Dining on the poor, part two: Trey "Big Boy Pants" Hollingsworth reminds us that capital accumulation comes before YOUR life.

Context here: Dining on the poor, part one: "Meet Joseph Albert “Trey” Hollingsworth III, the biggest goober in Washington."

Yes, I'm supposed to be refraining from politics, but when an elected official says something as purely dipshittian as our imported congressman Trey Hollingsworth did yesterday, what's a lefty supposed to do?

Sweep the all the decimal point Darwinian dipshits like Trey away, that's what.

He's making Tennessee proud, right here in Indiana, but surely there's a congressional seat in Nebraska or Oklahoma or somewhere else that would be even better for his portfolio than our ultra-gerrymandered constituency.

As CNN introduced it, "GOP congressman says letting more Americans die of coronavirus is lesser of two evils compared to economy tanking."

Take it away, Trey.

"But it is always the American government's position to say, in the choice between the loss of our way of life as Americans and the loss of life of American lives, we have to always choose the latter."

Then:

"It is policymakers' decision to put on our big-boy and big-girl pants and say, ‘This is the lesser of these two evils.' That is our responsibility, and to abdicate that is to insult the Americans that voted us into office."

Trey Hollingsworth can sod off, now and forever. Meanwhile at Twitter, the writer Pat Blanchfield offered a countering rant, which I fully endorse.

Look, let's be real. The ultimate reason the economy "must reopen" is so everyone can once more be individually blamed for their own unemployment, desperation, etc., in this coming depression.

It is fundamentally dangerous to our system to have masses of people simultaneously unable to work or make basic ends meet in a way that would suggest blame lies elsewhere (other) than on them (whether in the virus, our leaders' failures, quarantine orders, market chicanery, etc), which is collectively experienced, and that might give them ideas.

Everything we're doing - i.e., tokenistic "aid" (which just funnels money back to creditors and landlords) - is just the barest minimum not for survival, but to ensure that we can blame people for their own starvation and misery once things are "normal" again. That's it.

Of course the fucking Dems are turning to COBRA. Of course the GOPers want to make being back at work by May Day (what an irony that!) a sign of patriotism. The faster everyone is responsibilized individually in a "reopened" economy, the faster ideas alternative possibilities can foreclosed.

"Re-opening" back to "normal" is being bipartisanly accepted and hyped as an imperative PRECISELY because it is actually totally unnecessary. It's presented as a matter of necessity precisely because it's actually a totally artificial order THAT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.

None of this necessary, fucking none of it, and the people in power and with influence who are insisting that it is are either so conditioned and incentivized to not see that, OR they do, and they are fucking *shook* at the prospect everybody else will catch on too.

Dining on the poor, part one: "Meet Joseph Albert “Trey” Hollingsworth III, the biggest goober in Washington."

Originally published here on October 14, 2018; we're revisiting Hollingsworth's cash-engorged inhumanity because of this:

Dining on the poor, part two: Trey "Big Boy Pants" Hollingsworth reminds us that capital accumulation comes before YOUR life.

---

As borrowed from Facebook (sorry; the source has been lost -- is it you, Dan Canon?), this profile effectively rests the case. It remains that I have significant issues with the Democratic dumb-ocracy, but voting in favor of Hollingsworth isn't something I plan on doing in this or any other lifetime.   

This is a profile of Joseph Albert “Trey” Hollingsworth III, the biggest goober in Washington.

As his name might lead you to suspect, he has been rich since before conception. His father, Joe Jr., is a prominent Tennessee capitalist who, in addition to owning “the largest developer for semi-rural industrial property in the Southeast,” [1] is known for an “adventuristic nature” that “expands beyond taking risks with start-ups, stocks and investments” to “hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro, racing Formula 1 cars and deep sea fishing off the Great Barrier Reef.” [2]

But Trey overcame his hardscrabble upbringing and in 2005, at the age of 22, founded Hollingsworth Capital Partners, which “purchases, renovates and repositions underperforming industrial and distribution investment property throughout the nation.” [3] His daddy is a silent partner.

A decade later, Trey decided to move to Southern Indiana and buy himself a seat in the US Congress, furnishing his campaign with over $3.1 million of his own money -- 88.4% of the total amount raised by the Hollingsworth 2016 effort. This was supplemented by $1.5 Million that the Hollingsworth Companies donated to Indiana Jobs Now, a Super PAC his father created for the sole purpose of getting Trey elected (and which he terminated weeks after achieving this goal). Mostly, this fortune went to TV ad buys, which were enough to marshal 34% of the competitive Republican primary vote, securing Trey the opportunity to face a Democrat in Indiana’s gerrymandered 9th District. Then, he rode the anti-Clinton wave straight to Washington, DC.

(Campaign finance epilogue: At the end of the race, Trey still owed the strangely repetitive sum of $246,246 to his pollster and other political consultants, so he, of the nearly $60 Million asset portfolio, asked his colleagues for help paying up. “Representative-elect Hollingsworth,” said a senior campaign adviser, “is extremely appreciative of those willing to help retire campaign debt that is owed to vendors.”) [4]

My favorite detail about his 2016 run is his approach to the press, summarized neatly in this excerpt from a profile in Slate: “The 9th District... doesn’t have much local media, and Hollingsworth frequently dodged what media there was. When he did agree to interviews, he often evaded, even on seemingly benign questions. He declined to release his tax returns. When someone asked him to name his three favorite Hoosiers, he declined to do that, too. One reporter asked him where he’d lived before moving to Indiana; ‘I’ll have to go back,’ Hollingsworth said, speaking about his own life, ‘and check the record.’ Pressed on when exactly he moved to Indiana, he finally answered with early summer. Another reporter tried to clarify whether that meant June or July. ‘I think that’s a good characterization,’ Hollingsworth said.” [5]

In his 22 months in Congress, Trey has maintained this demanding level of constituent accountability, appearing in zero public in-district town halls since being sworn in. His sacrifices in the name of transparency reached their peak one week at the end of 2017, during the fight over the Free Millions for Billionaires Bill, or as it was more commonly known, “tax reform.”

