Federalist Party NPC Elections HQ

[Joseph Cao]

[Soon after leaving Barre in the afternoon, Representative Cao returned to Saint Albans at the request of a state representative and state senator serving the region, and was invited to a general event in the town which followed a town hall question-and-answer session by the state legislators. A transcript of the speech given at the livestreamed, masked, and socially distanced event is provided below.]

Why, thank you for that fine speech, Senator. It is a great pleasure to be back here in Saint Albans on this lovely evening, and especially so when you all have been a shining example of civic participation so recently – I was just reading a report in today's Messenger that this county had one of the highest rates of turnout in the nation for the recent federal election. Now, if you all could keep that up this weekend and get out to vote for the candidates who have consistently prioritized citizen input, community outreach, and policies that benefit all Vermonters, that would be great!

I’m confident you’ll be able to do that; your history in this area goes back a long way, as I spent a nice quiet hour learning for myself in the local library just now. This has been a border city almost since its founding and I wouldn’t be surprised if most of you could claim ancestors from the other side of the border. Your state senator, who’s just given that excellent speech of his, is himself descended from an immigrant family who crossed over from Canada, and he recognizes the value of the chance offered to those ancestors of his – hence the bill he’s recently introduced in the state Senate to protect the status of this great state’s immigrant workers and speed up the naturalization process for them. We Federalists are very much aware of the integral role that immigration has played not just in Vermont’s history, economy, and social fabric, but also those of Atlasia at large – and we will do what we can, here in the state government and in other levels of government around the country, to ensure they can continue making extensive and beneficial contributions to the nation. And if you’re ever curious about your specific candidate’s policies on immigration or anything else, we’re always keen to answer your questions as we just did earlier with the town hall, and they’re more than adequately laid out on the candidates' websites. So go check them out! Voters deserve to make the best and most informed choice possible so that the leaders you elect can speak accurately and effectively for the communities they represent.

Now, obviously, that history cuts both ways. Saint Albans happened to be the site of the northernmost battle of the Civil War, a skirmish by Confederate rebels from across the Canadian border. All things considered, the rebels clearly won that battle – and yet it is something of a small miracle that the full extent of their plans, which included burning the city down, did not come to pass. It seems, from what that excellent museum across town says of the raid, that they carried defective incendiary bottles which failed to ignite. I bring this up now because it happens that I unknowingly visited that museum on the anniversary date of the battle, and that detail stuck with me. It seems to offer a cautionary tale of sorts for something we are now in danger of facing. Obviously, and very thankfully, we are not in a Civil War or anything close to it. But people do not need to take up arms in order to be actively hostile towards each other, especially so when they and their fellow citizens disagree over some incendiary issue or another. My feeling, over the past several election cycles, has been one of foreboding at whether or not we are heading further down that road; it really would not take much for something to explode onto the national conversation with the potential to divide families and communities along political lines. But, if I’m being honest, I refuse to believe a single disagreement alone can do that sort of damage – our unions, the ties that bind us together, what unites us rather than divides us, etc. etc., are stronger than that. For such a wholesale breaking point to be reached, there would need to be some deeply layered existing tissue of previous disagreements, one piling upon the other, each taken less in the spirit of constructive debate and more in the spirit of destructive hate, until finally an issue comes along to break the proverbial camel’s back of our national union. We saw that with the Civil War, of course, and the decades of mounting distrust that eventually lead to the breaking point which launched one of the bloodiest wars in our history. We have the benefits of history and of hindsight, and anything which pits our citizens against each other should not be allowed to metastasize to the point where we become blinded by distrust and hate for our fellow Atlasians.

So how can we do that? I mentioned in Barre that our leaders have a responsibility to conduct themselves in a manner mindful of their ability to affect the national consciousness. But leaders are only one part of the national conversation. Whether or not these destructive tendencies take root among the general population is up to those who make up the general population; they are exactly as powerful as you citizens allow them to be. You all are the incendiary bottles that, if lighted, have the ability to burn the Atlasian community to the ground. As responsible citizens, when you debate the issues with your neighbors and friends and those in your community, feel free to disagree – that is entirely justifiable. But when you justify it, be sure to keep in mind that it is possible to debate the issues without degrading each other; we can disagree without hating each other; and no matter who “wins” or “loses” the argument, or the election, or whatever new front some people want to open in the battle for the soul of Atlasia, we must strive to work together. By definition, there are no solutions on a battlefield, so let’s not treat politics as one – and let’s do our best to find solutions to the problems that plague us all. Saint Albans, I wish you the very best of luck in this endeavor, and now please welcome a state and regional leader in the mold of Coolidge and of Roosevelt, a quiet legislator who commands the immense respect of her colleagues and wields a big stick for the good of the communities she serves: your state representative!

[West_Midlander]

Rallies will be socially distanced with masks mandatory. Masks will be handed out at the door for those without. Temperature checks will be taken upon entry.

Rally in Stoutland, MO

(Comments about other parties are in response to recent Peace/Labor mudslinging)

Hello, Stoutland!

I call a small town home. I'm a native Southerner and I live around ten minutes outside of a town of 385 people. I've held campaign events in small towns and as a native rural Southerner, I greatly value the rural way of life, whether that be in small towns or just outside of them. Our party will never treat small towns and the country like flyover territory because we know every vote matters and we know the issues y'all care about matter just as much as those of big-city folk.

The Labor-Peace compact is proving that Peace is just a conjoined twin of Labor. The reason Peace was formed, was it was an anti-war party. Now that party is not ideologically dissimilar to Labor. Peace doesn't have a reason to exist anymore and is really just Labor but another color. I had not attacked Peace at all during this campaign but the honorable Delegate insists, so I will defend myself, my party, and our supporters.

When I became disheartened in being a Laborite, I didn't want to rejoin Peace, my longtime party, because I knew then that Peace was too closely tied to Labor; there was no point in leaving Labor to do that. Why I left Labor is something I have described at length in public, and I'm sure y'all understand my position, but it is something Labor never tires of attacking me on (reference to OBD TX event earlier this cycle), even if it isn't relevant to the discussion.

I should also note that I respect many folks in Peace and I believe I was registered with Peace longer than any other party to date. I voted for Koopa earlier this year and I gave her my second preference in the recent presidential election, so this ain't anything personal. However, I have to speak to you, the people, about the amazing choice we have in this election. We have the choice here in Missouri about whether to continue to backslide, to stay stagnant under severe and extreme regulations economic and otherwise (due to our national government), or whether we choose a new truly Atlasian way forward. The presidential election is over and the House results haven't been certified but Missouri can make a stand, itself...for liberty and federalism, in this important vote this weekend.

Labor and Peace cry out mudslinging when they are the biggest offenders. As has infamously been said many times before, "Accuse the other side of that which you are guilty." Peace and Labor decry our party because we support Main Street values. They believe if we don't support their ideology, then our ideology, our positions, they mean nothing, they are just platitudes. That is a total disservice and misrepresentation to you, the voters. Labor believes they are the party of the common man and the only home of the worker. I have conceded that no major party in our country is pro-elitist, but they are not so forgiving. They want you to believe that everyone not in the Labor-Peace compact is a pro-corporation, pro-Wall Street boogeyman and that simply isn't true. We strongly oppose monopoly and support competition. That is a progressive-populist value (referencing the late 19th century/early 20th century Populist and Progressive movements, respectively). We believe the government has a place in charity, in aid to our most vulnerable, in public services, in infrastructure, but we also believe the private sector has a role. We don't believe in taking over major industries and severely impeding business. We believe in economic recovery, growth, and innovation. We strongly support the right of people to operate a private business, particularly a small one. However, we only believe the government should intervene where companies grow too large. We do not believe in a takeover of all of, or large segments of industries. If you want your vote to say you believe in Main Street economic values for the people, particularly the middle class and poor, vote Federalist.

Don't be fooled into thinking purple Labor is another choice if you don't like the governing (national) administration. It isn't. If you believe in plain-speak from your candidates and fighting for bread-and-butter issues, including protecting our vital AtlasCare, I strongly encourage you to vote for our party in this election.

Thank you, Stoutland!

[West_Midlander]

Rallies will be socially distanced with masks mandatory. Masks will be handed out at the door for those without. Temperature checks will be taken upon entry.

Rally in Lebanon, MO

Hello Lebanon!

I see that Peace is running a well-produced TV ad in Missouri and other Southern states. I recall Truman did a campaign stop in North Dakota just two months ago turning up his nose at similarly-done high-quality ads made by the DA. This just speaks to Labor-Peace hypocrisy, in fact, he said and I quote:

Wow! It is such a treat to be back on the campaign trail again, especially with all these slick new ads hitting the airwaves. I don't know what I expected from the Dishonest Alliance, but I guess when your entire platform was passed into law by Labor governments three years ago, you have more time to screw around on Youtube!

That is an egg on one's face if I had to say so. The honorable Delegate's ad was running on the same platform (Youtube) as well. Well, I for one, will applaud the gentlelady from Arkansas on the ad since I refuse to lower myself to anger that others are campaigning. After all, more (real) voter choice is always good and it's great for voters to be able to hear what every side has to say before deciding.

Mr. Truman does bring up a good point though. Labor has been in government so long and Peace campaigns across Missouri and Texas running on various issues including criminal justice reform, increasing funding for hospitals, and more. If Labor and Peace haven't helped Missouri out yet, are they really going to in government here in Jefferson City?

