Polling and mid-term prospects darkened for Republicans this week. How long will their 2026 candidates keep blindly following a failed, corrupt, and deeply unpopular President?
Here's something to celebrate. Resolution #100 !!!
On April 11, 2026, Rockport MA passed "A Resolution Supporting our U.S. Constitution and the Separation of Powers, and Urging Congress to Exercise Its Legislative Branch Authority and Oversight Powers to Provide a Check on Unlawful or Unconstitutional Actions by the President of the United States." That makes resolution #100 passed or in the works!! You can read the new resolution here. https://historicipswich.net/2026/04/11/rockport-town-meeting-resolution/
Our resolutions cover 23 states plus The District of Columbia !!
To date 28 resolutions/letters/declarations have been adopted in 9 states and 13 others have been submitted to the local Board in 4 additional states.
Good to have all the inspiring interviews with candidates! Now we have to get folks registered as Dems to counteract the horrible “bad Dems” stuff that is and will be coming from the Republicans… WE CAN’T LET THAT KEEP FOLKS FROM VOTING‼️😳
Now let's make sure that the surviving Republicans don't make a beeline for the Democratic Party and drag it to the white/right -- and that the Third Way types don't welcome them with open arms when they try it. We've got a democracy to save, and that's gonna involve putting serious hobbles on Big Money.
just saw on tv this am that repubs have approx $635M and the dems have $245M. and the billionaires will have their own pacs. and the foreign govts will put their thumb on the scale. repubs feel like they are just this close to totally taking over the country once and for all on the back of satan, and they will not give up easily. it will be a battle royale. just look at the VA election that will now end up in the VA supreme court because they cant accept losing. plus msm is compromised. so we have our substacks, the people, the re constituting dem party and everyone in the world hating satan for ruining the world. we need some dem billionaires to buffer us! wish mark cuban would buy msnbc so we would know its safe since cnn will go the way of satan pretty soon. i really wish americans were educated and involved in politics because if they really understood what is going on, they would all vote dem.
I've commented this numerous times and here's one more: IMO the Republican Party does not deserve to be considered a legitimate political party in America. That's a softer version of IT DOESN'T DESERVE TO EXIST. Not after all the recent months of it doing whatever it can to destroy America. Trump hasn'[t done all that damage by himself. They aided and abetted him all the way. Maybe they believe that Trump as Jesus image is real; maybe they think Jesus is coming to save them. I'm a lapsed (ex-) Catholic but I can tell the Republicans the unwelcome true news: Jesus is woke. At the end of this long national nightmare, the Republican Party must be abolished.
I appreciate your insight re "weak vs strong." I was on a fishing trip in Georgia about 20 years ago, and the captain was very clear about "nobody messes with Georgia" as his voting philosophy, and he was drawn to Republicans as a result. His comment remains vivid, and fits squarely into the weak/strong dichotomy.
Just because the bad guys like Stephen Miller has disappeared, doesn't mean he isn't causing harm. Being silent isn't a good thing. The same goes for all of them. 🤬
Hi all - great day yesterday representing Moms Demand at a symposium on victims' rights, then speaking at a Dem club on data security, AI and the elections. If you show up at a Dem club meeting, you are already engaged. The mission now is for us to use relational organizing to spread the message Simon is delineating, with help from the DNC, to the larger voting public.
Sen. Booker was on MSNow yesterday expressing anger at the failure of Congress to stop the Iran debacle. I keep calling on the electeds to hold shadow hearings - I think that most folks have NO CLUE how much damage all this is really doing and there needs to be public airing of all this stuff as there has been w Epstein.
The annual Harvard Youth Poll came out and it's not pretty-they are not optimistic about the future, but generally support Dems. I'd like to see more of them out at rallies and demonstrations, and I know Ezra & Leah are on the case. But engaging the young folks is def a concern: https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/52nd-edition-spring-2026
More from Ezra & Leah at today's weekly call, and an organizing call from Indivisible this evening on the May Day activities. I know Simon is not big on this particular movement, but I think this is something that young activists can get behind, and I'd like to see a ton of school walkouts on May 1 - those have been extremely effective in the gun safety space.
There have been school walkouts around here protesting ICE, so the kids have had experience doing it! Plus it's not 10 F out there any more, which also helps
Simon, I just listened to your discussion from last night about some of the most significant questions we have to grapple with as the midterms approach. I agree with your well-reasoned conclusion that “Trump is the crisis, and he needs to go.”
