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deletedFeb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg
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Feb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg

"I'm not sure the young know how much NATO means unless they remember their grands and great grands who fought in WWII..."

You are making me feel old! ;-) Both my parents were WWII vets. My mom had 6 older brothers and I think all but the oldest (who was mid-thirties by Pearl Harbor) fought in the war; the one closest to her in age was KIA and is buried at the Cambridge American cemetery.

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RemovedFeb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg
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There are some great writers from The Atlantic they could have on right now; as much as the Atlantic pissed me off with its guest piece on dumping Biden, ( and IIRC Ezra Klein's wife works there )they have been really good on explaining this issue. An excellent piece is up now on anti-semitism, and how a lot of the far leftist arguments against Israel have their genesis in the old USSR propaganda machine.

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American idioms really are quite bizarre.

In my opinion, Senator Fetterman greatly exaggerates President Biden’s Oedipal Complex.

/s

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Typical Democratic voter much closer to Biden's view of the Middle East than his critics. And we have work to do with Muslim voters, but they are a very small part of the electorate and their size in Michigan in particular has been exaggerated.

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I thought Tom Suozzi handled this very well in his race. He might be one to watch.

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founding

Happy President's Day (minus one).

Great Ad. Will circulate.

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Feb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg

Already sent to 10 like-minded friends. Asked them to keep up the distribution exposure -- an exponential list if they help out 🤞🤞

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thank you!

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Susan, for some reason your comment reminds me of an old joke:

.

Q. What’s the definition of a jazz quartet?

A. Three musicians and a drummer.

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Feb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg

Great ad!

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Agreed, Simon; great ad.

So, it seems to me like our greatest concern now is the narrative to replace Biden with '???', e.g. Ezra Klein. This is totally nuts in my book.

Can you and Tom talk about the % bump that incumbancy contributes to a candidate? Thanks.

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Feb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg

Another reason to love Biden: here is an excellent analysis of how Biden is successfully taking on monopoly power in the economy.

https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2024/02/why-biden-matters.html#more-249133

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Feb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg

A random bought presented as great idea by Ezra. Garbage.

Commentariat giving setting selves up for an ‘I told you so’

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Feb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg

Thank you, as always Simon Rosenberg! You keep me hopeful.

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It’s a source of unending frustration that Fox and all other right wing media ignores or “spins” this administration’s progress with mis -and dis-information so that so many folks are being mislead, Independents as well as Republican voters.... eerrgh!

Keep talking to others and circulating the new ads as they come out!

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Today the talk seems to be the $18 Big Mac, "which is a problem for Joe Biden"....I stopped in McDonald's the other day with a couple of young adults after a trip to Brooklyn; it cost less than $18 for multiple sandwiches and fries, they have all kinds of specials and discounts, and they send coupons to the house all the time. Don't people know how to budget anymore?

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RemovedFeb 19
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Richard while much of this may be true, 1) as I wrote in this piece a few weeks by many measures Democrats and voters in general are actually very satisfied with the economy and with Biden's handling of it - https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/the-economy-is-remarkably-strong 2) you don't have data to back up what you are saying. My piece above debunks in my mind the "lived experience" argument, something Paul Krugman has also been doing for on Twitter and in the NYT for the last several months. The country isn't down on Biden and the economy. MAGA is.

