Disgusting and pathetic was this comment from Cynthia Lummis (R-WY): “Did he say that? I don’t have a comment about that, mostly because I think he actually does care,” she said, laughing and suggesting Trump did not mean what he said.”
And "what exactly has he done for the American working-class" should be the come-back. And every Democratic senator that is not running for election should be out campaigning for Democratic state and federal reps and senators along with judicial contests showing this clip and the veritable shoulder shrug of the Republicans who are running!
My son's birthday is coming up this week and sadly, one measly present other than a used CD will be his gifts from us (good thing he has a kindly aide who takes him out daily who is certain to pick out something he actually wants). I know that is not the end all and be all, but he is autistic, has the day circled on the calendar and it hurts. Our Social Security no longer covers the increase in inflation.
I am sorry to read this, Virginia. But no worries for your son. He’s got the best mom in the world, the most valuable gift of all (and I’m sure he knows it).
Thanks, he does. Doesn't mean he won't be disappointed that he isn't getting more Lego sets. And it certainly doesn't mean that this Mom doesn't resent the one type of toy he actually enjoys. He is really good at it and has been since he was 5 years old. He turns 34 this week.
Election news from WV. Democrat leaning wv Supreme Court Justice Kirkpatrick won in a big way defeating a Candidate hand picked and appointed by MaGa Governor Morrisey .
Wv democrats and independents showed up yesterday ! Should grab your attention
In a county judge race, independent David Amsbary beat 2 pro maga candidates in a landslide in Cabell County
Amazing Philip! Thanks so much for reporting… It’s these lesser known races down ballot that excite me the most… That is the real bulwark that will hold the democracy together as they continue to escalate in the administration. The decentralized nature of our political power can be our saving grace as long as we are competing in enough places to hold our fair share at the state and local level. Great work, West Virginia Democrats!
Hi, Simon! I listened to Greg Sargent this morning and was pleasantly surprised to hear you, too!
Sounds like Dems did well in Nebraska yesterday, oddly enough by clearing the way for an Independent. I'm a Democrat through and through but I think we have to be willing to work with Independents in red places as a sort of bridge to electing Democrats eventually. (I've seen it happen on the county level in a super red rural Virginia county.) And Trump is losing Independents at a rapid rate. Would love to get your take.
I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say that Dems should not vote a penny for the Defense Department or this war until Hegseth resigns or is fired, that Dems should not vote a penny for Trump's ballroom, arch, reflecting pools, etc., and that Trump is not in touch with reality and must be removed from office. I'm writing postcards to Ohio voters.
The Trump comment that he doesn’t care and doesn’t even think about Americans’ finances needs to run and rerun everywhere. Noting also that Iran is nowhere near having a nuclear weapon, Trump’s war hasn’t affected their ability to get one, and he killed the agreement keeping them from getting one.
Good morning Simon, I just finished listening to the Podcast with You and Greg Sargent. Excellent, and the rest of your Post as well.
I think We should get Posters and put them up wherever we can, with Trump saying " I DON'T CARE ABOUT AMERICAN'S FINANCIAL PROBLEMS OR ANYONE ELSE" DONALD TRUMP
Is it now the case that to win the midterms Democrats must compete in the newly gerrymandered red-state districts, and if so, should those state’s Democratic parties be part of Audacious Expansion?
On a different but related topic (of NOT winning), here's a link to a great Politico article today that the Trump administration has LOST over 10,000 immigration detention cases. A loss rate of 90%! And "even a majority of Trump-appointed judges have sided against the administration."
Good morning (and for once it’s still morning back east). Boy did the guy whose makeup is less subtle than an Oompa Loompa’s step in it by telling the truth for once. He doesn’t care about anyone’s financial situation but his own. And the inflation figures are really stunning.
Today is Day 2 of the 12 days of political donations my wife and I have committed to in May, front loading our 2026 political donations. Today’s donation went to the Hopium Georgia fund, because we need state supreme court justices who are not MAGA pawns. Almost at the goal for that Hopium fund!!
Just wanted to report another election success here in Nebraska from yesterday!
Our Democratic voters foiled a malevolent and ridiculous ploy by the state GOP and one of the worst figures in our current politics, Senator Pete Ricketts.
As many of you might be aware, there’s an independent candidate running here for US Senate named Dan Osborne who’s a populist union leader… He won’t be a reliable caucus vote for us by any means if he wins, but he would be a hell of a lot more of an ally in the United States Senate than any Republican would be.
He’s getting some traction because he performed pretty well in 2024 against Deb Fisher, and we have a much better environment for him to run in this year.
The Republicans literally planted a phony candidate in the Democratic primary with the sole purpose of siphoning votes away from Dan Osborne in the general. That’s how scared shitless they are of the national environment this year.