Taking your advice to consider that there may be ways to accomplish that objective if we give it serious thought, I offer this solution as something legally possible but admittedly difficult to implement:
Using the involuntary commitment laws passed in 2025 in Washington, D.C., apply the process described there to have DJT involuntarily committed to a psychiatric institution to be professionally evaluated and adjudicated for mental illness. If he is found to be mentally ill and a danger to himself or others, he would be placed involuntarily in the most effective, restrictive setting to help him to avoid the (continued) harm that he could (does) cause.
Yes, it is outside the box thinking, but it is not a crazy idea. Any other DC-based CEO with psychotic mental illness would be subject to this law. It is more expeditious than the 25th Amendment and can be initiated by professionals who are not part of the problem as the Cabinet is.
Perhaps, you know an expert in this field in DC who could advise on whether this approach could work.
The Republicans are too afraid to take the keys away from Grandpa.
Explain to me how the Democrats are the "weak" not "strong" party? We could be more decisive at times, and more willing to say things without focus-grouping them first.
But come on.
There was a quote recently, where Trump, acknowledging his unpopularity, said he was "surprised" at the lack of support. Talk about out of touch.
We can do better without a focus group at every turn, and just speak directly and confidently. We are better for people, better for the economy.
Also, link Trump and GOP corruption, Supreme Court corruption, and the backsliding of democracy, directly to the kitchen table issues. That is the silver bullet to winning over voters I think. Connecting the corruption to high prices and the rest.
I mean, Trump lost a war to a fourth rate power in six weeks, yet he and his ridiculous "envoys" and family are directly profiting. That should take his approval to zero. I know it won't, but it should.
Simon, VA was an incredible success, all the more reason for me to continue being so proud to be apart of this community. I’m not concerned about the judge’s recent block on the win because there’s no legal standing against it and so VA’s AG has a winning path especially given how even this Supreme Court paved the way for BOTH TX and CA. That all said, I have a sincere question as I’m not as read up on this. Do you feel DeSantis will make headway God forbid with his potential redistricting efforts and if so, how will that likely impact the race toward retaining the House. Not sure how the net gains for each party would impact each other.
Simon, you briefly mentioned that the war in Iran is impacting fertilizer, but this needs to be a bigger talking point. Hegseth said to Congress that it will be 6 months AFTER the war ends to clear the straight of Iranian mines. That means that there will be a major fertilizer shortage for the northern hemisphere this year. Big Ag depends on fertilizer or their crops don't grow. With Ukraine fertilizer production already down adding a shortage from the Middle East is going to have devastating effects on major grain production from the biggest food producers in the world. Food and particularly grain prices are going to become unaffordable for huge portions of the global population. Tens or hundreds of millions of people are going to be driven into hunger. The high prices due to the tariffs were already increasing demand at food banks across the country and creating more hunger globally. Even if the war were to end today, the wave of hunger that we are going to see around the world will be astounding and we have to make it clear that Trump and the Congressional Republicans are fully responsible for this hunger crisis and we are going have to come up with a plan how to get a super winter wheat crop and how to increase food production to make up for the greatly reduced crop production during the summer of 2026!
Simon, it was good to hear your comments today on the quality of candidates and how they are connecting with voters. I know that you were upset by my comment on the DNC recently; let me explain where I am coming from. You are a longtime insider; I am not and I am deeply skeptical about the political industrial complex and the frequent gap between where the electorate is and where the party leadership is. I hope you are right that the party is beginning to "get it" as the candidates are.
One more thing: you ONLY recommend investing in the party machinery and candidates and yet in so many states the more cost-effective way for most of us to invest is in grass roots groups that are getting the biggest voting block to the polls-- the non-voters. I feel sure you must be aware of the importance of these groups -- Texas Organising Project, Lucha in AZ, Down Home NC, Rural Democracy Initiative and on and on. They work year-round regardless of election cycles and in places like WI and NC really effective State Chairs value and work with them. In addition, these groups tend to make our dollars go further and are essential to educating non-voters by connecting the issues these people care about to the importance of electing candidates who will impact the policies around those issues. I believe they are an essential part of the political ecosystem and that democratic donors should be educated to give at least as much to these essential building blocks of democracy as they do to candidates.
Simon, thank you for last night's great discussion. Very hopeful!
I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say that the president is not in touch with reality and must go.
Here's something to celebrate. Resolution #100 !!!
