Elections Have Consequences.

Haven’t you heard? It’s the economy stupid. Keep it simple… just stick to the messaging and say it over and over again. Never mind if it doesn’t resonate. Just look at the POLLS. Americans vote on Pocketbook Issues…

Pocketbook Issues.

The American People are well versed on Pocketbook Issues. We make do with what we have, or we go without… politics be damned.

What happens when our Elected Officials put POLITICS above all else… officials who are willing to stoke the FIRES of their political base in order to hold the reins of power? The latest Speaker of the House has compared the reproductive liberty of women and girls to acts of genocide carried out by Nazis.

How does that statement help craft viable legislation… how does that statement help anyone at all?

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/22/speaker-mike-johnson-holocaust-abortion

And what happens when his supporters are disappointed? What happens when he fails to deliver on those legislative goals?

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https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/25/trump-expressed-support-hanging-pence-capitol-riot-jan-6-00035117

Our former Vice President stoked those fires for YEARS… as a former Representative… as a former Governor. His supporters saw his failure as a betrayal. Why would Speaker Johnson’s supporters not see his shortcomings the same way?

But that doesn’t matter right now, does it. There are ELECTIONS to win… and 2024 is just WEEKS away.

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Screenshot from American Voices, MSNBC. (11/25/2023)

As Senator Tuberville said… it’s time to stop the farce and unite the party. It’s always good to have a PLAN.

The fight is JUST when the fight is waged to protect other’s rights… the fight to strip others of their rights, is a fight being waged against every American Citizen.

The lines have been drawn… the battle rages on. They’ve staked their claim on CRT, abortion access, and transgender rights. They’ve shown themselves to be in favor of a theocratic state…

Where the hell is the Democratic Party?

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What happens when our Elected Officials put POLITICS above all else… officials who are willing to stoke the FIRES of their political base in order to hold on to the reins of power? The Speakership of our former Speaker of the House was highlighted by a desire for INCLUSION. Expanding access for all genders and races, by promoting EQUALITY in the eyes of the Law.

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https://time.com/collection/time100-summit-2023/6274249/nancy-pelosi-4/

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https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-equal-rights-amendment-biden-action-20220926-jyyi6vhuj5ayhjtffu4muukna4-story.html

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https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/us/tara-reade-russia.html

And what happens when her supporters are disappointed? What happens when her party fails to deliver on those legislative goals?

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https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/michigan-hillary-clinton-trump-232547

They’ll leave the top of the ticket BLANK. That’s IF they even bother to show up at all. What good does it do us if they secure the House and the Senate if they can’t deliver the White House? With no LEADERSHIP at the top of the ticket, there is no MAJORITY, let alone a Supermajority.

Historically speaking, the only remedy for Elected Officials who will not do as the voters have directed, is to vote them OUT.

Three election cycles.

Equality has BEEN on the ballot since 2018… yet Democrats still show no desire to get it done in 2024.

The fight is JUST when the fight is waged to protect other’s rights… the fight to strip others of their rights, is a fight being waged against every American Citizen.

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And Women are the MAJORITY.

But that doesn’t matter right now, does it. There are ELECTIONS to win… and 2024 is just WEEKS away.

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Screenshot from Deadline: White House, MSNBC. (11/22/2023)

The lines have been drawn… the battle rages on. But haven’t you heard? It’s the ECONOMY stupid. Keep it simple… just stick to the messaging.

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Screenshot from All In w/ Chris Hayes, MSNBC. (11/10/2023)

Just say it over and over again. Never mind if it doesn’t resonate. Just look at the POLLS.

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Screenshot from Morning Joe, MSNBC. (11/23/2023)

The American People vote on Pocketbook Issues…

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https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/20/politics/voting-rights-act-supreme-court-thomas-gorsuch/index.html

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https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/politics/senate-voting-legislation-filibuster/index.html

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Pocketbook Issues.

The American People are well versed on Pocketbook Issues… we make do with what we have, or we go without.

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https://www.statista.com/statistics/203183/percentage-distribution-of-household-income-in-the-us/

Politics be damned.

-JC

Reach. Throw. Row. Then GO.

It’s not as if there weren’t RIOTS in the streets or something… like it was so hard to decipher what the Will of the MAJORITY was in 2020.

People were in the streets demanding CHANGE.

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https://www.npr.org/2020/06/01/866472832/violence-escalates-as-protests-over-george-floyd-death-continue
 

Philando Castile. Eric Garner. George Floyd. The Minneapolis Police Department. The Louisville Police Department. Atlanta. KC. New York… and what did we get?

