Indivisibles,

It feels like a decade of political time has passed since my last newsletter a couple weeks ago. Let me start with a reminder: We’re all here to defeat Trump, build a Dem trifecta, codify reproductive rights, and pass democracy reform. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing. And in this moment, I believe we’re at a hinge point in American history. People will write about what happened in June, July, and August of 2024 for years to come. So let’s get to that first draft of history here: 

Summary:

The News: The Republican convention drove home two points for me: The GOP unified its embrace of anti-democratic MAGA extremism. And Donald Trump is an eminently beatable candidate.

The Brag: Project 2025 is finally getting public attention. That’s a good thing because it is extremely politically damaging for Trump and the Republicans who are attached to it. I’m proud we called this shot early and named our entire electoral program "Project 2024." 

The Discussion: We know folks are anxious about all the talk about Biden staying or going. Things are moving fast here, so this Monday at 4pm ET/1pm PT Leah and I want to host another live discussion. To keep these cozy, we don’t record these chats -- if you want to join the conversation, join the conversation. Register here and share any thoughts on your mind.

The News: The National MAGA Convention

The chasm between buildup and reality. There’s been a lot of buildup to this RNC among the chattering class. Here’s what we were told: This was going to be a new Trump. The Republicans were moderating. They were distancing themselves from Project 2025. They were softening their stance on abortion rights. And, after an unhinged registered Republican gun nut -- using a weapon Democrats have tried for years to ban -- attempted (and, thankfully, failed) to kill Trump, we were told Republicans would be striking a message of unity.

Well, that didn’t happen.

The four days of the RNC presented the MAGA vision for the future. Unity? When Republicans talk about “unity,” they aren’t talking about coming together as a country. They’re talking about the rest of us shutting up and falling in line with their Project 2025 MAGA agenda. As Vice President Harris said, unity is more than a word. 

On the very first day of this “unity” convention, Senator Ron Johnson declared Democrats to be a “clear and present danger to America.” Then Marjorie Taylor Greene, an open white nationalist, got her own plum speaking spot. She was followed by North Carolina GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, most infamous for recently observing of his political opponents: “Some folks need killin’.” The next day we saw right-wing wackadoodle and failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake kick off her speech by attacking the free press. The following day we got Tucker Carlson, a Christian Nationalist so extreme that even Fox News dropped him, praising Trump and JD Vance in a primetime spot. Needless to say, if what you’re going for is unity, you don’t put Tucker Carlson on in the lead-up to your main speaker.

But let’s talk about JD Vance -- arguably the most MAGA senator in Congress. He recently has said, “I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally.” That’s the full quote. He urged the Justice Department to unilaterally -- without Congress -- ban the shipment of abortion medication nationwide. And immediately after the shooting at Trump’s rally Saturday, it was JD Vance who offered the most alarmist, partisan, and (we would soon learn) factually inaccurate take, directly blaming Biden for instigating the attack. A functional party would have punished this irresponsible behavior at such a tenuous moment for the country. Instead, the Republican Party declared Vance the future.

And then there was Trump. The only thing I’ll say about Trump's speech is this: It was the longest, most incomprehensible, and I would argue worst nomination acceptance speech in American history. Frankly, I was thankful for how bad it was. It was the only part of the MAGA fest that gave me hope.

In short, the Republican Convention showed us a modern Republican Party that is united in its extremism and its fealty to Donald Trump. And Donald Trump showed us a candidate we can beat.

The Brag: Project 2024

When I first saw Project 2025, I was horrified. I’ve written about it in these newsletters and elsewhere for months. In the 900-page plan for a second Trump term, they describe in detail how they will hollow out the administrative state, concentrate power in the White House, and bulldoze forward with a radical right-wing agenda. Scary stuff!

It is so bad that it is a real, actual political liability. It’s hard to stress how unusual this is! I have no idea when in past history a think tank paper actually made the jump to becoming an election issue. But our judgment immediately upon seeing it was that Project 2025 is just that horrifying.

That’s why when Indivisible launched its program for winning the election this year, we titled it “Project 2024.” Because the best way to stop Project 2025 is with a massive grassroots-fueled voter contact program that brings home the stakes of this election. That’s Indivisible’s Project 2024.

I’m very happy that Project 2025 is catching fire now. Earlier this month, Google search results for “Project 2025” surpassed “Taylor Swift” and the NFL. We’re making headway in turning this extremist plan into the political liability for Trump and his MAGA allies that it should be.

If you want to help us do more work spreading the word about Project 2025 and the stakes of this election, help us do that by throwing in some support here.

The Discussion: Things are in flux, so let’s talk.

The media landscape has been overwhelmed by one story over the past three weeks: will Joe Biden stay in the race?

I know many of us are frustrated that this is the story. When Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felonies, it was a flash-in-the-pan story. We got almost nothing on his unhinged and incomprehensible performance on the debate stage with Biden. The Supreme Court issued decisions that gutted the administrative branch and declared the President above the law -- and those got headlines for maybe a day. 

There are other big stories, but we can’t pretend this isn’t a real, major, live discussion. As of this writing Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Adam Schiff, and dozens of House and Senate Democrats have publicly or privately said that Biden should pass the baton. This is not idle chatter -- it’s a coordinated campaign that may or may not result in a new nominee. Still, it’s not guaranteed to be a successful campaign. Bernie Sanders, AOC, Elizabeth Warren, and many others have vocally expressed support for Biden staying in. In short, it’s a real mess.

Look, I have my own opinions, but I am not the Indivisible movement -- Indivisible is made up of thousands of local groups in every state in the country. So after the debate, our response was to reach out to Indivisible leaders and take the pulse of the movement. 

We’ve spent the last few weeks talking to group leaders and members, and the picture we got back was mixed. As of last week, folks were enthusiastic about Vice President Harris, but unsure about what should happen next. Some folks think Harris would be more likely to win. Some folks think Biden is more likely to win. Some folks just didn’t know. And just about everybody seemed to have a high level of anxiety that Democrats were fighting among themselves instead of focusing on defeating Trump.

That was a week ago -- which is to say, a lifetime politically. Since then, we’ve had the shooting at Trump’s rally, an RNC, and a ton of public and private developments from senior senators and representatives. So I’d like to check back in.

On Monday we’re holding another coffee chat with Indivisible members at 4pm ET. These are informal spaces for you to ask questions and for us to offer our perspective based on what we’re seeing. Please register here, and I’d encourage you to share any thoughts you may have on the issue, and any questions you have. Leah and I will read through it all ahead of the chat Monday.

Looking forward to Monday. Until then, remember: Trump lost the popular vote in 2016. MAGA lost the House in 2018. Trump lost the popular vote and Electoral College in 2020. The Red Wave evaporated in 2022. And Donald Trump just gave the worst convention party speech in American history. Onward.

In solidarity,
Ezra

Ezra Levin Co-Executive Director Pronouns: He/him

PS: What’s new in Zeke and Lila land? Lila, at 16 months, squeals with mischievous delight when she lunges for our coffee cups (she was successful once and it has been her mission to repeat the victory ever since). Zeke, at 3.75 years, has honed his skill at extending his bedtime routine as long as possible. Last night after his three nightly Spider-Man stories, he said, “Hey daddy do you know there’s a snake called an ANACONDA??” And then he proceeded to tell me all about anacondas, and ask a dozen questions: where do they live? Will they come to our house? How big do their mouths get? What do they eat? Will they eat people? Why won’t they eat people? Next time you go on a trip, will you bring me one?