Chapter 95 Running for Governor

"Let's welcome the pride of Dakota, the candidate we're looking forward to - Adam Griffith!" Under the provocative introduction of the host, Gerry, the former CEO of Dakota Pasta Growers Fez trotted onto the stage and waved to the supporters in the audience.

Griffith amassed a fortune by selling his own seed sales company after taking Kareem's advice. Then he started his career in politics, joined the South Dakota Democratic Party camp, and announced his participation in this year's governor's election. But Griffith is just a political amateur, and the Democratic Party of South Dakota is not optimistic about Griffith.

Next year will be the year of mid-term elections in the United States. The mid-term elections are related to the power of the Republican Party as the ruling party in Congress. If the Republican Party can still hold the upper hand in Congress, then the Reagan administration will have much less resistance to reform. The mid-term elections will also change the political landscape of some states. According to the laws of the United States, the mid-term elections will also re-elect several governors. The governor’s term of office is generally 2 to 4 years. The specific situation is implemented according to the laws of each state. Although some states The term is two years, but the governor acquiesces in serving two terms.

Although Griffith is not favored, he has two unparalleled advantages, that is, the support of the American Farmers Association and the secret funding of the Gorky consortium. When it comes to fundraising ability, no one in South Dakota can match Griffith.

"Dear South Dakota residents, how are you doing? I think most of you will curl your lips and sigh and say, what else? Last year, just last year. We in South Dakota and North Dakota had The biggest harvest year in history, everyone's faces should be filled with smiles, our farmers can make a lot of money, with this money we can improve the infrastructure of the farm and lay the foundation for future harvests Basically, we can replace the irrigation system on the farm and buy new farm tools. To be honest, I want to replace my 1962 Ford truck. But reality gave us a big slap in the face, why, also last year The prices of corn, soybeans, and wheat have reached unprecedented lows in history, and the food we have worked so hard to grow has been sold at a low price, and it is not even enough to cost. Is this the result we want? "

"NO! NO!"

"Should our hard work be wasted like this?"

"NO! NO!"

“When the Republicans came to power in South Dakota, they cut our farm subsidies, raised our taxes, and even slashed government spending on public and education. We suffered from the lowest farm purchase prices in history while also suffering from high Amount of taxes. The Republicans told us that they want to develop tourism in South Dakota. Although I admit that our hometown is indeed beautiful, but if I have a little money, why not go to Las Vegas or Atlantic City Do I have to pay to come to a farm state like South Dakota to watch cows fart?"

"Ha! Ha!" The crowd in the audience was happy to listen to Griffith's ridicule.

Because what happened to them in the past year was indeed not happy. Most of the farmers owed a large amount of debt to the bank because of the collapse in the price of agricultural products. As the CEO of Dakota Pasta Growers Company, Griffith is very familiar with this situation. He has worked on this land for more than 20 years. He is familiar with what people here like to eat, what they like to hear, What do you like to play. What they want and what they don't want. All these things are definitely not comparable to those politicians who graduated from law school and accumulated contacts through lawyers to become politicians. Most of the grain producers in South Dakota have dealt with Dakota Pasta Growers. Last year, the purchase price offered by Dakota Pasta Growers was basically fair. Cargill offers a stark contrast.

...

"We're an agricultural state, and I don't know what else we can do other than run a farm? Shall we dress up as cowboys and play Rush West with our Indian friends for tourists to see?"

"NO!"

"We're not clowns!"

...

"What we need is not a new economic growth point, but to continue to play to our strengths. Our ancestors built the farms on this land that we live on. What we need is to make what we produce worthy of us. We deserve it. Some people will ask Adam, what if the price of corn, soybean, wheat is lower than it is now? I will tell you that there is no way, there are so many places in the world Food needs to be imported, and there will always be buyers for our food. If I were in office, I would continue to increase our farm subsidies instead of lowering them, and I would restore our education and public spending to what it was before the Republicans came to power instead of Lower it, because I know that some money is related to future generations and cannot be saved. I will cooperate with domestic insurance companies to provide preferential insurance for our farmers. With insurance, even if food prices plummet, the Department of Agriculture is not willing to bail us out , and insurance companies to help us. Only in this way, the farms we have run for generations will not fall into the hands of those greedy Wall Street capitalists. We will not lose our land and be forced to give cowboys and Indians to others on our old farms Take it as a joke..."

Griffith let his governance philosophy seep into the minds of the audience bit by bit. His remarks actually represented the interests of the Gorky Department. Glencore hopes to control more agricultural production and push its competitors out of South Dakota. Monsanto hopes that its genetically modified seeds will be recognized in the market, and glyphosate will bring greater benefits. And Columbia Bank, and the newly formed Columbia Insurance Company, are eyeing South Dakota's farm insurance and mortgage markets. Griffith's governance philosophy seems to be for the sake of South Dakota's agricultural producers, but in fact it has always represented the interests of Gorky's enterprises.

Griffith's speech at the party's primary election rally was broadcast verbatim by the local TV news network to every household in South Dakota, and Griffith's campaign advertisement was placed on the highway billboards, free water cups in hospitals, syringes, and even contraceptive distribution machines. Griffith's public relations team is well-funded to project his image to voters. Other competitors in the Democratic Party were squeezed out of sight by Griffith's campaign funds.