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Janet Yellen herself just blew a hole in this theory. I don't see a lack of spending going on either, and now retailers are starting to look for retail space again. That is not a bad economy. And, I think it was the Meidas Touch gang that pointed out, if things are so bad why the hell are so many people trying to come here from abroad? Actually, coming in under a hundred bucks at a restaurant where four people ate isn't bad. But IHOP not only distributes coupons, it has days where they have discounts of all kinds. You can save a bundle in some of these places. And there's no way you finished all those pancakes; don't be shy, ask for a box to take home. Two meals for the price of one! Better yet, go to Costco or Sam's and buy yourself a big bag of pancake mix. You can make better ones yourself and have quality time with the family. Enough pancake mix for a year....I really think people have lost the art of shopping on a budget. You have to be strategic, you can't just walk in the store and say, I like Hellman's, so I'll pay ten bucks for it. No, you wait for a sale, or you buy another brand. There are places like Aldi and Lidl who sell only their own labels, a lot cheaper. The only way we are going to stop the price gauging is to stop paying those prices. With true inflation, corporate profits wouldn't be so high, from what I have read. But even if we were in a deep depression, that would not make voting for a fascist a reasonable idea, and I think that is where a lot of the campaign needs to go. Voters are reporting democracy as their top concern. Should be easy to campaign on that. And Roe.

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I 💙 Aldi .Interesting how their prices have barely budged throughout inflation, shrinkflation, and the “it’s-all-Biden’s-fault” (booming)economy. In Florida, the GOP-hugging Pulblix chain rules and their prices( despite their BOGOS) are crazy. Guilty as charged because I still shop there but like to think I get points ( a moral discount of sorts😜) for wearing my Biden/Harris t-shirt on Publix runs!. 👕🛒

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Feb 19·edited Feb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg

Love the ad. Also happy to see Governor Evers in Wisconsin signed into law new legislative maps today to help even the playing field there. As the Wisconsin Democratic Party says, "This was only possible because of the tireless efforts of grassroots activists, organizers, and democracy-defending leaders." Bravo to all!

Re Ezra Klein in the Times - I wrote another Letter to the Editor yesterday:

To the Editor:

With democracy at a crossroads at home and abroad, the NY Times appears relentlessly driven each day to undermine President Biden. Ezra Klein’s latest piece continues the pile-on. It's especially troubling to see the Times make light of the reality that legislatively and economically, Joe Biden has been the most successful American president since FDR. Even Klein admits, "I am convinced he is able to do the job of the presidency. He is sharp in meetings; he makes sound judgments. I cannot point you to a moment when Biden faltered in his presidency because his age had slowed him.” Additionally, concerned pundits cite small sample polls predicting a Trump victory while turning a blind eye to the fact that Democrats continue defying expectations in actual elections since Dobbs. Biden also enjoys overwhelming strength among 2024 Democratic primary voters; he even beat back challengers by over 40% in New Hampshire where his name wasn’t on the ballot.

The choice for voters in November will be stark: democracy or dictatorship. Whatever the president's age, we know democracy continues if America re-elects Joe Biden, and a Constitutional succession plan remains in place. Meanwhile the crazed, elderly Republican alternative faces 91 felony counts, owes over $500 million in penalties for fraud, defamation and sexual assault, encourages Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to our NATO allies, is reportedly considering Tucker Carlson as his VP, and promises to be a dictator ("but only on day one"). Not a hard choice - I'm proudly with Team Biden-Harris and the Democratic Party in the existential fight for freedom over fascism.

Sincerely,

Jon Bierman

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I love the ad too. I want my son to see it. His only criteria for the president is who “would protect him and his family best.” Your letter is well stated. Thank you! I am upset with Ezra Klein’s push to replace Joe too. It would be our undoing and a complete invitation to let the orange monster take over and kill whomever disagrees, among so many other immoral acts.

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Great stuff Jon. Thank you.

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Jon, You are tireless with writing letters to the editor. Thanks for sharing.

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Thank you, Cheryl. Glad to be one of many in this group doing whatever we can to help protect our democracy!

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During Covid I found a blog by a data analyst who was tracking the partisan divide wrt Covid rates and vaccination uptake. His "day job" was tracking ACA sign-up rates. (https://acasignups.net/blogs/charles-gaba).

NC finally passed Medicare expansion and he analyzed sign ups in the first 2 months (as of Feb 1). He recently posted this about the status: https://acasignups.net/24/02/16/north-carolina-aca-medicaid-expansion-reaches-346k. I would love to hear Simon's take on this and how the Biden campaign could use in NC against Trump.

