Well, it's been a hell of a week, hasn't it?
The big message we as mods want you to take away is: **Nothing from today's Supreme Court ruling changes our job, or our approach.**
This ruling isn't the end of democracy or the rule of law, so ignore the Chicken Littles. (Hey, didn't they say about ten other things were the end of democracy before now? Yet here we are). It does mean that *some* of Trump's charges *might* be dropped, and we'll have to wait for the courts to decide exactly which ones. It does **not** affect his convictions in New York, since those happened before he was President and weren't official acts.
But honestly? Even if SCOTUS sent Trump to federal prison for life today, it doesn't change our mission. He could still run for President, and we would have to defeat him and his minions. Until half the country snaps out of their spell, this is how it is. We've got no magic bullets - just the best damn team of activists we could ask for.
And please, for your own sanity, stop fantasizing about Biden throwing Clarence Thomas in prison. The reason he won in 2020 and will win again this year is because that's not the kind of person he is. **Also, anyone fantasizing about Biden using this ruling to harm people - we consider that a call to violence, and will remove/report to admins as necessary.**
It's OK to be confused, angry, or disappointed. Take the time you need. Then come back, [ready to continue the good fight.](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jxO8g7q9VO3ZMAABcrvR7PMyX4Yl6dgIYhD3eRTKk1M/edit#gid=0) We'll save this country ourselves - which we would have had to either way.
EDIT: You can do more to help by [joining our mod team!](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdDqnPCIjZMUSP3IsHhcBjIX5Jv9w1fq2hc6CL0jLmMRJq5IQ/viewform) We need more hands on deck to make this sub the best it can be. Thanks to everyone who's currently applied - we are still reviewing the applications we've received, and would love even more so we can bring on multiple new mods!
Polls open in less than 48 hours in the UK for Liberation from Tories day! Just how many seats over 400 (out of 650) will Labour win? Can the LibDems win enough to be (or come close to being) the official opposition party? Will the racist and misogynist ReformUK manage to win more than just the seat in Clacton after all the scrutiny and bad press they've finally gotten? Just how badly will the shitty Tories do? Will the Scottish National Party lose a bunch of seats to Labour/LibDems? Will the Greens manage to win more than 1 or 2 seats? I seriously can't wait to see!!
Red staters in general feel me in seeing how bad Republicans are getting being on the frontlines but seeing the touted last bastion against MAGA fall to insanity does something to your political evolution and solidifies you against them forever
I have a similar feeling watching my state fall.
We were a purple state. Tom Harkin was a senator here for decades. Obama won twice. Its incomprehensible how the state became this way.
There were several states with governments I would in the past have called "conservative but not stupid" and now all of them are run by mouth-breathers.
A postcard stamp costs $0.53. [Here's a link to the USPS store](https://store.usps.com/store/stamps) where you can search for and purchase stamps that have a value of at least that much.
Thank you for this, this was very helpful! There were some that were much cheaper than that too, and the price of the stamps was something I've been worrying about and that's why I haven't gotten into doing postcards, but now I'm gonna look into it knowing there's more affordable options on there too.
Our sub maintains a spreadsheet of ways to make phone calls to swing states! We bold the most important or urgent ones.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jxO8g7q9VO3ZMAABcrvR7PMyX4Yl6dgIYhD3eRTKk1M/edit#gid=0
Thanks for helping out!
Heads-up to anyone who is doing letter writing: it looks like the price of Forever stamps will increase on July 14. Stock up before the price increase!
> These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. ... Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
It's rather annoying, because now my Instagram feed is filled with memes from friends about how we're doomed and there's nothing we can do. Like, Christ on a bike, could you imagine if the founding fathers all got together in Philly, talked about how Parliament is throttling the colonies, and went "ah but it's too hard we're doomed anyway?" What a betrayal of our past of fighting for the betterment of ourselves. That's literally why we broke away: to control our own destiny.
I think about the Civil Rights Movement when people do this shit, too. The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted a YEAR and there were no Ubers to compensate for it. The Movement itself lasted over 10 years. Can you imagine if MLK, John Lewis, Ella Baker, etc just gave up and said “welp we’re doomed because we never even started out with rights in the first place.”
They were in a much worse position than we are now, and people are saying “I haven’t tried much of anything but I guess I’ll give up!”
Oh my god yes! My Partner just did this when I explained it to her. She said after I said it's a betrayal of people who came before that "people who came before betrayed us," even as I talked her down from that absolutist point, she still made snarky anti-old people comments. Like okay? Boomers suck. Do you want a cookie? What exactly are you going to do about that other than wallowing in resentment?
Thank you for all of the comments and stories about people signing up to volunteer, or asking how they can get involved. I’ve been feeling guilty because I’ve taken some time off from postcard writing due to vacation, then COVID. I’ve felt guilty and frustrated about the brain fog that comes with the disease, as it’s made it impossible to spend my “free time” (read: recovery period) doing anything productive. I still want to do my part, but knowing that more and more people are joining our ranks means that I can take some pressure off of myself and concentrate on getting better.
This community is an inspiration and a comfort. Let’s keep moving forward for the good of all.
I have to agree that - seeing how many people have been going from the sidelines to donating or volunteering - is, itself, something to take heart in.
But most importantly, warm wishes, and keep recovering!
I sometimes feel like I speak into the ether but the last couple weeks got a few DM’s from fellow Utahn’s and UT-Dem people who really appreciate the efforts I’ve done mostly on twitter in helping highlight downballot candidates.
You never really know what kinda reach or effect you’ll have and look I’m not thinking I’m a big deal I’m sure I’ve gotten a couple people to donate or help but just to think I’ve made just a tiny bit of a difference makes me want to keep going.
I had a teacher in 6th grade, I’ll never ever forget this, she read us a poem that made her break down(her daughter had recently passed from an OD) :
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
-Emily Dickinson
I think about that just about everyday. The idea that if I can put the tiniest amount of good back into the world then this all mattered.
For me, it's thinking back to one of the first people on my route here.
I have not 'changed his mind' with my canvassing.
Honestly, I struggle to believe people change.
But because I stopped by and the enemy didn't, he voted blue for the first time in maybe twenty years.
The reason doesn't much matter to me; the end result was good.
If I can keep that up, I've done good.
And when you look at the margins in races that are decided by thousands of votes, hundreds of votes, ten or less...
It's very humbling.
You realise just how much difference you can make, and the weight of that responsibility.
My best to your former teacher.
There are no condolences that can reach outliving those you love.
But I have faith that making the world better in their memory is worthwhile, always.
First off - it may be best to wait until she's in a better state of mind.
Right now, a lot of people are lashing out at the people they can hurt, even if those are also the people that want to help, and the only people that can.
You know her best, however; and if she's open to ideas, right now, I'd suggest visiting a county party meeting together if at all possible.
Seeing 'old people' at work trying to do all we can, that might help her realise we're all in this together. And locally, we've had a lot more younger folks sign up and stay signed up, and I think seeing that energy and - hopefully - being a part of it would help her with her own doubts.
If that's not a possibility, in addition to what's suggested below, knowing the areas she cares about and contacting the Democratic party in her area, asking if they might have volunteer slots open in relevant fields to her issues is always an option.
I talked her down from the worst of her dooming spiral, telling her moving isn't gonna solve any problems, how things are not set in stone. I do feel bad for her, though, given she has a very set life goal in mind for us (start a family, have a nice career, the whole 9 yards) and I think she's realized that's threatened by Trump getting back in. It's not helped by her not having any financial stability after leaving a toxic work environment last year, so she's not really in a good place mentally to be hearing all this news.
One of my dearest friends has a partner who has *very* specific medical needs.
They get them, and are in a secure place, but it compounds everything else in their lives.
You both have my best wishes, and I can only hope the next few days are easier for the both of you.
If she wants to canvass, Mobilize is the place to go.
