The murder of Alexi Navalny and his subsequent funeral in Moscow are more than reminders of what can happen when an authoritarian neo-Stalinist regime erases freedom, reality, and humanity.
39 Days it took Hitler. We have 249 days left 'till the Election. It's going to take every single one of us doing every single thing we can to stop this menace. Never thought I'd see this happen in my very own backyard. But the threat is very real and we need to wake up as many people as we can before it's too late. The country and entire world is counting on us!!! Great piece. Let Freedom ring. ❤️🇺🇸💙
But they don’t see it. Most people unfortunately are not involved until they have to be. And the TFG gang is convinced democrats are the devils here. Watching some of the interviews with TFG supporters is disheartening at the very least. One woman is convinced that Biden died years ago and an actor has taken his place. And it goes on from there. These are the people who will vote for TFG no matter what. Delusional at very least.
Yes, but remember we out number them by a margin of 3:1 (democrats and undeclared). When we add soft republicans it gets even higher numbers.
We need to activate ourselves, we need to talk to people around us and talk about what we are seeing, what the MAGA crowd is saying they are going to do. We need to encourage young people to register to vote and then get them to vote.
Yes, yes yes!! And Trump's first criminal trial starts March 25th. Plus the RNC is pretty broke. We still have a lot of a reasons to hope. Trump has not expanded his Voter base at all. Steve Schmidt has said our Number one threat is Voter apathy so get involved!! Did you all know that Benjamin Franklin was 87 years old when he helped craft our Founding documents back in 1776?! Yes!! Throw that into the conversation next time someone brings up Biden's age!! There was no A/C back in Philadelphia when they were hammering out the details of our Continental Congress!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
My Goddaughter (27 yo) tells me she and her friends are confused by all the drama and have tuned-out. I fear we won't be able to get them to participate in voting. I've been talking to her about it but she's only one person.
Every vote counts. If she wants to be able to choose whether to have a child, afford housing, work more than a minimum wage job, and be safe from rampant gun violence, then she needs to at least educate herself on the candidates and vote. Doesn’t have to be her full-time job.
My goddaughter was very involved politically. She and her mother marched in "Pussy Hat" demonstrations after DFG was elected. Her family discuss politics frequently and she has good insight into issues. She is complaining of the chaos and confusion in politics over the past8 years or so. She sounds like many of her contemporaries, burnt-out.
I've talked to her about taking breaks from the chaos by doing things she enjoys, listening to music, walking amongst trees and deep breathing. She's burnt-out and becoming apathetic like many of her peers.
Burnt-out is a political strategy being used by DFG and it seems to be working on her and others as well. I know I have bouts of fatigue and feel apathetic about the election. But I understand what is happening and use the above strategies to refresh myself. I also understand no matter what happens during this election cycle, I'll vote for Biden. I believe she will too if she can see how her apathy is being manipulated.
Kimmel has shown pieces where the same interviewer asks the same question to the same MAGA person but mixes up Biden & Trump. When Trump says/does it, all is ok. If it was Biden, oh no, very bad. The twisting/ignorance/hypocrisy is incredible.
Lynn I've seen some of the horror stories. It is downright frightening. We just have to keep plugging away with the truth. I'm convinced there are way more of us than there are of them.
You have no idea how many people around the world are willing you on. More than a third of the world's population will vote in national elections this year (or has already done so) and what happens in the States affects them too. Here in the UK, the vast majority of people are with you.
Don't fret about the opinion polls, so few people are willing to talk to pollsters these days that they've become poor indicators of anything. Instead, look at exit polls and actual election results: the Dems overperform by 6-8%, and the Republicans underperform by a similar amount.
And try to filter out the journalistic bias against Biden. There are many reasons for this, not the least of which are that reporters and their editors fear for both their jobs and the chilling effect of the MAGA hate mob when a story is published that they don't like. Very few of us are tough enough to cope with pressure like that when considering what to report on.
The people posting here are so impressive. Every little thing you do helps preserve democracy. Just make sure you keep doing those things. If you're short of ideas go to Simon Rosenberg's Hopium Chronicles (https://www.hopiumchronicles.com). The comments are full of suggestions.