One provision of the initial draft of that bill would have taxed tuition remissions, which low-wage graduate students receive, as income, meaning workers earning roughly $15,000 a year would be taxed as though they were earning around four times as much. Indiana University being the largest employer in the district, Trey’s constituents did not all smile on this prospect. Specifically, on the evening of Monday, December 11, Campus Action for Democracy grad students staged a sit-in in his office in Greenwood, demanding to hear from Trey.

Rather than call and speak to them, Trey and his DC-based security chief issued two instructions: 1) that the building manager allow the protesters to stay in his office, but have the police restrict them from going into the hall, where the bathrooms are, and b) that his pregnant staffer supervise the student demonstrators for as long as they continued the occupation. So, as the occupiers explain in this video [6], they spent hour after hour with no access to bathrooms or contact with the outside world, never quite managing to get arrested for the cause.

Four days later, on December 15th, the Scott County Chamber of Commerce announced a Koch Brothers-sponsored “Tax Reform Town Hall” [7] with Trey. It was open to the public, with a few minor provisos: 1) Attendees had to register that very day on Eventbrite, 2) The Eventbrite link didn’t work, 3) The Town Hall was to take place in three days, on a Monday, 4) at 8 o’clock in the morning, 5) one week before Christmas, and 6) in the tiny town of Scottsburg. (Scott County, of which Scottsburg is the seat, gained some notoriety years earlier when then-Governor Mike Pence closed the local Planned Parenthood clinic, the county’s only site for HIV testing. [8] When, two years later, the worst HIV outbreak owing to needle-sharing in US history broke out in Scott County, Pence took three months to permit a temporary needle exchange, in which time nearly 200 Scott County residents were notified of an HIV-positive diagnosis.)

How did the Town Hall ultimately go? Citing a mysterious “threats of violence,” Trey cancelled the event. [9] A spokesperson said that, on the recommendation of Capitol Police, they would not release any details. That very same day, I swear before God, he posted on Facebook that, due to a fire in the building, the Greenwood office -- which students had occupied precisely one week earlier -- would be closed for re-construction until January 3rd.

The fire’s devastation was evidently total: no one survived to manage to get it reported in the local paper.

In the end, Trey voted for the Free Millions for Billionaires Bill, and made out like a bandit, handing himself $4.5 Million via the law’s “Pass-Through Tax Deduction” -- more than any other Member of Congress. The Grad Student Tax was removed from the final bill, and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t believe me that he personally called Tracey, the lead organizer of Campus Action for Democracy, to explain how hard he had worked to strike that unconscionable provision.

At this point, a lot of people have noticed that Trey spends about as much time in Indiana’s 9th, now that he represents it, as he did a couple years back, before he moved to it. Liz Watson, his Democratic challenger, has repeatedly invited him to a joint candidate forum, as have several non-partisan press outlets and organizations, including Hoosier Action and Campus Action for Democracy. Citing whatever and also this other thing, he has declined these invitations.

In the Republican Primary this year, a man named James Dean Alspach challenged Trey. He did not campaign. He barely posted a website. [10] His team, whoever they were, stapled up a bunch of lawn signs that said “James Dean” and showed his face. “If I win this primary,” he told WLKY News Louisville [11], “I’m going to announce my intentions to run for President as James Dean.” Detecting the interviewer’s confusion, Dean clarified: “So my whole focus in the Congress is to legislate for my Presidency.” He got nearly a quarter of the vote.

Trey is vulnerable, especially because he is facing an unusually strong candidate in Watson, a labor attorney who wrote the federal legislation on a $15 minimum wage, a staunch supporter of Medicare for All, and a friend to Pramila Jayapal, Bernie Sanders and around twenty labor unions. Her campaign has been so impressive -- raising over $1 Million, with nearly 50,000 contributions averaging under $40 -- that the DCCC added Indiana’s 9th, which Trey won by 14 points and Trump won by 25 -- into its “Red to Blue” class of swing seats.

In collaboration with the Working Families Party, Hoosier Action is running an independent expenditure on her behalf. Between our work, Watson’s strengths, Trey’s weaknesses, the mood of the country, and Sen. Donnelly’s rise in the polls, I think we might just be able to scale this immense mountain of a political effort and unseat the biggest goober in Washington, Joseph Albert “Trey” Hollingsworth.

The third.

[1] https://hollingsworthcos.com/about/history/founder/
[2] https://hollingsworthcos.com/…/04/EntrepreneurialOdyssey.pdf
[3] https://www.inc.com/profile/hollingsworth-capital-partners
[4] https://www.usatoday.com/…/millionaire-congressma…/95446364/
[5] http://www.slate.com/…/can_tennessee_s_trey_hollingsworth_b…
[6] https://www.facebook.com/campusactionfordemocracy/videos/526096767775024/
[7] http://www.scottchamber.org/…/tax-reform-town-hall-with-con…
[8] https://www.huffpost.com/…/mike-pence-indiana-hiv_n_57f53b9…
[9] https://www.indystar.com/…/indiana-congressman-c…/961036001/
[10] http://www.jamesdeanushouse.com
[11] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x8uXa_qBa0

Meet Joseph Albert “Trey” Hollingsworth III, the biggest goober in Washington.

As borrowed from Facebook, this profile effectively rests the case. It remains that I have significant issues with the Democratic dumb-ocracy, but voting in favor of Hollingsworth isn't something I plan on doing in this or any other lifetime.   

---

This is a profile of Joseph Albert “Trey” Hollingsworth III, the biggest goober in Washington.

