Hey John,

If you’re reading these emails (first of all, thank you!), then you’ve probably watched my launch video and listened to my jingle. I don’t bring this up to be that guy who’s always talking about his jingle,¹ but rather I want to reach back to something I wrote in in the song:

Eddie Geller for Congress: A guy who’s gonna fight for you.

Now, I didn’t just write this because it rhymed with “Please chip in a buck or two” (but it does!). I wrote it because I meant it. Let me tell you what I mean:

Last week, House Democrats released a revenue proposal that fell several steps short of what President Biden called for in his Build Back Better plan. So on Sunday, my old boss and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich published an op-ed² calling them out for running scared and deciding “to raise revenue the traditional way, taxing annual income rather than giant wealth.” Reich points out correctly that “the dirty little secret is the ultra-rich don’t live off their paychecks.” He goes on to say:

So, when I say (in song) that I’m going to fight for you, this is what I mean. I’m going to fight for you. I will push back against the special interests and ultra-wealthy and fight to enact President Biden’s full agenda in Congress. Can you contribute whatever you’re able to to help me get to Congress and tax the ultra-rich, so the rest of us can have a stronger social safety net (among a million other things we need to thrive)?

Let me add one other thing: This is not just about a few politicians coming up short. Yes, I’m irked/peeved/miffed about the situation, but the larger picture is about a broken system that relies on ultra-wealthy donors and allows for dark money groups to swoop in and sway elections with million-dollar ad buys. But let’s save the “Overturn Citizens United and fix our broken campaign finance system” for another email.

For now, I’ll just say this: Reich is right — we can’t be afraid of the ultra-wealthy and corporations, because there’s simply too much at stake. I won’t be afraid.

Nothing would bring me greater joy than finally ensuring that the filthy rich contribute their fair share, just like the rest of us do. But as you can imagine, that puts me at a bit of a fundraising disadvantage, especially since my opponent is supported by the GOP’s dark money machine. Chip in now to help this grassroots campaign deliver for regular Floridians like you and me!

— Eddie

1: Note from Team Eddie: He’s always talking about his jingle.

2: Robert Reich, "House Democrats are scared to tax billionaires – that’s a costly mistake." The Guardian. 9/19/2021.