Thank you so so much. You'll never know how much how much your support means to me. I am a Political Activist surrounded by Trumpers and I just feel so alone at times. So please keep those thoughts and prayers coming!! I have faith but we've got a long road ahead. Thanks again for all the love. ❤️🇺🇸💙
Love this encouragement, and I wish we had more feedback from across the pond in our news cycles so citizens can see how much it matters to people across the world what happens here. The mental isolation here is real, they don't play sky news in the airport, they play fox, and it's like a brainwash for so many...BUT the numbers are with Dems and independents, the maga is a minority even in the GOP, we just have to get dems to run the ads that need running (theres so much grist) and get people out to vote vote vote.
Great points. It might be a good idea to remind any nervous Dems that Biden is sitting on $250m war chest (and it's probably grown bigger since I last checked). That the election campaign does not start fully until the fall. That's when messaging counts and that's when Biden will spend that cash. That's because the vast majority of voters are not politically engaged and will tune out until that time. That, meanwhile, the RNC has run out of money because tens of millions of dollars are being diverted to pay for Trump's legal bills. That t same is true of his PACs. That every dollar spent on a lawyer is a dollar not spent on campaigning. That the media narrative does not reflect reality.
Do you remember this? The dancing and cheering crowds in the streets of USA and around the world when Biden was declared the winner in the 2020 Presidential election. We danced and cheered because democracy won. But we learned quickly that the fight was and is never over. We fight now so that we can dance and cheer once more for a life of freedom and justice for all. Reed, as always, you are on the spot with his article. Also, your latest Podcast with Jacob Heilbrunn was enlightening. Helped me understand on a deeper level who we are facing in this fight.
There is so much love for you all—we see you, your big country, your many interests, powerful and loud but also fiercely protective of rights. It cuts both ways (MAGA🙄) but these strong traditions give hope. Its true that Germany may have swung to fascism quickly, as did Italy, but they had not the hundred plus years of democracy behind them. You will prevail.
I read a story about an American WWII soldier captured in Germany. They put him to work in a potato field, digging potatoes to send to German soldiers. They used barbed wire to poke holes to ruin the potatoes.
I live in heavily gerrymandered Kentucky. I am searching for ideas to "poke holes" in daily lives of those benefiting from my loss of voting power.
Yes, talk to young people and get them to register to vote. My granddaughter is a reflection of her generation (27 years old) and she talks about how she and her friends feel apathetic about voting because they don't think their voice counts. Many newly eligible to vote kids don't think it matters. Tell them it how it does and will make a difference when they vote. Then help them register to vote.
In Kentucky, if you vote Democrat, our voices do not count. I need a way to needle the Republicans and let them know what they do is, if not illegal in Kentucky, that gerrymandering is undemocratic and immoral, because they are constantly stealing elections.
I'm so sorry. I live in California and don't have to worry about Gerrymandering. Most of our state is democratic. We have republican areas, but they're small.
I spent a few weeks in Nashville and Hurricane Mills several years ago when my husband worked on The Coal Miner's Daughter. I loved the area and all the open spaces.
It's a shame that more states can't be more balanced in their districts. Maybe if more people voting democratic it will help change that.
Sadly too many people I know who identify as "D" or "I" are not paying attention. They don't want to believe that what you are describing can happen here. I had one friend say "Well if Trump gets re-elected, it will only be 4 more years of him." I was shocked and replied "If he gets re-elected, he is never leaving and its the end of democracy as we know it." The friend looked at me in horror. Your former colleague over at "The Warning" writes that Trump is winning based on the latest NYT Siena poll. It scares me to death.
Read Project 2025, policy agenda drafted by the super conservative Heritage Foundation. The GQP is already following it. Send quotes to your friends to show what's in store for us.
Here's something you can tell women especially, young women. I spent several decades as a grassroots activist working on keeping abortion and contraception legal, safe and accessible. 20+ years ago when feminist groups raised concerns about Roe v Wade being chipped away at or eliminated, we repeatedly heard from women "oh THAT will never happen!" That's a direct quote. I'm not here to say 'I told you so!', I'm just saying yes it can happen here!
Totally agree and I try to spread the word. But some family/friends think "I'm too obsessed with politics". I recently published an Op Ed warning about losing rights to birth control and other reproductive care, before the Alabama IVF ban.
