Education: Education is key to creating a healthy society that is based in humanitarian values. It transforms lives and creates capable adult citizens. Far from being an expense, education is an investment in the future of our economy in particular, and our society in general. Education, especially public education, has been under attack by Republican lawmakers for years, because they know an ignorant community is easier to lead by fear.
Worker protection: Unions level the playing field between workers and employers. FDR knew that protection of worker safety, benefits, and livable wages were essential. Our middle class developed and flourished over the objections of Republicans to labor unions. The decades of Republican leadership have given us stagnant real wages even as we increase our productivity. We are now seeing the middle class squeezed into nonexistence, and it has to stop. Right to work for less laws need to be repealed, along with all the other laws designed to break labor unions, in both the public and private sectors.
Health care is a right, not a privilege for the wealthy. We shouldn’t have to choose between health care and making the rent. Iowa’s privatization of Medicaid benefits the cronies of Republicans, on the backs of our children, elderly, persons with disabilities, and those battling mental health issues. It is a disgrace. It’s time for Iowans to be represented by people who are not interested in lining their own pockets with taxpayer dollars.
Environment: Iowa waterways need to be cleaned up. They continue to be polluted while Republican lawmakers continue ignore the long term health of the environment.
Voting is a right, but your right to vote has little meaningful protection. Over and over again—with voter ID laws, restrictions on early voting, and deliberate purging of voter rolls—Republican lawmakers have shown that they don’t want voters to participate in elections. Low turnout elections benefit Republicans, so they are willing to intimidate voters into staying home on election day. Nothing could be more un-American. I think it is the duty of county and state government to make sure every eligible voter is registered and encouraged to vote.
Common sense gun regulation: Republican lawmaker keep telling us the government can’t do anything about mass shootings. They’re wrong. We have the example of Australia, which decided 22 years ago that they would do something about mass shootings. The result: no mass shootings at all in Australia from 1996 to May 2018. There’s plenty we can do, and Republican lawmakers are the obstacle.