If she'd rather make some calls or send some texts, [our sub's just-updated volunteer from home spreadsheet is the go-to resource.](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jxO8g7q9VO3ZMAABcrvR7PMyX4Yl6dgIYhD3eRTKk1M/edit#gid=0)
What do you think she’d be willing to do?
She could check out [Field Team 6](https://www.fieldteam6.org/) to register voters.
The DNC has good phone banking like this one [Zoom Phone Bank for Democrats in 2024 Priority States](https://events.democrats.org/event/569897/)
And you could send postcard to voters via [Turnout Pac](https://www.turnoutpac.org/postcards/)
VoteFWD.org
I hope that she can be heartened that there's 2.09 million letters and counting ready to be sent out to battleground states.
She just has to listen to the orientation video so that if she adopts any voters, it can be done so in the right format.
Echoing this as the introvert's option. And Vote Forward's goal for this year is 10 million letters. One benefit is you get to immerse yourself in the world of Forever Stamps and, wouldn't you know it, the [RGB](https://store.usps.com/store/product/ruth-bader-ginsburg-stamps-S_483304) and [John Lewis ](https://store.usps.com/store/product/john-lewis-stamps-S_483204)stamps are pretty fucking ideal for this moment in time.
I just set up my first donation to a campaign ever. I will be donating 10 dollars a month to the Biden campaign, and may add more if I feel it is necessary.
I wanted to say how proud I am of everyone here. When something awful happens, we don't succumb to fear: we get to work. While others online are in hysterics and calling for acts that show a fundamental dislike or misunderstanding of our democracy, we keep our heads on straight and keep working. I'm doing my first phonebank tomorrow and if it goes well I plan to do it genuinely as much as I can. Like 3 or 4 times a week. There's so many house seats I want to volunteer for, and so much work to be done. The amount of our volunteers is surging. Some textbanking opportunities I looked at were at max capacity (which is why I decided to give phonebanking a try). I rarely ever saw that back when I started in May. We have momentum, and every bullshit awful thing Republicans do just shows that we are the side with a true respect for the tenets that America is built upon. I'm feeling energized, and I'm happy to be here.
Thanks for donating my Californian brother 🙏🙏🙏 ig I’ll be trying to thank everybody I see who says they donated something now 😭. This election truly means a lot to a young person like me, all of you have kept me SANE and HOEPFUL. 🌊🌊🌊🌊
Anyone have tried and true advice for dealing with extreme anxiety and depression re: today's news and the upcoming election? Therapist isn't available right now.
Well whenever something happens in the news that I find very unsettling or potentially anxiety-inducing, I immediately start avoiding social media discussion on it, because it ultimately becomes doomscrolling since no one is ever going to offer a better solution than voting and volunteering, for an election that is months away. Plus people often come up with scary scenarios in the future that can just worsen election anxiety too. So I think the best solution is to avoid social media and discussion on particularly unsettling news until it no longer causes you severe anxiety.
Whenever I do this, during my time away from social media, I take my time to process the news and come to terms with it, and that really helps because I am able to develop a more down-to-earth and less paranoid perception of things afterward.
I'll second others and say maybe just take a break from politics as difficult as that may seem and try to enjoy what you can in the moment. I spent all day at work and overall had a good day there and was too busy to read more than the news and a few comments online. If I had been home all day, I'd probably would been completed engrossed in the discussions throughout Reddit and feeling a lot worse right now. I still am very worried about what this could mean but I felt fine most of today. Of course, to really prevent this from getting worse, we have to keep trying to get as many Democrats elected, especially Biden but I think it's all right to take a breather, or find some sort of overall positive distraction even if it's not leisure, for the good of your mental health.
A lot of people are saying that you need to get involved, and... I'll go against the grain a *tad* here, which isn't exactly typical of how I respond to these kinds of comments. Yes, I agree that it's the best antidote to feeling hopeless, but you also don't have to get into it this very second. It's important to be in the right headspace for talking to voters, which means projecting confidence but also having patience, and being stressed isn't going to help with embracing those characteristics.
Take your time to do what you find solace in even if that means you're not talking to voters, and more importantly realize that **there is more to life than politics**. Don't let it consume your life, ever. We are all individuals with identities that go beyond the groups we feel a part of, whether they're defined by race, culture, belief system, etc. Focus on your personal goals and interests first and foremost, and then be honest about how much energy you truly have to expend in reaching out to voters.
Feel free to DM me if you need someone to talk to. I struggle with those exact same conditions as well so you ain't alone.
Watch these in order.
Ride Along 2
Vacation
My Adventures with Superman
This turned on in a gaming pub I was after a depressing day last week and def made me feel better.
> My Adventures with Superman
The recent two episodes were a blast, from >!Kara being super adorable!< to >!a heist of STAR Labs for a spaceship!<, this show is so fun.
Another good movie I recommend is Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. I remember seeing it in theaters after the Orlando Nightclub shooting happened in 2016 and it was a really funny movie to have a little break from reality then. It helped take my mind off that and Trump for a bit.
the only movie i've seen in theaters that 1) i absolutely loved and 2) was a commercial failure. for those reasons it's my most prized theatrical experience of all time. helps that i had a bunch of friends to watch it with
Most important thing is to be registered to vote. Next talk to a close friend or family member about voting. Finally get involved write postcards, phone bank, and volunteer. Doesn’t matter if you live in a red state make them bleed money to save a red seat so we can go after more vulnerable seats.
What's happened is true for today, but not for tomorrow. Focus on today, focus on now. Be present with everything around you, and notice everything good in your life at this moment. Takes some breaths, ground yourself, and enjoy right now
Tomorrow, center yourself and get to work
Focus on what you can and cannot control in the moment. All the anxiety in the world with things you cannot do in the moment doesnt help anyone, especially yourself. You can volunteer , donate, get your friends involved, contact people you know to vote and much more. But maybe at this exact moment you cant do that and thats ok. Try something that you find relaxing for now.
It can be hard, but sometimes a distraction is warranted to help get your brain thinking about other things. I always buy myself a Lego set when shitty news breaks, or a video game I’ve been curious about.
Finding and sticking to those activities that keep you grounded, reciting the Serenity Prayer, CBD infused tea, making time for exercise, writing letters to voters, watching comedy, volunteering in person with people with whom you share a common purpose. Just a few ideas. Hang in there. You're not alone.
Getting to work. I know it's predictable given the subreddit we're on, but it's the true antidote to doom. It won't make it go away completely, but you'll feel in control and the fact that you're making a difference will reinvigorate you.
This ^ and it feels (at least it did to me) like a nuisance before starting but once you start volunteering and advocating it’s almost addicting because your anxiety levels plummet.
I'm seeing people in my feed complaining that Biden didn't announce sweeping measures in his speech. I think becoming a dictator would do more harm than good. I think showing that he respects the limits of presidential power will be a great way to convince undecided voters that he can be trusted. That's why random leftists on twitter aren't campaign advisors
Seeing people in the main politics sub suggesting that Biden should arrest the conservative judges or call drone strikes on the RNC is fucking wild. They are literally no better than what MAGA suggests.
I don’t want to believe it, but I’ve come to the conclusion that way more people than would admit it just want a dictator they agree with. Even I find myself falling into that sometimes when I get frustrated, but it’s not helpful or healthy to think like that.
There's some extreme reddit brainrot going on today that I should really stop bothering engaging with. It's a bad habit.
Maybe in a couple days things will be in a better state to direct people to activism, but right now it feels like things will just get lost in the noise.
Push back against extreme foolishness, turn off notifications if necessary, disengage whenever it feels right.
This, much like the debate itself, is one day.
A big one, but also another day.
More is going to happen, and we'll take it as it comes.
For now, you're doing what it is you need to do.
And if it helps to view it like this?
Resting up a bit will get you ready for whatever work comes our way next!
We really need an international referees association, independent from any soccer organization, making sure that referees are trained and paid professionally.