On April 11, 2026, Rockport MA passed "A Resolution Supporting our U.S. Constitution and the Separation of Powers, and Urging Congress to Exercise Its Legislative Branch Authority and Oversight Powers to Provide a Check on Unlawful or Unconstitutional Actions by the President of the United States." That makes resolution #100 passed or in the works!! You can read the new resolution here. https://historicipswich.net/2026/04/11/rockport-town-meeting-resolution/
Our resolutions cover 23 states plus The District of Columbia !!
To date 28 resolutions/letters/declarations have been adopted in 9 states and 13 others have been submitted to the local Board in 4 additional states.
that's fantastic!
Such a great job you've done, Deborah, starting this and continuing to help more communities pass such resolutions. Proud to be in Hopium with you!!
Thank you. This project has its own wings. We the People are building the best new America that we can dream about.
ICE should be eliminated. They will never live down what they have done and the violence that they have done to fellow human beings.
All of their warehouses should be sold. Never again should the United States of America engage in such atrocities as have been committed in our names.
Good to have all the inspiring interviews with candidates! Now we have to get folks registered as Dems to counteract the horrible “bad Dems” stuff that is and will be coming from the Republicans… WE CAN’T LET THAT KEEP FOLKS FROM VOTING‼️😳
Now let's make sure that the surviving Republicans don't make a beeline for the Democratic Party and drag it to the white/right -- and that the Third Way types don't welcome them with open arms when they try it. We've got a democracy to save, and that's gonna involve putting serious hobbles on Big Money.
just saw on tv this am that repubs have approx $635M and the dems have $245M. and the billionaires will have their own pacs. and the foreign govts will put their thumb on the scale. repubs feel like they are just this close to totally taking over the country once and for all on the back of satan, and they will not give up easily. it will be a battle royale. just look at the VA election that will now end up in the VA supreme court because they cant accept losing. plus msm is compromised. so we have our substacks, the people, the re constituting dem party and everyone in the world hating satan for ruining the world. we need some dem billionaires to buffer us! wish mark cuban would buy msnbc so we would know its safe since cnn will go the way of satan pretty soon. i really wish americans were educated and involved in politics because if they really understood what is going on, they would all vote dem.
I've commented this numerous times and here's one more: IMO the Republican Party does not deserve to be considered a legitimate political party in America. That's a softer version of IT DOESN'T DESERVE TO EXIST. Not after all the recent months of it doing whatever it can to destroy America. Trump hasn'[t done all that damage by himself. They aided and abetted him all the way. Maybe they believe that Trump as Jesus image is real; maybe they think Jesus is coming to save them. I'm a lapsed (ex-) Catholic but I can tell the Republicans the unwelcome true news: Jesus is woke. At the end of this long national nightmare, the Republican Party must be abolished.
I appreciate your insight re "weak vs strong." I was on a fishing trip in Georgia about 20 years ago, and the captain was very clear about "nobody messes with Georgia" as his voting philosophy, and he was drawn to Republicans as a result. His comment remains vivid, and fits squarely into the weak/strong dichotomy.
We are in hell’s bowels until Trump is out of the WH, the sooner, the better.
"hell," "bowels," and "Trump" in the same sentence.
Exactly.
Great editing job! Thanks.😁
Just because the bad guys like Stephen Miller has disappeared, doesn't mean he isn't causing harm. Being silent isn't a good thing. The same goes for all of them. 🤬
Hi all - great day yesterday representing Moms Demand at a symposium on victims' rights, then speaking at a Dem club on data security, AI and the elections. If you show up at a Dem club meeting, you are already engaged. The mission now is for us to use relational organizing to spread the message Simon is delineating, with help from the DNC, to the larger voting public.
Sen. Booker was on MSNow yesterday expressing anger at the failure of Congress to stop the Iran debacle. I keep calling on the electeds to hold shadow hearings - I think that most folks have NO CLUE how much damage all this is really doing and there needs to be public airing of all this stuff as there has been w Epstein.
The annual Harvard Youth Poll came out and it's not pretty-they are not optimistic about the future, but generally support Dems. I'd like to see more of them out at rallies and demonstrations, and I know Ezra & Leah are on the case. But engaging the young folks is def a concern: https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/52nd-edition-spring-2026
More from Ezra & Leah at today's weekly call, and an organizing call from Indivisible this evening on the May Day activities. I know Simon is not big on this particular movement, but I think this is something that young activists can get behind, and I'd like to see a ton of school walkouts on May 1 - those have been extremely effective in the gun safety space.
Keep going!
There have been school walkouts around here protesting ICE, so the kids have had experience doing it! Plus it's not 10 F out there any more, which also helps
we need the youth! it's their future we are fighting for!!
