Supporting Aftyn Behn And Flipping The House, Trump And The GOP Are Melting Down, Gov. Beshear On Aspiration And Winning Back Rural Voters

Rep. Aftyn Behn is joining us live at 2pm ET today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Morning all. Got a few things for you today:

Support Aftyn Behn, 4 More To Help Flip The House - Our campaign to help Rep. Aftyn Behn in TN-07 raised $15,000 in the last twenty four hours! Well done everyone. We have $10,000 more to raise before Friday. Contribute whatever you can. It all counts everyone!

We will be interviewing Rep. Behn live today at 2pm EST. Click here to join, and feel free to share this link with others you think might want to meet her. For those who can’t make it live we will be sending out a recording later this afternoon. Exciting afternoon ahead!

If you are in the mood also consider supporting our new Winning The House campaign that’s backing four top challenges in must win Republican held seats. Head here to see interviews with two of our initial candidates, Christina Bohannan (IA-01), and Jo Mendoza (AZ-06). We will be sharing interviews with Janelle Stelson (PA-10) and Paige Cognetti (PA-08) in the coming days. It’s a great crew worthy of your interest and support!

Gov. Andy Beshear On Winning In Red States And Red Places - Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has a terrific new op-ed in the Washington Post, This slap in the face to rural America is a chance to turn it blue (gift link). It echoes many of the themes we’ve discussing here of late. An excerpt:

Tackling affordability is not enough. To truly lead again, Democrats must be the party of aspiration.

When I look at our country, what worries me is the widespread belief that the American Dream is unattainable, even dead. This is the same American Dream — the promise that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can get ahead — that has inspired generations and lifted America to great heights.

This concern transcends party lines. Families know how much their grocery and utility bills have gone up, and how unaffordable rent or the mortgage is getting. But they also know that the vacation they took as children has slipped out of reach.

Democrats should be the party that will make it possible to build a better life — one in which you’re not just making ends meet but setting your family up for long-term success.

Trump has given Democrats a huge opening. He is making it so much harder for people to even get by. During the government shutdown, he was willing to use the hunger of Americans — including children and seniors — as a bargaining chip. It was cruel and wrong, and, importantly, it backfired. His One Big Ugly Bill will kick 17 million Americans, including 200,000 Kentuckians, off their health care and threatens to close 35 rural hospitals in the state, and 338 nationwide. His tariffs are jacking up prices across the board — for no reason.

Let’s look at that ugly bill, the worst bill I’ve seen in my lifetime. It’s a slap in the face to rural America. Rural maternal health centers will be forced to close, which means that women will have to drive hours to give birth. Workforce productivity will drop as people who used to be able to see a specialist in their community are forced to travel, at the cost of a day’s work, for an appointment. In Kentucky alone, Trump’s bill could translate into lost jobs for 20,000 health care workers. Rural economies — countless coffee shops, local banks, insurance agencies — will take a hit.

All of that moves the American Dream even further out of reach. By focusing on reviving it, Democrats can win back voters who have been leaving the party in droves.

Yes, my friends, 2026 can be a year of opportunity for us.

Scenes From The GOP’s Ongoing Meltdown In The Capital - Hard to put into words what a mess the DC GOP is right now. Let’s start with this excerpt from Politico’s story this morning, Trump was going to roll out a health care plan. Then Republicans weighed in:

Donald Trump’s health care plan is in limbo after pushback from Republicans who were caught off guard by the president’s forthcoming proposal — questioning, in particular, whether it would include additional abortion restrictions.

Trump had been expected to unveil a new policy framework Monday afternoon, said two people familiar with the plan and granted anonymity to describe deliberations around it. That framework was expected to center around a two-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies with income caps and other new limits backed by conservatives.

……..

In a statement Monday afternoon, the three top House Democrats on committees with jurisdiction over health care — Reps. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Bobby Scott of Virginia — panned the White House’s forthcoming proposal, calling it the “greatest hits of Republican health care ideas the people have rejected for years.”

They continued, “At this point, anything short of a clean extension is unworkable and won’t avoid the price hikes people are now facing.”