Having read books like In The Garden Of The Beasts by Eric Larssen, I saw a clear picture of how the takeover of a government is started. It started with thugs marching in the streets and beating anyone who looked Jewish. Then it was anyone who didn't Sig Heil, or turned away when the marchers were coming down the street. We already have our version of the Brown Shirts. We've already seen them marching in our streets. We've seen them decend on innocent people standing by watching. What's next is them beating anyone they choose to for whatever reason they imagine.
This isn't hyperbole. It happened in Germany in 1933, with the whole world watching. People saw a sliver of what was happening and dismissed it because they believed people wouldn't tolerated that. People believed their courts and laws would stop it. Well, we have now seen it on our television, we've seen it in our streets, and now we are seeing it in our courts. How much more do we need to see before we believe it is happening here? They're not hiding it. They'er telling us what they want and are going to do when they take power.
Let's not allow what happened to Berlin of 1933. Let's acknowledge what we are seeing. Let's protect our way of life and our freedom to say or do what we care about. Let's vote for democracy.
Thank you so much Reed. I have been doing everything I can to spread the word of how devastating a Trump presidency would be. Many people, especially young people have no clue the devastating consequences if Trump wins. And when I hear people say they are upset about inflation I just want to scream. Please keep spreading the word and I will do my part as well.
Great piece, thank you. This helps frame what is happening in a larger context. I have hope that pieces like this will wake enough people up to turn the tide once again.
39 Days it took Hitler. We have 249 days left 'till the Election. It's going to take every single one of us doing every single thing we can to stop this menace. Never thought I'd see this happen in my very own backyard. But the threat is very real and we need to wake up as many people as we can before it's too late. The country and entire world is counting on us!!! Great piece. Let Freedom ring. ❤️🇺🇸💙
But they don’t see it. Most people unfortunately are not involved until they have to be. And the TFG gang is convinced democrats are the devils here. Watching some of the interviews with TFG supporters is disheartening at the very least. One woman is convinced that Biden died years ago and an actor has taken his place. And it goes on from there. These are the people who will vote for TFG no matter what. Delusional at very least.
Yes, but remember we out number them by a margin of 3:1 (democrats and undeclared). When we add soft republicans it gets even higher numbers.
We need to activate ourselves, we need to talk to people around us and talk about what we are seeing, what the MAGA crowd is saying they are going to do. We need to encourage young people to register to vote and then get them to vote.
Yes, yes yes!! And Trump's first criminal trial starts March 25th. Plus the RNC is pretty broke. We still have a lot of a reasons to hope. Trump has not expanded his Voter base at all. Steve Schmidt has said our Number one threat is Voter apathy so get involved!! Did you all know that Benjamin Franklin was 87 years old when he helped craft our Founding documents back in 1776?! Yes!! Throw that into the conversation next time someone brings up Biden's age!! There was no A/C back in Philadelphia when they were hammering out the details of our Continental Congress!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Voters under 35 are key this election just as they were in 2022.
My Goddaughter (27 yo) tells me she and her friends are confused by all the drama and have tuned-out. I fear we won't be able to get them to participate in voting. I've been talking to her about it but she's only one person.
Every vote counts. If she wants to be able to choose whether to have a child, afford housing, work more than a minimum wage job, and be safe from rampant gun violence, then she needs to at least educate herself on the candidates and vote. Doesn’t have to be her full-time job.
My goddaughter was very involved politically. She and her mother marched in "Pussy Hat" demonstrations after DFG was elected. Her family discuss politics frequently and she has good insight into issues. She is complaining of the chaos and confusion in politics over the past8 years or so. She sounds like many of her contemporaries, burnt-out.
I've talked to her about taking breaks from the chaos by doing things she enjoys, listening to music, walking amongst trees and deep breathing. She's burnt-out and becoming apathetic like many of her peers.
Burnt-out is a political strategy being used by DFG and it seems to be working on her and others as well. I know I have bouts of fatigue and feel apathetic about the election. But I understand what is happening and use the above strategies to refresh myself. I also understand no matter what happens during this election cycle, I'll vote for Biden. I believe she will too if she can see how her apathy is being manipulated.
