That's exactly what I thought in 2016. Now I don't take anything for granted. Biden's age, and the border issue plus the Israeli-Hamas horrors throw spanners into the works. It's all in the messaging and, in the final analysis, the turnout.
You are right, Bill. Turnout will be the key. And on top of the factors you mentioned, which I agree with, banning TikTok right now is a bad political move. I know they are infiltrated with garbage and the prospect of election interference is great, but I think we need to weigh what that will do the under 30 voting bloc. They are already meh about Biden and I fear that if TikTok is banned, they will put the entire blame on Biden.
The Indiana house Republican who is retiring in a weekish, Gallagher?, is going to work for Palantir. Peter Thiel's data mining firm. I don't know, he seems evil. I'll take my chances with the Chinese, thank you very much.
That's great Jess. I live in a district with a Republican US Representative and one that has been in office for a long time. The district is gerrymandered so our residence in a split portion of the district also stretches into rural Franklin County. I write to her regularly and get back canned responses. Never holds an open meeting with her constituents. So I contributed to a Democrat running in our former district.
Thank you for having been a presence in the state House overwhelmed by Ag-businessmen and MAGAs.
I now live in Chicago, but grew up in a small Illinois town of 5000, but my grandparents lived 9 miles away in Decker, Indiana, a town then of 200. My Granny was a Democrat through and through. She hung a picture of JFK in her dinning room. I hope you run again. To quote Pat Schroeder, “ You can’t wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time”. She spent her political career working for the common good, focusing on women’s rights . She passed away a year ago today. She is missed.
Thanks so much for this perspective. I live in the little blue bubble of Kansas City MO and have a tendency to paint all rural areas with the same red brush. Good to be reminded otherwise.
Golly, your post brought this Californian almost to tears. Goosebumps for sure. Seems amazing that I, on the West coast since I was seven (now 77), feel that we're alone in our progressive political positions, alienated from our country. The reds straining at the bit to take the country in a different direction, and us blues trying to maintain those democratic principles of voting, giving everyone their civil rights, saving the environment, regulating business and incomes and educating a majority. Thank you for standing up in rural America, for fairness and activism.
I'm old enough to remember when we didn't have to whisper because the ruling Republicans would do us harm if they know what our political beliefs really were. But I think this is the state we're in right now.
I subscribed to your blog because of what you posted today. There's no point in crowing about freedom if we don't know what it's like to live in the red states. And OMG, how these hoodwinked fools may lead us into fascism. Hiding your opinions only helps these MAGA morons to take over our country.
Greetings from Rochester NY ( home to Susan B Anthony and Frederick Douglas). I am sending so much love and good energy to my progressive patriots in the south. I admire you all. Thank you, Jess for all you do!
Hi Alson. It's funny that you mentioned the south. I live in Missouri not too far from the Missouri River, but I never thought of myself as living in the south. Missouri used to be a much more progressive state until the shenanigans of that non-progressive party got us gerrymandered and reconfigured and I don't know what else that gave them so much power. With Jess and others who are trying to turn around this vehicle that is a state, I hope we can rebuild a place to move forward where the next generations can thrive.
At 71 and retired, I've stopped being quiet and polite here in the bright red flyover land of Ohio. I worked for change as a college student and later as a social worker, and was devastated in 2016. It took me a minute to push through the discouragement, but here I am, with no f*cks to give. Democracy is a wonderful experiment for which to fight with all our hearts and minds! Carry on Jess!
So grateful to hear your voice. My big city friends reveal their own « provincialism « by stereotyping residents of rural areas. This makes me crazy ! Your voice is very important
I'm a lot more comfortable thinking about driving my Prius with bumper stickers through Kansas and Missouri on my way back East this spring. I've done this trip since the mid-90s, and have had NO incidents. It is so easy for us human being folk to make up incidents in our mind.
I'm going to practice the practice of giving up "make believe"
Excellent, Jess. Thank you. You’re a model of hope for my own belief that at least some of the MAGA people are there because they’ve been harmed by health care costs and employers who slice and chop jobs to remove benefits and cut hours. Of course they’re angry. They’re victimized and frightened. I hope we can reach them.
