41 Comments

Here's a bit of encouraging polling news to start the day: FAU/Mainstreet Research show Biden up 2 in a new poll ending 3/17, a gain of 6 points from the same group last month. Net approval improved by 15 points (from -19 to -4).

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Thanks for my daily injection of positively constructed common sense. Just downloaded 100 addresses for postcards to Democrats living in AZ encouraging their support for Ruben Gallego. Eager to hear from Big Tent USA later today about how to help Voteriders inform and help NC citizens secure their voter ID. I'm paying it forward here in OH where we will need lots of help getting Sherrod Brown re-elected after today's primary vote!

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Hi Susan, my in-person voter registration was cancelled so I was able to attend the Big Tent meeting after all - I thought it was great! I will definitely be adding Vote Riders to my queue of volunteering.

For anyone interested, here is their list of upcoming events:

https://www.bigtentusa.org/our-events/

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Thanks Cheryl, I enjoyed it, too. Will join you!

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I just signed up with VoteForward just this morning, and will be hosting letter-writing, phonebanking and postcarding parties each month until Election Day. I'm calling 'em "Work>Worry Wednesdays". (Note: when September/October rolls around, I plan to up the frequency to weekly)

We can do this! So let's do it!

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Wonderful! I attended a Zoom Vote Forward party last night with Do the Most Good - it is a weekly event and open to all:

https://www.mobilize.us/mobilizevent/443970/

The host offered some great suggestions for how to frame what you write:

Do not write anything partisan (ie, do not say because “when Dems vote Dems win”) or mention any candidates’ names. Use personal stories or talk about issues important to you rather than things like “civic duty” or “responsibility as an American”. If possible, use “shared values” messaging. Include “be a voter” somewhere in your message.

Sample Messages:

I vote because....

* we all deserve elected leaders who are working to protect our healthcare and to bring costs down for working class families like mine. Your vote is your voice! Be a voter!

* voting is how we get leaders who will improve access to healthcare, address climate change, and take us forward, not backwards. Your vote is your voice! Be a voter!

* we all deserve leaders who will protect our freedom to vote, to read, to choose when to have our families, and who will protect our healthcare. Voting is how that happens. Be a voter!

* we all deserve healthcare, a clean environment, and elected leaders who prioritize us not the top 1% and big corporations. My vote is my voice. Make your voice heard too – be a voter!

* I don’t want a few rich men and big corporations deciding what happens in my community. My vote is my voice. Make your voice heard too -- be a voter!

* we all deserve healthcare, clean air and water, and good schools for our kids and grandkids. We make that happen by voting for candidates who share these values. Be a voter!

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thanks for sharing the messages! I’m writing in NC & want to craft something about public education - in part because we have an extreme and scary candidate for our statewide public eduction office.

Something like this:

* I’m voting for children who cannot yet vote; public education creates tomorrow’s leaders [I’m still working on it, lol]

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I agree 100% about Michele Morrow!

what abut something along the lines of...

I vote because every child deserves a quality public education offered in a safe learning environment! We need to invest in public education to create tomorrow's leaders. Our children cannot yet vote, so I am voting for them!

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love that, Cheryl!

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:-) Thanks!

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What a wonderful rendition of Trump by Sarah Cooper! We all need to see this over and over.

Thanks for bringing this back, Simon.

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Remember:

TRUMP IS OUT ON BAIL!

(Georgia inmate No. p01135809)

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Great post about Latinos.. I plan to share it with Blue CD 2 here in NM.

Would also like some guidance about the Senate races. No rush! Julie

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The Latino ads and outreach are especially important to winning this election!

In 2016, the Republican Spanish-language disinformation campaign played a huge role in swinging Florida to Trump in the final month before the election. You could see the dramatic swing in the polls. This is a shocking but under-reported story.

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Yes, I really feel there has been a shift in the media presentation of Trump and fortunately it’s not happening too late! However, my big concern is that Republicans win by cheating. And if Manafort joins the campaign, all bets are off regarding mis and dis information. How do we combat that? my friends and I are busy writing postcards, but I remember that Stacey Abrams lost to Brian Kemp for governorship of Georgia, because he cheated, shut down polling places in poor black neighborhoods, and took voters off the polls without telling them. So I’m anxious. Connie Kellogg.

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Anxiety indeed! Not to be dismissive of Manafort, but I think it's just another trick up Trump's sleeve we need to be prepared for - and we will !

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I heard this on a Zoom recently: activism is good treatment for anxiety.

I’m writing ‪#PostcardstoVoters‬ through Northeast Arizona Native Dems and Markers for Democracy, and writing letters with Vote Forward.

Because I live in NC, I’m also canvassing - already!! - in preparation to get Dems out to vote in the fall. It helps.

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I propose a new Super-PAC ad:

Stormy Daniel firmly holds a rolled-up copy of Forbes Magazine that has Trump on the cover. Camera zooms in on Ms Daniels as she starts to speak…

"You and I both are painfully aware of Donald Trump’s ... shortcomings. They’re impossible to overlook. (wink) He’s a loser. This November, help me whip Little Donald into submission."