I am very proud of the coordinated response that State Chair Jane Kleeb and Dems all over the state put into play… We ran our own Democratic candidate whose sole purpose was to defeat theirs, and then drop out of the race so that Dan Osborne would have a clean general election head-to-head matchup with Pete Ricketts (which clearly neither Pete Rickets nor John Thune wants).
We succeeded… their bullshit candidate did not win. Very proud of my State Democratic Party right now, and very happy to have been part of the Hopium push to send them some extra money two years ago and build up the coffers a bit.
There’s plenty of good news out there if you’re willing to look for it. Doesn’t make the bad news less painful or less real, but it’s important to keep perspective on our successes too. Thanks, Michael!
Wow, did not know all that was happening. Beat them at their own game! Well-done Jane Kleeb. So would Osborn be sort of a neutral or “abstention” when it comes to determining which party has control of the Senate? Or does that remain to be seen?
As of now he’s pledged not to caucus with either party… Although, I question whether that will hold… How the hell you gonna get on any committees, and if you’re not on any committees, how do you have any impact? So, I’m guessing he would end up being a “Fetterman like“ member of the Democratic caucus… Which isn’t ideal, but it beats the hell out of Pete Ricketts. I think he will be a good vote on middle class, friendly economic policy… I think he will be a less good vote on progressive social policy. But, he will be an ally and holding the Trump administration accountable for their corruption and their shameful and disgraceful preferential treatment of the oligarchs. It’s not gonna be a top-tier race, but it’s not completely impossible. By any means either… He came within six points of the other Republican senator two years ago in a much worse electoral environment. At the very least, he’s gonna force the Republicans to spend some time and money on a race. They should’ve been able to just coast on… That’s time and energy not available for Susan Collins in Maine, or Dan Sullivan in Alaska, or whatever bunch of bastards they run in Georgia and North Carolina… It all helps. Gotta build a big tent! 😎🇺🇸
Thanks for that info! Really intriguing. From a layperson’s perspective 6 points doesn’t seem like a big margin to overcome this year. To quote The Beach Boys: “Catch a wave and you’re sittin’ on top of the world.”
Delighted to see state Dems using strategy to defeat the Rs. And maybe once people vote for an Independent and lightning doesn't strike, they may be willing to not vote Republican next time, too. We may have to leap some of these red state chasms in several jumps!
My guess is that over the next 5 to 10 years, the Democratic Party will evolve into a more populist party because the times will demand it… Much like they did in 1932. So, the enormous problems that the shadow of Reaganism has caused in this massive gap in wealth and equality is going to require huge systemic overhauls, and we know the Republicans won’t do it. So I think that will probably change the party in the next generation that’s coming up in Waze that will make more voters available to us than have been for a while. At the same time, I think the Republican Party in the wake of Trump is going to fractionalize… And I think you’re going to end up with Moore “tickets splitters“ like we had in times gone by. Nebraska has been a pretty stable electoral college presence for Republican presidential candidates going all the way back to the 60s… And before that too, I believe. But, in my own lifetime, we had three different democratic governors, and a period of like 14 or 16 years with two democratic senators. They were moderates who always limited our policy potential, but they helped secure majorities for us. It’s gonna take a few years, but I think that’s coming again. We’re just living through a massive disruption of norms, as the baby boom generation phases out of power… And the America that is emerging is a very different one.
I understand we may have a similar situation with an independent in Montana. “Seth Bodnar is a veteran, and business executive who was the 19th president of the University of Montana. He is a graduate of West Point and was a Rhodes Scholar with master's degrees from Hertford College, Oxford. He remains an active military officer in the Montana National Guard.” I was impressed when I saw him interviewed a month or so ago.
Yes. I haven't followed the campaign closely yet, as Bodnar is still collecting signatures he needs to get on the November ballot. But on paper he seems well qualified and would be head-and-shoulders above our current MAGA lot. I've read that he has raised much more than the Democratic candidates and is supported by former Democratic Senator, Jon Tester. Tester lost his 2024 race to young MAGA Tim Sheehy. Ugh!
The event where I saw Bodnar was a left of center fund raiser. It was explained by the presenter that Tester did not feel a Democrat could win right now in Montana, hence the support for the independent.
Tester's probably right. He was a highly effective and well-liked 3 term Senator who lost in 2024 to a performative MAGA jerk. If he was running now, I think he'd stand a good chance of winning. No Democrat in the State has his experience or name recognition.
