We Are Americans. Fighting For Freedom and Democracy Is What We Do
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Morning all. Here’s a headline from the NYT this morning:
And here is Elon Musk yesterday - yeah that guy dismanting the US government and with access/control over the US Treasury and the IRS - very publicly throwing his lot in with Putin.
We start the fifth week of Trump II grappling with what really are a world-altering set of events. The United States now appears to be working with, not against, Putin, a genocidal war criminal who is intent on destroying the West and America. Our allies, it appears, are now Russia and Saudi Arabia, not Europe/NATO, Ukraine, Mexico and Canada. Our allies, it appears, are now autocracies, not democracies. As I wrote on Friday, our government, it appears, wants America itself to be weaker rather than stronger. To be less prosperous, healthy, safe and respected in the world. To be a shadow of it’s former self, no longer “the American of the Four Freedoms.” Perhaps in Putin’s and Musk’s minds akin to Russia today and the former Soviet Union. And certainly to no longer be a democracy, and for all of us to be free.
It is hard writing these words but I felt I must this morning. For it makes our work together that much more important. There are glimmers of hope out there that we should not ignore of course - Trump’s job approval has fallen dramatically; our opposition movement is starting to walk now just not crawl; they continue to make reckless and damaging mistakes; our courts and our federal system are providing early, important breaks against their historic betrayal of America. And here at Hopium we take the wins, no matter how small, when they come. For lots of small wins can start becoming lots of big ones.
It has been core to my commentary since 2016 when Russia attacked the Democratic Party and our candidate for President that our leaders had been slow to understand the nature of the conflict we now found ourselves in. Well, there is no longer any excuse not to understand it - for it is out there in the plain light of day for all to see. We understand it now, and understanding is the first step in developing a plan to win.
What gives me hope this morning above all else is all of us. We are Americans. Fighting for democracy and freedom is what we do. It is who we are. And yes we have a big job ahead of us now, but as let us all commit to show the world once again that we Americans can do big things. For doing big things is now what we have to do.
The Hopium Daily Reminder:
Trump 2.0 is a profound, ongoing betrayal of America, and everything that has made this remarkable nation the most powerful and prosperous in the world. It is why we must fight. As dark as all this is, we cannot for one moment forget that what Trump is doing is wrong; he and his project remain deeply unstable and his coalition fractious; he is doing deeply unpopular things, going far beyond his narrow “mandate;” he is old, impulsive, reckless and clearly in decline; and extremists and ideologues are often far better at bread and circuses than governing.
Recent, Relevant Hopium Essays And Videos
Republicans Are Now The Party of Appeasement, Chaos and Betrayal - My new comprehensive essay on the Trump/Musk assault on the US government and what I call the “America of the Four Freedoms”
A Collection Of Notes On The Path Forward - This new post pulls together a lot of my recent writing about where the Democratic goes from here and how we turn overselves effective and ferocious opposition. It should be read along side yesterday’s post, We Are The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For.
Standing Up For Our Democracy, Every Day - Notes on Building An Effective and Ferocious Opposition - My new video presentation and post on our current moment.
Inflation Spikes, Trump Is Not Winning - my latest take on why Trump is much weaker and more vulnerable then he appears right now, and why understanding Trump as weak not strong is essential
Let’s Get To Work - Here are my current working recommendations for calls/contacts this week. Four today, and thanks to all of you who are busting your ass right now:
Keep calling to stop Musk’s crime spree and assault on the US government. Encourage your Senators and Reps to file a criminal referral for him and his malicious posse to DOJ/FBI; insist Senators and Reps file amicus briefs in the court cases regarding the usurpation of their Constitutional authorities or file suits of their own; encourage them to hold a daily morning press conference to more aggressively challenge Musk’s ransacking of the USG that is making America less prosperous, less healthy, less safe and far less respected in the world.
For those of you who live in AZ, CA, CO, IA, MI, NE, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WI please start talking to your local orgs - state and local Democratic parties, grassroots groups, traditional Dem allies - about mounting a campaign targeting the most vulnerable 17 Republican House Members to urge them to vote against the emerging - and disastrous - House budget plan. We launched this new effort yesterday, and while we should be urging all our Senators and Reps to vote against these emerging plans, those of you can work these 17 House Rs have a special role to play in the coming battle over the budget.
Keep calling Attorneys General in the states. Ask them to protect you and your data, tax returns and privacy, and to keep federally mandated monies flowing to your states and communities. For those in the 19 states that brought the successful Treasury suit thank them and encourage them to keep going. I still believe these 19 states should make criminal referrals of Musk/his posse to DOJ/FBI and raise the stakes.