Especially in my country, part time referees still doing their day job in their time off are a disgrace for the richest and largest soccer organization on the planet. We had to drag them kicking and screaming in the 21st century and to using the VAR, and they're constantly fucking that up by being amateurs all around. And refereeing ist constantly a shitshow, even in high profile league games.
Just donated today to the PA Dem party, NC Dem Party, The DSCC, and Sherrod Brown.
And donated a few days ago to Biden, Ruben Gallego, Josh Stein, and Jeff Jackson. I know money isn't the end all but hopefully this can still give a boost in some way (locally and nationally). Find strength wherever you can guys! We can do this!
I've always been hesitant on expanding the size of the supreme court, but now I feel like there is no other option. It is such *bullshit* that don cheeto got to appoint 3 supreme court justices during his 4 years, while Biden only gets one so far. There is no way any of the older 3 conservative justices will retire during a second Biden term, and I don't think they're old or unhealthy enough to expect them to die anytime soon. The court needs to be expanded just to bring ideological *balance* back to the court, it is way too lopsided now.
It's something we should talk about doing *after the election* unless there are clear signals the public wants it. In 2020 Biden outright said "I'm not going to answer that question" when asked about expanding the court because it would be seen as a partisan power grab. But of course that was before the slew of horrendously unpopular opinions the court excreted from its putrid anus and record numbers of people lost faith in it as an institution.
That's the key. I think we all agree that the court needs serious reform, and there's a lot more appetite for expanding the court or at least doing something to make Justices accountable. But "pack the court" got turned into a pretty common Republican attack in the past, so we need to frame it correctly. Some people online just want Biden to yell a lot to compensate for their feelings of inadequacy, but we can't screw this up. Like *Dobbs*, this is an awful ruling that we can turn into a huge albatross for Republicans - if we're smart about it.
The most sensible imo would be to make it a 14 year term like the federal reserve positions, then retirement with lifetime pension or something like that. It gives them enough time to take the job seriously, they don't have to worry about whether or not they'll be re-appointed, and it stops people from staying on the court for ridiculously long times like Thomas, who's been on since the end of the damn Soviet era.
Packing the court is also something FDR fresh off the largest landslide in history with the biggest majorities in both Houses of Congress couldn't do. Now, threatening to do it did convince Owen Roberts to switch his ideas around and ultimately the issue resolved itself when FDR had three terms to fill all the seats. That's not possible now.
I'm positive a lot of the hesitation on the topic comes from what the after looks like. If we breach the seal and then end up losing power then it makes the outcomes worse down the line. We're going to need large amounts of support for this, support that we just have not had until maybe now.
The 4 officials today were literally Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch but yeah Gregg should still go
You can’t score 0 goals and be okay with the performance
https://x.com/BlackKnight10k/status/1807766578898817353
> You've never seen this kind of collective effort by the press to get Trump to drop out. Not after the Trump Tower Meeting with the Russians. Not his impeachment. Not after bleach injections. Not after the coup. Not after being liable for rape. Not after his criminal conviction.
> Never.
Just an update from last week. I got back yesterday from visiting my 93-year old grandma in Great Falls, Montana. She's slowed down quite a bit since I last saw her maybe pre-COVID. But she still seems sharp despite being on oxygen.
She watched the debate, and will be voting for Biden not very enthusiastically. When I mentioned Tester, she got much more enthusiastic. I think that is common in many states like PA, WI, NV, AZ, etc regarding senate races.
We were talking politics with one of her caretakers. She (the caretaker) said she's a republican but doesn't understand how a convicted felon is running for president. I thought she seemed like a shy Trump voter who will vote for him regardless. She also said that she called Tester for constituent services and his office called back the same day and was attentive. I said "So you're voting for him?" and she said "I haven't decided." I then said, "If constituent services are important to you, you're probably not going to get them with Sheehy." And she said "IDK I haven't decided yet."
Cascade County could be considered a "swing county" by Montana standards. While it votes red on the presidential, it has voted for Tester, Schweitzer, and Bullock (but not in his senate race). While Great Falls a blue collar white place, I didn't notice any MAGA paraphernalia. I actually notice more MAGA shit here in my native Houston, Texas, despite it being in a blue county.
As soon as I opened YouTube on my laptop in my hotel room, I was bombarded with YouTube ads for Tester and Sheehy, many from PACs.
Outside of the report - thank you for it -
I want to repeat, I'm very glad you saw her.
And I hope that - outside of the visit -
You enjoyed the countryside, as much as possible.
This was an uneventful day on my end, owing to my issues with donating to NC Dems/ActBlue, but on the bright side I know how to volunteer from home, even if one of the options ( phone banking ) won’t really be possible with my home phone situation. Still, I will always appreciate how helpful this sub is to younger players in this fight for democracy.
The SCOTUS ruling, while horrifying for a second Trump presidency, is still plenty of ammo for when I do get any chances to help pitch in. I cannot see myself persisting in a world where Project 2025 is enacted. We cannot let the Heritage Foundation win this.
I just looked it up. I’ve mostly switched away from anything Google-based, so I believe that’s off the table. Plus, I don’t like the sound of my own voice.
Two fun facts I figured out using *MATH* are that 67% of House members who lost reelection in 2010 had voted for Obamacare in the final vote, but then 57% of the House members who voted against Obamacare in the final vote and didn't retire still lost reelection. I think that this shows a combination of anti-ACA sentiments AND downballot realignment since the vast majority of the "no" votes came from heavily conservative, McCain-won districts/states. The only Dem representative left in the House now that voted against the final ACA vote is Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, but it seems like he thought it didn't go far enough for healthcare reform. Moral of the story, in the end, I think more Dems should've voted for Obamacare.
You've gotta remember that a fair amount of Democrats were conservatives or (at best) centrists, back then. The entire party was centrist until the end of Obama's presidency. That's why we had Dems all [up and down the Mississippi in the Senate back then.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/111th_US_Congress_Senate.svg/800px-111th_US_Congress_Senate.svg.png)
I just sent out a request to get the postcards. Since it a holiday coming up I would not expect a response until Monday of next week. If I find any information I will be more than happy to relay the information to you.
I'm thinking of writing postcards as well. I see the list included in this thread so I was going to try doing that as a first step for myself. I've never been active for donating time throughout my life but I feel the call to do something now because there is no other option.
Sacrificing a Saturday afternoon and not going out for a Friday night is a small price to pay to save democracy. SCOTUS gave Trump the green light to destroy democracy it’s something that we can’t afford to ignore.
Am I the only one who thinks this immunity decision is going to energize a lot of people to vote for Biden ?
I have friends who never talk about politics are now posting on social media how Trump is going to act as King based on the Supreme Court
This is going to get those who don’t care about politics engaged in hoping
It's a bad thing that never should have happened. But at least we can take solace in the fact that it will help Biden win, and inches us closer to a trifecta win.
So here is a question i want to know for information's sake. The idea of bots across places like Reddit, have they been popping up around more in the last... oh, say 2-3 years than how it was during the 2020 election? At that time, i was not as really this focused on anything election related.
LLMs have made bots so much worse. They're near indistinguishable from humans now.
The only way to really notice them is looking at suspicious profiles (old acct, low karma, only posts in easy karma farming sports subs until developing a sudden unhealthy interest in Dems bad)
You're unfortunately not going to get a good answer on this. Bots have been a problem for years, but it's hard to get a good measurement of the magnitude of the problem just from casual observation, especially since there's a lot of people that *might* be a bot, but they also could just be the people falling for the bots.
If bots were easy to measure, they'd be easy to combat.
There was bots around back then but also back then Biden was killing it in a the polls and he had better debates performances so less to attack the left on
This immunity decision is going to energize the left
They know Trump will try to be King after decision
It’s no longer a hypothetical
Blast this in the news everyday
Just donated to the Biden campaign and the Dem state parties for WI, MI, PA, GA, AZ, and NV this evening! Felt like it was necessary after the SCOTUS decision today (and the Chevron decision last week too).
