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Durn Rursty
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All right, all right, hmm
Hold open. It’s cold. My voice is cold. I’m not warmed up
This is Republic today
Republic today dotnet
I’m
Recording
today
July 23rd
2026
It’s 849
p.m. On my
Laptop computer
I’m recording from the Empire State
Republic today Republic today dotnet. I
Just decided to jump in on
Here record and improvise and so if you’re a first-time listener
Um
Then this sounds choppy to you
You might you might kind of get into the rhythm
If you’ve been listening for a long time and there at one point there were literally I mean
I would get hundreds of streams. I don’t know
If it was early bots, this would have been like 2009 or something
a
lot of it from China
There were some Chinese and vaguely Chinese like red and gold flag star sort of imagery
The Republic today flag
was red white and gold I guess and
you know, I was I was recording out of New Orleans and
I was living there for a long time
Southern style a ding-dang do you but I was in New Orleans so it doesn’t feel like
Rural deep south. It’s not rural, Louisiana. You know, I mean when you’re in
New Orleans, I mean you could almost imagine that it’s not
The southeastern United States, you know, it’s Dallas is a bigger city and I kind of just
Toss the entire state of Texas into the southwest when I’m doing regions, but
Texas is actually a hybrid place where it’s both the south of the Confederacy as
well as as a connection to
One of the three cultures of the United States cowboy culture. I don’t know who originally said this theory
but
Someone told it to me
When I was at the old space of the Iron Rail and there’s all kinds of
All kinds of colorful characters coming and going at all times and someone who happened to be
associated with
the old Iron Rail that summer
Told me that
They read somewhere that
There are three kinds of Americans
there’s Yankees Southerners and Cowboys and
And
Every single American fits into one of those categories
And it’s been tough. I mean you can obviously say it the whole thing silly and so don’t waste your
Intellectual energy thinking about these kind of things
But I thought about it and at the time and when it crosses my mind these days, I still think well
That
Sounds kind of true to me like it does seem like every American
Fits into you so think of a stereotype and they’re probably either a Yankee a cowboy or a Southerner
Are there different kinds of Yankees?
Cowboys and Southerners, of course, of course, they’re different kinds. So just something to think about
The
Performance art project of Republic today Republic today net
the performance art project is
That I’m I’ve decided to slap on
Senate too because it is unserious. It’s it’s very unserious
but I’m running for Senate in the state of New York as well as
Congress for the New York’s 25th District and
So, what would I do were I to be elected how would I campaign?
Let me it gives me a little bit of focus and and sort of a lens with which if you listen to
Republic say Republic today net 15 years ago
I
Was doing research, you know before shows and talking about statistics. I was compiling things
A lot of that was good
content and I do want to learn
and so
This is sort of an audio journal for me learning
About the world and I want you to learn and talk about politics and I want to get I want to do something
I want to be active. Is this slack tivism? It’s way worse than that
I’m just
babbling into a microphone
Here, that’s what Republic today Republic today net is right now
it’s a fictitious run for New York Senate and
not State Senate, but
To be a senator in the United States government representing the Empire State
I it seems like both the senators are
sort of the toxic capitalist establishment types as well as
The the congress person here in New York and so I
Mean, let me put it out there right now if it were a serious thing if I was really a
Threat to
The establishment Democrats or the establishment politicians in New York State and in New York’s 25th
I’m putting myself out there to catch bullets
Yes catching bullets it’s sort of a metaphor a turn of phrase what happens when you threaten power
In the gun era, I guess I
Think there was probably during pre-gun
Literacy era there were people who threatened the establishment
Just their power not threatening them violently just threatening them in terms of power money
Influence capital
Live by the pen die by the sword
Because the state’s gonna come for you you write bad stuff about the prime minister or king or whatever they got in Europe
Where they had swords back before guns?