The problem is though, it’s not really the Democrats and Republicans that are hemming us into a two party system… It’s the constitution. I think that there are a number of huge flaws in our constitution that are being badly exploited in the modern era and creating all kinds of problems for us. A short but not complete list would be:
1. Electoral College (whatever sense it made in the past, in the era that we’re in with national media and social media, a national popular vote is long overdue… It’s not tenable to regularly have someone assume the presidency with fewer vote votes than their opponent)
2. US Senate (I’m not sure. I love having a bike cameral system period, but but for one of them to represent land, rather than population is so completely out of line with democracy, that it’s a fucking joke, and it has been from the word go… Of all of the malicious compromises that have been made with the white supremacist oligarchs in the US, this is the worst one and the original sin)
3. Lifetime Supreme Court appointments
4. Forcing cabinet, administration, and judiciary appointment confirmations, along with treaty ratification to the hands of the least democratic of all of our institutions, the US Senate.
5. Not having a constitutionally mandated process to regularly increase the size of the House of Representatives as population grows, as well as the size of the US Supreme Court for the same reason… It’s a fucking joke to have the same number of representatives over a century after the current cap was put in place when the population has nearly tripled. Also, the only fairway to do the House of Representatives is to take the least populous state, that will only get one rep, and then make that the median district size across the country… No fucking way should Wyoming get over representation in both the Senate and the house with only 450,000 people living there.
But, of all of the problems, the shortsightedness of our founders to believe that we wouldn’t eventually evolve into fractions when they literally created a first past the post system is almost unforgivable. There’s no way to break free of a two party system because there’s no way to not have a third-party be a spoiler, unless one of the parties is responsible enough to do with the Democrats are doing in Nebraska and just not participate so that the third-party candidate can go in a head to head with the Republicans.
And the biggest problem with parties really in our system in my view, is that they wrote the constitution thinking that the Congress and the president would operate separate from one another and compete with one another as well as cooperate with one another. But once there were political factions, it meant that the president was aligned with a party, and most likely the leader of that party. Which means a certain portion of the Congress will be reluctant to exercise independence and restraint against the president because they are aligned with him by party. And that’s what we are in the middle of right now… Both parties have allowed the executive to become more and more powerful over a long time because of their compliance to presidents who lead their party. As a result, Congress basically can no longer perform the functions that word constitutionally written for them to punish and remove a chief executive… Because how often are you going to end up with the public electing one party into the presidency and the other party in such huge majorities in both chambers of Congress, that they will be able to execute an impeachment and removal? Try never. The stars aligned that one time and it worked with Nixon, but even then, instead of actually removing him like they should have for posterity, the members of his party went and told him to resign…. Which has really softened the trouble he was in in history. And it makes me question whether they actually would have voted to remove him from Office insufficient numbers… I think they used the threat of it to get him to resign so they wouldn’t have to.
So, I find it very troubling because Prime Minister‘s are part of the legislative body and then happened to carry out executive functions as well. But it’s much cleaner for them to be the leader of their party, and it’s much cleaner for the public because they just vote for their member of Parliament. That system allows multiple parties, because it allows a cleaner process for coalition government. Our system just really doesn’t make it very easy, it makes it nearly politically impossible to create a coalition government. And therefore, we are stuck with a two party system. I don’t like it either, I don’t think it’s good for our politics in the modern age, but I don’t really see how we could change it because it would require slew of constitutional amendments that I don’t think we will ever get enough consensus to actually pass. Because that same motherfucking group of white supremacist oligarchs that have been the root of America’s biggest mistakes, ugliest history, and deepest pain, always have enough control and enough places to prevent us from reaching that kind of consensus. Maybe there’s a better answer that can be arrived at through a different process, but I don’t know what it is.
There is a provision in Article V that allows for a convention on the Cinstitutionto be called by 2/3rds of State legislatures. Would require 34 states to request, never been used in our history.
Also very hard to accomplish, but it means all amendments could bevhandled in one process and not individually.
True, although a convention scares the shit out of me… It’s the scenario where you could potentially throw the baby out with the bathwater. But, I definitely think there are some structural changes due in someway or some form at some point.
If its called by 34 states on our side is one thing, if the fascists are driving it were toast. In Wednesday's talk with us Simon iscussed a new strategy to focus on State Legislatures and Judges.
I understand that The States Project is focusing on the famous Blue Dot in Nebraska (made famous to me by Simon in ‘24!). I saw a very impressive fund raising presentation about their work on targeted state legislature elections to strengthen our hand.
Yes! We are very fortunate, Nebraska has one of the very best State party chairs in the country, and she has been preparing us for years for a moment like this when we get a tailwind. Very proud of her.
Oh, I’m excited to see that! And I am excited for the the party at large to see the fruits of the seeds she and Ken have been planting… Every time I hear about a down ballot win, I have a moment of gratitude for what they’ve been doing.
Recent Supreme Court decisions—including the Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and Callais v. Blum redistricting cases—coupled with toxic political rhetoric and a widespread denial of our nation's economic realities, point to a chilling historical parallel: the American Eugenics Movement of the 20th century.