If we do all these improvements at the state level, your state income taxes will go up. Additionally, Peace decries these problems often on the trail, implying that they haven't been able to get assistance on their proposed programs from the longtime national Labor government or the six-month Labor government in the Southern governor's mansion. Labor and Peace work together electorally and are very similar ideologically. If one (Peace) promises you the same that the other has (and has had) the power to remedy, will you believe them to act if you elect here in Missouri?

As a Delegate and then Governor of our region, I wrote successful legislation (as in it became law) and later signed other bills, some of which I wrote. However, I made a point to pursue smart, cost-effective solutions so we could maintain our budget surplus so we would not have to add taxes. If the national government is going to act, nationalizing industries (particularly the payment for acquisition) as was done partially for the energy industry under the Red-Green New Deal means less money for things that matter like infrastructure, local hospitals, and community-based programs.

I believe the national government should help out states that can't afford to complete the expensive, large programs they need. Some things that the gentlelady from Arkansas mentions can be solved through better management and my party has a record for that (keep in mind there are no incumbents for NPC elections so we can't really assume problems are the fault of Federalist NPCs).

If you believe in a responsible state government working in conjunction with Nashville and Nyman, I encourage you to vote Federalist. If you believe in appropriate taxation in conjunction with a proper role for government, vote Federalist. A suitable role for government means helping our worst off, respecting private enterprise, and regulating against monopolies. If you agree with us, please vote Federalist this election!

[West_Midlander]

Rallies will be socially distanced with masks mandatory. Masks will be handed out at the door for those without. Temperature checks will be taken upon entry.

Rally in Queen City, TX

Howdy, Queen City!

Labor's OBD said on climate change, “we need to act quickly and vigorously by working together with individuals, private enterprise, and our international partners to face it down.” Apparently, working “with” private enterprise means taking public control of the top twenty-five publicly traded energy companies as was done under the Red-Green New Deal. This isn’t working with private enterprise, this is the road to socialism, this is the road toward government ownership of most or all industry.

The Labor Party literally had the phrase, “The means of production should belong to the workers who use them” in their party platform until last month. That section was removed on a close vote. Our own President-elect voted against removing that section.

Perhaps that phrase was removed over electability concerns ahead of the election this month? I kid, of course. Many moderates in that party dangerously vote for some of that party’s radically socialist or socialist-adjacent candidates (include the President-elect). So, I call on you, the undecideds of Texas, to make the right choice in this election. We cannot allow Labor to continue to degrade the right of the free market to exist. The House has yet to be called but the cause looks bleak there, however, Texas can make a stand for its rights if it votes in a Federalist government this weekend!

This speech is partially a rebuttal to the “Where’s the Beef?” ad being run in Missouri. I had said I wanted to briefly address Labor’s economic platform in the speech mentioned in that advertisement but apparently, the honorable Delegate felt I should elaborate, so I have been doing so here and I will go on. Additionally, the honorable Delegate made comments as of late that our party and its campaigners (probably a reference to myself) were not specific enough in their comments.

I would now like to return to the environment and touch on the economy for a moment. Our party—the Federalist Party—we support common-sense policy that works for all of Atlasia. We strongly support conservation and environmentalism that actually works with business. We know that government has a significant role in tackling the climate crisis but following in Labor’s steps would mean fatally endangering the free market. We believe that competition is key to economic prosperity, low prices, and innovation. We know that government has a role in preventing monopolization and this is an issue on which our party is strongly unified.

I do not know how Labor expects a competitive economy, low prices for consumers, and actual innovation when they seek the hamhanded approach of extreme government control toward the economy, that they do. Think about this. You create a business and you have it go public and the government comes in and takes over. That isn’t Atlasia and that isn’t a capitalist country anymore. It’s a national disgrace. Labor and the President-elect want to take it further now. Labor wants to directly tell companies how to run themselves. They support radically reforming how companies choose their CEOs and boards to banning medical and drug patents.

Additionally, the President-elect thinks the government should wholly fund medical research—no private research—and that energy and telecommunications companies should be nationalized. He thinks the minimum wage should be thirty dollars, and that we should have a universal basic income. The Vice President seeks a society that is radically detached socially and extremely in control economically. How do we pay for it all? I don’t know. On top of it all, he wants to expand the radical Red Green New Deal even more and to reduce income taxes for low-income folks too. He’s promising you everything and we must deal in reality. We have a big debt problem. Once our country gets back on our feet, economically, we must seriously begin to address that. We cannot have it all, we cannot afford everything. Private enterprise has a major role in the economy, along with government, but the state can’t and shouldn’t do everything. Labor is more united on economics than on protecting your liberties, like your right to own a gun. Just look at what happened with the assault weapons ban passed under the current Labor administration. If the government controls everything and chooses to start rolling back freedoms, even in a decade or two, what defense will we have? Surely, the right to own a gun will continue to be eroded over that period and government control will only increase. They tell you so right to your face at least on the economic front.

I strongly believe in ensuring fair prescription drug prices and in government funding some research. Also, our party is united in our support of government aid for our most vulnerable. Additionally, we will always defend our vital social programs including AtlasCare. However, we will defend competition, economic responsibility, and good judgment in government, and the right of the people to own and operate a small business, even if it grows larger. Labor campaigners always talk about “small business, small business” but once that business becomes a corporation, once it becomes a large business, the government comes after it. If you started your own small telecommunications or energy company and you did everything right, your business could be under attack or it might be soon. Labor is basically telling you, “you can operate a private business but just don’t be too successful, we only want private enterprise to be a tiny sliver of the economy.” Please vote in the upcoming elections for the Federalist Party, for freedom, for liberty, for economic choice, and responsible government!

Rally in Holts Summit, MO

Our party, the Federalist Party, will never abandon the Southern region. It’s no secret at all that many prominent Labor members support a 'two-region strategy.' If Labor doesn’t go up in the polls in Southern states after a bout of campaigning, they’re out of here. I promise you, and everybody already knows this; The Federalist Party will never abandon the Southern region. We will compete in every region, as we did in the recent elections but we will never abandon this region and we will never threaten to!

If you are a proud Southerner and you want to show the majority-party that Missouri has its own voice, please vote Federalist in this election. Labor is rapidly encroaching on the free market and as the majority-party, that means your right to operate a business is under attack if it grows “too” successful. We in the Federalist party believe in Main Street values. We believe in a reasonable role for government, truly alongside private enterprise and not “with” private enterprise only in words.

[West_Midlander]

Rallies will be socially distanced with masks mandatory. Masks will be handed out at the door for those without. Temperature checks will be taken upon entry.

Rally in Chesterfield, MO

I appreciate the honorable Delegate approaching the tax issue earnestly, however, my concern is that when your aims are so great at the state level, and without the backing of the regional and national governments, you tax the wealthy into tax evasion or expatriation. Those two outcomes are obviously not condoned by myself or my party but are a matter of fact. I support progressive taxation and I strongly support public education. I always went to public schools from elementary through college. We can all agree that if the government has or can find a surplus, education is a great place to put that money because an investment in Missouri's youth is an investment for the future.

The Peace Party consistently campaigns in Missouri on criminal justice reform but I am concerned about the prospect of false hope (being put forward to the voters) from that party on this issue. Criminal justice legislation would be more effective on the regional or national level and again Labor has had control of each (Nashville and Nyman) for some time.

To continue with the Labor-Peace position on crime vs. ours: The President-elect supports banning life-imprisonment. I think this is a bad move because dangerous criminals who have a great chance to re-offend will be back on the streets sooner, and possibly while they are still young enough to destroy another life or many. Obviously, most criminals can be rehabilitated and I strongly support in-prison education programs, and resources to help ex-criminals reintegrate into society once they get out of prison. However, I believe some criminals are unable to be rehabilitated, among these are rapists, mass murderers, serial murderers, and pedophiles. Some of these criminals have, in my view, incurable tendencies to repeat-offend. This is particularly the case for pedophiles. Rapists, mass murderers, and serial murderers may not reoffend since people in this category may go years or decades between crimes, but these folks did acts so damaging to society and to their fellow citizens, I don't think they can be rehabilitated. Pedophiles are slightly different. These people hurt, kill, or assault children if they 'act' on their urges, and from my understanding [basically just watching To Catch a Predator], I don't think those urges are ones they can control. However, this obviously does not mean their actions are forgivable or acceptable in the slightest.

These serious criminals (rapists, serial murderers, mass murderers, and pedophiles) may have suffered terrible childhoods including abuse, oftentimes sexual abuse, but that does not excuse their actions. If a pedophile has not acted on his urges, perhaps he won't hurt a child if he gets professional (therapy, for example) help, but I'm not an expert. I believe for these, essentially society-breaking, criminals we should impose a life sentence without parole so long as we are 100% certain of their guilt. Additionally, If a state or region so chooses, they should be able to implement the death penalty, in my view. My view is one of compassionate and punitive justice together and I think this represents the median of my party since we are home to many libertarians and others who are solid conservatives (along with some moderates). If you agree with me on this important issue, please vote for your local Federalists.

[West_Midlander]

Rallies will be socially distanced with masks mandatory. Masks will be handed out at the door for those without. Temperature checks will be taken upon entry.

Rally in Friendswood, TX

Hello, Friendswood!

As you head to the polls, if you didn't submit an absentee ballot (not mentioning early voting since that isn't a thing in Atlasia), please stay safe. Remember to stay six feet apart and wear a mask. Lines may be long but stay in line. If you are in line when the polls close you can vote (for our actual elections if you are sending a ballot at midnight it's invalid but under the assumption that NPC elections are like those IRL and not online ).

