America the Beautiful: An American Political RP (IC)

[Gordano and Lysandus]

"As long as we can mitigate the effects of the Republican tomfoolery in Texas and Florida, we'll be in a good spot I suppose."

He paused for a moment, taking a sip of his water.

"I wanted to ask, what do you think of...uhhh....give me a moment here..."

He checked his notes from earlier on the NYC candidate.

"Payne, AJ Payne. Running in the city, I think you've seen his speech at this point."

"Of course, I pay attention to everything that happens in the city. Looks pretty solid. Not a massive fan of his Iraq activism but he's otherwise pretty in line with the party, especially a New York Democrat. Second black Mayor of New York wouldn't be bad for us going into 2022."

[Helliniki Katastasis]

Wisconsin Campaign Ad

(Dramatic piano music plays as President Richardson appears on screen, in the center of a black screen. A rough outline of his head is surrounded by a red line that drips like blood at the bottom of the photo. This same texture appears on all other images.)



A male narrator that sounds somewhere between Morgan Freeman and Jack Black begins speaking.

"President Richardson and congressional Republicans would prefer not to focus on the facts. Recently, he brushed off the problem of homelessness and instead talked about mental health treatment."

"Recently, he abandoned the people of Texas as the froze in their homes, saying quote 'I think you should check your numbers… per capita the worst homeless rates are in states like California, Hawaii, New York… Texas isn’t even in the top 20'. Do you want a President that plays partisan politics with the lives of Americans to go unchecked for four years?"



"Maxine Durant and congressional Republicans proposed a bill that would 'help Americans' by giving them a whopping fourteen dollars a week. Does that sound like enough for a pizza, let alone your weekly errands? Not a chance. Maxine Durant voted against the ARA, which provides Americans with the assistance they need. Do the Republicans sound like a party that works for you? Not a chance."



"Dairy Dan wants your wages and your union benefits to be thrown out. Where will that leave millions of Wisconsinites? Out of insurance, Out of money, and Out of luck. He says he wants to bring a business mindset to Washington. That is, the kind of business mindset that leaves an entire city in a deep deficit. Do you want real leadership for Wisconsin, or one that has our state on thin ice?"



"Christopher Duncan has repeatedly used disgusting language to refer to various groups of people. Do you ant a Senator that calls people "leeches" and "half-braindead sheep"? Do you want a Senator that supports a "big a** electric fence" to keep these people out? Do you want a Senator that refers to a foreign dignitary saying "she looks like she gives a good massage"? Do you want a Senator that has sexually harassed three women, and been accused of domestic violence?"



"Serah Kurian walked around a television set and dropped a scoop of ice cream on a map. We don't need an actor in Congress, who'll act like they care about you, and then turn on their state for the big DC money. Wisconsin, do you want to 'cream China'? Or do you want to have a Senator that works for the people of Wisconsin. Don't let Republicans push their agenda on you - push back."

(Switch to video of sun rising over dairy farm)

"Take a stand. Vote blue this March, for the sake of Wisconsin. "

Paid for by Mick Doherty. Not authorized or requested by any candidate or candidate organization.

[The Orion Islands]

From: Utah Senator Everitt Colbert
To: Wyoming Senator Max O'Halloran
I'll delete two of those tweets. I'll keep the one that only mentions the Defense of the Pacific Act. But be honest Max, is that ice cream ad the mark of an intelligent candidate who is capable of not getting destroyed by Gauthier or Boyd in the general or adequately representing Wisconsin in the Senate? And I will attend that Jackson Hole fundraiser. Send me the time and date.

From: Senator Max O'Halloran
To: Senator Everitt Colbert

Everitt,

I understand your frustrations with Kurian, but we cannot risk isolating a candidate only to have her win the primary. We will not jeopardize our shot at the Majority, understood?

The fundraiser is next Friday night at 9:30 PM. The Bison Falls Resort Ballroom. You're more than welcome to stay the nights before and after at my ranch if you don't feel like flying or driving.