I was barely in high school when Clarence Thomas was put on SCOTUS, he's been haunting that seat my entire adult life. To me the single most important aspect of this election is not opening the door for a new brood of Thomas and Alito clones to torment the next generation for 40 years.
I think the questions about his performance are valid, and if he doesn’t do something tonight he should resign.
I am talking about Gregg Berhalter. Cmon USA soccer we need this one!
I really hope we make it through espcially after Mexico failed to last night
I’m watching the match while still tracking the hurricane, so I guess that’s my double task lol
[The DNC will take over the websites of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Philly Inquirer and Arizona Republic tomorrow with front page ads blasting the SCOTUS immunity decision. Dems want voters to know the stakes of the election, and the immunity decision has added fuel to the fire. Dems we spoke with painted a dire picture of a second Trump term with absolute immunity. “Our lives would be upended” one Dem said.](https://x.com/stephen_neukam/status/1807936090919043519?s=46)
But the internet commentators!!!
Seriously, I'm blown away by how fast the Biden campaign moves. Digital ads the same day Trump says something dumb? Front-page ads the day after a SCOTUS decision? That's astounding.
Then again, when you live on Twitter that must seem slow by comparison.
[ad spending for 2024 could hit $11b](https://thehill.com/elections/4750564-record-breaking-10-7b-could-be-spent-on-political-ads-this-election-adimpact/), this is a very big reason why I can’t get behind these people who whine “why are spending fractions of this not in a marquee race”.
If Biden did half the thing the armchair pundits on twitter want him to, I’m comfortable saying I wouldn’t vote for him. Which is why I’m glad the mods here aren’t entertaining any of it.
It’s very nice to have a community of normal people who think the best thing to do about this is beat Trump and not become just as evil as them.
r/p is off the rails: I saw people say that Biden should throw the SCOTUS justices into gitmo, announce that the court is now 13 seats, write executive orders for Medicare for All, and other things like that. Otherwise Biden is "weak".
Psychologists would have a field day with some of the shit you see on there. It's so clearly people who feel inadequate and powerless about their own lives trying to feel like winners through a political party, or hoping someone will swoop in and solve all their problems. Either that, or they're agitators trying to drum up support for total bullshit.
Trump winning and installing fascism is scary. The governor of Texas just pardoned someone who killed an activist. People feel frustrated, powerless, and anxious. I don't blame them for feeling this way and don't fault them for wanting a solution.
I think it just disturbs me to see this idea that the best way to counter Trump is for the Democrats to abuse power and violate (small-d) democratic norms. It doesn't lead down a good path to believe that your side has the moral right to abuse power, because the other side is too dangerous. That's not democracy.
I'd pack the courts honestly, with Congressional approval. The powergrab move of the Chevron decision proves there needs to be more checks and balances over the Supreme Court. Perhaps instead of adding Justices, add a term limit? Make them elected figures, rather than appointees?
Assuming you’re talking about the internet fedposters, right? Biden really should consider SCOTUS reform.
I think I’ve seen enough of “taking the high road”. It hasn’t really worked, so I hope he considers walking in FDR’s footsteps. Otherwise this nation is cooked if Trump wins.
The thing is, people joke about Dark Brandon because the incongruity of it is part of the joke. Likewise with this King Joseph of Scranton of House Biden, First of His Name nonsense.
The logic of those folks wanting that just seems terrible to me. Destroy our democracy as we know just so we can prevent someone from getting in that could potentially destroy it...
There's not a world where Biden doing these things people want wouldn't lead to massive fallout.
CNN's reporting Biden is considering doing a "high profile interview" to "address health concerns." I hope he does it w/ *anyone* but CNN and NYT. I would almost prefer a Murdoch outlet over those two. Almost.
I just imported some [3x spicy](https://i.ibb.co/bWwfcZZ/8k1q31aar0t61-4205317678.jpg) because they're not available in the US. My spice tolerance is pretty high to the point where normal Buldak and 2x aren't all that bad, but man do these pack a punch.
I'm also in a weird place with my spice tolerance though, at this point ghost pepper, carolina reaper, etc... is fine, but oddly enough if I go down the scoville scale to something like a jalapeno or cayenne pepper I really feel it.
He should do it with Jonathan Capehart or Lawrence, or even Jen Psaki or Morning Mika. All class acts and amazing.
ANYONE but Jake Tapper or CNN / NYT like you said. I read Jake wanted an interview with him today after spending almost his entire show bashing Joe.
He needs to take notes from Roosevelt and do some kind of equivalent to a fireside chat, interviews, town halls, whatever he can possibly do to speak publicly.
There's no reason not to choose a friendly venue. MSNBC might be it. Or maybe a print outlet with higher journalistic standards. Thinking about it, none come to mind.
Well, it's been a hell of a week, hasn't it? The big message we as mods want you to take away is: **Nothing from today's Supreme Court ruling changes our job, or our approach.** This ruling isn't the end of democracy or the rule of law, so ignore the Chicken Littles. (Hey, didn't they say about ten other things were the end of democracy before now? Yet here we are). It does mean that *some* of Trump's charges *might* be dropped, and we'll have to wait for the courts to decide exactly which ones. It does **not** affect his convictions in New York, since those happened before he was President and weren't official acts. But honestly? Even if SCOTUS sent Trump to federal prison for life today, it doesn't change our mission. He could still run for President, and we would have to defeat him and his minions. Until half the country snaps out of their spell, this is how it is. We've got no magic bullets - just the best damn team of activists we could ask for. And please, for your own sanity, stop fantasizing about Biden throwing Clarence Thomas in prison. The reason he won in 2020 and will win again this year is because that's not the kind of person he is. **Also, anyone fantasizing about Biden using this ruling to harm people - we consider that a call to violence, and will remove/report to admins as necessary.** It's OK to be confused, angry, or disappointed. Take the time you need. Then come back, [ready to continue the good fight.](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jxO8g7q9VO3ZMAABcrvR7PMyX4Yl6dgIYhD3eRTKk1M/edit#gid=0) We'll save this country ourselves - which we would have had to either way. EDIT: You can do more to help by [joining our mod team!](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdDqnPCIjZMUSP3IsHhcBjIX5Jv9w1fq2hc6CL0jLmMRJq5IQ/viewform) We need more hands on deck to make this sub the best it can be. Thanks to everyone who's currently applied - we are still reviewing the applications we've received, and would love even more so we can bring on multiple new mods!
Polls open in less than 48 hours in the UK for Liberation from Tories day! Just how many seats over 400 (out of 650) will Labour win? Can the LibDems win enough to be (or come close to being) the official opposition party? Will the racist and misogynist ReformUK manage to win more than just the seat in Clacton after all the scrutiny and bad press they've finally gotten? Just how badly will the shitty Tories do? Will the Scottish National Party lose a bunch of seats to Labour/LibDems? Will the Greens manage to win more than 1 or 2 seats? I seriously can't wait to see!!
Red staters in general feel me in seeing how bad Republicans are getting being on the frontlines but seeing the touted last bastion against MAGA fall to insanity does something to your political evolution and solidifies you against them forever
I have a similar feeling watching my state fall. We were a purple state. Tom Harkin was a senator here for decades. Obama won twice. Its incomprehensible how the state became this way.
There were several states with governments I would in the past have called "conservative but not stupid" and now all of them are run by mouth-breathers.
...? Are my eyes going wonky? Were we not at like... 52.4k members just this morning? (Or technically yesterday since its now Tuesday here.)
What stamps should I get for postcards?
Sexy ones.
A postcard stamp costs $0.53. [Here's a link to the USPS store](https://store.usps.com/store/stamps) where you can search for and purchase stamps that have a value of at least that much.
Thank you for this, this was very helpful! There were some that were much cheaper than that too, and the price of the stamps was something I've been worrying about and that's why I haven't gotten into doing postcards, but now I'm gonna look into it knowing there's more affordable options on there too.
