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Wise / Norton VA Democratic Committee; Meet the Candidates Forum from left to right with Joy Powers, Douglas Crockett and Adam Murphy
A Tale of Two Classes; The #WorkBootsBuiltAmerica Class vs #EpsteinClass
WISE COUNTY, VA — You didn’t have to go far this past weekend to see two very different versions of politics and America.
#EpsteinClass
Just up the road in Wise VA, Congressman Morgan “WoodBooger” Griffith held a rally with former Governor Glenn “Billionaire” Youngkin and supporters. The message?
Maps.
Not gas prices. Not jobs with livin’ wages. Not grocery bills. Not healthcare. Not affordable housing.
M-A-P-S.
He warned that adding more counties to his district from redistricting would mean more work for him. More miles. More counties. More responsibility.
M-A-P-S.
Meanwhile, folks in Southwest Virginia are staring down gas pumps that don’t care about district lines. Grocery carts that cost more every week. Power bills that don’t shrink just because a map gets redrawn or not.
But up there on that stage, the focus was clear.
M-A-P-S.
Now head down the road a few miles, and you’d hear something different.
#WorkBootsBuiltAmerica
At another local Town Hall down the road in Norton VA, Democratic candidates Joy Powers, Douglas Crockett and Adam Murphy took turns standing in front of working folks and talked about what’s actually hitting them in the wallet.
They talked about ending tariff taxes that are driving up the cost of goods and groceries.
They talked about getting out of another endless war that’s keeping gas prices high.
They talked about lowering the cost of living. Period.
No fancy lines on paper. No political geometry.
Just the basics. What it takes to live.
That’s the split we’re seeing more and more, not just in Wise County, but across rural America.
One class lives in a world where policy is abstract. Where decisions are about maps, power, and political positioning. Where the rising cost of living is something just heard about, but not felt.
Call it the #EpsteinClass. The crowd that never has to choose between filling the tank or filling the fridge.
Then there’s the other class.
The one that built this country.
The one that still keeps it running.
The #WorkBootsBuiltAmerica class.
They’re the folks who notice every ten-cent jump at the pump. Every dollar added at the checkout line. Every increase on the electric bill.
They don’t have the luxury of debating maps while their cost of living climbs. They’re living it.
And they’re looking for someone who’s talking about it. Who cares about it!
This weekend in Wise County wasn’t just two events. It was a snapshot of a bigger choice.
You can listen to the folks talking about lines on paper. Maps.
Or you can listen to the #WorkBootsBuiltAmerica class, the ones struggling to pay bills just like you. Offering help to Southwest Virginia!
The choice is yours. It’s your vote!
Just remember it when you’re standing in the grocery line this week.
Remember it when you swipe a credit card just to fill up your truck.
And remember it when that electric bill shows up in the mailbox.
Be curious, not judgmental.
Till next time, that’s the story from the ‘Back Forty’. — John W. Peace II
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John W. Peace II is a fifth-generation farmer from Big Stone Gap, Virginia, where he grew up on his family’s dairy, Clinch Haven Farms, and still lives today. He’s a proud father to Trey and Shelby Peace, and partner in life to Cathy Swinney. A Virginia Tech graduate with graduate studies at Penn State, he served as the youngest Chair of the Wise County Board of Supervisors (2004–2008). John co-owns urTOPIX LLC (urTopixLLC.com), a Democratic campaign training firm focused on reaching rural voters that is sponsored by www.RuralAmericaRising.com PAC. He’s also a two-time Amazon bestselling author. Learn more at www.JohnWPeace.com.
Contact: https://linktr.ee/JohnWPeace
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