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West_Midlander
Junior Chimp
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« Reply #250 on: March 20, 2021, 06:36:38 PM »
« edited: March 22, 2021, 03:22:59 PM by West_Midlander »

These events had socially distanced seating, temperature checks were taken upon admittance, and masks were mandatory and were handed out to those without one. These speeches were given outdoors and the physical attendance was limited, with the speeches being streamed online and posted on Youtube.

Rally in Charleston, SC

Hello, Charleston!

It’s great to be back in South Carolina! Today, I would like to briefly speak with y’all about economic issues.

It shouldn’t be almost a crime to make money in South Carolina and in Atlasia; if you have a good idea or invent a good product that people are willing to buy, you should be able to conduct business without unnecessary financial punishments being put upon you.

I think company owners should treat their workers well not only because it’s the right thing to do but because workers who are paid well and have good working conditions are more efficient—Henry Ford knew that. He had some bad views about people that he didn’t know enough about [I wanted to use Ford as an example but to address his anti-Semitism in a not on-the-nose way] but he was a good businessman and we all know the name ‘Ford’ because of it. If you pay your taxes (for your business) as you should, you should be able to operate your company without having to suffer unfair obstacles.

I strongly believe in a minimum wage and I think corporate taxes have a place in our society. I also think that bonuses for business leaders should be cut before jobs or wages are, but I don’t think raising corporate taxes to an extreme level would be good for our economy, especially when many companies—airlines, in particular—are struggling during this trying time.

I do think that small businesses have had the most economic harm done to them because of COVID-19. I strongly support small business and the operation of ethical corporations, especially smaller ones. This is because businesses, even if they are corporations, don’t necessarily have to be large and many businesses are preferable to few or to state control over manufacturing or energy, for example.

When companies compete, prices are lower for consumers. When there are many companies and fewer monopolies, there is freer competition in the market, better employment packages for potential workers, and better wages so that companies can stay competitive with one another. Obviously, the government has a role in the economy, but one in preventing monopolies and in working with businesses to better the environment and to benefit the worker.

The government should not and does not need to ‘flex its muscles,’ to show how powerful it is. The federal government is very powerful, but the regions and the states ought to have equivalent power to it.

If you agree with our vision for common-sense government that works with private enterprise, I encourage you to vote Federalist in the upcoming election!

Rally in Columbia, SC

Hello, Columbia! I had the pleasure of visiting Charleston earlier today and talked about economic matters there. I would like to continue that discourse on economics with you fine people and I would like to touch on retirement benefits and poverty as I believe these issues are closely related to general economic concerns.

Some candidates say they support small businesses all day long but if your business is “too” successful—if you pass that 200 employee threshold—then your business will be treated as a hostile entity. Some folks believe in extremely controlled corporations and in treating wealth, inheritance, and economic prosperity—ingenuity—in a hostile way. An example of this is the takeover of the energy sector (referencing the RGND) by the government relatively recently (this was signed late, relatively recently, after it was passed iirc). This punishing of wealth and punishing of success is something that I do not support. Government should work with business and encourage small businesses, instead of ‘encouraging’ small businesses until they get too large and taking over privately-owned corporations in an aggressive way in an attempt to direct the business of a whole sector of the economy (energy).

We appreciate the freedom of fair corporations and small businesses, especially, to operate as they see fit within the confines of the law. Though, I believe the upright and fair treatment of employees is both the moral and the self-interested position to take. If you become wealthy, you would not want to be taxed so heavily. If you fell on hard times, you would not want to lose your property because you could not keep up with the tax, especially in your old age.

An especially sad state of affairs is that as we live longer, middle-class and poor seniors have many more years to survive on less money. If you were able to save money for retirement during your prime of life and you live ten or twenty years past the life expectancy in Atlasia, then you could go from living in the same or roughly the same circumstances that you lived in while you were working, to surviving on just your Social Security check. This is why I believe that Social Security benefits should be increased for low-income seniors, perhaps increasing at certain ages for middle-income seniors. Middle-class people can live comfortably for some time if they have saved appropriately, but it is no fault of their own if they live unexpectedly long and need some assistance to be able to continue to live comfortably. I think life is precious; I am pro-life, so I don’t think that these more-mature people among us are a burden on our society; these are people who have lived a long time and as a result, have a lot of insight that we can learn from. These are people who have worked hard for a long time and deserve a peaceful and comfortable retirement in their golden years.

We know that not everyone can be rich because then no one would be rich. We want to leave the door open to ‘rags-to-riches’ stories because these are the stories that define Atlasia—the opportunity to succeed and to go from living in dire poverty, even from being homeless, to being wealthy and a major success in business. It is already an achievement if one can rise from being low-income to the middle or upper-middle class. However, while hard work is a good determiner for success, it is no guarantee. If everyone who worked hard was in the middle class or was even better off, then we would have virtually no low-income people. This is why our party strongly supports measures, social welfare efforts, to help our most vulnerable communities from low-income people in general, to seniors, to the working class and middle-class families. And as I have noted before, anti-poverty programs help to even out the racial wealth gap because anti-poverty programs, social programs, disproportionately help people of color while still helping poor whites as well. We know that not all people of color are low-income or dependent on welfare; this is a stereotype, but we know that people of color are much more likely than whites to live in poverty, especially blacks, Latinos, and Native Atlasians. And unfortunately, this trend continues among children; childhood poverty, sadly, is higher than for adults. We know that low-income people are prone to being taken advantage of by corporations and that’s why we strongly oppose monopolies. We support economic competition and federalism. We support a Main Street government for South Carolina that governs on common-sense issues. We believe in a government that respects the rights of the people and doesn’t seek to expand its own power. We believe in a sensible, compassionate, government for all South Carolina—a government that respects the existence of private enterprise and works with it, while regulating private enterprise to a mild and sensible degree (to prevent monopolies, for example). We are supposed to be electing representatives for the people, not autocrats, not authoritarians. State and regional governments should be strong, equally strong as the federal government. We know that the government should not have so much power as to be able to take over your business. If you agree with our values, of fighting for the little guy while protecting your right to succeed economically, then you should vote for your Federalist candidate for Governor and state legislature!
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Joseph Cao
Rep. Joseph Cao
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Junior Chimp
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« Reply #251 on: March 21, 2021, 03:22:29 PM »

[Ahead of congressional work, Representative Cao spent the morning door-knocking and talking to voters in the northern neighborhoods of Nyman alongside the Governor, a prospective Councilor, and a team of Federalist volunteers, all of whom made sure to observe COVID regulations. The following speech was given to a limited audience at a masked and socially distanced event in the approximate vicinity of North Michigan Park.]

Hey, everyone. Great to see you all out and about – I know many of you have availed yourselves of the vaccination programs in action around the city, but in case you haven’t, please get your COVID shot! It’s something everyone needs if we are to get out of this pandemic: medical workers; service workers; teachers; everyone with breath in their lungs and a love for this nation, may Dave continue to bless it.

For a long time now, the people of Nyman have – through no fault of their own – gotten front-row seats to all that goes on in that collection of federal buildings down on the National Mall. And the more inane drama can often leave people like you all discouraged for the state of politics in your own backyard. But what can come out of the deliberation that was built into those buildings, the reason why they have more than one building in the first place, is very different. The checks and balances built into the very structure of how the federal government operates are not obstructive or vestigial, as some commentators have claimed. Far from it! By fostering debate and compromise and a systematic process of discussion, they play an instrumental role in making bad policy good and good policy better; in crafting policies that all our citizens can benefit from. Without this system built to bring everyone to the policy table and learn to hang together, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, this nation would certainly hang separately.

As a far more politically divided state than most, the people of Nyman know quite well the outsized role compromise and deliberation has had to play in proper governance. It has been our responsibility over the past six months to tackle the issues faced by our hardworking individuals and families, and tackle them well through the quality check that only sustained legislative deliberation can provide. One of those issues is quite literally the foundational issue for future generations. It is a strongly held belief of the Federalist Party of Nyman, and its regional and national counterparts, that families are a crucial unit in maintaining the cohesiveness of our communities and deserve all the support we can give them. The Federalist-led steps toward universal pre-K for Nyman’s children, including kids who aren’t able to attend regular school for personal reasons, have provided a base for this. Lower-income folks, working parents, single parents, parents who choose homeschooling as a preference or a necessity for their children: no matter your circumstance, your kids deserve the best education we can give them. It’s a foundational issue and provides a sound base that, as my good friend and former colleague Senator Scott recently pointed out – and I fully agree with that conclusion – will sustain the positive educational reforms needed to keep our education system well-oiled for years to come.

Now, as it happens, nobody has a monopoly on good policy, and it really shouldn’t be too much of a stretch for many of us to acknowledge that. Although this initiative passed with bipartisan support, it owes much of its foundation to a bill originally written by Senator Spark during his time in the Southern Chamber. He’s an independent now, of course, but it was my honor to serve alongside him in the House – where he first introduced a bill that looks likely to be signed into law very soon – and even as an independent he hasn’t wavered in his dedication to you all and to the other Southerners he serves. Independent or partisan, Peace or DA or Liberal or Labor, we’ve reached out to and worked with anyone and everyone who has come up with legislation or ideas that help Nyman’s citizens. I did mention the political division earlier; it isn’t always a bad thing in and of itself, as long as there is an impetus to build bridges between differing parties and legislators for the good of the people they serve. And if bridge-building is possible in the war zone that Congress can feel like on occasion, it is absolutely possible in a state not thoroughly dominated by any one party, where it is very obvious that the viewpoints of others matter and can be engaged with.

We will continue to do just that, and we will continue to heed what the citizens we represent have to say – their needs, the issues their communities face, and the future we all move toward together are the foundation of the responsibility leaders must hold as their duty to the people. Leaders like Senator Yankee and Southern Governor LT, like Governor Spanier, like the Councilors of all parties who remain dedicated to advancing the livelihoods and lives of Nyman’s citizens. It is very much an honor of mine to now introduce a candidate for the Council who you may know from her expertise in doing just that while leading the Office of Community Affairs: folks, please welcome your next Councilor!
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West_Midlander
Junior Chimp
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« Reply #252 on: March 22, 2021, 03:22:15 PM »

These events had socially distanced seating, temperature checks were taken upon admittance, and masks were mandatory and were handed out to those without one. These speeches were given outdoors and the physical attendance was limited, with the speeches being streamed online and posted on Youtube.

Rally in Tulsa, OK

Hello, Tulsa! It’s good to be back in Oklahoma!

Today, I would like to discuss a somber topic with you. As I’m sure you all know, here in Tulsa, in 1921, a racist mob destroyed a center of black economic prosperity, Black Wall Street, right here in Greenwood (in Tulsa). Even today, the racial wealth gap continues. The Federalist Party knows that racial sensitivity and decreasing the racial wealth gap is important. That is why we support anti-poverty measures that disproportionately help people of color, and that’s why Governor [X] has expanded funding for Oklahoma’s schools, especially in underfunded school districts with larger numbers of black students. Governor [X] fought for and signed legislation that allocated the state portion of school funding according to population instead of being based on the property taxes received from within each school district. Doing this helps low-income students, low-income white students, and low-income black students. But as with any anti-poverty measure, this move disproportionately helps Oklahoma’s black and indigenous communities.

Governor [X] comes from a working-class background and is a Native Oklahoman. He knows the importance of helping out our underprivileged communities, from the working poor to our vulnerable seniors, especially low-income seniors, to people of color.