Between the early 1900s and the 1950s, this movement weaponized the law against marginalized populations. In the landmark 1927 case Buck v. Bell, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8–1 to uphold the constitutionality of forced sterilization laws. The ruling allowed states to involuntarily sterilize institutionalized citizens to prevent the "hereditary" transmission of "feeblemindedness." This single precedent led to the forced sterilization of roughly 60,000 to 70,000 Americans.
The global consequences of this ideology were catastrophic. German scientists in the early 1900s adopted these American concepts under the guise of "racial hygiene." In fact, the Nazi regime explicitly modeled its 1933 Law for the Prevention of Progeny with Hereditary Diseases on Californian and other American state sterilization laws. This resulted in 400,000 forced sterilizations in Germany, serving as a direct precursor to state-sponsored genocide.
While we are not witnessing a literal resurgence of 20th-century eugenics, current political strategies mirror its core principles. The original movement relied on a naïve, weaponized misunderstanding of genetics, claiming that poverty, alcoholism, criminality, and race were inherited traits to be bred out of society. Today, we see a metaphorical equivalent. It lives in discriminatory state-level redistricting that systematically dilutes the power of non-white voters, and in dangerous foreign policy rhetoric that threatens the total destruction of foreign societies.
How much more absurd and dangerous can modern authoritarianism and fascism become? We see the economic fallout of these exclusionary philosophies all around us: Seniors Suffocating: Millions of Baby Boomers face reduced medical coverage and skyrocketing insurance premiums. Fixed retirement incomes cannot keep pace with the rising costs of food, gasoline, and rent. Youth Stagnation: High interest rates and a barren job market force recent college graduates to move back into their childhood bedrooms. Rural Decay: Local schools and health clinics are closing doors, while sixth-generation family farmers are forced into bankruptcy. Targeted Communities: Access to vital safety nets like food stamps is being stripped away, while non-white communities live in constant fear of aggressive ICE deportations.
While today’s tactics do not involve a physical scalpel, they achieve the same result: Intentional Cataclysmic Exclusion. The current partisan gerrymandering efforts and the executive blueprints laid out in Project 2025 represent a dark intersection of history. Reading between the lines of these proposals reveals a nefarious, recurring theme: a coordinated effort to promote strict exclusivity over democratic collaboration. It is, quite simply, an attempt at culling the herd.
The November midterm elections are just 174 days away. The balance of power in Washington, D.C., hangs in the position of our collective response. Every single eligible voter must act immediately: Make phone calls to Congressmen and Senators. Write and mail campaign postcards. Attend local peaceful protests. Mobilize friends, family, and neighbors. Cast your ballot to defend democracy.
Yikes! AI is really verbose, using many, many, MANY words to say something simple — and like always, completely nonsensical. Always trying too hard to justify itself ...
No doubt, Rs would get wiped out in a fair election, which is why they are tinkering and cheating and redrawing maps. But I have not yet seen a unified clear response from Dems on this. How successful are Repub gerrymanderings expected to be, and how much should we worry about the midterms? I think we all get WHY they are cheating. But I'd love more info as to: so what's the counter move for that? How much confidence should we have in that? Thanks.
Disgusting and pathetic was this comment from Cynthia Lummis (R-WY): “Did he say that? I don’t have a comment about that, mostly because I think he actually does care,” she said, laughing and suggesting Trump did not mean what he said.”
Yes, there are going to be lots of clips of Rs trying to "laugh off" what Trump said. The American public must have the last laugh come November.
And "what exactly has he done for the American working-class" should be the come-back. And every Democratic senator that is not running for election should be out campaigning for Democratic state and federal reps and senators along with judicial contests showing this clip and the veritable shoulder shrug of the Republicans who are running!
My son's birthday is coming up this week and sadly, one measly present other than a used CD will be his gifts from us (good thing he has a kindly aide who takes him out daily who is certain to pick out something he actually wants). I know that is not the end all and be all, but he is autistic, has the day circled on the calendar and it hurts. Our Social Security no longer covers the increase in inflation.
I am sorry to read this, Virginia. But no worries for your son. He’s got the best mom in the world, the most valuable gift of all (and I’m sure he knows it).
Thanks, he does. Doesn't mean he won't be disappointed that he isn't getting more Lego sets. And it certainly doesn't mean that this Mom doesn't resent the one type of toy he actually enjoys. He is really good at it and has been since he was 5 years old. He turns 34 this week.
Whether he cares or not, he's fucked us all over.
Good Morning
Election news from WV. Democrat leaning wv Supreme Court Justice Kirkpatrick won in a big way defeating a Candidate hand picked and appointed by MaGa Governor Morrisey .
