How Long Before The Missouri GOP Cult Passes A Law Forbidding Women To Drive? Or Wear Shoes?

Last May, when Missouri's unelected governor, Mike Parson, signed a law banning abortion after the eighth week of pregnancy with no exceptions for cases of rape and incest-- just one of a whole slew of anti-Choice laws passed by state's with GOP governors and Republican-controled legislatures that passed since Trump appointed two anti-Choice Supreme Court judges. The states are competing to see which case overturns Roe v. Wade. In Missouri's case, though, a federal judge blocked Parson from enforcing the obviously unconstitutional law 2 months ago. The Republicans struck back by refusing to renew the license for Missouri’s last remaining abortion clinic, which could make Missouri the first state to win the "we have no abortion providers" sweepstakes. Earlier this week, Robert Langellier, reporting for Reuters, noted that the state of that clinic is in the hands of an arbiter. The hearing began Monday and are expected to continue for a few more days.

Missouri health officials earlier this year declined to renew the clinic’s license on the grounds that it failed to meet their standards, which included mandatory interviews with several physicians involved in what the health department said were multiple life-threatening abortions at the clinic.

Planned Parenthood officials have said they do not directly employ all the clinic’s staff and cannot force them to give interviews. The organization has said the state’s effort to close the clinic is politically motivated, which the state denies.

Abortion is one of the most divisive issues in the United States, with opponents citing religious beliefs to declare it immoral, while abortion-rights activists say the procedure is legally protected and that bans rob women of control over their bodies and futures.

Missouri is one of 12 states to pass laws restricting abortion access this year, some aimed at provoking a U.S. Supreme Court review of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized a woman’s constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy.

Last week, Planned Parenthood opened an abortion clinic just 13 miles (21 km) from the St. Louis clinic in Fairview Heights, Illinois, capable of treating up to 11,000 patients per year.

“While we continue the fight to maintain access in Missouri, we are excited to expand our abortion services in Illinois,” Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood’s southwest regional chapter, said in a statement.

Blue America has just one candidate so far this cycle, Kathy Ellis and we asked her for a perspective from her rural southeast district which is already very far from the state's one clinic-- and very red. Below is her guest post. If you'd like to help her campaign, please consider contributing by clicking on the 2020 congressional thermometer on the right.

Missouri is a crumbling state. From the Republican supermajority state legislature’s refusal to expand Medicaid to the constant attacks on working people at the local, state, and federal levels, the only hope for our state is new leadership.

Recently, one area of our state that has garnered national attention is its treatment of those seeking abortions. Let’s lay the groundwork: there is currently only one facility providing abortions in Missouri, and it’s in St. Louis. The state is constantly trying to close it by implementing absurd regulations and laws, such as hallway width laws and a requirement that providers have admitting privileges to local hospitals, most of which are religiously-run. Its most recent attack is even more sinister: earlier this year, the Missouri Department of Health claimed they found “deficient practices” at the only abortion clinic in the state, Reproductive Health Services of Missouri which is in a Planned Parenthood affiliate. These claims were never backed up with evidence, but as a result, the clinic is currently-- as we speak-- involved in a hearing that will determine the fate of the clinic’s license. As a part of this hearing, it came to light that the Director of the Health Department [Randall Williams] has been using a spreadsheet to track patients’ menstrual cycles. It’s all very disturbing, to say the least.





But let’s expand this conversation. As mentioned, there is one clinic who provides abortions in the entire state, and it’s located in St. Louis. I am running for Missouri’s 8th Congressional District, a 30-county district south of St. Louis. The District is massive. It takes 4.5 hours to get across it, and 3 hours to get to its southernmost point. While Missouri has an abortion clinic, it is almost completely inaccessible to the people in the 8th District. With the strict restrictions at the state level, including a 72-hour waiting period, in-person, medically inaccurate abortion “counseling,” and a same provider consent rule, it’s almost impossible for a person in the 8th District to receive an abortion in this state. Not to mention-- the 8th has one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the country, and rural hospitals are rapidly closing. Not only is there not abortion access in the 8th, there is also not basic healthcare access.

The only hope for the 8th, and for our state, is new leadership at every level. We must expand Medicaid at the state level. We must repeal the Hyde Amendment at the federal level. When elected, I’ll do everything to protect Roe v. Wade and a person’s right to choose. I’m a proud, pro-choice candidate, and I’ve never shied away from that, despite the red, rural District that I’m running in. It’s time to change the narrative: everyone, regardless of zip code, gender, age, or income should have access to the healthcare they need, when they need it. This includes abortion access.