Governor [X] also created a state holiday, Black Wall Street Remembrance Day on May 31st, the first day of that brutal massacre. This should be a day for Oklahomans to remember the tragic, hateful events of that day and to pledge to do better as Oklahomans committed to a future for all of our neighbors, free from hateful violence. Especially when the racial wealth gap persists, any action that strikes down black ingenuity and black entrepreneurship is an action that is especially heinous.

Thank you for hearing me out and I hope you will support our Federalist candidates in the upcoming Oklahoma elections!

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa,_Oklahoma#1921_race_massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_massacre


Rally in Hall Park, Norman, OK

Hello, Norman and Hello, Hall Park! It’s great to be here in Atlasia’s first, all-electric town.

It is especially appropriate to be here in Hall Park to speak about the political diversity of our party on energy and the environment. Many of our moderate candidates for the Oklahoma state legislature who are running to represent or to continue to represent urban and suburban districts like this one recognize the importance of clean energy as a major priority for our nation.

I share that position; I think it is very important to preserve and to conserve our natural environment, our state parks, and our natural resources for future generations to be able to enjoy. After all, conservatism and conservation go together. Conservation is a conservative value, especially because it involves restraint when it comes to our natural resources and our natural environment. I think the government has a place in regulating big polluters but I don’t think the government should take over the energy sector as we have done in this country. That is going about things the wrong way because since Atlasia’s founding this has been a country that has valued freedom, small government, and personal liberty. Despite this fact, the government has grown and grown with each passing generation. I think the government should be large enough to strongly dissuade pollution and to tax carbon. However, I don’t think the government should take such an aggressive approach as we have taken, when it comes to private enterprise.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman,_Oklahoma#Neighborhoods
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Joseph Cao
Rep. Joseph Cao
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Junior Chimp
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« Reply #253 on: March 23, 2021, 03:09:29 PM »

[While making their way upriver on a campaign swing across the towns of southern Indiana, the Federalist gubernatorial candidate and a number of state legislative candidates for the area were joined by Representative Cao and other regional Federalist surrogates. This happened shortly before their midmorning stop in Evansville, where the Representative was tasked with introducing the gubernatorial candidate at a masked and socially distanced event streamed live on party websites and social media.]

Thank you for that, folks. It’s great to be here in Evansville this morning, and I have no doubt in my mind that the very wise words your state representative has just given you all regarding the state of our politics will prove correct – particularly if, as seems hopeful on my travels around this state, Hoosiers turn out in force this weekend to vote for an Indiana that they and their families and communities need. I have seen just about all of you masked up and socially distancing, and better still, you all have expressed a hope and a vision forward for the political scene that we here at the Federalist Party have high hopes of sustaining in the months ahead.

I want to talk for a bit about those two: families and communities, and Indiana’s reputation in recent years has been of a state that values both in its governance and the bearings of its citizens. And let me start by making one thing clear. Your state representatives, your state Senate candidate here, and the Federalist Party of Indiana as a whole are unambiguously and consistently pro-life. Our party believes in minimizing abortions through purely common-sense means that preserve the rights of our nation’s women; indiscriminately knifing the medical sector that provides such procedures, as some partisans have accused us of wanting to do, is far from common sense and a harmful and counterproductive tactic that has been tried before at great cost to this nation’s social fabric. While there is naturally a wide range of opinions among our rank-and-file, we are clear on this much: that the lives of the mother and her child must be protected – not just during pregnancy, but during birth, after birth, and all the way through childhood and adulthood to the day they die.

The act of being born into a family, no matter its circumstance, should make clear why strengthening the Atlasian family has been a deeply-held value of Indiana’s Federalist Party and many of its counterparts around the nation. The family is the original community. It has an enormous amount of responsibility and potential to shape the path a child takes from the moment of birth, through their development and education at home and in and out of school, and throughout their gradual induction into adulthood. It is an integral part of what has held this nation’s tangled web together since its conception – since the visionaries who called for this union to join, or die – and it is that same urgency that we need here today. Families have had immense stress piled upon them through the immense social and political upheaval of the past decades, many made worse by an uncaring government; the flight of industry and younger folks from vast swathes of Atlasia has only made the problem worse as the modern economy leaves Evansville and its fellow struggling towns behind; and today, one year through a pandemic that has taken all this and cranked it up to 11, it is on the government to realize the role it’s played in pushing economic and educational policies that overlook what the family has provided for Atlasian society throughout this nation’s history. And it is on them – on the state legislators and the gubernatorial candidate who the Federalist Party is running – to do better.

I just mentioned the pandemic, which has reopened many wounds that were still recovering before our lives were upended. Not least among these is the opioid crisis that has ravaged lives and communities like southern Indiana. We’ve seen a resurgence in fatal overdoses in this part of the nation, every one of which has ripped a seam in a family and a community, dozens in Evansville alone; and they did not need to go out this way. There is a systemic failure on the part of government and administration, a capitulation to the impersonal forces that have battered communities all across our nation, when stories like these are repeated over and over and over. Your candidate for the state Senate has been behind the community’s push for state funding to tackle an issue that has fallen off the radar at precisely the time when monitoring and counteracting this sort of threat is crucial. And if elected, she will not forget who and what put her in a position to help the community she has long served. Her extensive work with the downtrodden, the sidelined, and those languishing in the back-alleys of life is exactly what is needed in government to combat an apathy that distances our representatives from those they are supposed to serve.

Life in all its forms – during birth, during childhood, during adulthood, during the twilight when folks slip into that semi-darkness that our government is all too often ill-equipped to peer through and keep the candle flame of their lives from extinguishing with a whimper – must always be protected, and especially so in a pandemic that has already claimed too many of them. On their own, officeholders can’t stop pandemics from happening, singlehandedly fix the opioid crises, or reverse a decades-long trend of urban flight. These are and have consistently been efforts that the community must do its part to achieve; our candidates here understand that and have made sure that they know what is needed, what can be done, and what can be taken up in Evansville and communities like it across Indiana. One of them is here today, a Hoosier through and through with the vision to get us through the coming months and the track record to tackle issues plaguing every city and every hamlet in this state from Indianapolis to Inglefield. Please give a warm welcome to your next Governor!
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West_Midlander
Junior Chimp
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« Reply #254 on: March 23, 2021, 08:45:56 PM »

This event had socially distanced seating. Masks were mandatory and were handed out to those without one. Physical attendance was limited, with this speech being streamed online and posted on Youtube. This event was outdoors.

Rally in Ponce, PR

¡Hola, Ponce!

It’s great to be back in Puerto Rico. I am here with Governor Teresa Sanchez; it is my privilege to be able to campaign for such a good candidate. Governor Sanchez is a Main Street Federalist who comes from a working-class background. She is a mother of two and she is one of you, not a career politician.* Governor Sanchez will always fight for the middle-class, blue-collar workers, and the working poor of Puerto Rico because she has been there. She also has governed and supported policies that help families, and families with children, especially low-income ones (families). Governor Sanchez knows what it is like working two jobs and struggling to support her children; she will never forget where she came from and she will never stop fighting for people in communities like the one she grew up in—hardworking, poor communities where family bonds are strong and three generations often live together.

I know what this is like because I lived in Mexico for a short time with my grandparents (and parents[, to be clear]) and back in Atlasia, my great-grandmother lived with us for many years, until her death. Governor Sanchez and I know that family comes first, but community is also important. As Latinos, it is hard to put anyone above our family, but we also are guided by our Catholic faith to be compassionate and charitable and to care about the suffering of others, especially the disabled, the elderly, and the poor.

I would now like to turn this over to the Governor to speak for a moment about the worsening situation on this island with regard to COVID-19:

Quote from: Governor Sanchez of Puerto Rico
Greetings, my fellow Puerto Ricans. First, I would like to thank Congressman** West_Midlander for those words. Now, I would like to address the serious COVID-19 situation here in Puerto Rico. I strongly urge you to get your COVID vaccination as soon as you are able [as in as soon as you can] get it. Do not wait to get your second shot for COVID-19 when enough time has passed, because your protection will wane if you wait too long. Please, my fellow Puertorriqueños, stay safe and practice social distancing. Do wear a mask, and do wear two masks unless you have a serious and rare medical condition preventing you from doing so. Virtually everyone, however, should be able to wear at least one mask, though. Please continue to wear a mask even after you get the vaccine, because the vaccine is not 100% effective, while it is still very effective. I am sure that our health professionals will advise us that we can leave mask-wearing behind once virtually all Atlasians are vaccinated. Unfortunately, one in four Atlasians do not want to want to be vaccinated. If you are listening to this speech and you do not want to get the vaccine, please consider this: Many of your elected officials have received the vaccine on camera and there have been legitimate studies showing that there are no ill effects for the vaccines that we are using in Atlasia. Some people who are immunocompromised, for example, may not be able to get the vaccine. Please protect yourself, any elderly friends or family members that you may have, your grandparents, for example, and your fellow citizens; please vaccinate. Thank you for your time and God bless you!

Thank you for those words, Governor Sanchez. As for myself, I will be getting my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine this Thursday. As the Governor said, be safe and vaccinate, wear a mask, and stay six feet apart. I wish I could shake each of y’alls’ hands but I cannot; safety comes first. So I will just say stay safe and God bless. The better and more carefully we work to follow the appropriate COVID safety recommendations, the sooner we can get back to normal and that is something that we all want to do.

*Even though Gov. Sanchez is the incumbent I said she is not a career politician since this is the first office she is holding and since she had a career before entering politics. I tried to involve Gov. Sanchez directly in this event because she is personally popular in PR (as Peanut noted).

**usage of the previous title, as is pretty common
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West_Midlander
Junior Chimp
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« Reply #255 on: March 23, 2021, 09:11:35 PM »
« Edited: March 23, 2021, 09:22:26 PM by West_Midlander »

These events had socially distanced seating, temperature checks were taken upon admittance, and masks were mandatory and were handed out to those without one. These speeches were given outdoors and the physical attendance was limited, with the speeches being streamed online and posted on Youtube.

Campaign Event in Bayamon, PR

Hello, Bayamon! It’s great to be here in this beautiful city.

This evening, I would like to announce the publication of our newest campaign materials for Governor Teresa Sanchez. We have had two bumper stickers created for this campaign. The first of which reads, “Re-elect Teresa Sanchez. Your Governor.” (see below; A) Both bumper stickers utilize the red, white, and blue colors of the Puerto Rican flag. The tagline for this bumper sticker is “Your Governor,” because Teresa Sanchez governs with and because of the people’s mandate, and only with the people’s consent. She has and will continue to govern with the peoples’ interests in mind and not for the big interests. As a part of being a Main Street Federalist and working to serve your interests, Teresa Sanchez supports protecting your rights instead of expanding big government. At the same time, though, she supports a government that is large enough to help its most vulnerable—the disabled, the poor, and the elderly—but she recognizes that a government that is too powerful can become tyrannical. Ms. Sanchez’s second bumper sticker speaks to her being a Main Street Federalist as I just mentioned and it reads, “Re-elect Governor Teresa Sanchez. Main Street Federalist” (see below; B). Teresa Sanchez is proud to be a lifelong Federalist because she knows that this is a party that is welcoming to people of color, working-class and middle class people, LGBT people, and the elderly.

I mentioned that the Governor is opposed to the big, monied interests. A part of being a Main Street Federalist, as the Governor is, is opposing monopolies and supporting freer competition in the market because monopolies strangle competition and raise prices in a tyrannical way. Monopolies smother competition in a similar way to big government and monopolies suppress the rights of and harm the interests of the working class and the working poor of Puerto Rico.