Simon, I just listened to your discussion from last night about some of the most significant questions we have to grapple with as the midterms approach. I agree with your well-reasoned conclusion that “Trump is the crisis, and he needs to go.”
Taking your advice to consider that there may be ways to accomplish that objective if we give it serious thought, I offer this solution as something legally possible but admittedly difficult to implement:
Using the involuntary commitment laws passed in 2025 in Washington, D.C., apply the process described there to have DJT involuntarily committed to a psychiatric institution to be professionally evaluated and adjudicated for mental illness. If he is found to be mentally ill and a danger to himself or others, he would be placed involuntarily in the most effective, restrictive setting to help him to avoid the (continued) harm that he could (does) cause.
Yes, it is outside the box thinking, but it is not a crazy idea. Any other DC-based CEO with psychotic mental illness would be subject to this law. It is more expeditious than the 25th Amendment and can be initiated by professionals who are not part of the problem as the Cabinet is.
Perhaps, you know an expert in this field in DC who could advise on whether this approach could work.
The Republicans are too afraid to take the keys away from Grandpa.
Explain to me how the Democrats are the "weak" not "strong" party? We could be more decisive at times, and more willing to say things without focus-grouping them first.
But come on.
There was a quote recently, where Trump, acknowledging his unpopularity, said he was "surprised" at the lack of support. Talk about out of touch.
We can do better without a focus group at every turn, and just speak directly and confidently. We are better for people, better for the economy.
Also, link Trump and GOP corruption, Supreme Court corruption, and the backsliding of democracy, directly to the kitchen table issues. That is the silver bullet to winning over voters I think. Connecting the corruption to high prices and the rest.
I mean, Trump lost a war to a fourth rate power in six weeks, yet he and his ridiculous "envoys" and family are directly profiting. That should take his approval to zero. I know it won't, but it should.
Thank you, Simon. Love you, brother !
Simon, VA was an incredible success, all the more reason for me to continue being so proud to be apart of this community. I’m not concerned about the judge’s recent block on the win because there’s no legal standing against it and so VA’s AG has a winning path especially given how even this Supreme Court paved the way for BOTH TX and CA. That all said, I have a sincere question as I’m not as read up on this. Do you feel DeSantis will make headway God forbid with his potential redistricting efforts and if so, how will that likely impact the race toward retaining the House. Not sure how the net gains for each party would impact each other.
Simon, you briefly mentioned that the war in Iran is impacting fertilizer, but this needs to be a bigger talking point. Hegseth said to Congress that it will be 6 months AFTER the war ends to clear the straight of Iranian mines. That means that there will be a major fertilizer shortage for the northern hemisphere this year. Big Ag depends on fertilizer or their crops don't grow. With Ukraine fertilizer production already down adding a shortage from the Middle East is going to have devastating effects on major grain production from the biggest food producers in the world. Food and particularly grain prices are going to become unaffordable for huge portions of the global population. Tens or hundreds of millions of people are going to be driven into hunger. The high prices due to the tariffs were already increasing demand at food banks across the country and creating more hunger globally. Even if the war were to end today, the wave of hunger that we are going to see around the world will be astounding and we have to make it clear that Trump and the Congressional Republicans are fully responsible for this hunger crisis and we are going have to come up with a plan how to get a super winter wheat crop and how to increase food production to make up for the greatly reduced crop production during the summer of 2026!
Simon, it was good to hear your comments today on the quality of candidates and how they are connecting with voters. I know that you were upset by my comment on the DNC recently; let me explain where I am coming from. You are a longtime insider; I am not and I am deeply skeptical about the political industrial complex and the frequent gap between where the electorate is and where the party leadership is. I hope you are right that the party is beginning to "get it" as the candidates are.
One more thing: you ONLY recommend investing in the party machinery and candidates and yet in so many states the more cost-effective way for most of us to invest is in grass roots groups that are getting the biggest voting block to the polls-- the non-voters. I feel sure you must be aware of the importance of these groups -- Texas Organising Project, Lucha in AZ, Down Home NC, Rural Democracy Initiative and on and on. They work year-round regardless of election cycles and in places like WI and NC really effective State Chairs value and work with them. In addition, these groups tend to make our dollars go further and are essential to educating non-voters by connecting the issues these people care about to the importance of electing candidates who will impact the policies around those issues. I believe they are an essential part of the political ecosystem and that democratic donors should be educated to give at least as much to these essential building blocks of democracy as they do to candidates.
I'd be interested in your comments.