You write bad stuff about a warlord or an emperor in
ancient China
Live by the brush. I guess they brushed not pen live by the brush die by the sword
I don’t know when they got started having pens in China
But I want to learn that’s what this project is it’s for me to learn
So I just had to get on and do something it had been a few days
Really original some some original incarnations. There were daily shows and I do
Have the do I have the intellectual energy to put out good content is this good?
It reminds me of a song by Naomi is Naomi good or bad
So, I don’t know if this is good necessarily, but it’s something it’s better than perhaps if I was trying to do it every day are and
Republic today Republic today dotnet
so
What’s on the agenda?
It does seem like before running for Senate. I’d have to run for Congress
and I
Don’t know. I don’t think there is an organized left and
I you know, I want to be passionate. I keep saying, you know, I had a medical professional
Mentioned sort of being passionate about something doing a job
I think I could do a good job
And things that on paper I’m not qualified to do I think a lot of Americans I mean
Well, I want to do surveys I want to I want to know I want to know statistically, but I also want to know sort of
sort of
Eyeball test how motherfuckers are doing in the 25th district and in America and in the world
I mean, this is the learning I want to do because
Indeed comm wages are low
Wages are surprised anyone who’s like, huh? This is like New York is a high-tax state
you’re not taking home a lot of what you’re making so it seems like wages should be higher to account for that and
services should be better to reflect that and in fact, New York is hood as a
motherfucker and
Services are much more bureaucratic and difficult than other states. I’ve lived in and worked with
Wages are low
Wages are low
On a d.com and maybe wages aren’t low if you’re going on the d.com in New York City
I don’t know. I should check it out. I’m here to learn
This project is an audio journal of my learning
Yarmouth so I
I
Don’t I don’t know what the media I can I can ask AI or I can even do an internet search
I’m a DDG person
but I do
mess around with that AI and I’m
Currently implementing sort of a
plan to have less screens in my life and
Am I implementing it? I’m planning on implementing having less screens
But recording Republic today Republic today dotnet does require a screen. I can do this
I can send it out into the universe
Sorry for clearing my throat clearing my throat, I’m sorry
Excuse me for clearing my throat
This is that raw stuff. This is that real stuff. It’s not that fake stuff
So
Republic today Republic today dotnet. I guess this episode seems a little unhinged
Don’t worry y’all. I’m self aware. I’m self aware that this
Seems unhinged, but I’ll catch you next time tune in next time. Thank you like and subscribe
Republic today Republic today dotnet -
Rusty Rust
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Okay. Huh. Is this thing on? Tap, tap. Hello, ladies and gents. No. Uh, they’re, they’re
cold opens now. All right, this is Republic Today. RepublicToday.net. I’m recording from
the Empire State. It is July 19th, 2026 to 21 p.m. on my laptop screen, right hand bottom
corner. This is Republic Today. RepublicToday.net. This podcast first started in, gosh, I want
to say like nine, but it was probably 10, like 2010. And then I go for long stretches
of years without doing much. And then every once in a while I do some recordings. So that’s
what this is. I was trying to call it political philosophy for a long time. When you put podcasts
up on different platforms, you have to categorize things. There’s arts and humanities. And so
political politics and news is humanities work. However, it’s not really art. Anyway,
the categories don’t work. So now I am going to be categorizing back into arts. Republic
Today. RepublicToday.net is a performance art product. Performance art. I’m fantasizing
about running for Congress in 2028, New York’s 25th. It’s every two years, right, Congress?
