GOOD NEWS AS OF MAY 25, 2024

Simon Rosenberg remains steadfastly optimistic, citing Democratic strength and Republican “dumpster fires.” The devil is in the details (see below), but broadly, we have a three-to-one Democratic cash advantage which translates to ad-buying dominance in swing states; an expanding campaign apparatus; persistent, nationwide election wins over the past six years; the strong Biden presidency; the best economy on the planet (literally); thousands of small, energetic, grassroot groups like FridayAction—unmatched by Republicans; the moral and criminal deficits of Trump; indicted GOP officials in many states; abortion rights; our strong Senate polling, strong House polling, and Biden polls trending upward. But wait! There’s more! Much more—you can listen here. “We’ll only win 2024 if we do the work, but we have all the advantages…I’d rather be us than them.”

About the polls—more from Simon Rosenberg. Trump cannot win without one of the following three states: Michigan, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin. Yes, the polls are all over the place, and yes, we must remember to take them with the proverbial grain of salt, but new polling this week shows Biden slightly ahead in all three of these states, as well as ahead or within the margin of error in Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia and tied in Nevada. So. “Think of this as a tied game after the first quarter. We’ve got three quarters of the game to go, and you know we’ve got a stronger team, better offense. And they’ve got players who are hurt. They have players who are in jail.” Hopium

In swing states, Vice President Kamala Harris is gaining voters’ trust to step in for Biden—a development that, if it persists, stands to neutralize Republican attacks around Joe Biden’s age. Harris is also the top choice among Democratic rising stars to run for the White House should Biden be unable to continue his campaign. Bloomsberg

Nevada and South Dakota activists, joining others in conservative and swing states, secure nearly double the signatures necessary for a November vote on protecting abortion access. The Guardian

Nikki Haley surrendered, but not her voters. Her announcement this week, that she intends to vote for Trump, won’t raise their opinion of him; it will only lower their opinion of her. They wanted her to stop him. Pollsters suggest that about two-thirds of Haley voters preferred Joe Biden to Trump. Do the math, and that’s two-thirds of one-fifth of all Republicans. That’s not a lot of people in total, but it may be more than the margin of national victory in 2024. The Atlantic

Birth control is becoming a fierce new political battleground. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to hold a vote next month on the Right to Contraception Act. The effort will likely be blocked, but Democrats want to get Republicans on the record on contraception. The Hill

The senate is going to try again for a bipartisan border deal. Mayorkas, Homeland Security Secretary, said that this bill allocates more tools than any executive action, which would run up against court challenges. “Legislation provides… a level of stability, assurance and endurance.” The bill, blocked by Republicans in February, is all but certain to be thwarted again. Democrats aim to tag the GOP as the culprit in its failure. The New York Times

Fani Willis, the GA prosecutor who has indicted Trump with RICO charges, has won her primary. MAGA and multiple GOP lawmakers are gunning for her, but she is strong. She is not backing down. Newsweek

Trump’s pitch to oil companies turns off likely voters, poll finds. Trump demanded one billion dollars from top oil executives at a fundraiser in exchange for canceling Biden’s climate measures and passing industry priorities. Broad majorities of voters aren’t happy. Almost 6 in 10 of likely voters said they were “concerned” about a second Trump term after hearing this. Likewise, 61% said they would “reconsider” their vote for a politician who made such an offer. The Hill, Climate Power

A hopeful sign. Chris Gibbs—Ohio farmer, former GOP county chairman, and Republican most of his life—has switched parties. He’s become the head of the county Democrats. Gibbs says that in today’s Republican Party, “You either speak with a Trump voice or you’re vaporized…In the Democratic Party, everybody gets a voice. You don’t always get your way, but you get a voice.” CNN, The New York Times

Voter awareness of drug pricing benefits from The Inflation Reduction Act is slowly rising. The Hill

According to Senate Democrats in touch with their constituencies, polls in key states, showing Biden trailing former President Trump, are wrong. Axios

