Message To The DCCC-- How To Defeat Paul Ryan In His Wisconsin District

The substantial generic 2018 congressional ballot lead Democrats had last month (6%) almost doubled in the latest PPP survey (to 11%). That, unfortunately, has little to do with voters embracing Democrats-- just with them rejecting Republicans-- which is a very different thing. PPP found, for example, that by a 20 point margin voters are less likely to vote for a Member of Congress who supported TrumpCare. That may be easier to get over on a simplistic electorate than pledging to pass the Medicare-for-All bill that John Conyers has introduced and has been co-sponsored by 108 Democrats in the House, the majority of the conference. (It's noteworthy that, aside from opposition from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party-- the New Dems and Blue Dogs-- almost none of the party leaders are behind this. Non-co-sponsors include Pelosi, Hoyer, Crowley, Lujan and, of course, the odious Wasserman Schultz.)

As we saw the other day in another poll, Ryan's re-elect numbers in his own Wisconsin district are bad. Just 44% say they would vote for him; 51% want someone else.

When Randy Bryce, the likely Democratic nominee for Ryan's seat, talks about the up-coming campaign, he talks about what he has in mind for Wisconsin's working families, not just put-downs against Trump and Ryan. We reached him this morning and asked him to tell us what he thinks voters in the Racine, Kenosha, Janesville, Muskego, Burlington, Elkhorn district are looking for. Unlike the candidates the DCCC is manufacturing back in DC, Bryce is not just talking about Trump and the Russians and what the Republicans are doing wrong. He's talking about a vision for making life better for working families.

Looking at recent polling, it’s no surprise that Republicans in Congress (looking at you Paul Ryan) throughout the country are either too afraid, or, not interested in hearing what those who pay their salaries have to say. Many districts that currently have GOP "representatives" have been relying on neighboring Democratic representatives to hold town halls in adopted districts. A special thanks to Rep Mark Pocan (D-WI-02) for taking time to visit WI-01 to answer our questions and listen to our concerns.

It wouldn’t be so bad just to be ignored, but, the problem is who they are listening to. It’s clear that they are taking orders from those who already have everything that they want at working peoples’ expense. Our wealth in the form of blood and sweat is being redistributed upward.

As a dad, I not only need to be concerned with being able to see a doctor if something happens to me, but, I need to make sure that my son is able to be taken care of. That’s my primary job as a father-- to insure that my son makes it to adulthood. Parents need to be healthy in order to make sure their children are healthy.

There have been days when work has been so slow that my insurance (union ironworkers are self insured with our coverage dependent on hours worked) had dropped to a lower tier. When I get the notification that I will need to pay more for a visit to get health care, it’s also a notice that I haven’t worked for a period of time. It instills two doses of panic. This reminder makes me want to keep my son from doing what boys his age do-- climb trees, ride his bike in the street, play on a jungle gym-- out of fear that if he gets hurt and needs medical attention, it just might create a future bankruptcy for me. Most bankruptcies are caused due to outstanding medical bills in the U.S.

I can’t-- won’t-- keep my son from being a kid (although he does wear a helmet when riding his bike).

As an army veteran, I am aware that every country that the U.S. has stood against in a martial conflict has something that we ourselves do not: universal healthcare. If it’s good for former enemies, how can it not be good for us? It is one of my core beliefs that we need to look out for our neighbors’ general wellbeing. This begins by insuring that we are all able to seek medical care when it is needed. I am also an advocate for being able to receive preventative care in order to catch medical issues before they become an emergency which greatly increases the cost.

My job is in construction, not demolition. After the Republican rubble settles, let’s join together as a community and not just hire people who want to be part of our community, but, people who are willing to understand what we need to build. That only happens by listening to what we need.

Let’s make sure we are all healthy. We can afford to spend billions on wars in other countries-- surely we can afford to not be afraid to let our children be children.