And, yes, this is very much related; just think about it for a minute:

How To Write A Good Campaign E-Mail, II: Kathy Ellis

This is the second episode of our series about writing a good campaign e-mail. This one is by Kathy Ellis, running in a horrifyingly red district in southeast Missouri. Trump beat Hillary there 75.4% to 21.0%, her worst result in the state. Kathy is working to build a collaborative progressive infrastructure as well as a congressional campaign. Here last two e-mails, one last week and one yesterday, are about as far as you can drift from standard DCCC fare. Last week's started with a caveat: "[Please note: This is not a fundraising email. But my hope is that when you read about what is happening in our state, you will consider pitching in to some nonprofits that are working tirelessly every day to help.]"

I am fed up. So I will speak bluntly and candidly.

America is at a breaking point. Over the last few decades, the economy in Southeastern Missouri has experienced a severe shrinking in manufacturing, skilled trades, and an all-out assault on family farms. A disturbing trend of annually increasing deaths by suicide, opioid overdose, and preventable illnesses has become a full-blown public health crisis. Now, we stand to lose another of the district's scant rural hospitals, which would leave multiple counties without access to care even in times of emergency.

When working people do seek medical care, too often they are left holding an outrageous bill. I was heartbroken, yet not surprised, when I read a recent article in the Washington Post that detailed the choice many rural and poor Americans make between healthcare, medical bankruptcy, and in many cases imprisonment for failure to pay those bills. The article featured residents in Poplar Bluff-- part of Missouri’s 8th Congressional District. These are my neighbors, my friends, and the people I wish to represent in Congress.

Our broken political system allows do-nothing “representatives” like Jason Smith to hoover up millions of dollars in campaign contributions, enrich himself and promote his family’s interests, and stand idly by while thousands of his constituents die. People die, people suffer, and Jason Smith returns to Washington, D.C. every year. When this happens, something is wrong with the system.

I believe that healthcare is a basic human right. The United States can and should ensure every American has health care at an affordable cost. Doing so would not ruin our economic prosperity. It would strengthen it.

Normally, when a candidate talks about an issue, they explain their positions, followed by a call for donations to help run their campaigns. I’m not a normal candidate. I’m a person, just like you, and I’m frustrated by what’s happening in our state.

Today, I’m asking that if you feel angry or sad about what’s happening in our poorest communities--in our very backyards-- that you consider supporting the efforts of Missouri Healthcare for All or Physicians for a National Health Program-Missouri Chapter, two fantastic organizations fighting for Missourians every day, with a financial donation. Consider volunteering if you have the time, too.

I can promise you that I am in this fight with every fiber of my being. People are senselessly dying in my county, my district, and my state. We can fix this, and people want us to fix it.  Thank you for reading, and thank you for doing everything you can to lend a hand to our neighbors, our brothers and sisters, and our fellow Americans.

Sincerely,

The e-mail she sent yesterday stayed with the same collaborative theme. It isn't about her or even her campaign. It's about the people who live in her district and about why combatting the Climate Crisis, one of the top planks in her platform, is so important:

Dear Howie,

The place I call home has a deep connection to our natural world.

Southeast Missouri is a land of breathtaking natural beauty-- boasting the rolling hills of the Ozark Plateau, vast, green expanses of Mark Twain National Forest, and the banks of over two hundred miles of the muddy Mississippi. Fertile soil, swimming holes, and some of the best scenic views in the Midwest can be found in my District.

Appropriately, people here have an intimate understanding of the environment as a part of our daily lives. Generational family farmers rely on a strong harvest, so they know what effects destructive floods and hotter summers will have on their crops. Small towns know how large-scale CAFO operations have decimated their local economy, and they know all about the groundwater pollution these operations produce. And parents, grandparents, and young people here understand the looming threat of climate change that, left unchallenged, threatens to upend our way of life.

I believe we must take on that challenge. I believe in conserving our cherished landscapes, developing good, local, green jobs, and protecting our right to clean air, clean water, and clean soil.

Today, I’m asking you to consider making a contribution to support The Sierra Club in their efforts to protect sustainable local economies and our earth.