Next, I want to talk to y'all about this campaign. We all know this has been a particularly vicious campaign cycle. I will respond if someone takes my words out of context or misrepresents our party or its candidates, but I don't take joy in it. In my inaugural address as Southern Governor, I said I wanted to work with everyone (paraphrasing) and I would sign or veto a bill based on my values, regardless of which party put it forward. I know your local candidates for the state legislature will hold themselves in this way as well if you elect them!

Please, stand up fellas! [The candidate, in the front row, stand up and the audience applauds]

I ran my campaign for House in the recent election in the same way. I launched that campaign and ended my statements in the House debate on the same tone. We, Federalists, know that good government is important and good legislation and repealing bad legislation comes first regardless of who put it forward.

In Nashville, as a Delegate and as Governor, I worked with opposition members to get my bills to a point where they could pass. I put forward something I thought was reasonable and sometimes it needed changes to win the approval of the Chamber and that was OK. Sometimes, but not often, my legislation was tabled because it didn't have a winning sentiment in the chamber and that was fine. However, I never let a bill of mine die because I refused to let it be amended. (Though, I was lucky enough to not have a hostile amendment attempted).

I am obviously not talking about or alluding to, anyone apart from myself and my partisans. Our candidates will govern in this way; this is a small city of Texas. Our candidates here are more moderate perhaps in comparison to the state median, while those in Northern Texas are bound to be a bit more conservative. That's perfectly fine. They hold their ideological position as extremely important. As Secretary of our party's Moderate Caucus, I know, however, that most of our members are extremely open to compromise, including many of our conservative members.

I hope you will stay safe this election and will cast a vote for reconciliation and good, Main Street values. Vote Federalist in this election.

When the vote is over, the severe campaigning can end and we can get to work.

[Joseph Cao]

[Representative Cao spent Thursday morning in southern Vermont in the company of a number of candidates for the state legislature and at several meetings and roundtables with ordinary citizens from the Searsburg area, many of whom were later present (either in-person or virtually)for a livestreamed event in the town at which some detailed policy aims were laid out by the candidates ahead of voters’ decisions to be made on Election Day. A transcript of the Representative’s speech at the masked and socially distanced event is provided below.]

Hello there, Searsburg! Once again, thanks very much for having us here and for being good citizens – in the civic participation sense by coming out to listen to us, and in the public health sense by complying with the masking and social distancing regulations. It is of course the mark of a strong community spirit and of a deeply ingrained care for your fellow citizens when you consistently continue to go out of your way to take these precautions. From what I’ve seen of Searsburg, that is manifestly the case, and it is this sort of community spirit that leaves me convinced that you all will be able to see your fellow Vermonters through the multiple crises afflicting our nation regardless of who wins this weekend.

Your newly reelected Councillor, Brother Jonathan, just gave a fine speech in Burlington last week that only a Vermonter could have done as well as he did. And while I’m obviously not a Vermont native like he is, I would like to try and pick up the thread of his general argument, because there have been some things flying about in the national conversation that reflect on the race here for the state legislature and for the gubernatorial. We want to make sure you all get the full picture of what we in the Federalist Party will fight for if elected. You’ve already heard from a state House candidate who’s spoken about her plans to make Vermont’s criminal justice system a fairer one for all those involved in it, from another who gave his thoughts on Searsburg’s further potential for a renewable energy-driven local economy, and from one of your state senators who earlier this year proposed and helped to pass an innovative plan to keep Vermont’s small businesses afloat in the COVID era. So the policies that the Federalist Party aims to pursue in Vermont have been expanded upon by the many fine candidates who’ve spoken so far, but now I’d like to make a different sort of argument.

I crossed over to the wind farm just outside town earlier today to have a look at it, and I have to say the official who accompanied me was unfailingly polite and had a quick answer for all my questions about the plant and Searsburg’s future plans for more renewable energy projects. The impression I’ve gotten has been a firm commitment by this community and its fine citizens to clean energy, for which I believe a round of applause is in order. The candidates you see up here tonight all support advancing the course of renewable energy not just here in Bennington County, but all across the state. And why are we able to do this? That explanation must begin with Jonathan’s excellent point that this state is a fundamentally conservative state in the sense that you citizens possess a recognition of what has carried your state through its history, of where your strengths lie, and of how you can harness those strengths for a better future for the people and the state of Vermont. This characteristic is fundamentally derived from the strong sense of community that this – one of the oldest states in the union – has carefully nurtured over its long history.

Our candidates have borne in mind this long tradition of looking out for everyone in your communities, as they have amply demonstrated this month in their extensive efforts to reach out to their fellow citizens and try to determine local solutions that work for local needs and problems. Obviously this isn’t exclusive to Federalist candidates, as the Peace flyer I found on my table at lunch just now made clear. I’m quite sure, from the interactions we’ve had with Vermonters from across the aisle, that they are as dedicated to helping their communities as our own candidates are. But here is where the Federalists are set apart from other parties, in my opinion: we know quite well that Vermont’s disposition is towards preservation, towards a quiet marriage – the more effective for its lack of ostentatiousness – of progress with tradition, and towards solutions whose effectiveness is determined first and foremost by their performance at the level of communities and citizens. Our every event, every attempt at voter outreach, and every townhall and roundtable reflects the understanding that the officeholder is most effective when they approach the problems they’ve been set to solve as simply another citizen, and when they treat their fellow citizens as equals in the fight against poverty, against the pandemic, against threats to the environment, and against the creeping attempts to upend their communities. And you’ll know from all of this that whatever we do and whatever policies we pursue, be it wind turbines or small businesses or the need for better online learning, it will be solely based on local needs: on what the community your candidate hails from believes is the best solution or the best way forward.

There’s been a lot of wind blowing about on the national political scene. But for the reasons I’ve just outlined, you won’t catch me or any of the Federalist candidates here tonight contributing to it – and regardless of whether or not you elect thsm all this weekend, good citizens of Searsburg (though as a partisan I would strongly recommend you consider doing so, of course), I have every confidence that the incoming legislature will be able harness the extraordinary energy you ordinary people have showed, the energy that matters far more than what some politician or talking head or other thinks at any minute. And our Federalist candidates will do their very best to convert your needs and your energy into solutions that will benefit Vermonters of every political stripe. That is what we promise, here and now. Here to speak about this promise is an accomplished state legislator who has kept just that in his time in the state House, who is now aiming to bring it home in a tight race for the state Senate, and who I trust you will support this weekend just as fully as he has supported you throughout the entirety of his legislative career – Searsburg’s next state senator!

[West_Midlander]

Rallies will be socially distanced with masks mandatory. Masks will be handed out at the door for those without. Temperature checks will be taken upon entry.

Dublin, Texas

Hello, Dublin!

It's great to be in this beautiful town where Dr. Pepper was first bottled. I enjoy that beverage and it is really remarkable that the only cane sugar-made Dr. Pepper in the United States was available from this site alone, at one time. I know that the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group is headquartered right here in Texas, in Plano. Texas represents Atlasia. This great state really portrays the Atlasian spirit of ingenuity, production, and private enterprise.

Your local Federalist candidates here in Texas will always fight for Atlasian jobs. We know that free trade is an alluring prospect because it opens the door to lower costs, but I believe, as many of my partisans do that protecting Atlasian jobs has to come first. We are not staunch protectionists or isolationists, in general—I am not—but many of us value fair trade over free trade. We support trading with other countries but not as our priority. I personally believe that free trade benefits multinational corporations more than the working class of any country, whether our own or another, whether it be Mexico or another country. Some of our members support free trade for the reasons I described previously and I understand that.

Our party is sometimes represented, however, by our most ideological elements. These members are certainly a section of our party as moderates are but casting the party median as our most conservative members is a disservice to voters. I think our party leaders in the Federalist Party, however, represent our party median well. Rightly they are our party leaders, our party chair and vice-chair respectively. Our party chair strongly believes in Main Street values as do virtually all of our members. We have a conservative caucus and a moderate caucus, of which I am a part. Also, we have libertarian members. We are a big tent party and we welcome all in the center and rightward. A vote for Federalists is a vote for Atlasian values and economic prosperity. Our party knows how to govern alongside private enterprise and with only your interests in mind. We will govern with open ears, ready to listen to an idea from any member of our party or another party, regardless of their ideology.

[West_Midlander]

Rallies will be socially distanced with masks mandatory. Masks will be handed out at the door for those without. Temperature checks will be taken upon entry.

Abilene, Texas

Hello, Abilene!

It's great to be here in this amazing city, the proud home of Dyess Air Force Base. Our party supports a well-funded defense. Generally, our members support peace through strength, however, the large majority of our party opposes interventionism. Most of our party falls into the vein of isolationism (a minority of our party) or noninterventionism.

We know that many priorities, aside from defense, are important as well, including education, defending AtlasCare, and improving infrastructure. I know that public transportation and expanding clean energy is critical for Texas and for all of Atlasia. Still, we need to improve our existing roads and some expansion may be needed while we improve and expand access to public transit and alternative transportation methods.

I am a proud Atlasian as I'm sure you all are. I grew up memorizing and reciting many patriotic songs including "My Country Tis of Thee," "Atlasia the Beautiful," and others. I am a multiracial man. Our party, the Federalist Party, is the welcoming home of all races of people. We strongly support the legal equality of all peoples.