As his name might lead you to suspect, he has been rich since before conception. His father, Joe Jr., is a prominent Tennessee capitalist who, in addition to owning “the largest developer for semi-rural industrial property in the Southeast,” [1] is known for an “adventuristic nature” that “expands beyond taking risks with start-ups, stocks and investments” to “hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro, racing Formula 1 cars and deep sea fishing off the Great Barrier Reef.” [2]

But Trey overcame his hardscrabble upbringing and in 2005, at the age of 22, founded Hollingsworth Capital Partners, which “purchases, renovates and repositions underperforming industrial and distribution investment property throughout the nation.” [3] His daddy is a silent partner.

A decade later, Trey decided to move to Southern Indiana and buy himself a seat in the US Congress, furnishing his campaign with over $3.1 million of his own money -- 88.4% of the total amount raised by the Hollingsworth 2016 effort. This was supplemented by $1.5 Million that the Hollingsworth Companies donated to Indiana Jobs Now, a Super PAC his father created for the sole purpose of getting Trey elected (and which he terminated weeks after achieving this goal). Mostly, this fortune went to TV ad buys, which were enough to marshal 34% of the competitive Republican primary vote, securing Trey the opportunity to face a Democrat in Indiana’s gerrymandered 9th District. Then, he rode the anti-Clinton wave straight to Washington, DC.

(Campaign finance epilogue: At the end of the race, Trey still owed the strangely repetitive sum of $246,246 to his pollster and other political consultants, so he, of the nearly $60 Million asset portfolio, asked his colleagues for help paying up. “Representative-elect Hollingsworth,” said a senior campaign adviser, “is extremely appreciative of those willing to help retire campaign debt that is owed to vendors.”) [4]

My favorite detail about his 2016 run is his approach to the press, summarized neatly in this excerpt from a profile in Slate: “The 9th District... doesn’t have much local media, and Hollingsworth frequently dodged what media there was. When he did agree to interviews, he often evaded, even on seemingly benign questions. He declined to release his tax returns. When someone asked him to name his three favorite Hoosiers, he declined to do that, too. One reporter asked him where he’d lived before moving to Indiana; ‘I’ll have to go back,’ Hollingsworth said, speaking about his own life, ‘and check the record.’ Pressed on when exactly he moved to Indiana, he finally answered with early summer. Another reporter tried to clarify whether that meant June or July. ‘I think that’s a good characterization,’ Hollingsworth said.” [5]

In his 22 months in Congress, Trey has maintained this demanding level of constituent accountability, appearing in zero public in-district town halls since being sworn in. His sacrifices in the name of transparency reached their peak one week at the end of 2017, during the fight over the Free Millions for Billionaires Bill, or as it was more commonly known, “tax reform.”

One provision of the initial draft of that bill would have taxed tuition remissions, which low-wage graduate students receive, as income, meaning workers earning roughly $15,000 a year would be taxed as though they were earning around four times as much. Indiana University being the largest employer in the district, Trey’s constituents did not all smile on this prospect. Specifically, on the evening of Monday, December 11, Campus Action for Democracy grad students staged a sit-in in his office in Greenwood, demanding to hear from Trey.

Rather than call and speak to them, Trey and his DC-based security chief issued two instructions: 1) that the building manager allow the protesters to stay in his office, but have the police restrict them from going into the hall, where the bathrooms are, and b) that his pregnant staffer supervise the student demonstrators for as long as they continued the occupation. So, as the occupiers explain in this video [6], they spent hour after hour with no access to bathrooms or contact with the outside world, never quite managing to get arrested for the cause.

Four days later, on December 15th, the Scott County Chamber of Commerce announced a Koch Brothers-sponsored “Tax Reform Town Hall” [7] with Trey. It was open to the public, with a few minor provisos: 1) Attendees had to register that very day on Eventbrite, 2) The Eventbrite link didn’t work, 3) The Town Hall was to take place in three days, on a Monday, 4) at 8 o’clock in the morning, 5) one week before Christmas, and 6) in the tiny town of Scottsburg. (Scott County, of which Scottsburg is the seat, gained some notoriety years earlier when then-Governor Mike Pence closed the local Planned Parenthood clinic, the county’s only site for HIV testing. [8] When, two years later, the worst HIV outbreak owing to needle-sharing in US history broke out in Scott County, Pence took three months to permit a temporary needle exchange, in which time nearly 200 Scott County residents were notified of an HIV-positive diagnosis.)

How did the Town Hall ultimately go? Citing a mysterious “threats of violence,” Trey cancelled the event. [9] A spokesperson said that, on the recommendation of Capitol Police, they would not release any details. That very same day, I swear before God, he posted on Facebook that, due to a fire in the building, the Greenwood office -- which students had occupied precisely one week earlier -- would be closed for re-construction until January 3rd.

The fire’s devastation was evidently total: no one survived to manage to get it reported in the local paper.

In the end, Trey voted for the Free Millions for Billionaires Bill, and made out like a bandit, handing himself $4.5 Million via the law’s “Pass-Through Tax Deduction” -- more than any other Member of Congress. The Grad Student Tax was removed from the final bill, and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t believe me that he personally called Tracey, the lead organizer of Campus Action for Democracy, to explain how hard he had worked to strike that unconscionable provision.

At this point, a lot of people have noticed that Trey spends about as much time in Indiana’s 9th, now that he represents it, as he did a couple years back, before he moved to it. Liz Watson, his Democratic challenger, has repeatedly invited him to a joint candidate forum, as have several non-partisan press outlets and organizations, including Hoosier Action and Campus Action for Democracy. Citing whatever and also this other thing, he has declined these invitations.

In the Republican Primary this year, a man named James Dean Alspach challenged Trey. He did not campaign. He barely posted a website. [10] His team, whoever they were, stapled up a bunch of lawn signs that said “James Dean” and showed his face. “If I win this primary,” he told WLKY News Louisville [11], “I’m going to announce my intentions to run for President as James Dean.” Detecting the interviewer’s confusion, Dean clarified: “So my whole focus in the Congress is to legislate for my Presidency.” He got nearly a quarter of the vote.