All the best,
-Max.
Sent from my iPhone

From: Utah Senator Everitt Colbert
To: Wyoming Senator Max O'Halloran
I'll flay in to Jackson on Thursday and take you up on your offer to stay at your ranch.

May God Bless You,
Everitt Colbert

[Lavan Tiri]

From: Senator Max O'Halloran
To: Senator Everitt Colbert

Everitt,

I understand your frustrations with Kurian, but we cannot risk isolating a candidate only to have her win the primary. We will not jeopardize our shot at the Majority, understood?

The fundraiser is next Friday night at 9:30 PM. The Bison Falls Resort Ballroom. You're more than welcome to stay the nights before and after at my ranch if you don't feel like flying or driving.

All the best,
-Max.
Sent from my iPhone

From: Utah Senator Everitt Colbert
To: Wyoming Senator Max O'Halloran
I'll flay in to Jackson on Thursday and take you up on your offer to stay at your ranch.

May God Bless You,
Everitt Colbert

From: Senator Max O'Halloran
To: Senator Everitt Colbert

Wonderful. I'll have my grandson Trip pick you up.

[Cybernetic Socialist Republics]

To: Senator Everitt Colbert

From: Representative Serah Kurian

Senator Colbert,

This is Serah Kurian's Chief of Staff Felicity Lee messaging you on behalf of Representative Serah Kurian.

She wanted you to know that she'll still be in Congress regardless of how the Wisconsin special election plays out. The only question is if it'll be as your colleague in the Senate or not.

Probably something you should keep in mind.

Regards,

-The Chief of Staff of Representative Kurian, Felicity Lee

From: Utah Senator Everitt Colbert
To: Wisconsin Representative Serah Kurian
If you want to be my colleague in the Senate, than may I suggest not running ridiculous ads where you drop ice cream on maps and offering sensible, mature leadership.

To: Senator Everitt Colbert

From: Representative Serah Kurian

Sensible, mature leadership is recognizing that you can't fit a manifesto in a 30 second ad. I've been watching candidates putting up adds hundreds of words and multiple minutes long. Who pays attention to that? How expensive is it to run those ads? How frequently can you run them? I try to make a single point quickly and concisely. If people want long form arguments, they watch my town halls or the upcoming debate.

[New Cobastheia]

"Not a problem at all," Hertzog stated as he got up and led the Attorney General to a separate room in the house that seemed to be the home office where the two of them could have a private conversation.

Sitting down he'd speak up once they had both settled in, "So, let's start then. Obviously one of my biggest concerns is figuring out which one of you two is a better candidate, care to give me your pitch then?"

“Of course. While I’ll cede to the Congressman that in terms of overall experience, he is decades ahead of me, he has not held a state-wide office in Wisconsin, nor has he had to run against a challenging Republican candidate who might be tapping into Wolfism. Not only have I held statewide office, I’ve actively used it to protect Wisconsinites from polluters, from those who violate our gun laws, from cop killers. I intend to bring an active progressivism to the Senate: whatever will move our country forward and bring tangible results to my constituents - aligned with our platform and ideals, of course - is what I’ll push for. If needed, and I’m assuming it will be needed frequently, I’ll work with Democratic and Republican Senators to introduce and pass legislation that’ll bring good paying union jobs to WI and the rest of the Rust Belt. For WI in particular, we can lead the country in the manufacturing of new water delivery systems, but only if Congress can pass Made in America legislation to ensure that American steel and manufacturers are used - which is what I’d intend to work on.

“We also need to ensure that any infrastructure bill has safety rails in it to guarantee that infrastructure projects are equitable and environmentally sound. We will lose voters - literally in some cases of forced relocation - if we go back to the days of cities and states running freeways through Black neighborhoods, and especially if we do nothing to ensure that those communities are taken care of. This will be a turnout game, and I don’t know about who the Republicans might choose, but my biggest fear is that Congressman Boyd would depress Black turnout where it’s most concentrated. As I said, I’d endorse him and do whatever it took to get him across the finish line if the party nominated him, but the Black community in Wisconsin has, more or less, been the linchpin to my success. If he doesn’t win them over, where they’re actively campaigning for him on the same level they campaigned for me, then we will lose Wisconsin.”