There is no support for the abolition of same-sex marriage in our party (according to polling of party members). A few of our party members support the Libertarian position that government should stay out of marriage and most of our party members support same-sex marriage outright. As a bisexual man, I strongly support same-sex marriage and I completely support trans rights. I was twice a member of the Southern Trans Rights Party and I introduced the cis tax to the Southern Chamber as a Delegate. At the low taxation levels proposed, I thought that measure was inoffensive but I do concede that it is unconstitutional due to equal protection under the law. However, no one can say the Federalist Party is not a welcoming home to LBGT people and/or people of color.

The Federalist Party is the party of all people, and of Main Street moderate conservative government. Please vote for our local candidates this election!

[West_Midlander]

Rallies will be socially distanced with masks mandatory. Masks will be handed out at the door for those without. Temperature checks will be taken upon entry.

Campaign Event in Richardson, Texas

Hello, Richardson!

Today I want to talk to you about how I slid, politically, from the left. I don't pretend to have all the answers. Each person must find his own way and determine for himself what his own conscience says—what his own morality says. I used to think—my starting point was years ago—that the more progressive the position, the more liberal the position, the better it was. I was always skeptical of neoliberalism, though. I don't want to condemn any ideology but to explain my ideological journey.

Eventually, I began to realize that some positions and some aims were outside of the scope of what the government should do. I began to believe that a government so large could be dangerous to the citizen. A government should exist to provide some services that are necessities, basic services for the functioning of society. In addition, government should provide social services where charity lapses, because charity cannot solve all poverty in my view. I believe this is why virtually all of my partisans support government aid to solve homelessness, to reduce poverty, etc. as I do.

Clean energy is a very important aim but should not be made to pose a critical risk to the free market.

I used to despise wealth but I was never a socialist. I was a democratic socialist at my most leftward. I don't think there's anything wrong with a person becoming a millionaire or a billionaire, though I don't aim to accumulate wealth to that degree. If I can live comfortably, that is enough for me. I think each person should give what he can, perhaps as much as he can, not so much that he is squeezed to the brink of poverty if he earns a good amount, or to the brink of homelessness, but he should not be tight-fisted with his earnings. God will reward those who look favorably upon the meek, upon his fellow man. Even if not in this life, then in the next. Before charity, one should help his family too, and if one can afford to do both that is better. If one's family is struggling, help them out, but don't do underhanded things to help your family get ahead.

I support a progressive income tax but I don't think the rich can pay for everything. Reducing the deficit is important and we should reduce lower middle class and low-income taxes where we can while managing the debt. We shouldn't dramatically increase taxes on the wealthy to pay for a wide range of programs because that could cause tax evasion or expatriation. The wealthy should pay more than other folks, though. We should probably dramatically reform loopholes so the rate you pay is roughly what you are 'supposed to pay' and if we need to adjust actual rates then so be it. I don't think a wealth tax is fair, though, because assets shouldn't be taxed for continued ownership excepting property, vehicles, etc. (which are universally taxed already).

I support an economic and political system that is fair for everyone. All parts of society have to be able to cooperate and operate for things to work out well for all of us. If you have the same position, please vote for your local Federalists.

[Joseph Cao]

[A video, of which the following is a transcript, was posted to Representative Cao's social media and website on Friday morning with the hashtag #GoVote.]

Hey there, folks! I’m climbing Killington Peak at the moment, and it’s been taxing me rather more than I would care to admit. It’s Election Day tomorrow and I just wanted to get this message out – go vote!

The Federalist Party has been working hard with the people of Vermont this past month in putting together local solutions for the problems facing local communities. I don’t doubt that other parties are doing so as well. Regardless of your feelings about any party – go vote! It is the most important and the most far-reaching civic ability you have to affect what goes on in Vermont, in our fine region, and across this nation. And when you do it, it is a testament to the long tradition of our nation’s democracy and its implicit promise to all those who came to its shores seeking a better life. It is an ideal that we have fallen short time and time again in our history, but an ideal doesn’t rise or fall with the morality or lack thereof of the times. So we always get back up from whatever depths we’ve fallen to by remembering and restoring our commitment to the ideals that have sustained us thus far. We take a drink from the water bottle of our ideals, and we strive on towards fulfilling those ideals with renewed strength.

This doesn’t happen overnight. Our long national journey does not end after one election and people need to know that civic participation should not be limited to the last weekend in a month. And through the long stretches between voting, you take the time to educate yourself about the issues; to talk to your friends, your neighbors, your communities, and those all around you; to stand up for the issues you care about and make them known to your leaders, from the town council through the mayor, the state legislature, and on up. And with each vote you should remember that no process is over and done with – that like so many other things, the solutions and the policies that serve your communities need constant watering, that when the machinery of the law breaks down there must be a drive of human ideals, of morality, and of sheer persistence that fixes it and gets it up on its feet to live another day.

The path is often winding, often steeply uphill, and often strewn with the rocks and boulders of opposition and problems with whatever new policy is put into place. That is partly a function of the human condition and of how much of a struggle it was and is to sustain the democratic system that still remains the longest-running and largest-scale of its kind in the world. We as officeholders and we as voters and citizens are always obligated to help clear that path and to traverse it for the issues we care about, because they never come easily. But as we do so, we bear in mind those coming after us, for whom we are doing this, and those who have come before us and helped to make the path what it is today. It does not end; it will not soon end; and it ought not to end as long as we continue to believe in what we stand for firmly enough to fight for it. But when the peak is reached – perhaps by us, perhaps not; perhaps by those far in the future who may only know those living today as names in a history book – the view, and the fruits of past and present people’s labor for a better and brighter future, will be more than worth it.

Go vote – pick up your friends and family on the way, maybe a couple of strangers, stay in line for as long as you need to – and let’s keep climbing the peak, keep fighting for the policies and the communities we hold dear, and keep being the good citizens I know you all to be. Good luck!

[reagente]

Rally was conducted outside and was socially distanced with masks mandatory. Masks were handed out at the door for those without and temperature checks were taken upon entry.

Rally in Fulton, MO

It's great to be back in the heartland of Atlasia, back in small town Missouri, and back in my home state. I grew up in a small town not too far from here, and I haven't forgotten about my upbringing since I went to Nashville as a delegate. My upbringing weighs heavily on my mind whenever I am tasked to vote on legislation before the Southern Chamber. I think about how any policy impacts people back home, back in places like Fulton. I will never support any policy which harms middle Atlasia.

I also reiterate my commitment to Main Street values. While by most accounts I am the Southern chamber's most conservative delegate, I have not let ideological convictions blind me as to why I was elected: to help common people. I will make my priorities clear: if conservatism as an ideology isn't tasked with conserving the vitality of small town atlasia, and with maintaining the ability of the working man to earn a stable living, and with preserving societal cohesion, then conservatism isn't worth having at all.

I am proud to support Fair trade, so we can ensure that middle class jobs in Atlasia are protected while still harnessing benefits of free trade. I believe in expanding Educational opportunity so all Atlasians are given an opportunity to succeed in the modern economy. I will fight to combat the ongoing opioid crisis to prevent Atlasian families from being ripped apart by addiction.

Federalists will govern cognizant of the needs of middle Atlasia. Thank you for your time, and I hope we can count on your vote in the upcoming elections!

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Rallies will be socially distanced with masks mandatory. Masks will be handed out at the door for those without. Temperature checks will be taken upon entry.

Rally in Bardstown, KY
at the My Old Kentucky Home State Park

Hello Bardstown! I'm glad to be back here in my old Kentucky home. I promise that Kentuckians are never forgotten when I'm serving the whole South in the Senate. Main Street Federalism is what I stand for and what a Federalist government will deliver for our state. With Federalists, Kentucky will prosper again and we will win against the covid-19 virus. Creating new jobs through removing regulatory capture that favors large businesses over those on main street is what we will do for you. We also will use stimulus funds wisely to keep our businesses from failing and be sure that whoever needs the help will get it. Kentucky is well-known for our unbridled spirit that will always overcome hard times and live free so that the next generations of Kentuckians will have opportunities. Thank you all for coming, and don't forget to vote for Federalists up and down the ballot--the party for you and the party for Kentucky!

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Rallies will be socially distanced with masks mandatory. Masks will be handed out at the door for those without. Temperature checks will be taken upon entry.

Rally in Florence, KY
in front of the "Florence Y'all" Water Tower

I'm glad to be with y'all here in Florence! Northern Kentucky is a wonderful place to live, and a Federalist government will keep it that way through sane policies on the economy and on our freedoms and liberties we cherish. Electing us will ensure that our youth will receive the best educations they can get. We will also make sure that criminals who harm our whole communities don't go unpunished and justice unserved to victims of those crimes. However it is important to consider the fact that sometimes while the vast majority of police officers are good citizens and care about our communities, some police do overstep their boundaries and use excess force. This is why we need common sense reforms that do not defund the police but rather provide oversight and build more trust with the communities they have a duty to serve. Many on the left are too guided by their ideological goals to take a responsible approach at reforming many of the things government does to better serve the average Kentuckian. A Federalist Governor and state legislature will always stay down to earth and seek out pragmatic solutions to real problems that are tailored to individual communities. Thank y'all for coming, and don't forget to vote Federalist! Vote Kentucky!

[Joseph Cao]

[On one of the last stops of the night after a day of GOTV efforts and encouraging voters to go to the polls, Representative Cao joined the Federalist gubernatorial candidate and many of the party's state legislative candidates for a masked and socially distanced rally in Burlington to once again urge people to do their civic duty. A transcript of the Representative's livestreamed speech is provided below.]

