Good day to you all! Feels good to see that we’re on to something BIG if we all do our part in less than four months from now. I know I will.
I’m done harping on those harping about 2016 … Also, we need to get off that “Act if we’re down 10” bullshit. If anything, act like sharks; when you see blood, find the source and chow down. We have blood; we feast in November.
Stand up, mask up, throw down!
That is exactly right. I get that we all have 2016 PSTD but let’s do all we can to drop that mindset. You don’t have to pretend we are down 10 points to be motivated to fight. You just have to remember what we are fighting for.
Often in sports, when it becomes clear that one team is just losing super super bad, the other teams takes their foot off the gas a little. Send in the subs and give them some playing time. Take a breather.
But that is when the other team is just another bunch of football players wearing a different colored jersey.
We aren’t fighting against a party that is just like us but in a different uniform.
The Republican party has become the party of racism, xenophobia, senseless cruelty, fiscal irresponsibility, grifting, fascism, and lying. They are fine with destroying our democracy, our well-being, and even our lives for their personal gain.
Every single one of them needs to pay for this at the ballot box.
We need to destroy Trump in November so that no one ever thinks that they can win using this kind of hatred and division again.
We need to take down every single monster who enabled him.
We need to vote out every person who stayed silent.
This isn’t the time to take it easy because we are winning. This is our moment give them a loss so spectacular at the ballot box that there is no doubt what America stands for. This is our time to end this, once and for all.
There is blood in the water and we couldn’t be hungrier.
We Can Beat Trump on 11/3
Biden cuts deep into Trump’s 2020 cash advantage
Trump and the Republican National Committee have spent years building a formidable war chest, starting soon after he was elected and continuing as Democrats burned money in their own primary in 2019 and early 2020. The Trump campaign and its affiliated groups closed out June with $295 million in the bank. But Biden and the DNC, which outraised Trump and the RNC for two consecutive months, has rapidly cut down that advantage to just $53 million, according to Biden’s campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon.
O’Malley Dillon tweeted on Thursday that the campaign and its affiliates have $242 million in cash on hand, “making a $100 million dent” into Trump’s cash advantage just in the past three months.
Trump’s financial edge has been one of a few remaining advantages in a 2020 race that has turned sharply against him, and Biden’s erosion of that edge comes at a critical time in the election.
The entire foundation of Trump’s appeal in 2016 has been swept away
Whenever President Trump’s likely loss of the 2020 election is mentioned, many respond, in hope or in fear: “But 2016 . . .” The effect is to impute almost magical populist powers to the president. Anyone who pulled off such a political miracle can presumably perform one again.
Yet Trump won by mortal means. Like any elected president, he won by shaping a narrative that fit the public mood. In this effort, Trump and his allies made three successful arguments:
- Things can’t get any worse
- Governing is actually easy.
- Moral leadership doesn’t really matter.
None of these propositions that helped elect Trump in 2016 can be credibly maintained in 2020. The entire foundation of the president’s previous appeal has been swept away.
Trump faces rising disapproval and widespread distrust on coronavirus, Post-ABC poll finds
Americans’ views of President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic have deteriorated significantly as cases rise across the country and personal fears of becoming infected persist, a Washington Post-ABC News poll finds.
The Post-ABC poll shows 38 percent of Americans approve of his handling of the outbreak, down from 46 percent in May and 51 percent in March. Sixty percent disapprove, up from 53 percent in May and 45 percent in March.
More than half of the public — 52 percent — now disapproves “strongly” of Trump’s handling of the outbreak, roughly double the percentage who say they strongly approve of his efforts and an increase from 36 percent in strong disapproval since March.
Trump can’t land a blow on Biden, and it’s driving him crazy
as Trump made clear in his Rose Garden news conference-turned-campaign rally on Tuesday, he hasn’t had any luck so far in battering his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden. Trump prides himself on being a “counterpuncher,” but none of his punches have landed yet. He hasn’t even managed to tag Biden with a nasty nickname — neither “Corrupt Joe” nor “Sleepy Joe” has stuck in the way that “Low Energy Jeb” or “Lil’ Marco” did.