That is so true and nobody needs to hear it more than the Tennessee Democratic Party and the National Democratic Party as well. Our Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 2022 was left high and dry and barely even able to run a very tiny handful of TV ads because the party couldn’t be bothered to treat the race like a real race. So of course he got completely steamrolled and we are stuck with Bill Lee again. Our 2024 Senate candidate Gloria Johnson is working hard to fundraise on her own but I’ll bet the DSC and the state party just throw up their hands and decide she has no chance, even though I don’t know anyone who has ever said they actually like Marsha Blackburn. Tennessee has been written off when we need help the most. Our Republicans aren’t just conservative, they are antidemocratic and oppressive.
I too am concerned about the lack of support from the DNC and MO Democratic leadership here. Maybe we need to start a messaging campaign targeting the leadership. It often seems they are asleep at the wheel.
Thanks so much. Until very recently, we lived in the country north of Columbia — part of a red sea surrounding much more progressive Columbia. During the 2020 election, my husband and I decided to put up campaign signs for every national, state, and local Democratic candidate along the front of our property. We wanted people to know there WERE Democrats in that part of the world!
Jess, I’m so happy to have just discovered your Substack! I was born and raised in south St.Joe so I’m familiar with your location. DeKalb was where my maternal grandparents lived. When I was growing up, things were not as ‘red’ as they are now. I am constantly asked why I don’t move back but two reasons: I don’t care for snow and I like being in a more progressive state.
I don’t make frequent trips back to MO like I used to. Miss some of my friends I grew up with and cousins, but I can no longer hold my tongue when they talk like bigots and such.
I am stuck in St Joseph. Unfortunately my extended family and closest friends are hold my tongue people. Some know where I stand and we withhold some discussions.
Substack, some YouTube, newsletters, podcasts and a few special friends help me not to feel alone.
My friends told me I can’t wear a “Dark Brandon with Mickey Ears” t-shirt when we are at Disney World on Election Day in November. (Might do it anyway…still contemplating.) 😂
I am a loud and proud progressive MO Dem, thankfully living in the KC metro area. But I work at a hospital, and of course we can’t wear anything political or talk politics. And when I first moved into my house in 2019, I wasn’t sure where my neighbors stood on things, so I didn’t want to rock the boat too much. So sometimes I look for things I can do to subtly project my politics and therefore help other progressive folks feel less alone in this red state. For instance:
- I can wear my pronouns on my name badge.
- I have RBG “dissent collar” earrings that just look like pretty silver earrings to those not in the know.
- I can ask 17 and 18 year olds if they have thought about registering to vote.
- I can commiserate with parents when their kids get unceremoniously dumped from Medicaid for no reason and they have to wait on hold for hours to speak to a live human…my response is “You know, I hear about this sort of thing all the time. Missouri Medicaid is really very good insurance for kids, but our state sure doesn’t fund the staffing well. I think about all of the stories like yours every time I go vote.”
- I have a garden flag that doesn’t identify a party or candidate, but says “In this house, we believe that *Science is real, *Black lives matter, *No human is illegal, *Women rights are human rights, *Love is love”
- I can talk about my grandpa, who was a mailman and leader of the Wichita branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers union for many years.
So while I am not shy about being open, talkative, and argumentative about politics, I think there’s also a lot of value in building a progressive “underground railroad” of sorts…not to help people escape, but to help people find the path to the political representation that we all deserve.
Thank you. I live in one of the reddest regions of Northern California mostly I keep my thoughts to my self. Not any more. You give me courage.
Yesssss!
Look for the people who don't say anything when the MAGAts start up on politics. That person might be an ally. Good luck.
That's exactly what I thought in 2016. Now I don't take anything for granted. Biden's age, and the border issue plus the Israeli-Hamas horrors throw spanners into the works. It's all in the messaging and, in the final analysis, the turnout.
