"we will take on whatever billionaire, whatever banker, whatever bootlickin’ bastard we have to in order to make sure the little guy gets his seat at the table"
That is the Republican plan--more expense, less care, more for the rich, less for 90 percent plus of ordinary Americans. It's always been their plan, and in every arena. That's why they haven't been able to come up with their health care plan for fifteen years--it would be too ugly to put on paper, and would be immediately rejected by the American people. All they have is lies about the ACA--which people aren't buying.
The Affordable Care Act saved my life. Because I had health insurance I saw a doctor and got emergency heart surgery. If I hadn't had good insurance, I would have waited till it was too late. I was told after the surgery that I had been "hours, days" from having a massive heart attack. The Republicans need to be held to account for the 51,000 Americans that will die annually as a result of their cuts.
With the rest of her comment, I wonder if at least some of what she means is that she wants government to work for her and help her out. Y'know, the radical Democratic idea that government should serve the people. Honestly, she sounds flippable to me.
Unfortunately I think it’s informed by racism, ie only the “real” (white) Americans. That’s why I think Vance will run in 2028 on an open white nationalist platform.
I think she means candidates that are actually going to try to make life better for regular people, as opposed to only looking after the interests of the elite, donor and ruling classes.
What exciting news from Texas! OUTSTANDING!!! It always hurts my heart when I see an uncontested race with only a Republican running. Ann Richards is smiling.
Maine - 64-36! OMG
The statewide party support effort is working already. Very happy to donate again this morning. Looking forward to our event Wednesday evening. From frigid and snowy Illinois, Kent
The Washington State Democratic Party is very good at supporting downballot candidates. But at an even more basic level, county and district Democratic organizations train and support new candidates. They can make the difference between winning and losing county and city council seats, port commission seats, and school board seats.
Much of the power of county and district Democratic organizations rests on their precinct committee officers (PCOs). On Saturday, I applied to become an Acting PCO for an open precinct.
Greg Sargent's article is a MUST READ, and pass on. We all know what Miller up to but I think passing it on to others who need the info in their brains is super important. As I read it I remembered my first day in Social work school where a lecturing professor was reminding us that we would be exposed to many different social/clinical theories and that as we studied we had to remember that "all theories are lies in search of the truth. AND that all theorists/thinkers are human beings with their own histories, traumas, beliefs, childhoods etc ...From then on I keep the perspective that someone's belief systems are born out of their own inner world... It's the tragedy of our time that our current government is filled with humans who, for whatever reason, are internally tortured, thus they are torturing the people around them: the amazing, diverse, hard working, brave American people. The good news is that these same Americans are waking up and as HCR often has said about us, 'we don't take shit'!
Agree that this article is a must-read. The whole time I was reading it, I was thinking, "Miller is trying to kill the Jew in himself," similar to the "Hitler was trying to kill the Jew in himself," rationale which has been frequently cited in books on the Holocaust as the primary reason for Hilter's obsession in ridding the world of the Jewish race.
I also find it baffling that Nick Fuentes, who has publicly described his ancestry as Italian, 25% Mexican, and Irish, is a white nationalist, when it's likely that he is not -- genetically-speaking-- mostly White.
As a fellow MSW, I also immediately wondered what traumas and/or reinforced hate-filled messaging systems were people like Miller and Fuentes exposed to in their childhoods that would lead them to intensely deny who they are and where they come from and to actively punish people who would benefit from immigration as have they. They are, indeed, internally-conflicted and tortured human beings, as seems to have been the case with all the other human monsters throughout history. Let's just hope we can stop their actions before they fulfill their ultimate goal.
Thank you Jayne. Yes. And yes. And the roots go so deep and are so generational and are so bound in extreme trauma. More reason to work as hard as we can to bring good and peace to our world(s).
In Missouri, we tend to have many uncontested races with only Republicans on the ballot. I've heard that in rural areas people who try to run as Democrats receive threats. Congratulations to Texas for making the whole state competitive. That must have taken a ton of work.