House Democrats are demanding Supreme Court Justice Alito recuse himself in the Jan 6th case. In addition, Senate lawmakers are starting an investigation. And two senators have asked to meet with Chief Justice Roberts to discuss the Supreme Court ethics crisis and recusal. Alito has sparked even more investigations after flying a second far right-linked flag, “An Appeal to Heaven,” linked to the Capitol attack, Christian Nationalism, and the belief that the 2020 election was stolen. Justice Thomas is also facing calls for recusal. The Guardian, The Rolling Stone, AP News

Biden has passed his 200th judicial confirmation milestone. He has installed the most non-White judges of any president. Additionally, 6 in 10 Biden judges are women. The Washington Post, CBS

This week, 160,000 more borrowers will receive student debt relief, an average of $35,000 in debt cancellation. Biden continues to fulfill his pledge, “to ensure higher education as a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity.” The White House

High-Speed rail is the future of U.S. transportation. After years of going nowhere, construction has begun on the nation’s first high-speed rail between Los Vegas and Southern California. Other such projects are in motion, all with the potential to advance solutions for pollution, climate, housing, job creation, and more. Newsweek

The U.S. just took its biggest step yet to end coal mining. A Biden administration’s decision will end new leasing in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana, the nation’s biggest coal-producing region. The Washington Post

In Trump’s Manhattan trial for election interference and business doctoring, the last witness, one of only two for the defense, was a disaster. Robert Costello was shown to have been used by Trump to keep Cohen from cooperating. During his first day on the stand, Costello said his “emails would speak for themselves.” They did, as the prosecution used them to dismantle his testimony, in his own words, point by point. The Daily Beast, Courthouse News

Worried about a hung jury in Manhattan? This might help. There are 34 counts. The jury must decide each independently, so 34 opportunities for guilt, 34 for acquittal, 34 for a hung jury. Hung juries are rare. Rarer still would be a hung jury on all 34 counts. This podcast by Andrew Weissman and Mary McCord gets into the legal weeds, and also discusses the Costello testimony, above. Prosecuting Donald Trump

The prosecution in Trump’s Florida classified documents case just got stronger. Revealed this week, further documents were in Trump’s bedroom well after the FBI conducted their search. Worse, an unnamed witness scanned and saved confidential documents onto a laptop owned by the Save America PAC, a political action committee formed by Trump in 2020. The New Republic

This again. Trump’s Bronx Rally crowd was not 25,000 people. Despite his trumped-up pronouncement, and right wing media amplification, this is a picture of Trump’s crowd, estimated to be 800-1000 followers. The Daily Beast

Senate Democrats are going to investigate Trump’s reported Big Oil “deal.” Not only does Trump’s naked quid-pro-quo affect voter opinion, but two senate committees are launching investigations into his recent machinations. Nor was Trump’s scheme, to roll back fossil fuel regulations for a billion-dollar palm-greasing, a one-time occurrence. The Guardian

Judge McAfee, overseeing Trump’s RICO trial in Georgia, has won reelection, with the support of some Republicans, including Governor Brian Kemp. The Hill

Biden gave a speech at Morehouse College. A great speech.

This is possibly the most significant thing you might not have heard this week. Here are moving excerpts by Heather Cox Richardson. Here’s the entire transcript. Or you can watch it here. This is a reminder that President Biden is the moral compass we need.

Martin Luther King was a graduate of Morehouse, an historic Black college. MLK’s assassination, and subsequent Delaware rioting, prompted Biden to become a public defender, and then run for office. His cornerstone was, and is, civil rights. Biden is for unions. For family and community. For championing the disadvantaged. For democracy and equality. Biden quipped, “I got more Morehouse men in the White House telling me what to do than I know what to do.”

Many campuses canceled commencement speakers due to the political unrest, and there were Palestine protesters at Morehouse as well. Biden acknowledged them. Stated that he supports their peaceful, nonviolent protest. That Gaza is heartbreaking, one of the hardest, most complicated situations in the world. He continues to call for a ceasefire and a two-state solution.

This speech included all of the above and more.