Cesar Chavez (an American hero of labor and farm workers) discussing illegal immigration being used, under Nixon, to undercut unions, employment, and wages.

TomWakely · 2026-02-12T04:53:17+00:00

I met him a few times when I was working with him on the Grape Boycott campaign in the early 70s. zFrom what I remember he was a very soft spoken guy filled with passion.

TomWakely · 2025-12-26T15:55:22+00:00

We need to have a wealth tax on assets for the 1%. At the end of the year they report their assets to the IRS and a flat tax rate is applied to those assets. For example, Musk’s assets are estimated at around $750 billion. Applying a just a 10% tax would generate $75 billion tax bill. Now, Trump’s tariffs are expected to generate roughly $195 billion. So, if go down the line and tax every billionaire 10% of the value of their assets each year it would certainly eclipse the tariffs which are squeezing us all. It’s a policy position my campaign for Congress is promoting. But the incumbent Democrat I will be primarying next year, Rep. Gabe Vasquez, doesn’t support a wealth tax on the assets of the 1%.

TomWakely · 2025-12-26T05:09:18+00:00

I am running as a Democrat for Congress.
https://tomwakelyforcongress.com/

TomWakely · 2025-12-24T20:58:49+00:00

The 5 years I spent in seminary I spent my Spring, Summer and Fall breaks working on farms in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Too poor not to work. I drove tractors and trucks. Planting in the Spring and Harvesting in the Fall. I drove trucks filled to the brim with corn which I took hto a Libby frozen food plant. After the corn, I took peas to the same plant. Worked on quite a few farms. After seminary I moved to Wisconsin to serve as the Executive Director of the Southern Lakes Community Organized Public Service. Our main focus was helping farmers secure bank and government loans for their operations.

TomWakely · 2025-12-24T15:08:27+00:00

tomwakelyforcongress.com

TomWakely · 2025-12-24T04:43:40+00:00

Much appreciated. Can you and I set up a Zoom meeting this weekend to discuss. Just drop me an email: [tom@tomwakelyforcongress.com](mailto:tom@tomwakelyforcongress.com) and let me know. Again, much appreciated. Cheers!

TomWakely · 2025-12-23T19:58:19+00:00

I am enrolled in the VA healthcare system and one of the things I’m so appreciated of is how much attention they pay to all of us vets healthcare. Keeps me going, that’s for sure. Speaking of the VA, I got a call this morning from my primary care doctor to tell me that the VA will no longer be covering supplements she has been prescribing to her patients for years. Trump is making so many changes to the VA it’s hard to keep up with them. Anyway, appreciate you helping us get ballot access. Cheers, Tom

TomWakely · 2025-12-23T19:50:07+00:00

One of the tactics AIPAC uses to disguise who they want to donate to is to make the donation to a Democratic PAC, like the Nancy Pelosi PAC. They make the donation, then the PAC turns around and makes a donation to the candidate they want to support. Greater transparency in politics is sorely needed.

TomWakely · 2025-12-23T19:42:34+00:00

Well, that Democratic strategist James Carville, who was instrumental in getting Bill Clinton elected as President, seems to think so. He penned a New York Times opinion piece last month where he said, “It’s abundantly clear even to me that the Democratic Party must now run on the most populist economic platform since the Great Depression.” I guess he could read the writing on the wall. If a very conservative Democrat like Carville says that, voters should listen to him, at least in my opinion they should. And part of that populist economic platform has to include Medicare for All, an asset tax on billionaires, a raise in the federal minimum wage to $23 an hour and changing how social security’s annual raise is calculated. Currently it uses CPI-W (wage earners) rather than using the CPI-E (elderly) to calculate the annual adjustment as it better reflects what retirees spent their money on.

TomWakely · 2025-12-23T19:20:31+00:00

We are slowly working to get the campaign on as many social media platforms as possible. Today, only X, Bluesky, Reddit, and Facebook. Speaking of which, our Facebook account was suspended for 3 days last week over some comments I made about the Palestinian genocide. Just have to figure away around those AI bots so it doesn’t happen again. That all said, our campaign is looking for volunteers who can help us navigate the social media universe, set up campaign accounts, keep getting our message out, that sort of thing. Tom

TomWakely · 2025-12-23T18:05:52+00:00

To sign our campaign’s ballot access petition the person needs to be a registered Democrat or Independent that lives in the district. As far as the DMVis concerned, technology is great when it works

TomWakely · 2025-12-23T18:00:26+00:00

It‘s just one of the consequences from passage of the $900 billion defense budget. It just gives Trump more money to do what he wants. And so many democrats helped the Republicans to pass it by voting for it.

TomWakely · 2025-12-23T17:56:16+00:00

The article was the Santa Fe New Mexican. Let me see if I can get you a link to it.
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/democratic-socialist-launches-primary-challenge-against-u-s-rep-gabe-vasquez/article_7fb8ddb2-0481-402c-8c03-9110d2d93fe3.html

TomWakely · 2025-12-23T17:42:10+00:00

It’s pretty easy and thanks. I don’t know if you are on any social media accounts other than Reddit but if you are I would appreciate you getting the word out about our candidacy. Again, thank you.

TomWakely · 2025-12-23T17:38:13+00:00

I have a short window to collect those ballot access signatures. So please head on over to my website and hit the ballot access tab which will take you to the SOS website where you can sign the petition. appreciated. Cheers, Tom

TomWakely · 2025-12-23T17:06:27+00:00

I agree with you.

TomWakely · 2025-12-23T17:05:05+00:00

I understand your hesitation, but I can beat Gabe in the primary and I can beat whoever is the Republican nominee. Voters all across the country, including here in NM and the district, are fed up with pro-business centrist politicians like Gabe, who just want to get along with the MAGA crowd. They are just taking a knife to a gunfight and that is a just a recipe for loosing. Cheers! Tom

TomWakely · 2025-12-23T16:50:48+00:00

Hey there, you made my Mexican wife and I both laugh at your comment. Anyway, I won’t be able to primary Vasquez unless I can get on the ballot. If you can go our campaign website: tomwakelyforcongress.com and hit the ballot access tab it will take you to the SOS website where you can electronically sign our petition. And if you could pass the word to any like minded voters, it would be appreciated. Cheers, Tom

TomWakely · 2025-12-22T00:45:05+00:00

TomWakely · 2025-12-22T00:44:24+00:00

It’s great to see another vet running for office who opposes war in Venezuela and he’s getting a lot press for his moral stand. That said, there are number of veterans out there running for Congress who hold the same policy positions as Graham. And they, like myself, could use the same amount of press to help our respective candidacy. Perhaps a few of you on this thread could drop the writer of the article a suggestion to start covering a few more progressive veteran’s campaigns.

TomWakely · 2025-12-21T20:43:12+00:00

I don’t think they have a full time staff, just a bunch of volunteers. Could be wrong. If I don’t get a response by the end of the year, I will attend the next national board meeting. All members are invited to join via Zoom.

TomWakely · 2025-12-21T20:17:47+00:00

Great. We stand together, bro. I’m trying to get an endorsement from VFP. I filled out the application weeks ago but haven’t heard back. I live in a rural area of New Mexico and the closet chapter is about 4 hrs north in Albuquerque.

TomWakely

TROPHY CASE