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Republicans and independents must read

The 2024 presidential election is critical to the future of the United States. We all are tired of the barrage of political posts and rhetoric. Friendships have been tested. Families have been divided. I implore you to not allow politics to come between relations. Whatever path this nation takes, we as a people will continue to thrive if we stand united. Our civic duty to be politically involved remains. The weeks ahead will be tumultuous as our elected leaders and courts fight for the outcome of this election but it will primarily be out of the hands of the people.

Trump is not a Republican. The Republican party is not represented in this election. This election is between the Democratic party and the MAGA party. The Democrats are currently more right leaning and closer to conservative than ever. The MAGA party is extreme radical right, and authoritarian.

Trump is a traitor to this nation. Those in his administration and the elected officials kowtowing to Trump are complicit in Trump’s treasonous actions. Those of you voting for these ill reputes are enabling the demise of our democratic republic.

My grandfather did not go to Normandy to allow Trump to bring authoritarian fascism to America. Those of the silent generation who gave their service, and many their lives, during World War II would be ashamed of you standing in defense of the wannabe dictator Donald J Trump.

“Fascism (/?fæ??z?m/ FASH-iz-?m) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Opposed to anarchism, democracy, pluralism, egalitarianism, liberalism, socialism, and Marxism, fascism is placed on the far right-wing within the traditional left–right spectrum.” Sound familiar? You can quit calling the left fascists now.

The US Armed Forces Oath of Enlistment begins “I, (state name of enlistee), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;”

On January 6, 2021, Donald J Trump led an insurrection against this country in a failed coup attempt to usurp the will of the people. We watched it live on television. I am befuddled how anyone who took a military oath for the United States can in good conscience cast a vote for Donald J Trump to become president once again. The man should be in prison. Instead, he is actively planning the next coup by using the electoral college to instill Trump as president instead of accepting the votes of the people.

Trump wants to be a dictator. He has flat out said it. Reported by the Atlantic, the former president also said he needed “the kind of generals that Hitler had.” He admires the likes of Putin and Kim Jung Un. He has compromised our nation’s military secrets and outright sold secret information to foreign nations. His racism is in the open. He does not look to unite our nation. He looks to serve only his bank account and the white man. Elon Musk is on record stating that Trump wants to crash the economy. He wants to tear this nation down to nothing and rebuild it as a nation of the corporation for the corporation. Crashing the economy will allow the wealthy to buy up and control this country at fire sale prices while the commoners suffer or die.

Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden was intentionally chosen as an homage to the Nazi rally of February 20, 1939 at the same location. MAGA is not hiding who they are. The question you must ask as you look in the mirror is who are you? Have you allowed a single issue magnified in the media and lies to blind you from the MAGA party’s intentions? MAGA disguised as Republicans will bring atrocities to this nation and the world. Mark my words.

We lived through four years of his administration’s revolving door of incompetence. Why would anyone want that again?

I beg those of you considering voting independent and those of you who are die hard Republicans to vote Blue, vote Democrat, on November 5, 2024. Republicans, clean up your house and once that is done then return to voting party line if you don’t see the benefit in having a government of Democrats. Please don’t vote for MAGA to own the libs because you will be owning us all.??

Vote Harris Walz! Vote blue down the ticket!

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Republican Friends Please Read This

Dear Republican friends,

Before you vote, take a good hard look at your party. It doesn’t exist anymore. Today’s Democrat party is closer in values to the GOP you romanticize. Your Republican party has been usurped by a group of treasonous crooks who do not understand how to govern.

Please consider voting blue down the ballot. Send a message to your party that you want to return to your conservative values and do not support the MAGA extremism.

There is no Democrat versus Republican ballot. Republicans have been replaced with MAGA terrorists. Do not allow this to continue.

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Today’s letter to Tim Burchett

Whenever my “representative” Tim Burchett posts something on social media, I resist the urge to respond in social media and instead email his office. This is today’s email:

As a constituent of Tim Burchett’s, I am writing to request he raise his level of professionalism. I write to remind Mr. Burchett that he represents all citizens and not just those of a single political party.

On October 29, 2023 at 11:13am, Mr. Burchett Tweeted, “As the radical left continues its wringing of hands and bed wetting over @SpeakerJohnson I am convinced we made the right choice.”

