During the Democratic Convention, I voted against the adopted platform of our party. While I agree with my colleagues that defeating Donald Trump is our top priority in November, I think we need to draw attention to what happens after November too.

Let’s be clear: I’m going to fight with all of my power to make sure Donald Trump does not win reelection. His assaults on our institutions are massive threats to our democracy – I am genuinely concerned about weathering another four years of his sabotage and corruption.

But in a broader sense, Trump is just one part of a system of struggles that face our friends, neighbors, and communities across the country. In the midst of a global pandemic, our faults have been laid bare.

Millions of working families are on the brink of economic ruin – and that’s because for decades we’ve allowed rent, health care, child care, education, and so much more to rise in cost. Meanwhile, the minimum wage stagnates, younger Americans accumulate more debt, and the wealth gap skyrockets. How can you prepare for a rainy day when you have $30,000 in loans, or you live paycheck to paycheck, or your landlord keeps raising the rent year after year?

Meanwhile, a global pandemic has left 180,000 of our fellow Americans dead. Millions have lived through COVID-19, and even more have lost access to their employer-sponsored health insurance. We can’t, as a party, refuse to acknowledge the fact that our employer-sponsored system of health insurance is fundamentally broken if it has left millions of our people unable to afford care during a generation-defining event like this.

Now, as colleges and schools tackle the extremely difficult challenges of integrated online learning programs, our government is still failing to take leadership. There are low-income families sitting in parking lots of fast food restaurants because they can’t afford internet access. Job opportunities for everyone from recent graduates to rural Americans are few and far between.

My point is simple: Now is not the time for a cautious, middle-of-the-road plan forward. Working communities deserve solutions that rise to the scale of the challenges they face – not just bandaid solutions.

Every day in Congress, I’m fighting for solutions just like that. From Medicare for All to powerful action on climate change to universal broadband, our party must rise to the crisis we face and overcome. In voting against the platform, I hope to show everyone that these issues are not being forgotten. And after we defeat Donald Trump on November 3rd, we won’t take a moment to rest – because too many folks are suffering, and we can’t let that go on a day longer than necessary.

If that is the movement that you want to be a part of, then I need you with me. On Election Day, I’m facing off against a Republican opponent who fiercely defends Donald Trump and fights against everything we stand for. Can you donate to help us win?

Donate

The future can be ours. We just need to fight for it.

In solidarity,

Ro Khanna