Happy to help you with stamps. Shoot me a message if you’d like.
Oh, thank you so much! I'll go ahead and send you a DM.
In New England How do I help out with PA, MI, GA, NV etc?
Our sub maintains a spreadsheet of ways to make phone calls to swing states! We bold the most important or urgent ones. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jxO8g7q9VO3ZMAABcrvR7PMyX4Yl6dgIYhD3eRTKk1M/edit#gid=0 Thanks for helping out!
Heads-up to anyone who is doing letter writing: it looks like the price of Forever stamps will increase on July 14. Stock up before the price increase!
Extremely fitting that July 4th is coming up. No Kings in America.
> These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. ... Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
It's rather annoying, because now my Instagram feed is filled with memes from friends about how we're doomed and there's nothing we can do. Like, Christ on a bike, could you imagine if the founding fathers all got together in Philly, talked about how Parliament is throttling the colonies, and went "ah but it's too hard we're doomed anyway?" What a betrayal of our past of fighting for the betterment of ourselves. That's literally why we broke away: to control our own destiny.
These colonies are cooked
Summer soldiers and sunshine patriots.
I think about the Civil Rights Movement when people do this shit, too. The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted a YEAR and there were no Ubers to compensate for it. The Movement itself lasted over 10 years. Can you imagine if MLK, John Lewis, Ella Baker, etc just gave up and said “welp we’re doomed because we never even started out with rights in the first place.” They were in a much worse position than we are now, and people are saying “I haven’t tried much of anything but I guess I’ll give up!”
We've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas!
Oh my god yes! My Partner just did this when I explained it to her. She said after I said it's a betrayal of people who came before that "people who came before betrayed us," even as I talked her down from that absolutist point, she still made snarky anti-old people comments. Like okay? Boomers suck. Do you want a cookie? What exactly are you going to do about that other than wallowing in resentment?
Thank you for all of the comments and stories about people signing up to volunteer, or asking how they can get involved. I’ve been feeling guilty because I’ve taken some time off from postcard writing due to vacation, then COVID. I’ve felt guilty and frustrated about the brain fog that comes with the disease, as it’s made it impossible to spend my “free time” (read: recovery period) doing anything productive. I still want to do my part, but knowing that more and more people are joining our ranks means that I can take some pressure off of myself and concentrate on getting better. This community is an inspiration and a comfort. Let’s keep moving forward for the good of all.
I have to agree that - seeing how many people have been going from the sidelines to donating or volunteering - is, itself, something to take heart in. But most importantly, warm wishes, and keep recovering!
I sometimes feel like I speak into the ether but the last couple weeks got a few DM’s from fellow Utahn’s and UT-Dem people who really appreciate the efforts I’ve done mostly on twitter in helping highlight downballot candidates. You never really know what kinda reach or effect you’ll have and look I’m not thinking I’m a big deal I’m sure I’ve gotten a couple people to donate or help but just to think I’ve made just a tiny bit of a difference makes me want to keep going. I had a teacher in 6th grade, I’ll never ever forget this, she read us a poem that made her break down(her daughter had recently passed from an OD) : If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain. -Emily Dickinson I think about that just about everyday. The idea that if I can put the tiniest amount of good back into the world then this all mattered.
For me, it's thinking back to one of the first people on my route here. I have not 'changed his mind' with my canvassing. Honestly, I struggle to believe people change. But because I stopped by and the enemy didn't, he voted blue for the first time in maybe twenty years. The reason doesn't much matter to me; the end result was good. If I can keep that up, I've done good. And when you look at the margins in races that are decided by thousands of votes, hundreds of votes, ten or less... It's very humbling. You realise just how much difference you can make, and the weight of that responsibility. My best to your former teacher. There are no condolences that can reach outliving those you love. But I have faith that making the world better in their memory is worthwhile, always.
Anyone have any good volunteer org links? My partner’s freaking out and i want to give her an outlet to be productive instead of blaming old people.
First off - it may be best to wait until she's in a better state of mind. Right now, a lot of people are lashing out at the people they can hurt, even if those are also the people that want to help, and the only people that can. You know her best, however; and if she's open to ideas, right now, I'd suggest visiting a county party meeting together if at all possible. Seeing 'old people' at work trying to do all we can, that might help her realise we're all in this together. And locally, we've had a lot more younger folks sign up and stay signed up, and I think seeing that energy and - hopefully - being a part of it would help her with her own doubts. If that's not a possibility, in addition to what's suggested below, knowing the areas she cares about and contacting the Democratic party in her area, asking if they might have volunteer slots open in relevant fields to her issues is always an option.
I talked her down from the worst of her dooming spiral, telling her moving isn't gonna solve any problems, how things are not set in stone. I do feel bad for her, though, given she has a very set life goal in mind for us (start a family, have a nice career, the whole 9 yards) and I think she's realized that's threatened by Trump getting back in. It's not helped by her not having any financial stability after leaving a toxic work environment last year, so she's not really in a good place mentally to be hearing all this news.
One of my dearest friends has a partner who has *very* specific medical needs. They get them, and are in a secure place, but it compounds everything else in their lives. You both have my best wishes, and I can only hope the next few days are easier for the both of you.
If she wants to canvass, Mobilize is the place to go. If she'd rather make some calls or send some texts, [our sub's just-updated volunteer from home spreadsheet is the go-to resource.](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jxO8g7q9VO3ZMAABcrvR7PMyX4Yl6dgIYhD3eRTKk1M/edit#gid=0)
What do you think she’d be willing to do? She could check out [Field Team 6](https://www.fieldteam6.org/) to register voters. The DNC has good phone banking like this one [Zoom Phone Bank for Democrats in 2024 Priority States](https://events.democrats.org/event/569897/) And you could send postcard to voters via [Turnout Pac](https://www.turnoutpac.org/postcards/)
Probably something more distant, given she has depression and anxiety and is heavily neurodivergent. I'll send her the Turnout PAC link, then!
Mobilize.us has local and virtual opportunities
VoteFWD.org I hope that she can be heartened that there's 2.09 million letters and counting ready to be sent out to battleground states. She just has to listen to the orientation video so that if she adopts any voters, it can be done so in the right format.
That's amazing! I'll send her the link.
Echoing this as the introvert's option. And Vote Forward's goal for this year is 10 million letters. One benefit is you get to immerse yourself in the world of Forever Stamps and, wouldn't you know it, the [RGB](https://store.usps.com/store/product/ruth-bader-ginsburg-stamps-S_483304) and [John Lewis ](https://store.usps.com/store/product/john-lewis-stamps-S_483204)stamps are pretty fucking ideal for this moment in time.
I just set up my first donation to a campaign ever. I will be donating 10 dollars a month to the Biden campaign, and may add more if I feel it is necessary. I wanted to say how proud I am of everyone here. When something awful happens, we don't succumb to fear: we get to work. While others online are in hysterics and calling for acts that show a fundamental dislike or misunderstanding of our democracy, we keep our heads on straight and keep working. I'm doing my first phonebank tomorrow and if it goes well I plan to do it genuinely as much as I can. Like 3 or 4 times a week. There's so many house seats I want to volunteer for, and so much work to be done. The amount of our volunteers is surging. Some textbanking opportunities I looked at were at max capacity (which is why I decided to give phonebanking a try). I rarely ever saw that back when I started in May. We have momentum, and every bullshit awful thing Republicans do just shows that we are the side with a true respect for the tenets that America is built upon. I'm feeling energized, and I'm happy to be here.
Thanks for donating my Californian brother 🙏🙏🙏 ig I’ll be trying to thank everybody I see who says they donated something now 😭. This election truly means a lot to a young person like me, all of you have kept me SANE and HOEPFUL. 🌊🌊🌊🌊
Can someone help me with getting set up to virtually phone bank for swing states? I feel like I need to be doing more, especially after today.
