There are many conversations happening right now, where folks are trying to figure out “what happened to Missouri.” I ran for Congress in a rural district that voted Democrat in 2012. Split ticket in 2016. And full red in 2020. Here’s my take. 🧵
The first thing you need to understand is that I’m a farm girl. I grew up in a small town near the Missouri River almost right in the middle between STL and KC. I can’t speak to the cities—my perspective is what happened to rural Missouri. 2/
And for the love of God. Stop calling us “outstate.” The only people who use that term are political operatives. We don’t like it. And personally once I hear you say it, I know you’ve stereotyped my home and I’m done listening to you. 3/
The second thing you should know about me is that I’m an Army Wife. A lot of what’s happened to rural Missouri is, in part, due to military. The last thing you should know—and this is for you city folk—is that I’m a graduate of Harvard Law School. 4/
I say that because I have the very unique experience of living on a farm in a rural area, living in a military community in a suburban area and living in a large east coast city full of academics + worldwide diversity. 5/
Growing up my Congressman and State Reps were Democrats. My State Senator was a Republican. My Governors were mostly Dems + we elected the late Mel Carnahan as a Democratic US Senator. We didn’t even have a Republican office until after I graduated from college. 6/
I don’t remember my family watching the news other than to hear what Bryan Busby said about the weather—and then 9/11 happened. There was a shift in how much “news” my family consumed. This was also around the time that the term limits were taking full effect in JeffCity. 7/
Still—if you talked to folks at church, or to my parents, or to your teachers almost all of them would say, “I don’t care care about the party, I care about the person.” 8/
Then the financial crash in 2008 happened + our community really struggled. That was a tough election for folks out here. Many people were inspired by then Senator Obama but many folks in my community are veterans and saw themselves in Senator McCain. 9/
My county was split. It went 47.8% Obama/Biden and 50.4% McCain/Palin. On Tuesday night, my county went 30.5% Biden/Harris and 67.8% Trump/Pence. This isn’t unique to my home—this trend exists in a number of Missouri counties across the state. 10/
By 2010, we saw the rise of the Tea Party. It was well-known that this “group” was radical and used religion to advance its racist aims. In the Republican Primary for #MO04 that year, my county voted 72.1% for the more moderate choice. 11/
Vicky Hartzler—a knock off hybrid of Phyllis Schlafly and Michelle Bachman—only took in 10.2%. And despite my county voting 60%+ for Congressman Skelton, Hartzler took her special brand of racism to Congress. 12/
By 2012, they gerrymandered my county out. Now our rural farming community is lumped in with the KC Metro. This led to my community having zero representation on the issues that matter to us. In 2020, my strongly Democratic county only voted 30.4% for Congressman Cleaver. 13/
This is the first lesson to everyone—no county stays red or blue. Like a garden, if you stop watering it and caring for it and giving it what it needs to survive—it will turn on you. 14/
The Missouri political “experts” were shocked by the 2010 Tea Party takeover. And in 2012, they were given a life raft in Jay Nixon who was able to connect with voters in a way no Missouri Democrat has since. 15/
McCaskill narrowly won re-election because she banked one Todd Akin saying something stupid—which he did. But he lost that election more than Claire won it. And as we neared 2016, I left Missouri for law school. 16/
When I arrived at Harvard I met a new kind of “Democrat.” They hated that I shot guns. I was uninvited to “liberal” groups because my family butchered cattle. And despite voting for Obama and canvassing for him—I was not “left” enough. 17/
I did not fit the east coast mold of “liberal” so I invested myself in Harvard Defenders representing indigent clients—many of whom I had more in common with than my classmates. One night, a fellow Defender invited me to trivia night with The Federalist Society and I went. 18/
I had never been in a room with so many Republicans in my life. I met one of Romney’s top staffers that evening—and met some of my lifelong friends as well. FedSoc became a solid support system for me in Massachusetts. I’d tell them about Republicans in Missouri—- 19/
About how they locked the doors of the Missouri House to “honor” Rush Limbaugh and we all laughed because those kinds of people had no business in public service. The Michelle Bachman’s and Sarah Palin’s working to make public policy anti-intellectual were scorned. 20/
My final semester at law school was the spring of 2015. Different people announced they were running for President and my friends worked for their campaigns—Hillary, Bernie, Bush, Rubio—a couple for Cruz but no one went to Trump. 21/
And that includes classmates who worked on other campaigns in 2015/16 and now work in the White House. Trump was a joke to everyone. No one took him seriously. Including me—until I returned to Missouri after graduation. 22/
It was like my home had been completely transformed from a place of tolerance and acceptance of others to a racist battleground. More Confederate flags went up in 2016 than I’ve ever seen in my life. We know what happened in 2016–Trump won and America lost. 23/
But, per usual, that wasn’t the full story with Missouri. Down-ballot Democrats put up a good fight. Koster + Kander each took about 46% of the state in a year where Hillary only took 38%. 24/
This sent a positive message for 2018 + then Galloway won statewide. Our hopes soared for 2020 that we were on a good path. But what happened last Tuesday was a bloodbath. Let there be no doubt that Missouri is, indeed, a red state. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. 25/
At law school, I felt myself being pushed further to the right than I ever had before. My very existence + way of life was unacceptable to so many of my peers. This is a microcosm of what many rural Missourians feel when they think of “the left” or “the Democrats.” 26/
If we are going to be the party of tolerance, then we need to accept that some don’t agree with us on all issues—they might be further left or further right on a specific policy. There are, of course, areas where we cannot negotiate—that black lives do matter, for example. 27/
But when it comes down to it, I hope we all recognize that the battle is no longer “Republicans versus Democrats” it is now Americans against authoritarianism. And maintaining the unity of our country and preserving the values in the Constitution must come first. 28/