Trey is vulnerable, especially because he is facing an unusually strong candidate in Watson, a labor attorney who wrote the federal legislation on a $15 minimum wage, a staunch supporter of Medicare for All, and a friend to Pramila Jayapal, Bernie Sanders and around twenty labor unions. Her campaign has been so impressive -- raising over $1 Million, with nearly 50,000 contributions averaging under $40 -- that the DCCC added Indiana’s 9th, which Trey won by 14 points and Trump won by 25 -- into its “Red to Blue” class of swing seats.

In collaboration with the Working Families Party, Hoosier Action is running an independent expenditure on her behalf. Between our work, Watson’s strengths, Trey’s weaknesses, the mood of the country, and Sen. Donnelly’s rise in the polls, I think we might just be able to scale this immense mountain of a political effort and unseat the biggest goober in Washington, Joseph Albert “Trey” Hollingsworth.

The third.

[1] https://hollingsworthcos.com/about/history/founder/
[2] https://hollingsworthcos.com/…/04/EntrepreneurialOdyssey.pdf
[3] https://www.inc.com/profile/hollingsworth-capital-partners
[4] https://www.usatoday.com/…/millionaire-congressma…/95446364/
[5] http://www.slate.com/…/can_tennessee_s_trey_hollingsworth_b…
[6] https://www.facebook.com/campusactionfordemocracy/videos/526096767775024/
[7] http://www.scottchamber.org/…/tax-reform-town-hall-with-con…
[8] https://www.huffpost.com/…/mike-pence-indiana-hiv_n_57f53b9…
[9] https://www.indystar.com/…/indiana-congressman-c…/961036001/
[10] http://www.jamesdeanushouse.com
[11] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x8uXa_qBa0

According to FiveThirtyEight, Trey Hollingsworth (R) is likely to defeat Liz Watson (D) in November.

FiveThirtyEight offers three House forecasts, none of which bode well for Liz Watson (D), who is challenging incumbent Trey Hollingsworth (R) in the 9th district congressional race.

How do you like your House forecast?

Lite: Keep it simple, please — give me the best forecast you can based on what local and national polls say

Classic: I’ll take the polls, plus all the “fundamentals”: fundraising, past voting in the district, historical trends and more

Deluxe: Gimme the works — the Classic forecasts plus experts’ ratings

It's a grim prognosis.

Lite forecast: 98.2% chance the Republican (Hollingsworth) wins 61.8% - 38.2%

Classic forecast: 78.3 chance the Republican (Hollingsworth) wins 53% - 47%

Deluxe forecast: 90% chance the Republican (Hollingsworth) wins 55% - 45%

From a national perspective, FiveThirtyEight provides a bit of relief for Democrats.

Considering the source? I read something at FiveThirtyEight almost every day.

FiveThirtyEight. | Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight uses statistical analysis — hard numbers — to tell compelling stories about politics, sports, science, economics and culture.

Canon, actually: "Dem Candidate in Deep Red District Comes Out in Favor of Reparations."

Last summer, we were in Chicago for British embassy matters when Dan Canon declared his candidacy at NABC's downtown location, now again dubbed Bank Street Brewhouse, where he made his announcement against a backdrop of hop vines, urban brick remnants, the cloud-hugging Elsby Building, and Rosa L(uxembourg) Stumblebus, the longtime company logo prominently displayed on her side next to his banner.

Eight months down the campaign trail, this photo is iconic. It keeps popping up in media coverage both near and far, and whenever I see it, my eyes are immediately drawn to the symmetry of beer man lofting keg positioned just behind Canon's clenched fist.

Whatever else I might say or not say about my history with NABC, it's probably already obvious that when I see the company logo -- one always intended to be a sign of progressive thought -- appearing next to a candidate of Canon's caliber, it makes me quite happy.

So do his platform positions. 

Dem Candidate in Deep Red District Comes Out in Favor of Reparations, by Colin Kalmbacher (Law and Crime)

A Democratic congressional candidate in a red state is bucking conventional wisdom and party politics by endorsing a raft of explicitly left-wing and populist policy proposals–including reparations for African-Americans.

Dan Canon is running for Indiana’s ninth congressional district. This district includes the city of Bloomington and most of the Indiana side of the Louisville metro area. Canon himself is locally known as a prominent civil rights attorney who helped secure same-sex marriage rights in nearby Kentucky.

The “Priorities” section of Canon’s campaign website positions the candidate firmly in the progressive mold–but goes even a bit further than that. One of the specific policies Canon aims to see enacted is, as mentioned above, reparations for African-Americans.

Canon’s website offers a fairly lengthy breakdown of the candidate’s support–reproduced in full below [emphasis in original]:

Work to close the racial wealth gap in ways including, but not limited to: encouraging support for minority-owned enterprises; protecting the integrity of the federal judiciary and executive cabinet by encouraging diverse appointments; support for measures to demilitarize local law enforcement units, particularly in communities of color; support for the Commission to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African-Americans Act (H.R. 40); introduce and support legislation authorizing private unjust enrichment actions to be brought against corporations and other entities that reaped enormous benefits from the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

The Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act was introduced in Congress by Representative John Conyers and currently has 32 cosponsors. Canon’s support for the bill puts him solidly on his party’s left-most flank, as do some of his other campaign positions ...

Amanda Beam's excellent newspaper column is called "Polling position."

The recent poll generated by Liz Watson's campaign was snapped up with lightning speed by the News and Tribune, elevating just another social media tout redolent of the AdamBot's knee-pants DNC tactics primer to the status of genuine news item. I find this regrettable, given that the newspaper hasn't offered the same freebie to surveys subsequently released by Dan Canon's campaign.