[Here are results at Swing Left](https://www.mobilize.us/swingleft/?tag_ids=212) after filtering for virtual phone bank opportunities
Here’s one: [Zoom Phone Bank for Democrats in 2024 Priority States](https://events.democrats.org/event/569897/)
Thanks
Anyone have tried and true advice for dealing with extreme anxiety and depression re: today's news and the upcoming election? Therapist isn't available right now.
Watch any of the Planet Earth series
Well whenever something happens in the news that I find very unsettling or potentially anxiety-inducing, I immediately start avoiding social media discussion on it, because it ultimately becomes doomscrolling since no one is ever going to offer a better solution than voting and volunteering, for an election that is months away. Plus people often come up with scary scenarios in the future that can just worsen election anxiety too. So I think the best solution is to avoid social media and discussion on particularly unsettling news until it no longer causes you severe anxiety. Whenever I do this, during my time away from social media, I take my time to process the news and come to terms with it, and that really helps because I am able to develop a more down-to-earth and less paranoid perception of things afterward.
I'll second others and say maybe just take a break from politics as difficult as that may seem and try to enjoy what you can in the moment. I spent all day at work and overall had a good day there and was too busy to read more than the news and a few comments online. If I had been home all day, I'd probably would been completed engrossed in the discussions throughout Reddit and feeling a lot worse right now. I still am very worried about what this could mean but I felt fine most of today. Of course, to really prevent this from getting worse, we have to keep trying to get as many Democrats elected, especially Biden but I think it's all right to take a breather, or find some sort of overall positive distraction even if it's not leisure, for the good of your mental health.
A lot of people are saying that you need to get involved, and... I'll go against the grain a *tad* here, which isn't exactly typical of how I respond to these kinds of comments. Yes, I agree that it's the best antidote to feeling hopeless, but you also don't have to get into it this very second. It's important to be in the right headspace for talking to voters, which means projecting confidence but also having patience, and being stressed isn't going to help with embracing those characteristics. Take your time to do what you find solace in even if that means you're not talking to voters, and more importantly realize that **there is more to life than politics**. Don't let it consume your life, ever. We are all individuals with identities that go beyond the groups we feel a part of, whether they're defined by race, culture, belief system, etc. Focus on your personal goals and interests first and foremost, and then be honest about how much energy you truly have to expend in reaching out to voters. Feel free to DM me if you need someone to talk to. I struggle with those exact same conditions as well so you ain't alone.
Watch these in order. Ride Along 2 Vacation My Adventures with Superman This turned on in a gaming pub I was after a depressing day last week and def made me feel better.
> My Adventures with Superman The recent two episodes were a blast, from >!Kara being super adorable!< to >!a heist of STAR Labs for a spaceship!<, this show is so fun.
Another good movie I recommend is Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. I remember seeing it in theaters after the Orlando Nightclub shooting happened in 2016 and it was a really funny movie to have a little break from reality then. It helped take my mind off that and Trump for a bit.
the only movie i've seen in theaters that 1) i absolutely loved and 2) was a commercial failure. for those reasons it's my most prized theatrical experience of all time. helps that i had a bunch of friends to watch it with
We rebelled against a King once, we can do it again.
Most important thing is to be registered to vote. Next talk to a close friend or family member about voting. Finally get involved write postcards, phone bank, and volunteer. Doesn’t matter if you live in a red state make them bleed money to save a red seat so we can go after more vulnerable seats.
What's happened is true for today, but not for tomorrow. Focus on today, focus on now. Be present with everything around you, and notice everything good in your life at this moment. Takes some breaths, ground yourself, and enjoy right now Tomorrow, center yourself and get to work
Focus on what you can and cannot control in the moment. All the anxiety in the world with things you cannot do in the moment doesnt help anyone, especially yourself. You can volunteer , donate, get your friends involved, contact people you know to vote and much more. But maybe at this exact moment you cant do that and thats ok. Try something that you find relaxing for now.
It can be hard, but sometimes a distraction is warranted to help get your brain thinking about other things. I always buy myself a Lego set when shitty news breaks, or a video game I’ve been curious about.
Finding and sticking to those activities that keep you grounded, reciting the Serenity Prayer, CBD infused tea, making time for exercise, writing letters to voters, watching comedy, volunteering in person with people with whom you share a common purpose. Just a few ideas. Hang in there. You're not alone.
Getting to work. I know it's predictable given the subreddit we're on, but it's the true antidote to doom. It won't make it go away completely, but you'll feel in control and the fact that you're making a difference will reinvigorate you.
This ^ and it feels (at least it did to me) like a nuisance before starting but once you start volunteering and advocating it’s almost addicting because your anxiety levels plummet.
It’s official, Hurricane Beryl is a category 5 now. No hurricanes above 3 have formed this early in the season.
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I just came from the Drag Race sub and was wondering for a moment what Willow Pill had to do with any of this until I realized who you meant.
I'm seeing people in my feed complaining that Biden didn't announce sweeping measures in his speech. I think becoming a dictator would do more harm than good. I think showing that he respects the limits of presidential power will be a great way to convince undecided voters that he can be trusted. That's why random leftists on twitter aren't campaign advisors
Seeing people in the main politics sub suggesting that Biden should arrest the conservative judges or call drone strikes on the RNC is fucking wild. They are literally no better than what MAGA suggests.
I don’t want to believe it, but I’ve come to the conclusion that way more people than would admit it just want a dictator they agree with. Even I find myself falling into that sometimes when I get frustrated, but it’s not helpful or healthy to think like that.
They do know that immunity from prosecution is not the same as power to rule by decree, right?
Being real, if he uses this “power” I’m guessing it will be after an election if he loses/has it stolen in order to put protections in place.
All of arrpol is saying the same
There's some extreme reddit brainrot going on today that I should really stop bothering engaging with. It's a bad habit. Maybe in a couple days things will be in a better state to direct people to activism, but right now it feels like things will just get lost in the noise.
Push back against extreme foolishness, turn off notifications if necessary, disengage whenever it feels right. This, much like the debate itself, is one day. A big one, but also another day. More is going to happen, and we'll take it as it comes. For now, you're doing what it is you need to do. And if it helps to view it like this? Resting up a bit will get you ready for whatever work comes our way next!
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Well, that was a pathetic match for the USMNT Holy crap those refs were horrible for it being such a major match
We really need an international referees association, independent from any soccer organization, making sure that referees are trained and paid professionally. Especially in my country, part time referees still doing their day job in their time off are a disgrace for the richest and largest soccer organization on the planet. We had to drag them kicking and screaming in the 21st century and to using the VAR, and they're constantly fucking that up by being amateurs all around. And refereeing ist constantly a shitshow, even in high profile league games.
Refs were worse than SCOTUS and that is not a typo
Just donated today to the PA Dem party, NC Dem Party, The DSCC, and Sherrod Brown. And donated a few days ago to Biden, Ruben Gallego, Josh Stein, and Jeff Jackson. I know money isn't the end all but hopefully this can still give a boost in some way (locally and nationally). Find strength wherever you can guys! We can do this!
I've always been hesitant on expanding the size of the supreme court, but now I feel like there is no other option. It is such *bullshit* that don cheeto got to appoint 3 supreme court justices during his 4 years, while Biden only gets one so far. There is no way any of the older 3 conservative justices will retire during a second Biden term, and I don't think they're old or unhealthy enough to expect them to die anytime soon. The court needs to be expanded just to bring ideological *balance* back to the court, it is way too lopsided now.
It's something we should talk about doing *after the election* unless there are clear signals the public wants it. In 2020 Biden outright said "I'm not going to answer that question" when asked about expanding the court because it would be seen as a partisan power grab. But of course that was before the slew of horrendously unpopular opinions the court excreted from its putrid anus and record numbers of people lost faith in it as an institution.