Great post...thanks! One aspect of the mobilization for 2026 that I'd like to emphasize is the non-dollar component. Hopium provides a great way to channel out the noise and really focus the give, which is great. But, as I know has been suggested in other posts here, that giving needs to be coupled with a serious and energetic coordination of motivated volunteers. If there’s one thing that the No Kings protests should drive home to all of us is that there is quite literally an army of several million highly motivated people ready to be mobilized as foot soldiers in this effort. County level stuff might be a bit granular for Simon’s focus (he IS just one guy!), but I do think the County Chairs are essential to the effort. County Chairs are much easier for community members to contact directly, and they communicate to the State Chairs what they need on a local level.
I’ve actually spoken with my county Democratic Chair on the phone, and she’s coming on out to my home right after the New Year to discuss with neighbors how we can organize to ensure that every single registered Democrat and independent in our neighborhood gets a visit from a friend that includes a sample ballot, candidate materials, encouragement to vote, and the offer of a ride to our voting place. We have a lot of people ready to knock on doors, and this will also provide a great opportunity for us to put our heads together to figure out additional ways to be useful…maybe a door-to-door neighborhood voter registration drive!
This morning, filled with all the most horrible news, I really appreciate a real live human being acknowledging that our efforts are making a difference.
What a tremendously encouraging post and especially the interview with Kendall Scudder. I mean, "shout from the rooftop! " encouraging. Some in our own coalition have looked down on the Party structure or considered it only a "necessary evil" as the means of getting on the ballot. Wrong! It is the lifeblood of our winning elections and then delivering on our campaign platforms. And as Simon has so often said, our own Party structure needs to see us "not just as donors to the cause but as partners in the fight." The Party officials you've interviewed--from Maine, Texas, Iowa, North Carolina, Alaska, Florida, Wisconsin, the DNC, the ASDC, and others--are doing the hard, gritty day-to-day work so that our candidates can be successful. Our support for them is vital and well-earned.
"Helping the rich and privileged and making it harder for working people to get ahead" is a kind and direct depiction of what people need to know. Is it too much to ask whether people can handle a more complete and targeted depiction, the underlying conclusion that the true target is nothing less than destruction of the United States, politically and economically, in order to hand complete control of everything to the oligarchs -- no more countries except for local police to smother resistance. While it seems preposterous, their own words connect the dots.
I am so optimistic about our potential going into next year, and grateful for Kendall's hard work! A couple years back, I participated in a Contest Every Race project to research where all the open seats were (extremely tedious but necessary, spreadsheets galore) to help make this achievement possible!
FYI, Contest Every Race works to recruit candidates for open seats and supports them through the filing process. Vols welcome: https://www.contesteveryrace.com/
Great interview with Kendall Scudder. Very encouraging to see people getting down to the basics and not over complicating things.
I'm slowly working my way through the LBJ biography by Robert Caro, and one thing that struck me is how strong a progressive movement existed in Texas in the early half of the 20th century, including Sam Rayburn and other people who came from very poor rural and farm backgrounds. Of course, like today, there were always money interests, then railroads and banks, trying to buy politicians. But there is no reason to think a progressive, more populist kinds of economic messages, but coming from our side, can't succeed again in Texas. We've maybe lost a step for various reasons, but there is an opportunity that we have to build on for 2026, but more importantly for the long term.
This is a great thing that is essential to democracy!!
Great post. Wish all the Dems success!!!!
The One Big Beautiful Bill comes due:
more for the rich, less for you,
wealth care, not health care,
and "I don't really care. Do you?"
That is the Republican plan--more expense, less care, more for the rich, less for 90 percent plus of ordinary Americans. It's always been their plan, and in every arena. That's why they haven't been able to come up with their health care plan for fifteen years--it would be too ugly to put on paper, and would be immediately rejected by the American people. All they have is lies about the ACA--which people aren't buying.