"As of Feb. 1, 2024, 346,408 newly eligible North Carolinians are enrolled in Medicaid and now have access to comprehensive health care, ... This number is more than half of the anticipated 600,000 people who are newly eligible for coverage, expected to enroll in Medicaid expansion over the next two years."

"Through the combined efforts of NCDHHS, as well as county health departments and local departments of social services, North Carolina enrolls more than 1,000 people into Medicaid expansion per day. "

"Many people who have enrolled through Medicaid expansion are young adults, work part or full-time, and/or live in rural areas. Nearly one in three new enrollees are between 19 and 29 years old, and disproportionately live in rural communities. Anson, Edgecombe, Richmond, Robeson and Swain counties have the highest enrollment rates to date."

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If anyone is curious about Gaba's Covid analsysis, check out this post - especially the last graph that shows why Trump's thinking it was a blue state problem came back to bite him in the butt.

https://acasignups.net/23/07/26/final-peer-reviewed-study-again-confirms-pretty-much-everything-ive-said-past-2-yearsx

Next is one of his analyses looking at partisan lean at the county level (using % vote for Trump in 2020 as a proxy), vaccination rates, and covid deaths. The bar charts show the data broken out into deciles with either partisan lean or vaccination rate on the X-axis. Finally, the bubble plot shows each county with partisan lean on the X-axis and vaccination rate on the Y-axis. The size of bubbles are proportional to the population of the county.

https://acasignups.net/23/04/04/march-likely-final-update-covid-death-rates-partisan-lean-vaccination-rate-wbivalent

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For those who track health care Charles Gaba is a must follow.

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I was a senior advisor to the DCCC and Trump's attempt to kill the ACA was the central reason we won the election by 8.6 pts. That he has come out against it again is a sign of his diminishment, increased impulsivity, escalating extremism and idiocy.

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Feb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg

Off topic a but, but also totally on topic for what we do….Governor Evers signed free legislative maps into law in Wisconsin today. Helping Judge Janet P win her seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court last spring was the first big action we took in the early days of Hopium, and it was thrilling to have made calls and donated $$ to such a consequential race. For me, it’s equally thrilling to see that effort paying off not just in a campaign victory, but in a practical and meaningful change due to the victory.

In November Wisconsinites will have the chance for their legislature to reflect the majority sentiment of the voters for the first time in 13 years…..thanks Simon for organizing those of us who were here at the time to participate and share some ownership of this game changing moment that will have important implications on our presidential election as well. On to the next! 🇺🇸

https://x.com/benwikler/status/1759604761966293263?s=46

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Thanks for this Steve. I will write about it tomorrow.

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Ben Wikler has asked me to come to Wisconsin in June to campaign and I hope we can make it work. Rs are having their convention there so going to be a wild summer!

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Simon, Would love to get your take on Trump reportedly backing a national abortion ban.

https://www.messageboxnews.com/p/breaking-trump-backs-a-national-abortion?r=1aiy5t&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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Disastrous. We know from Virginia overwhelming majority of voters do not think politicians should be inserting themselves in this process. No matter what they call it, a ban is a ban is a ban, and their belief they can talk their way out of this is another reason we keep winning and they keep losing.

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Feb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg

I received an email this morning from the Center for Common Ground about an upcomining webinar, that I thought might interest some of you:

Building A Representative Democracy with Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, February 21 at 8 pm EST

https://actionnetwork.org/events/jasmine-crockett-february-21?

I have written postcards for one of their projects, Reclaim Our Vote, which helps engage BIPOC voters in VA, NC, SC, GA, and AL. They will shortly be writing to voters for the GA primaries and will be writing to NC voters for the General election.

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Jasmine is just amazing. A rising star. Rs quake when she takes them on.