The problem, from Trump’s perspective, is that Biden isn’t an African American like Barack Obama, a woman like Hillary Clinton or a socialist like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). He’s a boring, moderate white guy who has been around forever without ever being demonized in the way that Clinton was for decades. Even his base voters will have trouble seeing Uncle Joe as someone who is plotting to promote a “far-left fascism” and to “end America” — the accusations that Trump hurled at the left on July 3. As Biden himself would say in his charming throwback way: “C’mon man!”
We Can Pull Down the GOP Along With Him
If Trump can’t draw a crowd, he can’t help the down ballot candidates
It also raised questions about the fate of down-ballot Republicans if the coattail effect — an incumbent president’s ability to attract votes for other candidates in his party — is no longer guaranteed.
In New Hampshire, for instance, some congressional GOP candidates were invited to attend Trump’s rally as warm-up acts or front-row participants, providing an opportunity to appear before larger-than-normal crowds in their own backyard. One of them, congressional Republican candidate Matt Mowers, had been scheduled to speak at the rally prior to Trump’s remarks and greet him when he arrived in the Granite State, according to a person familiar with the planning.
“Everybody benefits from the president coming here. It’s a huge help in terms of earned media opportunities, bringing additional dollars in, and boosting down-ballot candidates as well,” Michael Biundo, a New Hampshire-based former senior adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign, said just hours before the president called off last Saturday’s rally.
U.S. Party Preferences Have Swung Sharply Toward Democrats
Since January, Americans' party preferences have shifted dramatically in the Democratic Party's direction. What had been a two-percentage-point Republican advantage in U.S. party identification and leaning has become an 11-point Democratic advantage, with more of that movement reflecting a loss in Republican identification and leaning (down eight points) than a gain in Democratic identification and leaning (up five points).
The greatest movement occurred in June -- likely because of increased attention to racial injustice that followed the death of George Floyd while in police custody on May 25, as well as increased U.S. struggles to contain the coronavirus spread.
In June alone, there was a three-point increase in Democratic identification and leaning, and a corresponding five-point drop in Republican identification and leaning.
Four months before Election Day, Democrats appear to be as strong politically now as they were in 2018 when they reclaimed the majority in the House of Representatives and gained seven governorships they previously did not hold. If the strong current Democratic positioning holds through Election Day, Democrats could build off those 2018 successes to possibly win the presidency and Senate in 2020.
From Cook → House Rating Changes: 20 Races Move Towards Democrats
President Trump's abysmal polling since the pandemic began is seriously jeopardizing down-ballot GOP fortunes. We may be approaching the point at which dozens of House Republicans will need to decide whether to cut the president loose and run on a "check and balance" message, offering voters insurance against congressional Democrats moving too far left under a potential Biden administration.
This week, we're shifting our ratings in 20 races, all reflecting movement towards Democrats. View our full ratings here.
Texas Shatters Record For Turnout In Democratic Runoff
Yet another sign showing the state of Texas trending away from Republicans and moving toward Democrats revealed itself with Tuesday’s Democratic U.S. Senate runoff, which shattered the old voter-turnout record, and more than doubled the turnout for the 2018 gubernatorial runoff, as Joe Biden has started pouring money into Texas in the hopes of becoming the first Democratic candidate to carry the delegate-rich state in decades.
Democrats set sights on expanding House majority amid GOP troubles
Trump’s bungled coronavirus response, and his embrace of Confederate statues and other divisive messages in the wake of the nationwide racial justice protests, are now causing heartburn for downballot Republicans, allowing Democrats to go on offense in hopes of expanding their majority in the House, where they hold 233 seats.
In recent days, nonpartisan political handicappers have moved several races in Texas as well as GOP seats in suburban areas from Indiana to Pennsylvania in Democrats’ favor. At the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, political aides are eyeing races in Alaska and Montana, two GOP-held states the party never dreamed would be potentially in play.
Democrats are great
Feinstein proposes withholding relief funds from states without mask mandates
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said in a statement Thursday that she will introduce an amendment to the Senate's next coronavirus stimulus bill that would withhold federal relief funds from states that do not require people to wear masks in public.