Wv democrats and independents showed up yesterday ! Should grab your attention
In a county judge race, independent David Amsbary beat 2 pro maga candidates in a landslide in Cabell County
Great news is west by god maga red Virginia
is there indication in yesterday's voting that R turnout is depressed? not my area, but very curious
Great question and the answer is overwhelmingly yes..republican voter turnout was only 20% turnout in my county Cabell and
Democratic turnout was up
great news, thanks!
🙌🇺🇸🇺🇸🙏🏻
file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/bb/11/39F850EE-FF96-4812-A1A4-248F344D890E/80032631102__FC0529A6-F22D-4655-94BF-E26B02AFD924.jpeg
Amazing Philip! Thanks so much for reporting… It’s these lesser known races down ballot that excite me the most… That is the real bulwark that will hold the democracy together as they continue to escalate in the administration. The decentralized nature of our political power can be our saving grace as long as we are competing in enough places to hold our fair share at the state and local level. Great work, West Virginia Democrats!
Wow - fantastic news!
For Trump the Epstein files are the real nuclear bomb.
Hi, Simon! I listened to Greg Sargent this morning and was pleasantly surprised to hear you, too!
Sounds like Dems did well in Nebraska yesterday, oddly enough by clearing the way for an Independent. I'm a Democrat through and through but I think we have to be willing to work with Independents in red places as a sort of bridge to electing Democrats eventually. (I've seen it happen on the county level in a super red rural Virginia county.) And Trump is losing Independents at a rapid rate. Would love to get your take.
I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say that Dems should not vote a penny for the Defense Department or this war until Hegseth resigns or is fired, that Dems should not vote a penny for Trump's ballroom, arch, reflecting pools, etc., and that Trump is not in touch with reality and must be removed from office. I'm writing postcards to Ohio voters.
Two more resolutions passed in MA last night.
Ipswich held its Town Meeting and passed their resolution 326 to 162, 67% to 33%.
The resolution: https://historicipswich.net/2026/05/12/ipswich-resolution/
The town historian, Gordon Harris' speech: https://www.facebook.com/reel/827254260456288
Lynn City Council passed theirs unanimously, news coverage here:
https://itemlive.com/2026/05/12/municipalities-combine-to-resist-destruction-of-federal-government/?post_id=735509&email=russell.woodman@gmail.com&redirect_to=https://itemlive.com/2026/05/12/municipalities-combine-to-resist-destruction-of-federal-government/
Yay Rachel. You really have momentum now!
Celebrate the wins!!
Keep pushing...
This is really amazing Rachel… Thanks for sharing and thank you for the work you’ve done to help make it happen!
Great news, Rachel. I really like the way these Resolutions are tailored the to specific problems in each community. Strength in diversity.
You go girl!
The Trump comment that he doesn’t care and doesn’t even think about Americans’ finances needs to run and rerun everywhere. Noting also that Iran is nowhere near having a nuclear weapon, Trump’s war hasn’t affected their ability to get one, and he killed the agreement keeping them from getting one.
The quiet part out loud. Putz
Good morning Simon, I just finished listening to the Podcast with You and Greg Sargent. Excellent, and the rest of your Post as well.
I think We should get Posters and put them up wherever we can, with Trump saying " I DON'T CARE ABOUT AMERICAN'S FINANCIAL PROBLEMS OR ANYONE ELSE" DONALD TRUMP
This would make an excellent billboard for rural highways!
Based on what I am seeing in the grocery store, these inflation reports look accurate. Alas.
Eating out is no joke either. Even basic fast food for 2 is at least 20 bucks most places.
That is amazing!
Is it now the case that to win the midterms Democrats must compete in the newly gerrymandered red-state districts, and if so, should those state’s Democratic parties be part of Audacious Expansion?
On a different but related topic (of NOT winning), here's a link to a great Politico article today that the Trump administration has LOST over 10,000 immigration detention cases. A loss rate of 90%! And "even a majority of Trump-appointed judges have sided against the administration."
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/13/10k-rulings-ice-mandatory-detention-trump-analysis-00914195?utm_content=user/politico&utm_source=flipboard
Good morning (and for once it’s still morning back east). Boy did the guy whose makeup is less subtle than an Oompa Loompa’s step in it by telling the truth for once. He doesn’t care about anyone’s financial situation but his own. And the inflation figures are really stunning.
Today is Day 2 of the 12 days of political donations my wife and I have committed to in May, front loading our 2026 political donations. Today’s donation went to the Hopium Georgia fund, because we need state supreme court justices who are not MAGA pawns. Almost at the goal for that Hopium fund!!
Just wanted to report another election success here in Nebraska from yesterday!
Our Democratic voters foiled a malevolent and ridiculous ploy by the state GOP and one of the worst figures in our current politics, Senator Pete Ricketts.
