Hank Hoffman
@hankhoffmanct.bsky.social
Music—psychedelia, punk, garage rock, roots reggae, jazz, '60s soul, Beatles. Left/lib politics, NY Mets. 1950s cars w/ tailfins, midcentury modern design. Film noir, EC Comics. If you follow me & your feed makes me wonder why, I'll probably block you.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
Just watched Bernie Sanders on Maddow and in response to whether Schumer should step down from leadership, his answer was "Look Schumer is part of the Dem Establishment and if he steps down who will replace him?"
I mean... Bernie, WTF???? Take a damn stand.
I mean... Bernie, WTF???? Take a damn stand.
November 11, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Just watched Bernie Sanders on Maddow and in response to whether Schumer should step down from leadership, his answer was "Look Schumer is part of the Dem Establishment and if he steps down who will replace him?"
I mean... Bernie, WTF???? Take a damn stand.
I mean... Bernie, WTF???? Take a damn stand.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
Steve Inskeep: You think the Republicans voting with you here will not only agree to these measures, but actually try to do something if the administration ignores them?
Sen Cortez Masto: If they go back on their word, then the American public will know where the Republicans stand.
Sen Cortez Masto: If they go back on their word, then the American public will know where the Republicans stand.
November 11, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Steve Inskeep: You think the Republicans voting with you here will not only agree to these measures, but actually try to do something if the administration ignores them?
Sen Cortez Masto: If they go back on their word, then the American public will know where the Republicans stand.
Sen Cortez Masto: If they go back on their word, then the American public will know where the Republicans stand.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
Catherine my good bitch you guys are the only ones who do not know where the Republicans stand
Steve Inskeep: You think the Republicans voting with you here will not only agree to these measures, but actually try to do something if the administration ignores them?
Sen Cortez Masto: If they go back on their word, then the American public will know where the Republicans stand.
Sen Cortez Masto: If they go back on their word, then the American public will know where the Republicans stand.
November 11, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Catherine my good bitch you guys are the only ones who do not know where the Republicans stand
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
Have you considered kicking out the people who gave up the fight and picking a new leader who is capable of leading the same
The sooner we get past internal recriminations and back to fighting united, the better off we all are — the likelier our victory next November.
November 11, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Have you considered kicking out the people who gave up the fight and picking a new leader who is capable of leading the same
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
🚨 Tim Kaine is saying the quiet part out loud - underscoring why anyone shouldn't be satisfied with any of the "no" statements or posts from Dem Senators.
If Dem Senators are truly disgusted with this save they should be calling on #SurrenderSchumer to step aside as the Leader immediately.
If Dem Senators are truly disgusted with this save they should be calling on #SurrenderSchumer to step aside as the Leader immediately.
November 10, 2025 at 7:32 PM
🚨 Tim Kaine is saying the quiet part out loud - underscoring why anyone shouldn't be satisfied with any of the "no" statements or posts from Dem Senators.
If Dem Senators are truly disgusted with this save they should be calling on #SurrenderSchumer to step aside as the Leader immediately.
If Dem Senators are truly disgusted with this save they should be calling on #SurrenderSchumer to step aside as the Leader immediately.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
Tim Kaine is on MSNBC accusing Katy Tur of "overdramatizing" the way he and some other Democrats caved. "This is by far a minor-league issue within the Democratic Party," Kaine said.
He's completely out of touch, or just lying.
He's completely out of touch, or just lying.
November 10, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Tim Kaine is on MSNBC accusing Katy Tur of "overdramatizing" the way he and some other Democrats caved. "This is by far a minor-league issue within the Democratic Party," Kaine said.
He's completely out of touch, or just lying.
He's completely out of touch, or just lying.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
There are two big problems with the “the Dem strategy wasn’t working argument.” One is that it was. The other is that changing the strategy did not require capitulation.
November 10, 2025 at 6:58 PM
There are two big problems with the “the Dem strategy wasn’t working argument.” One is that it was. The other is that changing the strategy did not require capitulation.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
You didn't get a vote. You got a "promise" of a vote. From a party who is disappearing nannies & gardeners and zip-tying children. A party who has flushed Due Process in America down the toilet. Who has subjugated its Congressional duties to an autocrat. That's what everybody sees, Tim.
