Another day, another NO SHOW for Jack Bergman

Saturday afternoon, I joined almost 700 of your constituents online and watched several hundred people who showed up in person in Traverse City for another town hall. And, no surprise, you didn’t show up. Again.

This time, your excuse was some imaginary boogeyman, George Soros. I can tell you with great certainty that no one in Iosco County gives a flying leap about whoever George Soros is. What our community does care about is your complete and utter abdication of your responsibilities to your constituents. Voting to cut individual benefits, educational resources, veteran benefits, and putting social security, Medicare and Medicaid in your crosshairs will cause extreme hardship in our small, rural community. All of this to benefit your wealthy friends.

You have unilaterally decided you only represent those who agree with you. As a former human resources professional, if I had an employee who unilaterally decided to skip a third to a half of the job, they would be fired. FIRED. There is a word for this: insubordination.

Insubordination occurs when an employee, after understanding an instruction, refuses to carry it out, either explicitly or through non-performance.

This Representative Bergman is YOU. According to Congress, your responsibilities include: [t]he duties carried out by a Member of Congress are understood to include representation, legislation, and constituent service and communication, as well as electoral activities.

Where Representative Bergman is OUR representation? Where is OUR communication? Where are OUR constituent services? You are not performing the responsibilities of the position. You should be fired.

As the spouse of a Navy veteran, I know many veterans including Marines. These veteran friends are some of the bravest people I know. You, Representative Bergman, are not brave. You are a coward. Woman-up (I would say man up, but you have shown that to mean run and hide) and show up for your ALL your constituents.

We deserve better.

Hey Jack Bergman, what do we get for our money?

 Representative Bergman, 

From public records, your salary is $174000, paid for by Michigan taxpayer dollars. What exactly do we get for our money? You haven't had a town hall since 2017 and apparently "don't like drama." 

You don't like drama? Your party is creating chaos and drama never before seen in this country.  

You don't like drama? And you vote to cut jobs and resources in Congressional District 1.  What kind of drama do you think that creates? 

You don't like drama? Our residents in Iosco County may lose their financial and medical support and potentially their homes because you are voting for tax cuts for the rich.  

You apparently don't like snow either. I found this from your retirement notice:   

Closing out a 40-year career as a military aviator -- eight of them in New Orleans -- Bergman on Saturday handed command of Marine Forces Reserve to Lt. Gen. John Kelly, a father of two Marines who has served three tours in Iraq, including a stint overseeing coalition forces in Anbar province that ended in early 2008.

On Monday, Bergman said he and his wife, Cindy, know that most of their days in retirement will be spent in Louisiana. They have a home in St. Francisville, far south of their native states of Minnesota and Iowa.

"We quite honestly fell in love with New Orleans and Louisiana, " Bergman said. "Pure and simple. It's not any more complicated than that. We feel this is a community and a state that we want to be part of. And it doesn't hurt that we don't get 10 feet of snow here in the winter."

Do us a favor, Representative Bergman. Let us hire someone who actually cares about the wellbeing of her constituents, votes to keep jobs here, votes to support and aid veterans, votes to feed the hungry, clothe those in need and provide medical insurance, and lastly, votes to hold felons accountable (you know, those peaceful January 6th tourist felons). 

Please go back to Louisiana so we may have someone who loves 10 feet of snow, will show up for town halls and meetings, and actually vote in the best interests of the residents in Congressional District 1.  

#standwithUSAID

Musk reportedly spent $40 million dollars on #Superbowl ads calling #USAID wasteful. Here are just a few ways we would’ve spent $40M:

https://youtu.be/PqUESHfuO_8

🏈Purchased life-saving HIV treatment from American pharmaceutical companies to keep 1,060,000 million people alive for one year
🏈Bought enough emergency food-aid products made in Georgia and Rhode Island to treat 880,000 severely malnourished children
🏈Slowed the flow of migrants to our borders by providing job training and support to 50,000 people in Central America
🏈Protected 30,000,000 football fields of tropical forest in Africa, preventing China and Russia from exploiting timber and critical minerals that fuel our world
🏈Shipped the 29,000 metric tons of American food products worth $40 million on American ships instead of letting it waste away in a Texas warehouse
🏈Saved the lives of 25 million children suffering from severe malaria. We think this on has value on its own but maybe Musk would disagree

This Superbowl Sunday, tell Congress to #saveforeignaid and #standwithUSAID

Do something

 From Tom Hartman: 

Democrats — who campaigned on the allegation that Trump was a fascist — must now behave like their claim was true and fight back, before Trump and Musk finalize Orbán’s and Putin’s neofascist governance model, making such a response impossible.