As many of you might be aware, there’s an independent candidate running here for US Senate named Dan Osborne who’s a populist union leader… He won’t be a reliable caucus vote for us by any means if he wins, but he would be a hell of a lot more of an ally in the United States Senate than any Republican would be.
He’s getting some traction because he performed pretty well in 2024 against Deb Fisher, and we have a much better environment for him to run in this year.
The Republicans literally planted a phony candidate in the Democratic primary with the sole purpose of siphoning votes away from Dan Osborne in the general. That’s how scared shitless they are of the national environment this year.
I am very proud of the coordinated response that State Chair Jane Kleeb and Dems all over the state put into play… We ran our own Democratic candidate whose sole purpose was to defeat theirs, and then drop out of the race so that Dan Osborne would have a clean general election head-to-head matchup with Pete Ricketts (which clearly neither Pete Rickets nor John Thune wants).
We succeeded… their bullshit candidate did not win. Very proud of my State Democratic Party right now, and very happy to have been part of the Hopium push to send them some extra money two years ago and build up the coffers a bit.
State parties matter! 🇺🇸😎
Great News Piano Man. I'm heartened to hear a strategy where pro-democracy sentiment supercedes having a Dem on the ballot. It promotes my Hopium
There’s plenty of good news out there if you’re willing to look for it. Doesn’t make the bad news less painful or less real, but it’s important to keep perspective on our successes too. Thanks, Michael!
Wow, did not know all that was happening. Beat them at their own game! Well-done Jane Kleeb. So would Osborn be sort of a neutral or “abstention” when it comes to determining which party has control of the Senate? Or does that remain to be seen?
As of now he’s pledged not to caucus with either party… Although, I question whether that will hold… How the hell you gonna get on any committees, and if you’re not on any committees, how do you have any impact? So, I’m guessing he would end up being a “Fetterman like“ member of the Democratic caucus… Which isn’t ideal, but it beats the hell out of Pete Ricketts. I think he will be a good vote on middle class, friendly economic policy… I think he will be a less good vote on progressive social policy. But, he will be an ally and holding the Trump administration accountable for their corruption and their shameful and disgraceful preferential treatment of the oligarchs. It’s not gonna be a top-tier race, but it’s not completely impossible. By any means either… He came within six points of the other Republican senator two years ago in a much worse electoral environment. At the very least, he’s gonna force the Republicans to spend some time and money on a race. They should’ve been able to just coast on… That’s time and energy not available for Susan Collins in Maine, or Dan Sullivan in Alaska, or whatever bunch of bastards they run in Georgia and North Carolina… It all helps. Gotta build a big tent! 😎🇺🇸
Thanks for that info! Really intriguing. From a layperson’s perspective 6 points doesn’t seem like a big margin to overcome this year. To quote The Beach Boys: “Catch a wave and you’re sittin’ on top of the world.”
If he catches that wave, election night will be “fun, fun, fun”! 😉😎🇺🇸
Thank you for explaining this.
Delighted to see state Dems using strategy to defeat the Rs. And maybe once people vote for an Independent and lightning doesn't strike, they may be willing to not vote Republican next time, too. We may have to leap some of these red state chasms in several jumps!
My guess is that over the next 5 to 10 years, the Democratic Party will evolve into a more populist party because the times will demand it… Much like they did in 1932. So, the enormous problems that the shadow of Reaganism has caused in this massive gap in wealth and equality is going to require huge systemic overhauls, and we know the Republicans won’t do it. So I think that will probably change the party in the next generation that’s coming up in Waze that will make more voters available to us than have been for a while. At the same time, I think the Republican Party in the wake of Trump is going to fractionalize… And I think you’re going to end up with Moore “tickets splitters“ like we had in times gone by. Nebraska has been a pretty stable electoral college presence for Republican presidential candidates going all the way back to the 60s… And before that too, I believe. But, in my own lifetime, we had three different democratic governors, and a period of like 14 or 16 years with two democratic senators. They were moderates who always limited our policy potential, but they helped secure majorities for us. It’s gonna take a few years, but I think that’s coming again. We’re just living through a massive disruption of norms, as the baby boom generation phases out of power… And the America that is emerging is a very different one.
I understand we may have a similar situation with an independent in Montana. “Seth Bodnar is a veteran, and business executive who was the 19th president of the University of Montana. He is a graduate of West Point and was a Rhodes Scholar with master's degrees from Hertford College, Oxford. He remains an active military officer in the Montana National Guard.” I was impressed when I saw him interviewed a month or so ago.
