Open Letter to George Soros

Maybe my imaginary boss can help me out with a little future planning.

Hey, “boss”.

I have a couple of issues I’d like to talk about, if you can spare a moment or two? I’d appreciate some little time.

Here’s the thing: I’m totally buggered. A little background:

I’ve spent 30+ years working for Democrats. I can’t imagine that you don’t know how frustrating that can be. It has culminated in extreme debt, PTSD, a resume that looks like ADHD wrote a letter, and an ironclad NDA that killed my career.

I spent decades helping people get elected (I’m in Utah, so, I also spent time getting people nearly elected), so that they could, ostensibly, go forth and do good for people. I served the system, because the system was supposed to be a force for good, but it turned out to be a stack of spineless bureaucrats with little imagination, a lot of blandness, and a penchant for shooting the messenger.

It was mostly thankless, paid shitty, and had very long, irregular hours. I missed a lot of family moments because I was busy trying to do better for the world than my parents did. I often fought against feckless leadership and a loser mentality where certain professionals found a way to make a lot of money losing races and resented the hell out of anyone that thought that winning was the goal.

Now I’m stuck in a state where the “Democratic” party throws out their own to run Republicans as “independent” because, again, they found out that they could make more money with stunts than actually running to win. It’s pathetic and sad and ultimately dangerous.

What we need is a change of tone, content, and message delivery.

So … I’m told I’m “Soros backed” a lot. Especially on Twitter.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

Now, I know that when Republicans and MAGAs say “Soros Backed” they’re being anti-semitic. “Soros” standing place for “Jewish”. They mean it in a negative, racist, classist, getting-pumped-up-to-make-trouble kind of way.

Do I care? Yes and No.

I care that they think it’s an insult. I care that they say it all red faced and spraying spittle. I care that they find it an excuse for violence.

I don’t care that they think we’re buddies. I wish we were. You’ve been ignoring me George, for as long as I’ve known about you.

Here’s what I’m thinking.

Radio.

No shit.

Across the United States, right wingers are investing in radio stations and other media outlets. They dominate the airwaves, and indoctrinate their listeners with an unchallenged narrative of anti-woke, anti-democracy, anti-education, anti-everything good.

Air America was a great idea done wrong. IMHO radio is a medium that lends itself to local personality and content. That’s why there are hundreds of stations and only handfuls of syndicated shows. Regardless, most stations are politically apathetic. Not a drop of civic content aside from community calendars and the like. Community Radio, on the other hand, while a wonderful content generator, lacks the resources to truly make a large impact on any other than their own natural audience.

Crossover is key, and so is operating in areas that NEED MORE CONTENT. Rural America is ripe for something different. There’s a vacuum in rural America that the right has exploited since Reagan got rid of the Fairness Act.

Look. You have to go where the voters are. The right wing owns radio and they won it without a fight. It’s not an Everything Solution, it’s a long term commitment to dragging the ignored into the light of reason and accountability. The American voter responds to the information it can find, however easily, and if there is a vacuum of truth then they fill their heads with the offered garbage of right wing politics.

It’s a long term piece of communication pie, and it’ll take a billionaire to fund it.