On November 4^th, many communities held elections around the country. There were a few major elections, including the Governor's election in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the Mayoral election in New York City. But we also had many local elections that tell a tale of what may be happening in the country. One thing that is for sure is that for the next year, we are going to see an intense battle for the soul of our nation.

In New York City, we now have a Muslim mayor. Depending on who you talk to, the Zohran Mamdani is either a Socialist, a Democratic Socialist, a Communist, or a Terrorist. The man is the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of New York City. Mamdani has not even started his term yet, and people are already saying he is destroying New York. It has sparked intense reaction, from being celebrated as historic to being condemned by conservatives and Trump allies as a dangerous shift toward radicalism. What he did do is promise the most aggressive affordability agenda since Fiorello La Guardia. That is actually the type of agenda that Trump ran on, but has refused to do anything about it after he came to office. He was going to bring prices down. He was going to make housing affordable. Funny, when Trump runs on affordability, he is called a champion of the people, but when Mamdani runs on an agenda of affordability, he is called “incapable” and “dangerous”. The first thing that the Republicans do is try and make sure that people become afraid of the new Mayor of New York. Trump calls him a “Jew Hater”. Right-wing media and  GOP strategists frame Mamdani’s win as a warning sign of Democratic “extremism”, portraying NYC as embracing “radical socialism”. The Mayor of New York City is not the “Dictator of New York City”. He still has to work with the rest of the city government to make any changes, and he is also still going to be answerable to the people of New York City. What bothers me is that the people of New York have spoken, but it is the Republicans who don’t want to listen. I always get the feeling that when the Republicans talk, they talk like they do not believe in the “Republic for which we stand”, a Republic that stands for the people.

There were also a couple of gubernatorial races that were won by Democrats. In Virginia, Democrat  Abigail Spanberger beat Republican Winsome Earle-Sears. Abigail Spanberger became the first woman governor in Virginia’s history, winning by a 15-point margin. In New Jersey, Democrat Mike Sherrill beat Republican Jack Ciattarelli by a 13–point margin. The Republicans like to paint this as not a big deal because they claim that both states are blue. The existing Governor of Virginia is republican Glen Youngkin, and New Jersey is the home of long-time Republican and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, and both republican candidates were endorsed by Trump. This really is a bigger deal than the Republicans would like you to believe. Is there a shift in how the public sees the Republican Party? I sure hope so because the Republicans don’t want anything to do with “We the People”.

Progressive candidates won key school board races across the country, especially in Colorado, Minnesota, and parts of California, while conservatives held ground in areas like Southern York County, Pennsylvania. These results signal a shift toward pro-public education policies in many districts, though many battles remain. The thing about conservatives and their anti-woke take on education is that we now have a whole generation that has grown up with the internet. When they do their research, they are doing it more by using the internet and less by just looking at the school's conservative curriculum and what the conservatives want children to believe. The internet has more to do with today's woke agenda than what conservatives want to admit because conservatives cannot control the internet. The truth is out there for not just our children, but for everyone in the free world out there to discover. It is too easy to discover the lies that we are being fed.

Lying to the people of America will only get you so far. Why? Because the truth can be found and is being found by people all over the world, because of today's digital age. Knowing the truth may be what the Republicans like to call " woke,” but to many people, it is just the truth. The world is becoming increasingly smaller due to technological advancements. The scare tactics that the Republicans are using are getting old because of social media; we can communicate with people all over the world. Democrats talk about Universal healthcare. Republicans call it communism. Canada has Universal Healthcare, and they are not a communist nation. I have thousands of Canadian followers, and not one has ever told me they want what we have. Democrats run on affordability, and Republicans call that radical. Since when is being paid a livable wage such a radical idea? Do Republicans wish to just keep people in poverty? We will give billions of dollars to other nations, but when it comes to feeding our own, it is just too “radical” for the Republican Party. We can give huge tax breaks to billionaires, but we cannot have billionaires pay a livable wage because it would be “communism”. We can divert billions of tax dollars to the private sector, but we can’t make medication affordable for everyone because that would be socialism. We can bail out farmers, but we can’t make groceries affordable.  Be can bail out a failed business, but actually helping people is too “radical”. Giving billions to the rich is not “corporate socialism” to the Republicans, but feeding children is.  The one thing Republicans don’t want to do is make sure a child doesn’t come to school hungry. Giving billions to the rich is not “corporate socialism” to the Republicans, but feeding children is.

Republicans have no vision, so they just spread insults and fear. Republicans have no policies, so they call people who try to think outside the box as being too radical. When was the last good idea that you heard from a Republican that could actually make your life better? Because the Republicans don’t work for the people, they try and make the people afraid of those who do want to work for the people. If the idea doesn’t make a billionaire richer, the Republicans want nothing to do with it.