(A)



(B)



Campaign Event in Carolina, PR

It’s great to be back in Carolina! Though, I am from another Carolina. So, that makes at least four Carolinas that I know of. This lovely city is one, the good state of South Carolina makes two, and North Carolina, where I hail from, makes three. The fourth Carolina is a cousin of mine named Carolina.

Tonight, I would like to announce the launch of a new Youtube advertisement (see below; C). This advertisement will be an unskippable five-second ad with music in the background (probably unlicensed/elevator music), stressing the importance of mask-wearing in a few words. The purpose of this ad is to press public safety.

The major priority of Governor Sanchez’s administration, especially while the COVID situation is worsening in Puerto Rico, is encouraging the public to act safely and enforcing reasonable safety measures (i.e. not closing all businesses except non-essential business). Governor Sanchez values the economy and the budget of Puerto Rico but safety comes first, therefore, public health regulations should remain in place for some time more. The Governor has made it clear that she will pursue a state aid package to vulnerable small businesses. Governor Sanchez is not pushing this legislation immediately before the election to avoid the accusation that she is acting out of self-preservation, but if re-elected by the people of Puerto Rico, the Governor will continue to make public safety a top priority.

(C)


Image source A & B: Taino Tattoos - worldatlas.com
Image source for C: Ghrzuzudu - iStock by Getty Images
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Joseph Cao
Rep. Joseph Cao
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Junior Chimp
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« Reply #256 on: March 24, 2021, 01:57:53 PM »

[Representative Cao travelled across the state border to Gary to join a trio of state legislative candidates and spend a few hours campaigning and door-knocking alongside the local Federalist team at their request. To conclude the day's work, a general masked and socially distanced event was held downtown, at which Cao was tasked with introducing a first-term state Senator locked in a tight race; the speech is reproduced below for public release.]

I talked about the importance of communities yesterday – communities of people like the ones that have given Gary its sense of identity and, through your continued mask-wearing and social distancing, protected this city and this state – and as your state Senate candidate here very kindly raised that issue in the remarks he has just given, this seems like a good opportunity to tell you all what the Federalist Party has done and plans to do on another related issue.

It isn’t just the Atlasian family that has been hit hard by the decline of the industries that powered Gary and cities and towns like it across our nation. The workers, the people who immigrated here seeking a more secure means of income and a familiar industry, and every single member of communities like these, family or no family, have had the rug pulled out from underneath them. They’ve watched the onset of automation and the capricity of modern industries hang them out to dry, without getting a say over what happens to their own livelihoods. And in all this there is a need for the state government to rededicate itself to the purpose of its existence. It is imperative that Indianans have a government that empowers the people they are supposed to serve; all the different stories and lives within this state of yours, union workers and struggling families and the unemployed, from Lake Michigan to the Ohio River.

We are under no illusions as to the difficulty of this endeavor, especially considering the struggles your Governor has faced over the previous months. But we at the Federalist Party are optimistic as to what our gubernatorial candidate here can achieve. It has been a fault of the office he seeks that its occupants tend to be consumed with partisan tunnel vision, constantly focused on their own narrow goals on behalf of their own narrow supporters. Your candidate here has spent years among the patchwork of communities in this state by virtue of his line of work and the office he holds, getting to know many of them in great detail, and as he’s demonstrated time and time again on the campaign trail he has been more than willing to put that experience and that fundamental understanding to good use advocating policies that many of these communities need and have fought for. All Indianans, regardless of their circumstance, can count on him to fight for them in the Governor’s office, and his fellow Federalists in the legislature have long since proven their credentials in representing their own constituencies – we are confident that the people of Indiana have the good sense to evaluate the candidates who are fundamentally dedicated to their community and will elect legislators who are willing to work across party lines on behalf of their constituents no matter what party they belong to.

But we aren’t simply riding on one man’s experience – it is the wide policy platform the Federalist Party has put forth, one that we have returned to again and again in campaigns up and down this state. The platform has always been based around our realization of the value inherent in our past, present, and future. For future Atlasians to continue being able to use what we have built up for them, both the physical infrastructure and the economic and social structure that sustained communities provide, it has always been imperative for us to emphasize the preservation of what has worked in practice. And that includes planting a clear flag for fiscal responsibility. Our dedication to matching every spending proposal with revenue, something that we have insisted on at all levels of government from the presidency on down, is a case in point; these and other efforts we have put in can and will pave the way for a better long-term economic outlook that will see future generations better able to provide for themselves. I think the budgetary actions of your state representative in conjunction with two of her colleagues from different parties have clearly demonstrated the breadth and depth of support this basic dedication to tried-and-true responsible government enjoys among the current electorate – and if you elect candidates who will work for your kids’ and grandkids’ futures as well as your own, Indiana will truly have a state government that fights for its people’s present and future.

Of course, I’ve stressed just one plank of our platform. And while I naturally encourage all of you to educate yourselves and read it, it is on us as well to deliver the case for what we have done with it while in office. Here to tell you all how her work has helped to empower the workers in the community she serves, and given your local industry a new lease on life that has brought it permanently into the twenty-first century and into a position to keep families and people rooted and flourishing for the foreseeable future, please welcome your next state Senator!
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« Reply #257 on: March 25, 2021, 07:18:04 PM »

These events had socially distanced seating, temperature checks were taken upon admittance, and masks were mandatory and were handed out to those without one. These speeches were given outdoors and the physical attendance was limited, with the speeches being streamed online and posted on Youtube.

Speech in Weatherford, OK

Hello, Weatherford! I am honored to have been invited here to speak to the Weatherford members of the Gun Owners of Oklahoma. No party is the exclusive home of gun owners, sportsmen, and supporters of the right to bear arms but I believe that our party, the Federalist Party, is the rightful home of gun rights supporters who consider the right to bear arms their most important issue, or one of their most important issues. This is because most of our party supports gun rights while only minorities of other parties support the right to bear arms. A vote for Federalists is a vote for protecting the right to hunt and the right to arms for law-abiding citizens. Even though some of Labor’s candidates support gun rights, if you elect Labor, and if you elect them with a wide enough majority, that allows gun control politicians to pass restrictive laws over the protestations of pro-gun legislators, regardless of party. Furthermore, if Labor, for example, is given a mandate in Oklahoma, it sends the message that Oklahomans want more restrictions on their gun rights.

The Federalist Party is the natural home of staunch gun rights supporters because our support lies predominantly in small towns, rural communities, and small cities like this one. Like other parties, we compete for support in Oklahoma’s suburbs, and in statewide races like the Governor’s race, our supporters who reside in Oklahoma’s larger cities provide crucial support for our party.

When it comes to legislators in Oklahoma’s state legislature, most of our members are from rural districts with some representing Oklahoma’s suburbs. On the other hand, here in Oklahoma, as in other states, Labor relies on their support in cities while competing in suburbs as we do and running to garner votes where possible in rural areas, especially to buoy statewide candidates. Peace, which is allied to Labor, relies more on the support of urban residents while also competing for suburbs and rural areas to a lesser extent.

However, because the majority coalition (in Atlasia: Labor and Peace) relies on support in urban areas—building up support in other areas secondarily—most of their respective caucuses are bound to be and to always be composed of pro-gun control politicians. Even if Labor falls short of a majority in the state legislature, pro-gun control politicians from Labor and Peace together could constitute enough members in the Oklahoma state legislature to enact new, unnecessary gun control measures. We already have many gun control laws on the books in Atlasia, some of which, like the assault weapons ban, unnecessarily limit the right to bear arms.

I do not know Hank Boomhauer’s stance on guns but if he and/or the party (Oklahoma Labor) feel that they have a mandate for gun control, a Governor Boomhauer could feel that he should not veto new gun control measures if he does not sign them outright. Even if he opposes new gun control measures—which I do not know if he does—if Labor has a mandate in Oklahoma, then a Governor Boomhauer could be encouraged or forced to not veto a gun control bill or to allow it to pass by letting it stand without vetoing it. Furthermore, pro-gun control Laborites could feel that they have to abstain on gun control measures if their party, which is majority-pro-gun control, has a mandate in Oklahoma.

*a gun rights advocacy group

Rally in Broken Arrow, OK

Hello, Broken Arrow! This evening I would like to speak with y’all about our willingness to accept our supporters, whether they vote for one or a few of our candidates or all of them. We are confident in the strong record of Governor [X] but we know that Oklahoma is nowhere to take someone’s vote for granted (almost nowhere is). We won in Oklahoma last time by just five points, so Oklahoma is a major focus of our electoral efforts. We know that every victory is hard-fought and that every officeholder that we have in any office is there only through the consent of the governed—from the Oklahoma Governor’s office down to each mayoralty and sheriff’s office in this state.

I understand, we understand, that every voter has different concerns and different interests, but I believe that the Main Street Federalist message is a unifying one that can benefit all Oklahomans. Our message is one of protecting the most vulnerable and impoverished in our society while protecting your individual rights. Our message is one of fighting the big interests and unfair, high prices by preserving market competition. We know that an overly large government can be threatening to our very liberty, so the government should not be larger than it presently is and the government should not have its hands in many or all industries.

The Federalist party is a party for all people: working-class people, immigrants, women and men, people of color, LGBT people. We know that every voter has to make his or her own decision so every vote earned is appreciated and not taken for granted, whether you split your ticket or you vote for all of our candidates. In my case, I have split my ticket before, because I vote on policy and for the best candidates presented to me. In Oklahoma, I believe our candidates are the best candidates for a brighter future for all Oklahomans but ultimately that decision is yours. Please go vote and consider our party in the upcoming elections!

Speech in Spartanburg, SC

Hello, Spartanburg! It’s good to be back in The Palmetto State!

This evening I would like to speak with y’all about the important issue of abortion. I oppose abortion with exceptions to save the life of the mother or for women who have been victims of the horrible crime of rape. I think that if a child will be born with a horrific medical condition where that child will suffer terribly and almost certainly die a terrible death soon after birth, then abortion should be an option. However, I don’t think abortion should be an option broadly, in cases when a child is mentally or physically disabled, or when a child has Down’s syndrome for example. People who have Down’s syndrome suffer many struggles but they have the ability to work, to contribute to society and to their communities, and to encourage others in this often disheartening world. I have an uncle who is mentally disabled so I take it personally when we talk about aborting kids just because they have a disability, especially if they can live a relatively normal life despite their handicaps. I do know, though, that the severity of disability varies person-to-person and that a relatively normal life isn’t possible for everyone; still, it seems inhumane and bordering on eugenics to resort to this murder of our smallest Atlasians. I think we are entering the same territory, bordering on eugenics, when we talk about removing things like all mental disability, dwarfism, etc. through genetic engineering, i.e. designer babies. This usage of science and technology represents us going too far, and us trying to play God, we are acting immorally when we do this and when we end life recklessly.

I do, however, support comprehensive sex education and contraception to prevent the number of abortions. And I know that many of you here in Spartanburg and in South Carolina, whether black or white, oppose this (a)moral drift that we are seeing; many of us here oppose abortion (and designer babies).

I think the government should increase funding for adoption and encourage adoption for mothers who do not want to keep their children. I also think the government should encourage families to adopt, even instead of having children of their own.

I know that many of our conservative members in the Federalist party and many of us in the party, broadly, have different, specific views on abortion and reproductive rights. In my view, life begins at conception and it’s God’s call when we are to come home.
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« Reply #258 on: March 25, 2021, 07:58:30 PM »

These events had socially distanced seating, temperature checks were taken upon admittance, and masks were mandatory and were handed out to those without one. These speeches were given outdoors and the physical attendance was limited, with the speeches being streamed online and posted on Youtube.

