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He needs your help

Will be grateful for your suggestions. I’ll illustrate winners for Sunday. For your paid sub.

Robert Kagan, an inveterate Neo-con, has broken the seal of pundit silence on the truth about what Trump has done. He calls “checkmate:” Trump has no choices left, except an all-out invasion or accepting a devastating defeat. If you can read the whole piece find it HERE.

Here is how he ends it:

“The American defeat in the Gulf will have broader global ramifications as well. The whole world can see that just a few weeks of war with a second-rank power have reduced American weapons stocks to perilously low levels, with no quick remedy in sight. The questions this raises about America’s readiness for another major conflict may or may not prompt Xi Jinping to launch an attack on Taiwan, or Vladimir Putin to step up his aggression against Europe. But at the very least America’s allies in East Asia and Europe must wonder about American staying power in the event of future conflicts.

The global adjustment to a post-American world is accelerating. America’s once-dominant position in the Gulf is just the first of many casualties.”

TIP JAR

ONE ACTION:

Jess Craven gives us great tips:

Trump’s economy continues to bottom out—every time it looks as bad as it’s going to get it finds a trapdoor and goes lower. According to new data released today, inflation soared to 3.8% — the highest in nearly three years — and is now growing faster than wages. Gas prices continue to be sky-high, economic sentiment is disastrously low, and Trump’s disapproval rating on the economy just hit a new high. I know I talk about facts like this a lot, but they’re important. Remember “it’s the economy, stupid?” Well, it is. And Trump’s economy is about as awful as it can get.

Yet it promises to grow far worse before the year is out. Every week the Strait of Hormuz is closed is another week, at least, of punishingly high gas prices, but also diesel, fertilizer, and helium prices, too. This affects the economy from top to bottom, and those downstream effects may not reverse for months or even years. Trump’s talk of suspending the federal gas tax is already hitting pushback from Congressional leadership, and the only other plan Republicans have to lower prices, a housing affordability bill, is stuck in the House. (It would have few short-term impacts anyway.)

In short, Republicans are well and truly screwed on the economy. But not just that. The Iran war is now being referred to as a “total defeat” for America (read this Robert Kagan piece if you want to see how witheringly military experts are talking about it), Trump is sleeping through meetings again, and Republican infighting is getting worse by the day. They’re accomplishing nothing, their bill to fund the ballroom is wildly unpopular, and Americans are mad about just about everything.

This is the context as we head into midterm season. We have the potential to deliver a MASSIVE rebuke to all of this at the ballot box. And we will, provided we don’t fall for the propaganda telling us the battle is already lost. It isn’t; we’re still favored to win, but only if we show up.

Meanwhile we have terrible legislation to stop, good legislation to push for, and a whole lot of important organizing to do. So let’s stop talking and get to work.

Remember, Seneca said that “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” So let’s dare to fight for our country—the more we throw ourselves into that effort the more the effort will fuel and feed itself.

What an honor to be on the right side of history!

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.

First, I’m calling to oppose Republicans reconciliation bill, which would give 1B for Trump’s ballroom and 70B to ICE and CBP. These agencies are out of control, lawless, and despised by the vast majority of Americans. Any lawmaker who votes to give them more money will get voted out. As for the ballroom? [Insert your unvarnished sentiments here.]

Second, I’m calling to express my concern about the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act and allowing states to deny minority populations fair representation. I want the Senator to speak out against this clearly political attack on our democracy and protect our constitutional rights by supporting the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, reintroducing the Freedom to Vote Act, and supporting a federal ban on partisan gerrymandering.

[If Dem add:] I also want the Senator to support measures to reform the Supreme Court, such as term limits, court expansion, and limits on the use of shadow docket rulings. Thanks. [H/T]

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.

First, Rep. Jen Kiggans needs to resign for agreeing with a radio host that Hakkem Jeffries should “get [his] cotton-picking hands off of Virginia.” I am disgusted by the blatant racism being spewed by members of the Republican Party. Has the Congressmember made a statement saying Kiggans should resign?

Second, I’m calling to express my concern about the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act and allowing states to deny minority populations fair representation. I want the Congressmember to speak out against this clearly political attack on our democracy and protect our constitutional rights by supporting the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, reintroducing the Freedom to Vote Act, and supporting a federal ban on partisan gerrymandering.

[If Dem add:] I also want the Congressmember to support measures to reform the Supreme Court, such as term limits, court expansion, and limits on the use of shadow docket rulings. Thanks. [H/T]

Extra Credit ✅

One of my readers suggested this action, and I think it’s a good one.