This battle is all the more difficult because since 9/11 Americans watch + listen to “news” more than they ever have before. For many in my area it’s a combination of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and other radio stations who purport to be “independent” but are male chauvinists. 29/
What’s happened is more than differing on facts + information—but legitimate psychological operations to convey selected information to our communities to influence their emotions + behavior + reasoning. Our families have been preyed upon for 20+ years. 30/
The corporations who launched psychological warfare upon American civilians did so for their own economic gain—never considering the consequences—that their creation would one day no longer be controlled by them but by the monster they breathed life into. 31/
These PsyOps made a portion of the American public less trusting of government and more comfortable with anarchy—less open to immigration and more comfortable with racism—less interested in knowledge and more comfortable with ignorance. 32/
The psychological warfare levied upon our country by private corps must be undone. We must heal our communities—but that cannot be done by the #1 enemy elevated by those broadcasts—Democrats. Politics is not the solution to this problem—psychology + nation building are. 33/
We need experts in the fields of mental health and psychology, experts who have bridged communities in war torn countries across the globe to help us mend the divide in America. There is no political solution here—only a human one. 34/
And if you don’t get it under control, what happened to Missouri will spread throughout this entire nation. Because the defeat of Trump does not end Trumpism. It does not end America’s new comfort with racism, ignorance, hate, and anarchy. 35/
In the early 2000s, every show my family watched was about becoming a millionaire. You could be the sole Survivor! You could sit with Regis and answer the question “Who Wants to be a Millionaire!” You could work for a millionaire as “The Apprentice.” 36/
So when I saw Donald Trump on television when I was 12, I believed he was a successful businessman. And so did a lot of folks where I live. Google wasn’t a thing. Having the Internet was rare. Many folks had never been to NYC. Social media was non-existent. 37/
For a decade, people in my community watched this man “do business.” Believing he was the top real estate developer in America with buildings all across the world. His voice was amplified by Fox News and when he entered the Presidential race even MSNBC amplified him. 38/
Erasing that image—the one that’s been stuck in my family’s mind for 20 years now—is a hard, hard thing to do. Trump used the tools created by corporations he’d never be qualified to work at let alone own to elevate himself above the political class and into the presidency. 39/
It is a big deal that we defeated him. But what we must do next will be much more difficult. Trump laid the groundwork for racism to be socially acceptable—for corruption to be socially acceptable—for the everyday breaking of law to be socially acceptable. 40/
We must put an end to that. We must investigate and prosecute every single violation of law made by this administration and send a clear message to any person who sought to subvert our democracy that it will not be tolerated. Following orders is not a defense in America. 41/
Be aware, there are stronger autocrats waiting in the wings—ones who will do a better job of consolidating power + propaganda and they are itching for 2024. That’s why investigating and indicting people now is the only way to to have a decisive victory for democracy. 42/
The military community has seen this writing on the wall since 2017. And we’ve sounded alarm again and again—whether it be veterans, military spouses like myself, retired generals and admirals, and yes—even SecDef Mattis who resigned in protest. 43/
The United States is about to face its largest national security threat—a lame duck President with the authority to sell off national security to the highest bidder. We must keep our eye on the prize—a safe, stable America. 44/
There’s a lot of blame being passed around for the bloodbath we took in Missouri. True—It didn’t go the way many of us hoped, but 107k people in this state marched with me to the side of defending our republic and that matters. I’m grateful to them. 45/
And that’s where we must start—thanking and acknowledging those who stood with us, who fought alongside us. It’s what a real leader does. And failure to do so, will cause some of those people to wonder if they wouldn’t be more appreciated on the other side. 46/
In Missouri—only one statewide candidate, Vicki Englund, reached out to wish me good luck or to thank me for running. No one from the MDP. No past Democratic statewide candidates, except Elad Gross. No one from the DCCC. None of your Twitter faves. 47/
The problem in Missouri is largely fiscal. Between the Gov race and the MDP we had $6M. Compared to GA—where Fair Fight/Senate races raised $80M. The problem with the DCCC is they’re only interested after you’ve done the heavy lift. And they may even lie to your face. 48/
The result is that Missouri lacks the funding to do the widespread organizing it needs to do. It also lacks the ability to properly support candidates across the state for the same reason. Missouri needs a dedicated funding stream. 49/
As for the DCCC—if you only show up for fights that are “flippable” you trade out moderates. You never get rid of the racists, birther, the anti-LGBTQ+, the climate deniers. By allowing them to stand, you allow their hate to be amplified, which legitimizes the propaganda. 50/
If you want to end the view that these discriminatory beliefs are a valid “opposing side” then you must fight the righteous battle in rural areas to defeat the people who promote those hate-filled views. 51/
Failure to fund that fight—where the real battle for the soul of our nation resides—is immoral. If you want to stop Congressional gridlock, stop allowing obstinate politicians a free walk to DC. 52/
Representation works both ways. We honor Senator Kamala Harris because immigrant children see themselves, Jamaican, Indian, black and brown women, girls see themselves in her. When you let people like Vicky Hartzler stay in office, racists see themselves, too. 53/
There are things Democrats can do—but the most important thing to do is to force what’s left of the Republican Party to change. Send a clear and resounding message that people who discriminate against other people + people who violate human rights have no place in Congress. 54/
End their legitimacy. End their propaganda. End their PsyOps. End their hate. End the Cold Civil War they began before I was born—before it goes hot. 55/55
