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?

IMG_6263IMG_6264

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?

IMG_6266IMG_6265

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.

IMG_6260

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?

24D6CDC3-4CBD-4349-BFA5-FADE099DEF010D7653B0-5993-49F1-94D3-4CDABD3A01CA

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.

IMG_6269

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

IMG_6270IMG_6271

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

IMG_6272IMG_6273IMG_6274

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?

B44E4BEC-C94E-4D14-A0B2-B69B76FC733FABE02BCA-E421-4D50-8594-5D8E7BF9D70C90D95E85-96F3-4CCC-A389-6D3ED2DB3304

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.

IMG_6256

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.

IMG_6234

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.

IMG_6176

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.

IMG_6247

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

The American People vote on Pocketbook Issues…

IMG_6276IMG_6277

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

IMG_6278

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

IMG_6279

Pocketbook Issues.

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

IMG_6281IMG_6282

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.

IMG_5773
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/ 

IMG_5776

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

IMG_5777IMG_5778

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

IMG_5779

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.

IMG_5751

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.

IMG_5780

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.

IMG_5781

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

IMG_5769

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

The Promise of Renewal

What allows the opinion of the MINORITY to rule the day…
It’s nothing more than the appearance of DOUBT.

Another possibility. Alternative facts. That legal grey area… where in one instance, if one person shoots another in the middle of 5th Ave, that person goes to JAIL. But of course… there are some instances where that doesn’t happen.

Because the shooter has a BADGE and LEGAL AUTHORITY.
Those people… they get TIME OFF.

With pay.

99F4AE2B-1759-46A9-96CC-4F735BE0394D8E59F365-2C76-4832-B059-57361E7A4178AFC066C9-B291-4BB7-97E9-F7EDE6C3E371https://www.vox.com/2022/7/7/23197430/jayland-walker-police-shooting-akron-ohio-footage 

I’m not a Branding Expert. I’m not a Media Guru or a Messaging Consultant.
I’m not an expert, period. Always a student… never the teacher.

But THIS? This is a branding exercise… this is a message.
When you see this, you know what it’s about.

45E4AAB5-D088-4EBE-858C-3C53401478FFC1A51D5C-B95C-4DA5-8EF6-CB9DD9FDAF8Ahttps://www.cnn.com/2022/07/05/us/jayland-walker-handcuffed-autopsy-report/index.html

That didn’t just happen.  That wasn’t an accident. That wasn’t done out of fear for the safety of others. There was no judge. There was no jury.

There was no Enforcement of LAW… just an execution.
No one to hold accountable for their crime, and no one held to account.

Has anyone stopped and considered the consequences of our just carrying on like nothing ever happened? You know, back to business as usual. Nothing to see here! Just move along to the next shiny object…

Never mind that gaping WOUND we’re walking around with… the soft underbelly exposed for all to see.

5533F19F-FC63-44D3-9106-C1F4FF951970

Why does our Democracy STILL STAND?

Because there was someone there, to PUSH BACK against the depravity. To uphold Righteous Values. Because evil prevails when men of HONOR stand silent… and this Nation is worthy, of every ounce of effort called for in this moment.

To be SILENT is to be COMPLICIT in Her demise.

Every year we till the fields, in anticipation of the bounty we will receive. With patients and practice, our gifts continue to grow. Our work only rewarded once the harvest is done.

Every year we toil and every SPRING we start anew, but every year brings with it new challenges. In the blink of an eye, our hard work can be washed away or left to whither… all dependent upon the desires of the STORM.

But every year regardless of the outcome… if we CHOOSE to start anew… our fields must be cleared, the remains turned back into the soil. With hope that someday… maybe this year… our bounty and our harvest will only GROW.

I believe in the Promise of Renewal.
I believe in the Infinite Potential of what might BE.

I long for our FUTURE with the same nostalgic passions, that some people harbor for our PAST. Our Better Days may still be ahead of us, but I question embracing a strategy of inaction, as the means of making it come to be. Watching. As TIME passes… just hoping someday, those dreams might become reality.

F933C889-ACB2-4C34-85C6-0CF48749DFDB

It’s one of the fundamental laws that govern our physical reality. The pendulum will swing TRUE… because it must. That energy doesn’t just go away. It remains. It must be released. Like a hammer striking chisel or a sledge raining down destructive blows… that choice is always OURS.

