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

[Sirius_]

Endorsed!

[KaiserDave]

Always endorsed!

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Super Endorsed!

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Endorsed!

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Endorsed!

[Brother Jonathan]

Endorsed (with enthusiasm)!

[Joseph Cao]

Our esteemed SoFE has certified the results, and since there are no longer any avenues for steals to be stopped (not that there were any steals to begin with, anyway), I want to extend my warmest thanks to you all. We did it once again, and we did it on the back of a level of support I can only hope continues to build in the future! To those from all across the political spectrum who supported us with endorsements and trusted us with your vote, thank you very very much. It's always been an honor to serve you all, and it very much remains so.

To my fellow Federalists: this is a step forward, and I hope we will do our best in the coming months to continue moving forward and to prove to the nation through our words and actions that this party stands for the best that Atlasia and Atlasians can be. To my colleagues who wear a different letter after their names: it is a great privilege to have worked and to continue working with you all on steering this ship of state. To the people out on the streets or in their homes tonight; those working late shifts, those on the long journeys home, those who will wake up tomorrow with various thoughts of worry or thanksgiving on their mind; those who, in spite of (or because of) all that, came out to exercise their constitutional right and make their voices heard at the ballot box: before you tune out tonight, I want to thank you all for your work, for your efforts, and please remember that you elected me and all the others on your ballot to serve you the people. That was a standard established at the founding of our nation, and it stands today as a reminder for us to fight for you all and to build our nation up.

My office is always open for inquiries or questions – I'll be there working for you all, for Atlasia and for you the people, if you ever need me. Let's get down to work.

[Deep Dixieland Senator, Muad'dib (OSR MSR)]

Congrats Herr Cao

[Joseph Cao]

Bloomington–Normal, Illinois

My fellow Atlasians, a very good evening to you all. No matter where you are right now, your time is of value and I just want to thank you for listening in at this moment.

Right now, across the nation, there will be people getting off work, and people going on the night shift, and people who are at home and getting their rest. There will be millions of things to do and much work to be done tonight or tomorrow; the wide range of human endeavor, much of it hard and thankless, against the backdrop of a pandemic that continues to ravage our society alongside all the other societal ills that afflict us. But the common denominator across all of them is the purpose that they serve: big or small, national security matters or food deliveries, they are getting something done that will help their fellow countrymen and women.

I say all this because I want to be very clear about where my priorities lie. For the past eight months, regardless of what drama is occupying Nyman on any given day, I have showed up to work for the Atlasian people. It is deeply humbling to have been entrusted with the high office of representative and formerly of Speaker of the House. Given this position, I’ve found that keeping my head down has been the best way to stay focused on the people who I swore an oath to serve. And I do mean all of them – the city slickers of Chicago, the white-collar workers of Champaign, and the struggling families of Cairo.

There’s much more to do, for all the people I described above; dealing with the pandemic, our vaccination plan, our looming environmental crisis, the economic prospects of our citizenry, and more besides. We’ve come very far, and yet the job needs to be done. Serving in the House of Representatives has given me an opportunity to tackle these, to bring bills and legislation to the floor impacting millions of my fellow citizens, far beyond what I expected when I joined this game just under a year ago. As I launch my campaign this evening, I reaffirm the pledge I made to everyone here during my very first campaign: to continue looking out for all Atlasians, regardless of what box they check in the voting booth. Though a vote for yours truly would still be deeply appreciated.

The work is there. Let’s get the job done.

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Enthusiastically positively unequivocally endorsed!!!

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

Endorsed with total support.

[Pessimistic Antineutrino]

Endorsed!

[Sirius_]

Endorsed!

This but again

[VAR]

Endorsed!

[Deep Dixieland Senator, Muad'dib (OSR MSR)]

Endorsed

[ZuWo]

Endorsed!

[Tamika Jackson]

Endorsed!

[Joseph Cao]

Enthusiastically positively unequivocally endorsed!!!

Endorsed with total support.

Endorsed!

Endorsed!

Endorsed!

This but again

Endorsed!

Endorsed

Endorsed!

Endorsed!

Thank you all, as well as those who reached out to me privately – honored to have your support!

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Endorsed

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

Endorsed

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Endorsed!

[_.]

You got my vote!

[Joseph Cao]

February 27, 2021, following confirmation of the House election's certification

Bloomington–Normal, Illinois

Well, folks, we did it.