"Do you have any concerns about your ability to get votes in the Southwest part of the state, especially considering Boyd has represented that part of the State since the 90s? As far as I'm concerned we need as much turnout as possible from both those types of voters and Black voters if we want to win this race."

[New Cobastheia]

"Not a problem at all," Hertzog stated as he got up and led the Attorney General to a separate room in the house that seemed to be the home office where the two of them could have a private conversation.

Sitting down he'd speak up once they had both settled in, "So, let's start then. Obviously one of my biggest concerns is figuring out which one of you two is a better candidate, care to give me your pitch then?"

---

Meanwhile, back in the living room, Matilda would be left with the Representative, "So... the Senate, what led to that decision if you don't mind me asking?"

"I simply felt that I needed to run for the seat, in order to help advance the Democratic agenda. I feel that I'm electable enough - having built a winning coalition in a rural seat for the past 24 years - along with my experience at national politics, working with Jackson, [not-Harkin], Clifford, [not-Gore], Baharia, Baginski, Diehl, along with my first chairmanship of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where I helped swing House and Senate seats through fundraising and organisation. I also worked with [not-Feingold] back in the day, and so I'm at least somewhat familiar with Wisconsin state politics. I really just want to make sure that this seat goes to a Democrat who'll stand up for our values, who'll stand up and hold the banner of justice in this country, and I feel that I can do that. But if the primary voters don't have confidence in me and pick Gauthier instead, I'll go hell for rubber campaigning for her to make sure that she wins against whoever the Republicans put up, because it is impossible to understate the importance of this seat to the people in this country who are suffering, who are left behind and who are being ignored by the Republican Party in favour of their big money pharma and oil donors."

"You can save the pitch for my Husband you know, but I can see you're concerned about these types of things and this seat as much as the rest of us. I take it you got into politics for the same reasons you're running for the Senate."

[Yaruqo]

"Do you have any concerns about your ability to get votes in the Southwest part of the state, especially considering Boyd has represented that part of the State since the 90s? As far as I'm concerned we need as much turnout as possible from both those types of voters and Black voters if we want to win this race."

“Certainly, and I’m sure we both have our own strengths and weaknesses, especially when it comes to who we might appeal to. If I was to win the nomination, the Congressman would be a central part of my strategy to turning out voters there. I am not ignorant of the challenges ahead of me, Senator, nor am I ignorant of which voters we need to turn out to vote. We need the right message, and messenger, that will inspire the most Democrats and Democratic-friendly voters to come out this March. As you said, the Congressman has represented his district since the 1990s, that is a strength, one that could help him. However, let’s be frank: is his message the winning one? Are they in touch with what voters want? And it’s not simply a matter of policy anymore, it’s a matter of how it is conveyed, what language we use. Take policing: I am a Black woman, married to a Black man, mother to a Black child. When the Black Lives Matter movement took its most recent form after the death of notMichaelBrown, and then again with the death of every Black man, woman, and child at the hands of police…the more ‘woke’ advocates, particularly white, college educated folks who never could step a mile in my heels, talked up all this ‘defund the police’ stuff.

“Do you know how hard that made my 2018 election? How that will loom over me because some spoiled types think that’s what Black people want and some people gave them a bullhorn and a news camera in front of them? So I’ve had to work twice as hard to make the language down-to-earth, in touch with the voters. It’s worked for me so far. My concern is I don’t know if Congressman Boyd will be able to avoid the bait, or will be able to convey policies that way in an age where the likes of President Wolf have poisoned far too many people. I don’t know…maybe I’m overreacting, or overthinking it.”

[Sarenium]

“Look in the days to come I promise plenty of questions will be asked about what could have been done better at all levels and until we have a detailed breakdown of what exactly broke down and why, it think it would be premature for me do give any kind of policy prescription … but it’s important to remember this was the worst it’s been in 70 years.”