We are all rooted in this district, so we deserve elected leaders who understand what’s happening to the land we live on, and are willing to act on it. I can promise you that I’m ready to do just that.

Sincerely,

And by the way, you can contribute to Kathy's campaign by clicking on this link to the 2020 Blue America endorsed congressional candidates list. And, remember, there's no such thing as a contribution that's too small. Please consider donating what you can. We need women like Kathy to do the hard work in "impossible" districts like Missouri's 8th.

When A Frackenlooper Falls In A Forest, Does Anyone Hear?

There's another primary going on-- for who will dominate the conservative lane in the Democratic primary. In the end, there aren't going to be 24 candidates-- probably just 3: a progressive (Bernie, maybe Elizabeth Warren), an identity politics candidate (likely Kamala Harris) and a conservative/establishment/status quo candidate (likely Biden). But entitled multimillionaires John Delaney and John Frackenlooper aren't giving up. Each is waging a slightly under the radar battle to prove he is the furthest right of all the other Democrats, likely in the hope of grabbing the Biden slot when he inevitably stumbles and self-destructs. Both are loathsome characters and it is impossible to tell which would be a worse candidate for the Democrats.

Yesterday, in a desperate plea for attention, Hickenlooper could hardly wait to get in front of a microphones to denounce the incredibly inspiring-- even transformative-- speech Bernie delivered on Wednesday. He persuaded the National Press Club to let him use their facilities for his anti-Bernie tirade, even though it was apparent from the first moment that he didn't understand a word of what Bernie had to say. His press release announced that Frackenlooper "will discuss successful private-public partnerships he oversaw in Colorado, including a program that dramatically expanded access to reproductive healthcare, reducing unintended pregnancy and abortion among young woman by more than half."

It's questionable whether or not Frackenlooper will be allowed on stage for the first round of debates and no one thinks he will make it onto the second round. The DNC says he has passed one threshold-- an ability to poll one percent in 3 polls, but has failed to have inspired enough individual donors 65,000 people, to be considered competitive. RealClearPolitics polling averages shows Hickenlooper with 0.4% support nationally, at 0.5% in New Hampshire and under 0.5% in Iowa.

His speech yesterday began with how he has "great respect for Bernie" BUT... he "fundamentally disagrees that we should do away with the democratic, regulated capitalism that has guided this country for over 200 years." Did Bernie say that? Here, watch it again and tell me where:




Frackenlooper claims that his reactionary position "is shared by many of my Democratic colleagues, but for some reason, our Party has been hesitant to express their opposition to democratic socialism. In fact, the Democratic presidential field has not only failed to oppose Senator Sanders’ agenda, they’ve actually rushed to embrace it. The majority of the Democratic presidential candidates support at least one of Sanders’ various proposals. Even, the self-declared pragmatists hesitate to directly criticize Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. While it’s true that no one of these policies would completely remake our economy on their own, Sanders said clearly on Wednesday that the goal of his complete agenda is to make the United States of America a democratic socialist country. The urgency now is even greater than before. Democrats must say loudly and clearly that we are not socialists. If we do not, we will end up reelecting the worst President in our country’s history."

Fuckface... I mean Frackenlooper failed to hear a word of what Bernie said. Or maybe Fuckface... I mean Frackenlooper sees FDR and the New Deal exactly the same way Republicans do-- as some kind of communist takeover. Fuckface... I mean Frackenlooper was all negativity, while the only negative words Bernie had were for fascists like Hitler and Mussolini and their current day imitators-- he named "Putin in Russia, Xi in China, Mohamed Bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, and Viktor Orbán in Hungry... plus the U.S. counterpart: Señor Trumpanzee.

Unlike Bernie, who explained how the greatest achievements of the Democratic Party have been made when Democrats have stood up to the GOP "socialism" smears, Frackenlooper ranted yesterday about how "Socialism is the most effective attack line Republicans can use against Democrats as long as Trump is at the top of the ticket.  As some have pointed out, Republicans may call Democrats “socialists” no matter how moderate we truly are. But Americans are smarter than that." Yes, they are-- but is Frackenlooper?