I talked about getting the job done, and by way of opening I want to bring everyone's attention to the hard workers running my campaign and those who supported my candidacy in public and in private. You've all taken that message to heart and brought this campaign the high honor of receiving the highest number of votes ever for a House candidate in our nation's history! Thank you all, and most especially thank you to all those who placed your trust in me with your vote; this is as humbling as it is historic. The responsibility of representing the voices of so many people is not lost on me. I will do my best to do so, and I am very much heartened by the overwhelming response I've seen on the campaign trail and at the polls.

At the same time, I am under no illusions as to what caused this massive expansion of the electorate, and there are very obvious danger signals for the coming months in this country. Quite aside from the ongoing pandemic and the other issues coming to a boil, there is a crisis of politics precipitated by an election in which next to nobody came out smelling of roses. At such times, it is extremely tempting to join the crowd and scream for change to happen – any change. There are plenty of ideas flying around to upsize the game; downsize the game; revamp the game; reset the game, even. And as a member of Congress I will continue to exercise my constitutional duty to consider them on their merits, with my priorities being the overall health of the game and the Federalist credo of a more welcoming Atlasia. Our ideals will continue to guide me and the rest of my party as they always have. I will not recklessly rush into any of these. My duty remains the same: to serve the people without getting sidetracked by petty partisan mudfighting.

And on that note, it remains for me to address everyone, Federalist or Labor, DA or Liberal, Peace or Independent: we will keep moving as a nation. And as we keep moving, we ought to pause to consider the fact that what keeps us moving is and has always been cooperation, meticulous attention to detail, and reasoned civil debate. To all my fellow Atlasians, I ask you to look how far we've come. How far we can still go if we focus on the stuff that matters to the millions in our country who continue to work and to do their jobs without the distractions of the daily din of argument in our nation's capital. And as for the job I will be tasked with soon as I swear in for another term serving you all – you the people – that is a job I will certainly do my best to get done.

Thank you, everyone. Thank you for your trust and for listening in. Dave bless you all, Dave bless Atlasia, and have a peaceful night.

[Joseph Cao]

Bloomington–Normal, Illinois

Well, folks, thank you all for listening in once again; happy Passover and happy Easter to those of you who observe them. I promise I’ll try to keep this short.

I have been registered as a voter for just over a year now. In that time, there have been opportunities to make many good friends and learn far more from you folks and ordinary citizens than I’d have dreamed of this time last year. And it has been the honor of a lifetime to serve you all alongside great friends and colleagues of all parties, to continue to bring bills to the floor and advocate and legislate and do my part in ensuring a better and fairer government that continues to uphold our people by upholding the laws and principles upon which it was founded.

We all often ask ourselves if we are the right people for the job. It has been a consistent danger of the political pursuit to lose touch with those who elected you to represent them. As I continue to serve you all in the House I have done my best to stay in touch with our citizens, with the folks on the ground who need officeholders who will stick by them, and to do my job in Congress knowing why my office is called Representative. Being the right person for this job requires precisely nothing more and nothing less than to know there is no right person for this job, because your service is on behalf of a vast group of people who need the help provided by your position of power far, far more than you do. I don’t mind having continued to doubt myself throughout the past year, as far better and far more accomplished politicians no doubt have done. It is vitally important that our leaders not get carried away on their own supply and continue to be motivated by that doubt to propel those they serve to greater heights.

In my time in the House I have tried to do just that and worked with members of all parties to help Atlasians get through the pandemic, fix our ailing systems, bring recognition to the hard workers and freedom fighters both at home and abroad, and fight for the little guy no matter their situation or standing. That’s because you all know quite well what has motivated me. I don’t trust myself well enough to avoid falling into self-serving politicking of the sort that has stained politics and corrupted the people’s influence on the levers of power. But my oath is to the Constitution, that document that begins “We the People,” and it is the people who have time and again reminded me and many others that they are the reason we continue to fight.

You all have kept me grounded and you all know what you’re getting with me. As I launch my campaign this morning and thank you once again for listening, I will be straight with you all: if you want someone who will continue to fight for you and work for you and live up to the office of a Representative of the people, then I’m your guy. And if you all trust me enough to return me to the House and continue working on behalf of you all, then I ask for your vote and your confidence this election.

[TheSaint250]

Endorsed!