Pride and Prejudice
Although hunting season is already over, it feels like open season in America right now.
The MAGA folks are discriminating against anyone and everyone right now, and frankly, it’s disgusting.
Whether it is Don Bacon, seen to the right with right wing nut job Charlie Kirk, calling strong African American women crazy, MAGA Republicans calling members of the LGBTQ+ community “groomers”, or extremists labeling any company that participates in pride as “woke”– the Republican party has completely gone off the rails.
These words mean something. They’re not just empty threats. We saw this over a week ago after a MAGA Republican and Joe Rogan inspired conspiracy theorist stalked and confronted vaccine scientist Peter Hoetz on his own front lawn.
Now, more than ever, it is critical that Democrats don’t concede to some wishy-washy middle ground. You either stand with everyone in marginalized communities, or your words stand for nothing.
Far too often we forget that there are real people affected by these words and policies. There are people of color who feel hurt by words of hate, trans folk who feel their identities are being violated, and gay people who feel demonized and scared to live their true self. Democrats are the party of inclusion, diversity, and above all, caring. If we are to actually uphold those values, it is paramount that we stand for every single person who is being discriminated against, and give them the platform to take pride in their identity despite the GOP’s prejudice.
A Petri Dish of Hatred
Sadly, the hate spewed by MAGA extremists has found a home in Nebraska. It seems to be burgeoning in the state legislature, with statewide elected officials like Governor Pillen and Senator Ricketts only amplifying the messages.
Even Omaha’s self-proclaimed bi-partisan savior of the House of Representatives, Don Bacon, has done nothing to slow the flow of this hateful misinformation.
Nebraskans care about governing. Our elected officials should spend time passing legislation that gives help to citizens, not legislation that takes rights away.
Drag queens, gay marriage, and rainbow flags don’t affect the lives of people like Ricketts and Bacon. Senator Ricketts– if you hate drag queens so much– just don’t interact with them. In my 22 years on this planet I have never unintentionally shown up at a drag show, so I assure you it cannot be that hard.
But c’mon… think about how much you have to genuinely hate a group of people to devote your life’s work to taking away their rights. Nebraskans want better public schools, roads without potholes, easier access to affordable healthcare, more impactful farm subsidies, no eminent domain for private gain, and cheaper groceries– trying to legislate adults who want to dress up as another gender for a performance or ban books is a hateful waste of taxpayer money.
My tax money is paying for these damn elected officials to work– but all they can deliver for me is a promise that “our state isn’t going woke”.
As Nebraska’s most eligible bachelor, I can assure Gov Pillen, Sen Ricketts, and the rest of our state’s delegation that “woke” isn’t going to keep people like me in this state to raise a family one day. I want my kids to get a good education, I want my family to be able to get affordable healthcare if they get sick, and I want them to be accepted regardless of their identity.
If you’re going to run for public office, focus on doing stuff that serves the public, not your own, hateful interests.
Power Rankings
In honor of the College World Series just wrapping up in Omaha, I’ve decided to rank my Final Four of Nebraska’s most hateful individuals! For the record— being on this list is bad and more than likely means that you’re an awful person. So… without further ado, here’s my power rankings of Nebraska’s most prejudiced elected officials.
4. State Senator Lou Ann Linehan
Lou Ann Linehan hates public school children so much that she started a movement to go against the Support our Schools petition! It’s one thing to want your kids to go to private school– it’s another to take away funds for all public schools!
3. Senator Pete Ricketts
This is the guy that called Nebraska a border state– so clearly we’re not putting forth our “best and brightest”. Ricketts’ family has also personally bankrolled every Republican campaign in the state– with him most recently flushing away over a million dollars in Suzanne Geist’s Mayor campaign, only for her to get her butt kicked by Mayor Leirion! His family also owns my one true love, the Chicago Cubs. Similarly to Nebraska, the Cubs were on a great trajectory before a Ricketts regime, and now are on a spiral towards mediocrity and struggle to bring in talent!
2. Governor Jim Pillen
Ricketts Jr. over here is just awful. He has signed anti-trans legislation, legislated over womens’ bodily autonomy, endorsed harmful voter ID bills, and has given government contracts to his friends while letting the communities who need help most continue to struggle.
1. Representative Don Bacon
He reminds me of the bad guy from Monsters Inc, and not just in terms of looks. Rep. Bacon is a chameleon of hatred, supporting any hateful legislation but then trying to camouflage with his surroundings and pose as some moderate bipartisan savior. At least with the other folks on the list, they own their identity– but Bacon spends his time trying to convince everyone he’s something he isn’t– leaving him the most dangerous threat to this state.
Upcoming Events– #HotDemSummer
If you are thinking about getting involved… do it! The Nebraska Democratic Party and our supporters will be walking in parades, waving rally signs, and showing support statewide.
Whether you want to voice your support, meet new Democrats in your community, or just get your steps in– we would LOVE to have you walk with us! If you’d be more inclined to support with your treasure as opposed to your time– become a donor here!
You can find the full list of events this summer here–we add new events all the time, so keep checking back and join us for a #HotDemSummer.
Thank you for reading!
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out at jack@nebraskademocrats.org.
All the best,
Jack Schiewe