Bridges and Roads.

Hot damn! While our Democracy succumbs to the ROT and CORRUPTION… at least the TRAINS will run on-time.

But that’s what he was selling from his basement back in 2020- A Return to Normalcy. Well… we got it. Nothing says ‘Back to Normal’ like politicians catering to the DONORS, instead of working for the VOTERS.

I’d say we’re all in agreement on that.

How much more PROOF do we need? Seventy-six percent of these United States have now RATIFIED the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, yet President Biden and his Administration fight against its publication. ONE MAN stands opposed to 76%… how is that defending democracy?

Night after night we see more examples of why we must end qualified immunity, and why we must hold Law Enforcement Officers accountable for abuses of power. Yet President Biden couldn’t rally enough support for it in the Senate… and this time it wasn’t because of the filibuster.

He couldn’t even get his own party to fall in line.

And it’s not just about falling in line. It’s about defending one’s CORE VALUES. What makes you who you ARE. The core identity of the Republican Party may have shifted drastically to the RIGHT, but the core identity of the Democratic Party has now shifted to the RIGHT as well.

The Republican Party fights to take rights away from women… from minorities… from LGBTQ individuals… the Democratic Party is supposed to be the party that champions PROTECTING the rights of those individuals. More rights for more people.

Elected Officials who stand opposed to EQUALITY stand opposed to the platform of the Democratic Party… those Elected Officials are not Democrats.

Yet Joe Manchin still holds a Committee Chair in the United States Senate.

So, how does that CHANGE? We VOTE. We rally behind the CAUSE… the Core Principles we hold SACRED. We raise the flag and hoist the sails, celebrating who we are and the causes for which we STAND… knowing that our efforts will be victorious at the end of the day.

IMG_5774IMG_5775https://nypost.com/2022/09/12/kamala-harris-lies-about-the-secure-border/ 

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https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/570128-father-of-marine-killed-in-kabul-blast-says-meeting-with-biden/ 

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https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/15/a-fist-bump-at-the-palace-biden-squares-off-with-mbs-00046106 

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https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/26/europe/ukraine-zelensky-evacuation-intl/index.html 

Back in MY day, every member of the Democratic Party would be fired UP to go out and vote AGAINST an incumbent who’s overseen failures like these.

In 2024… these are the accomplishments of the Leader of the Democratic Party.

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I attended the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington last weekend. When I first heard its announcement back in February, I decided I wouldn’t go. I have no desire to go to a Joe Biden rally, and I knew that’s what it would end up being. Dr. Martin Luther King III’s rebranding of it as a “continuation” of his father’s dream changed my mind.

I felt I had to attend. To show my support alongside thousands of others… Strength in numbers. That’s how we bring about CHANGE.

Of all the people I spoke with that day, one woman’s offhand comment stands out most in my mind-

I came here today to hear something HISTORIC.’

Of all the reasons I traveled to D.C. that day… that one wasn’t on my list. After hearing her say that I started questioning why I was there. Why didn’t I have those same expectations? Every possibility of that happening did exist…

The White House did send a high-level representative to speak on behalf of the President and Vice President… the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives was there, as was Jim Clyburn and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz…

The opportunity was there… yet, I was not as disappointed as she was.

Eagle Scout

When someone is drowning, you must assess the situation carefully BEFORE taking action, in order to avoid causing unnecessary loss of life.

If they are a short distance away, you should first try reaching out your HAND or a long POLE and attempt to pull them to safety. If they are too far out, you should try throwing them a LIFE PRESERVER or a long ROPE. If these options are unsuccessful, you try to find a boat and ROW out to them and bring them to shore.

Only after all these have failed… only as an option of last resort should you ever try swimming out to save someone from drowning. As they are fighting to stay above the surface… fighting for their very survival… they will grab and push themselves UP onto anything that comes within their reach. In order to save their own life…

That includes anyone trying to save them.

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https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-approval-rating/ 

Democratic Party… DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE?

If you want to make a CHANGE, now is the time to do so… not in the fall of 2024.

I can see it. The VOTERS can see it. We ALL want you to be successful… in this moment we NEED you to be successful. But we can only offer you our assistance… it’s up to YOU, to decide if you will accept our HELP.

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https://www.axios.com/2023/04/17/poll-americans-independent-republican-democrat 

That window of opportunity will soon be closing… and no one wants to get pulled under by a drowning man.