Democrats introduce bill to require face masks inside federal facilities
A bill introduced Monday in the United States Congress would require anyone inside a federal facility to wear a protective face mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The “Wear Your Mask Act,” introduced by Democratic Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Texas, would make masks mandatory inside all U.S. government facilities and for anyone standing within 6 feet of another individual in those buildings. The bill also states that an agency could forcibly “remove or deny service to an individual who fails to wear a mask.”
We Have Great Allies
Lincoln Project Launches New ‘Story Time’ Video Series, Reading Excerpts from Anti-Trump Books
The Lincoln Project, the anti-Trump PAC that’s been mercilessly heckling President Donald Trump, has a new video series they are launching tonight at 8 pm, called “Story Time,” in which an actor named Robert Dobson reads from various books critical of the president.
The first episode features an excerpt from Mary Trump‘s book, Too Much and Never Enough, which launched this week, filled with scathing tales and accusations from Mary, a clinical psychologist, about her presidential uncle.
George Soros’s Foundation Pours $220 Million Into Racial Equality Push
Mr. Soros’s group will invest $150 million in grants for Black-led racial justice groups, and another $70 million toward local grants for criminal justice reform and civic engagement opportunities.
Trump taxes subpoena fight can resume quickly after Supreme Court action
The US Supreme Court on Friday formally issued the paperwork that will allow the effort by a Manhattan district attorney to seek President Donald Trump's tax returns to proceed quickly.
While the
court ruled last week that the President does not have broad immunity against a state grand jury investigation, it allowed Trump to file additional appeals to block the subpoenas for the tax returns.
However, the court's formal judgments are generally not issued for 25 days, potentially delaying the resumption of the lawsuit at the lower courts.
The district attorney asked for that time to be cut short, and Trump's attorney agreed. On Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts granted the request. Issuing the judgment will allow the legal case to continue more quickly.
Momentum is on our side
The Left Is Remaking the World
The uprisings in response to the killing of George Floyd are far different from anything that has come before. Not just because they may be the largest in our history, or that seven weeks in, people are still in the streets (even if the news media has largely moved on). But also because, for the last few years, organizers have been thinking boldly.
They have been pushing demands — from “defund the police” to “cancel rent” to “pass the Green New Deal” — that would upend the status quo and redistribute power from elites to the working class. And now ordinary people are, too; social movements have helped spread these demands to a public mobilized by the pandemic and the protests.
These movements are in conversation with one another, cross-endorsing demands as they expand their grass-roots bases. Cancel the rent campaigns have joined the call to defund the police. This month, racial, climate and economic justice organizations are hosting a four-day crash course on defunding the police.
Each demand demonstrates a new attitude among leftist social movements. They don’t want to reduce police violence, or sidestep our environmentally unsustainable global supply chain, or create grace periods for late rent.
Record number of LGBTQ candidates running for office in US
The number of openly LGBTQ elected officials in the United States has more than doubled in the past four years — and those ranks could soon grow, thanks to a record field of LGBTQ candidates this year, according to new data from an advocacy and research group.
Big changes in small towns are fueling a racial justice movement across the Midwest.
There have been more than 3,300 racial justice protests nationwide since late May, including hundreds in sparsely populated communities
These Black Lives Matter protesters don’t always prioritize defunding police departments or tearing down Confederate statues. Their goals are simpler but perhaps just as revolutionary: to force white neighbors not used to encountering so many black and brown faces in their towns to acknowledge their experiences with racism.
Yes, America is suffering needlessly. That may save us.
“On balance, I am very hopeful and I’m very optimistic,” Darren Walker, the president of the Ford Foundation, told me. “What we’re seeing today is a sort of national convulsion over the recognition that racism in America is real and it’s not a figment of the imagination of Black people in this country.”
Marian Wright Edelman, the founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, who for six decades has been battling for a more just society, told me, “I’m very optimistic. I think we have a chance of getting something done.”
