The Ever Growing PurpleAmerican Electorate

People are Tired of Extremes; They Want To Talk Rationally Again

A few great things happened here at PurpleAmerica this last week. My most recent post, on the fraud that is Truth Social, became my most viewed post ever, after its first day. But that’s not all; it was also my most restacked/reposted/forwarded piece ever and led to the biggest single day increase in subscribers ever. For that I am extremely grateful and forever appreciative.

In addition, over the past several weeks, a number of moderate candidates have won their primaries against established liberal candidates. One of those that we have been backing from the start was Rebecca Cooke, a farmer and small business owner in the Wisconsin Third District. Coming in a surprising second in 2020, losing only to a much more well known candidate, and doubling the vote of the liberal candidate in the district, she won this year’s primary to face right wing MAGA stalwart Derrick Van Orden in November. That she was able to do this after outside liberal groups dumped a ton of money at the last moment to try and swing the election only underscores what I have been saying all along; getting candidates who truly represent their areas, are tied into local politics and issues, and aren’t pushed by national campaign apparatuses are the way to win elections. Democrats most certainly can compete in rural America like the WI-03, they just have to be willing to compromise their coastal rhetoric for one that plays to a more moderate audience and support issues that rural areas want to talk about. They’re going to have to start treating it as input for thoughts and ideas and stop pushing their own politics in a vain attempt at reducing politics to a strict numbers game. Ms. Cooke is a perfect example of this; as someone who understands farming and rural issues, she’s made them the centerpiece of her campaign; Democrats should consider her ideas and issues and promote them; they’re many of the same ones advocated by V.P.-Nominee Tim Walz when he represented the area just across the Mississippi River from the WI-03. Had her liberal opponent won that primary, it’s questionable whether she would have won in November. As it stands now, Democrats have a very good chance of flipping this seat Blue. Back in 2020, had Democrats not pulled money out of the district to shore up flailing NY Dems (including the one who lost to George Santos), this district would already be represented by a Democrat.

But it’s not just candidates running against GOP incumbents, it’s moderate positions running against far left extremes. Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush both lost for pushing extreme positions in solidly Democratic districts (and in Minnesota this week, Ilhan Omar squeaked through her primary) that even their constituents thought were too far left. Their rhetoric was too heated, too rigidly stubborn and too unequivocal, and they lost for it. Had they taken a more reasoned, calmer approach, and a less extreme one, they’d probably have won their primary, or more likely not had an opponent. As it turns now, they’ll both be staying home next January.

Moderation, supporting a more PurpleAmerica, is winning out across the country. It’s not just about me, although I write about it. It’s all of you too. It’s in the community we’ve built so far and are continuing to build. We’re all tired of the same old exteme politics and activism which leads to nothing but stagnancy and a lack of governance. We want our elected officials to work together again, to compromise, to progress.

And in that, the work continues. Thank you for everything you’ve done to get to this point, and for your continued support in taking this country in the right direction.

-PA

PurpleAmerica’s People of the Past Week

The Good

THE US OLYMPIC TEAM!— WOO-HOO! The US CLEANED UP at the Paris Olympics, getting the most medals and tying China for the most Golds. U-S-A! U-S-A!

Steph Curry. Speaking of Olympics, in both the Semifinal against Serbia (a game they were down by 14 late) and the final against France (a tight game until the final 4 minutes), Steph Curry went OFF, draining 3 after 3 with apparent ease. So harsh was this nail being put in the coffin that McDonald’s France announced (tongue-in-cheek) they were not allowing popular curry sauce in their restaurants.

The Bad

Alien: Romulus. The 7th film in the Alien franchise is released today and for the most part is receiving OK-ish reviews. I’m sure it’s better than some of the other Alien films in the franchise. But let’s be honest here; the first one is a classic, a horror movie that flipped the traditional gender roles. ¹ The second is a pure ‘80s action movie that added a whole other dimension to it. And since then, these films have nothing else to show or say that we haven’t already seen.

Simone Biles. OK. The Gymnastics GOAT had reason to celebrate. Let’s just say, we’ve all been there. No judgment.

The Ugly

The Minnesota Vikings. The season hasn’t even started yet and the starters are dropping like flies to injuries. I’m starting to feel genuinely bad for them.

Olympic Breakdancing. For starters, Breakdancing is more “art” than “sport” but the inclusion of this into the Olympics was a farce from the get-go. I mean CANADA won the Gold Medal for Breakdancing, and its one of the whitest countries on the planet. Don’t even get me going on the Australian, “Raygun” here. Happily, Breaking will not be an Olympic Sport in the LA Olympics in 2028, so no Olympics 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Have a nominee for us to consider? Send an email to purpleamericanunity@gmail.com!

PurpleAmerica Pop Culture Random Top Five

This week: The Top 5 Madonna Videos.

