Hello from SW Minnesota! I am actually running for the MN House of Representatives right now. I stumbled upon your Video's the other night and I was hooked instantly! Keep the great content coming!
Michael! Hi! And holy cow thanks for running for office. I was just in the middle of whipping up some hotdish for you because that's so awesome. How can we support your campaign? Tell us interesting/terrifying stuff about it if you want to. And lastly, a fun fact - I was the rural outreach coordinator for Eliizabeth Warren and spent about a year in Iowa for that job. Love the Minnesota spill over on that northern Iowa border... *pushes up nerd glasses*
That is wild! What a small world! There really isn't anything terrifying so far with my campaign besides random people calling me a fucking dickhead or a baby killer at parades. The most frustrating thing is, when going door to door, I can converse with someone for 5-10 minutes. They seem to like our conversation, and then they say, 'Wait, what party are you running for?" When I tell them I am running as a DFL candidate(The democratic party in MN), they hand me my stuff back and end the conversation.
Anyway, that is just a tiny little vent for the morning. Most people need to realize, especially in rural areas, that the spread is not that big, even in traditionally Red regions. There are more Democrats in a given area than people realize. I have run into many 'Closet Democrats, ' as they call themselves, who do not want to rock the boat with their neighbors. They don't realize that their neighbors told me the exact same story. I encourage everyone to reach out to their county DFL chapters, especially in Rural areas, because they need all the help they can get.
It is more important than ever to vote blue. In my opinion, the republicans are putting up some of the craziest candidates we have ever seen. I am often reminded of one of my favorite poems, First They Came - by Pastor Martin Niemoller(https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/first-they-came-by-pastor-martin-niemoller/). I had never planned to run for office. I am a computer nerd who would enjoy nothing more than sitting at home and playing DotA. But I read too many motivational cat posters as a child.
If anyone wants to know more, ask! My life is an open book. Also, my website is linked in my profile.
" I have run into many 'Closet Democrats, ' as they call themselves, who do not want to rock the boat with their neighbors. They don't realize that their neighbors told me the exact same story. "
This. In my experience as a rural democrat and occasional operative, I can't tell you how much I agree with this. Social proof is a big factor in why this shift went so far so fast. It's hard to stick out around the people you see everyday, and the rightwing media network does an excellent job convincing people that they're neighbors are all alike.
Hello from Anchorage, AK! Saw your TikTok and figured I'd like to hear more. Really frustrated right now because it feels like, even with Ranked Choice Voting, our ineffective governor is going to be reelected. Hoping that doesn't happen, but the other candidates have been campaigning against each other instead of against him, and it feels like they'll split the vote too much. Fingers crossed for a better outcome!
Alaska, wow. So I'm stuck on Alaskan bush plane tok over here on my FYP and I'm not necessarily mad about it.
The ranked choice voting though. I would love an Alaskans perspective on that. Share if you want. Maybe some local press or explainers about it? Orrrrr me and other interested parties will set to google about it. Very interested in Ranked Choice IRV.
Alaska has a lot of great things going for it! I'm born and raised here (with a few years outside for college), and while there are some things I miss out on (sporting events, decently priced concerts, road trips across state lines), my family is here and I mostly like it.
I'm really happy with how the first instance of RCV turned out! Not being locked into a party primary was nice (I'm registered unaffiliated), although the open primary with 40 candidates and only 1 vote (initial vote for Don Young's seat) was a bit too much. That being said, being able to vote for one candidate and then not having to stick with the same party because I picked that ballot was nice. That let me vote for Lisa Murkowski (because the other options were alt right no gos) but also let me vote for Mary Peltola! And a lot of what I heard after results were tallied was that this really bore out - letting people have actual choice in their voting that isn't artificially limited by a Republican or Democratic ballot let's them make choices that actually reflect who they want to represent them!
I am happy to join your eclectic mix of subscribers. I am on TikTok as a KPop creator and I stumbled on your content. I live in Seattle, WA and have learned so much about life in small town parts of the country where economies are struggling. You have contributed to my deprogramming that unions are bad for the country. Thank you for expanding my awareness.
Stephanie! You're definitely adding to our gang of bandits here with the K Pop. Love it. And I'm so glad you've stuck around for the union content. I come from a small business family, so the default line on unions wasn't great either. But with experience lived and learned I've obviosly come around and I hope others do too.
Hello from SW Minnesota! I am actually running for the MN House of Representatives right now. I stumbled upon your Video's the other night and I was hooked instantly! Keep the great content coming!
