Evening Roundup
January 30: Jen Rubin in conversation with Dr. Georges Benjamin, a pro-democracy reminder from Lavora Barnes, cautionary words from Democracy Defenders, & a taste of The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak
On the second day of RFK’s hearing for health secretary, Jen Rubin and Dr. Georges Benjamin discussed how the incoming administration may affect the American healthcare system. Dr. Georges Benjamin is the Executive Director of American Public Health Association and is known as one of the nation’s most influential physician leaders. He speaks passionately and eloquently about the health issues having the most impact on our nation today—their interview is our must-watch for the day.
Lavora Barnes, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, wrote on What We Need in the Next DNC Chair, explaining that the Democratic Party has one job: to win elections. In it , she explains that this next generation of leaders must be those who can do the work.
David Bernell and Ambassador Thomas Graham (Retired) of Democracy Defenders remind us in Friends without Benefits of how our friends abroad are perceiving the chaos of Trump’s presidency, and that “The American people cannot expect other countries to tolerate Donald Trump and a U.S. government that continually throws its weight around, seeking to punish them for some harm (real or imagined) they have done us. Friends without any benefits will soon become no friends at all.”
And to keep you from being subjected to an excess of hearings of wildly unqualified cabinet members, we though today would be an interesting one to showcase the Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, another excellent Substack. Much like The Contrarian, their mission is to highlight those trying to suppress democracy. However, their focus is on challenges to democracy abroad. Based in Kyiv, they shared a story of shadowing Russian hybrid warfare ships in the Baltic Sea, and their story of when “We joined a Lithuanian naval patrol seeking to push back against Russia’s tricks.”
In case you missed it, Jen Rubin started the day off with A Guide for the Perplexed: Democrats in Distress. Read about the five basic rules for our messaging moving forward. Key words: discipline and amplification.
Trump and the GOP senators really lucked out because the news coverage of the plane crash meant that the Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel hearing weren't - amplified - the way they should have been. From the few reports of how they responded to some of the questions from Democratic senators I think that if a few GOP senators knew the public saw them they might think twice about voting for either of them. As for the plane disaster, at least the country saw what a craven lowlife Trump is as he made it all about him and his repulsive agenda. In a sane world his doing this would turn a fair number of his supporters against him.
Thanks for amplifying the great work of Tim and team in Ukraine.