Kaine on why he thinks just getting a vote on healthcare is a win: "We're the minority party, but everybody will get to see who is standing for them when it comes to lowering their healthcare costs"
November 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM
You didn't get a vote. You got a "promise" of a vote. From a party who is disappearing nannies & gardeners and zip-tying children. A party who has flushed Due Process in America down the toilet. Who has subjugated its Congressional duties to an autocrat. That's what everybody sees, Tim.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
it's fun how "it's already been reported elsewhere" can be an excuse for covering a thing that you want to cover OR an excuse for not covering a thing you don't want to cover
and by fun I mean "absolutely gutless"
and by fun I mean "absolutely gutless"
November 10, 2025 at 7:19 PM
it's fun how "it's already been reported elsewhere" can be an excuse for covering a thing that you want to cover OR an excuse for not covering a thing you don't want to cover
and by fun I mean "absolutely gutless"
and by fun I mean "absolutely gutless"
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
I eat at this table. I’d rather Billy not sit on it. So we’ve reached a compromise: I’ll eat off a plate on my lap and he’ll sit wherever the fuck he wants. Cats always turn me into the Chuck Schumer of my own apartment.
November 10, 2025 at 6:30 PM
I eat at this table. I’d rather Billy not sit on it. So we’ve reached a compromise: I’ll eat off a plate on my lap and he’ll sit wherever the fuck he wants. Cats always turn me into the Chuck Schumer of my own apartment.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
a lot of you could stand to follow Marshall's attitude here (which is very close to mine) and more importantly, get your friends and family to share it
November 10, 2025 at 8:10 AM
a lot of you could stand to follow Marshall's attitude here (which is very close to mine) and more importantly, get your friends and family to share it
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
“Hopefully the Republicans may hear us” may be the dumbest sentence I’ve heard uttered since her colleague from Maine said Trump “learned his lesson” after his first impeachment.
Democratic Senator Shaheen says "Hopefully the Republicans may hear us."
November 10, 2025 at 5:38 PM
“Hopefully the Republicans may hear us” may be the dumbest sentence I’ve heard uttered since her colleague from Maine said Trump “learned his lesson” after his first impeachment.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
I feel like we're in a weird world where the average Dem partisan, engaged voter is better informed than most of their representatives
seems to me that those democrats inclined not to fight perceive themselves as living through a somewhat ordinary cycle of presidential overreach and backlash and not something much more significant and dangerous
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
I feel like we're in a weird world where the average Dem partisan, engaged voter is better informed than most of their representatives
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 9, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
W/o a call for Schumer's ouster, this isn't good enough. I called Murphy's Hartford (where I spoke to someone) & DC (left a vm) offices to deliver this message. If no Senate Dems demand Schumer's ouster, they share the blame in the appeasement. No accountability = complicity in the fecklessness.
I got back to my office after the vote last night and recorded this. There's no way to sugarcoat what happened. And my fear is that Trump gets stronger, not weaker, because of this acquiescence. I'm angry - like you. But I choose to keep fighting.
November 10, 2025 at 3:42 PM
W/o a call for Schumer's ouster, this isn't good enough. I called Murphy's Hartford (where I spoke to someone) & DC (left a vm) offices to deliver this message. If no Senate Dems demand Schumer's ouster, they share the blame in the appeasement. No accountability = complicity in the fecklessness.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
Not a political consultant but I’m not sure “standing up to trump doesn’t work” is the best midterm message, even if if accurately represents senate dems position. Not much point in putting you in power then bsky.app/profile/atru...
November 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Not a political consultant but I’m not sure “standing up to trump doesn’t work” is the best midterm message, even if if accurately represents senate dems position. Not much point in putting you in power then bsky.app/profile/atru...
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
We polled Indivisible members over the weekend on whether Dems should take a deal or keep fighting for the ACA subsidies. Results: 98.67% said keep fighting.
Dems who vote to surrender now are fracturing their own party in a way that will reverberate loudly in the primaries.
Dems who vote to surrender now are fracturing their own party in a way that will reverberate loudly in the primaries.
So Democrats get:
1. A CR that will prevent the GOP from facing the wrath of Americans for a shutdown over the holidays
2. A coupon for one (1) meaningless ACA vote that will fail
3. An end to the illegal RIF/SNAP moves that are already before the courts
Those all seem like wins for the GOP.
