Hey there, Social Contract community—
I just want to make sure you got my email (below) from earlier this week. If you already saw it, please disregard.
Have a great weekend!
Joe
Dear Friends,
First off, I hope you’re all doing well. Fascism is here, it’s in this country, and these are difficult, stressful days. Things are going to get worse, and I do hope you’re doing your best to take care of you and your family. There’s nothing more important than that.
Secondly, I need to get really personal here. I apologize if this is too personal for any of you, but life is short, and I’ve never been one to mince words or beat around the bush. So here goes. To keep this Substack going, to keep my voice out there, and to keep this community of concerned patriots growing, I need to secure more paid subscribers. Unfortunately, I can’t continue on much longer without more financial support. I just can’t. Let me explain…
You all know my story. I’m a former Tea Party Congressman, former Trump supporter, former MAGA gangbanger. I was one of the very first to publicly leave MAGA and turn against Trump. And when I finally did publicly leave Trump world for good in the summer of 2018, I lost everything.
I took a blowtorch to my career, destroyed my livelihood, and ended any future I had in the Republican Party. I lost darn near all of my supporters and friends, and I opened myself up to hate and regular death threats that continue to this day. I’m not looking for pity. I have no regrets. If I had to do it all over, I’d do the same damn thing again. I’d rather be poor than be a liar.
At times, it’s been a hellish ride. But it’s a ride no one else has taken: from Tea Party congressman, to MAGA firebrand, to outspoken NeverTrumper, to joining the Democratic Party in just 12 years! Crazy! But it’s what I thought was the right thing to do. I’ve tried really hard to make up for the wrongs I committed in my Tea Party/MAGA days, and to fight my former party with everything I’ve got, knowing how difficult it would be. Defeating MAGA—and kicking the Democratic Party in the ass until they become the big, bold opposition party we need—is job #1.
This unique journey has given me a unique perspective, one that I think is critical to defeating my fascist former political party. Because my voice is unique, I made a conscious choice when I left MAGA to be a solo voice. I didn’t want to join any of the great groups or organizations out there—I even turned down a few invitations—in order to remain independent. It’s important to me that I can continue to speak my mind, utterly unfiltered.
While I’m not affiliated with or paid by any organizations or big donors, I’m not totally alone in this venture either. My goal all along for the Social Contract was to be more than just another political newsletter, so I have a very small team to help me out—my podcast producer, Keith, and my right hand, Melissa. They help keep the ideas and content flowing, and have worked hard to help make the Social Contract feel like a true community, as was my vision for it. I hope you agree that it does. Mending the social contract in America starts with a strong group of citizens who are respectful, tolerant, informed, and engaged.
But no matter how unique my journey has been or how strong our community is, it’s been very difficult to financially support my independent voice and my hardworking team on Substack. We rely entirely on paid subscriptions. Nobody pays me a salary. Which puts me in the position of doing something I hate: asking for your help. Even as a congressman, I was never comfortable asking for money. I’ve never been very good at it, but at this point, I have no choice.
And so, I must ask you, as a free subscriber, would you please consider becoming a paid subscriber [ [link removed] ]? I know there are so many interesting Substacks out there, all vying for your attention and your financial support. And I know times are tough for a lot of Americans right now, so I get it if you can’t afford to upgrade.
But I have to be honest, because I can only be honest—I will not be able to keep this Substack alive without additional financial support. And that would break my heart, because I truly think of you all as friends and fellow soldiers in this fight for our democracy.
Finally, if you know of any sponsors who might be willing to help underwrite this mission of a former right-wing political asshole helping to defeat MAGA fascism, expand the Democratic Party tent, and heal the dangerous political divide in this country, shoot me an email to discuss. I’ll set up a time for us to chat. That email is: [email protected] [ mailto:[email protected] ].
Thank you for reading this very personal plea. I didn’t want to have to write it, but I had no choice. This community means the world to me, and I hope we can continue the fight together.
Be brave,
Joe Walsh
Former Congressman
Former Candidate for President