It is weird time to be super hopeful. War. Economic trouble. Corruption. You know, bad stuff.
But at the same time, I am the most hopeful I have been that we will be able to retake the government and build something better than what we had from the ashes of this shit show.
Here is what Dan Pfeiffer (former Obama guy) who is not known for his optimism said this week after the elections:
Trump is sucking wind. The most expensive Republican primary in history just got nastier. And Democrats just turned out 400,000 first-time primary voters. If that's not good news, I don't know what is.
Here are 30+ things that made me hopeful this week!
As Chloris Creator points out, a common theme in most of these: they demonstrate that our democracy can still work.
THEY HAVE NOT WON.
Check it out:
Not only is the monster out, but she will face consequences:
and this monster:
Pam Bondi subpoenaed by US House in Jeffrey Epstein investigation
Five Republicans on the House oversight committee joined with Democrats to subpoena the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, as part of the ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The motion comes amid growing criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle of the Department of Justice’s failures regarding the Epstein files, including accidentally releasing the names of survivors and redacting, without explanation, the names of people who may have committed crimes.
and this (lol)
Justice Dept., Under Pressure From Trump, Fails to Build Autopen Case Against Biden
Prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington were unable to build a case, underscoring the department’s increasing inability to follow through on the president’s desire to indict his rivals.
and this evil monster letting stupid get in his way:
and historic levels of drop outs from Rs in the House
Rep. Tony Gonzales drops out of House runoff race after admitting affair with aide
Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales dropped his reelection bid for his Texas congressional district on Thursday, after admitting to an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.
And this guy
and this judge:
Judge rules companies are entitled to refunds for Trump tariffs overturned by the Supreme Court
In a defeat for the Trump administration, a federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday that companies that paid tariffs struck down last month by Supreme Court are due refunds.
And Target still being a cautionary tale:
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I think they might have better luck spending two thousand dollars holding a press conference where they detail who made the key decisions to collaborate with the Trump administration, how and when they were fired, and explaining what would stop that from happening again.
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw.bsky.social) 2026-03-06T13:16:56.787Z
and this:
Montana Republican US Sen. Steve Daines drops reelection bid in surprise move
Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana dropped his bid for a third term on Wednesday in a surprise withdrawal just minutes before a filing deadline for candidates.
Daines, 63, said in a statement that he wrestled with the decision for months before deciding to retire. He said he looked forward to spending time with his seven grandchildren and more time in Montana.
And this. LOL
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Montana's candidate filing closed today and I can officially say that Democratic State Representative Paul Tuss will NOT have a Republican opponent in #HD27.
That's a huge miss for the Republicans in a Trump+20 district, though Tuss is a strong incumbent
— Uncrewed (@uncrewed.bsky.social) 2026-03-05T02:05:22.719Z
And this:
Holladay defeats Renshaw in House District 70, picking up a new seat for Democrats
Democrat Alex Holladay defeated Republican Bo Renshaw in a special election Tuesday for a state House of Representatives seat in North Little Rock and Sherwood, according to the Arkansas secretary of state’s office.
This is huge because they lost the “super majority” they need to pass laws.
And this is also huge:
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On Tuesday "for the first time since 2002 Democrats outvoted Republicans in Texas."
Sharing a new discussion TX Dem Chair @kendallscudder.bsky.social who talks about their big night, @jamestalarico.bsky.social, and what comes next in battleground Texas 👇
www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/for-the-fi...
— Simon Rosenberg (@simonwdc.bsky.social) 2026-03-06T12:23:30.513Z
And democratic AGs continuing to be the literal best:
Multiple states sue over Trump's new global tariffs imposed after his Supreme Court loss
Some two dozen states challenged President Donald Trump's new global tariffs on Thursday, filing a lawsuit over import taxes he imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court.
The Democratic attorneys general and governors in the lawsuit argue that Trump is overstepping his power with planned 15% tariffs on much of the world.
and her failure:
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Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders' revenge tour against 2 Republican state senators who refused to indulge her Barbie dream prison goes down in flames. Double-digit wins for both senators she tried to oust, including Bryan King, who's made it his life's work to be a thorn in her side.
#arpx
— The Shumater (@theshumater.bsky.social) 2026-03-04T05:01:08.235Z
and even the reddest states saying no to this
Idaho is latest red state to reject DOJ voter roll grab
Idaho — a deeply Republican state — has become the latest to refuse the Trump Justice Department’s demand for unredacted statewide voter rolls.
And VA getting to vote on this
Virginia court allows a referendum on Democratic-led redistricting that could flip 4 US House seats
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — For the second time, Virginia’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that voters can cast ballots on a Democratic-led congressional redistricting plan that could help the party win four more U.S. House seats, as the justices review legal challenges to the effort.
And Gov Walz
and poll numbers on this war
Even Republicans Don’t Support Trump’s New War
Polling has shown that the majority of the U.S. public doesn’t support Trump’s latest military action, and an unusual number of Republicans are questioning why America is plunging into another Middle East conflict.
And HRC
Hillary Clinton Destroys Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert at Epstein Hearing
Hillary Clinton lost it on MAGA lawmakers Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert as the former first lady’s Epstein deposition went off the rails.
This was the week when I remembered why I love HRC so fucking much.
And this moment:
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Tillis: You decided to kill that dog because you had not invested the appropriate time in training it, and then you have the audacity to say it’s a leadership lesson. You killed a goat and said it was behaving badly. You’re a farmer — you don’t castrate a goat, they behave badly.
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2026-03-03T17:58:52.704Z
and this take on that:
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A thorn in Trump's side his first term were senators at the end of their careers who couldn't be pressured -- McCain, Corker, even Flake.