.

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Thanks Simon for all you're doing to save our democracy. Do you know if the Biden-Harris campaign is pre-testing the ads you showed us in today's post? Latinos are overwhelmingly Catholic (hence likely opposed to abortion) so that focusing on that issue with this cohort seems ill-advised. Issues that resonate more with Latinos are showing how Biden-Harris are pro-small business since many of this cohort are self-employed entrepreneurs. The GQP has appealed to Latinos on this issue i.e. that they're stronger on the economy (which of course you have disproved in your research). Thank you!

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1) assume all ads are heavily tested 2) the pro-life lean of Hispanics is a GOP myth. Hispanics are in some polls the most pro-choice demographic of the big 4 (white, African-American, Hispanic, AAPI), and because Hispanics are much younger a very high percentage of Hispanic voters are still in child-bearing years - so deeply relevant. Remember immigrants came here in part to have rights and freedoms they didn't have in their home countries; many large Catholic countries have legalized abortion in recent years including Mexico. 30 percent of Hispanic voters are pro-life Catholics. The rest are available to us on this issue.

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Does anyone know if B-H Campaign or DNC or other(s) organizations/ groups are funding field operations (person-to-person contact) in the battle ground states?

Just finished reading an article in The Economist about Latino support waning for President Biden/ Ds in AZ. The support isn't lost but needs to have out reach and the most effective outreach is person-to-person. This is especially effective if the advocate is local to the area. Mi Vecino in FL is a great example of this type of outreach. https://mivecinoflorida.com/ The organization was founded out of frustration with how Ds were working in FL.

With the lack of RNC funding, this seems like a prime opportunity of the Democrats.

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Fun statistic from the $53,000,000 February funding raising haul for the B-H Campaign. There are 2.505,600 seconds in the month, which means the campaign raised $21.15/second in the month of February. Pretty impressive.

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I love this information, Hank!

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ironic that money will be the death of Donald Trump. On all fronts. Thanks for your superior reporting, Simon.

Also, Sarah Cooper is amazing! I miss her take on what is happening, with her signature lip-synching. Thanks for giving us her video, a wonderful suprise!

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Excellent analysis as always, Simon. I have a question for you and forgive me if you've answered it elsewhere and I missed it: What do you think the chances are for a rebuilding of the real GOP party after Trump's loss in November? Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, Adam Kinzinger, etc. coming together to restore an actual political party or create a new one? I have a feeling Trump will be stirring up s*it until he passes away or is in prison and muzzled that way, but at some point in the future, it seems like the real Republicans will want a party again? How do you think that will play out?

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Trump is nearly bankrupt. Party isn't getting financial backing.

Guess who turns up again in Trump World: Paul Manafort.

Smh...I can't even... This guy is a blinking red light that Trump is going to get help from outside the US.

Democrats should 'follow the money' and not let this happen without a fight.

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Unless Trump posts a $464 million bond while he appeals the fraud verdict, in just six days New York Attorney General Laetitia James can start seizing and selling Trump’s assets. Such a fire sale, most likely at below-market prices, would in every way be deeply damaging to Trump the candidate and political cult leader.

What really fascinates me is the growing list of people and companies who are unwilling or unable to help Trump. That list includes his son-in-law Jared Kushner, to whom the Saudis gave $ 2 billion!

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I look forward to Hopium everyday, Simon. I feel empowered to donate to the right candidate at the right time straight from your page, no guessing. You’re writing is positive and filled with actions we can take on our own too. I now Do More and Worry Less.

Thank you!

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Yes Donna!

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Thank you again!

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Hello Simon,

No one seems to be talking about the possibility of flipping the Ohio Supreme Court in this year’s election.

The current court is 4-3 in favor of the GOP. Three seats are up for reelection: two Democratic incumbents (Justices Melody Stewart and Michael Donnelly) and one GOP incumbent (Justice Joseph Deters). Deters is actually challenging Stewart’s seat instead of running to keep his own seat, in hopes of giving Republicans a larger advantage on the court. In addition to the two Democratic justices running for reelection, Judge Lisa Forbes, a Democrat, is running for a seat on the court.

If we work to get the three Democrats elected, the balance of power shifts to

4 -3 in favor of Democrats and the court will be able to chip away at the GOP’s stranglehold on Ohio’s state government and its flagrant disregard of the voters’ wishes.

I read some reporting that Democratic fundraising for the justices is lagging. Sure, flipping Ohio is a long shot, but so was the referendum to protect abortion rights there. And voter activism worked to put Judge Janet Protasiewicz over the top in Wisconsin. Why not strive to do the same in Ohio?

According to Ohio Democrats (ohiodems.org), Ohio is the only state in the country that can flip its Supreme Court this year and they are asking for contributions to their judicial fund.

How would you rate our chances for flipping the Ohio Supreme Court?

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Follow David Pepper’s Substack, he is thick in Ohio grassroots

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