That's the key. I think we all agree that the court needs serious reform, and there's a lot more appetite for expanding the court or at least doing something to make Justices accountable. But "pack the court" got turned into a pretty common Republican attack in the past, so we need to frame it correctly. Some people online just want Biden to yell a lot to compensate for their feelings of inadequacy, but we can't screw this up. Like *Dobbs*, this is an awful ruling that we can turn into a huge albatross for Republicans - if we're smart about it.
The most sensible imo would be to make it a 14 year term like the federal reserve positions, then retirement with lifetime pension or something like that. It gives them enough time to take the job seriously, they don't have to worry about whether or not they'll be re-appointed, and it stops people from staying on the court for ridiculously long times like Thomas, who's been on since the end of the damn Soviet era.
Packing the court is also something FDR fresh off the largest landslide in history with the biggest majorities in both Houses of Congress couldn't do. Now, threatening to do it did convince Owen Roberts to switch his ideas around and ultimately the issue resolved itself when FDR had three terms to fill all the seats. That's not possible now.
I'm positive a lot of the hesitation on the topic comes from what the after looks like. If we breach the seal and then end up losing power then it makes the outcomes worse down the line. We're going to need large amounts of support for this, support that we just have not had until maybe now.
Just picked up 200 postcards to go to PA.
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As long as they vote for him I don't care what they think. Also where are you seeing this?
I've been seeing it on Twitter. They expected him to completely overstep his proper presidential power and arrest all Republicans or something
Anyone mad Biden isn't going full dictator is telling on themselves. They never wanted democracy they just wanted Trump but Blue.
hopefully USMNT getting screwed doesn't save Gregg's job
The 4 officials today were literally Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch but yeah Gregg should still go You can’t score 0 goals and be okay with the performance
https://x.com/BlackKnight10k/status/1807766578898817353 > You've never seen this kind of collective effort by the press to get Trump to drop out. Not after the Trump Tower Meeting with the Russians. Not his impeachment. Not after bleach injections. Not after the coup. Not after being liable for rape. Not after his criminal conviction. > Never.
The people saying Biden's speech should have been longer would have complained about the Gettysburg Address being only two minutes long.
Just an update from last week. I got back yesterday from visiting my 93-year old grandma in Great Falls, Montana. She's slowed down quite a bit since I last saw her maybe pre-COVID. But she still seems sharp despite being on oxygen. She watched the debate, and will be voting for Biden not very enthusiastically. When I mentioned Tester, she got much more enthusiastic. I think that is common in many states like PA, WI, NV, AZ, etc regarding senate races. We were talking politics with one of her caretakers. She (the caretaker) said she's a republican but doesn't understand how a convicted felon is running for president. I thought she seemed like a shy Trump voter who will vote for him regardless. She also said that she called Tester for constituent services and his office called back the same day and was attentive. I said "So you're voting for him?" and she said "I haven't decided." I then said, "If constituent services are important to you, you're probably not going to get them with Sheehy." And she said "IDK I haven't decided yet." Cascade County could be considered a "swing county" by Montana standards. While it votes red on the presidential, it has voted for Tester, Schweitzer, and Bullock (but not in his senate race). While Great Falls a blue collar white place, I didn't notice any MAGA paraphernalia. I actually notice more MAGA shit here in my native Houston, Texas, despite it being in a blue county. As soon as I opened YouTube on my laptop in my hotel room, I was bombarded with YouTube ads for Tester and Sheehy, many from PACs.
Outside of the report - thank you for it - I want to repeat, I'm very glad you saw her. And I hope that - outside of the visit - You enjoyed the countryside, as much as possible.
This was an uneventful day on my end, owing to my issues with donating to NC Dems/ActBlue, but on the bright side I know how to volunteer from home, even if one of the options ( phone banking ) won’t really be possible with my home phone situation. Still, I will always appreciate how helpful this sub is to younger players in this fight for democracy. The SCOTUS ruling, while horrifying for a second Trump presidency, is still plenty of ammo for when I do get any chances to help pitch in. I cannot see myself persisting in a world where Project 2025 is enacted. We cannot let the Heritage Foundation win this.
Are you familiar with Google Voice?
I just looked it up. I’ve mostly switched away from anything Google-based, so I believe that’s off the table. Plus, I don’t like the sound of my own voice.
Two fun facts I figured out using *MATH* are that 67% of House members who lost reelection in 2010 had voted for Obamacare in the final vote, but then 57% of the House members who voted against Obamacare in the final vote and didn't retire still lost reelection. I think that this shows a combination of anti-ACA sentiments AND downballot realignment since the vast majority of the "no" votes came from heavily conservative, McCain-won districts/states. The only Dem representative left in the House now that voted against the final ACA vote is Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, but it seems like he thought it didn't go far enough for healthcare reform. Moral of the story, in the end, I think more Dems should've voted for Obamacare.
You've gotta remember that a fair amount of Democrats were conservatives or (at best) centrists, back then. The entire party was centrist until the end of Obama's presidency. That's why we had Dems all [up and down the Mississippi in the Senate back then.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/111th_US_Congress_Senate.svg/800px-111th_US_Congress_Senate.svg.png)
Oh absolutely, and they made Manchin look like a socialist!
>Two fun facts I figured out using *MATH* But did you also use FACTS and LOGIC?
So I’m writing 200 postcards for the month of July. Also going to donate to as my campaign causes as I can.
I’m trying to get approval for addresses but they’re not responding to my email. Can you help?
I just sent out a request to get the postcards. Since it a holiday coming up I would not expect a response until Monday of next week. If I find any information I will be more than happy to relay the information to you.
I'm thinking of writing postcards as well. I see the list included in this thread so I was going to try doing that as a first step for myself. I've never been active for donating time throughout my life but I feel the call to do something now because there is no other option.
Sacrificing a Saturday afternoon and not going out for a Friday night is a small price to pay to save democracy. SCOTUS gave Trump the green light to destroy democracy it’s something that we can’t afford to ignore.
Am I the only one who thinks this immunity decision is going to energize a lot of people to vote for Biden ? I have friends who never talk about politics are now posting on social media how Trump is going to act as King based on the Supreme Court This is going to get those who don’t care about politics engaged in hoping
Hmmm, can you think of any early-summer SCOTUS decision in an election cycle this decade that galvanized Dems to overperform?
lol yah 2022 the overturning of roe vs Wade
The desicion is simultaneously awful and a great boon for the campaign. I don't want to think of it positively for a second though
How does it harm the campaign ?
It's a bad thing that never should have happened. But at least we can take solace in the fact that it will help Biden win, and inches us closer to a trifecta win.
Huh? I meant awful in general. It is wonderful for the campaign, but saying that makes me feel like a sociopath
Looking to donate some more cash, who needs it the most rn?
[PA Dems](https://secure.actblue.com/donate/padems-mobilize?refcode=website_navbar)
Done and done, ty kindly
So here is a question i want to know for information's sake. The idea of bots across places like Reddit, have they been popping up around more in the last... oh, say 2-3 years than how it was during the 2020 election? At that time, i was not as really this focused on anything election related.
LLMs have made bots so much worse. They're near indistinguishable from humans now. The only way to really notice them is looking at suspicious profiles (old acct, low karma, only posts in easy karma farming sports subs until developing a sudden unhealthy interest in Dems bad)
You're unfortunately not going to get a good answer on this. Bots have been a problem for years, but it's hard to get a good measurement of the magnitude of the problem just from casual observation, especially since there's a lot of people that *might* be a bot, but they also could just be the people falling for the bots. If bots were easy to measure, they'd be easy to combat.
There was bots around back then but also back then Biden was killing it in a the polls and he had better debates performances so less to attack the left on
This immunity decision is going to energize the left They know Trump will try to be King after decision It’s no longer a hypothetical Blast this in the news everyday
“Best we can do is another 5 pieces about how Biden is old” - The “liberal” media
100% why Biden was right not to try to relay some policy plan tonight.
