It's a relief not to feel compelled to keep this a secret any longer.
Principled man, principled stances. Perhaps the somnolent Democratic establishment might consider adapting itself to him, and not the other way around.
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Civil Rights Attorney Dan Canon Considering Run for Indiana 9th Congressional District
Potential candidate for IN, 9th Congressional District, primary (2018)
About Me
I grew up in Clark and Floyd Counties, the son of a working-class single mother, and have lived here almost all of my life. At age 17, I dropped out of high school. I got my GED and worked as a music teacher for about a decade while I put myself through college. I was the first in my family to graduate from a university. I had never even met a lawyer before I started law school, but I finally beat the odds and graduated with honors in 2007. I’ve maintained a civil rights practice with a small firm since then.
As a civil rights lawyer, I have been fortunate enough to represent people from all walks of life. I have gotten to hear a lot of stories. And I’ve seen ordinary, hardworking people get taken advantage of over and over again by the wealthy and the powerful. In Indiana and Kentucky, I’ve represented teachers against school systems, union laborers against big corporate employers, veterans against the federal government, police officers against corrupt departments, and inmates against unimaginably violent prison systems. I’ve taken on several governors, and I’ve taken on the President. I was honored to help committed couples achieve the equal dignity of marriage before the United States Supreme Court in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. And I am proud to represent immigrants and refugees seeking a better life through America’s promise of liberty and justice for all.
Indiana’s 9th District needs someone who isn’t afraid to speak out against Washington and big business. And Indiana needs someone who will be a voice in Congress for everyone - not just a select few. I have spent my life providing a voice to the voiceless. Now I’m considering running to be your representative. I think I’m the right person, and I hope to have your support.
What I Stand For
A Right to Health Care
I believe that health care is a fundamental human right, not a luxury good for a privileged few. Our for-profit health care system is broken. And while the Affordable Care Act was an improvement for many people, it still places too heavy a burden on the middle class while protecting the wealthy. The GOP proposal to “repeal and replace” the ACA is just another tax break for the wealthy, and would make things even worse. The simple fact of the matter is: Americans cannot truly be free when their healthcare is tied to an employer, or when their lives depend on the profit margins of giant corporations.
Every other advanced nation in the world - including nations which Americans have supported with our tax dollars - guarantees health care for all of its citizens. And every one of those nations have better health outcomes, including infant mortality, maternal mortality, and overall life expectancy. Not one of these countries would require its citizens to ruin their financial futures just for the privilege of staying alive. But here in the United States, we still can’t even find out what we will pay for a service before we receive it, and middle-class families go bankrupt from medical debt every day. That’s unacceptable, and we cannot tolerate it any longer.
Bringing Back the Middle Class
Career politicians of both parties have been trying for 40 years to sell the idea that if we just help the rich get even richer, we’ll all get better. That’s a lie. And this 40-year lie is killing the middle class, pushing more and more people into what we call the “working poor.” There should be no such thing as the “working poor.” No working person should be poor - period. And in the wealthiest country in the world, there is no reason that any person should live in poverty.
The backbone of a vibrant economy has always been the middle class. And our middle class here in Indiana must be permitted to organize, paid a fair wage, given the opportunity to invest, and empowered to support their families with more than just a paycheck. We have to make some drastic changes if this is going to happen.
Truth Matters
In this age of “alternative facts,” our elected leaders routinely deny the truth in order to forward their own agendas, rather than the best interests of voters. For decades, career politicians have scared workers with lies about social issues, all while stealing their job options, their wages, their pensions, and their futures. Americans have been taught that they should focus on the welfare recipient, the single mother, the immigrant, or the drug addict who takes their dime, while ignoring billionaires who take their whole wallet.
I believe that Indiana’s 9th District needs elected officials who value data, analysis, real science, and real facts. Hoosiers need a representative who knows that climate change isn’t a myth, and that we can take steps to improve our quality of life as a result. We need someone who isn’t afraid of technological innovation, but who embraces it as the way of the future, using it to create new industries, jobs, and improved standards of living. We need a representative who respects the right of all people to make their own medical decisions, and who wants people to have the best education possible so they can make those decisions in an informed way. We need a representative who, instead of antagonizing news outlets or favoring biased sources, works with the media in an effort to be transparent. And we need a representative with integrity; someone who can’t be sold to the highest bidder, and someone who will look at the relevant facts, data, and expert opinions before making a decision based on political gain.
Justice For All
I believe that America’s promise of “justice for all” should mean that no matter who you are, you should be treated with dignity and given equal access to the abundant opportunities available to Americans. No one should suffer discrimination based upon their race, gender, religion, sexuality, disability, or nationality. There should not be separate justice systems for people of different races. There should not be separate rules for the wealthy and the poor. Our children, siblings, and parents with drug addiction issues should not be treated like common criminals and left to die in horrific, unnecessarily violent prison systems. People who are patients in one state should not be criminals in another, just because of their choice of medication. Those who have broken the law and served their time should be given a path back to equal citizenship and equal dignity. And those who have escaped war, extreme poverty, and corruption in their homelands should be given a chance to provide for their families and make a better life here.
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