the trash to support their families.
As I've said before, I don't know anything about Maria Corina Machado's opinions about Trump, but I know a bit about Venezuelan history and what life is like under the regime, and I'm glad to have the chance to talk about it. I hope that public attention brings some change.