Kimmel has shown pieces where the same interviewer asks the same question to the same MAGA person but mixes up Biden & Trump. When Trump says/does it, all is ok. If it was Biden, oh no, very bad. The twisting/ignorance/hypocrisy is incredible.
Saw those. What hypocrisy.
Lynn I've seen some of the horror stories. It is downright frightening. We just have to keep plugging away with the truth. I'm convinced there are way more of us than there are of them.
You can’t (and shouldn’t) argue with stupid.
You have no idea how many people around the world are willing you on. More than a third of the world's population will vote in national elections this year (or has already done so) and what happens in the States affects them too. Here in the UK, the vast majority of people are with you.
Don't fret about the opinion polls, so few people are willing to talk to pollsters these days that they've become poor indicators of anything. Instead, look at exit polls and actual election results: the Dems overperform by 6-8%, and the Republicans underperform by a similar amount.
And try to filter out the journalistic bias against Biden. There are many reasons for this, not the least of which are that reporters and their editors fear for both their jobs and the chilling effect of the MAGA hate mob when a story is published that they don't like. Very few of us are tough enough to cope with pressure like that when considering what to report on.
The people posting here are so impressive. Every little thing you do helps preserve democracy. Just make sure you keep doing those things. If you're short of ideas go to Simon Rosenberg's Hopium Chronicles (https://www.hopiumchronicles.com). The comments are full of suggestions.
Keep calm and carry on.
Thank you so so much. You'll never know how much how much your support means to me. I am a Political Activist surrounded by Trumpers and I just feel so alone at times. So please keep those thoughts and prayers coming!! I have faith but we've got a long road ahead. Thanks again for all the love. ❤️🇺🇸💙
Love this encouragement, and I wish we had more feedback from across the pond in our news cycles so citizens can see how much it matters to people across the world what happens here. The mental isolation here is real, they don't play sky news in the airport, they play fox, and it's like a brainwash for so many...BUT the numbers are with Dems and independents, the maga is a minority even in the GOP, we just have to get dems to run the ads that need running (theres so much grist) and get people out to vote vote vote.
Great points. It might be a good idea to remind any nervous Dems that Biden is sitting on $250m war chest (and it's probably grown bigger since I last checked). That the election campaign does not start fully until the fall. That's when messaging counts and that's when Biden will spend that cash. That's because the vast majority of voters are not politically engaged and will tune out until that time. That, meanwhile, the RNC has run out of money because tens of millions of dollars are being diverted to pay for Trump's legal bills. That t same is true of his PACs. That every dollar spent on a lawyer is a dollar not spent on campaigning. That the media narrative does not reflect reality.
Do you remember this? The dancing and cheering crowds in the streets of USA and around the world when Biden was declared the winner in the 2020 Presidential election. We danced and cheered because democracy won. But we learned quickly that the fight was and is never over. We fight now so that we can dance and cheer once more for a life of freedom and justice for all. Reed, as always, you are on the spot with his article. Also, your latest Podcast with Jacob Heilbrunn was enlightening. Helped me understand on a deeper level who we are facing in this fight.
Watching from Australia, I wish you strength.
It is helpful to know that there are others in the world who care, who share our horror, and who wish us well.
There is so much love for you all—we see you, your big country, your many interests, powerful and loud but also fiercely protective of rights. It cuts both ways (MAGA🙄) but these strong traditions give hope. Its true that Germany may have swung to fascism quickly, as did Italy, but they had not the hundred plus years of democracy behind them. You will prevail.
Thank you. We sure need it. ❤️🇺🇸💙
I read a story about an American WWII soldier captured in Germany. They put him to work in a potato field, digging potatoes to send to German soldiers. They used barbed wire to poke holes to ruin the potatoes.
I live in heavily gerrymandered Kentucky. I am searching for ideas to "poke holes" in daily lives of those benefiting from my loss of voting power.
Any ideas?
Yes, talk to young people and get them to register to vote. My granddaughter is a reflection of her generation (27 years old) and she talks about how she and her friends feel apathetic about voting because they don't think their voice counts. Many newly eligible to vote kids don't think it matters. Tell them it how it does and will make a difference when they vote. Then help them register to vote.