I think we're about to see a new wave of those folks, and whatever the motive -- true repentance or shameless ass-covering -- they'll help erode his standing
— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) 2026-03-03T17:59:35.070Z
And SCOTUS being ok for a minute
Right-wing bid to turn NVRA into a tool for voter purges dealt major setback by SCOTUS
The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) declined to hear two petitions Monday brought by a leading advocacy group for more restrictive voting rules, which had asked the nation’s highest court to weaken a key federal voting law.
and Ukraine
And more failures to successfully prosecute protesters:
Cook County prosecutors dismiss 21 cases against ICE protesters, including suburban moms arrested in sit-in
Cook County prosecutors on Wednesday dismissed 21 cases that were filed against protesters at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview, including charges for 15 moms who hopped concrete barricades in a highly publicized act of civil disobedience.
And Hirono being a BOSS:
And this decision:
Federal court rejects Trump administration attempt to slow tariff refund process
A federal court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to slow the process of refunding billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs the Supreme Court struck down as illegal last month.
And this poll:
And Blumenthal:
Senate Democrat Pushes to Investigate Noem for Perjury
Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Democrats had evidence to suggest Kristi Noem lied under oath during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
And Mandami:
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BREAKING: New York City reports the lowest levels of shootings, shooting victims, and murders ever recorded for the first two months of a year. Major crime is down nearly 8% citywide, burglary hit a record low, and retail theft dropped 25%
— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2026-03-04T15:54:10.203Z
And this lovely phase (and the reason for it):
The End of MAGA is Here
Texas and North Carolina just previewed the outcome of the midterms. At this point, the question is no longer whether Democrats have momentum heading into November. The question is how big the wave will be.
More than one in four early voters in the Democratic primary had only voted in general elections before. Many had voted in general elections before but had never shown up for a party contest.
And Talarico being golden with wordsmith:
Finally, if you haven’t yet, I would be very grateful if you would check out my Substack and subscribe. Subscribing just means you’ll be emailed one post a week! I post less political and much shorter things on the Substack. It is based on my decades of scholarship on belongingness and living a good life. it is called Many Ways to Belong
You can find it at this link. Your support means a lot to me. THANK YOU!!!!!
Want to do more to save democracy?
Donate to our House efforts.
It splits our donations among the 15 seats held by Republicans in swing districts. These are seats that were either won by a margin of 4% or less or were won by Harris in 2024. In other words, these are seats we can win in 2026. None of them are in CA or TX (and thus likely to be redistricted). Any money you donate will go directly to whomever our candidate will be in 2026. We only need to flip three of these!
Here is the link:
WE CAN WIN THESE ELECTIONS! And when we do we can change everything.
Some other ways to get involved
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If you can, I strongly recommend going to an in person meeting in your area. One way to find a local group is through indivisible: indivisibleproject.formstack.com/…
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Election Response Center is a project hosted by Working Families Party, MoveOn Civic Action, Indivisible, and Public Citizen. They are organizing lots of events to get people fighting. Join one at this link
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The ACLU plays a key role in filing lawsuits that often stop voter suppression. Get involved with them at this link.
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Get involved with the Democratic party. We aren’t perfect, but they are fucking evil.
- Get involved with the States Project They are working on turning state legislatures blue
- Get involved with Swing Left. They are working on races right now!
- People For the American Way is a national progressive advocacy organization that inspires and mobilizes Americans to defend freedom, justice, and democracy from those who threaten to take them away. Get involved with them here
- Center for American Progress Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan policy institute and advocacy organization that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. Get involved with them here
Looking for something more specific?
Want to focus on the ENVIRONMENT:
Want to focus on CIVIL RIGHTS:
HUMAN RIGHTS - GENERALLY:
LGBTQ+:
WOMEN:
Huge thanks to DKos user dabug for help with this list.
Don’t let the options overwhelm you! Try to pick one thing and see if it calls to you. If it doesn’t find something else.
There are so many ways to get involved and help!
Some inspiration before I say goodbye
“Whatever happens, stay alive.
Don't die before you're dead.
Don't lose yourself, don't lose hope, don't lose direction.
Stay alive, with yourself, with every cell of your body, with every fiber of your skin.
Stay alive, learn, study, think, read, build, invent, create, speak, write, dream, design.
Stay alive, stay alive inside you, stay alive also outside, fill yourself with colors of the world, fill yourself with peace, fill yourself with hope.
Stay alive with joy.
There is only one thing you should not waste in life,
and that's life itself..."
by Virginia Woolf
.
At Albany Bulb with Elaine
By Alison Luterman
Side by side on a log by the bay.
Sunlight. Unleashed dogs,
prancing through surf, almost exploding
out of their skins with perfect happiness.
Dogs who don't know about fired park rangers,
or canceled health research, or tariff wars,
or the suicide hotline for veterans getting defunded,
or or or. We've listed horror upon horror
to each other for weeks now, and it does no good,
so instead I tell her how I held a two-day old baby
in my arms, inhaling him like a fresh-baked loaf of bread,
then watched as a sneeze erupted through his body
like a tiny volcano. It was the look of pure
astonishment on his face, as if he were Adam
in the garden of Eden making his debut achoo,
as if it were the first sneeze that ever blew,
that got me. She tells me how her dog
once farted so loudly he startled himself
and fell off the bed where he'd been lolling,
and then the two of us start to laugh so hard
we almost fall off our own log. And this
is our resistance for today; remembering
original innocence. And they can't
take it away from us, though they ban
our very existence, though they slash
our rights to ribbons, we will have
our mirth and our birthright gladness.
Long after every unsold Tesla
has vaporized, and earth has closed over
even the names of these temporary tyrants,
somewhere some women like us
will be sitting side by side, facing the water,
telling human stories and laughing still.
I am so proud and so lucky to be in this with all of you. ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 💙❤️💛💚✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