-JC

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https://www.clintonherald.com/region/march-on-washington/image_b0cdcda8-f561-543e-8109-2cc07dedbb58.html 

Grays. Sports. Almanac.

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Once upon a TIME… back when I was a young man, I remember living through a period in time just like the one we’re living through NOW. The only difference is… we hadn’t figured it out just yet. We were walking BLIND with no guidance or direction…

The rules of decorum were being used against us as a tool of oppression.

BBF1F4D5-C791-4937-BCC1-0CB3BC1092D07BBF317C-43FC-467A-9B8A-EFC4CFF3014B

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/world/national-security/obama-putin-election-hacking/?tid=usw_passupdatepg

1B5D89F9-1AA6-4382-BD6E-7DA33A6077481C660F94-FCC6-49B1-ADF9-2C109B725325

https://www.rules.senate.gov/rules-of-the-senate

To SILENCE dissent. To benefit ONE over ANOTHER. In-service of a PARTY… not in-service of THE PEOPLE.

And this is merely ONE PART of a multi-piece puzzle. The FBI, the Election Interference, the Electoral College… and the arrogance. As it is TODAY, the candidate was decided LONG before the Primaries had even started.

DC7CF982-2F91-489E-8977-3B9E077E4A27AB1E4E0E-1752-49FD-A387-21DCE02C0581

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/sanders-obama-meet-discuss-future-campaign-n588946

It’s not about the VOTERS, it’s all about securing the DONORS… you can’t win The Office if you can’t secure the BASE.

Bernie wanted to EXPAND the footprint of Government and help lower the cost of healthcare for ALL Americans… something that stood opposed to the agenda of the DONORS. The pharmaceutical industry, the owners of the hospitals and clinics themselves, as well as the commercial real estate owners that profit off of the leasing of all those properties.

Hillary Clinton had been working with the healthcare sector since her time as First Lady… Bernie was an Independent Senator from the Great State of Vermont.

The DONORS made their choice and the PARTY fell in line. The machinery started turning… and everyone played their part.

3F259ABE-869F-4EE7-9B64-53C8E28A7C0B13FF48C0-B628-4606-A595-213D024F4A5B

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-conventions/democratic-national-committee-chief-stepping-aside-after-convention-n615826

All that was left were the formalities… the casting of the VOTES. After all that, then we could celebrate our new candidate.

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https://observer.com/2017/08/court-admits-dnc-and-debbie-wasserman-schulz-rigged-primaries-against-sanders/

Like I said, a million pieces… but we’ve SEEN THIS SHOW BEFORE. There’s NO WAY we’d allow ourselves to make the same mistakes, we’ve already learned that lesson… right?

The Democratic Party has a problem. Because right now, the Democratic Party is starting off the 2024 Campaign Season IN THE HOLE. I cannot vote for Joe Biden. I did not vote for Joe Biden…

Joe Biden voted FOR the war in Iraq.

A Senator who voted FOR the invasion of Iraq should never be President of the United States. The Presidency of Joe Biden now proves that to be so.

The Senator who voted FOR the invasion of Iraq, demonstrated the same leadership capabilities during our withdrawal of forces in Afghanistan.

The Senator who voted FOR the invasion of Iraq, brought that same vision and foresight to the table while dealing with a broken supply chain and a struggling economy.

The Senator who voted FOR the invasion of Iraq… while Osama bin Lauden was STILL ALIVE… took his place in The White House and WATCHED as Russian Forces invaded Ukraine.

He then went on to do the SAME THING as our President.

Let there be NO DOUBT… Vladimir Putin is the sole cause of the war in Ukraine, but our INACTION every step of the way did nothing to assuage that aggression.

In fact… our INACTION encouraged it.

D16D4E22-C4C3-4AC3-89EA-1A208742C281

https://theintercept.com/2019/09/26/donald-trump-wants-ukraines-president-probe-conspiracy-theories-democrats/

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https://observer.com/2019/04/mueller-report-paul-manafort-konstantin-kilimnik-russia-ukraine/

INACTION. Born of INACTION…

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https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/michigan-hillary-clinton-trump-232547

Party Politics at its finest.

Even after the election of President Biden in 2020, we still find ourselves sliding BACKWARDS. Legislatures across this Land are working everyday to take rights away from American Citizens… based on their SEX… based on the color of their SKIN… based on the demographics of the community they are FROM

Hillary Clinton didn’t lose to Donald Trump in 2016 because he was a brilliant orator or a political genius. Hillary Clinton lost because THE PEOPLE didn’t show up. I hate to quote Senator McConnell here, but candidate quality has a lot to do with it.