Speech in Lawton, OK

Hello, Lawton! I am honored to be able to speak here tonight to the Lawton branch of the Oklahoma Moderates Coalition*.

Today, I want to talk to you about the importance of voting and the difference that one vote makes. Even though we live in a majority-party country, your vote has tremendous power, especially at the state and regional level here in Oklahoma and in the South.

I want to directly speak to y’all who support or supported parties like Peace and Democratic Alliance. Peace is already allied with Labor and the Democratic Alliance has just signed an alliance and electoral pact for Governor here in Oklahoma and in Indiana. Here in Oklahoma, a vote for the DA is a vote for Labor.

To my knowledge, I have never called out the DA or the Liberals before, even though those parties attack us on occasion. In my view, it doesn’t make sense for minority parties to fight amongst themselves. Furthermore, it makes even less sense for minority parties to ally with and to prop up the majority party in crucial races. Oklahomans, of all political parties—as a former Independent, and as a former member of Peace—I implore you to vote your conscience. As a former Laborite who has voted for self-described democratic socialists, I implore you to vote your conscience and to consider our Federalist candidates. Many of our candidates are moderates and almost all of our members are Main Street Federalists. We, Main Street Federalists, believe in fighting the big interests and standing up for small businesses, middle-class families, and the underprivileged among us, like those in poverty. We support fighting the virus by following appropriate COVID-19 guidelines. Personally, I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination this afternoon. I have no symptoms to report at this time aside from a very mild soreness at the point of injection and I have been experiencing no pain. I strongly urge everyone not vaccinated to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Additionally, please continue to stay six feet apart from those who you do not share a home with and wear a mask in public (in stores, etc.).

In closing, I hope you all will consider our party for Governor and/or for the downballot, even if you split your ticket. God bless and stay safe!

*The OMC is a non-electoral political association of centrists and center-leftists.

Speech in Edmond, OK

A while back, I was approached to join the Democratic Alliance and I declined because I have always felt at home in the Federalist Party. Our party is one that values fighting monopolies because we support competition which encourages innovation and lower prices. Reduced competition as a result of an overinvolved government or gargantuan corporations are both negative.

I did not see a need to leave a party that already stood for Main Street values and protecting the working people of Oklahoma, while fighting elite interests. I am doubly glad, today, that I did not join the Democratic Alliance because I did not leave Labor to join the Federalists only to join [if I did join the DA] a party fueling Labor’s strength here in Oklahoma. That would be counter to my values and my, and our, political aims. We live in a majority-party country but we put up a good fight in electoral contests because occasionally the little guy wins. We saw that our party was not dead when Governor LT was elected ending a long period of left-wing electoral dominance here in the South. The minority in our country, your Oklahoma values, won here in the last election and with your support, we can be champions again.

*We Are The Champions by Queen plays as Fmr. Rep. West_Midlander walks off stage*


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Joseph Cao
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« Reply #259 on: March 26, 2021, 02:16:30 PM »

[Before resuming his congressional duties, the Representative joined Governor Caroline Spanier in the Capitol Hill neighborhood to meet and greet voters ahead of the weekend’s election, precluding a party effort to bring Nyman’s voters to the polls; his efforts in the resulting masked and socially distanced event alongside the Governor included the following speech, which was posted to local and regional Federalist websites and social media.]

Hello, Capitol Hill! Thanks for indulging us once again. I do love seeing you all here, and personally I couldn’t think of a better neighborhood to experience as part of my service to the nation over yonder in the Capitol. It is a very fine day to be out and about and to be wearing your masks and socially distancing, even as we move through a historic vaccination program that has been wildly successful and brought us that much closer to overcoming COVID-19.

And there could hardly be a better place than Nyman, D.C., to have a brief tangential historical presentation. As many of you will know, Nyman used to be an anomaly within our nation. Almost uniquely within this country, and in contrast to the rallying cry that launched the War for Independence, it had no federal representation. The provision of full rights to you all here in this state happened within recent living memory – a bit of error-rectifying that has been nothing but good for the people who can finally count themselves due representation as well as taxation.

The people of Nyman therefore understand better than most the value and potential of representative democracy. What you all have seen from the daily comings and goings of federal officeholders, and the workings of government on its good days and its bad days, has been a demonstration of what this representation can do for the people who are being represented – from my own Illinois to the PPT’s North Carolina to the Vice President’s Oregon to the Speaker’s Northern Marianas. You know that the sausage-making process of democracy, the airing of disagreements that precludes the process of tinkering with bills that are acceptable to most if not all of our citizens, is rarely pretty. But when everyone involved approaches it from the mindset of understanding their role as representative of a diverse nation rather than arbiter of the objective truth, it gets results for the people. So Governor Spanier here and her fellow Federalists in the Council have taken their duty to represent you all very seriously.

People from out of state focus on the White House and on Capitol Hill, those two famous seats of government, and that has been something that shows up in politics to a certain degree; the federal government’s actions dominate the discourse and have done so for most of Atlasia’s history. But the Capitol isn’t the only thing on Capitol Hill. This neighborhood naturally takes its name from the far more eye-catching landmark next to it, but the fact remains that the architects who designed Nyman did not place the Capitol at a distance from the people it serves. From its location on First Street, it is clear that the people have just as much of a say in the governance of Nyman as do those housed in the Capitol building. Nyman the state has had a long history of being overshadowed by the goings-on in Nyman the seat of power. Variations of this perception of Nyman as a special place of government kept its residents without federal representation for centuries after its founding. And the people deserved better. You still deserve better – a politics that recognizes what you need as a state and as citizens with just exactly the same rights as their fellow Atlasians.

That has showed up in the governing philosophy of not just your Governor, but also the Federalists and other parties in the Council. In some ways, being aware of your extreme proximity to policymaking that affects the entire nation and makes its influence felt on the world beyond helps to sharpen the governing mind and draws into contrast the very mundane, humdrum, unglamorous things that have to be done when running a state that’s both defined and not defined by the two white buildings on the National Mall. Policies like the progress we’re making on reforming the Nyman Metro, in concert with both DA and Labor councilors, and curbing the excess waste that has been a staple of government projects in the past. Policies like improvements to the public utilities that you ordinary folks depend on each day. Policies like the educational reform which will ensure our kids get the good education they deserve, no matter their background.

Other parties may struggle to go every other breath without saying “Nyman,” but only one party has had the record of getting things done for the people who live in Nyman – you all are arguably the most important part of this city and this state, and whatever happens on Election Day, I think we can be proud of what we’ve been able to do together on behalf of you all. So as I conclude here, it’s only appropriate that the stage be yielded to the fine public servant who has made much of this possible. Please give a warm welcome to Governor Spanier!
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« Reply #260 on: March 26, 2021, 08:27:45 PM »

These events had socially distanced seating, temperature checks were taken upon admittance, and masks were mandatory and were handed out to those without one. These speeches were given outdoors and the physical attendance was limited, with the speeches being streamed online and posted on Youtube.

The statement to the press was outdoors with no audience (except for the press, of course); masks and social distancing were utilized.

Statement to the press in Midwest City, OK

I recognized, in my speech, that Labor has gun rights supporters in its ranks but the Former Vice President is twisting my words on this matter. Additionally, it does not help the Vice President’s case that he enunciates how he was the lone Labor Senate vote against the assault weapons ban; this emphasizes how only a minority of his party is pro-gun and his party will never feasibly be for gun rights. Labor may be willing to accept a minority of its membership being pro-gun but that party—as we have seen at the federal level—continues to pursue gun control measures, all the same.

Especially in previous campaigns, Labor has acted as the lone home to supporters of Main Street values, of the working class, and this simply isn’t the case. In this campaign and in previous campaigns, Labor has insinuated that we are the party of the elite. As I said on the trail in previous cycles, I don’t think that any party in Atlasia serves elite interests but Labor does not think so highly of her opponents. Probably because it makes for an easy attack to fearmonger and to claim that your opponent is supporting the oppressive, big, and monied interests.

I believe in working with people regardless of party affiliation and in making compromises instead of allowing legislation to fail in pursuit of the perfect. To my knowledge, I haven’t ever called out the DA before the past few days and I never said, “the Dishonest Alliance.” It doesn’t make sense to help a goliath (Labor) to stay in power. I can completely understand the Democratic Alliance running alone, that is the most respectable path, but teaming up with Goliath for political gain is a shame.

Rally in Moore, OK

Hello, Moore!

Tonight, I want to talk to y’all about the Labor-DA alliance. The alliance between those two parties reeks of the inability of those parties to win legitimate mandates and so instead they have chosen to cobble together odd-couple coalitions in competitive states shortly before the polls are set to close. Many of you have already voted early or absentee and those two parties that attacked each other the most viciously out of any two parties in Atlasia have put together joint tickets in Oklahoma and Indiana. I have no faith that those Governors and Lieutenant Governors will be able to effectively work to your benefit, to protect your rights, and to improve your communities, not because they have ill intent on policy but because a house divided cannot stand.

I believe that the DA alliance with Labor is sought out of concerns for self-preservation and for political gain. Labor gets to pick off a governorship in the South and in exchange, the Democratic Alliance is easily able to maintain their governorship in Indiana (in theory). I used to view the Democratic Alliance as a genuine political movement with serious and respectable political aims but it seems that that party will ally with any party, depending on the situation, to benefit them electorally. I support my party but I am not 100% a party man. I have voted DA for the Southern Chamber for first preference many times and I have voted Liberal for my first preference for the federal House, as a Federalist. However, I have no more confidence that the DA will put its policy concerns and its values first.

We have policy disagreements on specific matters especially with certain parties like Labor and Peace. However, I do not think that any party has bad intent in terms of the policies that they support. Though, we, the Federalists, are primarily interested in putting your interests first while Labor and the DA are more interested in gaming the political system. The DA will cut whatever deal is necessary to win, instead of fighting to win solely on the issues. Labor seemingly has no respect for the will of the voters, from the Green coup, to the switcheroo that was pulled after windjammer won the presidency.

I don’t hold any ill will toward the voters of those two parties but the leadership of those two parties should run on the issues and attempt to win legitimate mandates and for the candidates originally run. We win or lose, but when we get into office we should serve in office honestly.

In our party’s case, we have no alliance with any party, not even the DPP, because this party is not closed to non-Federalists. I joined this party originally as a Laborite, and Former President MB is a member of this party as well.

Speech in Enid, OK

Hello, Enid! It is my privilege to be able to speak to the Oklahoma Conservatives Union* tonight. This evening, I would like to speak to the Enid members of the OCU about the important issues of life and death.

I do not support euthanasia because I don’t think it is our place to decide when we will die. It is God’s call as to when we are to come home. Additionally, I don’t want elderly or disabled family members, friends, or spouses to be pressured into ending their lives because someone in their life wants to acquire an inheritance quicker.

Additionally, it would be a great shame if euthanasia were more available—which could leave the door open to people killing themselves to reduce the financial burden—in the form of medical bills—on their families. Also, people who could very probably recover but are suffering from mental illness or a temporary physical ailment could end their lives or could be pressured, by family members, to end their lives to reduce the costs on their families, even if they would prefer to fight on, to try to continue living.