The American People retain the POWER to do BOTH.

-JC

Variations On a Theme: D.S. al finé

IF I were to sit down and think about it hard enough… I’ll bet I could come up with a list of at least 100 reasons why I cannot vote for anyone running as a Republican this fall. Chief among them, the delegitimization of the Office of President of the United States.

Because of that, they delegitimize the continued relevance of their own Political Party… so I will vote accordingly.

6655E9D9-B5B0-4F1F-BBB4-5E3189CF28F2

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/14/rnc-debates-commission/

On the flip side of that, right now I can’t seem to come up with a list of 10 reasons why I should vote FOR the Democratic Party. Yes, the GOP is running on NO national agenda, other than to OPPOSE. Their dog whistles have now become blow horns. They champion causes that disturb the MAJORITY of Americans and they slow any attempt to further the causes of Social Justice and Equality, even as their party holds a MINORITY in Congress.

The Democrats can’t protect a Woman’s Right to CHOOSE. The Democrats can’t protect our Right to VOTE. A Police Officer murdered a man with his knee while he had his HANDS in his pockets… yet the Democratic Party can’t pass a Justice Reform Bill that has that man’s name on it.

ONE PARTY is doing everything they can to roll back the clock, denying us that More Perfect Union, while the OTHER PARTY can’t seem to tie their OWN SHOES. And when they lose this fall, they’ll say it’s all OUR fault… THE VOTERS.

775FE3D7-E454-4B73-83F6-6475CBFE80ECAFE7F513-4DC6-45AA-9D6A-AE23F0C717CA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Bro

I guess they’ll have to spend more MONEY on “voter education” next time around.

I have no desire to vote FOR the Democratic Party. They have NO AGENDA. No message. No unifying principle that defines who they are… other than pleasing their DONORS at all cost… and yet somehow they say, it’s not THEIR fault.

It’s the VOTERS’ fault. 

Yes, it is the voters’ fault… because we’ve allowed this BS to go on for way too long. The charade is UP. The jig is OVER… the “BIG LIE” walks hand-in-hand with the “BIG GRIFT” and we are ALL being taken for a RIDE.

The Democratic Party has become the Neville Chamberlain to the Republican Party’s Adolph Hitler. The President continues to seek bipartisan solutions to problems caused by the OTHER PARTY… while the other party won’t even recognize him as the legitimate President of the United States.

And why do we feel like it’s all our fault? WE VOTED! Just like they told us to.

But it always seems just out of reach… ‘Not this election, but the NEXT! Next time, with YOUR HELP… your financial support… we’ll get this DONE!

… tick tock tick tock…

Time passes, and the narrative rolls along.

The conversation moves on, and the crisis de jure dominates the front page. War. Terrorism. Climate change. Inflation. Jobs. Jobs. Jobs…

Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.

The People haven’t moved on… the Politicians have. Leaving in their wake a mountain of DEBT. A heaping PILE of unfinished business and unresolved problems, many of which they’ve raised MONEY on while they were in office.

Don’t talk to me about being a PRO-CHOICE party if you can’t pass a bill protecting a Woman’s Right to Choose. If the ACA can continue to STAND because it’s seen as Congress exercising its power to levy TAXES, then there must be a legislative path forward that will secure the support of all 50 Democratic Senators.

Yet one Senator still stands opposed.

And NO ONE seems surprised! He’s just doing what his “constituents” want him to do. He works for the people he represents… THE DONORS.

21C47113-DC49-4848-B840-EC92757EA520CCE6258C-7B84-4467-837D-7E3FDA70618B

https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgmwqp/greg-abbott-baby-formula

This isn’t a story of US vs THEM. This is a story of preparedness. This is a story of an inability to anticipate the consequences of enforcement of rules and regulations. This is a story about the real-life impact bad government has on ALL our lives.

This is a story demonstrating how incompetent our government has become, as they can’t even get the SIMPLE THINGS right.

It’s as if we must TEACH our government how to WALK all over again.

I can SEE the problem, just as clearly as everyone else. We’re stuck with no alternatives. BOTH parties contributed to this crisis… and it’s not as if this crisis couldn’t have been anticipated.

It was the Federal Government that enforced the law, shutting down that producer. It was the Federal Government that failed to anticipate the downstream impact of shutting down only ONE PRODUCER… knowing that they produce 1/3 of our domestic supply of formula.