2596E3F4-80A5-44E9-AADF-1FA466A9B2292A4DE698-8C3A-489E-92A5-5C2E9F020BF7

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/did-biden-win-little-or-lot-answer-yes-n1251845

Right now, we’re racing headlong toward another 2016 Presidential Election…

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… and EVERYTHING that goes along with it.

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https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/download

We must learn from our mistakes, or we are bound to repeat them.

-JC

The Truth HURTS.

0A81A665-AC14-447E-9DE6-327AA214E354

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/09/us/politics/woodward-trump-book-virus.html

The widespread economic problems we face, weren’t caused by the Biden Administration’s economic policies… they were caused by the unmitigated spread of COVID-19.

The unmitigated spread of COVID-19 wasn’t caused by mask-wearing, or a maleficent scientist or doctor… it was caused by the deliberate INACTION of President Donald J. Trump and his Administration.

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https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/intelligence-report-warned-coronavirus-crisis-early-november-sources/story?id=70031273

The rise of Donald J. Trump wasn’t due to his superior oratory skills or the strength of his domestic political agenda. The rise of Donald J. Trump and his “UltraMAGA” agenda, is the direct result of the ROT and CORRUPTION he once claimed to be fighting against.

The rot and corruption inherent within the Party Establishment was employed in the shadows of the Presidential Primary, to benefit one candidate over another.

A finger was placed on the scale… thereby upending the BALANCE maintained within our electoral process.

87E62B75-869A-428A-97BF-DA40F32AACF6https://observer.com/2017/08/court-admits-dnc-and-debbie-wasserman-schulz-rigged-primaries-against-sanders/

Ego. Anger. Self-interest. Greed. A perceived sense of entitlement… a perceived sense of grievance. These are not the values we should be holding UP and rewarding with elected office… especially an elected office as consequential as the Office of The Presidency.

F3E08011-6C8A-4D32-8149-1EBE514DE586AC0629BC-46FB-4605-9B8C-9BF3386C2582https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/19/business/twitter-musk-trump-reinstate

Yet those values are espoused in successful candidacies to this day. Making the actions of previous Administrations the object of their vengeance… as if political agendas were specifically created to hurt others, as opposed to HELPING them.

This creates the destructive cycle in which we find ourselves, as the focus of the NEXT election… will inevitably be on the LAST.

Are you better off now than you were four years ago?’

That question has now lost all meaning in light of the Presidency of Donald J. Trump and the events of 2020. Let there be NO DOUBT… we will be better off in 2024, than we were in 2020.

F9374AAA-FC58-4648-A593-CA30E3E4E86329DC42D2-7378-4FF0-9783-5D779098F5CDhttps://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-12-10/one-day-us-deaths-top-3-000-more-than-d-day-or-9-11

The question now becomes: How do we ensure we’re better off four years in the FUTURE? Where do we want to GO… how will we get there? Will we find the answers we seek by embracing the failed ideologies of our PAST?

That is for The People to decide.

45555F8E-54CE-475B-92A6-00D7DE81450C92443383-DF17-4DC4-BB45-9A0C2D3F1C64https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/20/us/colorado-springs-shooting-gay-nightclub

I don’t know you… you don’t know me. Yet we have within us the same RED BLOOD. We harbor within us the same hopes and fears. Our worlds seem MILES apart… yet each one of us still STANDS for the same beliefs. That we are ALL created EQUAL, and that some rights transcend these Earthly bounds.

Our Nation is Great because we embody Great Things. Foundational beliefs. Core values, engrained in the heart of every American Citizen. The right to LIFE, LIBERTY, and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. Guaranteed… not just for some or a select few… but for all of us.

When you defend the rights of others, you defend those rights for yourself.

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On account of sex… regardless of what that might be.

I still believe in the WORDS, as they were written…
We are ALL created Equal.

Now, it’s up to us to ensure it is so.

-JC

Thank You For Your Service.

Fifty-fifty… split right down the middle.

The extremes are still extreme. California is still BLUE… Texas is still RED.

There was no Political Earthquake. There was no Political Tsunami… this is our political landscape.

This is the pinnacle of our Political System. This is the BEST it can produce, and this is what it will produce once again in 2024.

Is that the way it should continue to BE?

AP reporter: “What will you do differently… between now and 2024?” 
President Biden: “Nothing.”

