Dear Mike:
You’re a quiet man, so we barely know each other. A silent, complacent, toeing the party line politician. Still, may I call you Mike?
A few weeks ago, you wrote in The Free Press:
I thought I had grasped the extent of the moral rot. I thought I had seen the bottom. But I hadn’t.
How did we reach a point where a majority of young Americans hold such a morally bankrupt view of the world? Where many young Americans were rooting for terrorists who had kidnapped American citizens—and against a key American ally? Where were they getting the raw news to inform this upside-down world view?
The short answer is, increasingly, via social media and predominantly TikTok.
You’re joking, right?
It's incredulous you’re pretending to be this exasperated by a worldview you helped to sow for years. Given your extensive education and political astuteness, hearing such a statement from you is startling. It’s disingenuous at best and intentionally oblivious at worst. Especially considering how effectively you've convinced your Wisconsin district that you are a moderate Republican known for occasionally extending a hand across the political divide. You’ve done well for yourself. Hiding the ball on your record, your controversial stances on issues, and your silence in the face of some of the most trying times our country has faced domestically.
But I get it, Mike. Saving the United States from China is your singular issue. The hill you will live and die on. Protecting this country you love so much — the country you served — from a dangerous foreign actor like China is of the utmost importance above all else. You’ve said as much yourself. And it is much easier to blame TikTok for the moral bankruptcy of America than to take accountability for the role you played in it with your silence and complacency.
Meanwhile, back in the U.S. of A., a wanna-be dictator has spent the last eight and a half years in a concerted effort to normalize authoritarianism, sow distrust in the justice system, the rule of law, election integrity, destroy any semblance of the integrity of the office of the Presidency and by extension, all other political offices, dehumanize groups of people he doesn’t like — and especially people who don’t like him — stoking violence against individuals for retribution, pushing insane conspiracy theories, calling for an end to adherence to the Constitution, and, most notably, he is responsible for the insurrection and coup plot of 2020/2021. Do you remember that day, Mike? January 6th. The day I thought, “Mike finally found his spine in the face of Trump.” Sadly, that was short-lived and apparently lost usefulness for your political ambitions. And, let’s be honest, there are bigger fish to fry than our pesky constitution and democracy, like saving the country's teens from TikTok.
Imagine if your voice resonated as loudly against domestic threats to our democracy as it does against the perils posed by China. Consider the formidable influence you'd wield, buoyed by courage, integrity, and the admiration of the 70% of voters who stand apart from MAGA supporters. Offer the 41% of independent voters in your district a compelling reason to cast their ballots for you rather than exploring other options in the upcoming election. Reflect on this: Do the risks from China truly overshadow our internal challenges? Does the Trump-led Republican agenda to undermine democracy not inadvertently assist China's ambitions, leaving our nation vulnerable as we grapple with the relentless, shocking, and seemingly endless, jaw-dropping turmoil stirred by Trump?
When will you speak up for democracy inside this country? You’re latest media rows include ranting about a Satanic Christmas Tree that has nothing to do with Christmas or religion (It’s a nondenominational “Festival of Trees”), clutching your pearls over such wokeness happening in your precious home of Green Bay (We are not California after all!), and a lengthy conspiratorial sounding segment on Fox News. And, of course, TikTok is destroying the youth of America and causing them to have an “upside-down worldview”
Nothing to be said about Donald Trump’s “dictator for a day” comment (let me guess: Liberals are blowing it out of proportion? He’s done nothing to suggest he’s capable, including what you railed against on January 6.)
Maybe most shocking is you, a Former Marine, with no comment on Trump’s assertions he will use the Insurrection Act and the military on US soil for retribution purposes against cities he doesn’t like. It’s not unreasonable to believe he will do this — there is evidence he made efforts to invoke this Act in his last term.
When will you speak up for us? I can count on one hand how many times you have stood up to the batshit craziness of Donald Trump and his allies.
But let’s get back to the utter disbelief you feel about the morally bankrupt worldview of American youth. Wherever did this come from? Let’s evaluate.
Day after day, for 3100 days — 8.5 years — since June 16, 2015, when Trump came down that escalator, the never-ending news cycles of all the things Trump does, says, normalizes, and gets away with that no one else would — minimized and gaslit with the help of the Republican Party The “raw news” as you call it, for 3100 days has been absolutely horrifying, because of one man. It’s a nightmare that seemingly never ends and has infiltrated social media, family dinner tables, 24-hour news cycles, late-night talk shows, the courts, and global society, and has damaged the mental health of millions distraught by the chaos and disgust one man has rained upon us abetted by the Republican Party, too afraid to speak up. It has literally ended friendships and broken family relationships. That is how monstrous the last 3100 days have been.
But, by all means, TikTok is how any demographic in society got morally bankrupted. It couldn’t possibly have been coming from inside the house. It couldn’t possibly be the 3100 days that were the preteen and teenage years for the now “youth” demographic you think TikTok broke. It’s not possible an upside-down world view formed because their developing minds, over almost 8.5 years, were exposed to this horrific, never-ending MAGA nightmare. It’s definitely China.
I appreciate your belief in due process and that social media creates mental health and other concerning issues for youth development, but what about human decency? Societal morals and values? Care for other humans? Setting a good example as a leader with a megaphone?
I wish you outwardly cared about the effects of Donald Trump on the Youth of America as much as you care about an app with potential China influence. It’s difficult to take you seriously with such a deficit in courage and integrity here, at home — in the country, Wisconsin, and most importantly, your district.
To quote Marc Elias in Democracy Docket, “We need to begin by speaking honestly about the existential threat Trump poses to democracy. He is not a normal candidate. There are no both sides in this election. There can be no false equivalencies.”
Perhaps, Mike, you could try to be as honest about the threat Trump poses to our country as you have been vocal about the dangers of China. Perhaps you could be vocal about the dire nature of ignoring the threat of Trump, as you suggest it will be dire if we do the same with China.
What is the point of concerning ourselves with external threats to America when we fail to grapple with a more insidious danger within our own walls? A danger that those in power dismiss as mere insignificance or ignore altogether like an inconsequential spider — refusing to acknowledge its true nature is that of a relentless, monstrous Zombie T-Rex that won’t stop until the America we love is burned to the ground.
It’s been 3100 days, Mike. When will you speak up for the people and democracy?
Your Constituent,
Julie Hancock
Thank you for this post.
Jerry Detry
Jtdetry@yahoo.com