Yes. I haven't followed the campaign closely yet, as Bodnar is still collecting signatures he needs to get on the November ballot. But on paper he seems well qualified and would be head-and-shoulders above our current MAGA lot. I've read that he has raised much more than the Democratic candidates and is supported by former Democratic Senator, Jon Tester. Tester lost his 2024 race to young MAGA Tim Sheehy. Ugh!
The event where I saw Bodnar was a left of center fund raiser. It was explained by the presenter that Tester did not feel a Democrat could win right now in Montana, hence the support for the independent.
Tester's probably right. He was a highly effective and well-liked 3 term Senator who lost in 2024 to a performative MAGA jerk. If he was running now, I think he'd stand a good chance of winning. No Democrat in the State has his experience or name recognition.
I think the two party system is too antiquated for what's coming.
I, for one, am very, very, very, very, very tired of it.
The problem is though, it’s not really the Democrats and Republicans that are hemming us into a two party system… It’s the constitution. I think that there are a number of huge flaws in our constitution that are being badly exploited in the modern era and creating all kinds of problems for us. A short but not complete list would be:
1. Electoral College (whatever sense it made in the past, in the era that we’re in with national media and social media, a national popular vote is long overdue… It’s not tenable to regularly have someone assume the presidency with fewer vote votes than their opponent)
2. US Senate (I’m not sure. I love having a bike cameral system period, but but for one of them to represent land, rather than population is so completely out of line with democracy, that it’s a fucking joke, and it has been from the word go… Of all of the malicious compromises that have been made with the white supremacist oligarchs in the US, this is the worst one and the original sin)
3. Lifetime Supreme Court appointments
4. Forcing cabinet, administration, and judiciary appointment confirmations, along with treaty ratification to the hands of the least democratic of all of our institutions, the US Senate.
5. Not having a constitutionally mandated process to regularly increase the size of the House of Representatives as population grows, as well as the size of the US Supreme Court for the same reason… It’s a fucking joke to have the same number of representatives over a century after the current cap was put in place when the population has nearly tripled. Also, the only fairway to do the House of Representatives is to take the least populous state, that will only get one rep, and then make that the median district size across the country… No fucking way should Wyoming get over representation in both the Senate and the house with only 450,000 people living there.
But, of all of the problems, the shortsightedness of our founders to believe that we wouldn’t eventually evolve into fractions when they literally created a first past the post system is almost unforgivable. There’s no way to break free of a two party system because there’s no way to not have a third-party be a spoiler, unless one of the parties is responsible enough to do with the Democrats are doing in Nebraska and just not participate so that the third-party candidate can go in a head to head with the Republicans.
And the biggest problem with parties really in our system in my view, is that they wrote the constitution thinking that the Congress and the president would operate separate from one another and compete with one another as well as cooperate with one another. But once there were political factions, it meant that the president was aligned with a party, and most likely the leader of that party. Which means a certain portion of the Congress will be reluctant to exercise independence and restraint against the president because they are aligned with him by party. And that’s what we are in the middle of right now… Both parties have allowed the executive to become more and more powerful over a long time because of their compliance to presidents who lead their party. As a result, Congress basically can no longer perform the functions that word constitutionally written for them to punish and remove a chief executive… Because how often are you going to end up with the public electing one party into the presidency and the other party in such huge majorities in both chambers of Congress, that they will be able to execute an impeachment and removal? Try never. The stars aligned that one time and it worked with Nixon, but even then, instead of actually removing him like they should have for posterity, the members of his party went and told him to resign…. Which has really softened the trouble he was in in history. And it makes me question whether they actually would have voted to remove him from Office insufficient numbers… I think they used the threat of it to get him to resign so they wouldn’t have to.
So, I find it very troubling because Prime Minister‘s are part of the legislative body and then happened to carry out executive functions as well. But it’s much cleaner for them to be the leader of their party, and it’s much cleaner for the public because they just vote for their member of Parliament. That system allows multiple parties, because it allows a cleaner process for coalition government. Our system just really doesn’t make it very easy, it makes it nearly politically impossible to create a coalition government. And therefore, we are stuck with a two party system. I don’t like it either, I don’t think it’s good for our politics in the modern age, but I don’t really see how we could change it because it would require slew of constitutional amendments that I don’t think we will ever get enough consensus to actually pass. Because that same motherfucking group of white supremacist oligarchs that have been the root of America’s biggest mistakes, ugliest history, and deepest pain, always have enough control and enough places to prevent us from reaching that kind of consensus. Maybe there’s a better answer that can be arrived at through a different process, but I don’t know what it is.
Thsnks Steve,
You raise some points i haven't considered.
There is a provision in Article V that allows for a convention on the Cinstitutionto be called by 2/3rds of State legislatures. Would require 34 states to request, never been used in our history.
Also very hard to accomplish, but it means all amendments could bevhandled in one process and not individually.