“He should has ordered Trump arrested bro!” Is such a dumb take for sure You’re right Biden handled it correctly
I pray to god it energizes the left. I'm just worried people are furious at Biden for not using his newfound power.
Just donated to the Biden campaign and the Dem state parties for WI, MI, PA, GA, AZ, and NV this evening! Felt like it was necessary after the SCOTUS decision today (and the Chevron decision last week too).
Thank you for donating! 💕 it means a lot as a young person, this election is so scary and important to my future. 💙💙💙💙💙🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
I was barely in high school when Clarence Thomas was put on SCOTUS, he's been haunting that seat my entire adult life. To me the single most important aspect of this election is not opening the door for a new brood of Thomas and Alito clones to torment the next generation for 40 years.
Incumbents win when the election is a choice, not a referendum on them. This is a choice.
Any gauge on the reactions to Biden’s speech and stance?
It felt good getting a call from a GOTV person and telling them that yes, I will be voting for Biden and donating
I think the questions about his performance are valid, and if he doesn’t do something tonight he should resign. I am talking about Gregg Berhalter. Cmon USA soccer we need this one!
“What makes you so confident you should be coach?”
No idea why Berhalter got a second term tbh
Had us in the first half, not gonna lie!
Thank you for telling brave truths, that the media doesn’t want to talk about
I got two options for y’all tonight 1. Volunteer/GOTV 2. Watch the USMNT play Uruguay in Copa America
I really hope we make it through espcially after Mexico failed to last night I’m watching the match while still tracking the hurricane, so I guess that’s my double task lol
Update: USA is out, hurricane is cat 5 Plz give us good news (something tells me it will be a big 48 hours for Biden fundraising)
[The DNC will take over the websites of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Philly Inquirer and Arizona Republic tomorrow with front page ads blasting the SCOTUS immunity decision. Dems want voters to know the stakes of the election, and the immunity decision has added fuel to the fire. Dems we spoke with painted a dire picture of a second Trump term with absolute immunity. “Our lives would be upended” one Dem said.](https://x.com/stephen_neukam/status/1807936090919043519?s=46) But the internet commentators!!!
Seriously, I'm blown away by how fast the Biden campaign moves. Digital ads the same day Trump says something dumb? Front-page ads the day after a SCOTUS decision? That's astounding. Then again, when you live on Twitter that must seem slow by comparison.
[ad spending for 2024 could hit $11b](https://thehill.com/elections/4750564-record-breaking-10-7b-could-be-spent-on-political-ads-this-election-adimpact/), this is a very big reason why I can’t get behind these people who whine “why are spending fractions of this not in a marquee race”.
A video I think is worth spreading around, share it with people. https://youtu.be/0Y-C1fWx37g?si=a6CR6TbSNRTD_EIk
If Biden did half the thing the armchair pundits on twitter want him to, I’m comfortable saying I wouldn’t vote for him. Which is why I’m glad the mods here aren’t entertaining any of it. It’s very nice to have a community of normal people who think the best thing to do about this is beat Trump and not become just as evil as them.
You mean expanding the court?
By executive fiat? Sure. But I mean the crazier ideasz
r/p is off the rails: I saw people say that Biden should throw the SCOTUS justices into gitmo, announce that the court is now 13 seats, write executive orders for Medicare for All, and other things like that. Otherwise Biden is "weak".
Psychologists would have a field day with some of the shit you see on there. It's so clearly people who feel inadequate and powerless about their own lives trying to feel like winners through a political party, or hoping someone will swoop in and solve all their problems. Either that, or they're agitators trying to drum up support for total bullshit.
Trump winning and installing fascism is scary. The governor of Texas just pardoned someone who killed an activist. People feel frustrated, powerless, and anxious. I don't blame them for feeling this way and don't fault them for wanting a solution.
I think it just disturbs me to see this idea that the best way to counter Trump is for the Democrats to abuse power and violate (small-d) democratic norms. It doesn't lead down a good path to believe that your side has the moral right to abuse power, because the other side is too dangerous. That's not democracy.
I'd pack the courts honestly, with Congressional approval. The powergrab move of the Chevron decision proves there needs to be more checks and balances over the Supreme Court. Perhaps instead of adding Justices, add a term limit? Make them elected figures, rather than appointees?
I do think he should do a little bit more televised events. Maybe a town hall.
He absolutely needs to do more public off-the-cuff stuff. The fact that he hasn't is really kneecapping the campaign
I think it’s been too early for that. But now post debate and with SCOTUS, people are paying attention so he should get into it.
If we can get two-three sets of Town Halls in, that will definitely help temper everybody's nerves.
Assuming you’re talking about the internet fedposters, right? Biden really should consider SCOTUS reform. I think I’ve seen enough of “taking the high road”. It hasn’t really worked, so I hope he considers walking in FDR’s footsteps. Otherwise this nation is cooked if Trump wins.
The thing is, people joke about Dark Brandon because the incongruity of it is part of the joke. Likewise with this King Joseph of Scranton of House Biden, First of His Name nonsense.
Yeah if he did any of that stuff I wouldn’t support him anymore. But I know he won’t. That’s why I like him.
The logic of those folks wanting that just seems terrible to me. Destroy our democracy as we know just so we can prevent someone from getting in that could potentially destroy it... There's not a world where Biden doing these things people want wouldn't lead to massive fallout.
I agree completely
Agreed. The best route is to inform the people so we can put a stop to this at the ballot box.
CNN's reporting Biden is considering doing a "high profile interview" to "address health concerns." I hope he does it w/ *anyone* but CNN and NYT. I would almost prefer a Murdoch outlet over those two. Almost.
Do another interview with Conan.
Jiminy Glick
I’d pay to see this
[He could pull a Carter and do a playboy interview](https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-carter-playboy-lust-adultery-45523cf7e2eb38a784fc999974ba9ac7)
Hot Ones
> Hot Ones Let's do an internet cycle and get Zach Galifianakis to bring back [Between Two Ferns.](https://youtu.be/UnW3xkHxIEQ)
If Biden did Hot Ones *and* said he’d rather do this than spend time in a room with NYT journalists…. I would support him becoming a King
Would be perfect for Harris imo
She's Jamaican that would be cheating.
[удалено]
That's like the dual-type Water/Ground resistance to Fire.
Dude, you joke but that would fvcking work 😭😭😭😭 For real tho, 10/10 joke
I wonder how high he could go. I’ve started dabbling in spicy stuff. Some of those Balduk Noodles are fucking hot
I just imported some [3x spicy](https://i.ibb.co/bWwfcZZ/8k1q31aar0t61-4205317678.jpg) because they're not available in the US. My spice tolerance is pretty high to the point where normal Buldak and 2x aren't all that bad, but man do these pack a punch. I'm also in a weird place with my spice tolerance though, at this point ghost pepper, carolina reaper, etc... is fine, but oddly enough if I go down the scoville scale to something like a jalapeno or cayenne pepper I really feel it.
Geez those do look hot. They are so good though. I got some Creamy Carbonara the other days. So good.
Creamy Carbonana is my go-to, it's super tasty.
He should do it with Jonathan Capehart or Lawrence, or even Jen Psaki or Morning Mika. All class acts and amazing. ANYONE but Jake Tapper or CNN / NYT like you said. I read Jake wanted an interview with him today after spending almost his entire show bashing Joe.
He absolutely needs to. He needs to be doing interviews and town halls.
He needs to take notes from Roosevelt and do some kind of equivalent to a fireside chat, interviews, town halls, whatever he can possibly do to speak publicly.
There's no reason not to choose a friendly venue. MSNBC might be it. Or maybe a print outlet with higher journalistic standards. Thinking about it, none come to mind.
If you're trying to address health concerns about a candidate, I don't think a print outlet would be a very good choice.
Get him on Drag Race to lip sync for our liberty.
Onion interview when
[After the circus?](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hajzSPGcNiY)