This antagonistic rhetoric is unprofessional and more on par with something I would expect of a middle school teenager rather than a Congress person.

Allow me to rewrite your Tweet in a non-confrontational way that does not leave your constituents feeling attacked or underrepresented. You would have kept my respect, what little I have left of you, to simply write: “I am convinced we made the right choice with @SpeakerJohnson.” Read your original then read that line and see how you could convey your meaning without stooping to childish bullying tactics. Plus you even get to keep a sneaky double entendre with your poor English “right choice”.

Learn your job. Grow up.

Burchett’s response:

Dear Mr. McCaughan,

Thank you for contacting me about my recent tweet. It is an honor to serve in Washington on behalf of the Second District, and I appreciate you taking the time to write in to voice your concerns.

The tweet you referenced was posted by me to my personal, unofficial Twitter account. Like many Americans, I use social media to express my views and opinions. While I never intend to offend, I will continue to use social media as a way to communicate, both in my official capacity on TwitterInstagram and Facebook as well as on my personal Twitter account, where you saw the tweet you referenced.

I hope you will continue to keep me informed of your views and opinions when you feel compelled to do so. Your messages enable me to better understand the priorities of East Tennesseans, and I will keep your thoughts in mind as I work with my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to produce legislation that addresses the needs of the American people.

Please let me know if you have additional questions about this legislative issue or if I may assist you with any issues in the future. If you would like to receive updates from my office, I invite you to visit burchett.house.gov to sign up for my newsletter.

Sincerely,

Rep. Tim Burchett
Member of Congress

My reply:

Thank you for your response. I appreciate the desire to have a professional and a personal representation of yourself. As a sitting member of Congress, you do not get the luxury of such a division. As an employee of a large company, I do not get the luxury of saying whatever I want on the Internet without risking repercussions from my employer and possibly making myself unhirable. The People do not see the distinction between your personal and official accounts.. You represent us whether you are publishing from an official account or a personal account. As a public figure, you are held to a higher standard than the rest of us. You gain nothing by belittling the democrats or Joe Biden in an antagonist message. You serve yourself as well as your constituents better by keeping your messaging more neutral and to the facts. We sent you to congress to represent us. Your behavior reflects directly on the people of East Tennessee.

If Al Franken can be held accountable for something he did decades prior in his youth, then you can be held accountable for what you publish regardless of it being an official account or a personal account. Regardless of where you place your messaging, you are still messaging as a Representative and we the people expect a level of decorum and professionalism from you. Rise up. Be better.

Thank you,

William D. McCaughan

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Today’s Letter to Tim Burchett

I am a constituent of Mr. Burchett. On May 24, 2023 at 11:53am, Mr. Burchett tweeted:

“The Biden administration thinks that Americans don’t care about what happened on the ground during the Afghanistan withdrawal and have obstructed our efforts to conduct oversight. Someone needs to be held accountable and these families need vindication and closure.”

I now email Mr. Burchett instead of replying to his tweets. I encourage everyone to email their representatives. Stop giving elected officials dopamine by replying to the social media prompts. Put them to work by sending emails which they must give a reply.

My letter to Mr. Burchett:

I expect more professionalism from my elected officials. Mr. Burchett is attempting to stir up people instead of doing his job which is in part to inform his constituents. Being intentionally ambiguous is just an attempt to get people riled. Instead of saying “someone needs to be held accountable” list their names. If Mr. Burchett does not know, then find out before sending the message.

In this case, I can answer Mr. Burchett’s ambiguity. “Someone needs to be held accountable.” That someone is Mr. Trump and Mr. Pompeo.

Drop the sensationalism and provide us the information and represent us as you were elected to do. You are a representative not a Hollywood personality.

Thank you,
Doug McCaughan

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Today’s email to Tim Burchett

At 1:43pm on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, Mr. Burchett Tweeted:
“Steve Bannon asked me if I thought East Tennesseans would support cutting funding for some of these alphabet agencies that aren’t doing their jobs. I told him absolutely, because they’ve told me so.”

1) Nobody cares one iota about Steve Bannon. Why do you surround yourself with criminals?