Burlington! It is a great pleasure to be here, and while you’re all going to vote I just want to try and put a rhetorical bow on the general message that the Federalist Party has been bringing to you and your communities this month. It may feel scattershot, and that is partially because it is. Your candidates for the state legislature and your gubernatorial candidate have talked about many issues thus far: renewable energy, small businesses, the environmental upkeep of Lake Champlain, pandemic policies, education, criminal justice. I think that across all the things we’ve laid out, we have done a pretty good job of letting you all know where we stand and getting your feedback on the policies and solutions we’ve proposed – most of which, I am very glad to say, were able to pass muster with the people most affected by them precisely because those who wrote them made full use of their intimate knowledge of how their communities tick.

Besides all this, what do we have? What overarching vision are we operating towards? It can, I think be found in the declaration our gubernatorial candidate made earlier that we will do our best to serve communities all over this great state with policies designed by and for Vermonters. And, in particular, that last bit about our service being determined by and for Vermonters. The Federalist Party of Vermont may be many things, but it most certainly is not overly concerned with what goes on in Nyman or in think-tanks or in other centers of power across the nation. No, where it is most concerned is with the real center of power here in Vermont: you the people. And this is how we in the Federalist Party at large operate, because we are firmly aware that as the primary standard-bearer for regionalism and federalism across our nation’s history, the states and the regions deserve to have their say rather than having the same message getting pushed by people from whom you’d expect much more diversity of opinion. We aren’t driven by party orthodoxy on any issue, because what really matters for good government in Montpelier is the policies that get proposed by those closest to the people they serve. And if they choose policies that go against what some faction of the Federalist Party in a different state thinks, well, that doesn’t matter, does it? The last thing we’d want to do would be to standardize our ideology across the board, which ironically is exactly what some recent allegations have accused us of doing. We’ll work for the people who elect us, and no more than that; and the consistent efforts we’ve put into ensuring that our workers’ policy, our pandemic policy, our educational and environmental and economic policies are acceptable and a good solution to the communities they are aimed at – based on citizen input and responses to our proposals in the town halls and roundtables we’ve held – is a good indicator of what we mean when we promise to do so.

We stand at our core for a more welcoming Atlasia, which  – if you’re sick of hearing it by now – you may be interested to know was originally launched as a Federalist commitment to campaigning conceived in a fundamental respect for others in the nation and dedicated to the proposition that everyone has the right to be heard. So throughout our campaign, I and others have urged you all not to live down to the picture that others have painted, not to be mindless partisan drones who simply pull the lever for every name with an (F) printed after it. And personally, I’ve tried to convince others not planning to vote for us to do the same and refrain from being a citizen who predicates their entire vote on how someone in party headquarters instructs them to vote. What we’ve urged you all to do is to look around at the policies and the facts and the meat that candidates of all parties have put on the table, and moreover to cut through the mudslinging that others have regrettably engaged in recently, because that mud won’t fix your roads or prioritize the needs of your small businesses, and even when paired with real meat all that it does is make voters feel dirty for engaging in the public square. And that is a state of affairs that the Federalist Party stands fully against, because that is the precise antithesis of the more welcoming Atlasia that we have always stood for, that we have always prioritized, and that we have held as an ideal since our conception – even if we fall short of it, that is no excuse for not trying to live up to it anyway. Nobody is perfect, and when we aim to be good (as we should) we ought not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

I believe our campaign has spoken for itself, and I for one am proud of the excellent and clean campaign we’ve run in Vermont this month. The same must go for other parties’ efforts in Vermont, which have been as pristinely clean as the white clapboards that everyone not from Vermont likes to poke gentle fun at. So I urge you all gathered here today and you all watching this on your way to the polls to vote to keep this: let’s make a commitment to keep Vermont firmly on the path of calm, reasoned and positive campaigning, let’s get our citizens and communities and Vermonters all over the state out to engage in the public square, and let’s bring a more welcoming Atlasia to pass one state at a time. Go vote, Burlington! Thank you all, Dave bless you all, and good night.

[Joseph Cao]

The following states are up for election in the November cycle:

Frémont: New Mexico, Hawaii, Nebraska, and the Northern Marianas
South: Louisiana, Florida, and Delaware
Lincoln: Pennsylvania, Maine, and the Chicago mayoralty

Once more, all Federalists are encouraged to campaign wherever they can and claim it by posting in this thread.

I, for one, will be campaigning in Chicago, in Maine, and in Pennsylvania.

[Joseph Cao]

[Representative Cao kicked off the November cycle in his home state on Monday evening with a gathering of Illinois Federalist Party luminaries in Hyde Park, Chicago, at the first major event of their mayoral hopeful's citywide campaign. Mask-wearing and social distancing were strictly enforced at the event, which was livestreamed on the Illinois Federalist Party's website and social media.]

Good evening, Chicago! Good evening, Hyde Park! Thanks for coming out tonight even as we enter another wacky election cycle – one that I hope will be an edifying experience, because that is my full intent and always has been. It's one of the things incumbent upon all citizens, but particularly upon officeholders who command this sort of stage, to continue contributing constructively to the nation in whatever ways we can.

So why are we here? We're here because for years, the good working men and women of Chicago have struggled and continue to bear the burdens of an economy that takes more out of them that it gives to them, of a crushing pandemic that has dealt a blow not just to Chicagoans but to Atlasians all over the nation, and of a gap between the public health and wealth of downtown and the Loop and the comparative lack thereof in our South and West sides. We're here because we reject the line of thinking that top-down management in the name of what they think is right is necessarily best for the people of Chicago. And we're here because while there is much disagreement in which solutions should be implemented to fix these problems, I think we can all agree that they must be arrived at through proper debate and discussion between citizens, between people of different political persuasions and policy orientations, between all the people of Chicago who need a voice at the table. That requires a respectful engagement with our fellow citizens and an atmosphere of trust and of good faith to pervade City Hall and Springfield. And that's not some mysterious force beyond our control – at every instant we make our own choice to listen or to tune out, to engage or to disengage, to approach a differing opinion with an open mind or with partisan blinders on. If we can make the easy choice to tune out or to disengage or to keep filtering everything through a partisan lens, we can also make the tough but better choice to be a good and properly engaged citizen.

On these lines, we can and must do better. No matter how far we have come in our material progress, in providing for Chicagoans, or in reaching out to our fellow citizens: we can and must do better. Our humanity and our society may be a crooked timber but we can still put in the effort to straighten what we can; to ever more closely approximate the society we envision for our children and our children's children. There is much that Chicago needs in that regard – to reform its public services, solve its disparities, and bring out the potential of this melting pot of all races and creeds brimming over with some of the best skills and talents Atlasia has to offer. The best exertions of an always fallible government composed of only-human public servants will always fall short of our wildest and most utopian expectations. That is not in doubt. But the benign influence of good laws, good governance, and good leadership – good, not perfect – may nevertheless be above and beyond what we sometimes expect and what we truly deserve as citizens of a proud city and a great state in the finest nation on earth.

There is a lot of fear about not just in Chicago, but all over the nation. Economic anxiety; health scares; societal desperation; you name it. And look, nobody here can make that fear go away by telling you not to fear; that's not how it works. But we want to fix Chicago and its institutions and neighborhoods and we want to try as best we can to get rid of the fears that spring from endemic mismanagement, incompetent governance, and all the ills that exist on a fundamental level and prey on our citizens. Our city and our community must be a vine and fig tree for all Chicagoans – our fear must not be caused or precipitated by something within the control of our leaders. It's time for leadership that works to fix the problems we fear. It's time for a Mayor and a Council that doesn't just put the people and their needs at the heart of what they do, but loops them into the development and implementation of the policies they pursue. Chicago, please join me in giving a warm welcome to your next Mayor!

[Joseph Cao]

[At the request of the Federalist Party of Delaware, Representative Cao travelled to Dover for a general livestreamed rally with the gubernatorial candidate and an assortment of state legislative candidates shortly after a public fundraiser and question-and-answer session with the state Senate candidate for the area. A strict masking and social distancing policy was instituted at both events.]

Well, thank you. Give a round of applause for your next state senator, everybody! And it's wonderful to be out here in Dover and away from Nyman, so thanks for having all of us here today and for showing up still mindful of the COVID restrictions. I understand there will be an update pretty soon about the state of our nation's and our regions' COVID response, so stay tuned for that – we need to keep ourselves as informed as we can, and in the meantime carry on wearing your masks and carry on staying six feet apart.

Now yesterday was Veterans' Day, and as I've done every year in the past, I joined millions across this nation in pausing to remember the sacrifices that the brave folks who have served and are serving in our military have made in the course of their service. Of course, we have had to do it slightly differently this year. Just ask your state representative here: in addition to making veterans' affairs a keystone of his legislative work, has delivered a speech on behalf of the Federalist Party of Delaware every 11th of November since his first election. This year he's had to deliver it on Facebook Live instead of in person and I was fortunate enough to be able to watch it with our next Governor here. Despite these changes to the speechifying, his legislation continues unabated, and when he comes up here later I'm sure he will tell you all about the bill he just got through the state House which helps to cut wait times for veterans seeking government assistance. I just want to say at this juncture that Federalists like him have always looked out for the needs of their constituents – and we always will.