Do you, you’re, you’re running for Congress and you don’t even know every detail about
elections? Well, I mean, I’m, I’m doing a podcast. I’m doing a podcast just off the dome. There’s
like zero prep. The whole thing is freestyle. I decide, okay, I’m going to record. And so like
I hit record and then I started talking and this is one take. So I’ve been talking for two and a
half minutes, one take and I don’t, they’re a little bit, I mean, last episode, this one,
it’s a little bit all over the place, but I’m just kind of getting back in the rhythm. So the
performance art project of, you know, what would I do were I elected to Congress or running for
Congress? Because like, I ain’t out in the community. I mean, working full time, having
family obligations and yeah, recreating with my partner. Like I, I am not out there in the
community. So part one of running is just when you have free time, when I have free time,
when I fictitious candidate has free time, just be out in the, in the streets, I guess, you know,
knocking on church doors or something. I do think I have some overarching ideas about
legislative policy that would be good for those community members in New York 25. I listen to
opinion podcasts on a regular basis and it was talk radio before that. I got into podcasting
so long ago, really like when it first started being a thing and at least listening to it. And
it was just the direct line from, oh, there these, this talk radio, this sports talk radio or politics
talk radio is on demand streaming through this audio stuff. Great. Boom. I was of an age where
I liked being an early adopter of these consumer products. Now, if it doesn’t resolve in being an
engineer or what is that word today? Salesman, influencer, salesman, influencer, salesman. Like
if you’re not making dough, then being an early adopter just means you spend money, right? You’re
a foolish consumer. I’m a renter. I’ve, I’ve rent apartments. And so like, what a stupid loser,
right? So if I think I’m a stupid loser, that probably doesn’t make me the best candidate to,
you know, lead the deliberative body or be part of, be a leader, be a representative,
to have a leadership position in terms of the democracy. So that’s Republictoday.net. That’s
the theme. It’s a performance art project, product, project, project product. A shopping
assignment I have for a different project I have is a projector. I want to do some slideshows,
but like I’ve been out of that. I’ve been working in hospitality so long and so intently and been
so focused on my personal relationships when I’m not spinning my wheels in hospitality. And it does
feel like wheel spinning with, anyway, I’m not, Republictoday, Republictoday.net. Sometimes I
want it to be therapy. And I think there’s been some episodes in the past where I’ve, I think
it’s been therapeutic. I have a similar kind of monologue, monologue genre is stand-up comedy,
which I’ve never tried. And I don’t really go to shows. Writing comedy seems so ridiculously
difficult. I don’t understand how comedy writers do it. I enjoy comedy writing, though, but I don’t
really, I’m not a big stand-up guy. And I’ve thought, though, like going through some life
events, that maybe that would be a good way. I used to like to act when I was a youth. Basically,
when I got into adulthood, I got out of acting. But I like to act. I was a big actor as a youth.
And so being on stage, I’m very comfortable. Where I think I would be, it’s been a trillion
years, and I don’t like doing karaoke. So, I don’t know. Stand-up comedy could be therapeutic
if I just like talk about traumatic things. But that, like this whole little last couple
minutes of this recording has not been funny or entertaining. I’m just trying to put myself
out there right now with this new idea of the performance art project that this, you know,
recordings produce. So, maybe this will just be a quick one. It’s very all over the place,
but thank you for listening. We’ll see what happens in the future with Republic Today,
republictoday.net. -
Rusty
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Oh Right I Think this thing’s on It looks like it’s working. This is
Republic today RepublicToday.net. I’m recording from the Empire State
I’m looking in the lower right hand corner of my laptop screen and it
says 717 26 July 17th 2026 it’s about 106 PM on the digital clock on the
bottom right corner of my laptop screen This is Republic today
RepublicToday.net I’m Hobbying I’m Performing my hobby This is just
another freestyle test Shake off some rust. I’ve been doing this for
years, and I’ve been not doing it for years I was Thinking a lot I
listened to a lot of podcasts about politics I’m I’m thinking of the
disgraced Alleged rapist Graham Platner and It seems obvious to me that
were he a corporate Democrat He would be defended Against those
allocations by the people who endorsed him but since His policies as far
as I know what I haven’t dug into it seemed to be a little bit more
socialist He’s thrown away now Rape should disqualify him But does
