Let us set the stage for messaging when it comes to the mid-term elections.
This morning Republican Congressman Chris Collins was arrested on a massive insider trading scheme. Take note, this was not some small not-to-worry over crime for which he was arrested. Rather, he is accused of passing non-public information from an Australian pharmaceutical company to his son, who then traded on those tips.
To make the news worse for the GOP, or more perfect if you are a Democratic candidate running for a House seat this year, are the words from Paul Harvey. Now “the rest of the story”. I did love Harvey’s broadcasting style. The company in question–Innate Immunotherapeutics–also has a number of House Republicans as investors. The icing on the cake is that some of the those GOP congressmen invested at Collins’ urging.
Collins will soon be packing his bags for home–and if the Justice Department has a say in the matter–also to prison. Paul Ryan was actually able to act in a quick fashion upon hearing the news and removed him from the Energy and Commerce Committee for now. Which then begs the question of why Ryan did not act with speed concerning the disgraceful behavior of Congressmen Nunes.
The ousted HHS Secretary, Tom Price, another ethically challenged Trump pick, was also one of the investors. His expensive taste in travel on the taxpayer dime helped his ouster.
On top of that story we need to include former Trump pick at the EPA, Scott Pruitt, who also had to leave his position after a long list of fiscal absurdities which tapped the taxpayer’s kitty.
There are stories about Trump’s rich Mar-a-Lago friends exerting an embarrassing degree of influence over the Veterans Affairs department. Was not Trump going to honor vets in a manner that no other president ever had before? (Cue the gagging.)
Headlines this week and last too, have showcased the trial of Trump’s campaign manager –Paul Manafort–being accused of illegal business practices and hiding taxable money while working as a political consultant overseas.
There is not an ethical person in the crowd.
So here we are heading into mid-August.
Democrats have been handed the most corrupt White House since President Grant in 1869. I would have placed Richard Nixon in that last sentence but as I write it needs noting in 1974, on this date, he had the sound judgement to resign. It says a great deal when one has to use Nixon as a source of honor in the Republican Party. But that is what Trump has made possible.
These new wild-eyed conservatives will not leave with the nation’s best interests at heart. They will need to be shoved out by the ballot. The climate of corruption–which is a result of Trump’s approach to his own businesses–has been brought to this White House and then seeped into the DNA of his administration.
The only remedy to such a shameful attack on common sense, and the laws of this land, is to wash it all away with a Blue Wave. And it is coming.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 
A blue wave on election day will not be enough to wash away corruption and bring about change necessary to reform our political system. Even if we can again have a Democrat as Governor with Democrats controlling the Legislature, it will not result in meaningful change unless we elect a leader who will fight for changing our corrupt political system that is dependent on big money contributions, gerrymandering and suppressing voter turnout. Unfortunately, the last time we had blue control nothing meaningful was done to address these issues. Only one candidate for governor has spent years fighting for needed change. That is Mike McCabe. McCabe also offers us a vision for moving forward on education funding, renewable energy, fixing our neglected roadways and connecting everyone with dependable internet access that can help grow our economy, especially in struggling rural areas. We need more than just a blue label. We need a Blue Jeans candidate.