You know, they call Delaware the First State, and probably others at this point would talk about putting some issue or another First to really get a groan out of the audience. Lots of people mention putting the economy first, or COVID first, or some issue or another, and really spectacularly miss the point in the process. As officeholders we serve the citizens of Atlasia and its various subdivisions; our job is quite literally to be representative of our fellow Atlasians. And as inhabitants of a nation dedicated to a multitude of right and just propositions, your duty as a citizen is to do your best to live up to the ideals and responsibilities that come with it. The twin ideals of liberty and justice we hear about in the Pledge of Allegiance are not remarked upon in today's Atlasia precisely because our nation is founded upon such ideals and has strove to uphold them, failing many times along the way but always trying again, since its inception. All men and women are created equal – this legal enshrinement in our founding document sums up the form of justice we strive for in this nation between different citizens, between different races and religions and creeds, between the multitudes who inhabit our amazing nation. They are endowed with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – this is as clear an encapsulation of Atlasia's fundamental dedication to the liberty and the rights and freedoms of its citizens, the first of its kind virtually anywhere in the history of the world's nations. And just as the axioms of Euclid formed the foundation to an entire universe of mathematical discovery, these truths are so self-evident that an entire nation and the lives and accomplishments of millions of Atlasians all owe something to them.

If our veterans can be put through hell in the name of our nation and all that it represents, it is only right and just that our nation must take care of them and not let them fall through the cracks when they return. If our citizens can make sacrifices each day as we fight COVID and a slowing economy and the rising threat of climate change, then it is all the more important to redouble our efforts in reaching out to our fellow citizens – not just as neighbors and inhabitants of the same community in some parochial sense, as important as those ties are, but more importantly as the fellow Atlasians that they are. The brave men and women who return from war can tell you firsthand about the futility of searching for solutions on a battlefield. If we are to continue to make progress in this nation we must learn to look beyond what divides us, as cliché as that is; our troops fight abroad first and foremost as Atlasians, and that must be the example we adopt as we strive towards solutions for the problems that affect all of us rather than just one subgroup of citizens.

In that sense, yes, we are Atlasians first. In that sense, I and the candidates for public office will put Atlasians first. In that sense, no association will ever mean more to the folks who make up the Federalist Party of Delaware than that of an Atlasian, which is why they will always fight for each and every one of you fellow citizens of this great nation. Not least among them is the excellent public servant who I am now honored to introduce to you, a fighter for the good people of Dover and for all the issues that emerge each day in the state of Delaware: please give a warm welcome to your next Governor!

[Joseph Cao]

[Shortly before heading to a townhall event with limited and socially distanced seating, a number of state legislative candidates of the Federalist Party of Pennsylvania joined the gubernatorial candidate for a livestreamed general rally in Reading at which COVID regulations were in full effect. Representative Cao was among those invited to the event; a transcript of the speech he gave may be found below.]

Folks, thank you for having us. It's great to see all of you here in Reading still wearing your masks and social distancing, and I hope you all are not just continuing to adhere to these public health regulations but are also continuing to look out for your fellow citizens on the same front – for both their safety and your own. At the most basic civic level, we are all subject to the same responsibilities as co-equal citizens of this great nation, so it remains particularly important that we maintain not just the upkeep of our own civic responsibility, but of those around us where the impact on our own person is just as large as theirs.

And as we enter yet another month under the shadow of COVID and the damage it has wrought to our social and economic order, we need to also be mindful of the more silent impact it has on the communities we all live in and operate in. It is very easy in a time of crisis to panic, to fall in on oneself and lose sight of the longer path we need to take beyond the daily rush and working schedule. It is frighteningly easy to drift away on one's own and forget the continued presence of friends, of family, of people all around us who can still remind us of that path and their role in helping you proceed along it. Crises are typically when communities suffer most, not just because of the impact on its members, but also because of what happens when its impacted members forget the value that it brings to them. The community at its most basic definition is not a support system exclusively for our own benefit, however; others are likewise suffering and we must, if we can, do the same to them as they would do to us in a similar position. At the best of times, it can be tricky to navigate this balance between our own upkeep and the upkeep of those in our community. In a crisis, it becomes downright difficult. So the role of a higher government when inserted into this dynamic is hard to exactly define: it has its own factors and its own internal issues. But what I believe, and what many of those here onstage with me tonight believe, is that if it is to succeed it cannot deny the fundamental reality of how communities operate.

I talk a lot about the dangers of top-down government and a system where those in power get out of touch and distanced from the people they serve. Now I happen to hold another related principle, which is that the example set by those in authority must needs trickle down to their constituents; it's been observed in civilizations and nations and kingdoms throughout history. When leaders – of the political variety or otherwise – demonstrate through their actions that they value the people, it has an effect, however intangible, on their fellow citizens. And if they demonstrate a fundamental disdain for the rules and the constitutional and moral guardrails under which our nation and its people have historically flourished, that has an effect on the people as well. This links up to why a government which chooses to impose its policies from the top is a particularly dangerous one in my estimate: the potential for the wellspring of the electorate to be poisoned as a result of callousness or carelessness in its leadership. And it is axiomatic in the general conservative thought that this must needs happen sooner or later; the people who we elect are only human, after all, with all the flaws and failings we expect of human nature. Such a government may have good policies, or even good intentions. But it is not an excuse to continue supporting all that that government does in exchange for much more lasting changes in the way the political game is played and a shift in the playing field away from the voters and citizens – the people that matter most.

If a government can make absolutely sure that it will stay clear of this governing model; if it can be careful to prioritize the impacts that its policies will have on the people, whether the tangible or intangible ones; if it can do its level best in serving the individuals and communities that did not choose to elect it just the same as it does for the individuals and communities that did – that will be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. The Federalist Party, through its actions and throughout its existence, has done its best at all levels of government to ensure that such an ideal does not perish from this earth. And we stand ready to do that again. Here to explain how she plans to do that, it is my great pleasure to welcome a rising star and brilliant role model for the state of Pennsylvania: your next Governor!

[Joseph Cao]

[Upon returning to his home in Bloomington-Normal, Representative Cao was invited up for some more speechifying in Clarendon Park on behalf of the Chicago mayoral candidate, who took the opportunity to roll out some policies aimed at improving the city's public education system. A transcript of the Representative's speech at the masked and socially distanced event, which was livestreamed on the Illinois Federalist Party's website and social media, may be found below.]

Thanks, folks! Good to see you all here today, and I’m very glad to see everyone still wearing your masks and generally adhering to social distancing rules – it’s important that we all continue to do our part in keeping ourselves and those around us safe from the coronavirus and to look out for each other while doing so. Which means that as a community, as individuals with family and friends who still exist being forced apart physically, we’ve got to continue holding each other accountable as well. By the way, look at that – I see we’ve got Pete Harrigan here today, a great state senator for the Uptown! Give it up for Pete, everyone!

Now I talked for a bit back in Reading along similar lines regarding the importance of having a government be accountable to the people. When you the people can easily reach the government and when they can react quickly to your needs, it not only helps the government do its job better but also keeps them in close contact should they make mistakes that adversely affect you or anyone else. It continuously brings your needs to the forefront of their attention and reminds them of who they are supposed to represent. It also ties into a couple of other things I’ve previously spoken about. A government that does not do right by its citizens and acts for any other’s benefit rather than theirs cannot reasonably be termed a good one, even if it continues to be returned election after election by its voters. When a government loses sight of the people it is supposed to be responsible for, it is led inevitably to excess. It focuses entirely on retaining and expanding its power and will do what it can to preserve it, right down to violating the rights and liberties of the people if it must. Conversely, particularly among the melting pot that is this beautiful city, there are many different peoples and many different needs and aims and priorities that arise from the citizenry which must constantly be heard, and it is sometimes too easy for a majority opinion to run roughshod over the minority one. And in cases of particular human value or constitutional value, it is exceedingly important that the majority respects the rights of the minority and does not violate them just to suit the temporary needs of the popular will.

In all of this, the principal way we have to combat the dangers that arise from a runaway government and a runaway popular will is the system of checks and balances that its designers constructed to be apart from the authority or influence of either. Furthermore, the system works at its best when it is backed up by a body of citizens who will stand up against arbitrary rule and against a government that governs from the top down, and see it for the danger to our democracy and our nation that it is. When we better understand our system and how it works, it is easier to look beyond the potential seductions and material benefits such a government can offer in exchange for further expanding its hold over the local body politic. When we as a citizenry are more well versed in the rules of constitutional order that allow our nation to continue functioning as it does, we are better able to do our duty as a coequal partner in government. And importantly, when we can understand the derivation of our equality in the eyes of the law and place pressure on our representatives in government to uphold that ideal, we continue our path towards that nation outlined in Dr. King’s dream: a nation where all are of equal value in the eyes of the law and of each other, where the rights and liberties of all are respected, and where we are all able to avoid the dangers that arise from the popular will going too far or the extreme minority artificially imposing its authority.

We must hold our government accountable, and we must hold each other accountable. There is no better recipe for forming a better government and a better people, as the Federalist Party well knows, and allow me now to tell you all that the policies we’ve talked about before for the people of Chicago will not be implemented without your help – without the assurance from you, the citizens of this wonderful city, that we’ve done the best we can. Because we can always do better. And speaking of doing better, I've talked long enough and there’s someone here tonight who can talk about those policies better than I can: give a round of applause, folks, for your next Mayor!

[Joseph Cao]

[A video of Representative Cao speaking from Lincoln Park, Chicago, of which the following is a transcript, was posted to the Illinois Federalist Party's website and social media following the events transpiring in the Lincoln Council on the 17th of November.]