Either both these question-asking efforts are sufficiently reputable for newspaper coverage, or neither. I can't determine why one is, and the other isn't, although it is at least gratifying that management allowed Amanda Beam's excellent column to be published.

The past week has been critical for me in making a final decision about how to vote in May. I've leaned Canon from the start; admittedly, there's a final piece of the puzzle to be pressed into place, and I trust it will.

In the interim, merely remember that when the party establishment is the problem, party establishment candidates push no favorable buttons with me. If you have access to the newspaper's articles, I strongly encourage reading the entire column. Meanwhile, here's the middle section of it.

BEAM: Polling position, by Amanda Beam

... Fast forward a few days. I noticed an article on social media that revealed one of the results of the poll I had taken. However, not included was who had commissioned the survey or the questions they asked in the order they had appeared.

Call me crazy — again — but if a campaign paid for a survey I find it difficult to treat the results as valid.

So if you know me and my big mouth, then you would understand I could only do one thing. I spoke up not so eloquently on social media. Citing my own experience with the survey, I questioned who commissioned the poll and, ultimately, its validity.

Sometimes when you ask questions you get great responses. Other times you get insinuations that you are a mindless twit.

I got both ...

Today in Dueling Polls, Team Canon returns fire: "Canon for Indiana’s Voter Survey Shows Commanding Lead and Unprecedented Field Program."

It's a contested primary, and you always knew at some point, as sides began to be chosen ...

AdamBot and Pinocchio photo credit: N and T.

... there'd be a volley or three. After all, one of them must lose in the primary; it truly can be about Tennessee Trey only after there is a winner between them.

Yesterday Liz Watson landed the first poll punch, and the News and Tribune swiftly swallowed the bait.

Poll shows Watson with double-digit lead over Canon

Today Dan Canon's forces strike back (text pasted below).

Does this mean the newspaper's next bold headline will read, "Poll shows Canon with double-digit lead over Watson"?

Enquiring minds and all ...

---

For Immediate Release
March 8, 2018
Contact: Dustin Collins
812-946-0181
DCollins@CanonForIndiana.com

Canon for Indiana’s Voter Survey Shows Commanding Lead and Unprecedented Field Program

New Albany, Indiana - As of March 6th, the Canon for Indiana team - with more than 250 interns (the most in Indiana University history) and over 1,200 volunteers - have made 118,417 voter touches. Results from these show Canon with a commanding lead, particularly with the 30,000+ new voters registered across the district - more than 14,000 of whom were registered by the Canon campaign.

Canon’s lead is overwhelming when including leans, despite 47% of voters remaining undecided. Additionally, the campaign has already identified enough supporters who have committed to vote for Canon to win in a typical turnout scenario and is approaching necessary voters to win with a record turnout.

“These results are based on tens of thousands of conversations. Unlike a paid poll conducted by a D.C. firm with a few hundred respondents, this method is designed to find our supporters, to mobilize them when voting begins, and to identify supporters of other candidates and undecideds so we can target who we speak to. It’s not a question after a long list of positives on our candidate and negatives of others. We simply asked, ‘who do you plan on supporting in the upcoming primaries’. There were no options provided and respondents self-picked Dan or another preferred candidate,” Campaign Manager Dustin Collins said. “We do not believe numbers for our opponents are actually this low, but the larger story is we are close to finding an outright majority that has committed to voting for Dan in the primary.”

“Our campaign has been about building a majority since day one. We’ve contacted more voters than every other Democratic candidate in the state combined and as a result we’re identifying the voters needed to win and have built a volunteer infrastructure to ensure these voters turn out to cast their votes for Dan,” Collins continued. “I am incredibly proud to be a part of such a record-setting team that is laying the groundwork needed to beat Trey where it actually matters: in hearts and minds, one-on-one. We know that Trey can dig into his deep pockets and outspend everyone, but he will not meet people where they are and he will not outwork us. No one will outwork us. These numbers show that when we talk to voters they see what we know: that only Dan can beat Trey in the general election and only hard work and shoe leather will make it happen.”

The breakdown by county is as follows:

As part of our continued commitment to transparency, following are details to help provide context on these results:

• All contacts have been made since August of 2017.
• When voters were contacted multiple times their most recent response is recorded.
• Numbers include likely primary voters, young voters who are unlikely to have built a primary voting history, and all-new voters who have registered since November 2016.
• There has been no meaningful shift in responses over the last month.
• 5% of voters ended the call before responding, which would equate to approximately 11% of the responses above had they responded.
• “Other” includes those supporting a write-in candidate, Robert Chatlos, and Trey Hollingsworth III.
• Callers and canvassers identified themselves as volunteers with the Canon campaign.

All hail Pinocchio: The Liz Watson campaign says it has a huge lead, based on tiny polling numbers.

Ever since I saw the Liz Watson yard sign illegally placed right there in the verge by Pinocchio Rosenbarger's house, it has seemed likelier than ever that in the ongoing congressional case of Watson v. Canon, the Bloomingtonian is the preference of the local Democratic Party's tightly scripted establishment.

The parallels with goings-on in the national party are fairly obvious, and I needn't repeat the tired litany.

And, a poll of 400 voters, among them 33% undecided, isn't very much of a damning verdict apart from serving as campaign hype generator.

So it goes (insert yawn here).

Me?

I've no issues with Watson, but my preference remains elsewhere. Knowing that Pinocchio's nose knows Dickeyformity is a nudge, to be sure, but I have these other fish yet to fry.

Until they are, I remain a passive observer.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Liz Watson Has Double Digit Lead in Indiana 09 Democratic Primary

Bloomington, IN -- On Tuesday, the Liz for Indiana campaign released poll numbers that show Liz Watson with a 13-point lead over Dan Canon in the Democratic primary to replace Trey Hollingsworth in November.

“This poll proves what we already know. Democrats are ready to vote for Liz in May, and they see Liz as the best candidate to take on Trey Hollingsworth in November,” said Brian Peters, Campaign Manager for the Liz for Indiana campaign.