having extramarital affairs disqualify a Democrat like William Jefferson
Clinton or many many others and I think about the president our
president Who has Found civilly liable for sexual assault has lots of
allegations not less Legit sounding than this one against Graham
Platner, and there’s some other red flags with Graham Platner but
there’s way way more red flags with President Trump and And His policies
are bad for the country bad for the world and There’s a bunch of
Senators congressmen lower-level elected officials Who governors
whatever? Who have imperfect personal histories perhaps around? Alleged
sexual misconduct or Extramarital affairs, maybe just what was the swell
well? I don’t think he did anything illegal right he just Borderline
harassed people he just hit on people too much which again, I mean he
Sounds he doesn’t sound like someone I would vote for even if he had you
know some kind of pristine personal life So the litmus test there’s a
line between some alleged Sexting that’s okay, but the sexual assault
allegations are not okay and This argument of hey look the Republicans
do it the president has had a very successful political career despite
perhaps despite, but despite his personal life All these multiple wives
yada yada yada So I Think that the establishment needs to decide is it
going to be hypocritical is it like well if you’re rich and You’ve got
The right political connections you can get away with stuff, but if
you’re a working-class Candidate who’s maybe going to advocate for more
economic equality Then you better have been a straight-a student never
told a lie like Washington Married monogamous your whole life never
Flirted with someone who wasn’t your spouse Never smiled at a host at a
restaurant the wrong way whatever it is as well as you know like never
drank like the president or Has only ever been a very light drinker Has
never I mean I you know I don’t know like this these Linux tests for
people’s personal lives I think it’s going to exclude a lot of people
and and I think something that people bought into with Graham Plattner
was He was a real guy who made mistakes now The excuse for the mistakes
that people will make because it’s PTSD and he went and served our
country in the military So it’s like it’s okay. It’s okay if you make
life mistakes if you serve the country, but if you didn’t go to war then
You really better have a perfect perfect clean, and we’re talking about
a senator. We’re not talking about the president You better have a
perfect record And and you know it was also a perfect storm for this guy
because his primary opponent 80 years old In her 70s whatever was too
old it was time for her to retire maybe she could be a kingmaker a
queenmaker It’s time for her to retire Just because you’re not running
for office or in office doesn’t mean you can’t have influence. I thought
this about After Hillary lost to Obama in the primaries this 2008. It’s
a long time ago. I’m very old Today I’m very old here on Republic today
RepublicToday.net Today I’m old But I was thinking way back in oh wait
oh nine way Hillary Clinton needs to go away I mean she ended up
becoming Secretary of State after that, but certainly after the Obama
era was over I It was I was appalled that she ran she needed to Be a
great fundraiser be an all-time great fundraiser Advocate for whoever
the Democrat candidate was put her thumb on the scale for some younger
fresher candidate But don’t run like it’s it’s power-hungry miss I saw I
mean not again I everything I listened to you said she was going to be
Trump, so I’m not saying I predicted that Trump was going to win but I
Knew she was a bad candidate in the primaries. I knew I mean I and again
like I not only do I not like her policies I didn’t like her
personality. It’s both both of those things that seem like Why do you
need so much power? Why can’t you fade? into the background be super
rich Super influential, you know you could still be a states person What
about an ambassadorship if you really have to stay involved you know I
heard people talking about President Obama Obama President Obama going
on to the Supreme Court as sort of like a retirement thing, but yeah, I
don’t understand why Senators I mean this this governor from Maine if
she you know if she retired and a Democrat gets elected in 28. Why
didn’t she go be a 75 year old whatever ambassador somewhere? You know
or just you know start start a huge nonprofit that that like keeps
Democrats in power in Maine and improves the lives of Mainers Why she
got to be you know I’ve always wanted to be a senator well It just
doesn’t work out. It just doesn’t work out, so she handed Graham
Plattner that nomination In the same way that Joe Biden. I mean he’s the
most obvious example Ruth Bader Ginsburg being another one of just
clinging to power till you’re dead Instead of moving on to another phase
I Don’t you know I’m not trying to kick people out of of Like having
careers, but I’ve just I’ve seen it just down here on the ground for my