Folks, it’s a sad day for this region. As I am sure you all know by now, the Lincoln Council has just passed a bill that would raise sales taxes on salt, sugar, and processed meats to exorbitant levels. Here in one of Lincoln’s largest and most important cities, it’s on the front page of the Tribune, of the Sun-Times, of the Herald, and it’s been all anyone wants to talk about. My office phone’s been ringing off the hook with worried constituents. So as I thank you for tuning in this evening, I’ll try to tell you what you can do to respond to it.

We need to establish a few facts first, though. Quite frankly, this bill is bad for Lincoln. It’s bad for pretty much everyone who needs at least some small amount of salt and sugar in their food to get by, which is all of us, and particularly so for the lower-income citizens of our region who won’t be able to afford the food intake that all competent medical professionals recommend. The restaurants and small business owners who need to buy bulk amounts of these food products are going to be blown out of the water if the bill takes effect. What, I may ask, do the Councillors who voted for the bill’s passage have to say to the Mexican-American husband and wife whose small taqueria in Humboldt Park is their only major source of income? How are the Speaker and Chancellor to respond to the precarious financial situation that the Polish bakery owner of Portage Park now finds herself in as a result of this bill? This is precisely the wrong way to go about combating the very real threat of obesity. We can reduce Atlasians’ salt and sugar intake, but not by levying these monstrous financial traps that will all but push the rate of intake to a most unhealthy zero percent for millions of Lincoln’s citizens!

Forget the original intent of the bill’s sponsor, who has an unexplained and frankly strange vendetta against McDonald’s – simply targeting the golden arches would have been bad enough and blatantly unconstitutional to boot, but I have to commend them in some way for finding a way to punish even more people than their original target of fast-food workers and owners. Again, let me emphasize that the bill is vague on what kind of processed meats are targeted. There are no specifics or guidelines for identification or implementation, let alone indicators to justify action against all forms of meat or even the forms of meat that the Council feels is most threatening to the health of the region’s citizens. And so millions of people will go to bed tonight uncertain for their economic prospects – the meatpacking workers of the South Side, the hundreds of establishments who serve ground beef and any form of meat that could potentially be deemed “processed,” and of course all the workers at the fast-food establishments who have been in the Council’s crosshairs from the moment this bill was released onto the floor. Our august Lincoln Speaker was right when he said that the bill would have effects on other establishments than McDonald’s. You’re right that there will be effects! A whole host of bad effects, in fact.

So how do we respond to this? It’s very much in the mold of my previous warnings about the dangers of arbitrary government, and the solutions are much the same in their general case. Happily, our system of checks and balances has ensured that this is not the final decision of our region’s government. It is certainly my hope that our Governor, as the final arbiter in signing this legislation into law, vetoes this. And I encourage all of you to contact not just Governor R2D2 but also your governors and your legislators at the state level and get their opinions and their support for your cause. The people have to make their voice heard if they are to impact public policy and be the coequal partner in government that they were supposed to be. So get out there and make clear the impact that this travesty of a bill will have on our communities and our hardworking individuals. Of course, there is one other way you can make your voice heard. I think it should be pointed out that only one Lincoln Councillor saw the bill for what it was, and you can ask Brother Jonathan why he cast his vote against it – though as he operates on the same principles that animate the rest of the Federalist Party, I’m sure he will give a good answer.

And, I may add, the Federalist mayoral candidate feels very strongly about this as well. So if you want to help fight against the intrusion of top-down government; if you want to ensure we get a government into City Hall that listens to the needs of the people; if you want to see Chicago through to a better future for its individuals and communities – I encourage you all to join our mayoral candidate’s fight this November. Good luck, Chicagoans. Dave bless you all, and stay safe.

[Joseph Cao]

[Representative Cao made a stop in Pullman, Chicago, with the express purpose of joining the mayoral candidate and a group of trained Federalist Party volunteers at a masked and socially distanced morning rally (into which he had been railroaded by a state party leader) before commencing their jointly organized GOTV effort across Pullman and surrounding neighborhoods. A transcript of his hot air – er, I mean, the opening speech he made before the canvassing – is provided below.]

Thank you, everybody! It’s great to be here today in one of the central neighbourhoods of Chicago’s history – hey, I see Mickey Doyle there in the audience. That’s your County Treasurer, folks! Nice to see you there, Mickey! – and I do appreciate the opportunity to see you all masked up and continuing to socially distance. Only in a physical sense, of course! It is absolutely imperative that you all keep in mind the people around you who can support you and who you can support. Our communities can and will survive this pandemic if we bear in mind the importance of strengthening the bonds that hold them together.

Talking of the importance of communities, I’m sure you all appreciate the significance of where we’re gathered today. This is of course the site of the Pullman company’s original workers’ housing, a microcosm of Chicago’s labor history and evolution in its workforce. When the housing was first built, Pullman’s architect was reportedly very proud that he had managed to go above and beyond in meeting the workers’ living needs. And by all accounts, the workers were satisfied with the living arrangement, which was extremely good by contemporary standards and apparently provided ample room for them to pursue the opportunities afforded. But we also know about the events of 1894, when these same workers initiated a nationwide strike for two months to protest layoffs and reduced incomes. Then, as now, there were legitimate issues squeezing the life out of our workers and a legitimate need for the government of the day to listen and offer solutions. Then, as now, there were also conditions that argued against excessively heavy-handed government intervention; it was unfortunate that the route they chose resulted in preventable bloodshed and fallout from the clash between an unchecked crowd and an unchecked government.

The Victorian architecture and the fine preserved buildings still reflect this history and the varied and clashing interactions that drove it. George Pullman wanted to build a model community and even recruited Black workers to the neighborhood for that purpose. But then, as now, the fundamental need for opportunity and a level playing field trumped any number of “basic” needs that could only get the workers so far. Today, in our modern twenty-first-century city, the lack of such a level playing field still dampens the prospects of upward mobility and the ability to improve for millions of people. There are still workers across Chicago and across Atlasia who are caught between the same dangerous currents of flatlining wages, high rent and expensive healthcare and costly living expenses, and a declining sense of opportunity. The resentment of 1894 still lingers. And the solution to that is not an excessive governmental intervention, as the federal administration of the day found out at great cost, but rather a commitment by that same government to recognize its bounds and to recreate the conditions for our citizens to flourish by respecting the principles of basic equality, liberty, and justice.

These are all very basic derivations of the main principle that animates the Federalist Party: that of empowerment of the individual and the community. In economic terms this involves the fight against a closed market or monopolistic activity, both of which squeeze the life out of workers and consumers alike. It involves the active and primary participation of regional and local governments, which must concern themselves with the betterment of the individual through policies that justly reward workers who have sunk their lives and livelihoods into work for the sake of their own betterment. The people of Chicago and of other cities and towns and communities across Atlasia work hard each day at their jobs – those in manufacturing and those in service; those getting paid and those who aren’t; those in the factory, in the classroom, in the restaurant, on the construction site. All of these jobs ought to allow the worker to reap the effort they sow, and all of them must needs grant the opportunities to advance and improve in life if our nation is to continue moving onward and upward, cutting across a variety of areas: healthcare, childcare, education, familial support, opportunity gaps between different people or groups.

So all of this must tie into the basic recognition that the individual deserves better. Those hard at work each day deserve a payoff that extends beyond just basic needs, beyond simple economic satisfaction, towards the goal of stability and mobility across all facets of their life and future that constitutes the basis of the Atlasian dream. And folks, there is a fighter for Chicago’s workers and citizens. There is a candidate on the scene with plans to revitalize neighborhoods like Pullman and pave the way for the flourishing of individuals and communities all over this city. It is my great pleasure to now hand over the microphone and your attention to the individual I’m speaking of, a public figure who exemplifies the best that the Federalist Party has to offer: the next mayor of Chicago!

[Joseph Cao]

[On a request from the Louisiana Federalist Party, Representative Cao traveled down to Shreveport for a day of masked and socially distanced campaigning with a veteran state Senator and a number of other state legislative candidates. A transcript of the speech he gave during the concluding event is provided below.]

Good afternoon, folks, and my sincere thanks to you all for coming out on this warm day still masked up and socially distancing. It really does mean a lot. Your state Senator and I have just had a meeting with Caddo Parish’s public school superintendent to check in on our kids’ online learning progress. I have to say: the bill he wrote and passed back in July has been impressively successful in its aim at keeping Louisiana’s students safe and lessening the impact of the virus on our public and private schools – and it couldn’t have been possible without the valuable input and feedback regarding effective safety procedures and protocols he received from communities like Shreveport. So we are exceptionally grateful for the efforts of public school staff, the teachers, the families and children of Louisiana in keeping this vital institution running through a time of great upheaval.

We’ve spent long hours on the road this past fortnight, and we’ve talked with citizens of this beautiful state about the problems they’re facing. Now, about the way to address those problems. It’s beyond obvious Louisiana is expecting something different from the usual politically-driven opportunism that we’ve seen so much of in its past history. When it comes down to it, the people of Shreveport, of New Orleans, of Baton Rouge, right down to the smallest parish in the state are looking for people in government who can do the right thing instead of the politically expedient thing. And if we think about where representatives are supposed to come from – they are elected to represent the general populace, aren’t they? – the first step on the path towards that happy ideal of a representative and responsive government becomes clear. No problem can be successfully fixed by a government which promises to swoop in and take care of the people’s problems. Our problems can’t be resolved in the long term if people vote for a government which tries to make every facet of life a sales pitch: if YOU vote for us NOW, you can sit back, relax, and tune out while we do all the work. And frankly, nothing is accomplished by inveighing against boogeymen which don’t exist to any meaningful degree, unless it is purely to get the lightly engaged to nod their heads in agreement without really knowing how our solutions can be fixed in this way.

