"Stand next to me."

February 20, 2024

The domestic news cycle was relatively quiet on Monday—with emphasis on the term “relatively.” In a normal political landscape, any one of a dozen stories could qualify as a blockbuster story worthy of front-page treatment. But we should accept the momentary dip in the intensity and velocity of the news—because both are certain to rebound shortly.

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Biden campaign continues to engage Trump.

The Biden campaign and its surrogates have launched a multi-pronged, aggressive social media campaign against Trump and House Republicans. If you aren’t on social media, good for you! But you should know that the Biden campaign is fully engaged on the digital battleground. Does it matter? Do tweets, short videos, and pictures change voters’ minds? I don’t know, but I do know that ceding social media platforms to MAGA extremists creates a vacuum that will be filled with anti-Biden propaganda.

For example, on Monday, a group of historians released a ranking of US presidents, including Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Biden ranked a respectable 14th (out of 45). Trump ranked last. See The Hill, Presidential experts rank Biden 14th among presidents in survey, Trump comes in last.

@BidenWins immediately publicized the ranking by historians on Twitter, which garnered hundreds of thousands of views and tens of thousands of retweets. Do those metrics matter? Well, ask yourself about the reaction if the results had been reversed—Biden last, Trump 14th—and consider what Republicans (and the media) would have done with that outcome. If you are on Twitter, help Joe Biden amplify the result so that it rises to the prominence Republicans and the media would have given the opposite result.

Similarly, Joe Biden (@POTUS) posted a note saying, “Instead of taking action, Republicans on the Hill went on a two-week vacation,” and included a side-by-side chart showing the bizarre circumlocutions of “Congressional Republicans” with the straight-line progress of “President Biden” in negotiating a border security and Ukraine aid bill.

And, in a timely reminder of the differences between Biden and Trump on reproductive liberty, @BidenWins posted this note:

Donald Trump was trying to keep this private, but new reporting shows Trump wants to pass a complete abortion ban. Retweet to ensure every voter knows this.

Biden’s post links to an article in the NYTimes headlined, “Trump privately expresses support for a 16-week abortion ban.” Per the Times, Trump is considering a sixteen-week national abortion ban.

The key part of Trump's preference is the “national” aspect of the ban. Christian conservatives will never allow Trump to undo their stricter abortion bans at the state level—so the “national” ban will only override states with more liberal policies on abortion.

The Biden campaign rightly focused on Trump's proposed national abortion ban because the Alabama supreme court ruled on Monday that frozen fertilized ova (used in in vitro fertility procedures) are human children. See WaPo, Frozen embryos are children, Ala. high court says in unprecedented ruling. (Accessible to all.)

Alabama (and ten other states) have laws declaring that human life begins at fertilization. Under that premise, destroying frozen embryos can result in liability for wrongful death. And it is a short step from there to outlawing contraception because some methods of contraception are effective post-fertilization. See Slate, (4/21/23), Birth control is next in line for anti-abortion Republicans and Jessica Valenti, Abortion, Every Day, The Anti-Abortion Blueprint (substack.com).

Jessica Valenti describes a bill pending in the Oklahoma legislature:

Oklahoma House Bill 3216 epitomizes so much of what I’ve warned about since launching Abortion, Every Day: It would ban emergency contraception and IUDs . . .

The short version is that anti-abortion groups argue that pregnancy begins at the moment of fertilization—not when a fertilized egg implants in the uterus. The reason they make that distinction is because it opens a door to ban birth control . . .

The threat to reproductive liberty deserves far more attention, but the point for now is that the Biden campaign is right to focus on Trump's plan to “nationalize” the conservative abortion agenda. Once MAGA extremists begin to gain traction on nationalizing abortion bans, there is no logical stopping point—not sixteen weeks, twelve weeks, or four weeks. Not even at fertilization or before conception.

The overruling of Roe v. Wade energized voters across the political spectrum. Biden is rightly re-focusing attention on the threat after Trump expressed a preference for a nationwide ban. Biden should not give Trump the benefit of the doubt or room to wiggle away. That’s why Biden’s new aggressive attacks on Trump are justified. Biden should keep it up—and you should help spread the word!

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Good news from Wisconsin!

