Everyone is for free speech until they’re not it seems.
I remember growing up America was the nation of free speech believers– “I might not agree with what you have to say, but I would die for your right to say it.”
Remember that?
I do.
And I still believe it.
For instance I recently got BLOWN UP on Reddit– just totally roasted.
A lot of folks were mad– said these guys were trolls and losers, etc.– but I was fine with it. Actually I was MORE than fine with it.
I WANT to live in a country where is some powerful lawyer starts acting like a tool he gets blown up on Reddit. This is important. This is how people stay humble and politicians stay responsive to the people.
Now, I’m no tool– but I could see why people got the wrong idea. And I have no problem with people letting me have it if I misstep or get out of line. I need to be corrected if I am going to serve this district fairly.
So feel free to criticize your humble Czar if you think I deserve it. I am here for YOU. If I ever start acting like a pompous out-of-touch politician let me have it!
I want to be the living embodiment of the will and wisdom of the people. That’s my job as a representative. And you should feel free to have your say about it!
But there are two sides to this coin.
If you agree with what I’m saying and doing– you also have to back me up so other people know we need MORE of this sort of thing in our nation.
When I was in fourth my grade my teacher Mr. Leiby–yes, that was really his name– told me something I would never forget about our government and how it should operate.
He said: “We are so lucky to live in a country where whichever political party wins our life won’t change that much.”
That was in 1988. And he was right.
Back then it was Bush Sr. v. Dukakis, followed by Clinton v. Bush Sr.
Yeah these guys had their differences. But you’re talking about taxes changing 2-3% and social programs changing by about the same margin depending on who you voted for.
The reason was simple– both parties were fairly responsive to the people as a whole because the prevailing wisdom was that they needed to be centrist in order to prevail in national elections.
Sure there were loud voices at the extreme on both sides trying to shift the debate, but for the most part the Democrats were very center left and the Republicans were very center right.
Social media destroyed the parties– but Troutman For America is trying to fix the problem!
Back then the political parties were still a problem– anytime you have a group of people conspiring to control our government to serve only themselves that is an issue– but partisanship was not toxic within our nation. We weren’t at each othr’s throarts.
Fast forward to today.
Those loud extremist voices are now the ONLY voices the party leaders listen to. They HAVE to. Because social media has created a need for attention that only extremists can muster. This has lead to socialists pushing the Democratic party to the extreme left and MAGA pushing the Republicans to the extreme Right. And both sides aggressively pushing Americans to pick a side.
Indeed, the parties have become so desperate for power, so hungry for control, they tell us that if the other side wins “you won’t have a country anymore” or “democracy will end.”
Crazy.
The parties have lost their marbles.
They are no longer responsive to the people as a whole but only to their members– and politics that have become increasingly extreme with each swing from one party to the other as a result.
Some have suggested a third-party is needed but that’s absurd. The problem is party politics. So the solution is not another party
Political parties are NOT required by the constitution-indeed they aren’t even mentioned in the constitution–so they shouldn’t exist at all, just like they have been banned in many countries throughout history. All they do is cause trouble– can you think of a SINGLE POSITIVE THING the parties have done? I can’t.
Political parties are like gangs during a turf war– innocent people get hurt!
Again, at their core political parties are conspiracies by a group of people to have the government work to serve only their interests or their vision of the world– NOT to serve the wisdom of the people as a whole. They are like gangs. They don’t care about you– only their members. And when they fight each other– watch out!
But unlike the bloods and crypts who want to run the streets these guys want to run our government!!! That’s MUCH worse. And they conspire to control all three branches of our government– which are supposed to check each other and work against each other– to make the government much more powerful in our lives than it should be.
Time to unify!
And with each swing of power from one side to the other– which is inevitable since Americans do not want EITHER of these parties in control of the government– the swings become more intense as each side pushes the envelope with each swing.
It doesn’t take a genius to see where this is headed. And its nowhere good.
The solution is simple– make the system work the way the constitution says it should work.
Get rid of the political parties.
They erode our checks and balances and the belief we should all have in the wisdom of the people. It turns politicians into puppets who are only serving the party leadership– who reward those that show loyalty to the party and not to the people–and keeps qualified WINNERS (guys like me and you) out of the race because qualified people don’t want to live under the thumb of the parties.
People get it now.
Americans are smart and they are waking up to the idea that parties no longer serve the people. Indeed Republicans and Democrats are dead bands– nobody is proudly a member of these things any more, nor should they be. Indeed if you’re voting for an R or a D you’re just throwing your vote away.
But I have to tell you, this conference realignment is really bothering me.
Why are Cal and Stanford (west coast schools) in the ATLANTIC Coast Conference?
Why are Washington and Oregon playing Rutgers in conference games?
This is madness.
We need the conference of champions back. Bring back the Pac-12!
Every REAL college football fan knew the Pac-12 was the best conference out there top-to-bottom. Yeah the East Coast bias and the late night games kept them out of the news but man the conference just produced sparkling play.
Plus the beauty of the Rose Bowl (grand daddy of them all) has been co-opted as part of this strange playoff thing (Still getting used to it).
UCLA and USC ruined everything with their backhanded money grab. And most everyone followed suit (I see you Beavs and Cougs.)
Bottom line– we need the pac-12 back together.
If I’m elected I think I’m going to look into.
What do you think?
If you agree shoot a couple of bucks to the campaign.
Merry Christmas and happy bowl season all! Chat soon.
So its Christmas Eve and the humble Troutman Christmas tree is ready for the presents to arrive tonight!
But before we jump into the Christmas festivities this evening I wanted to take a second and mark the end of Hanukkah.
I know I am a few days late on this– and I apologize to my Jewish friends– but I had the best experience last week.
My law firm Troutman Amin, LLP had its annual retreat last week and several of our team members are Jewish. Since it was the first few nights of Hanukkah we all lit the menorah together consistent with the ceremonial process.
I had never attended a menorah lighting ceremony before and it was very meaningful for me to be a part of it. Felt very grateful to have been invited and really enjoyed being there.
I am a great big fan of the Jewish people– very historic and well-educated bunch– and I LOVE that they make up such a great part of our shared American culture.
Jewish folks in this country are VERY patriotic in my experience and very kind. Lots of gratitude from their community and they are BIG contributors to our success as a nation.
So wanted to pause and acknowledge these great folks before we get super Christmassy for the next 12 days!
So was out for a few days with my wonderful legal team at a retreat this week– very strict no work policy (not even campaigning!)
While I was out Dave Min actually did something pretty cool.
Apparently the halls of Congress were barren–no decorations– until his staff put out an inflatable gingerbread man in front of his office. Then other members of Congress followed suit.
I think that’s pretty cool. Way to bring the spirit of the holidays to Congress.
The people want that joy and that goodwill permeating D.C. right now. Maybe it will help foster a spirit of togetherness, instead of all the endless partisan bickering.