The Republican socialism smear campaign began in 1930, when Hoover was still president. Going into the midterms that year, the GOP help 270 seats in the House, to the Democrats' 164 and 56 seats in the Senate, to the Democrats' 39. As the Republicans howled "socialism" against the Democrats-- much the same way Frackenlooper did against Bernie yesterday-- the voters decided to start redistributing political power. After the 1930 elections, the House flipped blue and the Democrats wound up with a one seat majority-- 218 to 217, the Republicans having lost 52 seats. In the Senate, the GOP lost 6 seats but still controlled the body, 50-45. Two years later, the GOP ramped up their "socialism" bullshit, which turned Hoover into a one-term president. 22,821,277 voters (57.4%) picked FDR to 15,761,254 (39.7%) who stuck with the Republicans. FDR won all but 6 states. The Democrats flipped the Senate, winning 12 Republican-held seats for a 59-36 majority. In the House, 1932 was absolutely catastrophic for the "Socialism-screeching Republicans." Already in the minority, 101 Republicans were defeated, giving the Democrats a 313 to 117 majority.

The Republicans didn't learn a thing from their defeats. They decided to go even bigger with their anti-socialism smear attacks in the 1934 midterms. The voters responded decisively. The GOP 117 minority shriveled further. The new Democratic majority was 322-103 and 7 members from the Progressive Party were elected. In the Senate, it must have felt like the end of the world for the Republicans, as 10 more of them went down to defeat, giving the Democrats a 69-25 majority (with one Progressive and one member of the Farmer-Labor Party elected). It was looking like voters liked all that socialism.

And then came 1936. FDR was reelected in a massive landslide against the anti-socialism fanatic-- 27,747,636 (60.8%) to 16,679,543 (36.5%)-- leaving the GOP with just 2 states, losing even Kansas, where their nominee was from. And the GOP shed a further 5 seats in the Senate, leaving them with a sad rump of just 17 senators, sitting and mumbling "socialism!" to each other. In the House, there just weren't many more districts that could flip. But the GOP managed to lose 15 more seats. The House then consisted of 334 Democrats, 88 Republicans, 8 Progressives and 5 Farmer-Labor Party socialists.

Frackenlooper must have missed history classes when those years were being discussed. He went on to babble his regular bullshit about how he won in 2104 "by talking about how the state collaborated with non-profits and with business. By talking about how I worked with Democrats and Republicans."  He then went into a full-throated defense of Hillarism that the voters already rejected. "Democratic socialism," he claimed, "is not only a poor electoral strategy-- it’s a disastrous governing model. While Sanders has attacked those in the center for preaching incrementalism-- the reality is that pragmatists don’t say 'no' to big ideas, they figure out how to actually get them done. While government plays a vital role in tackling big challenges, it has rarely been successful alone. It is when government has teamed up with the private sector and non-profits-- that we have seen our greatest successes-- from the polio vaccine to the space race." And then some wobbly assertions that can't be substantiated: "I used that collaborative approach in Colorado, and, today, our state has near-universal health care. We’ve had the number one economy in the country for three consecutive years. I am the only person running who has actually done what everyone else is just talking about."

Today Frackenlooper is one of the most hated political figures in Colorado. There's virtually no office in the state he could win. But in his own mind-- and only in his own mind-- he claims to be a hero of the state. Both parties detest him, yet his campaign is based on bullshit like this:

And, we didn’t get any of those big progressive goals done by applying ideological litmus tests.

We took a pragmatic approach.

We understood that sometimes we would have to talk to Republicans.

We didn’t demonize the private sector.

We focused, above all else, on building a state that worked for everyone, by getting everyone to work together.    

Frackenlooper claims he understands-- though he doesn't, "that Americans are frustrated right now-- that they are hungry for bold change." His entire career proves that those are just random words to him. "I understand that our young people, especially, see socialism as an attractive alternative to the political gridlock and economic recession they experienced during their formative years. But it would be a grave mistake to abandon the American entrepreneurial spirit that has always been at our country’s core." Did he listen to a different speech by Bernie than anyone else did-- or, more likely, no speech at all... except the one Republicans made in 1930, 1932, 1934, 1936... "The reality," he claimed yesterday so the Republicans wouldn't feel lone with this losing message, "is that socialism increases tax burdens on working families while often failing to solve the problems it claims to address.  Medicare-for-All does not take on fee for service, the major driver of healthcare costs. (Conservatives fought like mad dogs against Medicare; they still do. Frackenlooper is one of them, no less than Mitch McConnell is).