——

“We just passed the ARA which includes Hundreds of billions in support for the homeless population, addiction treatment and mental health assistance, low cost housing and shelter programs…. programs like snap as well have been funded to a massive degree.”

“As for Texas specifically I think you should check your numbers… per capita the worst homeless rates are in states like California, Hawaii, New York… if memory serves Texas isn’t even in the top 20 despite its massive population growth.”

Watching from behind the scenes, the Press Secretary buried his face in his hands and groaned, going to send one of his deputies to fetch someone from the Comms staff to tell him who gave the President some of his talking points, and to send an urgent memo to the Chief of Staff to tell him to turn his television set on.

"Addiction treatment. Wonder how good that works on fucking hypothermia," he muttered to himself, getting his phone out to start rapidly taking down notes.

Bob had already had a turned on the television, he just turned it up, and watched. Sighing to himself as he took off his glasses. Donovan who was in the office with him as they were discussing something stared agape, "shall I get him off?"

"Too fucking late for that," Bob sat down, "HILDA!"

Hilda entered the room, "yes?"

"Set aside time for me to speak to the President this afternoon," the President answered the addiction question, "make that as early as possible, get Bryan in with us. Tell Bryan if the opportunity gets there, to get POTUS away from a microphone."

[The Sarangtus Lands]

"I simply felt that I needed to run for the seat, in order to help advance the Democratic agenda. I feel that I'm electable enough - having built a winning coalition in a rural seat for the past 24 years - along with my experience at national politics, working with Jackson, [not-Harkin], Clifford, [not-Gore], Baharia, Baginski, Diehl, along with my first chairmanship of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where I helped swing House and Senate seats through fundraising and organisation. I also worked with [not-Feingold] back in the day, and so I'm at least somewhat familiar with Wisconsin state politics. I really just want to make sure that this seat goes to a Democrat who'll stand up for our values, who'll stand up and hold the banner of justice in this country, and I feel that I can do that. But if the primary voters don't have confidence in me and pick Gauthier instead, I'll go hell for rubber campaigning for her to make sure that she wins against whoever the Republicans put up, because it is impossible to understate the importance of this seat to the people in this country who are suffering, who are left behind and who are being ignored by the Republican Party in favour of their big money pharma and oil donors."

"You can save the pitch for my Husband you know, but I can see you're concerned about these types of things and this seat as much as the rest of us. I take it you got into politics for the same reasons you're running for the Senate."

"Ah, I'm sorry," Boyd said laughing, "I just got a bit carried away there. But yes, that's why I got into politics, I suppose, although a bit of it was just looking for a purpose in life. After I came home from Vietnam, I went to La Crosse, and I found a job there as a janitor, but obviously it wasn't paying enough for all the bills coming in, so I had to wait tables at the bar. Honestly, all those entitled people, but also all the drunks. It's a sad sight, seeing all those men drink themselves to death with no purpose. And it's much worse since back then..."

[Sarenium]

Jack Vichter
@JackVichter

---

Unhoused, unsheltered and vulnerable Americans - some veterans, some fleeing violent households and some going through the toughest time of their lives are being exposed to extreme weather conditions. The President of the United States just blatantly lied, there is not 'hundreds of billions of dollars' for housing solutions, and telling Texans, Iowans and other Americans who are struggling to get through the night to be thankful they're not living in New York or California shows is downright disappointing, to put it lightly. This is disheartening, and discouraging, and makes me rethink the President's sincerity on working with all Americans if he's trying to put us against each other on the basis of state lines.

[Gordano and Lysandus]

(Image)
Jack Vichter
@JackVichter

---

Unhoused, unsheltered and vulnerable Americans - some veterans, some fleeing violent households and some going through the toughest time of their lives are being exposed to extreme weather conditions. The President of the United States just blatantly lied, there is not 'hundreds of billions of dollars' for housing solutions, and telling Texans, Iowans and other Americans who are struggling to get through the night to be thankful they're not living in New York or California shows is downright disappointing, to put it lightly. This is disheartening, and discouraging, and makes me rethink the President's sincerity on working with all Americans if he's trying to put us against each other on the basis of state lines.

