30 Comments
User's avatar
Susanna J. Sturgis's avatar

How can you talk about "free and fair elections" in the wake of Citizens United? It didn't start there either. Consider the media landscape since the end of the Fairness Doctrine and the rise of cable and the internet.

Every day my inbox is swamped with appeals from wonderful Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, all across the country. What they want is money money money. Have we lost touch with how terrible this is? How not-normal this is in a country that pretends to be democratic?

Expand full comment
Alex's avatar

Elections cost money, that’s a fact of life. If you’d prefer your candidates solicit money from corporate overlords, by all means, ignore every last fundraising email

Expand full comment
Timothy M Dwyer's avatar

Wow! Thanks to Allison & Simon for a great, informative discussion.

Expand full comment
Wayde Bodden's avatar

I’m a Hopium Plucky Patriot & happy now to link up w Allison. Great discussion you guys!!

Expand full comment
Michelle Brody's avatar

Allison thank you. Just thank you. I do hope that you and Simon Rosenberg (@simonwdc) will have more of these judicious conversations together. 🫶🏻

Expand full comment
Paige Leger's avatar

This is the most hopeful I've felt in weeks! Really glad I listened.

Expand full comment
Yehawes (VA)'s avatar

What do you think about the potential for tRump to want the government closure in order to be able to replace military leaders who refuse to take a loyalty oath this next Wednesday without requiring congressional approval since Congress and the government will be closed?

Expand full comment
Cheryl R.'s avatar

He has been numerous illegal and unconstitutional things going around Congress with no pushback from Congress or the Republican Congress. What makes anyone think that anything will change now? He wants to be King and the far right SC has been giving him their stamp of approval.

Expand full comment
Susanna J. Sturgis's avatar

Trump may want to be king, but the essential point to keep in mind is that powerful economic and other interests (think billionaires and mega-multimillionaires, Federalist Society, ALEC, Heritage Foundation, etc.) are fine with him being king because it benefits them. I very much hope that they've overreached -- that they need "the people" or "the masses" more than they wanted to admit, and now, with Project 2025, they've made it clear what they're up to.

OTOH, plenty of white people are fine with curtailing democracy as long as mostly people of color and potential Democratic voters are affected.

Expand full comment
Bronwyn Fryer's avatar

You are two of my faves, thanks to both of you!

Expand full comment
D . O. Olson's avatar

Project 2029

Expand full comment
Cristin McQueen's avatar

Stay grounded in compassion, folks. It’s not that it just feels hopeful that tRump is hated. It’s that his hateful speech & obvious decay of body and spirit are at odds with what is right and what is good for the American people and for the globe. Thank you AG and SR!!!

Leguminati and Hopium forever!!!! 🫘 ☮️💞

Expand full comment
Elaine Cimino's avatar

Great conversations

Not all there on Jeffries and Schumer!

Expand full comment
Christina Gurchinoff's avatar

Yeah. I felt that, too!

Expand full comment
JGC's avatar

The Schumer/Jeffries segment was part of Simon's lesson to make your approval known when an elected person does the right thing: call their office, communicate with their office that you appreciated/approved their vote/communication/stance on an issue important to you

Expand full comment
TimCavale's avatar

I'm not that optimistic or admiring of Jeffries and Schumer. But I will give them a little credit for now.

Expand full comment
Kenneth Hines's avatar

Over and over I pick up a vibe that the clown car is going off the bridge or the smack down is just around the corner. It never happens. I get my hopes up and then have them deflated, repeatedly. I’m picking up the same vibe and preparing myself … for defeat.

Expand full comment
Jennifer Champion's avatar

Have you heard a music group called “Rainbow 🌈 Kitten 🐈‍⬛ Surprise”?

Expand full comment
Barbara Agness's avatar

Great discussion! Ending my night with this on a more positive note. I am normally in a state of constant dread! So thank you!

Expand full comment
Ron Grant's avatar

What can we do about the Supreme Court?

Expand full comment
Silat's avatar

you know I have been selling to democrats for more than a decade that Trump is just a symptom of the disease called American conservatism. all this talk about Trump's sick Trump's dying the party's dying all that BS is BS. if Trump were gone this minute a worse version named VD Vance will sit in the chair. the Reagan Democrat establishment has no intention of harming their friends across the aisle. they'd rather try to destroy progressives

Expand full comment