True, although a convention scares the shit out of me… It’s the scenario where you could potentially throw the baby out with the bathwater. But, I definitely think there are some structural changes due in someway or some form at some point.
If its called by 34 states on our side is one thing, if the fascists are driving it were toast. In Wednesday's talk with us Simon iscussed a new strategy to focus on State Legislatures and Judges.
That could also help with NPVIC passage.
I understand that The States Project is focusing on the famous Blue Dot in Nebraska (made famous to me by Simon in ‘24!). I saw a very impressive fund raising presentation about their work on targeted state legislature elections to strengthen our hand.
Yes! We are very fortunate, Nebraska has one of the very best State party chairs in the country, and she has been preparing us for years for a moment like this when we get a tailwind. Very proud of her.
GREAT news!
Jane is coming on next week to recap what happened, and remind us all what a difference a strong state party can make in situations like this.
Oh, I’m excited to see that! And I am excited for the the party at large to see the fruits of the seeds she and Ken have been planting… Every time I hear about a down ballot win, I have a moment of gratitude for what they’ve been doing.
Culling the Herd
Recent Supreme Court decisions—including the Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and Callais v. Blum redistricting cases—coupled with toxic political rhetoric and a widespread denial of our nation's economic realities, point to a chilling historical parallel: the American Eugenics Movement of the 20th century.
Between the early 1900s and the 1950s, this movement weaponized the law against marginalized populations. In the landmark 1927 case Buck v. Bell, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8–1 to uphold the constitutionality of forced sterilization laws. The ruling allowed states to involuntarily sterilize institutionalized citizens to prevent the "hereditary" transmission of "feeblemindedness." This single precedent led to the forced sterilization of roughly 60,000 to 70,000 Americans.
The global consequences of this ideology were catastrophic. German scientists in the early 1900s adopted these American concepts under the guise of "racial hygiene." In fact, the Nazi regime explicitly modeled its 1933 Law for the Prevention of Progeny with Hereditary Diseases on Californian and other American state sterilization laws. This resulted in 400,000 forced sterilizations in Germany, serving as a direct precursor to state-sponsored genocide.
While we are not witnessing a literal resurgence of 20th-century eugenics, current political strategies mirror its core principles. The original movement relied on a naïve, weaponized misunderstanding of genetics, claiming that poverty, alcoholism, criminality, and race were inherited traits to be bred out of society. Today, we see a metaphorical equivalent. It lives in discriminatory state-level redistricting that systematically dilutes the power of non-white voters, and in dangerous foreign policy rhetoric that threatens the total destruction of foreign societies.
How much more absurd and dangerous can modern authoritarianism and fascism become? We see the economic fallout of these exclusionary philosophies all around us: Seniors Suffocating: Millions of Baby Boomers face reduced medical coverage and skyrocketing insurance premiums. Fixed retirement incomes cannot keep pace with the rising costs of food, gasoline, and rent. Youth Stagnation: High interest rates and a barren job market force recent college graduates to move back into their childhood bedrooms. Rural Decay: Local schools and health clinics are closing doors, while sixth-generation family farmers are forced into bankruptcy. Targeted Communities: Access to vital safety nets like food stamps is being stripped away, while non-white communities live in constant fear of aggressive ICE deportations.
While today’s tactics do not involve a physical scalpel, they achieve the same result: Intentional Cataclysmic Exclusion. The current partisan gerrymandering efforts and the executive blueprints laid out in Project 2025 represent a dark intersection of history. Reading between the lines of these proposals reveals a nefarious, recurring theme: a coordinated effort to promote strict exclusivity over democratic collaboration. It is, quite simply, an attempt at culling the herd.
The November midterm elections are just 174 days away. The balance of power in Washington, D.C., hangs in the position of our collective response. Every single eligible voter must act immediately: Make phone calls to Congressmen and Senators. Write and mail campaign postcards. Attend local peaceful protests. Mobilize friends, family, and neighbors. Cast your ballot to defend democracy.
The anti-vaxx movement has the stench of eugenics about it as well.
Yikes! AI is really verbose, using many, many, MANY words to say something simple — and like always, completely nonsensical. Always trying too hard to justify itself ...
Don't even. Write it yourself, or your brain will atrophy - there are studies on this already.
Simon, you missed the good news. Australia said hell no to trump putting his name on a building down there. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/13/trump-tower-australia-gold-coast-scrapped-ntwnfb?CMP=share_btn_url
No doubt, Rs would get wiped out in a fair election, which is why they are tinkering and cheating and redrawing maps. But I have not yet seen a unified clear response from Dems on this. How successful are Repub gerrymanderings expected to be, and how much should we worry about the midterms? I think we all get WHY they are cheating. But I'd love more info as to: so what's the counter move for that? How much confidence should we have in that? Thanks.