Friend - 

If you’re like me, you can’t get the visuals from this week out of your head.

The woman with blood from a gash across her forehead gingerly walking down a crumbled stairwell with her hand curved around her very pregnant middle.

The soldiers carrying a woman on a stretcher, her legs bent and one arm awkwardly draped over her head while her other arm braces her, holding herself tight while her body is doing what it is naturally meant to do. She’s in labor. Being moved across a scene of bombed out windows and lifeless trees.

You’ve seen all the images - horrific and haunting.

And the reality could never be more clear, if you stand for Trump, you stand for this. I repeat: The party of Reagan is now the party of Putin.

This is not “genius.” This is not “savvy.” This is evil.

The MAGA crowd is rooting for Russia. Fox News was supporting Putin and gaslighting Americans. We have to stop them. 

We spent months - over a year now - sounding the alarms about how January 6 happened right here in the US and now, with the GOP pandering to Putin, we’re seeing just how dark and inhumane the rot really is inside the party. Authoritarianism – not just praise of authoritarians, but an actual anti-democratic movement ready to use violence if necessary, has taken root on our shores.

It’s not even just Trump himself anymore. There’s a whole new class of candidates carrying his torch, ready to suck up to Putin or any authoritarian to get votes. They’re setting up shop so they can subvert the will of the people here at home. And if we don’t stop this cycle, they’re only going to get stronger for 2024. 

We have to call it what it is - it’s murder. It’s attempted murder. It’s genocide. And that’s what they stand for. That’s why we can’t let up. This cycle matters more than any other midterm because it will set the tone for the next one. If Putin sympathizers start filling the halls of our Capitol, we might not be able to undo the level of damage they will inflict upon us.

This is not the time to hold off, to sit on the sidelines. This is the time to join this fight and say you’re in it and you’re not going to give up.

Are you still with us, Friend?

-Reed