— Shut down the House and the Senate.
— Challenge Johnson’s speakership.
— Fight every unanimous consent vote.
— Use quorum calls to bring floor business to a standstill.
— Put holds on every Trump nominee, even for things like naming Post Offices or noncontroversial positions.
— Hold a major press conference every day and coordinate with Democrats across the nation to amplify that day’s message across local and national media.
— Organize political guerrilla theater and mass protest events.

Average people can reach out to their elected officials — the phone number for Congress is 202-224-3121 — and raise absolute holy hell. Blow up social media with protest and outrage posts. Share your concerns with friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors.

Why I said yes

We never know where one conversation will take us. 

A few years ago, it would never have occured to me that I would be invited to be on the slate of a strong, committed leader Curtis Hertel for Michigan Democratic Party Chair.  I got the call last week and I said Yes!  

Why? Because Curtis Hertel listens and understands the concerns of rural Michigan and is committed to making sure we have a voice. It would be a privilege to be part of the team that is committed to restoring faith in government and making government work for the people. I am grateful and privileged to support him and work with an amazing team from around Michigan. I commit to representing rural voices, constituents, and concerns. And I will drive anywhere in this state and talk to anyone about community needs.  

How did we get here?   After I stopped working full-time, I wanted to get involved in Democratic politics.  I called the Kent County Democratic Party and asked about getting involved. I received an email thanking me, telling me they didn't need volunteers, instead asked for a donation.  I never heard from them again.  

Later, while at our cottage in Iosco County-before it became our home- we were walking down the street in Tawas and, while looking at a sign in a store front, elbowed my husband and said, “Oh my gosh, there are Democrats here!” I walked through the door of the Iosco County Democratic Party on Newman Street, and I never looked back. I worked on membership, strategic planning and building an amazing team to benchmark successful practices around the state in urban, suburban, and rural communities. We used the data collected to inform our strategic, communications, membership, and fundraising plans and shared the information with anyone who asked. I am now Chair of the Iosco County Democratic Party and love the way we show up and serve in our community.

Around that time I joined ICDP, I also joined the MDP Rural Caucus. I had the opportunity to serve on first Rural Caucus Summit planning committee, working with a team to bring together speakers, legislators, county parties, and unions to talk about rural issues. This work led to a colleague nominating me for an award; I was honored as Congressional District 1 Democratic Honoree for 2024. I am not normally a fan of awards as they are rarely a solitary event, but the opportunity to represent Iosco County at the state level was well worth the discomfort.  

During the last election, I supported our local candidates, state representatives, and federal candidates who were running for office.  I knocked on doors, made phone calls, handed out literature, and delivered signs. What I heard at the doors was deeply concerning.  The lack of connection to the Democratic party and the level of dis- and intentional misinformation spread by the Republican Party was and still is deeply concerning.

Across Michigan, we are facing real challenges. The policies and proposed cuts with this administration will have very real and devastating impacts. In Iosco County, there are an estimated 25,075 people for whom poverty is determined; of those, an estimated 4,166 people are below the Federal poverty line (approximately 16.6%) and an estimated 947 are children (younger than 18 years of age) in poverty.  Nearly 27% of Michigan’s total population are enrolled in Medicaid and 22% are enrolled in Medicare. As of 2023, Michigan had a population of 10.04 million with 2.808 million relying on Medicaid and 2.288 million relying on Medicare.  

We need to start right now to take our country back and I am confident that Curtis Hertel is the leader who can lead for all of us.  He is committed to bringing people together to make sure our voices are heard.  I said YES to being part of the solution to the challenges we face.  We need to start now to hold Republicans accountable for the real harm to people and our communities and to build confidence that Democrats will make government work for all of us. 

This is why I said yes. 

Really folks, we are better together