Cao for Great Lakes Senate – Ain't No Mountain (We'll Be Back)

[PSOL]

If any federalist should be elected, I am at least glad it will be you.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Congrats!

[thumb21]

Congratulations on your well deserved win!

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Congratulations! I'm excited to see the great things you'll do this session!

[Rep Jessica]

Congrats on your victory!

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Cao, you are one of the best things that has happened for this game and especially for the Federalist Party this year, Congrats on your victory.

[Joseph Cao]

Live from Campaign HQ in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois

It's been a really down-to-the-wire election, but now that the Secretary of Federal Elections has officially certified the votes and my own reelection alongside the election of the rest of the Federalist ticket, it's my honor to once again be granted and accept the opportunity to serve in Congress! My sincere thanks go to the voters who came out this weekend to give voice to the events of the past two months; Atlasia is at its best when we elected representatives get feedback from as many of our constituents as we can and we most certainly have made great strides in that over the past few days. To the folks from across the political spectrum who voted for me: thank you for your trust, and I'll do my best to keep up my end of it by being a representative for all of you. To all my fellow Federalists who came out in support of our ticket and got us to where we are now, on the way to higher ground: let's keep up the fight for our principles and for the values that make Atlasia truly great, because we've some way to go yet before we get there. But I believe we will get there.

To my fellow candidates, Labor and Federalist and DA and Liberal and Green alike, those who were elected and those who sadly weren't, it's been a great pleasure to run with you all. I'd like especially to wish Representative gracile and former Representative Poirot well in their future endeavors. While the House is still technically in no overall control, we Federalists are of course open to collaborating with representatives from all parties for the betterment of Atlasian citizens; I look forward to working with my incoming colleagues and to a productive and interesting session. Whatever role I might play, I assure you all that I'll do my best to live up to the responsibility you've given me through my reelection. And I hope this goes to the rest of my fellow representatives and representatives-elect as well, because at risk of being cliché, please note that your power comes with great responsibility.

Let's do our best to hit the ground running. The nation needs us to.

Thank you all, and Dave bless Atlasia.

[Tamika Jackson]

Congratulations and I look forward to working with you!

[SevenEleven]

Class of June 2020, represent! Congrats, buddy! It looks like we are going to have to be the active and experienced voices to usher in a new era and I couldn't think of a better partner in that task.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

congratulations on your election!

[Joseph Cao]

Bloomington-Normal, Illinois

Good evening, my fellow Atlasians. Thank you for tuning in, and my thoughts go out to you all in these uncertain times.

Four months ago this nation sent a previously unelected newcomer to our nation’s halls of power. My position then and now is entirely due to you all, you citizens of this great nation of ours, and in the course of my six-month journey from uninformed voter to Speaker of the House I’ve made sure never to forget this. The least I’ve been able to do in return has been exactly what I promised then – to be a voice and a listening ear for heard and unheard voices across Atlasia, for rural folks and city slickers, for hardworking men and women and all who struggle each day to make ends meet. It has been a great privilege to be able to work for you all as a representative, and an added honor to serve as Speaker this House session. In both capacities I’ve done my level best to bring honesty and competency and a fair shake for all Atlasians to the halls of Nyman.

And a fair shake is exactly what Atlasians continue to need as a pandemic rages in our daily lives and as we face rising uneasiness at the economic, environmental, and sociological direction of our nation and of the world. It continues to fall to leaders in Nyman and in the regions to provide just that. As our nation heads into a coming period of uncertainty we need, more than ever, steady hands at the helm who will put Atlasian lives above petty partisan squabbles and cooperation over discord. I am therefore once again running for reelection to the House in order to do my part in helping to steady the ship of state.

The Bellman in Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark claims a couple of lines down the verse from the portion I have quoted above that “what I tell you three times is true." Like much of what he says, this couldn’t be further from the truth. It certainly isn’t for this speech here at my campaign launch, the third such speech I’ve made in my electoral history. And that’s because it will only be true if you, the people, make it so. If you are up to join me once again as we continue to find out where exactly our nation is heading. If you will once again place your trust in my candidacy as you did twice before.

This ship of state won’t steer itself. Let’s hoist the sails.

[Fuzzy Bear Loves Christian Missionaries]

Endorsed!

[Senator Spark]

Endorsed.

[SevenEleven]

Endorsed!

[tmthforu94]

Endorsed!

[West_Midlander]

Endorsed!

[Wazza [INACTIVE]]

Endorsed!

[Rover]

Endorsed Joseph  coa

[OBD]

Endorsed for a high preference!

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

Endorsed!

[erſatz-york]

Endorſed

[TheSaint250]

Endorsed!

[alancia]

Endorsed.

[Joseph Cao]

Good evening, my fellow Atlasians. My sincere thanks to all of you for tuning in at this late hour.

There is much that has changed since my first run for the House; we’ve lived a further six months under the shadow of a pandemic that continues to gnaw away at this nation and its people, been through nearly an entire election cycle, and witnessed the rise and fall of oceans and empires here at home and abroad. But I still believe now, as I did then, in a government characterized by fairness and reasonableness, one that doesn’t overstep its bounds or promises to do things it can’t do. A government which, through its upholding of our nation of laws, manages to lift up the men and women who make up this nation and who elected us to represent them. In my time in Nyman thus far, as a representative and as Speaker of the People’s House, I have striven to do just that, and it has been a particular honor and privilege to serve the Atlasian people in that latter capacity. The present state of our nation continues to call for people to step up and keep our government focused on those two priorities. To aid that effort and the people who we are elected to serve, I am running for a fourth term in the House of Representatives.

What I have never believed in, and never will, is the cynical political arithmetic that holds that we can add through subtraction or multiply through division. It is in the empowerment of our individuals and the building up of our communities that this nation may ultimately continue to survive and thrive – things that have enabled I and my fellow representatives in the House to work across party lines, to introduce bills and vote on measures that the people here in Bloomington–Normal and in other towns and cities and communities across Atlasia can ultimately benefit from. We work on what unites us and on the issues where we find common cause; I am strongly of the belief that that is where we can ultimately get the most done for the Atlasian people. I’ve tried to do what I can to serve my constituents, to bring a more optimistic outlook for the people to Nyman, and to prove that this nation can still get the good governance it deserves. So I now come before all of you once again in the hopes that you share my hopes and my goals in that regard – and even if you don’t, that you nevertheless agree and believe in the possibility of finding common ground; that ground we all stand on, the past two hundred and fifty years’ history of which has proved that this experiment is larger than any of us or our communities and further reminds us that we public servants are sworn to serve the people and the Constitution to the best of our ability.

Once again, my thanks for listening in tonight, and please know that I’m thinking of the Atlasian people this season as I continue to work for you all. The election is next weekend on the 11th; see you there.

[West_Midlander]

Endorsed!