That’s not what an effective government does, here in Louisiana or anywhere else. The Federalist Party has always believed in and fought for more involvement from citizens on public policy. We want ordinary Louisianans to better understand what they can do to constructively impact the unfixed pothole, the underfunctioning flood warning system, the schools being forced online. If the people can get involved, they are empowered in their political agency. An old friend of mine down in New Orleans, an upstanding member of their Vietnamese community, got his start in politics by speaking up against a plan for a waste landfill that would have negatively impacted them. And in leading the protest against the plan, coupled with recommendations from other plugged-in residents on where the landfill could be built without incurring the same negative impact, he did exactly what was expected of a leader; he got the community at large to pay attention to the events that impacted them all, and demonstrated how the common man and woman could stand up and make a change. The landfill plan was successfully scrapped because of his efforts. It is little things like these that we are aiming to replicate all over Louisiana when our candidates reach out to you beyond just asking for your vote and then disappearing to implement our own plans after Election Day. They encourage their current or would-be constituents to have a hand in working out a solution that does the best at fixing their communities’ problems, so that we know we bring policies to the table that really work for all Louisianans.

When citizens are engaged and aware of the full extent of their role in this democracy of ours, the people they elect will naturally be representative of that. If change begins at the level of the individual and community, it will trickle up to the betterment of every Louisianan. The candidates on stage with me here recognize their role in government, and it is our hope that as this campaign season enters its latter phase we can do our best in getting you to recognize your co-equal role in helping to fix the problems that affect us all. For now, allow me to yield the stage to a fellow fighter and newcomer to the political scene who likewise recognizes both the roles of the citizenry and the government: your next state representative!

[Joseph Cao]

[Following the day in Shreveport, Mr. Cao continued southward to New Orleans to join the Federalist gubernatorial candidate and a number of candidates for the state legislature at a limited-attendance rally before checking in with the Federalist campaign office and attending a fundraising Zoom call with state party leaders – all masked and socially distanced events. A transcript of the livestreamed speech he gave at the rally is provided below.]

Well, thank you for that lovely speech. Hello there, everyone! It’s extremely heartening to see you all masking up and social distancing. Quite frankly, every time I see this it gives me hope for our nation’s resolve to overcome this crisis. Make no mistake about it, we will do our best – if there is anywhere in Atlasia that best exemplifies this tenacity and this ability, it is the city of New Orleans, the wonderful community which my family has called home and which has stood bloody but unbowed under the bludgeonings of misfortune. And I trust we will do so again.

How far we get in that endeavor will depend a lot on the strength of our communities and the agency of the individuals who comprise these. I talked this morning in Shreveport about the importance of having an engaged citizenry and its integral role in our campaigning methods. And something I may have omitted from that earlier speech, because of time constraints and the need for our fellow Federalist candidates to lay out their policies in full, was that this is sort of a two-step plan. Yes, the representatives who are elected from engaged communities across Louisiana will be representative of the level of public awareness in those communities. And the second step is what happens once they are in government. You all possess the primary means of holding a government accountable for its promises because you elected them to represent you and your communities. And if your elected legislators and leaders are not living up to what they promised – call them and pressure them! If an elected official walls themselves off from the people who elected them, a sadly common occurrence elsewhere, you have my full encouragement to make your opinion of them known at the ballot box. Seeing as our Federalist legislators have done a good job of explaining themselves so far, I doubt that will happen – I picked up a local paper earlier in Metairie that had an editorial explaining their endorsement of their freshman Federalist legislator was partly due to her attentiveness to the district and highly commendable attempts to explain her votes in the state House.

Now, I want to be clear that many of those gathered onstage today are not yet elected, and for them and for you this may be getting a little ahead of things. But the Federalist Party isn’t going to pack its things up and leave after one election. Nor will we simply be a hackish partisan unit outside of election month. We are a party with ideals far beyond simply our own self-preservation (or, as some would laughably have it, promoting corrupt Jim Crow policies). We were founded with the goal of promoting federalism and an empowerment of the individual and community through their local and regional governments, and we work towards that in a variety of ways which are reflected in the breadth of the policy detail just presented by two of our fine candidates for state House here in New Orleans. The ideals of conservatism and federalism remain undimmed despite their long pedigree and history. The high standards we hold ourselves to, whether we are in office or out of it, are down to a fundamental appreciation of the places held in our system of government by the people, the Constitution, and the ideals that form the bedrock of Federalist thinking – that’s why we work as hard as we do in the legislature; that’s why we will fight to educate the people and give them the tools they need to make their own reasoned electoral decisions; and that’s why we are committed to a vision of government that does its job as delineated within the system of checks and balances that prevents excess in either the government or the people they serve.

We are not unaware of the extent of the problems we need to solve. I suppose the last thing the oldest party in Atlasia needs is to be accused of political naïveté. But we’ll do our best to tackle them, using the principles and policies we hope to lay our fully over the course of this day and this election cycle, and we’ll fight the good fight as happy warriors working towards a future of an engaged Louisianan citizenry fully aware of its capacity to affect and effect lasting change in the state you all live in. New Orleans, it is my pleasure to now pass the mic over to someone who can do a much better job than I of explaining how he intends to do his part: the next Governor of Louisiana!

[Joseph Cao]

[As part of the Illinois Federalist Party's GOTV efforts, their mayoral candidate spent an afternoon in Armour Square at a roundtable with citizens of the neighborhood as party volunteers went door-to-door (both groups took pains to comply with COVID restrictions), before they met at an early evening rally near the stadium formerly known as Comiskey Park. Representative Cao was invited to give a speech at the masked and socially distanced event, and a transcript is provided below.]

Well, thank you for that. It's great to be here in Armour Square, and folks, make sure to get out and vote this coming weekend; not just for the mayoral election, but as our state representative reminded us, a referendum on the salt tax will be on your ballots. Remember to vote that down! Hard to read your expressions underneath those masks you're all wearing, especially from here onstage, but if you're like me you haven't had a thing to eat for the past seven hours and are eager to go get a warm meal from Chinatown before the curfew. So I'll do my best to keep this short. And by the way, look – it's Pat Reardon, a great asistant D.A. for Cook County! Good to see you, Pat!

I must say, this campaign has been a very welcome change from previous cycles. As you may know, a mayoral debate happened last night and it proceeded virtually without a hitch or technical error; and more than that, it was held in an entirely amicable tone between the candidates. No interrupting; no talking over each other; and it was focused more or less consistently on relevant topics. Now I don't know about the rest of you, but after the rancor of previous elections it is downright soothing to be able to sit through a debate and come out of it having actually learned something about the candidates and never once had to change the channel out of frustration. So I'd like to commend all of the mayoral candidates now for doing your part, last night and throughout the cycle thus far, in clearing the miasma of toxicity and ugly atmosphere that people associate all too often with politics. Hopefully I speak for the people of Chicago when I say that that is something that desperately needs to be addressed.

We're a stone's throw away from Guaranteed Rate Field over there, something that looms large in the history of Chicago provided you exclude anything remotely political from that reckoning of history. And the same can be said of Wrigley Field across town. Now there was one thing that didn't come up in the debate last night: having sat through two hours of candidates' questions and answers, I still don't happen to know which teams the mayoral candidates support. Am I worse off for not knowing? Of course not. Why should it matter, anyway? We're about to go to the polls next weekend to elect the person we think is best suited to run Chicago and work with its communities on growing the local economy, on fixing our infrastructure and public institutions, on making sure our kids learn and our parents and grandparents are provided for. Whether or not the Liberal candidate or any other candidate supports the White Sox shouldn't factor into that decision.

This is obviously a constructed example, but there are lots of absurd irrelevancies people can and do pull into their campaigning tactics – and they're employed not just by junior staffers, whose lapse could be forgiven, but by people in party leadership. Scary quotes pulled wildly out of context are disingenuous. Insinuating without evidence that this or that candidate is unfit for office is disingenuous. Trying to force an us-versus-them mentality in elections based on completely unrelated divisions in other realms of consideration is not just disingenuous, it's utter hogwash and actively damaging to the political fabric. When people are elected, they are supposed to represent their constituents – not just those who elected them. They swear an oath to whatever Constitution covers their office, a document that most certainly encompasses people who didn't vote for them. Officeholders are inherently supposed to be uniters. And quite frankly, people who sow seeds of division in service of getting this or that person elected to an office do not understand this. They are fundamentally out of touch with the reality of what an officeholder does, and it shows in their actions. The fact that actual officeholders have actively participated in fraying the ties that bind us all, we Chicagoans and Illinoisans and Lincolners and Atlasians, is a blemish on their service.

If Chicagoans based their vote next week solely on whether someone supported the Cubs or the White Sox, this city would probably be torn apart in the aftermath. So let's base our vote on the issues and let's do our best to reject the us-versus-them mentality that has dealt a measurable blow to the wellbeing of Atlasian society in elections past. Our candidate may be a proud Federalist, and I'm sure the others are proud Laborites and proud Liberals and proud Peaceniks; but whoever wins, I trust they will govern as a proud Atlasian and a representative of all Chicagoans. As a Federalist, it is now my pleasure to introduce to you the candidate of a party proud of its long and consistent history in governing for all Atlasians regardless of their political affiliation or which team they cheer for, the White Sox of political parties: your next Mayor!