As Governor of this fine region, I worked to reinstate our regional euthanasia ban. I know that, even in our conservative movement, even in our party, we are not united on this issue, so I was especially willing to compromise. I worked across the aisle, in this case with the Democratic Alliance to soften that bill to a partial ban, and that bill passed with Federalist-Labor bipartisan support.

For staunch opponents of euthanasia, though, we are the party with the greatest numerical opposition and the greatest percentage against euthanasia. That is because this party is the natural home of conservatives, even while we are very accepting of those who are more moderate like I am [especially economically: this note refers to myself, but we are accepting of social and economic moderates].

*The OCU is a conservative non-electoral political and policy advocacy organization that opposes euthanasia, supports the death penalty, is pro-life, and supports gun rights.

Rally in El Reno, OK

Hello, El Reno! It’s good to be speaking to the membership of the OCU (Oklahoma Conservatives Union) again. This evening, I would like to discuss the death penalty, shortly.

I favor the death penalty. I believe that the death penalty should be a regional or state decision instead of a federal one. This allows there to be more variability in the law for criminal punishment, with more conservative states having the option of the death penalty and more liberal states having the option for abolition. In most cases, I think that life imprisonment without parole is functionally the same as the death penalty but for the most heinous crimes, the death penalty seems appropriate.

Some may say that supporting the death penalty and opposing euthanasia and abortion is contradictory; however, the Old Testament calls for appropriate punishment and the Catholic Church [I am a Catholic] used to sanction the death penalty. There are arguments on both sides of this debate but you can most certainly support the death penalty for certain cases while opposing abortion and euthanasia, as I do.

I know that some of our supporters believe in life “from the womb to the tomb,” so they oppose the death penalty in all circumstances on those grounds. I very much respect that position; our party is not monolithic on this issue, much like our party is not monolithic on euthanasia. Though, similarly to what I said in Enid, for staunch supporters of the death penalty, or of gun rights, or those against abortion, the Federalist Party is the natural choice for you on election day. This does not mean that everyone who has one or more of these stances has to be a Federalist but our party has the largest proportion of people who believe in these culturally conservative stances, so naturally, we are the best party to continue to fight for the rights of Oklahomans and the conservative moral values of this state.

Rally in Muskogee, OK

Hello, Muskogee!

Tonight I want to talk to y’all about the twin dangers of an out-of-control, overly big government and of big, oppressive monopolies, respectively. Monopolies crush, buy out, or otherwise smother the competition. Monopolies don’t represent a genuine free market; we want a mixed-economy here in Atlasia where corporations are regulated but where the government is not overly large. When corporations are too big, we become too reliant on them, corporations can hike prices up when they control the industries they operate in or products, like vital medicines, that they produce. Additionally, overly large corporations can commit white-collar crime, easily escaping real justice by exerting control and lobbying influence over the government to receive only a slap on the wrist for egregious environmental or workplace violations. On the other hand, an overly large federal government can easily oppress its own people with the worst offenses being some of those that we have seen in Hong Kong, where the government, the PRC government, is not only overly large but holds a virtually complete monopoly over land in the city. Land is rented out by the city and as a result the city is a good place for business and a lot of revenue is provided to the PRC-controlled Hong Kong government. However, Hong Kongers have to live in squalor, in extremely small living quarters called cage homes, which are often smaller than Atlasian parking spaces. This is because the government limits land usage to keep land prices artificially high and they can do this because they control all the land in the city (except for one plot that one church owns). An overly large federal government and monopolistic corporate forces in the economy are twin evils and are both diametrically opposed to our Federalist Main Street message. If you agree with us, I encourage you to vote Federalist in the upcoming elections!
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« Reply #261 on: March 26, 2021, 11:55:37 PM »

[Representative Cao was present in Richland Center to introduce the gubernatorial candidate, who made a surprise appearance and meet-and-greet with community leaders and state legislative candidates from the surrounding towns. He was asked to give an introductory speech for the candidate at a masked and socially distanced event in Richland Center’s center, which is reprinted below for public release.]

Hello, Richland Center! Thanks for having us here, thanks for masking up and being considerate toward each other, and thank you to your state representative here for that excellent summary of what he’s done in the state legislature, warts and all. There is much that goes on in the halls of power that rarely gets to the voters who benefit most from knowing it. It’s good to see public servants like your state representative for taking the responsibility of informing you all, and if the press folks over there catch any inaccuracies I certainly hope you’ll hear about those as well.

The obligation for them and the obligation we all have, including you all in the audience as you go about your daily lives, is an important one that needs addressing. What we’re doing here is political, yes. But it should be made very clear, as I have done and as representatives of other parties have done, that the political world should not take precedence over the world we live in. In this world, many of us will experience the opportunity to do something that fundamentally positively impacts other people’s lives, no matter how small an action it might be. Everyone has the opportunity to help their neighbor. The town council has the opportunity to help the struggling family. The state representative has had the opportunity, as he’s just told you, to bring better futures to young people with artistic talents of the kind that have made Richland Center renowned in the past. I believe our public servants of whatever party are fundamentally decent people who likewise want to help the people they serve, and to the extent that they fail at that and play to the divisiveness that we see among the political classes, a large proportion of the blame has to be laid at the undercurrents of party politics which pull them out of touch of the problems and the needs people like you have.

To address that, it is imperative that everyone understands why we have division and, while we may not be able to overcome it completely in one go, why and how we continue to make progress in doing so. The divisions I alluded to earlier are minor in comparison to the problems people still face, which can’t be blamed entirely on malevolent outside forces like special interests or the big bad opposing party that I’ve heard more than a few people go on about recently. These are problems that won’t be solved by pretending everyone secretly agrees with you and can be converted to a diehard supporter of whatever team you’re on; that’s just papering over the cracks. We do our best to fix them, us officeholders and you folks, by being decent toward our fellow Atlasians in our daily lives and in the jobs we hold and the legislation we pass. It's not called the Golden Rule for nothing.

Part of that includes the decency and opportunity owed to our younger generation. As your state representative has just remarked, he’s been proud to continue Richland Center’s rich history of lifting up the obvious talents in our younger generation and bringing new opportunities for development in areas beyond the usual public school curricula, most recently through the first bill he wrote during the past legislative session. And it certainly was fitting to invoke the oldest continuously-performing high school band in the nation, which was founded right here in this town and continues to this day. But that isn’t all: on his suggestion, and as they announced earlier this month, our gubernatorial ticket has pledged to make a new set of grants available through Wisconsin’s public schools and state universities focusing on STEM. Wisconsin can take a place at the forefront of our nation’s education system as a promoter of all talents and abilities. It’s currencies like these – raw talent and creativity in our younger generations – which have driven the nation to greater heights and are at even more of a premium than ever thanks to the primacy of information in today’s world, and which this state and this nation have to continue investing in if it is to reach higher still.

Then again, I’m just the messenger. Here to elaborate on more of the Federalist plan in education and further development of our kids, of the road to a better future for which Richland Center and Wisconsin can once again serve as an outpost, please welcome the next governor of the Badger State!
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« Reply #262 on: March 26, 2021, 11:56:21 PM »

[On a side detour north, Representative Cao made a stop in Spring Green for a meal and encountered two legislative candidates who invited him to give an impromptu speech at a masked and socially distanced event. The following speech was given with very little preparation.]

Honored to be here in Spring Green today – and not just because of the distinctly outstanding speech your state Senate candidate has just given, which I think deserves to be saved for posterity, or just because of the consideration you folks have shown by coming here still masked up and still socially distancing. Make sure to get your vaccine shots in if you haven’t done so, by the way! This is an area where we have been working as one body in the state legislature, regardless of party and ideology: to get vaccines out to people like you and bring our country over the curve that COVID-19 has set in front of us.

Most folks pay attention to Spring Green in connection with Frank Lloyd Wright’s childhood home. There is certainly a justification for that attention: it’s rare to find yourself in the birthplace of one of the great architects of American history, an influential designer beyond these shores as well as within them, as I was pleasantly surprised to discover just an hour or so ago when we passed by the home itself. And in the architecture movement he founded, one that spread all over the world, he has most certainly left his mark on Wisconsin just as much as Wisconsin left its mark on him in the formative years of his career. I’m told by your state Senate candidate here that many of Spring Green’s buildings, including those that house your public institutions, still bear Wright’s legacy in the design and construction of those buildings which were overseen by his eponymous foundation or architects who trained under him.

We don’t have legislative architects or philosophical thinkers on the level of a Frank Lloyd Wright in our modern politics – none with the ability to influence entire generations. It’s a matter for debate when we last had a politician of such exceptional caliber that large swathes of the political universe bent around them. Perhaps that is for the best. Part of what made Wright a success (as other artists have done before him) was his championing of ideas that outlasted him, rather than himself, and the temptation for politicians to self-aggrandize is sometimes simply too great. Certainly the Federalist Party has fallen victim to this problem as well; I would be lying if I said we’d never tripped up. Uniquely among the parties we see today, however, the Federalists have built their core around a dedication to a very different kind of institution: the political and social institutions which our communities depend on, and which we here in the political world urgently need to be more mindful of. The institution called democracy has enabled your voices to be heard – not perfectly, but that ideal has acted as a guiding light for successive generations to bring yet more Atlasians into the sphere of the public square. And at the same time, the political checks and balances built into the system we have today ensure that these voices can be heard by different people, acted on by different representatives of the people, and brought together to form better laws and a better direction for this nation and its people.

There is a constant and ever-present need to commit ourselves to these institutions and institutional principles that have preserved this ideal for the next generation to continue working toward. It’s a massive undertaking but one that needs to be done if politics is to continue to be the best avenue for social and societal change; if we are to continue our commitment to the common market of ideas in which this nation was conceived, with the common goal of all us citizens in searching for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  In every age and in every generation there are threats to damage these commitments: opportunism; corruption; mutual distrust; tribalism; partisanship for partisanship’s sake; a recession of the people’s will and its legitimacy in our politics. The fundamental opportunism of the soulless political operative in a political world is directly opposed to the line of thinking that undergirds how our society is supposed to work. There are Atlasian successes, successes like Frank Lloyd Wright, not just because of their innate talent but because of the environment in which they grew and developed into the visionaries that they would become. And it is the duty of our officeholders to preserve the environment and its supporting institutions which give rise to a society where anyone can succeed; to help those who are stuck, through no fault of their own, in circumstances that impede this chance to succeed; and to fend off the innate every-man-for-himself us-over-them mentality that regularly threatens to knock this to pieces.

With the Federalist Party, you know exactly what you’re getting: a wholesale commitment to giving the people of communities like Spring Green, communities all over Wisconsin and the nation, the power to stand up – a power that exists thanks to our many institutions, the most important of which our Founders wrote down all those years ago on a piece of paper now preserved in Nyman – and the power to have their voice, their needs, and their problems head and resolved by the people in power. We will always do what is best for the community, on behalf of the community, by the community, and for the community. Here to elaborate on what that has meant for her journey on standing up for the lower-income folks she serves here in Sauk County, and what she plans to do in the state legislature, please welcome your next state representative!
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« Reply #263 on: March 26, 2021, 11:57:52 PM »

[The Representative was present in Wausau this evening at a request from the Federalist gubernatorial candidate, who was making a swing across towns and cities in northern Wisconsin. The following speech was delivered to a small masked and socially distanced audience and livestreamed on party websites and social media.]

My sincere thanks to the next Governor of Wisconsin – and folks, remember to get out and vote this weekend! But more importantly, make sure you inform yourselves. Your masking and social distancing is a mark of the concern you and like-minded citizens across this great nation continue to demonstrate as we shift into the final phase of beating this pandemic, a virtue that has founded this nation – the virtue that informed that revolutionary thought that all people were created equal – and remains a bedrock of Atlasian society.