2) Please be professional and speak with less ambiguity. Part of your job is to inform your constituents. I am a constituent. I do not want dog whistles and sensationalism from you. I want details and clear explanations. Do your job.

3) Please tell me which agencies you propose cutting funding.

4) You say they are not doing their job (funny coming from someone who does not do his job). Please cite specific examples for each of the agencies you mentioned in #3. I will be posting this email and your reply to several social media cites so please fact check and be thorough.

5) I am a constituent and kindly ask that Mr. Burchett stop misrepresenting me. You claim we have told you to cut funding (to what?) I have suggested we build one less aircraft carrier and fewer bombs to fund education and health care. Our country drastically overspends on defense while neglecting important services such as education and the health of its citizens. For example, give the Department of Education more funding and watch this country become great again. Support a universal single payer health system and watch our GDP rise as healthy people will be more productive members of society longer.

I look forward to your well thought out reply.

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Today’s Letter to Tim Burchett

People in the United States, I encourage you to stop replying to people of power in social media. Instead, every time a congress person or elected official puts out a statement in social media, contact them via phone or email. They can ignore your social media replies but should not ignore your emails and phone calls.

I am a constituent of Mr. Burchett. At 5:14pm on 4/18/2023, Mr. Burchett Tweeted “I went to the Treasury with some of my @GOPoversight colleagues to go through documents related to the Biden family’s shady business dealings.

I can’t get into specifics just yet, but I suspect a lot of people are very nervous at the thought of these things coming to light…”

I want Mr. Burchett to stop embarrassing Tennessee and to focus on issues that matter. If Mr. Burchett wasn’t willing to prosecute or hold account the criminal Trump, then he needs to quit with the same on Biden. Tweeting with ambiguity like “I suspect a lot of people are very nervous at the thought of these things coming to light” is sensationalism and designed to rile people up. This is childish and not to the level of propriety expected of a congress person. Put out a statement when you have facts to share not gossip.

That brings us to your job. Instead of making up issues for political purposes, please focus on issues that concern Tennesseans. Do your job as if you are not going to be reelected and you want to leave a wonderful legacy. Tennessee wants you to address gun safety. We are tired of children dying and wasting money on LEOs in school is not the solution, arming teachers will only get more people killed faster, turning schools into prisons is a horrible idea as it scares children instead of making them feel secure and a scared child is a child that will act out. Permitless carry is crazy. We need background checks, training, regulation, and no one needs something that spits lead at 45 rounds per minute. We need public education fortified in Tennessee instead of privatized. Dick DeVos on Dec 3, 2002 described to the Heritage Foundation that charter schools and vouchers can be used to destroy public education. Moving tax dollars to privatized schools is nothing short of theft. Tennesseans want gerrymandering ended and voter rights prioritized rather than suppressed. Tennesseans want the attack on drag shows ended. Drag shows are not harming children but every week we see another news article about priests and Republicans abusing children. Tennesseans want mass transit not toll roads.

I personally want you to look at the actions of Governor Bill Lee and objectively ask why he is turning Tennessee into a fascist state. Do something to save our democratic republic. Do your job! You are a congress person not a FoxNews host. You have plenty of meaningful work to do. Stop wasting your time and my tax dollars on political theater!

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Today’s letter to Tim Burchett

People in the United States, I encourage you to stop replying to people of power in social media. Instead, every time a congress person or elected official puts out a statement in social media, contact them via phone or email. They can ignore your social media replies but should not ignore your emails and phone calls.

Today I contacted Tim Burchett:

I am a constituent. On April 21, 2023 at 6:37am, Mr. Burchett tweeted, “We are broke yet ?@POTUS? keeps funding Foreign countries. Why?”

I request that Mr. Burchett refrain from such rhetoric without substantiating it. As your constituent, I’m asking that you show in documentation or reputable publications that “we are broke.” I want to see the numbers and Mr. Burchett’s sources.

As for why are we sending funds to other nations, well, if Mr. Burchett cannot answer that question then clearly he is not qualified for this job. For that matter, it is his job to tell us, his constituents, why. So I demand that Mr. Burchett answer his own question. Why are we funding foreign nations?