You are right, Bill. Turnout will be the key. And on top of the factors you mentioned, which I agree with, banning TikTok right now is a bad political move. I know they are infiltrated with garbage and the prospect of election interference is great, but I think we need to weigh what that will do the under 30 voting bloc. They are already meh about Biden and I fear that if TikTok is banned, they will put the entire blame on Biden.
And it doesn't help that Biden is okay with the TikTok divestiture bill.
The Indiana house Republican who is retiring in a weekish, Gallagher?, is going to work for Palantir. Peter Thiel's data mining firm. I don't know, he seems evil. I'll take my chances with the Chinese, thank you very much.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mike-gallagher-tiktok-ban-palantir-1234993167/
I’m going to save this post and return to it whenever I feel down because this is how we’re going to get our country back.
Yes, my friend. This is the way.
That's great Jess. I live in a district with a Republican US Representative and one that has been in office for a long time. The district is gerrymandered so our residence in a split portion of the district also stretches into rural Franklin County. I write to her regularly and get back canned responses. Never holds an open meeting with her constituents. So I contributed to a Democrat running in our former district.
Thank you for having been a presence in the state House overwhelmed by Ag-businessmen and MAGAs.
I now live in Chicago, but grew up in a small Illinois town of 5000, but my grandparents lived 9 miles away in Decker, Indiana, a town then of 200. My Granny was a Democrat through and through. She hung a picture of JFK in her dinning room. I hope you run again. To quote Pat Schroeder, “ You can’t wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time”. She spent her political career working for the common good, focusing on women’s rights . She passed away a year ago today. She is missed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Schroeder
Thanks so much for this perspective. I live in the little blue bubble of Kansas City MO and have a tendency to paint all rural areas with the same red brush. Good to be reminded otherwise.
Me, too.
Golly, your post brought this Californian almost to tears. Goosebumps for sure. Seems amazing that I, on the West coast since I was seven (now 77), feel that we're alone in our progressive political positions, alienated from our country. The reds straining at the bit to take the country in a different direction, and us blues trying to maintain those democratic principles of voting, giving everyone their civil rights, saving the environment, regulating business and incomes and educating a majority. Thank you for standing up in rural America, for fairness and activism.
I'm old enough to remember when we didn't have to whisper because the ruling Republicans would do us harm if they know what our political beliefs really were. But I think this is the state we're in right now.
I subscribed to your blog because of what you posted today. There's no point in crowing about freedom if we don't know what it's like to live in the red states. And OMG, how these hoodwinked fools may lead us into fascism. Hiding your opinions only helps these MAGA morons to take over our country.
Greetings from Rochester NY ( home to Susan B Anthony and Frederick Douglas). I am sending so much love and good energy to my progressive patriots in the south. I admire you all. Thank you, Jess for all you do!
Hi Alson. It's funny that you mentioned the south. I live in Missouri not too far from the Missouri River, but I never thought of myself as living in the south. Missouri used to be a much more progressive state until the shenanigans of that non-progressive party got us gerrymandered and reconfigured and I don't know what else that gave them so much power. With Jess and others who are trying to turn around this vehicle that is a state, I hope we can rebuild a place to move forward where the next generations can thrive.
Love your last sentence! It inspires me to keep moving, working, speaking, and loving. Take care!
I lived in Rochester for 20 years 1977-98, and went to the U of R.
Cool. Great school! I know our winters are sometimes brutal, but I am grateful to live in a Blue state. Take care !
At 71 and retired, I've stopped being quiet and polite here in the bright red flyover land of Ohio. I worked for change as a college student and later as a social worker, and was devastated in 2016. It took me a minute to push through the discouragement, but here I am, with no f*cks to give. Democracy is a wonderful experiment for which to fight with all our hearts and minds! Carry on Jess!
Yes!
So grateful to hear your voice. My big city friends reveal their own « provincialism « by stereotyping residents of rural areas. This makes me crazy ! Your voice is very important
Those of us in our 70s came of age as Flower Children. Hallelujah, some of us are still unreconstructed.
And in the early years of our 80s!
I'm a lot more comfortable thinking about driving my Prius with bumper stickers through Kansas and Missouri on my way back East this spring. I've done this trip since the mid-90s, and have had NO incidents. It is so easy for us human being folk to make up incidents in our mind.