The Affordable Care Act saved my life. Because I had health insurance I saw a doctor and got emergency heart surgery. If I hadn't had good insurance, I would have waited till it was too late. I was told after the surgery that I had been "hours, days" from having a massive heart attack. The Republicans need to be held to account for the 51,000 Americans that will die annually as a result of their cuts.
Just increased my contribution to the Hopium Audacious Expansion Fund. Let’s keep going!
What do you all think that young voter means when she says “America First”?
With the rest of her comment, I wonder if at least some of what she means is that she wants government to work for her and help her out. Y'know, the radical Democratic idea that government should serve the people. Honestly, she sounds flippable to me.
Unfortunately I think it’s informed by racism, ie only the “real” (white) Americans. That’s why I think Vance will run in 2028 on an open white nationalist platform.
I think she means candidates that are actually going to try to make life better for regular people, as opposed to only looking after the interests of the elite, donor and ruling classes.
What exciting news from Texas! OUTSTANDING!!! It always hurts my heart when I see an uncontested race with only a Republican running. Ann Richards is smiling.
Maine - 64-36! OMG
The statewide party support effort is working already. Very happy to donate again this morning. Looking forward to our event Wednesday evening. From frigid and snowy Illinois, Kent
The Washington State Democratic Party is very good at supporting downballot candidates. But at an even more basic level, county and district Democratic organizations train and support new candidates. They can make the difference between winning and losing county and city council seats, port commission seats, and school board seats.
Much of the power of county and district Democratic organizations rests on their precinct committee officers (PCOs). On Saturday, I applied to become an Acting PCO for an open precinct.
Bravo!
That's wonderful! I just put up a post a minute ago focusing on county-level organizing. Great minds, right?!?
Greg Sargent's article is a MUST READ, and pass on. We all know what Miller up to but I think passing it on to others who need the info in their brains is super important. As I read it I remembered my first day in Social work school where a lecturing professor was reminding us that we would be exposed to many different social/clinical theories and that as we studied we had to remember that "all theories are lies in search of the truth. AND that all theorists/thinkers are human beings with their own histories, traumas, beliefs, childhoods etc ...From then on I keep the perspective that someone's belief systems are born out of their own inner world... It's the tragedy of our time that our current government is filled with humans who, for whatever reason, are internally tortured, thus they are torturing the people around them: the amazing, diverse, hard working, brave American people. The good news is that these same Americans are waking up and as HCR often has said about us, 'we don't take shit'!
Agree that this article is a must-read. The whole time I was reading it, I was thinking, "Miller is trying to kill the Jew in himself," similar to the "Hitler was trying to kill the Jew in himself," rationale which has been frequently cited in books on the Holocaust as the primary reason for Hilter's obsession in ridding the world of the Jewish race.
I also find it baffling that Nick Fuentes, who has publicly described his ancestry as Italian, 25% Mexican, and Irish, is a white nationalist, when it's likely that he is not -- genetically-speaking-- mostly White.
As a fellow MSW, I also immediately wondered what traumas and/or reinforced hate-filled messaging systems were people like Miller and Fuentes exposed to in their childhoods that would lead them to intensely deny who they are and where they come from and to actively punish people who would benefit from immigration as have they. They are, indeed, internally-conflicted and tortured human beings, as seems to have been the case with all the other human monsters throughout history. Let's just hope we can stop their actions before they fulfill their ultimate goal.
Thank you Jayne. Yes. And yes. And the roots go so deep and are so generational and are so bound in extreme trauma. More reason to work as hard as we can to bring good and peace to our world(s).
In Missouri, we tend to have many uncontested races with only Republicans on the ballot. I've heard that in rural areas people who try to run as Democrats receive threats. Congratulations to Texas for making the whole state competitive. That must have taken a ton of work.