Like others I spoke with, she said that one reason for hope is, paradoxically, President Trump and the way he has become the avatar of failed “let them eat cake” policies and narratives. “Mr. Trump is the perfect opposition to have,” Edelman said. “He represents the implosion of the American dream, and we can’t go down his road much farther.”
So perhaps today’s national pain, fear and loss can also be a source of hope: We may be so desperate, our failures so manifest, our grief so raw, that the United States can once more, as during the Great Depression, embrace long-needed changes that would have been impossible in cheerier times.
Some Good News about Covid-19
Need some good news about covid-19? Here are six reasons for optimism.
- Therapeutic treatments (in addition to what we already have for the most sick patients) will arrive before vaccines…. Scientists have now engineered clones of these antibodies — what we call monoclonal antibodies — and they are showing to be effective both therapeutically and to prevent infection.
- Rapid, low-cost saliva tests are also coming, and, as my colleague Michael Mina and Laurence J. Kotlikoff recently pointed out, they are a game-changer. Why? These are like home pregnancy tests but for covid-19
- The debate is finally over: Masks work. It took three months, but universal mask-wearing is catching on.
- Consensus has finally emerged that airborne spread is happening.This means that there will be more messaging coming out from the WHO and other organizations recommending that people add a new control to their toolkit for fighting this virus — healthy building strategies, such as higher ventilation, better filtration and the use of portable air-cleaning devices.
- There is some science showing that past exposure to common-cold coronaviruses might be playing a protective role for some people.
- Vaccine trials seem to be working, and drug manufacturers have already said they might be able to deliver doses by October. Remember, it was not a given that vaccines would work, so the fact that the early-stage clinical trials are showing positive signs is encouraging. Also a reminder that this is lightning-fast; if we get a vaccine within 12 months, that will be the quickest vaccine ever developed — by several years.
On the Lighter Side
ACTUAL SIGN FROM, YOU GUESSED IT, FLORIDA:
that is it for today. I am doing another series on the other 6 days of the week: 100 Days of Loving Joe Biden.
Maybe you would like to be more excited about Joe. Maybe you want to learn more. Maybe you already love Joe (like me) and want to have facts to share with your friends about him. Whatever the reason, this series is designed to share information and excitement about our future president.
did you miss any of our 100 days? Here they are:
Day 1: Biden’s Tax Plan
Day 2: Biden was an early supporter of Gay Marriage
Day 3: Biden’s FDR Sized presidency
Day 4: Biden is a mensch
Day 5: Biden has a Covid-19 plan
Day 6: Biden ran the Obama economic recovery
Day 7: Biden’s Housing Plan
Day 8: Biden knows love and commitment
Day 9: Biden knows exactly who Republicans are
Day 10: Biden understands America
Day 11: Biden will be a Trojan horse for Warren/Sanders
Day 12: Biden has felt pain and found empathy
Day 13: Biden is responsible for the Violence Against Women Act
want to donate to help Biden win?
Non-financial ways to help
Volunteer with the Democratic party Explore their centralized hub for grassroots volunteer opportunities to take action on your own time.
Volunteer with the Biden campaign You can get training to text for Joe, make phone calls for Joe, host an event, or attend an event.
Get involved with Postcards to voters. Postcards to Voters are friendly, handwritten reminders from volunteers to targeted voters giving Democrats a winning edge in close, key races coast to coast.
Register voters in key battleground states. Vote Forward has active campaigns going in 8 key states to encourage under-represented (potential) voters to register. In 6 of them, the packet you send to each potential voter will include the actual voter registration forms and instructions with pre-paid postage for that state. The folks at Vote Forward have collected data on this technique and determined that it does, indeed, appear to increase voter registration.
Text voters in key Senate races Payback Project has a comprehensive, four-pronged approach to make sure Republicans Senators are held accountable for their actions, their votes, and their enabling of Donald Trump.
Organize your community online The Democratic National Committee’s digital organizing team put together a list of ways you can keep organizing in your community online.
Do whatever we can to promote Biden in tweets and posts and emails and wherever. The same goes for other D candidates. Help them get positive recognition!
Also, contact your reps and senators on important issues
I am so lucky and so proud to be in this with all of you ❤️ ✊ ❤️