1. A CR that will prevent the GOP from facing the wrath of Americans for a shutdown over the holidays
2. A coupon for one (1) meaningless ACA vote that will fail
3. An end to the illegal RIF/SNAP moves that are already before the courts
Those all seem like wins for the GOP.
November 10, 2025 at 12:40 AM
We polled Indivisible members over the weekend on whether Dems should take a deal or keep fighting for the ACA subsidies. Results: 98.67% said keep fighting.
Dems who vote to surrender now are fracturing their own party in a way that will reverberate loudly in the primaries.
Dems who vote to surrender now are fracturing their own party in a way that will reverberate loudly in the primaries.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
MSNBC reported Schumer's office felt that the longer that shutdown went on, the more likely it was that people would start to blame the Dems.
My kingdom for Democrats that don't govern out of fear. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The American people are far braver than their reps.
My kingdom for Democrats that don't govern out of fear. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The American people are far braver than their reps.
November 10, 2025 at 2:18 AM
MSNBC reported Schumer's office felt that the longer that shutdown went on, the more likely it was that people would start to blame the Dems.
My kingdom for Democrats that don't govern out of fear. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The American people are far braver than their reps.
My kingdom for Democrats that don't govern out of fear. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The American people are far braver than their reps.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
Chuck Schumer Helps Pull Democrats Back From Brink Of Courage
November 10, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Chuck Schumer Helps Pull Democrats Back From Brink Of Courage
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
I received this email about Democrats caving to end the shutdown from one of the SNAP recipients I spoke to:
November 10, 2025 at 2:17 PM
I received this email about Democrats caving to end the shutdown from one of the SNAP recipients I spoke to:
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
"If I were in the Senate, I wouldn’t vote for this compromise. Shutdowns are an opportunity to make your arguments, and the country was just starting to pay attention... I worry that Democrats have just taught Trump that they will fold under pressure."
{ gift link } www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o...
{ gift link } www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o...
Opinion | What Were Democrats Thinking?
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:38 PM
"If I were in the Senate, I wouldn’t vote for this compromise. Shutdowns are an opportunity to make your arguments, and the country was just starting to pay attention... I worry that Democrats have just taught Trump that they will fold under pressure."
{ gift link } www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o...
{ gift link } www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o...
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
American politics makes a lot more sense when you realize that the GOP is afraid of pissing off the GOP base, and the Dems are afraid of pissing off the GOP base, but neither party is afraid of pissing off the Dem base.
March 14, 2025 at 10:24 PM
American politics makes a lot more sense when you realize that the GOP is afraid of pissing off the GOP base, and the Dems are afraid of pissing off the GOP base, but neither party is afraid of pissing off the Dem base.
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
Dems are very proud of themselves for their “savvy” willingness to tell their base to simmer down and let the experts work. What they don’t seem to understand is the intangible, but very real, damage that does to the enthusiasm of their voters, who feel abandoned. And then the “experts” fail!
The Dem base wants the shutdown to continue because it’s the only time we’ve felt like our electeds were representing us: trying to squeeze the GOP instead of squeezing us to accept concessions; directing their anger at the Republicans instead of at their own voters for wanting them to resist
November 10, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Dems are very proud of themselves for their “savvy” willingness to tell their base to simmer down and let the experts work. What they don’t seem to understand is the intangible, but very real, damage that does to the enthusiasm of their voters, who feel abandoned. And then the “experts” fail!
Reposted by Hank Hoffman
A leader would not have lost eight colleagues tonight. This happened because you let it happen or because you’ve totally lost control of the caucus in one of the most important moments since you’ve been Democratic leader. Either way, it’s on you. You need to step down. We need someone who can lead.
Democrats have been fighting for months to address America's healthcare crisis
For the millions who will lose coverage
For people with cancer who won't get the care they need
For working families who can't afford to pay $25K more a year for healthcare
We will keep fighting
For the millions who will lose coverage
For people with cancer who won't get the care they need
For working families who can't afford to pay $25K more a year for healthcare
We will keep fighting
November 10, 2025 at 4:23 AM
A leader would not have lost eight colleagues tonight. This happened because you let it happen or because you’ve totally lost control of the caucus in one of the most important moments since you’ve been Democratic leader. Either way, it’s on you. You need to step down. We need someone who can lead.