Here’s Punchbowl News this am on Trump’s perilous path on health care:

President Donald Trump appeared ready to roll out a health care proposal intended to address an imminent Obamacare subsidy cliff — a sign the White House is eager to avoid the political blowback that would likely result from a sharp rise in health care premiums.

But the White House’s decision to press pause on the rollout Monday just as quickly as they floated it underscores how difficult it’ll be, especially at this late stage, to get a bill over the finish line.

The fact that the White House was even seriously working on a plan caught Hill Republicans by surprise when news of it leaked on Sunday. By Monday morning, the White House was preparing to unveil the proposal — before eventually backtracking amid resistance from conservatives and a general sense among Republicans that the White House was mismanaging the issue.

It’s now unclear when — or even whether — the plan could see the light of day.

Holy shitshow Batman! We are two months past the legal deadline for passing a fiscal 2026 budget and chaos abounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In a Tweet yesterday JD Vance got big mad at the efforts of Congressional Republicans to push back on the Trump regime’s taking Putin’s side in Ukraine (this Tweet is among the most pathetic things I’ve ever seen):

But you know what really fires up the beltway GOP? Not any of the above. Instead, the political class is really angry that the Trump administration may finally bring a four year conflict in Eastern Europe to a close.

I’m not even talking about the substance of their views. Much of what these people have said about the Ukraine war has been proven wrong, but whatever. We can agree to disagree.

But the level of passion over this one issue when your own country has serious problems is bonkers.

It disgusts me. Show some passion for your own country.

Listen to this clip of Republican Rep. Don Bacon, one of those “disgusting” Republicans leading the charge against the Trump-Vance sellout of Ukraine. He says “the president’s comments on Ukraine have been reprehensible”:

In another incredible black eye for the corrupt and malicious Pam Bondi Trump’s illicit prosecutions of James Comey and Letitia James were dismissed after a judge ruled Trump had illegally appointed the prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan.

Holy shitshow, again, Batman!

Here’s Senator Ruben Gallego reacting to the announcement that the Pentagon was coming after Senator Mark Kelly for the video warning the troops about following unlawful orders. It should be noted that the wild, over the top reaction to this video coming from the regime suggests it is causing enormous problems in their preparations to invade Venezuela:

Last night on MS Now Rachel Maddow reported that Trump appears to have been involved in a failed plot to whisk his jailed Brazilian ally, Jair Bolsonaro, out the country. Clearly our leader doesn’t like it when corrupt former heads of state go to jail!

In what is a now major development in Trump’s illicit efforts to manufacture false consent in the US and keep Congressional Republicans in line, the illusion of Trump’s “strength” has vanished in right-aligned polls in recent weeks. Here are a few, Trump job approval/disapproval, and net decline:

• InsiderAdvantage 52-46 to 44-49 (-11)

• RMG 51-47 to 46-53 (-11)

• JL Partners/Daily Mail 51-49 to 41-49 (-10)

• TIPP 45-46 to 40-51 (-10)

• Fox 46-54 to 41-58 (-9)

• Echelon 46-53 to 42-57 (-8)

• Quantus 47-51 to 43-55 (-8)

• Harvard/HarrisX 49-51 to 44-51 (-5)

• Emerson 45-48 to 41-49 (-5)

Even their red wavers are struggling to put lipstick on the Trumpian pig.

Here’s an incredible graph from the new Economist/YouGov weekly track. Yes, my friends, the thrill is gone:

For more on the opportunities and challenges of the moment be sure to watch my last three interviews:

• Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member Of The House Oversight Committee, talked to us about the all-important next steps in the fight to release the Epstein files and create accountability for the crimes committed

• Rep. Adam Smith, Ranking Member Of The House Armed Services Committee, talked to us about the impending invasion of Venezuela, Trump’s death threats against his Congressional colleagues, and his selling out of Ukraine and Europe to Russia

• In a very powerful discussion Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat talked to us about the psychology of strongmen like Trump, something she calls “Both sane and insane.”