Though I’m sure you folks here know all about rock. I spent a very edifying hour with a former employee of Anderson Brothers and Johnson, the granite supplier which employs some of you here, and learned of Wausau’s unique place among Wisconsin’s geological landscape; it is the premier source of red granite, the state stone and a remarkably beautiful one. It was an opportune discovery early in this city’s history that brought Wausau’s quarries to great state prominence and has contributed its small part to your reputation for job creation and growth in just about every industry imaginable. There is much to admire about the growth of a formerly small community on the outskirts of Wisconsin which has occurred while not leaving anyone behind, and although he will deny it, I suspect your prospective state representative here has had a small hand in leading the charge for better labor laws that give the worker their due to be an active member of any community they wish to join.

But there is a different kind of bedrock, for which I firmly believe a market also exists here in Wausau and across this great state. This faraway place may as well have been across the ocean from the center of our nation’s political scene back when the ideals that birthed the Revolution were being thrown around in Philadelphia and New York City. It is a testament to the power of those ideals that they sustained the birth of our nation by fire and musket, brought the former colonies together to form a nation, and became the foundation for that same nation which now stretches from sea to shining sea and across the oceans to a bunch of territories as well. And in our politics today, we are still reaching for the full potential of what those ideals can mean in the lives of all the people they affect here in this nation, and how our government from the White House to the Wausau town council can bring that potential to flower for our citizens.

So there is no room for complacency in our politics when it comes to the enduring need to refresh our commitment to the foundation of what makes Atlasia a great nation. This nation was conceived in and dedicated to an ideal that it spent the next two hundred and fifty years (and counting) trying to live up to. Ordinary workers did not always have a voice; that was changed. People tiptoed around the idea of Afro-Atlasians and immigrants having the same societal rights as their white counterparts; that was changed through much effort and a test of whether a nation so conceived and so dedicated could long endure. Women’s right to vote was nonexistent, until that changed with the outpouring of a movement that finally fixed the old declaration that all men were created equal. With each step we have taken – a more welcoming Atlasia that recognized the value of new citizens and immigrants; a more equitable school system that has shown promise in giving the same educational opportunities to all kids; a modern economy with safeguards built in that ensure nobody is left behind – we have continued that long trek along the moral arc of our nation.

And in Wisconsin’s state government today there is a continued need for that commitment coupled with a concern for the communities which fall under the promise of that ideal but still go unrealized nevertheless. It is a promise that deserves to shine in its proper place, as your red granite does in Wisconsin’s collective consciousness, and that place is the office of a Governor and dozens of state legislators across this state who have shown a firm foundation in the principles I’ve expounded on and a drive to put them into action for every last community across Wisconsin. You know where this party is coming from, and you know where we’re going – one of the people who hopes to lead that way is here with us, an accomplished pillar of this community with a proven dedication to uplifting his fellow citizens. Your next state Senator, everybody!
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« Reply #264 on: March 27, 2021, 01:17:25 PM »

[In the wee hours of the morning, the following flyers were distributed to residential neighborhoods in Nyman on behalf of Governor Spanier's reelection campaign.]

Quote
Labor is right about one thing, even if their bumbling campaigners here don’t realize it.

Reject the fearmongering and desperate attempts to make this election about an issue where there is already consensus in this state.

Vote for the party with a record of getting things done for your family, your jobs, and your public transport.

Vote for the party with a plan.

Vote Federalist.
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« Reply #265 on: March 27, 2021, 01:21:41 PM »

[In the wee hours of the morning, Representative Cao made a detour to Indianapolis to join a state Senate candidate fighting a close race in the city’s suburbs. Following a consultation with Indiana Federalist Party leaders, he gave the following speech to close out an early-morning rally where masking and social distancing were enforced.]

Thank you for having us, Indianapolis! Glad to see everyone continuing to mask up and socially distance, and as your state Senate candidate very rightly said, please get vaccinated as soon as you can! And I must say that sign he erected over across the street is a rather eye-catching way of getting the message across, though it wouldn’t be the first thing to divert my attention. Crossing over the river on my way here, I was rather tempted to stop and enjoy the view from over the water. Duty always calls, of course, in this case the opportunity to talk to you all. But it got me to thinking about the very prominent role the White River and the tributary system that covers this state has played in the Hoosier consciousness.

Indiana wouldn’t be what it is today without the Wabash river system, and it looms large in the history of what has driven the state forward. It brought industry to the state almost on the heels of the first settlers; during the nineteenth century it admitted steamships which brought commercial opportunities up from the Ohio River; and today, after decades of awareness campaigns, the rivers of Indiana are dotted with natural parks and wildlife and sources of recreation and culture that have grown up along with the communities along these riverbanks and will, fortune willing, sustain them long into the future. When the White River experienced a chemical spill, the towns along the river swung into action and called on state help to restore the natural order of things and bring irresponsible industries to bear for their actions. Anderson, just upriver, invested substantial time and effort in fixing a part of the environment that had heavily shaped their community then and now.

It’s exemplary work like this that the Federalist Party means when we talk about the power of the communities we all live in to chart their own course by, of, and for their citizens. And the potential for change and how different communities across this state and this nation deal with it has been a particular focus of ours. The river is often constrained by the bounds it cut itself, but when it does change course, everyone in the vicinity has to adapt. Our lives get upended by the cataclysms of COVID-19, or the convulsions of the economy, and as we run for cover it falls to the people we elect on the local and state and regional and national levels to decide how best to navigate the new course that the river has taken.

That has been made very obvious in the stories we have seen and heard throughout this month. One of the first events I attended here in Indiana was down west, on the banks of the Wabash not too far away, over in Vermillion County by the Illinois border. And fittingly for the name, the state legislative candidate who I campaigned with was not too proud to admit that the good done for his community sprung directly from his work with Labor and other parties. Like him, our party’s state legislators have worked time and again with their Labor counterparts, with their DA counterparts, with their Liberal counterparts, and given the opportunity would gladly reach across the aisle. The needs of their communities – of the good folks here in Indianapolis, up in Lafayette, in the hinterlands of Michiana, and down near the Kentucky border – don’t care what party label is worn.

On the other hand, the parties still have an obligation to take that same view, unhindered by partisan blinders, of what their communities need. Politics lies downriver from its origins in the people who it serves. I have no doubts as to the good work other parties have done for their communities; we wouldn’t have been willing to work with their legislators for the good of our shared constituents if it were otherwise. But we work with Labor and other parties where it matters – in the people’s house, where our differences in opinion are on full display – and not behind voters’ backs in backroom deals. In their attempts to wrest back the political high ground they seem to have lost sight of what happens when political games take precedence over the communities which their state legislators still serve well. And in doing so they’re threatening to leave people high and dry, cut off as the river’s course changes for the benefit of a few political operatives in a back room who, in the words of another Governor, want to make this about winning elections instead of electing the best people.

R2D2 admitted in his farewell address that he had frequently been overridden by party concerns; that that would be one reason his thoughts would go unheeded; that, in the grand scheme of things, he was nobody. No one person in Indiana may be a somebody – if the Governor of Lincoln was a nobody, hardly anyone would be somebody – but part of our creed as Federalists is that you have the power to make your voice heard in these matters. This attempted overriding of your voice should make very clear where things stand. I urge everyone here – all those listening – all clear-eyed Hoosiers regardless of party – to vote your conscience, and I urge all good Federalists to cast their second preference for the party that has likewise stood up for the Hoosiers left high and dry by this abrupt change in the course of politics. If you are a Federalist in Indiana, I urge you to second-preference the Liberal candidate for every office up and down the ballot.

There are some things bigger than party. When the river bursts its banks, it is not the leaders who should run for political cover, and the voters know this. We stand for federalism, for the power of voters and communities to decide their own fates instead of having party apparatchiks distort their choice for them, and if you get out and vote we will sleep easier for your demonstration that the people can overcome the raging of politics and have a bridge built over these troubled waters that will bring the focus of politics back where it should be. Thank you very much, Indianapolis; thank you, folks, for coming; and Dave bless.
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« Reply #266 on: March 27, 2021, 07:23:23 PM »

These events had socially distanced seating, temperature checks were taken upon admittance, and masks were mandatory and were handed out to those without one. These speeches were given outdoors and the physical attendance was limited, with the speeches being streamed online and posted on Youtube.

Rally in San Juan, PR

¡Hola, San Juan! It’s great to be back in Puerto Rico and back in San Juan.

First of all, as a lifelong, devout Catholic who looks up to Pope Francis, I don’t appreciate somebody coming down to a place [PR] he knows is majority Catholic and using Catholicism and the Pope as a prop. I know that the people of Puerto Rico are smarter than being bamboozled and pandered to in this way even if Labor doesn’t expect better of you. Vote for your future and to continue the fight for a better Puerto Rico, and deny the posers and panderers.

I know that many in our Catholic community are pro-life and this is a view that I deeply respect because it is one that I share. It is hardly an “appeal” to us to talk down to us, to Puerto Ricans, to say that it is hypocritical to oppose abortion without being pro-life from “womb to tomb.” Some people hold that view, including some folks in our party, but that doesn’t mean that everyone has to (hold that position). It should be very discouraging to have to be talked down to in that way, to have to listen to that tripe.

It’s also interesting to see Labor make a “unique” poverty appeal here because during this campaign cycle I did mention that I grew up in mobile homes. I live in a mobile home and I grew up in poverty. I am low-income and my family needed government aid—food stamps. I don’t think there’s any shame in needing assistance because most people—like my mother for one—are hardworking, they just are unable to make ends meet even if they work two, or even three jobs. We, Main Street Federalists, closely understand that our most vulnerable have to be helped out from low-income folks, to our seniors, to the disabled, and Governor Sanchez has governed in this way—working to build up the most vulnerable in our society here in Puerto Rico. We can make more progress in this state with your support and your vote! Thank you, San Juan!

Rally in Stillwater, OK

Hello, Stillwater! This evening, I wanted to make an appeal to you, the people of Stillwater, and the people of Oklahoma, as our campaign in this fine state draws to a close and as many of you prepare to cast your votes if you have not already done so.

My comments have been mischaracterized as having “it both ways,” with regards to Labor. I clearly indicated that I don’t think that any party means to support bad policies. We can disagree on how to solve Oklahoma’s problems but I don’t think, on the policy, that the other parties have ill intent. However, the ability of other parties to work for you is hindered when they put winning elections and political gamesmanship ahead of presenting themselves to you, the voters, honestly. Serving you honestly, in government, should be the top priority of all of us. I trust that you, the good people of Oklahoma, will be able to see through the muddying of the water and the trickery utilized by some of our opponents. I know that the people of Oklahoma are smarter than they are given credit for by some folks, especially those from outside of our region [not referring to WB with this remark].

Supporting gun rights vehemently here in Oklahoma has been called an “old hat trick.” However, at the same time, our party’s discourse in favor of the right to bear arms has pushed candidate Boomhauer to just now take the public stance of strongly supporting the right to bear arms. After coming under attack, apparently, the consensus of Oklahoma Labor is being with me, in perfect lockstep with my stances after we set the bar for Oklahoma’s values. If Mr. Boomhauer is elected, you will have his words to show to him if he changes course but I trust that you, the good people of Oklahoma, of Stillwater, will vote for the party that set the course to defend your rights first.

Rally in Guaynabo, PR

Hello, Guaynabo!

