War, Decline, Dysfunction - And Ridicule - At Home

America is learning how to mock their MAGA's ridiculous leaders. It is an important evolution of our movement.......

Morning all. While he may be away today the damage he is doing to the country remains. Our economy has slowed, inflation is rising, the deficit is exploding, the farm economy is under siege, the tax burden is being shifted from the wealthy to the working and middle classes, and our health care system and public health are under an extraordinary assault. We’ve alienated governments throughout the world, walked away from treaties and our allies, and his vaporization of USAID is projected to kill fifteen million of the poorest people on Earth, including five million children - leaving America less safe and more alone in the world than we have been in generations. He has descended deeper into a traitorous and profoundly un-American authoritarianism, trampling our rights and liberties, throwing innocent people into foreign gulags, building a domestic political police loyal to him and sending the military to our streets, lawlessly dismantling our government, using the government to crack down on his political opposition, and enriching himself and his family in an orgy of public corruption. “More for me, less for all of you” has replaced Make America Great Again as the catch phrase of this new Trump era.

Yes, we should be grateful that there is a cease-fire in Gaza and the hostages are coming home. Let us hope that there is now a better path for all of the people of the Middle East, so badly governed for so long, so starved of rights and dignity. But let us not, not for one moment, call what is happening there “peace.” For as Martin Luther King Jr. once told us:

True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.

As we often discuss you never know in a political fight when a dam will break, a powerful meme will arise, or a new leader will emerge. You just never know. So you just have to keep your head down and keep fighting.

In the past few weeks something new, unexpected, and important has happened in our movement - mockery and ridicule has emerged as a powerful tool against Trump’s escalating authoritarianism.

Perhaps it began with Jimmy Kimmel’s inspiring victory and the rallying of the late night hosts…….

However this sentiment crept into our movement it has taken off in Portland:

And it has now spread to Illinois:

It will be present across the country this Halloween:

And we saw continued innovation with “fierce, unruly joy at the emergency naked bike ride” in Portland yesterday:

And this new spirit was amplified this weekend as Tina Fey and Amy Poehler returned to SNL as Kristi Noem and Pam Blondi:

MAGA leaders are deserving of all this mockery and ridicule, for while what they are doing is dangerous, and doing so much harm to all of us, it is also at its core ridiculous. These are unserious and ridiculous people. Listen to JD Vance just dissemble in this interview yesterday about Tom Homan’s bag o cash:

Or I could show you the many, many clips of Mike Johnson saying comical things, sounding a lot more like Baghdad Bob than an American political leader:

For is there any less serious person in Washington today than the cowardly Speaker who has only allowed the House to be in session four weeks in the past fourteen; who refuses to seat a Member elected now many weeks ago, denying the people of her district representation; and has claimed the House Rs “have done their job” when by law a budget was required by law to be passed and in place on September 30th, and not only is there no budget THERE IS NO PROCESS IN PLACE TO CREATE ONE. Wars are raging around the world. Our health care system in the US is buckling. The economy is heading towards recession and inflation is rising. Consumer confidence is near a 65 year low. The Republicans are months away from coming up with a fiscal year 2026 budget that demand hard, hard choices. AND THIS FUCKING CLOWN SAYS THEY HAVE DONE THEIR JOB AND THERE IS NO NEED TO BE IN WASHINGTON.

It is just an extraordinary betrayal of the country.

As I showed yesterday polling this past week showed Republicans losing altitude during these early days of the shutdown and losing the big arguments with Democrats. Their decline, and the growing awareness of just how terrible Trump has been is leading to growing dissent in the ranks even among Trump’s most loyal supporters:

As I’ve been arguing I think the central new dynamic in our politics is the growing awareness of how just how much damage Trump and his allies are doing to the country, what a chaotic shitshow this all is. It is helping drive the ridicule and mockery; their declining and terrible poll numbers and broad dissatisfaction in the public; our overperformance throughout the country in elections this year and strong leads in the November elections; and I think it is helping drive their recent escalation of the attacks on Trump’s domestic opposition - for they are aware they are losing control, that things aren’t going as they wanted, that Trump is sundowning and in ill-health, and they are scared, deeply scared, of losing power.

Which is why need to keep working hard and holding the line; keep mocking them deep into the night; and keep working to making No Kings Day this Saturday the largest protest in American history…….