Thank you.

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Today’s Letter to Tim Burchett

Every time Tim Burchett sends a tweet, I email him a response. Ok, not every time, but as frequently as time permits.

I am a constituent of Tim Burchett and want him to stop embarrassing Tennessee. On March 31, 2023 at 12:12pm Mr. Burchett tweeted “Americans of any political party should be scared. The rule of law doesn’t exist when a former President is indicted like this. Bragg made his intentions clear before he was in the DA’s office- and this will take a toll on our country.”

Mr. Burchett is wrong! The rule of law exists because no one person stands above the law and a criminal like Donald Trump must be held accountable for his illegal activities. The reason we should be scared is that people such as Mr. Burchett work in positions of power within our government while clearly not understanding his own responsibilities. What is scary is that Mr. Burchett lacks the moral integrity to see to it that the criminals of the previous administration are prosecuted including the January insurrectionists which includes Mr. Burchett.

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Drag Time Story Hours are about acceptance which is why Republicans hate it

Saw this comment on Reddit and thought it may help people who may be wondering why drag time story hours exist. Once you understand this you may question why the GOP wants to attack such a thing.

“[Drag time story hours] are times when local drag queens will read stories to children while in costume. As one would guess, these stories tend to be focused on accepting people who are different and promoting positive self-image for people who don’t fit the standard mold. They started for just this reason – to help children see that there is nothing to be ashamed of if you are different than other kids.

Keep in mind that drag is not inherently sexual – it is just men dressing in flamboyant female costumes. There is nothing sexual going on at these story hours.”

Also
“That last bit is important to remember. They’re performers and they do a different act for a different audience. Bob Saget, for example was super wholesome on Full House, but his standup act was absolutely filthy. Drag queens are the same way: they’re entertainers who can do a different act for different audiences.”
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/11wkjtw/what_is_the_deal_with_drag_time_story_hours/

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Do your civic duty

When I look at the Trump administration, I feel like the Russian government instilled a dictator the way the US government for so many years interfered with governments around the world and we’ve blindly let it happen.

The GOP all but admitted they’ve been ignoring the pandemic for blue states. Yesterday they rolled back auto pollution rules because the moron in chief doesn’t believe in climate change and our health doesn’t line his pocket and nobody noticed or cared.

Last week the EPA said fuck it, destroy what you want.

Do you think Roe v Wade will survive to November? Equal rights? Civil rights? Will we have an election?

And the gun advocates who claimed they need the second amendment to reel in an out of control administration aren’t doing a damned thing while the GOP throws the balance of powers out the window. If we the people allow this administration to continue unchecked, the free America you claim to love is ancient history.

Get mad! Get organized! Get in the fight!

We are all tired. That’s part of their strategy. Keep us distracted, poor and hustling, keep us broke and under resourced, and exhausted so we don’t have time to fight or care. But you cannot relent. You cannot give into apathy. Visit congress.gov. Call a politician every day. Make it something you do like breathing and brushing your teeth. See who is on the committees and let them hear your voice. A government of the people, by the people, for the people requires The People. Do not abdicate your power. We are Americans! We are one people, one tribe. You are not alone. United we stand! I implore you. Stand up now! Our nation needs you.

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It is 2020. Leave your gun at home.

When I see someone walking the streets of the United States with a gun on their hip or slinging an AK while wearing a bulletproof vest, I do not think of freedom or patriotism. I think sad thoughts for the coward who is so fearful that they cannot function in our society without a weapon and I wish them the freedom I feel from day to day knowing I do not need a gun. I do not view these citizens as protectors as their display distracts our law enforcement from their duties. Instead, I see adult children playing a dangerous game of soldiers. Your arrogance does not make me more confident. It makes me apprehensive as I have to watch for your temper, your clumsiness, your accidental discharge as you are not a good guy with a gun but a wild card and hazard to our free society. Leave your gun at home.

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Syria

"What the nightmare is, which many of my republican colleagues appear to want, is to not have learned the lesson of Iraq. To get young men and women involved in perpetual warfare in the quagmire of Syria and the Middle East would be an unmitigated disaster that as President I will do everything in my power to avoid." -Bernie Sanders, Jan 17, 2016