Liked and retweeted by @SenatorObradovic.

[Yaruqo]

(Image)
Jack Vichter
@JackVichter

---

Unhoused, unsheltered and vulnerable Americans - some veterans, some fleeing violent households and some going through the toughest time of their lives are being exposed to extreme weather conditions. The President of the United States just blatantly lied, there is not 'hundreds of billions of dollars' for housing solutions, and telling Texans, Iowans and other Americans who are struggling to get through the night to be thankful they're not living in New York or California shows is downright disappointing, to put it lightly. This is disheartening, and discouraging, and makes me rethink the President's sincerity on working with all Americans if he's trying to put us against each other on the basis of state lines.

*retweeted by @RepMillerKS and @Gauthier4Senate*

[New Cobastheia]

(Image)
Jack Vichter
@JackVichter

---

Unhoused, unsheltered and vulnerable Americans - some veterans, some fleeing violent households and some going through the toughest time of their lives are being exposed to extreme weather conditions. The President of the United States just blatantly lied, there is not 'hundreds of billions of dollars' for housing solutions, and telling Texans, Iowans and other Americans who are struggling to get through the night to be thankful they're not living in New York or California shows is downright disappointing, to put it lightly. This is disheartening, and discouraging, and makes me rethink the President's sincerity on working with all Americans if he's trying to put us against each other on the basis of state lines.

Liked and Retweeted by @SenBenHertzog

[Sarenium]

CNN
@CNN

---

Harris County officials confirm that overnight, there were four deaths. Houston now enters it's second day with no power. Across the state there were twenty-two overnight deaths.

[Sarenium]

CNN
@CNN

---

Power has been returned to some Texans in the Northwest of the state but on the whole, for most Texans this will mark their second day with no power or heating - an additional death to last night's tally has been added, this one from Tyler in Smith County. State authorities are confident they'll be able to restore power statewide in the next forty-eight hours.

[Gordano and Lysandus]

Carrie Simone
@SpeakerSimone
simone.house.gov | New York, NY

---

At a time when people are dying from tragic events in Texas, the President is blasé and uncaring. It's an appalling display from the White House, and exactly the kind of low that this Administration promised to be a departure from.

[Lavan Tiri]

A reporter from CNN spoke up first, "Mr. President, do you think that the politically-motivated separation of the Texas power interconnection from the rest of the United States to avoid federal oversight contributed to and exacerbated the failure of the grid, and hampers the ability to support the local power network on a federal level?"

---

And then a reporter from MSNBC, "Mr. President, there's been a long term failure to take substantive action on homelessness, and people with no permanent shelter are most at risk from extreme weather incidences like this. Texas has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country. What will your Administration do to lessen this issue in future?"

“Look in the days to come I promise plenty of questions will be asked about what could have been done better at all levels and until we have a detailed breakdown of what exactly broke down and why, it think it would be premature for me do give any kind of policy prescription … but it’s important to remember this was the worst it’s been in 70 years.”

——

“We just passed the ARA which includes Hundreds of billions in support for the homeless population, addiction treatment and mental health assistance, low cost housing and shelter programs…. programs like snap as well have been funded to a massive degree.”

“As for Texas specifically I think you should check your numbers… per capita the worst homeless rates are in states like California, Hawaii, New York… if memory serves Texas isn’t even in the top 20 despite its massive population growth.”

A sharply dressed reporter rose to speak. "Mr. President, Ivan Jerganoff, Buzzfeed. How soon can Texans affected by this storm expect Federal aid money?"

[Kargintinia]

A.J. Payne
@PastorAJ
Payne4mayor.com | New York, New York

---

In time of crisis, there is no room for fiscal austerity. #PrayforTexas

---

[Dentali]

President Richardson
White House Press Conference


“Good Morning… A few minutes ago, after consultation with FEMA and the Governor of Texas I signed an official disaster declaration for the state of Texas and ordered federal agencies to supplement state and local recovery efforts already in progress.”