Michael! Hi! And holy cow thanks for running for office. I was just in the middle of whipping up some hotdish for you because that's so awesome. How can we support your campaign? Tell us interesting/terrifying stuff about it if you want to. And lastly, a fun fact - I was the rural outreach coordinator for Eliizabeth Warren and spent about a year in Iowa for that job. Love the Minnesota spill over on that northern Iowa border... *pushes up nerd glasses*
That is wild! What a small world! There really isn't anything terrifying so far with my campaign besides random people calling me a fucking dickhead or a baby killer at parades. The most frustrating thing is, when going door to door, I can converse with someone for 5-10 minutes. They seem to like our conversation, and then they say, 'Wait, what party are you running for?" When I tell them I am running as a DFL candidate(The democratic party in MN), they hand me my stuff back and end the conversation.
Anyway, that is just a tiny little vent for the morning. Most people need to realize, especially in rural areas, that the spread is not that big, even in traditionally Red regions. There are more Democrats in a given area than people realize. I have run into many 'Closet Democrats, ' as they call themselves, who do not want to rock the boat with their neighbors. They don't realize that their neighbors told me the exact same story. I encourage everyone to reach out to their county DFL chapters, especially in Rural areas, because they need all the help they can get.
It is more important than ever to vote blue. In my opinion, the republicans are putting up some of the craziest candidates we have ever seen. I am often reminded of one of my favorite poems, First They Came - by Pastor Martin Niemoller(https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/first-they-came-by-pastor-martin-niemoller/). I had never planned to run for office. I am a computer nerd who would enjoy nothing more than sitting at home and playing DotA. But I read too many motivational cat posters as a child.
If anyone wants to know more, ask! My life is an open book. Also, my website is linked in my profile.
" I have run into many 'Closet Democrats, ' as they call themselves, who do not want to rock the boat with their neighbors. They don't realize that their neighbors told me the exact same story. "
This. In my experience as a rural democrat and occasional operative, I can't tell you how much I agree with this. Social proof is a big factor in why this shift went so far so fast. It's hard to stick out around the people you see everyday, and the rightwing media network does an excellent job convincing people that they're neighbors are all alike.
Hello from Anchorage, AK! Saw your TikTok and figured I'd like to hear more. Really frustrated right now because it feels like, even with Ranked Choice Voting, our ineffective governor is going to be reelected. Hoping that doesn't happen, but the other candidates have been campaigning against each other instead of against him, and it feels like they'll split the vote too much. Fingers crossed for a better outcome!
Alaska, wow. So I'm stuck on Alaskan bush plane tok over here on my FYP and I'm not necessarily mad about it.
The ranked choice voting though. I would love an Alaskans perspective on that. Share if you want. Maybe some local press or explainers about it? Orrrrr me and other interested parties will set to google about it. Very interested in Ranked Choice IRV.
Alaska has a lot of great things going for it! I'm born and raised here (with a few years outside for college), and while there are some things I miss out on (sporting events, decently priced concerts, road trips across state lines), my family is here and I mostly like it.
I'm really happy with how the first instance of RCV turned out! Not being locked into a party primary was nice (I'm registered unaffiliated), although the open primary with 40 candidates and only 1 vote (initial vote for Don Young's seat) was a bit too much. That being said, being able to vote for one candidate and then not having to stick with the same party because I picked that ballot was nice. That let me vote for Lisa Murkowski (because the other options were alt right no gos) but also let me vote for Mary Peltola! And a lot of what I heard after results were tallied was that this really bore out - letting people have actual choice in their voting that isn't artificially limited by a Republican or Democratic ballot let's them make choices that actually reflect who they want to represent them!
YES! That sounds a lot better than the current situation which is making a lot of people.... annoyed consistently
Alaska Public Media did a lot of RCV reporting, here's some thoughts after everything was settled: https://alaskapublic.org/2022/09/07/five-takeaway-lessons-from-alaskas-first-ranked-choice-election/
I am happy to join your eclectic mix of subscribers. I am on TikTok as a KPop creator and I stumbled on your content. I live in Seattle, WA and have learned so much about life in small town parts of the country where economies are struggling. You have contributed to my deprogramming that unions are bad for the country. Thank you for expanding my awareness.
Stephanie! You're definitely adding to our gang of bandits here with the K Pop. Love it. And I'm so glad you've stuck around for the union content. I come from a small business family, so the default line on unions wasn't great either. But with experience lived and learned I've obviosly come around and I hope others do too.
proud of u bud
Ah man! Shout out to Portsmouth fam right here
Look everyone! It's James!