friend—I often hear people say when I’m campaigning that they just want to elect somebody who “gets things done.”

I love getting things done for my community. But Congress often seems gridlocked by partisanship and infighting—like how Kevin McCarthy was deposed as speaker for working across the aisle, then refusing to do it again. It’s chaos over there.

How can a steadfast progressive “get things done” when most of Congress would be more conservative or Republican?

I’m not the type of person to vote yes or no on a bill just because everyone else is doing it. There are certain values I just won’t budge on.

If a reconciliation bill has a subsection that wants to increase oil and gas leases, I’m not going to vote yes on it. I’m not going to vote yes on a trillion dollar defense budget every year.

But I will promote bills and ideas that are actively going to help all Americans.

For instance, it’s baffling to me that we’ve been debating Medicare for All for decades at this point. Nancy Pelosi supported single-payer healthcare back in the 1990s—as Speaker of the House a few decades later, she wouldn’t even let Medicare for All hit the floor.

Joe Biden has essentially said that he would veto Medicare for All if it hit his desk. Meanwhile, there are no qualms about dedicating hundreds of billions of dollars to war efforts.

Folks are suffering. They're struggling to afford their bills. They can't afford health care. People are dying. And so I want to call out my colleagues and ask, why are we not voting on this?

69% of American voters support Medicare for All—Republicans and Democrats alike. Passing meaningful, impactful legislation requires reaching across the aisle. It requires civil conversations and debates.

We need legislators with an “I'm willing to hear you out and see where you're coming from” approach, rather than those who go into a debate or an argument knowing that they’re right and just attempting to disparage somebody else because they have a different point of view.

When it comes to human rights issues, I don’t budge, but I attempt to explain to the other side why this matters to me and why it is a human rights issue.

If you are a decent human being, you should care about human rights issues. And if you don't, you shouldn't be in Congress.

If you have some money to spare, please consider donating to this intersectional, humanitarian campaign. We saw our biggest fundraising month of the year in September, but we need to keep that momentum up to reach every voter in our district and win the primary for this open seat:

Left, right, urban, rural—these distinctions don’t matter when it comes to our common humanity.

I’m ready to show those people in Congress, and everyone in this country, that we all care about food security, shelter, freedom, and a livable environment. We need a government that makes strides in addressing and securing these rights for all.

In solidarity,

Maebe