Great post...thanks! One aspect of the mobilization for 2026 that I'd like to emphasize is the non-dollar component. Hopium provides a great way to channel out the noise and really focus the give, which is great. But, as I know has been suggested in other posts here, that giving needs to be coupled with a serious and energetic coordination of motivated volunteers. If there’s one thing that the No Kings protests should drive home to all of us is that there is quite literally an army of several million highly motivated people ready to be mobilized as foot soldiers in this effort. County level stuff might be a bit granular for Simon’s focus (he IS just one guy!), but I do think the County Chairs are essential to the effort. County Chairs are much easier for community members to contact directly, and they communicate to the State Chairs what they need on a local level.
I’ve actually spoken with my county Democratic Chair on the phone, and she’s coming on out to my home right after the New Year to discuss with neighbors how we can organize to ensure that every single registered Democrat and independent in our neighborhood gets a visit from a friend that includes a sample ballot, candidate materials, encouragement to vote, and the offer of a ride to our voting place. We have a lot of people ready to knock on doors, and this will also provide a great opportunity for us to put our heads together to figure out additional ways to be useful…maybe a door-to-door neighborhood voter registration drive!
Hear hear!
At the holiday party on Saturday, my wife and I had a good conversation with our party Chair about membership and the endorsement process.
We also spoke at length with the Chair of our county council about a range of issues.
This morning, filled with all the most horrible news, I really appreciate a real live human being acknowledging that our efforts are making a difference.
What a tremendously encouraging post and especially the interview with Kendall Scudder. I mean, "shout from the rooftop! " encouraging. Some in our own coalition have looked down on the Party structure or considered it only a "necessary evil" as the means of getting on the ballot. Wrong! It is the lifeblood of our winning elections and then delivering on our campaign platforms. And as Simon has so often said, our own Party structure needs to see us "not just as donors to the cause but as partners in the fight." The Party officials you've interviewed--from Maine, Texas, Iowa, North Carolina, Alaska, Florida, Wisconsin, the DNC, the ASDC, and others--are doing the hard, gritty day-to-day work so that our candidates can be successful. Our support for them is vital and well-earned.
"Helping the rich and privileged and making it harder for working people to get ahead" is a kind and direct depiction of what people need to know. Is it too much to ask whether people can handle a more complete and targeted depiction, the underlying conclusion that the true target is nothing less than destruction of the United States, politically and economically, in order to hand complete control of everything to the oligarchs -- no more countries except for local police to smother resistance. While it seems preposterous, their own words connect the dots.
I am so optimistic about our potential going into next year, and grateful for Kendall's hard work! A couple years back, I participated in a Contest Every Race project to research where all the open seats were (extremely tedious but necessary, spreadsheets galore) to help make this achievement possible!
FYI, Contest Every Race works to recruit candidates for open seats and supports them through the filing process. Vols welcome: https://www.contesteveryrace.com/
Not much more to share, so here are some links:
Robert Reich's Wealth & Poverty class (free): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOLArO56vjuoeaIPzKQibBDbx2m_Rfsit
Gun Violence statistics: https://everystat.org/
Gun violence survivor support: https://momentsthatsurvive.org/resources/
Take care of each other, and keep going!
Great interview with Kendall Scudder. Very encouraging to see people getting down to the basics and not over complicating things.
I'm slowly working my way through the LBJ biography by Robert Caro, and one thing that struck me is how strong a progressive movement existed in Texas in the early half of the 20th century, including Sam Rayburn and other people who came from very poor rural and farm backgrounds. Of course, like today, there were always money interests, then railroads and banks, trying to buy politicians. But there is no reason to think a progressive, more populist kinds of economic messages, but coming from our side, can't succeed again in Texas. We've maybe lost a step for various reasons, but there is an opportunity that we have to build on for 2026, but more importantly for the long term.
Heads up, action needed today as they work to gut the equal opportunity credit act. public comments can be left today only..... heres the link. https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/CFPB-2025-0039-0001/receipt?fbclid=IwVERDUAOtM-lleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR4Yv-FD55fRh-WsD1pR9lz-6_Jsjgqw826hlDM3zjSqMgaXRcLPULSdkvQ1zw_aem_37s_JNfK8gKljwBlAgxopQ