"The Green New Deal guarantees every American a federal job-- virtually guaranteeing it will never make it through Congress. " Exactly what Republicans said for years about Social Security. "Free college proposals massively raise taxes-- while doing nothing to address economic opportunity for the two-thirds of Americans who will never graduate with a four-year degree...  For too long, our leaders let America’s economic policies drift away from our core values-- especially the value we place on America’s workers and the work they do. At times, our leaders were passive in the face of big forces like globalization and automation, leaving our workers to fall behind. For decades, economic policies have shifted to favor the wealthy and powerful over those who work every day to get by."

He just described his end of the Democratic Party, from Bill Clinton on. Will he ever go beyond 0.4%. Hard to imagine. While I was writing this post, I got a call from a NY Times reporter to talk about the Senate races. I'm just just mentioning that as an excuse for why the post may have come out a little disjointed. He reminded me what I hate so much about establishment Democrats like Frackenlooper. They're, first and foremost, careerists. It's always all about them... never about the values and principles and goals of the Democratic Party, values and principles and goals they absolutely loathe. In fact, all of them-- the Schumers and Lieberman's and Biden's and Frackenloopers... they are self-loathing Democrats. This people are far from being on the side of them working class-- and they have muddied the Democratic Party brand in there process of climbing their personal career ladders. I'm guessing none of what I said to the Times reporter will get into his story. He seemed relieved to get me off the phone so he could get back to the conventional wisdom that the only way to win seats in "red" states like Georgia, Texas and Iowa is to run conservative Democrats, even though I tried explaining how Harkin's wins and Stacey Abrams' and Beto's performances in those states negates the entire electoral premise of the DSCC (and DCCC) that Democrats can only win as lesser of two evils candidates. Kathy Ellis is running for Congress in a super-red Missouri district. She understands this and her campaign is based on it. Kathy Ellis, not John Frackenlooper, is a Democrat in the best sense of what it means to be a Democrat. Watch this video and you'll have a better idea of what I'm talking about and then think about contributing to her campaign here.

You Don't Beat Blood Red With Lighter Red-- You Win By Espousing Strong Blue Values... Meet Proud Missourian Kathy Ellis

Sometimes you find the best Democrats in the least likely places. When Taylor Jackson e-mailed me to ask me about the Blue America endorsement procedure, we started a chat. She is working for a candidate, Kathy Ellis, is southeast Missouri's sprawling rural 8th district, currently represented by right-wing nut Jason Smith. The PVI is an eye-popping R+24. Obama lost both times-- with about a third of the vote-- and in 2016 Trump beat Hillary 75.4% to 21%. In 2018, Claire McCaskill, in her doomed Senate reelection bid, lost every single one of the 30 counties in the district. Why would a Democrat even waste her time in an area like this, I asked Taylor. She asked me to speak with Kathy about it.

Of the 30 counties, only 5 have most of the voters. In 2016 they led the district's Democrats into a great showing for Bernie Sanders:

• Cape Girardeau--Bernie- 52.4%, Hillary 46.6%
• Jefferson-- Bernie- 54.3%, Hillary- 44.2%
• St Francois-- Bernie- 53.0%, Hillary- 45.3%
• Phelps-- Bernie- 58.9%, Hillary- 38.4%
• Howell-- Bernie- 58.4%, Hillary- 40.2%

That's where establishment Democrats make their big mistake about Democrats in parts of the country like MO-08. These people are as Democratic, especially when it comes to economic populism, as are the Democrats in the AOC's Bronx district or Jimmy Gomez's East L.A. district. MO-08 is the 11th poorest congressional district in the country. How could be voting so Republican? [Tangent: Saturday night I had dinner at a cool hole-in-the-wall ramen restaurant in Highland Park in Gomez's district and walking from car to the restaurant and then back again, literally everyone smiled, gave me a thumbs up or said something nice. Eventually I realized it was because I was wearing my Feel The Bern hoodie and that I had wandered into Planet Bernie.] Cape Girardeau may have spawned Limbaugh, but Cape Girardeau Democrats are not a bunch of Hillary-Biden-Claire McCaskill conservatives; most of them are Democrats because of where FDR brought the party, not because Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton dragged it in the other direction.

