If I Had $100 Million . . . April 20, 2022 But first, treat yourself to this wonderful speech. We will not let hate win. Critical race theory? Groomers? Wow. Four minutes. We are at such a crossroads. Will the forces of autocracy win here in America? Will Putin — who believes he has the right to subjugate and/or murder 40 million Ukrainians and who has already made so much progress dividing us against ourselves– win abroad? There are some even in America who hope he does. Video of the conference on Saturday showed Fuentes and attendees cheering for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as approving of comparisons between Putin and Adolf Hitler. Fuentes also called the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6 “awesome.” Putin openly admires Stalin, who among other atrocities starved millions of Ukrainians to death. He does not admire Hitler (at least not openly), and presumably never kept a book of Hitler’s speeches by his bedside. Yet he follows much the same script. And you have to admit (the nation’s leading Republican once told his chief of staff) “Hitler did some good things.” So will Putin prevail? Will Trump succeed Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House? A friend worth $100 million didn’t know that was a thing — that you don’t have to be a member of Congress to be elected Speaker. I tossed it into our conversation, suggesting that if I had $100 million, I might deploy $5 or $10 million of it to Democratic registration and organizing to try to save democracy because, by my math, that would still leave more than half for my golden years; and because, as sacrifices go, it would beat having to fight and die in Mariupol. My centi-millionaire friend is a wonderful person (truly); but lots of wonderful people — indeed, I would guess, most wonderful people — can’t quite believe this is real. That everything is on the line. I’ll let you know what he decides to do. But it’s true: If Democrats lose control of Congress seven months from now, do you think Kevin McCarthy could keep Trump from taking Nancy’s gavel if he wanted it? Ah, you say — but why would he want it? Why would he want to be the center of attention, with everyone begging him for favors, hanging on his every word? The question, my long-suffering reader, answers itself. So two last things. First: we can pick up seats in the Senate and hold the House. The odds are against us, but so were they against our picking up two Senate seats in the Georgia run offs. We just all have to lean in and get out there care do it. Join your local chapter of the League of Women Voters! Join Field Team 6! Join Vote Forward! Fund the Party! Second, try to find time for this: Mar-a-Lago Machine: Trump as a Modern-Day Party Boss. Hoarding cash*, doling out favors and seeking to crush rivals, the former president is dominating the G.O.P., preparing for another race and helping loyalists oust officials who thwarted his attempted subversion of the 2020 election. *a war chest more than double that of the Republican National Committee itself I think you’ll find yourself forwarding it widely.