Cowboy Hats and Copperhead Snakes

In 2018 I started to get involved with local politics. While enlisted in the military it was a tricky line to walk and frankly, who had the time? It’s no wonder that you will see the party regulars that are politically active are older folks. They are retired. They have the time. If someone is working three jobs just to make rent, going to meetings or weekend canvasses won’t work. Do you think this is by design?

I was doing my first stints as a poll worker in 2018. I was out there almost every day. As a retired 40 year old, I had the time and was happy to get involved. This was back in a happier, more polite time. The opposing poll greeters were friendly, we could have conversations, and people were (at a minimum) cordial with each other. When folks showed up and made trouble, other representatives connected to the offender would step in to remove them. One particular instance included a man crossing the line he wasn’t allowed within, leaning into windows of cars, and telling voters that if they “voted for ___________ they were literally voting for Satan.” A representative stumping for the same candidates made a call and he was promptly removed. 

Poll-greeting taught me a lot about politics at the local level. One candidate told me about his first race. He was in a primary and was not getting the support of the party. They wanted the incumbent, as they almost always do, and he was left to gather his own resources. He went door-to-door having as many conversations a day as he could. He would say, on social media, he only spoke to 10 people while he actually spoke to 5-8 times that number. The party, and his opponent, looked at these (lower) numbers as inconsequential and never took his candidacy seriously. Another “trick” he used was to wear the same tie, shirt, and jacket every time he went out canvassing. This made sure that people who had a good conversation with him would remember him again when they saw him at the polls. And yes, those tactics worked and he won that election. 

That’s all to say that Dotson wearing a cowboy hat and the large amount of press that the mayor is getting for his wife’s snake bite is not good fortune. It’s planned. It’s all planned by people who have studied these exact kinds of behaviors and trends. 

The mayor is a liar. He’s lost all credibility with people who can read and write a long time ago. It’s no wonder that there is a large group of people who think that the snake bite story is a complete fabrication. I am not one of those people. But I can see how people view him in a way that would make his story suspect. So I’m not saying that the mayor is faking his wife’s MINOR injury but the amount of press that’s covering this non-story is unbelievable! They started a meal train for the family with hundreds of dollars in gift cards being donated. The public relations machine surrounding Burns and his friends went into overdrive immediately and with the exact results they wanted. 

This is the uphill battle that we face in politics. If you can recall the primary election for Monroe City Council, Michelle Ball made zero appearances in any kind of debate/town hall format where the questions would be a surprise. The reason that she would cancel these appearances was because she doesn’t have a platform. None of them do. They create fake issues for you to get mad about and then beg you for your vote (or money) and then magically solve their made up problem immediately. There’s no downside for these types of candidates. If they win, the problem is solved without any work. If they lose, their made up problem can still be used as a talking point. 

These candidates can’t talk about any of the issues that matter to us, the normal citizens. Their votes and speeches are performative with nothing behind them. Take the vote “against” the higher tax rate that the mayor and Dotson made. The budget is put together by the town manager. That was a necessary rate increase based on budgetary needs. The no votes made by Dotson and Burns were performative. They get the budget they need with the ability to tell voters they voted against the higher tax rate. In reality, did they propose a different budget? A budget that would have made a lower tax rate possible? Perhaps if the mayor wasn’t spending tax dollars on campaign rallies and fake healthcare clinics, we could have kept a lower tax rate. But the clowns made their performative votes and will campaign on the fact that they’re fiscally conservative when in fact they are fiscally idiotic. 

Burns’ team has his entire campaign strategy down. He brags about things with the “me, me, me” mantra but any positive thing that’s happened in Monroe in the last two and a half years would have happened if he was mayor or not. Every. Single. One. Every story he promotes, every business that is building a factory, and every job that was created had absolutely nothing to do with Robert Burns. Michelle Ball is running on shutting down drag in front of children in Monroe. Well, let me solve that “issue” for you Michelle. There, done. Your made up issue is magically gone. Don’t need you on the council anymore. 

Why do they do it? Why do they insist on creating fake issues or fake accomplishments? Because they have no intention of actually doing anything once in office. And the voters they are chasing aren’t going to check them on anything. I just watched an episode of The Boys last night and this quote still rings true with me and why our battle is so difficult. 

You can't win the whole country anymore. 

No one can. So why are you even trying? 

You don't need 50 million people to love you. 

You need five million people fucking pissed. 

Emotion sells, anger sells. 

You have fans, 

I have soldiers. 

- Stormfront

And there you have it. Pat Kahle ran against Dotson with ideas. She had a track record of steady accomplishments. She had heart, she had a desire to serve, and when asked about any issue that citizens cared about she would answer their questions honestly. 

Today, integrity, knowledge, and intelligence don’t win races. Hatred, anger, and lying do. 

Dotson has his cowboy hat, no doubt suggested by a consultant, to make him stand out and look unique. How do I know? Because I had to come up with a unique look when I ran. But my dumb ass picked, in December, a wool cap to wear not realizing the rest of the campaign would be in the hottest summer months. I had to destroy that hat when the race was over. 

Michelle Ball has her rants about Jesus and flouncy shirts with scarves to attempt to distract from the fact that she has no actual platform. 

As the race gets closer, candidates who know the issues, who love all the citizens of Monroe, and who want to work with integrity will be asking for help. Please help them. Or help us help them. We have some costly ideas and no big benefactors like Burns. Get yard signs, get bumper stickers, and if you have time, sign up to canvass or work the polls. Reach out to the candidates and see how you can help. There is definitely something you can do. 

Because I don’t want to lose to a group whose entire platform is cowboy hats, hatred, and copperheads.