Happy Thanksgiving, America

And you thought all the turkeys were on the table!

One turkey not on the table is James Lankford, a far right extremist representing a relatively mainstream Oklahoma City. We hope that next year Tom Guild will defeat his reelection efforts and replace him in Congress. Tom is eager to join the Congressional Progressive Caucus and his Thanksgiving message fit in pretty well with theirs, even if it was of a more personal nature.

As a small child growing up in a 700 square foot rental house in Wichita, I remember surviving on government commodities. Five of us lived in the house, until my half-brother Dwight, lied about his age, joined the Navy at age 16, and left the house. We were poor, and our parents sporadically worked. Thanksgiving was just another day on the calendar. Years later, my brother Robert and I, who were both abandoned by our mother and stepfather as children, compared notes, and we both felt that we wouldn't have survived without government commodities to eat. Now, if anything, I have access to more food than I could possibly eat. I'm looking forward to volunteering at the Edmond Community Thanksgiving Dinner at UCO, and then enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner with a friend and her family in Edmond. There are so many reasons to be thankful, I wouldn't know where to begin. Thank you for your friendship and support! Have a wonderful week and a Very Happy Thanksgiving!

Tom wasn't the only Blue America candidate sending out a poignant Thanksgiving message today. Shenna Bellows is running for the U.S. Senate seat in Maine and her message was a plea for federal reform to end child hunger.

1 in 4 kids in Maine under age five are now living in poverty. That’s according to a new report issued by the Maine Children’s Alliance.

But we can change that:

• We can raise the federal minimum wage, so working families can provide for their kids.
• We can restore funding for programs that feed our kids like the SNAP/Food Stamp Program.
• We can get involved at the local level to demand change nationally.

It’s a conversation we need to have now, and it starts with you at your Thanksgiving table with friends and family. Let them know why you’re supporting Shenna Bellows for the United States Senate. Let them know that she will be a Senator who stands up for Maine’s kids and our future.

We cannot afford to wait. Our country’s economic future depends on the health of our children today. Join Shenna this Thanksgiving in working for change. Don’t forget to take food and donations to your local pantry. Then, at Thanksgiving dinner with your family, start the conversation about Shenna Bellows and her leadership to advance fairness, freedom and our future.