Patrick Gaspard

@amprog. Forever @OpenSociety Former Amb South Africa. Obama alum. UNION! Owner of views. “I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.” - Whitman

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

I took this photo in Cape Town when I hosted Cong John Lewis on his return to South Africa. He and Archbishop Tutu couldn’t wait to embrace one another. Brothers in struggle. Benders of the arc of justice. Joined in eternity. They’ve done the hard work and leave the rest to us

[Ronald Brownstein @RonBrownstein]

The Trump undertow is vivid detail: here 70% of NH women disapprove of Trump's job performance, Pappas is +20 over Sununu w/them. Four year college degree: 70% disapprove, Pappas + 18; grad degree 74% disapprove, Pappas +28. Undeclared (indie) voters: 72% disapprove, Pappas +21.

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

Maybe Democrat Party leaders can stop the twitter wars long enough to pay attention to actual voters across the country who seem to be damn angry. We need to be humble and get off this platform and get on the ground

https://t.co/lt6mYx3AyD via @NYTimes

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

I don’t know how folks stay perpetually online. I quickly become depressingly bored by the sound of my own thoughts echoing back at me.
Maybe I have to face the reality that most people who live in this cave are just so much more interesting than I am!

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

NYC lost a chunk of its heart with the passing of Carlos Chino Garcia, the bold organizer who fought to keep the Lower East Side as a home for working folks and who preserved culture in his activism. It was glorious to be in the fight with him. Pa'lante!

https://t.co/OZbugrMFmr

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

Excited to read this. Inspired by all my friends who are testing ideas for the future instead of having petty fights about the present.

[Matt Duss @mattduss]

Excited to announce this new project, a collaboration by over 30 progressive thinkers laying out a new vision for US foreign policy.

Coming in November from @orbooks. Available for pre-order now!
https://t.co/tTtlBIHzhv

[Matt Duss @mattduss]

Excited to announce this new project, a collaboration by over 30 progressive thinkers laying out a new vision for US foreign policy.

Coming in November from @orbooks. Available for pre-order now!
https://t.co/tTtlBIHzhv

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

Friends, we’re finally past most of the contested primaries and it’s time for ALL of us - center to left - to practice some humility. When we’ve lost to Trump multiple times and a toxic GOP controls every hall of power we should admit that none of us have all the answers. We hang apart. If you’re not helping with grace to construct a big enough tent to hold enough Americans to compete for a new majority, you’re part of the problem. Now is the time to marshal our vision, values, voices towards an organizing strategy that gets on the ground and engages with real people instead of punching down on others on this hellscape site. That’s where the real work is. 83 days to organize to win in November in a way that builds lasting momentum for 2028. LFG

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

“Quit one war we don’t like to go start another one and call it deterrence”

We are desperately in need of a foreign policy overhaul.

[Foreign Affairs @ForeignAffairs]

Withdrawing U.S. forces from the Middle East “would free Washington to concentrate on higher-priority objectives, including deterring great-power war in Asia and Europe,” writes @mikehfuchs.
https://t.co/NKu6lm89OQ

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

It’s fair to have a debate about who the stronger candidate is. But to launch this kind of vile personal attack on a candidate? Most people running have done more for communities than the vast majority of pundits. This is without grace - especially from a former Biden staffer

[Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein]

Former Biden White House official @yemisi says Francesca Hong is "deeply unsettled, and she should really work through in therapy some of her own beliefs."

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

Yawn. A bunch of rich people will flush a boatload of money on bad ads that will only unify their targets and not move votes. Here’s a better idea - invest in organizing with real people on a vision that will improve their hard lives.

https://t.co/nOU6FKNpep via @NYTimes

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

Hard truth

[David Sirota @davidsirota]

Reality check:

If someone had told you 2 years ago that a Medicare For All candidate outspent 9-1 & facing opposition from the whole Dem establishment would still have even an outside shot to win a Senate Dem primary in Michigan, everyone woulda laughed.

We’ll see what happens

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

I’m excited by Abdul’s victory tonight - but I’m equally thrilled to see the massive turnout of Michigan voters who will now unite to defeat Trumpism in November. That’s what matters. Not all the noise from folks who will be litigating the primary for the next ten years. LFG!!!

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

I’ll never get the massive resources that politicians & media invest in polling and the energy that others expend in social media fights about polling! Let’s just maybe try leading from some actual values and being close to the ground with real people.

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

@davidaxelrod @HaleyforMI @AbdulElSayed Interesting my friend. That’s not what I saw at all. A candidate who had $70 million dropped against him spoke about unifying the Party as he boldly set the course for taking on the Republicans.

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

What genius thought to hire a disgraced former mayor of New York to sell shady data centers in the Midwest? Good god.

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

Former NYC Mayor Eric Adams traveled to Wisconsin Rapids to sell residents on a massive new data center in their town.

They answered with boos.

Turns out leaving New York doesn’t make people any more interested in being lectured by Eric Adams.

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

What a strange story on that infamous DNC report. So the “missing link” was a chapter that told us that Biden was too old and the consultants are out of touch? This is a shrug, not breaking news.

https://t.co/KpiOZPcXJX

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

This is a moral moment. This war was always wrong - and not because Trump didn’t ask Congress. We have no cause bombing schoolgirls and dropping 2k lb bombs on families
Visuals Suggest U.S. Dropped 2,000-Pound Bomb on Home in Iran, Killing 3 https://t.co/iTVU20MxNw via @NYTimes

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

Most days it feels like the entire Trump Admin is AI generated slop.
Folks are right to be appalled by this Africa map insult. But I want to say something about the overall context as someone who was privileged to help lead one of the largest of our aid programs in Africa

It’s important for US to continue to show up in global HIV response. The US still actually remains the largest international investor at 74% while all others have walked away. That’s a huge deal - despite cruel cuts to funding.

I have deep admiration for the public servants who continue to be on the frontlines of this effort who showed leadership in even coming - knowing they would be protested. They showed up because they are still investing in this life and death work. And that matters more than the headlines.

[philip lewis @Phil_Lewis_]

A U.S. government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a state department presentation at a ⁠global conference https://t.co/C68UEDxXrp

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

Zohran Mamdani has been in the American mainstream on the economy and on Netanyahu. His critics are slaves to polling for everything except taxing billionaires and bombing babies.

[Prem Thakker @prem_thakker]

New poll: Americans believe the U.S. should arrest Benjamin Netanyahu by a +22 margin

Total: 49-27
Black: 53-13
Hispanic: 52-15
Ages 18-29: 58-17
Harris voters: 74-10
Independents: 55-20

23% of Trump voters agree as well

Economist/YouGov:

[Patrick Gaspard @patrickgaspard]

Horrific numbers for Trump with all time lows across the board. Every metric and every fact is going the wrong way for him and GOP. And yet the generic ballot is still a narrow lead for Dems. We have a lot more work to do to get the needed majorities to end this corrupt madness

[YouGov America @YouGovAmerica]

NEW Economist/YouGov Jul 25-27
% who approve | disapprove of Donald Trump
U.S. adult citizens 34% | 62% (-28: new low for Trump)
Last week 36% | 60% (-24)
Start of term 49% | 43% (+6)

Dem 3% | 95%
Ind 19% | 72%
Rep 81% | 17%

18-29: 31% | 63%
65+: 41% | 56%
(Link in reply)