I get asked a lot by folks in #MO04 and around the country to explained what happened here.

How did we go from a democratic stronghold, with the giant military champion Ike Skelton to where we are now—a woman who took $500k in PPP money while others struggle.

Here you go.

My answer is simple—the people haven’t changed.

But money in politics has changed how much my community is cared about.

Folks out here are hard working people who do what it takes to get by and don’t bother asking for help because they know it’s not coming.

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For decades we’ve been promised better roads and schools and jobs and there for a while we believed it.

And for a while it was true, especially around Whiteman Air Force Base and Fort Leonard Wood.

But then the 2008/2009 economic crisis happened.

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Communities already struggling went under. Businesses barely making it, no longer could.

Then, the Affordable Care Act happened.

Folks were told they could keep their doctor, except that wasn’t true for everyone.

4/

Folks who could barely afford crappy insurance had their plan revoked and were told to buy a much more expensive new one.

The White House assumed people on the edge financially could rely on state-expanded Medicaid and then they’d have better coverage AND save money.

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But, of course, Missouri didn’t expand Medicaid and folks in low-paying jobs were now hit with a huge insurance price increase because of the individual mandate.

They were now worse off + many people opted to pay the penalty and go without insurance because it was cheaper.

6/

These concerns were dismissed by many national democrats at the time—making statements that folks in my community “just didn’t get it” and that if “they just understood” the insurance coverage was better, they wouldn’t be upset.

Some were called racist for hating the ACA.

7/

Racists exist, but the larger issue was that many folks literally couldn’t afford it—and were now being villainized.

So it opened the door to new perspectives—including the far right and its racism and hate + more left FDR-style progressivism.

8/

The right used poor people and immigrants as scapegoats successfully because people saw with their own eyes those populations receive benefits they didn’t.

They saw unemployed people receive health insurance while they were working hard, paying a penalty and had no coverage.

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And they got frustrated by the unfairness.

And while we know that the full picture is Republicans denying Medicaid expansion and health insurers profiting off of the sick—when you work your ass off to have so little, you’re rightfully pissed.

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This is why not fighting for the public option was, in my opinion, President Obama’s most significant lost opportunity as Republicans were never going to let the ACA pass in a bipartisan fashion.

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So you have a group of people who have become collateral damage in a political war and they need someone to be their champion.

And those who believed this corrupt system could be fixed, mostly chose Bernie.

Those who wanted to burn it down chose Trump.

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The Democratic Party literally ran a campaign to force Bernie out of the race. That sent a message loud and clear to his supporters that their cries for help came second to political dominance.

The Republican Party fell to Trumpism.

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And the people who actually need help?

Forgotten.

Democrats portrayed progressivism as far-left.

Republicans abandoned ship or conformed to the Trump authoritarian regime which levied tariffs on farmers and increased taxes on working ppl while lowering them for business.

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It’s 2020 now—and the people finally expanded Medicaid.

But the same folks who were struggling at the beginning still are. And the two popoulations—optimistic progressives and angry authoritarians still exist out here.

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The Republicans abandoned their platform and now preach loyalty only to Trump.

And Missouri Democrats? Where are they? Well, next weekend they’re holding their Truman Dinner—a big fundraiser.

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Who’s speaking? 6 folks who are either originally or currently from St. Louis County/City + 1 from Kansas City.

Not one person who grew up in rural Missouri. Not one person who represents life in a small, agriculturally based Missouri community.

Not one.

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People need to see themselves in the folks they elect. People out here are waiting for healthcare to be fixed. We are waiting for someone to speak out and help rural communities.

But our party continues to fail us.

18/

You cannot win where you don’t show up and fight.

You cannot change the mind of a person you mock.

You cannot build a coalition outside KC + STL when you refuse to exit off I-70.

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Just as you cannot save the United States from authoritarianism by winning only the coasts, Missouri’s fate will not change relying on KC + STL alone.

But you wouldn’t know that looking at how our Democratic Party dispatches resources.

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This is why I will no longer refer to myself as just a “Democrat.”

I am specifically a “Truman Democrat.”

We fight for universal healthcare.
We fight for people paying their fair share.
We fight for the least among us.

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Our loyalty should be to the people—not a political party.

And when any political party or politician is more interested in retaining power than in doing meaningful, long-lasting, important work for the people—they have it wrong.

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So what happened to Missouri as a Democratic stronghold and bellwether?

Politicians stopped caring about getting shit done.

But the people, we’re still waiting.

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And trust me on this—no political party is coming to save us.

Not us out here in rural MO. We aren’t worth it to them.

We’re gonna have to do this ourselves—and the good news about that is we’ve done it before.

In November, we get the chance to do it again.

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