Alex Rikleen for Senate

Pulse check:
We're a week into war.
DC Dems' 1st big response was to push for a war powers vote.
It took almost a week to vote, then lost.

Now that's behind us.

What is your understanding of Democrats' current Iran strategy?

This is correct.
There is also the recent attacks on Frost & Omar (outside their residences).

Right wing violence has become a steady feature in modern society, actively egged on by Republican leadership and conservative media personalities.

Yesterday was the half-way point for Democratic Caucus Season in Massachusetts.

So here's a speed-run recap of those first 16 days.
(note: there were 3 days without any caucuses in that period, including Day 16)

BRUSUELAS: At $125 per barrel, $4.25 per gallon of gasoline and 4% inflation, the U.S. economy “will feel the pain quickly ..

“.. a risk that .. will negate the fiscal tailwind we were expecting from the One Big Beautiful Bill ..”

@joebrusuelas.bsky.social

Going golfing less than a week after starting a war of choice is unhinged behavior

In every Republican presidency of my lifetime there's been a recession and a new war in the Middle East.

Here's a story about this event, if you're unfamiliar.

It's horrifying.
bsky.app/profile/ryan...

bsky.app/profile/carl...

bsky.app/profile/dian...

I support Alex Rikleen! If you're ready for a campaign built on courage, not compromise, chip in now to help us take this fight to Washington.

Donate $15 to pay for someone's signature package here!
(and thanks!)
secure.actblue.com/donate/alexr...

Day 15 of caucus season
Where im working toward 15% support
And there's one more 15 I need to talk about...

ActiVote ActiVote #DailyDemocracy

Our campaign just made it's ActiVote account, and if people download the app with my referral code, it adds more info/links to my campaign's profile.

So, download ActiVote!
(the premise of the app is legitimately cool)
activote.app/QRMjD7Nfh1b

The details of the sinking of the IRIS Dena are disgusting.

Even *if* the attack was "legal" in a micro-sense, it is an escalation of an illegal war.
It was gravely immoral.
And it was an unnecessary insult to a non-involved county (India).

Actions like this do permanent damage to the USA.

If impeached and removed, they cannot just be put back.

The reason Trump was impeached multiple times was because the Senate failed the second step (removal).

Yet, even though he wasn't removed, even just the impeachment step was a consequence that he talks frequently about how much he hated.

Noem & Hegseth are the two Cabinet officials who there was/is the most widespread support for moving on impeachment.

Congress missed its chance on Noem.

They should stop delaying on Hegseth.

Because Noem was fired, the lesson for Mullin is:
Don't embarrass Trump, don't anger Trump.

Had Noem been impeached, the lesson for Mullin would have been:
A line exists, and crossing it could lead to impeachment.

It is always good when bad people are removed from office.
Noem getting fired is better than Noem resigning.

But this is also a failed opportunity for Congress to assert itself and its ability to instill consequences.

If she had been impeached, then the risk of a Mullin-run DHS would decrease.

(Which is important context for when reactionary centrists say things like "X Idea angers both sides, so it must be doing something right.")

Fealty to Club MAGA *is" the defining belief.

Membership in a club - and the exclusivity of that club (ie, who is not welcomed) - is the guiding principle.

Please imagine for a moment the GOP reaction if a D senator interfered with police activity and broke a marine's hand.

Immediate censure & calls for removal, presumably.

The standards should go both ways.

Sheehy disgraced our nation & our veterans. He should resign immediately.

There is an organization supporting candidates who call for impeachment!
@citizensimpeachment.com

Starter pack for their candidates
go.bsky.app/A4HezYC

bsky.app/profile/melo...

The pandemic-era CTC, which ~halved childhood hunger in the US, was closer to $1b every three days.

Or, put differently, we could be hiring ~13,000 teachers every day.

Instead we're in another illegal & destabilizing foreign war.

Millions of Americans believe in the concept of this '21 cartoon (popularized by Elon in '22).

Examples like the QT below are a good demonstration that the reality is almost the exact opposite.

Whatever movement did or didn't happen on the left, the right has sprinted rightward the last decade.

Reed and Coons have primary challengers

The Senate just failed to constrain this illegal war a short time ago. It seems that replacing them all is the path forward for a frustrated, burned out electorate.

Sun shining through the thin layer of ice around the branches of the tree, making it sparkle

One of my volunteers tells me my bluesky feed is too serious, so here's a pretty picture I took this morning.

As I laid out in this thread, on the Senate side, that effectively comes down to 8 candidates across 5 races.

(Since this thread was written, VA timing & rules changed in ways that help the challengers)
bsky.app/profile/rikl...

The only way they will be replaced is by supporting primary challengers.

If Democrats win more seats - but no one suffers electoral consequences for supporting D leadership - then you're giving them a promotion, not a pink slip.

Trump & Hegseth are an active threat to the US and to the world.
They repeatedly show their disrespect for law.
People are dying daily at their whims.
A response that does not aim to address the core problems is inadequate.