professional working adult life where You know there’ll be the person
running the libraries in their 70s. I’ve worked in libraries and And so
you’ve got someone in their their 40s or 50s that should have been moved
up into a position. I put college chairs Department heads I’ve just seen
it in academia these people who are old and Again, not not that they’re
not functioning not that they’re not still intelligent or hard-working
or haven’t earned the money, but like There’s got to be a way way to
make room for people at the top of these Organizations or or the middle
management of these organizations who are in their 30s 40s 50s And and
the people in their 60s and 70s could get out of the way There should be
more I mean obviously it comes down to economics and people in their 50s
can’t afford to retire There should be more instances of that Maybe if
someone started working at the the university in their 20s and put in
you know 30 years and they’re in their 50s they could retire and again
You don’t have to it doesn’t mean you’re just watching TV all day Be it
be some kind of consultant for the place from which you retired be Do do
some volunteer work get on a board of something get be involved in
things where you’re not the active manager Get out of the way let other
people have careers, too So When I think about My my fictitious run for
Congress in New York’s 25th district, which is just really Kind of way
for me to have content on Republic today Republic today net and I feel
like I’m really lacking in Activity organization. I don’t have the time
or bandwidth to go to protests. It sounds like bad, but I also don’t
want to You know, there’s the pro-democracy coalition But if these
people are gonna vote for Gavin Newsom or we’re excited about copmola
Harris or Whatever billionaire Pritzker Or any of these richie riches
Capitalist status quo Democrats. I Can’t organize with them. That’s not
I you know, I’m definitely an independent And so I go to a no-kings
rally and there’s a bunch of like Liberal hippie Dems. I don’t know.
They’re they’re just as responsible for the economics They’re just as
responsible for the genocide in Palestine That you know, I see some
groups of Anti-genocide protesters. I saw a march walk past my window a
while ago a few months ago and They had a bunch of flags a bunch of like
Iranian flags Palestinian flags like I’m not necessarily in I’m in
support of those people but those governments I mean, they’re
theocracies they’re fascistic You know, they’re just there is much of
the state as the Israeli state the United States government I You know
and it’s very easy to draw distinction in my head between the people in
the government But I don’t know maybe they just need some different some
different flags But I mean, you know the one the one anti-war protest
the person chanting had Kind of a punk rock bodyguard and I was like,
okay, there’s the anarchist There’s the real anti-authoritarian. I Don’t
want a big government I don’t want a big centralized state doing all
kinds of stuff I don’t want the means of production to be the hands of
the government of the state I think it should be hands of labor not
capital. So I’m anti-capitalist in that way, but a Big centralized state
I don’t want either I have a lot of real estate policy ideas a lot of
real estate policy ideas and I don’t want The federal government or
especially more likely the state government To tell my local community
what it can or can’t do. So the platform for my Fictional Campaign for
Congress, New York 25 is That I want to get federal legislation allowing
municipalities to impose Regulations and fees on property owners That
that the state, you know property owner might go to the state and say
hey You’re violating my property light rights and the state might put in
injunction or you know We’re the federal government and I don’t I want
it to start at the federal government. No Municipalities can oppose can
impose Whatever Vacancy fees they want if they want to drive capital out
of their cities they should be allowed to make those decisions if they
want to Make sure that vacant units are full By say hey, what’s the
asking price for this rental? What would the mortgage payment be on your
asking price for this building that’s for sale? If you don’t get it
filled in 90 days or 120 days or if there’s not people Actively
Renovating or whatever doing, you know doing work on it When our random
visits occur Then your vacancy fee is whatever that asking price is and
it’s not just self-reported. You’ve got a three-pronged Analysis of what
that number is. It’s It’s Some sort of Was it called when assessment,
you know, there’s an assessor’s office that Goes to real estate
professionals to find out what the asking price is They do their own
market assessment and then also go to the landlord and very importantly
the The assessor’s office the city government that’s imposing these
vacancy fees as well as other Regulations such as owner occupancy and