The poll, together with Liz’s support from 27 labor unions and a slew of progressive organizations, as well as the campaign’s $165K cash on hand lead over the rest of the field combined, shows a commanding advantage in the May 8 primary.

“Not only do the poll numbers show our campaign with a large lead, but we also have the resources to get Liz’s message out to every voter in this district. That is a good thing, because they like what they’re hearing.”

The poll was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research in the field from March 3-5 and sampled over 400 Democratic primary voters.

9th District Congress tidbits: Medical marijuana, Canon vs. Watson finance comparison, plus Watson's new NA office opening.

When the Kentucky political blogger Jacob Payne tweeted about a Politico article pertaining to medical marijuana and "Red State Democrats," I wasn't expecting a thread about Dan Canon.

It happened, anyway. First, the marijuana post.

These Red-State Democrats Think Legal Marijuana Can Help Them Win, by James Higdon (Politico)

With sky-high approval rates, pot is an issue challengers say will cure the Democratic malaise in Trump country.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—“We don’t need to give him another ounce of our brain-space,” Dan Canon told the crowd of 40 people, hitting the TV mute as President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech began. “We don’t care what he says.” The speech had been the advertised reason for the gathering at the Crazy Horse bar in downtown Bloomington, but in truth the mix of college students and older locals couldn’t even be bothered to hate watch Trump. They had come to hear Canon, a civil rights attorney running for Congress in Indiana’s 9th Congressional District, talk about his campaign to unseat one-term incumbent Trey Hollingsworth.

Students seem drawn to Canon in part because he was one of the plaintiff attorneys in the lawsuit that became Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage. They like his stances on raising the federal minimum wage and providing Medicare for all. But it’s his full-throated support for legalizing medical marijuana at the federal level that has distinguished him in the eyes of many young voters, who consider it a threshold for taking any politician seriously.

“I think anytime you have an issue with such a high degree of bipartisan support in 2018, you have to pay attention to it,” Canon told POLITICO Magazine, regarding marijuana. “And it's appealing because it touches on so many other things: creates a new industry with jobs, good for agriculture, alleviates pressures placed on the criminal justice system, reduces overdose deaths, is a natural pain reliever, can raise massive tax revenue, et cetera.”

Payne's subsequent thread of tweets unspooled as follows.

In that same story, Dan Canon gets coverage. Along with his primary opponent - a woman many of his supporters (his non-voting Louisville twitter base) had no idea was in the race. I looked at their FEC reports a week or so ago and found a few interesting things.

Aside from Canon's report being sloppy & unprofessional (WHO DID THAT SHIT?!), he's getting more of his $ from OOS than his opponent (based on itemized contribs reported).

Canon pulled $81K in Indiana, $141K from OOS. That's $60K more OOS than in-state. Liz Watson pulled $120K in Indiana, $152K OOS. That's just $32K more OOS than in-state.

This tells me Watson's support base could potentially be stronger than Canon's in the 9th District. Her base and campaign team seem just as energized & active.

Since neither Canon nor Watson raised much $ and their burn rates are high, they'll have nothing in the general to compete with the carpetbagger on the Republican side.

Note: Tons of Canon's $ isn't even available to him in the primary. Wealthy friends maxed out for both the primary & general to pad his numbers. Which is... kind of not great.

Canon's path to victory in a primary doesn't seem quite as clear as it did in the beginning. His campaign (staff) is running scared of Watson. And Watson's campaign refers to him as "the male candidate" - so that's fun.

Just wanted to tweet some campaign finance tidbits out there since campaigns are intentionally misleading, pad numbers, aren't realistic about what's going on.

Earlier today I picked up a call from the 317 area code and found myself chatting with one of Watson's tele-campaigning volunteers, who reminded me that the candidate's New Albany office will be opening this Friday at 141 W. Main Street -- and would I attend the christening?

I'll certainly try. After all, I have a currently unanswered question.

Irrespective of what may or may not transpire, we have to give Team Watson credit for superlative HQ placement.

A 10-second walk for a craft beer might be a new record.

THE BEER BEAT: This iconic (and ironic) photo of Dan Canon and Rosa L. Stumblebus.

In spite of the many reasons that seeing this photo might annoy me, only one of which pertains to the candidate himself, I can't convey my pleasure in seeing it continually pop up during coverage of Dan Canon's congressional campaign.

The photo dates to Canon's campaign kickoff party in July at the downtown NABC location, whatever it's being referred to these days.

Dan Canon, (D) Civil Rights Attorney for IN-09, by Jordan Valerie Allen (Millennial Politics)

Jordan Valerie spoke with Dan Canon on the podcast about his candidacy, America’s racist criminal justice system, and some of his more controversial opinions. Make sure to follow Dan Canon on Twitter @dancanon, like him on Facebook, and check out his website.

It's only been a few months, so please forgive  me for repeating a few paragraphs from July 8 -- and no, not yet. Is Clarence Darrow still practicing?

---

THE BEER BEAT: Dan Canon and the welcome return of progressive thinking at NABC.

I was in Chicago on Thursday, doing my little bit for Anglo-American relations, or else I would have walked down Spring Street to my former beer joint to toast Dan Canon and his congressional run on the occasion of his well-attended kickoff party -- although actually the words "former beer joint" won't be 100% accurate until the deal is done and a check is written.

For those readers who've been asking for an update: Two years later, and no, not yet.

Apart from all this, I'm sincerely delighted to see progressive politics return to Bank Street Brewhouse, which since my absence has been renamed the NABC Cafe & Brewhouse. You'll understand it's difficult for me to think of it other than BSB, founded to further to cause of Progressive Pints.

Somewhere along the way, the ghosts of Lord Cornwallis' musicians struck up the tune.