I'm going to practice the practice of giving up "make believe"
Excellent, Jess. Thank you. You’re a model of hope for my own belief that at least some of the MAGA people are there because they’ve been harmed by health care costs and employers who slice and chop jobs to remove benefits and cut hours. Of course they’re angry. They’re victimized and frightened. I hope we can reach them.
That is so true and nobody needs to hear it more than the Tennessee Democratic Party and the National Democratic Party as well. Our Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 2022 was left high and dry and barely even able to run a very tiny handful of TV ads because the party couldn’t be bothered to treat the race like a real race. So of course he got completely steamrolled and we are stuck with Bill Lee again. Our 2024 Senate candidate Gloria Johnson is working hard to fundraise on her own but I’ll bet the DSC and the state party just throw up their hands and decide she has no chance, even though I don’t know anyone who has ever said they actually like Marsha Blackburn. Tennessee has been written off when we need help the most. Our Republicans aren’t just conservative, they are antidemocratic and oppressive.
I too am concerned about the lack of support from the DNC and MO Democratic leadership here. Maybe we need to start a messaging campaign targeting the leadership. It often seems they are asleep at the wheel.
This is why I donate to Lucas Kunce and Blue Missouri to keep my $$$ in Missouri.
Thanks so much. Until very recently, we lived in the country north of Columbia — part of a red sea surrounding much more progressive Columbia. During the 2020 election, my husband and I decided to put up campaign signs for every national, state, and local Democratic candidate along the front of our property. We wanted people to know there WERE Democrats in that part of the world!
Jess, I’m so happy to have just discovered your Substack! I was born and raised in south St.Joe so I’m familiar with your location. DeKalb was where my maternal grandparents lived. When I was growing up, things were not as ‘red’ as they are now. I am constantly asked why I don’t move back but two reasons: I don’t care for snow and I like being in a more progressive state.
I don’t make frequent trips back to MO like I used to. Miss some of my friends I grew up with and cousins, but I can no longer hold my tongue when they talk like bigots and such.
I taught for a couple of years on the South Side :) Solidarity!
We probably know some of the same people I’m sure.
I spent time at Spring Garden and Benton.
BHS grad.
I am stuck in St Joseph. Unfortunately my extended family and closest friends are hold my tongue people. Some know where I stand and we withhold some discussions.
Substack, some YouTube, newsletters, podcasts and a few special friends help me not to feel alone.
My friends told me I can’t wear a “Dark Brandon with Mickey Ears” t-shirt when we are at Disney World on Election Day in November. (Might do it anyway…still contemplating.) 😂
I am a loud and proud progressive MO Dem, thankfully living in the KC metro area. But I work at a hospital, and of course we can’t wear anything political or talk politics. And when I first moved into my house in 2019, I wasn’t sure where my neighbors stood on things, so I didn’t want to rock the boat too much. So sometimes I look for things I can do to subtly project my politics and therefore help other progressive folks feel less alone in this red state. For instance:
- I can wear my pronouns on my name badge.
- I have RBG “dissent collar” earrings that just look like pretty silver earrings to those not in the know.
- I can ask 17 and 18 year olds if they have thought about registering to vote.
- I can commiserate with parents when their kids get unceremoniously dumped from Medicaid for no reason and they have to wait on hold for hours to speak to a live human…my response is “You know, I hear about this sort of thing all the time. Missouri Medicaid is really very good insurance for kids, but our state sure doesn’t fund the staffing well. I think about all of the stories like yours every time I go vote.”
- I have a garden flag that doesn’t identify a party or candidate, but says “In this house, we believe that *Science is real, *Black lives matter, *No human is illegal, *Women rights are human rights, *Love is love”
- I can talk about my grandpa, who was a mailman and leader of the Wichita branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers union for many years.
So while I am not shy about being open, talkative, and argumentative about politics, I think there’s also a lot of value in building a progressive “underground railroad” of sorts…not to help people escape, but to help people find the path to the political representation that we all deserve.