owned homes condos as opposed to rentals Potential buyers potential
renters entrepreneurs people looking for housing in other Investors who
don’t own that building There’s there’s I don’t know three four or five
prongs in terms of coming up with the estimated asking price Because the
landlords Are gonna lie and so the fee should just be what the asking
price is. Hey, you’ve got to pay out into the government a fee For every
every month that this place is vacant and the fee is whatever your
asking price is you lower your asking price Your fee is lower. You
already asked me price enough You’re gonna get a tenant if you’re
turning away tenants because you’re writing something off Then that’s a
gross misuse of real estate property during an affordability crisis so
You know property rights as an abstract to word bumper sticker Means
nothing you’re you should not have the right a landlord should not have
the right To sit on vacant properties because that’s more profitable
because they overvalued what the rents were gonna be and now they’re
gonna go into arrears or collections or whatever because the building is
worth more than it was valuated at well, guess what overvaluating
buildings is illegal So if an investor has to take a loss that’s not
illegal I hear about investments Coming with risk, but right now in our
crooked corrupt Real estate system here in the Republic Republic today
net in this Republic. We have a crooked corrupt real estate system Where
investments carry no risk Everything always appreciates No tenant. No
problem. You’re still profitable because People are taking loans off of
buildings that have mortgages and five. It’s such a convoluted
capitalist system That it’s profitable to leave buildings sitting empty
to have 6070% of a building empty 50% of a building vacant and they’re
still making dough That’s corrupt crooked. Anyway, that’s it’s my it’s
my thing So Graham Plattner, I so I the reason why I bring up Graham
Plattner or President Trump All these crooks Bob Menendez Eric Swalwell
all these people Because You know if I’m gonna put on this this
fictional campaign through a podcast to run for Congress against Joseph
Morelli in New York’s 25th Well, I mean, I don’t have some kind of
perfect record. I’ve never Sexually assaulted anyone But I’m a human
being who’s made mistakes I’m a you know getting middle-aged man who’s
lived lived a life that’s had ups and downs and so You know, I haven’t
been Thinking in terms of being running for office my whole life. And so
whatever I’ve I have a background That might be a turnoff to political
consultants Because it’s all just you get through the consultant class
and they’ll sell a candidate to the voters right, if it has if Graham
Plattner Had said hey, I’m some nobody Who’s gonna run for Senate and
The Consultant class hadn’t backed him He would have been a guy with
some questionable online posts Questionable tattoo and some questionable
allegations and he would have never won the primary But because the
consultant class got behind him He got the nomination So What we know is
that out He also had the dough and that’s the other thing that like so
is it it’s okay I mean what we know about America this I don’t even want
to phrase it as a rhetorical question What we know about America America
here in the Republic Republic today Republic today net what we know is
Money talks right that like if you’re rich the laws don’t apply to you
If you’re rich norms and mores don’t apply like what would be
disqualifying for someone for a job Doesn’t matter if you’re rich right
because yeah, I don’t need the money I Will be disqualifying for
Qualifying for someone for a board position if you’re rich well that
just sweeps it under the rug if you’re looking for a business partner
Well, I don’t I don’t need sweat equity. I need dough if you’re running
for office and You can self finance or you’ve got the cronies To finance
Then you know some some question marks in your personal life The the
consulting class will let slide because you got that dough because they
need money these consultants aren’t all rich They’re middle class
probably a lot of them are working class people That are just trying to
make a buck anyway, and so I hear people who are passionate about
politics on podcasts and They’re all worked up about equality and and
morality, and then they’re doing an ad for some capitalist products and
so They don’t really mind Inequality or immorality because hey they got
to sell they got to sell something Because they got to make a living I
mean it’s not again We know that in the United States If you’re rich you
can do whatever you want I Mean if you’re rich enough you can molest
children and get away with it cover it up all the courts are for sale
Right we know this pardons are for sale we know that that’s the case and
and something that Frustrates me a little bit about and maybe this will
be the last know what this has been a fairly long chat here on
Republictoday.net the The actual leftist Bernie Sanders, etc is They’re