And it was the Federal Government that crafted the legislation, that turned a BLIND EYE to the rise of a monopolistic takeover of our FOOD SUPPLY.

From the FIELD to the TABLE. Every aspect of our agricultural industries, from production to logistics has been SLIMMED DOWN. Cutting the FAT. Leaving more meat on the BONE at the end of the day… for less mouths.

60E588CB-B1A8-4FF9-84F5-9E92250545C0

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/03/09/climate-tariffs-debt-and-isolation-drive-some-farmers-suicide/4955865002/

All we have to do is read the news and everyone can SEE it. It should have been a Presidential priority from DAY ONEWhere’s the Democratic Party? Where’s the party that supposedly represents our FARMERS… the GOP?

IF we assume that our legislators work for the DONORS, then it is clear that they are getting exactly what they want.

A24C66D0-3438-4E0D-8DD2-B485E88DB25F9AA9907B-D989-480E-A535-702709DD9D09

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/12/us/politics/meatpackers-trump-covid.html

One party is BEHOLDEN to the DONORS while the OTHER party is hesitant to ACT, because it might scare away their DONORS… and that’s why nothing gets done.

They can’t FUNDRAISE on a problem that’s already been SOLVED.

Our two-party system is now BROKEN, and the parties will not seek to reform themselves. They continue to thrive on the dysfunction. They’ve become masters of the GAME they’ve created… and the losers of past political contests become the LEADERS of their party.

@3:58 in the video: “I know folks- Republicans, Democrats, Independents; purple people, blue people, white people…

And why is that? Because he raised a massive amount of MONEY.

CD4859F6-A1FA-4652-ACCF-95CE183BDDF4A89B7AC3-61C3-4221-9295-20BE5CE82014FF804AA5-16A2-4675-BE5A-31751D6B2769

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/11/politics/jaime-harrison-fundraising-record-south-carolina-senate-race/index.html

In my experience… the phrase ‘purple people’ is a dog whistle.
I can now see why he lost.

5ECEF107-A4EF-4E43-9B6A-CE0B1DD7D1A9

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/27/harris-attacks-bidens-record-on-busing-and-working-with-segregationists.html

… be sure and “Get out the VOTE” this fall.

And so now we’ve come ‘round FULL CIRCLE. It was the ultimate catalyst that drove me to start my political endeavor back in February 2018, and the crisis continues to this day… unchanged.

F03868A2-4450-4393-A76D-2A72C2C335D1

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/15/us/buffalo-supermarket-shooting-sunday/index.html

And it’s all like variations on a theme… I swear I’ve heard this song before. The People demand it with their VOTE, but after the election the conversation starts to change.

The answers we seek as a Nation can be found… but only if we stand UNITED. As EQUALS. MY rights are not secure unless YOUR rights are secure. My Liberty is not secure unless your Liberty is secure as well…

And right now, neither Political Party is doing what’s necessary to secure our Democracy.

That needs to change.

-JC

Where Do YOU Stand.

The PEOPLE demand action…
and THEY go on vacation.

The PEOPLE want to secure our Right to VOTE.
The DNC commits $25 MILLION to the cause.

8AD14B8A-AD72-4AC1-A973-7D89E52561E3

They’ve chosen to prioritize VOTER EDUCATION. Well… I suppose it’s about time we went to D.C. and EDUCATED them.

Our Rights will not be secured by MONEY. Our Rights will not be secured by INFRASTRUCTURE. Our Right to VOTE will only be secured by LAW. With LEGISLATION, PASSED by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT… that’s how we secure the franchise.

That’s how we ensure the Will of the People reigns supreme. More participation equals BETTER GOVERNANCE.

STAND UP and SPEAK OUT!

How do we defeat the BULLY and the LIAR? We STAND UP for the Rule of Law, we stand FIRM in our convictions… and we stand UNITED.

We do not do this for a Political Party. We do not do this for our own self-interest or our own personal gain. We defend our Right to Vote for the NEXT generation, and the one that will come after them.

We do this because it is necessary. There must be no boundaries standing in the way of any citizen who wishes to participate in our democracy.

Our future National Security is ensured when our access to the ballot is secure.

STAND UP and SPEAK OUT… and you will not stand alone.

-JC