Recently your Governor was attacked as a rubber stamp for Federalist policies. While Governor Sanchez agrees with our party on many issues, she governs by her own conscience, as I did when I was Governor of this fine region and likewise when I had the privilege of representing our great country in the federal Congress.

Governor Sanchez makes her own calls and has governed in a way that she believes is the best for Puerto Rico, not for the Federalist Party, not for Labor, and not for Nyman [referencing the federal government, not the city]. At the same time, Governor Sanchez agrees with our strongly held Main Street Federalist principles. When one discusses someone being a rubber stamp, this has a negative connotation; however, Governor Sanchez first became a Federalist because she wanted a competitive and strong economy for Puerto Rico, and to also support our most vulnerable. Supporting competition and a strong, competitive economy is a vital part of being a Main Street Federalist.

Governor Sanchez does not support a competitive economy because she favors corporate interests. She believes that the government should work with private enterprise where appropriate; however, she also believes that the government should appropriately regulate private businesses. We support an economy that is expressly competitive meaning that the government does not intervene unnecessarily in the economy, while simultaneously, corporations are prevented from creating monopolies that obstruct the free market. We, myself and the Governor, both oppose overly big government and monopolies because we support competition, economic growth and ingenuity, and lower prices for Puerto Rican consumers. An overextension of the government into the market, or the existence of monopolies, can artificially create scarcity and raise prices, hurting working people.

Speech in Miami, FL

Hello, Miami! It’s great to be back in this amazing city. Today, our family held an easter egg hunt, mainly for my youngest cousin (aged eighteen months). To my knowledge, it was his first easter egg hunt; he enjoyed finding and opening up the colored eggs, some of them shaped like animals.

This occasion has me thinking of the upcoming holiday. As a Christian and as a Catholic, I will be celebrating Easter on Sunday, April 4th so I wanted to wish each of you a happy early Easter as y’all head to the polls. God bless, and stay safe!
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« Reply #267 on: March 27, 2021, 10:49:23 PM »

This event had socially distanced seating. Masks were mandatory and were handed out to those without one. Physical attendance was limited, with this speech being streamed online and posted on Youtube. This event was outdoors.

Rally in Nyman and to be live-streamed to supporters in Oklahoma

Labor is lying their way across Nyman and Oklahoma at this late point in the campaign, probably with the intention that you, the voters, are not able to hear the real deal from us. Apparently, Labor's way is punching a man when he's lying down, i.e. holding events so late that we have no recourse.

Don't fall for this trickery, Nymanites; don't fall for this scam, Oklahomans.

Our party has often and consistently campaigned on our economic message during the course of this campaign, despite what Labor says. We stand for our Federalist Main Street message which includes restricting monopolistic power, assisting low-income people who desperately need the help, and cutting the taxes of middle-class families. Despite this fact, Labor takes the easy path; instead of arguing on the issues, against our actual stances, they represent our party as a party that wants to hurt and tax the middle class and that is a ludicrous accusation.

We are being called the conservative old guard of Atlasia but we are supposedly for more taxes, especially on the middle class, at the same time?

Despite the way that I have campaigned, and the way that Congressman Cao has campaigned, despite the fact that our party is home to many ethnic minorities, our party is implied to be unwelcoming to minorities of all stripes. Labor is implied to be the natural home of minorities which seems an undeserved position; if that title was or is earned it was or will only be secured by thoroughly and willfully misinforming the voters of Atlasia.

Our party is being misrepresented as unfriendly to COVID regulations and safety precautions when Congressman Cao and I have consistently campaigned on a pro-health and pro-safety message.

There is not even a pure Federalist majority in the Southern Chamber and the kingmakers in the Chamber of Delegates [the DA] are allying with Labor for the time being, meaning that even if we wanted to slash COVID regulations—which we absolutely do not want to do—we could not; this attack is absolutely laughable. I trust that the voters of Nyman and Oklahoma are smart enough not to fall for these baseless attacks, despite Labor's ill intent and consistent disinformation tactics.
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« Reply #268 on: March 27, 2021, 11:59:28 PM »

[Representative Cao made a final eastward swing across Wisconsin, stopping in Ripon to visit local Federalist leaders and oversee their GOTV coordination, before delivering the following livestreamed speech to a masked and socially distanced audience not far from the Little White Schoolhouse.]

In the Federalist Party’s long history, people have questioned the value of the regions and of regionalism. It has receded somewhat today, but there are still fundamental misunderstandings at work in our politics and it is long past time to set some of them straight. Wisconsinites deserve leaders who will tell you where they are coming from, what basic principles they are grounded in, and we will do our best here in the birthplace of one of our former political parties to make that case on behalf of the Federalists.

At risk of again inviting the cries of “platitude” for making a basic observation, our states are products of specific communities that have specific needs. It is all very well to argue for local control, as other parties have learned to do, and the fact that we have worked closely with them for the good of our constituents to achieve the very same results they tout should be a sign that we are quite willing to put our work where our mouth is on these matters. But the laboratory of democracy that we call Wisconsin is very different from those other laboratories called South Carolina or South Dakota, the results we seek must needs be achieved through different means in different states, and that is something that has been severely lacking in campaigns from across the aisle thus far.

Our states multiply the loci of power within Atlasia and, in doing so, bring that power within reach of the people; they provide a path for that power to flow from the bottom up. If Labor insists on referring back to the exact same record in every city and every state they visit, and in creating little replicas of our federal government with exactly the same approach to policy in every state across the union, then it does not matter how loudly they emphasize local control if that local control is subsumed to the agenda of the people in the federal government. Our policies here in Wisconsin are brought directly to you from our state legislators and our local candidates for precisely that reason: it is the people who actually originate it who are best served to talk about it to the people they serve. The researchers hard at work here in this particular laboratory of democracy, and in others across the country, don’t need higher-ranking researchers kicking down the doors and telling them what results they should get.

And the other pillar of federalism is very much a recognition at the root of everything that you can’t kick people out of the tent. Each community is a tent that officeholders must learn to navigate. Wisconsin is a big, magnificent state that contains multitudes of such communities and needs leaders who understand that basic state of affairs and what is needed at any time. Atlasia is a big tent, a marketplace of ideas and a melting pot where people may disagree – may even hate what the other has to say – but will defend to the death their right to state their case. It is imperative that we learn to agree to disagree even if we can’t reach a common solution. The party-above-all-else mindset that drives so much of politics today is a cancer – a stain on what politics can and ought to be. There is no reasonable excuse to drive wedges between our citizens, to tell people in different parts of the tent that they ought not to associate with each other, or to attempt to purge the tent of everyone except people of your own party.

I have long advocated for the primacy of principles over party. It is highly dangerous for politics when we put loyalty to a party over adherence to our principles, and that weird worship of one party which springs up in the heat of campaigning on all sides of the aisle is something I generally try to avoid – as do the Federalist candidates here in Wisconsin and in other states across Lincoln. It would, moreover, be intellectually dishonest to say that one party is the arbiter of these principles. What has been erected here is a reminder that even long-dead parties of nations past, which lost their way by leaving their principles at the door as they entered the halls of power, must needs have their root in the principle reaffirmed on that cold day in 1854 that all men are created equal and all are endowed with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It falls to the public servants in communities like Ripon all over Wisconsin to follow those guiding principles and to develop them as they see fit in a way that assists every last Wisconsinite – the proposal by your own candidates for tax credits that don’t leave dependents out in the cold is merely one among the many examples that our candidates up and down the state have proposed, a rich diversity of the kind that can come only from a common understanding of the value inherent in this laboratory of democracy and all its disparate communities. Here at the site of a declaration of intent and of principle, I hope all of us regardless of party can rededicate ourselves to truly serving the people, in this artificial hothouse called the campaign trail as well as in the seat of government and in communities all over Wisconsin. Thank you, folks, for having us, and remember to get out tomorrow and vote for federalism!
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« Reply #269 on: March 27, 2021, 11:59:47 PM »

[The following speech was delivered as Mr. Cao continued his eastward swing across the Badger State under masked and socially distanced conditions in Kaukauna, where he attended a town hall with several other state legislative candidates before speaking to a limited audience. Part of it was live-streamed by the Nyman Federalist Party’s website and social media in addition to those of Wisconsin’s Federalist Party.]

Honored to be here in Kaukauna today – the Fox River Valley is a beautiful place, and by masking up and continuing to socially distance, you good folks have demonstrated the same fundamental care for your citizens as Nature has clearly done for your surroundings. Make sure to go get the vaccine if you haven’t already – it is an essential part of the final leg on this struggle back to normality we have all been running for a year.

The regional government has been picking up its previous slack on matters like these, I’m happy to say. As vaccinations continue, the Lincoln Council has begun laying the groundwork for schools to reopen –  a cross-partisan effort that the school district here in Kaukauna has famously been a fierce proponent of over the past week. I can also report that your Councillors, particularly our own Brother Jonathan who’s spent much of the past few days in Vermont in deep discussion with the good folks there, are doing their jobs and consulting with their constituents so as to put their safety and wellbeing first. That doesn’t belong to a specific party. When there is good to be done, in preserving the lives and livelihoods of the people we serve, we in the Federalist Party will most certainly do what we can to achieve it – as I have every confidence our counterparts will do.

Unfortunately, despite actually being relevant to the lives of millions of Lincolnites and all you folks here in Wisconsin, there is a good chance that this will get lost in the shuffle of invective being hurled around. And a lot of the rhetoric we’ve heard from politicos recently is based in artificial opposition, emphasis on “artificial.” The reason women’s rights are under attack is because the big scary Federalists are busy gutting Planned Parenthood. The reason you’re out of a job during the pandemic is because the Federalists helped special interests get even richer at your expense. The reason the very real racial divisions we have in Atlasia still exist is because the Federalists are raging racists. And on and on and on it goes. Never mind that the attacks are entirely fact-free and impervious to correction – those making the attacks will continue to throw mud at the wall and see what sticks. I trust the voters will recognize desperate attacks when they see them and vote accordingly.

The same folks will then tell you with their next breath that we’re all in this together, which is where they have it exactly right. We are all in the same boat for practical purposes, all have a voice in the way our country is steered through the crises besetting us, and all have needs and problems in our own communities that need to be addressed. This argument is raised in service of asking everyone to vote for them, and them only. Not so! We may be a political party, but we are going to tell you the truth even if it kills us politically. The beauty of the Federalist Party is that we won’t be cut adrift if people attack us in the rarefied political sphere from which these attacks have come. And the idea that we are somehow acting out of fear of “the people” – the shield used by the same operatives who have decided to pull the wool over the eyes of Indianans and Oklahomans – is laughable. We are very proud of the work we’ve done among you good folks and on behalf of you citizens of Atlasia, and we urge you to vote your conscience – for whoever has done the best job at representing you, solving the problems that crop up in your community, and putting forth a concrete vision rooted in their understanding of how politics can and should work.

We Federalists here, in Wisconsin and in Lincoln, have done our level best to stay out of attacking others, and frankly the atmosphere is bad enough as it is. But the people Wisconsin once showed that they will not tolerate lies and accusations made up out of whole cloth, hurled at those who serve our nation in governments across Atlasia, and I believe they will do so again. Thank you very much, Kaukauna, and as I have said, and I’ll repeat: vote your conscience. Vote for, at long last, a sense of decency in our politics so we can focus on what matters – working for you the people.
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Joseph Cao
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« Reply #270 on: March 28, 2021, 12:00:05 AM »

[The final stop on the eastward swing came in Two Rivers, where Representative Cao rendezvoused with a promising young state assemblyman attempting to make the leap to the state Senate. Masking and social distancing rules were strictly enforced.]