“As most of you already know, on February 10th, the Gulf Coast was hit with a once in a decade Winter Storm, which dropped a significant amount of snow, ice, and sleet in an area stretching from Texas to Georgia, and reaching as far north as the Ohio Valley before turning northeast to hit New England. As a result millions of people have lost power and a number of deaths have been reported, and that number is expected to rise...”

“Cities such as Dallas have recorded the lowest temperature in over 70 years causing almost every type of energy source to fail. Millions of Texas are now without heat and power in below zero temperatures. As soon as the Governor asked for assistance I authorized the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to coordinate disaster relief efforts to try and alleviate the suffering Americans in Texas. They are doing all in their power to provide appropriate assistance and emergency measures to keep people safe in all 254 counties.”

“All federal equipment and resources will be administered by Jerry S Thomas, who has been named Federal Coordinating Officer for the affected areas. Already Generators, Water, Blankets and other materials are on their way, as well as emergency personnel from various federal agencies and other states.”

“Countless churches, community centers, homes, and other locations have already opened their doors to shelter those in need and local groups are assisting in the supply and delivery of vital materials. I ask those in Texas to follow the directions of emergency officials, and if possible to check on their neighbors, especially the elderly and vulnerable… ”

“And I ask all Americans to give their thoughts and prayers to the people of Texas in this dire hour.”

“With that I will turn things over to the FEMA Deputy Administrator (insert name), who will brief you on the specifics of the response…..“

(FEMA Deputy gives a detailed briefing for 5 minutes)

Richardson comes back to to the podium “With that we have a few minutes to take questions.”

An MSNBC reporter speaks up.

"Mr. President, what do you say to critics of yours as well as Governor (Abbott), Senator (Cruz), and other officials who argue the failure of many officials to forsee and act on this once in a lifetime tragedy. Temperatures dipped below zero across Texas and other states. Over four million households across Texas were and are still without power, for multiple days at this point. There were forecasts days ahead of time showing this would be bad, and yet minimal action was taken to protect lives and livelihoods in Texas. My second question is, what actions would you consider to reform the electric grid and possibly negotiate with the state of Texas into converting to the nationwide grid?"

“The primary policy proposal I ran for President on was a massive infrastructure investment which includes an investment in upgrading and securing our National power grid against a number of threats such as extreme weather. As we increase investment and as we learn from this tragedy, of course we will be updating best practices and regulations along with the physical infrastructure of the electrical grid.”

“Now as for your first question… preventing the damage this storm caused would have required totally replacing and upgrading the grid to accommodate for substantial below zero temperatures in Texas. This is not something that could have been done from the time we received a weather report and the time it hit. Texas is a huge state, both in population and physical size and we sent the aid requested by Governor (Not Abbott) as it had been requested.”

“Any number of deaths in a disaster is a tragedy, it’s not acceptable… I promise you we are doing everything in our power to help the people of Texas…”

[Alozia]

Joe Abrahms
@AbrahmsJoe
abrahms.house.gov | Trenton, NJ

---

I, for one, am happy to hear that President Richardson is enthusiastic about billions of dollars in federal funding for housing, mental health and much more. It's a shame congressional GOP didn't share his enthusiasm when we passed the ARA and didn't actually put the aforementioned money in the bill.

[Sarenium]

(Image)
Joe Abrahms
@AbrahmsJoe
abrahms.house.gov | Trenton, NJ

---

I, for one, am happy to hear that President Richardson is enthusiastic about billions of dollars in federal funding for housing, mental health and much more. It's a shame congressional GOP didn't share his enthusiasm when we passed the ARA and didn't actually put the aforementioned money in the bill.

Liked and Retweeted by @JackVichter

[The Sarangtus Lands]

An MSNBC reporter speaks up.

"Mr. President, what do you say to critics of yours as well as Governor (Abbott), Senator (Cruz), and other officials who argue the failure of many officials to forsee and act on this once in a lifetime tragedy. Temperatures dipped below zero across Texas and other states. Over four million households across Texas were and are still without power, for multiple days at this point. There were forecasts days ahead of time showing this would be bad, and yet minimal action was taken to protect lives and livelihoods in Texas. My second question is, what actions would you consider to reform the electric grid and possibly negotiate with the state of Texas into converting to the nationwide grid?"

