Chicago native Nelles sees crime flourishing in his famous hometown, where retail giant WalMart is retreating after failing to turn a profit for years from theft and shoplifting. So the journalist now calls Chicago the “New York of the 1970s," which is no compliment.
Using his own city as an example, Nelles told American Family Radio on Wednesday that Americans should stop solely hoping for change with a Republican administration in the White House.
“We can get a president in place, but if it's President Trump, we only have four years to get things done,” Nelles told show host Jenna Ellis, who is herself Trump's former attorney.
Nelles drew alarming comparisons to America now and America under former President Jimmy Carter in his piece op-ed at The Daily Wire entitled Déjà vu Decade. Carter’s one term from 1977 to 1981 is not remembered fondly for many. The Iranian revolution and hostage crisis, a breakdown in improved relations with The Soviet Union, the energy crisis, high unemployment, and double-digit inflation created challenges too great to overcome for one GOP president.
But one striking difference stands out.
'Parallels are eerie'
“If you look at the similarities between the 1970s, especially the Carter years and what's happening today in the 20s during the Biden years, the parallels are eerie and they're scary," Nelles said. "There are many differences, but the major difference is that everything that's happening bad in the United States right now is self-inflicted."
Carter had critics, and his leadership was scrutinized, but many of his challenges were impacted by world events.
Nelles cited the Yom Kippur War. It started a little more than two years before Carter took office when Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated surprise attack on Israel. Israel took heavy losses of tanks and aircraft, and President Richard Nixon resupplied both.
The Israelis repelled the attack and regained lost ground much to the disappointment of some oil-producing countries.
“The Yom Kippur War, led to the Arab oil embargo against the United States that quadrupled the price of oil, quadrupled the price of gas. There was really nothing anyone could do about that,” Nelles said.
The price of gas spiked immediately when Biden took office and vowed to save the planet by embracing wind and solar, and Big Oil and fossil fuels were declared an enemy. Biden enacted policies to reduce drilling and to rely on foreign oil.
“Fast forward 50 years, and we're seeing the price of gas now continuing to go up. We're seeing the price of oil at over $80 a barrel, and it is solely because of the energy policy of the Biden regime. It’s a self-inflicted wound,” Nelles said.
Next Ronald Reagan not the answer
Obviously the tide can begin to turn if Americans elect conservative leadership in Congress and in the White House. That helps.
Lasting change has to start from much farther down the line. Americans in their kitchens, backyards and downtowns need to take a stand, show up and be heard, Nelle said.
Nelles’ version of that is his freelance work. He’s not a full-time journalist but a supply chain consultant by trade. His reporting and commentary on the side give him a chance to strike back.
“The last sentence in my article is, who is the next Ronald Reagan to write in on a white horse and save America? I think we don't need just one Ronald Reagan. We need 50 governors. We need thousands of mayors, thousands of school board members, and thousands of precinct captains,” Nelles said.
Ordinary Americans may feel overwhelmed and that they’re not making an impact, but Nelles pointed to how the voices of concerned parents at Loudoun County, Virginia school board meetings help Glenn Younkin become governor.
A big vision for grassroots strategy
Now there are calls for Youngkin to run for president.
Politico said the Virginia governor would provide a non-hostile alternative to Trump and a centrist challenge to Biden.
“It’s that grassroots … getting rid of some of these corrupt district attorneys and prosecutors. It is getting more people who share our values, and who are not corrupt, winning these local elections," Nelles insisted. "That’s how we start to change things from the inside out. We empower the state, which then in turn can force the federal government to do what we need them to do."
As in Virginia, real change could begin if local people just show up.
“It was people showing up and speaking their minds. If we get to the point where people who share our common beliefs, and our common vision for the country, start to show up more frequently, start to be more vocal about what we want, stop being afraid to say what we say in private, in public, I think that's a big thing,” Nelles said.
There needs to be strategy behind the talk, he continued, beginning with watching Democrats' own strategy for winning and then playing by their rules if those rules are legal.
"We don't have to wait till game day to vote," he advised. "Vote early, and then go get your friends and bring your friends in to vote. Put a Dropbox in someplace. Put a Dropbox in your church. Put a Dropbox in your community. Follow the laws that are in place, and we can make the change and make the change happen."