Well, it is very much a pleasure of mine to finally be back here with you all on the shores of Lake Michigan! Thanks for having me here, both now and about a month ago when I decided to visit incognito as I often do to stay connected with ordinary folks on the ground rather than cooling my heels in Congress. I have no doubt that this has been an edifying election season for you all, and I urge everyone here to give the same consideration to their choice tomorrow as you have done in continuing to mask up and socially distance.

That lake looms large in Two Rivers’ community, in the source of its very name, as it does in the minds of the public servants who represent it. I have had the chance to speak to a number of them, and I think I see some of them here today, leaders of all parties and ideologies who can nevertheless see past them to work on what the people need. And one of them, a Federalist who you may know is running for the state Senate, can count Lake Michigan as the impetus for precisely the sort of innovative policy the Federalist Party fights for across Wisconsin and the nation. I will leave it to him to expand on that policy very shortly – though the reports in the Lakeshore Chronicle seem to have kept you all fairly well-updated on how it can help keep Lake Michigan free from algal bloom and other things of the sort – and note that this could not have become reality without the extensive input of his fellow state representatives and the city manager here in Two Rivers and scientists, architects, and fellow citizens who all have necessary viewpoints on policies like these. I want to be clear about what it means to govern: nobody is solely responsible for an agenda, something I have stressed time and again on the campaign trail as I and others with me give due credit to the work our friends from other parties have put in when they likewise help the governing process along.

Lake Michigan isn’t the responsibility of any one state. The efforts of your Federalist assemblyman here are only one among the many such efforts pursued by different leaders of different states and communities in different ways. And as governing must needs force us to pay attention to what our community needs, so it brings us into contact with other people who need to be worked with. The assemblyman’s efforts have included a tougher pollution standard for industries operating locally which has necessarily compelled him to work with local leaders and industries in making sure they can hit the targets set into policy. It has placed him in touch with like-minded environmentalists from other states with an eye towards preserving the natural beauty and potential of one of the largest freshwater lakes in our country. These have included fellow public servants in other states, the Labor legislators from Gary, the Mayor of Chicago, the Liberal state representative from the Upper Peninsula, all united by this common effort. And as we work between parties, between states, with industries and organizations, it leaves behind the animosity that has tended to dominate the campaign trail. Political campaigning is an artificial environment, one that doesn’t hold a candle to the real environment here that needs to be preserved. It is in the real world that our responsibilities lie.

So just as we have striven for cleaner rivers and a cleaner Lake Michigan, we also look forward to a cleaner political scene that will likewise help our communities view the work their public servants have accomplished with clearer eyes. The people of Two Rivers, home to one of the premier museums dedicated to printing, that industry that launched the information revolution, will not need reminding that information is power; that bad information is likewise much more detrimental to the way we function in our connected world; that it falls to all of us, public servants included, to provide good information that gives our citizens the power they need to fulfil their constitutional duty. And when you all go to vote tomorrow, remember that it is your vote and your voice that must decide the outcome of this election – not us, not other parties, not anyone other that yourselves and your communities. Thanks for the time, Two Rivers, and as promised, here to talk about that policy of his is your next state Senator!
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Joseph Cao
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« Reply #271 on: March 28, 2021, 11:38:02 PM »

[The final Federalist event in Nyman, livestreamed nationwide on Federalist websites and social media, saw the attendance of Representative Cao alongside the Governor, her fellow Councilors, and some party luminaries, although former Governor West_Midlander's absence was noted as he had been taken ill shortly beforehand. The Representative's speech at the masked and socially distanced event is reproduced below for public release.]

My thanks to the Councilor – and folks, as good of a speech that was, my unwanted opinion is that it has been dwarfed by his actions in the Council over the past term. You know the record he has built up – it is a matter of public record, one that we have all been very proud of here in the city – so it is your call now as you head to the voting booth, still masked and socially distanced as you are currently doing.

In any case, you’ve have heard much, much more than enough from us regional and national officeholders over the past month to go on with. So if I may be allowed to register my own selfish opinion for the moment, I will be very glad when Election Day comes and the honest unfiltered opinions of you folks are finally able to dominate the narrative. You are all good citizens who have no doubt at this point what the parties have to say, so I will begin by thanking you all, as I have done in casual conversation with other ordinary citizens across this nation, for fulfilling your duty as a citizen in staying informed. It does not end with one election, as you very well know; most of you folks will continue to respond actively to the twists and turns of the political process and keep your officeholders’ feet to the fire over what they have promised you. The Nyman Federalist Party understands quite well that they will be measured by their work over the past six months. All I can say about that, at this point when you all should be the ones taking control of the narrative, is that the work your officeholders have carried out during this term have been an exemplary example of how local politics should be done if it is to benefit you the people.

Governor Spanier’s administration has been accused of being, at various points, either platitudinous or reactionary. I know the folks here in Nyman have heard them, and I know we have made our case for why we don’t put much stock in the validity of those attacks. It is unusual for an administration that has cut waste in state projects, reformed the metro system, and made great strides toward universal pre-K to be accused of being reactionary. It is rather more unusual for an administration, from the Governor down to the aides working for our Councilors, which has negotiated heavily with all other parties over these initiatives – most prominently the metro overhaul, where one of the DA councilors’ suggestions have been instrumental in improving the efficiency of our plan – to be accused of being platitudinous. If we were either of those things, we would not have the record we have to stand on today. Getting through the tangle of politics, its limitations and tradeoffs, and crafting legislation that we constantly seek your input on is exactly what we wouldn’t be doing if we wanted to feel good and coast on public opinion or wait for everyone else to agree with us. The Governor and others of her party know how difficult it is to get anywhere without acknowledging that you don’t always get what your most partisan supporters want. That is instrumental to setting aside the mentality, as we Federalists here in Nyman have done, that the people exist to serve politics – your own politics – rather than the other way around.

There is such a thing as a public servant still, in politics, despite everything that has gone on this month. I don’t believe there has been a single instance where our officeholders here in the state of Nyman have made a policy decision without also laying out their rationale, their justifications for it, which have always been rooted in what the people of this state need in the middle of a pandemic and the multitudes of other crises afflicting our nation. The people of Nyman are not looking for ideologues who will see a bunch of problems that confirm their priors about what should be done and use them as an opportunity to ram through their pet policies. The record of our Federalist officeholders here has been anything but ideologically driven. And as long as there continue to be problems to be solved here in the city and the state which we serve, we will not cram ideological square pegs into these round holes.

Most importantly of all, there is no one single public servant responsible for anything that gets done here in Nyman or anywhere else. If I have been willing to give due credit to what the other parties have helped us, it is not out of convenience; nobody expects this sort of gesture to be repaid, at least not on the part of the political operations we’ve seen this month, and nobody expects it to be done in exchange for guaranteeing political safety. Why should officeholders care about being politically expedient over the needs of their constituents? Governor Spanier told you all in her inaugural speech that she would govern on behalf of every single citizen of Nyman regardless of what they thought of her. And she has done exactly that, as have our Federalists on the Council. We know that the people’s need for a better living standard, a better education system, better jobs, and a better means of getting to those jobs trumps anything that partisans may think of how politics ought to operate. The people were and are our first priority, and they will continue to be if you reelect Governor Spanier and our Federalist Councilors, who have shown time and time again that they are very capable of living up to their promises, in delivering concrete results for Nyman, and in working to improve the lives of all Nymanites regardless of race or creed or ideological leaning. You all have seen that record, and we have been honest about how that record has been achieved: by the officeholders representing you the people, of the needs of you the people, and for the lives and livelihoods of you the people.

Get out and vote, folks, and stay in tune with what your leaders have done and how it measures up to what you need done – we will always put the people first in everything we do and in every part of the political process we engage in, and our words and actions in and out of the political sphere have always backed that up. I’ll hand the stage now to Governor LT, who will then pass it on to Governor Spanier for the last word; Dave bless you all, folks, stay safe, and please go vote!
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At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder
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« Reply #272 on: March 28, 2021, 11:49:49 PM »

Southern Governor LouisvileThunder is at the National Mall at Nyman, DC in front of a thunderous crowd while following social distancing and mask guidelines

Hello Nyman!!!!!

It is I, your amazing Governor here tonight with Representative Joseph Cao to be with all of you. This has been a heated campaign where the parties have come to make their pitch to win your votes in the upcoming local elections here. I have a simple message, and that is if you want a government responsive to the needs of those forgotten by our large uncaring federal government, then vote for those who are friends of mine. Voting for the party of the South, the Federalists, will make your lives more free, more just, and we will take action on giving opportunity so we get past this pandemic stronger than ever before. We are always unbridled to the whims of any other interests than yours.

As Governor of the South, I have been busy working with members of all parties on dealing with our pandemic and on other legislation to improve the quality of life here. A vote for the Federalist Party for local elections here in Nyman are the guaranteed choice for a vision that shall not be defined by out of region Labor campaigners who wish to impose their ideology on you, but has been defined eloquently by my fellow Federalists such as Representive and Former People's Speaker Joseph Cao, Former Governor and Representative West Midlander, and Eternal Senate PPT North Carolina Yankee. We the Federalists prefer to stay above the fray of the mudslinging that the other parties engage in. We are here tonight to campaign with a laser targeted focus on solving the real problems facing the hard working people of Nyman, DC who aren't well connected to the highest levels of Labor Party federal bureaucracy. We are the party of the everyman. With us, a message will be sent loud and clear that we won't take being forgotten anymore, and our voices will be heard.

Thanks and please don't forget to vote!!!!
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At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder
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« Reply #273 on: April 05, 2021, 09:57:04 PM »

The following states will have elections in April:
Fremont: Idaho, North Dakota, Iowa, and the Los Angeles mayoralty
Lincoln: New York, Massachusetts, and the Virgin Islands
South: Mississippi, North Carolina, Kansas, and West Virginia

Once again, party members are encouraged to campaign in whatever states they choose and to affirm so by posting in this thread.

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At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder
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« Reply #274 on: April 05, 2021, 10:37:43 PM »

Charleston, WV

Rally with WV state Governor Courtney Rhoades and several state legislative candidates while following mask and social distancing guidelines

Hello Charleston,

Your regional governor is glad to be here with you tonight! I am excited to kick off our fine old party's campaign this month on a bold agenda to revitalize West Virginia. A Federalist agenda will bring in the jobs we need to thrive. As Governor of the South, I have put in plenty of work to reopen our economy after this pandemic put a halt our livelihoods. This is just a first step, but a very important one so that we can get on a track to get this state thriving again. A lot of what causes West Virginia to suffer is a lack of opportunity due to regulatory capture which favors certain corporations over Main Street West Virginia. The left thinks it is better to just spend endless amounts of unfunded money without care for putting West Virginians back to work. This sort of economic policy hasn't worked to make West Virginia prosperous but instead it has made the state even more bonded to failure. A Federalist agenda will work to make all West Virginians free just as this state's motto, Montani Semper Liberi, implies. We need an economy that is geared to Main Street worker rather than the lawyer class and labor unions that aren't the same unions your grandfathers grew up with but are guided by crazy left wing ideologues who would rather push critical race theory in our schools and just spend your hard-earned money on themselves. A vote for Federalists is one for free men, free soil, free labor, and free speech. A vote for Labor or Peace is one for bondage to their special interests. God bless West Virginia!
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