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I’m getting back into the swing of things after taking my family to Montana for summer vacation last week. Obviously, I’m going to have a lot of things to say about the budget the Republicans passed this weekend, but first I want to stop and reflect on a local story I came across while I was in Montana.
One of the things I loved about being outside the Big City was indulging in everything Montana had to offer—from incredible national parks to family-owned diners to reading the local newspaper at the coffee shop instead of scrolling on my damn phone. At one stop along Route 93, I read a story in the local newspaper about a library on Flathead Lake that ran a program offering 50 internet hotspots people could rent when they needed them. The program existed because of a federal grant—until the grant was cut, I assume, thanks to Elon Musk and DOGE.
The community was understandably upset and wanted the library to find a way to keep the program alive. The journalist who wrote the piece spoke to the head of the library board—it seemed like an elected position, but I’m not sure—and asked if they’d keep the program going. And the guy in charge said two things that really stuck with me, in the worst way:
First, he said he didn’t believe in government welfare and didn’t think the government should be providing hotspots to people. He was fundamentally opposed to the program and didn’t think it was his job to provide rural broadband access. Second—and this is the part that really lit me up—without a shred of evidence, he suggested that most people using the hotspots were just taking them into the mountains to watch porn. Completely ridiculous.
The article also mentioned that some folks in the community had offered to raise funds to keep the program going. But the library board rejected that too, saying it wasn’t the library’s job to provide internet. And to me, this is everything wrong with how so many people—especially the Republicans, but far too many Democrats too—approach government.
They’re not even trying to solve problems.
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I don’t care if you’re running for dog catcher or President of the United States—your job is to improve people’s lives. Every moment we move away from that—where we’re either hurting people or standing still—is a failure. And this guy who doesn’t think the library’s job is to provide access to information? Give me a break. The whole point of a library is access—to books, to education, to learning. And yes, the internet is part of that now.
Even if it’s not "technically" the library’s job to fix rural broadband, it is still a public good and a point of access to service. You can still lead. You can govern. You can try. You can at least create a bridge until bigger solutions come along. And having driven all across Montana, I can tell you: internet access out there is rough in large parts of the state. And people are getting left behind because of it.
The article shared stories of people relying on those hotspots to apply for jobs, to book doctor’s appointments. The role of government should be to give people opportunities to move forward. And if that means you can get online at a library to find a job, that’s exactly the kind of thing we should be supporting.
What’s broken in government, at every level, is that too many people care more about being right or giving off the appearance of getting things done than actually getting things done—to the detriment of public welfare. Too many people climbing the ladder, chasing power, influence, money. We have a generation of politicians who seem to only care about how they personally profit rather than how they serve.
That’s how Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, and the Republican Party passed such a horrendous budget this weekend—because of all the so-called moderate Republicans who pretended to be on the fence just long enough to squeeze out favors or photo ops or whatever else. Transactional politics. Meanwhile, the bill itself? It does nothing to improve people’s lives. It helps billionaires—makes tax cuts for the wealthiest permanent while the tax relief for regular folks is limited and temporary. It makes an investment in corporate America at the expense of working-class America, with little to no return.
And what we don’t have—what we desperately need—are politicians who just want to solve problems. Who see people struggling to pay bills, find housing, get a job, or just get online, and are actively trying to do something about it. We need elected representatives to be bold, relentless in their pursuit of addressing the needs of The People, and who are collaborative and cooperative in finding solutions.
Which brings me back to the core question: Why the fuck are you running for office if you aren’t trying to solve problems?
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Call me naive, but if you hold elected office—if you’re a government worker, a member of a community, a person who gives a shit about others—you should wake up every day trying to make your little corner of the world better. Not passing the buck. Not looking for excuses. Trying.
To the Library Board member, to the GOP, to Trump, to all those in places of power: You are elected to represent and be of service to those constituencies who democratically deemed you qualified to protect and advance their well-being, safety, and interests. When we elect you to carry out the sacred duty of representing us, we are making an investment in you, and we should, therefore, see a tangible return on that investment. When that stops happening, change is necessary.
That’s what’s corrosively broken in our politics right now: too few people with any real interest in getting things done for working people. Too much ideological rigidity. Too much cold-heartedness toward people who need help. And on top of that? Way too much assuming the worst of people. That’s broken too.
The guy who doesn’t want to fund library hotspots assumes people are using them to watch porn instead of apply for jobs. The folks voting to cut Medicaid for 20 million Americans assume that people on Medicaid are lazy. We assume the worst, and that’s just wrong.
We need government—and community leaders—that assume the best (more Leslie Knopes, less Selina Meyers). Leaders who believe in people. Who try to give folks a shot to succeed. Because at the end of the day, the vast majority of people just want to feel valued. They want a good-paying job. A chance to start a family. To buy a house. To retire with dignity. And that’s true no matter who you are.
People are going to gravitate toward leaders who demonstrate—both in words and in actions—that they actually give a shit about them. Leaders who will try to make your life better. Leaders who will actually get something done and are not afraid to be bold, change gears, and take risks to improve the lives of everyday people.
And that’s who I’ll be watching for in the next year and a half to see how emerges as we build this next generation of American leadership together—whether it’s Zohran Mamdani in New York City, Mallory McMorrow in Michigan, Lauren Underwood in the Chicago area, or anybody else.
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