Hello Friends,
Over the last few months I’ve been doing my best to interview as many progressive candidates as possible. My idea is simple. I want to make sure the issues that are important to me are getting heard by candidates.
Running for office is a very important form of service to the nation. More and more I’m learning that our activism requires us to be focused on our integrity and our process. Too often people get into the mindset where they feel if they don’t “win,” they don’t achieve anything. But that’s problematic because it steals your agency.
We’ve all seen that the establishment democrats have a messaging problem. Even when they’re handed a strategy for victory, they tend to shrug their shoulders and shrink away from winning arguments. When I talk to candidates, I’m able to put the focus back on the issues that actually matter to the people:
The US government is hunting down immigrants and that’s a direct threat to my family
Immigrants from South America are Roman Catholic, so this is the most anti-Christian regime in American history
There are reports of children getting raped and becoming pregnant in detention centers, what can be done to stop that?
What assurances do I have that my taxpayer dollars are not being sent to pedophiles?
What assurances do we have that ICE agents aren’t torturing people?
What assurances do we have that ICE agents haven’t been convicted of terrible crimes (what are they hiding when they hide their identities)?
Would you allow a teacher in your child’s district to hide his identity—why is that acceptable with law enforcement?
When will the government stop billionaire welfare?
Why should I have to struggle when rich people get free government money?
Why does the Republican party appear to care more about protecting pedophiles than protecting law-abiding citizens?
When will there be accountability for the children the Republicans have murdered through their unConstitutional military actions?
I don’t feel safe with this Republican government, how do we fix that?
Why won’t more politicians denounce the lawlessness of this regime?
The Republicans openly support criminals and abusers, we have to denounce them for that
In other words, it’s time for the democrats to take off their gloves and get in this fight. If they’re going to do that, it’s going to require a dramatic shift in our cultural narrative.
Right now, most people have their thinking structured by what they see on legacy and social media. Unfortunately, both of those institutions are relying on an outdated sense of decorum and they’re not addressing the challenges we face. This is because those institutions are oligarch owned and they’re designed to protect a status quo.
That’s why people are fleeing those platforms.
It’s only on independent media that you find individuals who are willing to talk about the issues that actually concern the people. Our power has been steadily growing for the last two years, and today we’re able to express ourselves openly and without apology.
We have the power to talk with candidates and force our concerns into the national conversation. The more we elevate candidates that are actually willing to work for us, the more quickly we can transform our society.
I’m going to do everything I can to ensure as much visibility as possible between now and the primaries (and then the midterms). But remember there are 435 congressional seats and 100 senate seats. Sometimes there are multiple people running for the same seat. The simple fact is that I can’t do it by myself.
I would love it with creators with HUGE platforms would start helping me in this initiative. I’d like to see interviews from Don Lemon, Dan Rather, Heather Cox Richardson, The Mouthy Renegade Writer, Jess Piper, JoJoFromJerz, Jeff Tiedrich, Blue Amp Media, and many more. Believe me, if you’ve got even 10,000 subscribers, candidates will respond to your queries.
This week, I’ll be interviewing Keira Haves of Courage for Democracy. They’re new to Substack but you can find them here. I expect I’ll soon have more candidates to talk to than I can handle, so if you’re interested in signing up for some interviews, please send me a DM.
You don’t need me though. If there’s a candidate you’re interested in supporting, find the press contact on their web page. I’ve been sending them a short and sweet invitation like this:
Hello! My name is [insert name] and I run a Substack newsletter with [insert number] followers. I have been interviewing Democratic candidates such as Emily Berge. If you would be interested in chatting with me, I'd be delighted to host you. The chat is free and it’s done through the Substack app on your phone or desktop. I am happy to work around your schedule.
Then I include a link to a previous interview. If you want to do a joint interview with me so that you have something to share with future candidates, I’d be happy to organize that.
Here are some of my previous interviews. Please reach out to them, they’re all amazing!
Francesca Hong’s Substack handle: Francesca Hong
Web page: https://francescahong.com/
Email for press inquires: press@francescahong.com
Emily’s Substack handle: Emily Berge
Web page: https://www.bergeforcongress.com/
Press contact: contact@bergeforcongress.com
Robert’s Substack: Robert People for Congress
Web page: https://www.peopleforcongress.com/
Email contact: info@peopleforcongress.com
Ginger’s Substack: Ginger Murray
Web page: https://www.gingerforus.com/
Email contact: winning@gingerforuscongress.com
Chris’s Substack: Chris Armstrong
Chris’s web page: https://www.armstrongforwisconsin.com/
Email contact: hello@armstrongforwisconsin.com
Chris’s Substack: Chris Bennett
Web page: https://www.bennettforca.com/
Email contact: info@bennettforca.com
Joey’s Substack: Joey Ruz
Web page: https://www.joey4congress.com/
Those of us in independent media have to stop passively absorbing corporate narratives. Instead, we have to start DICTATING a progressive narrative. What I’ve discovered is that the politicians who are currently holding office refuse to talk to me.
They’re scared.
They can’t handle the tough questions I’d like to ask them. We’ve become too complacent with this idea that our politicians are unreachable. That’s ridiculous. They are our SERVANTS. They have an obligation to talk to us and obey the will of the people.
If the current crop of candidates refuses to talk to us, then let’s do everything we can to vote them out and replace them with candidates who are willing to DO THEIR JOBS!
If a few more prominent Substack creators started interviewing up and coming candidates, we could completely transform our political landscape. It’s just a matter of recognizing our power and using it to our advantage!
Reach out to these wonderful people! They will work for us. Let’s get them elected! This is one of the BEST ways to make a HUGE impact on our society! You all have a lot more power than you believe, every little bit helps.
Even if you’re still not ready to interview candidates, please like, comment, share, restack and cross post this article. Let’s get the word out there. Let’s educate the American people on the kind of representation we SHOULD DEMAND!
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