Now, Let’s Get To Work Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

I want to thank everyone who has given in recent days. We saw a big uptick in giving before the critical q3 filing deadline. Note that we’ve hit $200,000 raised now for our 7 House incumbents and Abigail Spanberger, and $100,000 for Mikie Sherrill. Thank you all!

Winning The Fall - Support Our November, 2025 Candidates and Yes On 50

• Mikie Sherrill NJ Gov (2025) - $250,000 goal, $110k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my new interview with Rep. Sherrill | Read my new post about Sherrill’s sturdy polling lead | Sherrill leads by 8 in new Fox poll

• Abigail Spanberger VA Gov (2025) - $250,000 goal, $210k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my interview with Abigail Spanberger

• Yes on 50 (CA) - $50,000 goal - Donate | Learn more, volunteer | Sign Up For CA Dem Party Daily Phonebanks | Watch my new interview with Gov. Gavin Newsom

Hopium members in CA/NJ/PA/VA - please vote on Day 1, or as early as you can, either by mail or in-person. When you vote early your names comes off the campaign GOTV rolls allowing them to move on to lower propensity voters, which increases D turnout and makes it more likely we win. Voting early = another way to help us win.

Please vote early and encourage everyone you know to join you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Winning The Midterms - Support Our 2026 Candidates

• Roy Cooper for NC Senate (2026) - $250,000 goal, $43,000 raised- Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my interview with Gov. Cooper

• Jon Ossoff GA Senate (2026) - $250,000 goal, $82k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my inspiring new interview with Senator Ossoff

• Hopium House 7 (2026) - $250,000 goal, $217k raised - Donate | Learn More, Volunteer | Watch My Interviews With Our Intrepid Incumbents

Expanding The Map - Support Our Audacious Expansion Fund (2026-2032)

• Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $250,000 goal, $58,000 raised - Join our new campaign to invest in the Democratic Parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas | Donate To All Five State Parties | Watch my interviews with Alaska Chair Eric Croft, Florida Chair Nikki Fried, Iowa Chair Rita Hart, Maine Chair Charlie Dingman, and Texas Chair Kendall Scudder

Our updated fundraising goals are now for the end of the year, December 31st, except for the 2025 races, which are now for Election Day, 2025.

Defending America, Winning The Big Argument With Trump - We have two recommended actions today:

1 - Call Your Senators and Member Of The House And Demand They Act Upon Our Four-Part Agenda - We need to be loud people, very, very loud and make the case for our our emerging four part agenda. Demand that your Senators and House Member work to keep the government open and

1. Roll back Trump’s terrible, illegal tariffs that are re-igniting inflation, driving up prices, shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to working people, hurting small businesses and farmers, reviving tyrannical “taxation without representation,” and alienating governments and people throughout the world

2. Defend our democracy, rule of law, and our liberties by blocking the expansion of ICE, restoring due process for immigrants across the country, vigorously defending the 1st Amendment, warring against his outrageous targeting of his domestic political opponents, and ending the use of the military on our streets and the unlawful occupation of our cities

3. Fight Trump’s war on science, higher education and our public health; reverse - not delay - the cuts to the ACA and Medicaid; support and co-sponsor Rep. Haley Stevens’ effort to Impeach and remove Robert Kennedy

4. Stand with Ukraine and our European allies, and far more forcefully challenge Trump’s traitorous efforts to sell out the US and the West to Russia and China

2 - Bring “Resolutions Of Condemnation” To Your Community - Inspired by the tactics of our Founders learn about how Hopium members are advancing “Resolutions of Condemnation” in their communities across the country and consider bringing this initiative to your state, country or city/town. Be sure to check out our new discussion with Deborah Potter and Rachel Poliner who have passed resolutions in New Mexico and Boston, and offer advice on how to get a resolution passed in your own community.

Remarkably, members of this community have passed or are advancing 85 (!!!!) resolution projects in 23 states + DC. Can we get to all 50 states by the fall election?

Finally, please self-report your activities to our daily paid subscriber chat. These reports help inspire all of us to do more and fight harder! Been impressive to see how many of you remain involved in local, in person protests of all kinds in your communities. Great to see!

Keep working hard all, and remember Hopium is hope with a plan.

We don’t just hope tomorrow will be better than today.

We do the work to make it so….

Simon