Wisconsin’s Democratic Governor Tony Evers signed into law new maps for state legislative districts. Republicans, who control the legislature, approved Evers’s maps because they did not want the state supreme court to step in to resolve an impasse. See HuffPo, Wisconsin's Democratic Gov. Signs Legislative Maps Into Law.

The new maps will give Democrats in Wisconsin a better shot at gaining fair representation in the state legislature. Standing alone, that is reason to celebrate.

Also important is the reason Wisconsin Republicans did not want the state supreme court to rule on the maps—Justice Janet Protasiewicz! Because Justice Protasiewicz was recently elected to the state supreme court, GOP legislators can no longer count on Republican justices to do their bidding!

So, for all of you who wrote postcards, donated money, made phone calls, sent texts, and knocked on doors, the adoption of fair political maps in Wisconsin is the fruit of your dedication and hard work. Pat yourselves on the back!

But the work is just beginning. As Ben Wikler (Chair, WisDems) wrote,

The candidate recruitment process now goes into overdrive. . . .We commit to doing everything in our power to ending the Speakership of Robin Vos and paving the way towards a Democratic trifecta that can, at long last, translate the will of the people of Wisconsin into the law of the land.

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Updates on the assassination of Alexei Navalny

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, gave a stirring, poignant statement on Monday saying that she would not give up the fight against Putin’s corrupt regime in Russia. See WaPo, Navalnaya steps up to lead fight vs. Putin as morgue retains her husband’s body (Accessible to all.)

Navalnaya delivered remarks via video that spoke of the struggle in Russia, but that also transcends Russia.

Per WaPo,

Putin did not only murder the person, Alexei Navalny. He wanted, along with him, to kill our hope, our freedom, our future.

My husband could not be broken, and that’s exactly why Putin killed him, in the most cowardly way. [Putin] did not have the courage to look him in the eye or even say his name. And now they are also cowardly, hiding his body, not showing him to his mother, not giving [Navalny’s body] to her.

I want to live in a free Russia, I want to build a free Russia. I will continue the work of Alexei Navalny.

I urge you to stand next to me.

Against Yulia Navalnaya’s stirring words stand Donald Trump's first words about Navalny’s death. Ever the victim, Trump compared his legal woes to the death of a true Russian hero.

Trump posted on Truth Social,

The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country. It is a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction. Open Borders, Rigged Elections, and Grossly Unfair Courtroom Decisions are DESTROYING AMERICA. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE, A FAILING NATION!

Apart from the gall and arrogance of comparing his legal woes to the assassination of Alexei Navalny, Trump's inability to complete a thought in a linear fashion in three short sentences is frightening. Trump's posts are the ravings of a narcissistic madman.

Worse still is Trump’s unwillingness to condemn Putin for assassinating his chief political opponent. According to reports (linked above), Russian authorities are refusing to release Navalny’s body. While there may be many explanations for the delay, none of them are innocent.

Why is Donald Trump afraid of Vladimir Putin? While there may be explanations, none of them are innocent. And yet, Republicans are eager to re-elect a candidate who is obviously compromised and under the sway of Putin. And many Democrats are overlooking that obvious red flag of a Putin surrogate in the Oval Office while wringing their hands over Joe Biden’s age.

While I will not revisit the issue of Biden’s age, let me simply say that I continue receiving emails from readers who focus on the fantasy of Biden dropping out without ever mentioning the hard part that follows—finding someone better than Joe Biden to run against Trump. If you are going to fantasize, don’t stop halfway through. Complete the thought—and you may find you are in a nightmare rather than a fantasy. In that regard, I highly recommend Josh Marshall in Talking Points Memo, No. Ezra Klein is Completely Wrong. Here’s Why and Dahlia Lithwick in Slate, Why Biden’s age doesn’t actually matter, and what the press is getting wrong again..

If you wrote me today extolling the virtues of Biden dropping out of the presidential election, I urge you to read Josh Marshall and Dahlia Lithwick. Please. It’s important.

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More on Ukraine.