Is that why you voted this fall, for nothing… for more of the same? Did you cast your vote in celebration of what Democrats have accomplished… with control of the House, the White House, and the Senate?

Joe Biden sure thinks so… and so do his DONORS.

… 

 

Joe Biden stood in the breech, long before the HEROES of the Capitol Police did on January 6. He stood up and faced the metaphorical fight, in HOPE that it might not come to that.

Joe Biden marshaled every tool at his disposal, to secure victory for his Political Party…

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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/nyregion/sean-patrick-maloney-lawler.html 

A Political Party that now stands in the MINORITY.

Just look at how hard we have to VOTE to make sure things stay NORMAL. Never mind moving AHEAD… just fighting to ensure we don’t move BACK. Taking rights AWAY. Denying HALF the people of this Nation access to lifesaving HEALTHCARE.

Joe Biden stood in the BREECH to defend this Union, and we will always be grateful. We will always owe a debt of gratitude to Joe Biden and the Leadership of the Democratic Party… and we thank you for your service.

But I didn’t vote FOR nothing. In fact… that’s exactly what I voted against.

If I wanted NOTHING to change, I would have voted for the Republican Party. But now things have changed. The lives of Women have changed, and they will have to bear the consequences of this election for the next TWO YEARS.

If the Democratic Party isn’t given a reason to change, then they will not change. This fight is no longer theirs… it is OURS.

Every election cannot continue to be THE existential election of our lifetime. It cannot continue like this. The rotational speed of our two-party system has exceeded its limits and the balance has been destroyed. One side is seen as “illegitimate” by the other, and the other side AGREES. It’s the ONE THING we all agree on-

The SYSTEM is the problem.

 

Everyone agrees. Everyone… except the DONORS.

They’re just fine with the way things are going. Their profits are safe and secure. Let’s just MOVE ON to the next election… $17 BILLION well spent.

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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/midterm-elections-2022/democrats-republicans-2022-midterms-spending-b2220297.html 

The Democratic Party did not win this election, yet they are celebrating. As of right now, the Democratic Party still has a slight chance of securing the House Majority… but that’s all they’ve got. 51 Senators does not a MAJORITY make. Therefore, when the gavel changes hands… the agenda will be decided by the GOP. 

Can you imagine… running against the agenda of a 20th century dictator… and only BARELY squeaking by? Just like they did in 2020. Just like they did in 2022… 

Thank god! We only lost the HOUSE!

This is what The People want. This is what they voted for…

Time for us to go and work with the GOP.

It’s not like the majority of their party supports INSURRECTION or something. Sure would be nice if there was an ongoing Presidential Commission looking into the events of January 6… but unfortunately, that train has already sailed.

 

Just before the election, Jen Psaki was on Deadline: White House, discussing conversations she had with voters in the Suburbs of Detroit. One voter brought up the issues surrounding the 2000 election, and the fact that Democrats feel the same way about the Presidency of George W. Bush as Republicans feel about the Presidency of Joe Biden.

Jen Psaki said that worried her. She was concerned that the narrative surrounding election integrity was starting to spread… as if it were something NEW within the Democratic Party.

I’m not sure if that’s her opinion or if it’s the opinion of the Democratic Party, but it shows us the mindset of Party Leadership… as reflected in the observations of a former White House Press Secretary.

The Leadership of the Democratic Party has no plan to change a system… that works just FINE for them.

The filibuster? The Electoral College? A Woman’s Right to CHOOSE? Yeah, that’s ALL on the ballot. Every election. Every time. It’s always on the line… and if you want things to stay the way that they are, then you’d better DONATE all you can before the NEXT election.

That’s their plan. That’s the way things are. Legislators legislate based on MONEY and the pursuit thereof. Therefore, legislation favors those with MONEY over those WITHOUT.

Is this still a Democracy or is it not? 
I believe more participation equals BETTER GOVERNANCE.

If the Democratic Party has a PLAN to secure our Democracy, then let them speak it. Now. Before the 2024 campaign begins. In the SUNLIGHT where everyone can see. We cannot afford to go into the fight with the same tired strategies that were employed this time around… just ask Rep Maloney.

Complacency. Insincerity. Political hypocrisy. These are not the values that will secure our Democracy.

Will the Democratic Party RISE to the occasion, or will they continue to cling to the PAST… elevating failed candidates to leadership positions, simply because they raised a BOATLOAD of CASH in the last election…

The People of the United States of America deserve a BETTER WAY.

 

-JC