If over the holidays you are looking for a meaty conversation you can find all of our interviews and podcasts on the Hopium site under Podcast and on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify too.

Now, Let’s Get To Work Everyone!

In a new essay I talk about how one of the ways we win the 2026 midterms is by providing early support to our candidates and parties to allow them to staff up now, be loud now, define the terms of the debate now, before the inevitable onslaught on AI slop, Russian disinfo, and Trumpian lies funded through bribes and corruption wash across the land. The midterms could be won or lost in these next few months - not in the fall of 2026 - and we need be fighting now with everything we got.

Winning The Midterms - Support Our 2025/2026 Candidates

• Rep. Aftyn Behn For Congress (Dec 2, 2025 Special Election) - $15,000 raised, $25,000 Goal - Donate | Learn More and Volunteer | Amazing work all!!!!!!

• Roy Cooper for NC Senate (2026) - $53k raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my interview with Gov. Cooper

• Jon Ossoff GA Senate (2026) - $97k raised, $250,000 goal, - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my inspiring interview with Senator Ossoff

• Hopium Winning The House Campaign (2026) - $23,000 raised, $50,000 goal - Donate to all four endorsed House challengers with one click | Learn More | Watch our new interviews with Christina Bohannan (IA-01) and Jo Mendoza (AZ-06)

• Hopium House 7 - Our Top House Incumbents Running For Re-election (2026) - $243k raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More, Volunteer | Watch My Interviews With Our Intrepid Incumbents | Keeping these newly elected Members in Congress is the first step in winning the House in 2026

Expanding The Senate and Electoral College Maps (2026-2032)

• Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $205,000 raised, $250,000 goal - Join our new campaign to expand our map by investing in the Democratic Parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas | Donate to all five state parties in a single contribution | Many thanks to two generous Hopium community members who have audaciously donated $10,000 to each of our five state parties!

Defending America, Winning The Big Arguments With Trump - We have two recommended actions today:

1 - Call Your Senators and Member Of The House And Demand They Act Upon Our Four-Part Agenda - We need to be loud people, very, very loud and make the case for our four part agenda:

1. Stand with Ukraine and our European allies, and far more forcefully challenge Trump’s traitorous efforts to sell out the US and the West to Russia; demand Congress rebuke/issue a no confidence vote on his 28 point “plan”

2. Roll back Trump’s terrible, illegal tariffs that are re-igniting inflation, driving up prices, shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to working people, hurting small businesses and farmers, reviving tyrannical “taxation without representation,” and alienating governments and people throughout the world

3. Defend our democracy, rule of law, and our liberties by blocking the expansion of ICE, restoring due process for immigrants across the country, vigorously defending the 1st Amendment, warring against his outrageous targeting of his domestic political opponents, and ending the use of the military on our streets and the unlawful occupation of our cities

4. Fight Trump’s war on science, higher education and our public health; reverse - not delay - the cuts to the ACA and Medicaid; support and co-sponsor Rep. Haley Stevens’ effort to Impeach and remove Robert Kennedy

2 - Celebrate America, Our Constitution, Our 250th Birthday By Bringing Our Resolutions Project To Your Community - Next year, on July 4th, America celebrates it’s 250th birthday. We need to make this holiday, a celebration of our Declaration Of Independence from a mad king, our day, and not allow it to become his.

One way we can do this is by bringing our Resolutions Project to your community or state. Imagine if by July 4th of next year a large number of towns, counties and states had passed formal resolutions, in the spirit of our Declaration of Independence, defending our Constitution and condemning the “injuries,” “abuses,” and “usurpations” of our mad king. For as our Founders wrote in the Declaration:

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

So far Hopium members have introduced or passed resolutions in 85 communities in 23 states. In the coming days we will be convening to discuss how to bring this campaign to more places and start planning to Own The Fourth next year.

Finally, please self-report your activities to our daily paid subscriber chat. These reports help inspire all of us to do more and fight harder!

Keep working hard all, and remember Hopium is hope with a plan. We don’t just hope tomorrow will be better than today.

We do the work to make it so.

- Simon