The serving men doe sit and whine, and thinke it long ere dinner time:
The Butler's still out of the way, or else my Lady keeps the key,
The poor old cook, in the larder doth look,
Where is no goodnesse to be found,
Yet let's be content, and the times lament, you see the world turn'd upside down.

So it was that back in 2015, during my indie campaign for mayor, I was expressly forbidden by my business partners from hosting campaign events. I was told that we simply had to keep politics out of the business.

Consequently, I'm terribly envious of Dan for his signage on Rosa, the draft truck (shown above).

In 2015, she was off-limits to my stylish pirate logo, in spite of it being hard to imagine a better place for a skull and crossbones than a vehicle named for a legendary activist -- nay, Marxist, just like the fellow whose triptych is the single most famous feature of the Red Room at the Public House.

Noting that I'm a shop floor kind of guy, know that I've never doubted the political instincts and integrity of NABC's staff and crew. They've always gotten it, even when the owners didn't, and I'll always appreciate their support.

Ironically, my partners weren't ever concerned that a lefty progressive like me would chase away local Republican customers, most of whom converse freely with me whether or not we agree on politics.

Rather, they were terrified of retaliation from the local social and civic favors club known as Let's Pretend We're Democrats, for whom the emerging Canon candidacy might be the most entertaining litmus test in all recorded history.

The floor show begins ... now, as Chairman Dickey gathers together Jeff Gahan, Bob Caesar, Brad Striegel, Warren Nash and ... that newbie Canon guy ... in one forced photo-op of a loving embrace.

They're all Democrats, right?

Well, in name only. It simply cannot be that Canon and the likes of Caesar both are Democrats, at least without them or me or all of us doing heavy drugs, and there's something in so very instructive (not to mention blatantly hypocritical) herein about NA's perennial political dysfunction that I really have no choice left but to continue drinking heavily and waiting for a check in the mail ...

SNIP

 ... Most importantly of all, welcome back to the real participatory local world, NABC. I missed your political consciousness these past two years. It was something I'd taken for granted. Maybe it will survive without me, after all.

Dan Canon: "If you're ready for change, I'm ready to fight for it." Meanwhile, Gahan's public housing putsch proceeds apace.

New Albany's public housing residents are among the city most vulnerable. To borrow candidate Canon's words, they're getting screwed by a government that doesn't listen, and they need someone to fight for them.

This poses a vexing problem for local Democrats, seeing as the perpetrator of this outrage isn't a Republican.

Jeff Gahan is a Democrat, or at least he plays one at ribbon cuttings, and not only is Gahan's attitude toward these folks just as callous, unresponsive and condescending as any stereotypical and villainous Republican's might be, because in addition, Gahan is the apple of the local party's eye, a gleaming fertilizer of patronage in human form. 

If the term "great white hope" didn't already exist, we'd need to invent it to describe the emerging cult of personality of Gahanism. No one has swallowed more of the abundant Kool-Aid than party chairman Adam Dickey, and whichever of the mayor's family members currently occupy positions of party authority.

As progressive Democrats nationwide follow candidate Canon's lead and follow the money, Gahan has only one default setting for pretend-governance: "Show me even more money."

Candidate Canon's video is stirring. It pushes all the right buttons. Unfortunately for local Democrats, the cognitive dissonance can only worsen, because these criticisms comprise an index finger pointing right at Gahan.

Or maybe it's a middle finger. Sometimes I can't tell them apart.

We're fast approaching a year since Gahan's public housing putsch was launched. In all this time, not a single local Democratic elected official apart from the mayor himself has bothered to comment for attribution on this situation.

As for the local Democratic candidates contesting state elections in 2018, only Anna Murray has responded with hopes for a good outcome, but little in the way of specifics.

Let's hope the Democratic silence dissipates. As it stands, the hypocrisy is a tad constricting, even by Dickey's world-class standards -- and I'd dearly love to have someone to vote for next year.

Floyd and Clark County Stonewall is sponsoring a 9th district Congressional Candidate Forum this Sunday, November 19.

I've decided to disengage from the 9th district congressional race, at least for while. It remains my hope to vote for a progressive candidate, a designation naturally excluding the incumbent Trey Hollingsworth from consideration.

Al politics is local, and my vote will be determined almost entirely by how Democrats, both as a party and as individual candidates, deal with (or without) Jeff Gahan's ongoing public housing putsch.

I await a sign. That's all there is to it, and when those tea leaves come together through the magic of computer animation to form a clenched fist, I'll be back.

Meanwhile, Floyd and Clark County Stonewall is sponsoring a 9th district Congressional Candidate Forum this Sunday, November 19. It will be held at the 300 Spring event venue in downtown Jeffersonville from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

With victories across America, November 7th was a great night for Democrats! We hope this portends good things for the 9th District.

We are SIX months away from Indiana's Democratic primary and Flark Stonewall is hosting a forum so we can get to know our candidates! All Democratic candidates for Indiana’s ninth district congressional seat have been invited to attend this forum and answer questions about issues that are important to the LGBT community and to local Democrats in Southern Indiana. While there will be a focus on LGBT issues, questions will range on many topics within the district and nation.

We hope you can submit a question and attend!

Interested parties may submit questions in advance of the forum, via Survey Monkey. Here's mine.

There has been no shortage of Democratic commentary about a Republican mayor's plan to displace low-income residents from the Pleasant Ridge neighborhood in Charlestown, and yet next to nothing has been said about a Democratic mayor's squalid moves to demolish half of the public housing in New Albany absent a credible plan to rehouse. Why the disconnect, and what do the candidates think about the public housing controversy in New Albany?

THE BEER BEAT: Dan Canon and the welcome return of progressive thinking at NABC.

I was in Chicago on Thursday, doing my little bit for Anglo-American relations, or else I would have walked down Spring Street to my former beer joint to toast Dan Canon and his congressional run on the occasion of his well-attended kickoff party -- although actually the words "former beer joint" won't be 100% accurate until the deal is done and a check is written.