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Great ad, will share. Had dinner and discussion with like minded couples a few nights ago. Everyone’s biggest concern for our party is the incredible lack of messaging. The R’s seem to be the winners. We can’t figure out why. The media certainly isn’t helping, MSNBC is Trump 24/7. No talk about the great things Biden is accomplishing. Unless he stumbles/mumbles in a press conference.

How can this powerful group change that?? Write on the MSNBC FB page to start positive talking points about Biden?? Any suggestions? The grass roots approach is wonderful, but the media??????

And calling for Katy Tur to be fired over a question, c’mon folks. We are starting to sound like MAGA with pitchforks!

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Feb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg

Riki,

Ok- I’m confused.

I watch MSNBC daily or at least listen to it as I’m doing my housework. Nicole Wallace, Ari Melber, Chris Hayes, occasionally Lawrence ODonnel or Stephanie Rule

or Rachel Maddow. Simon Rosenberg, our HC leader has increased his number of interviews also-stating Biden’s accomplishments and the dangers wrought by djt. As I scan CNN the same seems to occur there.

I hear their guests constantly speaking about Biden’s accomplishments as well as the chaos of djt and the House GOP. Guest after guest speaks from their perspective about the danger and failings of MAGA. I now know Andrew Weismann’s voice as well as Neal Katyal as they explain judiciary issues and the challenges to the judiciary. Yes, definitely they are covering djt wanting to take over the USA through the presidency but I hear about all the accomplishments of Biden also. I also learned recently that The Meidas Touch brothers on YouTube tube beat out competitors ( including Fox) for over 2 million views of their program.

I agree there could always be more and that the GOP are “ noisier” as Simon describes but is it still accurate to say we Democrats have “a messaging” issue? Some days I feel overwhelmed by messages from both sides!?! Do agree we need to CONTINUE to do what we’re doing!

I will also say: I loved reading about the messaging of all those postcards and phone calls and texting from our grassroots groups reminding our patriots of democracy to GO VOTE!!!!

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Thanks Irene. I’m reporting back what my friends, over 70, are saying about their party, our party. The perception is a messaging problem to them. And I do hear pundits talking, mostly about Trump and their professional opinion about all his legal troubles. I’ll listen next time I even turn them back on for some positive things about Biden.

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Thank you for sending your response; one idea that might be helpful to your friends

( an idea I read here on HC) is to send Hopium Chronicle articles ( especially with graphs) and videos to anyone voicing concerns about Biden vs Trump. My friends and family members have been pretty shocked after reviewing the data sent them-then they requested Simons bona fides! Researching that was interesting and well worth the time. Someone else turned me on to check out the White House home site where Biden Administration accomplishments are listed; pretty amazing! The Trippi and Rosenberg video has been one of fav videos so far and could be a good one to start off with. Meidas Touch and TCohen on YouTube are both amazingly rich resources for those looking for louder broadcasting of Democratic messaging. A lot more effort being made to have available TG. and maybe, maybe meet communication needs and change perceptions.

All my best.

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Ask not what Biden and the DNC can do you for you, ask what you can do for them......we have to stop complaining, worrying, and just do more. It's all we can do.

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Thanks Simon, ordered postcards today from Center for Common Ground. Going to send out 100 after hand writing them. You’re right, do more!

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I think their Reclaim Our Vote campaign for GA primary drops later this week? I need to finish writing the postcards for which I have already downloaded addresses, before I take on any more. But I did buy more of their postcards so I'll be ready to go!

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Think Josh Shapiro was channeling you today if I read correctly.

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1000% YES!!!!!

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Feb 19·edited Feb 19Liked by Simon Rosenberg

Great ad!

"Traitor" and "Treason" are two words that Democrats should be using often. In fact, it puzzles me why they have not consistently done so since January 6th, 2021.

And it wasn’t just an "insurrection" – it was an attempted "coup"!

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And how about “dictator”, not “authoritarian” I mean, who the Hell knows what “authoritarian” even means. When a political party refuses to use words that ordinary human meanings understand, it has a big problem.

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We think Joe Biden "refuses" to use simple words?

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