That ‘80s Pop Singer who sparked the entire “Madonna Wannabe” craze turns 66 today. It may be hard to fathom to today’s youth, but back in the day, she was kind of seen as a more provacative, whorish version of Taylor Swift, dominating the charts, headlines, concert tours, and being a huge part of the culture and her videos were maintsays on MTV. Today, we give tribute by picking our Top Five Madonna Videos

5. Vogue. Later in her career, but this song was catchy as all hell. At a time when grunge and gangsta rap were more popular, this song was everywhere.

4. Open Your Heart. This one raised some eyebrows, but demonstrates pretty much everything that made Madonna an icon.

3. Material Girl. A take on Marilyn Monroe’s “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend,” this is where she got her ubiquitous nickname from.

2. Like a Prayer. The video released originally as a commercial for Pepsi, who then flipped out over some of the items in it such as burning crosses. By today’s standards it’s pretty tame, but still holds up.

1. Like a Virgin. OK. This was where she went from “up and coming starlet” to the big time. While the video was a huge success and iconic, nothing beats the moment she originally sang it at the VMAs and the world collectively lost its mind, and most of America’s teenage boys went through puberty overnight.

Honorable Mention: The Opening Monologue to Reservoir Dogs. While not a “Madonna Video” this scene still remains one of Quentin Tarantino’s best scripted dialogues.

PurpleAmerica’s Best Articles of the Week

You have to read this piece about how we can turn down the heat in our politics and improve our Democracy. The not so secret solution? Get out of our silos and start listening to each other. “A Recipe for Cooling Down American Politics,” by John Paul Lederach writing in the Washington Post.

PurpleAmerica’s Subscriber Mail

When we here at PurpleAmerica Respond to the Teeming Millions (well, we’re still working on that first million)

“How can you not Short Truth Social?" It’s practically begging to go down to like $2 a share.”

—Yeah, I get it. I just wouldn’t like the ride it takes to get there. Not to mention Trump is currently selling $2 bills modified with his likeness on them for $19.95; the mere fact there is a market for that nonsense makes me wonder how dumb Americans can genuinely be.

“You are so full of shit. Kamala became a better candidate simply because she’s not Biden or Trump. She doesn’t have to say a word between now and November and will win because everyone hates the last two Presidents we had.”

—Hard to argue with that logic.

“Putting Purple Rain as the #5 film reference is a travesty. You should have your Minnesota and your ‘80s card revoked.”

—I get that criticism, but with the exception of First Avenue, you can basically claim much of it is any major city and nobody would know the difference. Could have said it took place in Detroit really and who would know? Fargo on the other hand, that has the largest city OF ANOTHER STATE in the title, and yet everyone knows that it’s Minnesota and Minnesotan accents. That’s what makes it iconic.

“You just had to put the Vikings in there didnt you?”

—Yup. Same as this week. Hope you enjoy! :)

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at purpleamericanunity@gmail.com

PurpleAmerica’s Historical Note from This Week

85 years ago this week, “The Wizard of Oz” premiered.² The film is considered one of the greatest ever made and is one of those classics everyone has likely seen sometime in their lives. It used to be aired every year and was a huge draw back in the days when there were only three channels. Televisions and broadcast stations used it as a means to show they could broadcast and receive in color, the brighter the better.

Many may not know the story is actually a political allegory. Written by Frank L. Baum, it was meant to portray populist politics late 1800s in a positive light. Dorothy represents the common person in the heartland (“from Kansas”). The Scarecrow represents farmers, good hearted but lacking a brain. The Tin Man, is a strong body but lacks a heart. The Cowardly Lion is meant to be the typical bloviating politicians of the day, in particularly William Jennings Bryan, who lack the courage to do what was right. The Emerald City was D.C. and the Wizard the President. So what were they advocating for and what did it mean? The answer is in the footnote here.³

PurpleAmerica’s Dad/Uncle/Cheesy Joke of the Week

So I got sent to the Principal’s office again. The secretary looked at me and said, “You’ve been here every day this week, what have you got to say for youself?”

I told her, “Thank God It’s Friday.”

And with that…

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Footnotes and Fun Stuff

1. Its a woman hero. Its a man who gives birth to the Alien. The almighty computer overseeing everything is named “Mother.”

2. In of all places, Oconomowoc, WI. Ocnomowoc was once a place they would try out certain previews to get a sense of how well things would play around the country. When I was young, the adage was “Will it play in Peoria?” which was another place, and Jay Leno would always wonder what they would think in “Duluth, MN” to know if it was within the bounds of a national audience.

3. It was the free coinage of silver. In the story, they had to follow the “Yellow Brick Road” (gold standard) to get to where they were going. Dorothy had killed the Wicked Witch of the East and obtained her “Ruby Slippers” but the Wicked Witch of the West coveted them. In the book, they weren’t ruby, but SILVER slippers, meant to represent a state’s right to get off the gold standard and coin silver money. This works great for the middle of the country where silver can be mined, but not so well for the coasts who traded in gold and the gold standard. Of course, Dorothy aready possesses the means to go home again all along, and never even needed to go to the Emerald City along the Yellow Brick Road. She has her Silver Slippers.