For those readers who've been asking for an update: Two years later, and no, not yet.

Apart from all this, I'm sincerely delighted to see progressive politics return to Bank Street Brewhouse, which since my absence has been renamed the NABC Cafe & Brewhouse. You'll understand it's difficult for me to think of it other than BSB, founded to further to cause of Progressive Pints.

Somewhere along the way, the ghosts of Lord Cornwallis' musicians struck up the tune.

The serving men doe sit and whine, and thinke it long ere dinner time:

The Butler's still out of the way, or else my Lady keeps the key,

The poor old cook, in the larder doth look,

Where is no goodnesse to be found,

Yet let's be content, and the times lament, you see the world turn'd upside down.

So it was that back in 2015, during my indie campaign for mayor, I was expressly forbidden by my business partners from hosting campaign events.

I was told that we simply had to keep politics out of the business.

Consequently, I'm terribly envious of Dan for his signage on Rosa, the draft truck (shown above).

In 2015, she was off-limits to my stylish pirate logo, in spite of it being hard to imagine a better place for a skull and crossbones than a vehicle named for a legendary activist -- nay, Marxist, just like the fellow whose triptych is the single most famous feature of the Red Room at the Public House.

Noting that I'm a shop floor kind of guy, know that I've never doubted the political instincts and integrity of NABC's staff and crew. They've always gotten it, even when the owners didn't, and I'll always appreciate their support.

Ironically, my partners weren't ever concerned that a lefty progressive like me would chase away local Republican customers, most of whom converse freely with me whether or not we agree on politics.

Rather, they were terrified of retaliation from the local social and civic favors club known as Let's Pretend We're Democrats, for whom the emerging Canon candidacy might be the most entertaining litmus test in all recorded history.

The floor show begins ... now, as Chairman Dickey gathers together Jeff Gahan, Bob Caesar, Brad Striegel, Warren Nash and ... that newbie Canon guy ... in one forced photo-op of a loving embrace.

They're all Democrats, right?

Well, in name only. It simply cannot be that Canon and the likes of Caesar both are Democrats, at least without them or me or all of us doing heavy drugs, and there's something in so very instructive (not to mention blatantly hypocritical) herein about NA's perennial political dysfunction that I really have no choice left but to continue drinking heavily and waiting for a check in the mail.

Best wishes to Dan Canon, and if I'm ever bought out, some of the cash is coming to your campaign. It may even happen before your second or third term in Congress.

Meanwhile, I'll do whatever is in my limited power to help Dan get elected, and conversely, also do whatever I must to defeat local poseur Democrats of the strictly theoretical variety who merely masquerade as progressives.

Now that Canon's on the scene, I've a coherent, principled platform to compare to theirs, not to mention his solid record of action in advocating for social justice, not just making vague non-binding gestures about it.

Most importantly of all, welcome back to the real participatory local world, NABC. I missed your political consciousness these past two years. It was something I'd taken for granted. Maybe it will survive without me, after all.

Dan Canon officially announces his campaign for Congress (9th District) in 2018.

I'm delighted Dan's running, and equally pleased that NABC is openly left-wing again. That's because Dan's kickoff event will be held on from 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 6 at NABC's Bank Street Cafe & Brewhouse.

Here is this morning's announcement.

---

It's time.

As you know, I’ve been considering running for the office of Representative of Indiana’s 9th District.

Thank you for supporting me during this exploratory phase. And now I'm excited for you to be first to know:

Today, I officially announce my campaign for Congress in 2018.

The question that follows naturally from this announcement is "Why?". The answer to that question is complicated, but it has a great deal to do with how I grew up. My mother raised me on her own, sometimes working 2 or 3 poorly-paid jobs at a time just to make sure I was safe, healthy, and well-educated. She made a lot of sacrifices that no one working so hard should have to make. But whatever it took, whatever was thrown at her - my mom stepped up, and simply did more.

I learned a lot from her. I learned about hard work, fairness, dignity, perseverance, and courage. But I also developed an important belief by watching what she went through: we - as a society - can do better. We can do better for women, we can do better for working people, we can do better for our families, and we can do better for everyone. We can do a better job of taking care of each other.

We can do better.

Right now, we have the ability to give everyone the tools and opportunities they need to live their best lives.

We can guarantee meaningful work to anyone who's willing and able to take it. We can put Hoosiers to work rebuilding our roads and bridges, creating smart, renewable energy grids, creating public transportation that works, and ensuring everyone has internet access. And we can make sure that if someone works a full-time job, they have the ability to take care of their family, save money, and reinvest in their community.

We can guarantee a safe environment to live in: clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and secure, reliable housing for everyone.

We can guarantee quality education for everyone - education that isn't only for the wealthy, and doesn't leave our kids with crippling debt for the rest of their lives.

We can guarantee healthcare as a basic human right. We cannot tolerate one more American going bankrupt or dying because they can't pay a bill.

But this is just the beginning. Our campaign is not only going to be about getting one person elected. It's going to be about changing our culture and fighting our way forward.

Together, we will make Indiana a leader not just in industry and innovation, but in individual dignity and freedom, too. Please, stand with me to accomplish this, and donate any amount you can to make it a reality.

You are all amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Much love to you and yours, friends. Let's do this.

Dan

---

Me?

I'm just waiting for the local unDemocratic Party chairman to use "Dan Canon" and "Jeff Gahan" in the same sentence without the chairman's head exploding in a glittering array of internal contradictions.

The golden era of local Democratic cognitive dissonance begins ... now.

I can only hope voters look past the local Democratic Party's "Republican Light" proclivities and give Dan's positions a fair hearing. He's the real deal, and if they do so, there may be hope for the local Democrats in spite of themselves ... and their dullest mayoral exemplar.

Civil rights attorney (and New Albanian) Dan Canon is considering a run for the Indiana 9th Congressional District seat.

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.

---

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.