Flock cameras are the license plate surveillance cameras that are popping up all over the country. They’re part of a larger surveillance push and it’s time for us to push back.

Go to the map on deflock.org and find out if there are Flock cameras in your area. Assuming you find some—I did, in surprising places—write to your city or town council and ask them to get rid of them.

Suggested letter:

Dear Council Members,



I am writing as a concerned citizen to ask you to drop our contract with

Flock.

Surveillance is not safety. Automatic license plate readers have become

a staple of policing across the US. They scan millions of plates daily,

giving police enormous unchecked power that challenges our

constitutional rights.

Over the last year, thousands of people across the country have risen up

and said no to these private, profit-driven companies blanketing our

cities, towns, and communities.

Contracts are being canceled and we’re dismantling the surveillance

infrastructure. I hope we in (city name) can join the movement and say

no to ALPRs.

Sincerely,

[H/T Kibby M.]

Get Smart! 📚

On Thursday, May 14 at 7pm ET, Lauren Groh-Wargo, CEO of Fair Fight Action, returns to BigTentUSA for a rapid-response conversation on the sweeping impact of the Louisiana v. Callais decision. She’ll break down what the ruling means, how it’s already reshaping voting rights across the South, and why communities of color face renewed threats to fair representation.

More importantly, she’ll get real about what comes next—and how everyday people can push back, organize, and protect the power of their vote.

RSVP HERE | THU. 5.14 | 7:00PM ET

Messaging! Messaging! Messaging! 📣

Here’s an awesome resource page with a breakdown of what’s in Republicans’ new reconciliation bill and why it’s an outrage.

And Families Over Billionaires just released a folder of graphics for every state in the nation showing how that state specifically has been affected by Trump’s policies—from jobs lost, average increase in gas prices, hospitals closed, and more.

Here’s Colorado’s as a sample.

Feel free to download the one(s) that apply to you and share widely!

Give 💰!

We’re now at 27% of our goal for my States Project fundraising push—we’ve raised just over 20K out of 100K! Remember, Democrats can aggressively redraw maps for the 2028 elections and erase most of Republicans’ gains, but only if we have trifectas in the necessary states. The States Project team knows exactly which seats we need to flip and how to flip them. ALL THEY NEED IS MONEY!

Please give if you can (assuming you haven’t yet) and share this with everyone you know who cares about saving our democracy.

Get in the Streets! 🪧

Civil Rights organizations led by Black Voters Matter are holding a national day of action for voting rights in Selma, AL this Saturday.

Join them on May 16—there’s a Moral Moment for Faith Leaders at 9:00 AM in Selma, followed by a rally at 1:00 PM in Montgomery. Register now. There are satellite events all over the South. If you sign up on the main form you’ll be kept in the loop on them.

Win Races! 🗳

Climate Hawks Vote is doing phonebanks to help climate champions in Democratic primaries. This is really important, as the DCCC has intervened in several big primaries to help the more moderate (aka big oil friendly) Dem. These candidates need our help! I’m particularly excited about Randy Villegas in CA.

These phonebanks are every Tuesday for the next few weeks from 6-8PM ET. Please sign up if you can. Your calls will REALLY matter here.

Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻

[To: all 3 reps] [H/T Rogan’s List] [Text SIGN PXUNHW to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]

(Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)

Again and again, Brendan Carr has engaged in textbook abuses of power as chair of the FCC. He’s leading an attack on our freedom of speech, and you must force his removal to protect the First Amendment.

Carr has repeatedly tried to censor media critics of the White House and even accurate press coverage when it reflects poorly on President Trump, and has made little to no effort to hide his agenda: ensuring Trump and his billionaire backers control what we’re allowed to say and hear. He’s targeted late night hosts like Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, daytime TV and straight news coverage. He’s threatened the media for reporting on ICE raids, wrongful deportations, and failures during wartime, demanding they act as a state mouthpiece rather than tell the truth. He’s made it clear that the approval of mergers and the application of regulatory standards depends on whether news outlets toe the line.

And it’s having an impact: a veteran political reporter sidelined after Carr went after his station commented that “‘chilling effect does not begin to describe the neutering of our political coverage.’”

We need a full congressional investigation into Carr’s misconduct. But some of his most blatant efforts to silence and coerce the press have played out right in the open. We have plenty of evidence that he is undermining our constitutional rights.

Every member of Congress should be demanding he resign, now. In the likely event he refuses to do so, they should oppose any further appropriations to the Federal Communications Commission as long as he remains in charge. He needs to be stopped from weaponizing the government against the public, and if he won’t leave his position then his position must be stripped of its power.