talking about the billionaires and the point OO one percenters and The
influence that they have so obviously Bezos Musk blah blah blah. They
are bad They have a lot of influence. They have way too much influence,
and it’s this Oligarchy class at at this national and global level, and
it is a big problem But it’s not just the billionaires. It’s the
millionaires at the local level It’s the guy that identifies Himself as
upper middle class or just middle class dice in middle someone who just
identifies as middle class, but owns four Small apartment buildings in I
don’t know Rochester, New York That person has too much power that
person does not have The right regulations about what they how they make
their money and what they can do because I guarantee Those apartments
aren’t in great shape. I Guarantee that they’re raising the rent a
nickel if they can if they can get away with raising it $1,000 a year
they’re gonna get away with that and I guarantee that the millionaire
Who isn’t middle-class but identifies as middle class that owns four
apartment buildings in Rochester, New York? I Guarantee that that person
has vacant units that they’re writing off because that’s part of The
economics today, so anyway, it’s not just the global billionaires It’s
it’s your local rich guy who owns a few buildings. That’s also part of
the problem I’m gonna call it This was Republic today. This is Republic
today. This will always be today. It’s always today here in the Republic
I don’t know. I’m just blathering now Republic today RepublicToday.net
PS C:> -
when corruption is just so obvious
In a letter to Democratic committee members dated December 23, 2025, Congressman Joe Morelle asked for their support in his 2026 re-election bid. He called himself a “lifelong, proud Democrat” and said that Hakeem Jeffries had asked him to “lead House Democrats’ efforts to root out corruption in Washington.”Read that letter. Then ask yourself: is this serious?Families in Rochester and Monroe County are struggling to afford housing, groceries, and health care. A president is openly defying court orders, gutting federal agencies, and dismantling the social safety net. And Joe Morelle’s pitch to voters is that he’s been tasked with “rooting out corruption”—by Hakeem Jeffries, a leader whose own caucus is revolting against him. The letter says nothing about housing. Nothing about health care costs. Nothing about what Morelle has actually done—or failed to do—for the people he represents. It is the letter of a man who thinks his job is to hold a title, not to fight for his constituents.And the man who claims to be fighting corruption? He has one son who is a registered lobbyist for the company that owns Rochester’s electric utility, and another who runs an advocacy organization representing contractors and developers. The “lifelong Democrat” keeps recruiting Republicans to run on the Democratic line. And the leader tasked with “defending the freedom to vote” has spent decades rigging the game from the inside.Morelle’s influence in Washington is also shrinking. In his entire time in Congress, he has sponsored exactly one piece of legislation that was enacted into law: a bill to rename a post office in Fairport after his predecessor, Louise Slaughter. That’s it. He was once a member of the Rules Committee—one of the most powerful in the House—and the Armed Services Committee. He sits on neither today. He was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus when he first joined Congress, and even touted their endorsement. But after the CPC co-chairs introduced concrete criteria—including voting record requirements—for continued membership, Morelle quietly dropped off. He is no longer a member. A progressive group flagged him as a “PINO”—progressive in name only—back in 2021. The label stuck.This site documents, with primary sources, the record that Morelle would rather you not see: a career that began with election fraud and a guilty plea; decades of backroom dealing as Monroe County’s Democratic Party boss; loyalty to disgraced politicians and family conflicts of interest; a pattern of enabling Republicans while calling himself a Democrat; a terrible, right-wing voting record on key issues; and his role as one of AIPAC’s most reliable allies in Congress.Every claim on this site is sourced. Newspaper clippings, public records, and reporting from local and national outlets back up what you’ll read here. This is not opinion—it is Joe Morelle’s own record, in his own words and actions.
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the k shape
“The group following the upward path on the K is extremely small and shrinking every day, and this group is assisted and enabled at every turn by the power of the state. And the declining group is not roughly half of us, but is in fact the overwhelming majority of people, fed to the wolves by our system. The K gives the false impression that about half are moving up while about half are moving down.”
www.counterpunch.org/2026/06/05/the-myth-of-the-k-shaped-economy