In Kentucky, if you vote Democrat, our voices do not count. I need a way to needle the Republicans and let them know what they do is, if not illegal in Kentucky, that gerrymandering is undemocratic and immoral, because they are constantly stealing elections.
I'm so sorry. I live in California and don't have to worry about Gerrymandering. Most of our state is democratic. We have republican areas, but they're small.
I spent a few weeks in Nashville and Hurricane Mills several years ago when my husband worked on The Coal Miner's Daughter. I loved the area and all the open spaces.
It's a shame that more states can't be more balanced in their districts. Maybe if more people voting democratic it will help change that.
Dictator only for the first day. Day one “ I hereby erase the constitution and my rule begins today.”
Autocracy ends dreams.
Sadly too many people I know who identify as "D" or "I" are not paying attention. They don't want to believe that what you are describing can happen here. I had one friend say "Well if Trump gets re-elected, it will only be 4 more years of him." I was shocked and replied "If he gets re-elected, he is never leaving and its the end of democracy as we know it." The friend looked at me in horror. Your former colleague over at "The Warning" writes that Trump is winning based on the latest NYT Siena poll. It scares me to death.
First, that former colleague at "The Warning" who is backing Dean Phillips, wants to gaslight everyone into thinking Trump is strong and Phillips is the answer. Second, this latest post by Jay Kuo should allay any fears about that stupid poll: https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/status-report-about-that-poll?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=283462&post_id=142264203&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=6o957&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
He’s not backing Dean Phillips anymore.
Thank you for sharing this.
Read Project 2025, policy agenda drafted by the super conservative Heritage Foundation. The GQP is already following it. Send quotes to your friends to show what's in store for us.
Here's something you can tell women especially, young women. I spent several decades as a grassroots activist working on keeping abortion and contraception legal, safe and accessible. 20+ years ago when feminist groups raised concerns about Roe v Wade being chipped away at or eliminated, we repeatedly heard from women "oh THAT will never happen!" That's a direct quote. I'm not here to say 'I told you so!', I'm just saying yes it can happen here!
Totally agree and I try to spread the word. But some family/friends think "I'm too obsessed with politics". I recently published an Op Ed warning about losing rights to birth control and other reproductive care, before the Alabama IVF ban.
This comment from another post resonates with me: “They found Trump. It does not matter whether they like him or not. He suits their purposes.”
We who subscribe to The Home Front know this.
It is our responsibility to bring this understanding to those who can but do not yet see it, and activate them.
Reed, I was dismissing the polls, but now I am getting concerned. What's your opinion? Thanks.
Von trump is becoming just ripe enough for bedlam lunatic asylum for the criminally insane. Pick him up and lock him up pdq. Thank you
Reed thank you and well stated!
Having read books like In The Garden Of The Beasts by Eric Larssen, I saw a clear picture of how the takeover of a government is started. It started with thugs marching in the streets and beating anyone who looked Jewish. Then it was anyone who didn't Sig Heil, or turned away when the marchers were coming down the street. We already have our version of the Brown Shirts. We've already seen them marching in our streets. We've seen them decend on innocent people standing by watching. What's next is them beating anyone they choose to for whatever reason they imagine.
This isn't hyperbole. It happened in Germany in 1933, with the whole world watching. People saw a sliver of what was happening and dismissed it because they believed people wouldn't tolerated that. People believed their courts and laws would stop it. Well, we have now seen it on our television, we've seen it in our streets, and now we are seeing it in our courts. How much more do we need to see before we believe it is happening here? They're not hiding it. They'er telling us what they want and are going to do when they take power.
Let's not allow what happened to Berlin of 1933. Let's acknowledge what we are seeing. Let's protect our way of life and our freedom to say or do what we care about. Let's vote for democracy.
Thank you so much Reed. I have been doing everything I can to spread the word of how devastating a Trump presidency would be. Many people, especially young people have no clue the devastating consequences if Trump wins. And when I hear people say they are upset about inflation I just want to scream. Please keep spreading the word and I will do my part as well.
Great piece, thank you. This helps frame what is happening in a larger context. I have hope that pieces like this will wake enough people up to turn the tide once again.