“The primary policy proposal I ran for President on was a massive infrastructure investment which includes an investment in upgrading and securing our National power grid against a number of threats such as extreme weather. As we increase investment and as we learn from this tragedy, of course we will be updating best practices and regulations along with the physical infrastructure of the electrical grid.”

“Now as for your first question… preventing the damage this storm caused would have required totally replacing and upgrading the grid to accommodate for substantial below zero temperatures in Texas. This is not something that could have been done from the time we received a weather report and the time it hit. Texas is a huge state, both in population and physical size and we sent the aid requested by Governor (Not Abbott) as it had been requested.”

“Any number of deaths in a disaster is a tragedy, it’s not acceptable… I promise you we are doing everything in our power to help the people of Texas…”

The Mother Jones reporter stands up again, "Mr. President, where did the figure of 'hundreds of billions' for unhoused people come from? I would like to know how you came about this figure..."

[New Cobastheia]

"Do you have any concerns about your ability to get votes in the Southwest part of the state, especially considering Boyd has represented that part of the State since the 90s? As far as I'm concerned we need as much turnout as possible from both those types of voters and Black voters if we want to win this race."

“Certainly, and I’m sure we both have our own strengths and weaknesses, especially when it comes to who we might appeal to. If I was to win the nomination, the Congressman would be a central part of my strategy to turning out voters there. I am not ignorant of the challenges ahead of me, Senator, nor am I ignorant of which voters we need to turn out to vote. We need the right message, and messenger, that will inspire the most Democrats and Democratic-friendly voters to come out this March. As you said, the Congressman has represented his district since the 1990s, that is a strength, one that could help him. However, let’s be frank: is his message the winning one? Are they in touch with what voters want? And it’s not simply a matter of policy anymore, it’s a matter of how it is conveyed, what language we use. Take policing: I am a Black woman, married to a Black man, mother to a Black child. When the Black Lives Matter movement took its most recent form after the death of notMichaelBrown, and then again with the death of every Black man, woman, and child at the hands of police…the more ‘woke’ advocates, particularly white, college educated folks who never could step a mile in my heels, talked up all this ‘defund the police’ stuff.

“Do you know how hard that made my 2018 election? How that will loom over me because some spoiled types think that’s what Black people want and some people gave them a bullhorn and a news camera in front of them? So I’ve had to work twice as hard to make the language down-to-earth, in touch with the voters. It’s worked for me so far. My concern is I don’t know if Congressman Boyd will be able to avoid the bait, or will be able to convey policies that way in an age where the likes of President Wolf have poisoned far too many people. I don’t know…maybe I’m overreacting, or overthinking it.”

"Hmmm, so clearly you have some opinions on what Boyd's greatest weakness would be if he's the nominee. What about yourself, what do you think would be your greatest weakness if you end up as the nominee?"

[New Cobastheia]

"You can save the pitch for my Husband you know, but I can see you're concerned about these types of things and this seat as much as the rest of us. I take it you got into politics for the same reasons you're running for the Senate."

"Ah, I'm sorry," Boyd said laughing, "I just got a bit carried away there. But yes, that's why I got into politics, I suppose, although a bit of it was just looking for a purpose in life. After I came home from Vietnam, I went to La Crosse, and I found a job there as a janitor, but obviously it wasn't paying enough for all the bills coming in, so I had to wait tables at the bar. Honestly, all those entitled people, but also all the drunks. It's a sad sight, seeing all those men drink themselves to death with no purpose. And it's much worse since back then..."

"Don't worry about it, Matilda started off with a bit of a chuckle, "It happens to the best of us... but it's always nice to know your heart is in the right place. I as the actually the one who pushed Ben into running for the Senate believe or not, he thought it was kind of tacky but I thought he could do great things in Congress. Do you have a partner back home in La Crosse?"