Ukraine withdrew from Avdiivka after a months-long battle of attrition. It may seem too complicated to focus on battlefield details. I get it. But I urge you to read this superb analysis by Lucian K. Truscott IV, Why the fall of Avdiivka matters. Truscott’s article will help you understand what happened in Avdiivka, but also what will be happening in Ukraine over the next six months if the US does not help Ukraine with supplemental funding. Reading this article will make you smarter about the ground war in Ukraine. I promise!

On the political consequences, Truscott writes as follows:

Putin’s army is fighting a war of attrition against a country beleaguered by its lack of political support by its biggest ally, the United States, at a time when Ukraine is trying to rebuild its military manpower and stave off new Russian offensives along a 600-mile border that they just don’t have the soldiers to adequately defend. 

All Putin has to do is turn on CNN International to watch his allies in the Republican Party fight the third front in his war in Ukraine – the front on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and in Trump’s “America First” campaign for president.

That sums up the situation as succinctly as any articulation published to date: The GOP is fighting the third front in the war against Ukraine, a front on the floor of the House and Senate!

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Reader engagement.

Here is a note from Force Multiplier about its effort to win back the House seats in New York:

Winning back the lost New York House Seats is absolutely critical to taking back the House in 2024.   

Join Force Multiplier in partnership with America Votes to support the Flip the Districts Fund: NY.  The fund supports grassroots organizing in five key House districts in NY currently represented by Republicans (NY 03, 04, 17, 19 and 22). This is an opportunity to use the months before the June 25th primaries to lay the groundwork for the eventual Democratic nominees. Low turnout cost Dems these seats in ‘22. These groups are working to make sure that doesn’t happen again!

Coalition leads are Battleground New York, The New York Civic Engagement Table and the League of Conservation Voters. Funds will be allocated by the America Votes Action Fund to fill funding gaps among the partners. Speakers include Matt Nowling , National Development Manager at America Votes, Gabby Seay , Co-Director of Battleground New York and Mario Yedidia , National Field Director of the hospitality workers union UNITE HERE

Join Force Multiplier on Zoom on Thursday  February 22 at  7 pm ET. Register and Donate Here.

My friends at 31st Street Swing Left are focusing on North Carolina and Montana at a fundraiser on February 29. Here is their note:

Friends at 31st Street Swing Left invite you to support key grassroots groups in North Carolina and Montana at a fundraiser, February 29 at 4:00 p.m. Pacific/ 7 p.m. Eastern.  North Carolina is vital for Biden, and Montana is vital for Jon Tester for US Senate and any hope of a Democratic trifecta in 2024. And both states have other crucial elections. Hear from amazing grassroots groups leaders from both states. They need support now for voter registration and voter mobilization that will help us win up and down the ballot.

31st Street Swing Left’s Mission is electing Democrats through persistence and precision.  Link to contribute to non tax-deductible MT groups.

Link to contribute to non tax-deductible NC Groups.

Here is the link to register for the Feb 29 even

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Concluding Thoughts.

My Managing Editor and I met with a couple of dozen readers in Minneapolis on the first day of our road trip down the Mississippi River. See picture below (taken by my Managing Editor, so she is not in the picture).

It’s late, so let me make a point that strikes me every time I meet with readers across America: The passion, dedication, and sophistication of grassroots volunteers is incredibly inspiring and uplifting. It gives hope and confidence to me—someone who is naturally hopeful and confident.

But . . . some readers at the meeting acknowledge feelings of anxiety or despair (perhaps too strong a word, but the right word escapes me at the moment). What I counseled those readers was to join a community of grassroots volunteers. If you do, you will realize that the burden is not on your shoulders alone, but on the shoulders of hundreds of thousands of smart, dedicated, passionate volunteers across America.

Indeed, the remarks by Yulia Navalnaya recognize this powerful truth. Having just lost her husband at the hands of a despotic murderer, his request to us is simple: “Stand next to me”—not “Stand with me,” but “Stand next to me.” Community and closeness matter in times of crisis.

While nothing is guaranteed in life, having that reservoir of talent and commitment is a significant advantage for Democrats—an advantage that is ignored and minimized by the media and paid political consultants.

We are part of a historic political movement that has helped win elections in 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. We have a track record of success. That doesn’t mean we will win in the future, but it certainly should give us confidence that we can win!

Talk to you tomorrow!