Let your electeds know you are outraged by traitorous Trump’s selling out of Zelenskyy, abandonment of Europe and embrace of Putin; and that we cannot accept this level of appeasement of someone who is a clear enemy of America and the West, and certainly not an ally. Demand that Trump not let his Saudi meeting w/Putin become our Munich; demand that he not become our Neville Chamberlain.
Paid subscribers should self-report their actions today in our daily chat. So inspired by how hard so many of you are working. I want to make a special plea to all Hopium readers in states with Republican Senators - please make your calls, every day. Even 50 to 100 people calling every day in every red state can make a difference. We have hundreds of Hopium subscribers in every state in the country and it’s critical that we all do our part now.
A note - while physical protests and rallies are a vital part of how we build our new opposition movement, make sure you only attend or promote events by organizations you know and trust. Please do not support any action - boycott, protest, rally, etc - unless you know and trust the organizers. Given the import of our work now I don’t think it wise or advisable to lend our support to newly formed, opaque organizations without a proven track record of working with Democratic groups and leaders.
For those wanting to do more traditional political/campaign work we have three Hopium-backed efforts we're rallying behind right now:
Help Get Ken Martin Off To A Strong Start - In this time of extraordinary challenge we need a strong DNC. Two weeks ago we set a goal of raising $100,000 by March 31st for our new Chair. Incredibly, over 1,000 of you have donated over $85,000 so far. Watch my interview with Ken about what he wants to do with the DNC, and chip in whatever you can to help Ken and the new exciting team at the DNC get off to a strong start. We now have a new stretch goal of $150,000 by March 31st after our very strong start for this effort (note that we did have some money clawed back due to an error in the amount someone gave!)
Help Susan Crawford and Ben Wikler in Wisconsin - As a way of honoring our good friend Ben Wikler and supporting this critical April Supreme Court race in Wisconsin, I’m asking our community to donate to the Wisconsin Democratic Party today. The money raised here will make sure Ben has the resources he needs to keep his team in place so they can support this critical statewide race. I know many of you are already deeply involved here - thank you all.
Watch our new discussion with Susan and Ben and thanks to a huge surge of support this weekend we have already raised $55,000, blowing past our $50,000 goal. We are now upping this to a stretch goal of $100,000 by March 31st. Thank you all!
Help Abigail Spanberger Win Virginia - Virginia will be one of the big battlegrounds of the November, 2025 elections and we have a great candidate for Governor, Abigail Spanberger. Watch my interview with Abigail, donate, volunteer, and learn more here. Given how many federal employees live in Virginia, this race is also now on the front lines of the Trump/Musk assault on the federal government. We’ve raised more than $38,000 so far towards our March 31st goal of $100,000 - thank you all. Let’s keep working it for Abigail!
More Things To Do - Dive into my recent interviews with folks who are making a difference. Check out our upcoming events. Come see me in Bethesda, Maryland tonight. Sign up for our paid subscriber get together tomorrow.
Keep working hard all. We have a country to save and a future to reclaim for the great and good people of America - Simon
Last night, my Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) held a tele-town hall on Zoom and I just want everyone to know that the calls we make matter. Twice during the call, she committed that Democrats would not vote for any Republican budget or government funding bill. As Simon laid out yesterday, this is one of the things in their power. Republicans have the majority and it's up to them to fund the government and pass a budget. If they need D's to help, then the lawlessness and criming have to stop before D's give them one vote. Keep calling your reps and senators. It matters.
I would also give my rep some credit for what she did last night. She's 71 and been in Congress for a long time, but she was out there, trying to get communicate in a new-ish way and reach the voters where they are. She and her staff have a ways to go, but they are trying. Let's keep teaching them and prodding them to do more. Keep up the fight everyone!
This is what I did yesterday, Presidents Day: a 3,000 person protest at the Colorado state capitol in Denver. Speakers, and then a surprise—the organizers had secured permits for a march and so we marched through downtown as the police closed off the streets!
It was sorely needed. I have been filled with rage and grief, and being with all these like-minded people really helped me.
I’ve been doing my solitary daily actions (calls, emails, texts, donations, Zoom training) but being physically in solidarity with other people is what I’ve been missing.
My sign appears about 50 seconds into this local coverage of the event:
https://youtu.be/XvPuICXD92o?si=hdaaqZ85Rdt5GVj4