“Bode, you seem angry. You should take a break.”
I’m not angry, I’m f*cking nuclear.
I’ve spent my career fighting for small businesses, standing up for vulnerable populations, and building a community where people look out for each other. Now, I spend my days talking with business owners who are shuttering their doors, laying off people they care about, and carrying the crushing weight of being responsible for someone else’s livelihood.
I’m tired. And I’m furious.
This is cowardice, plain and simple. The “elected” in Lansing and D.C. have chosen to bow to a tyrant, selling out the people they’re supposed to represent for their political survival. They’ve gutted the programs that keep our communities afloat, $1.1 trillion slashed from Medicaid and the ACA, putting 16 million Americans at risk of losing health insurance. They’ve destroyed federal contracting set-asides and DEI programs, stripping women-owned, minority-owned, and LGBTQIA+ businesses of the few tools we had to compete. They’ve ignored inflation, skyrocketing healthcare costs, and the 200,000 open jobs Michigan small businesses can’t fill.
These despicable human beings know exactly what they’re doing. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects 1.22 million jobs lost nationwide from these cuts. Michigan stands to lose 37,000 jobs and nearly $2 billion every year for the next decade. Every time a small business closes, it’s not just a storefront going dark; it’s a family’s future, a team’s security, and a community’s livelihood disappearing.
I see the toll every day. Owners who have poured everything into their businesses are now forced to let people go. They’re slashing budgets, cutting benefits, and wondering how much longer they can keep going. And I’m supposed to give them hope? I’m supposed to tell them to hang on, things will get better, when our so-called representatives are actively making things worse?
This isn’t just policy failure—it’s a moral failure.
You are cowards, every single one of you who voted for this, who looked the other way, who put self-preservation ahead of the people you swore to serve. You have chosen to please a tyrant instead of protecting your districts. You have made it clear: small businesses, vulnerable populations, and working families are expendable to you.
If you’re not standing with small businesses, you’re standing in the way of Michigan’s future.