I was impressed with Ellis' website even before I talked with Kathy herself. Aside from being a progressive Democrat and a candidate for Congress, Kathy's a clinical social worker and an addictions counselor. The district is in the midst of a severe opioid and methamphetamine crisis, lacking in basic medical care, high paying jobs, quality education, and a variety of other serious issues that we see in many "red districts" that Trump carried in 2016. Following that election, Kathy travelled to Washington to take part in the 2017 Women’s March, an event, she told me that became life-changing for her. That's when she decided to get into politics by running in the 2018 election for the 8th District. She lost. She picked herself up off the floor, talked with her team about what they had experienced and what they had learned and how they could go forward and... she's back, stronger and more determined than the first time. I asked her how it's even possible to run a campaign in a district that "red" and I asked her to share that with a guest post. If you like what she has to say, please consider contributing what you can by clicking on the Blue America 2020 congressional thermometer above.

I Am Running For The People In My District
-by Kathy Ellis
Candidate for Congress, MO-08

Why would I run in such a conservative area? My belief is that if someone does not show-up in these areas by running for office, we will never make any inroads to progressive change. Some things that you might want to know about the district: In 2018, Missouri voted by a margin of 64% to defeat the “Right to Work” initiative that was being pushed by the Republicans. The 8th was the district that made the defeat of this occur. The 8th supported the change in the Missouri Constitution to have a “Clean Missouri” amendment to deal with the corruption in government, an initiative for medical marijuana, and a raise to the minimum wage. Nicole Galloway, our Democratic State Auditor, was greatly assisted by the 8th District to become the only Democrat to win a major state office in Missouri.

When I began my congressional campaign in 2017, the first place that I went to was Mountain View, Missouri, near the larger town of West Plains. I was surprised to find 75-80 people gathered in the town’s small community center. I listened to their views, frustrations, and suggestions, and found an extremely progressive group. These folks had been involved in Bernie’s campaign, in Stand and Resist, Indivisible, Moms Demand, and various environmental groups. Their network allowed me to have contact with a network of progressives throughout the southwestern edge of the district and beyond. I continued my travels throughout the district and was pleased to find that many progressives were activated by our campaign. We decided to place our main office in Cape Girardeau, the largest city in the district, but decidedly conservative. This is true of most of Southeast Missouri (Cape is Rush Limbaugh’s hometown-- I’m sure that you get the picture with that!). Despite that impediment, we were pleased to see that more Democrats voted in Cape County than in previous years.

I worked with a lot of state candidates in the 8th and got to know them very well. The majority were progressive and even though there were few victories, we helped to support one another. Many candidates, including myself, felt isolated and ignored by the Democratic party in the state, and we did not receive the help that the more “establishment” candidates had received. We conducted our campaign by raising individual donations, along with a couple of union contributions. We did the best we could, traveling over 65,000 miles and visiting each county multiple times.

So, you might ask, why is this woman running again? The answer is that we “moved the needle.” After losing in 2018, I was unsure of whether I would run again in the 2020 cycle. One of my biggest struggles was the question of how to raise the money needed to run a competitive campaign. And then the calls started… I had people who called to tell me how much they admired our campaign, how excited they were about how the District was activated for the first time in a long time, asking questions about how to deal with various issues in the district, and top-notch professional who wanted to work with me. Since I am a social worker, I know how to organize and network, and I think this helped pull the district together. I was pleased to see that the alliances that were formed throughout the District had held together and that they were ready to fight again. I met with my compliance person, and we identified a sum of money that we needed to raise during April of this year in order to consider a run. We surpassed that… from the 11th poorest District in the country.

I am running for the people in my District. I grew up here, and I live here today. I know they consistently vote against their best economic interests, but the conventional wisdom in Missouri is that the “pendulum always swings back.” I know there is a strong pro-gun, anti-abortion, and anti-gay consitutuency in the 8th. The current state legislature recently passed an extremely harsh anti-abortion law, but there is pushback throughout the state. There is a progressive streak in this red state that thrives on the ideas of helping your neighbor and fixing the ills of democracy in chaos. We desperately need Universal Healthcare, Universal Pre-K and a quality education for every child followed by an opportunity for debt-free college or technical school education, a job and infrastructure plan for rural areas that includes new technology and clean energy developments, legislation necessary to deal with the corruption in our government, and policies and laws that truly protect all people of our country. By running a bold progressive campaign in a red state, we can continue to move the needle and lay the groundwork for future Democratic candidates. As a progressive, I know this is a marathon and not a sprint. I also know that we need leaders to get us to that finish line.