Smash Your TV, Vote for Andy Ruff
I am asking Hoosiers to cut the cord and tune out cable news. As much as we may love watching Rachel Maddow--or even Sean Hannity--cable news hosts don’t have the best interest of Hoosiers at heart. MSNBC and Fox News, along with most other mainstream “news” sources are great for delivering eyeballs to advertisers, but they’re terrible for delivering the real information we as citizens need to help move our country forward. They treat politics like sports, urging listeners to pick a team and to uncritically, zealously support that team. Cable news is as responsible for the divisiveness of our politics as many of the politicians themselves.
This campaign is about asking people to choose their friends and neighbors over Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon. Local newspapers have been bought up by large conglomerates, the Trump Show has completely consumed our attention, and we have lost sight of each other. The repercussions are disturbing.
Be a Hoosier more than you are a “Liberal” or “Conservative.” That means putting personal relationships over political leanings. We Hoosiers are friendly people, known for our hospitality. We believe in stewardship of our natural resources and enjoying the beauty of the outdoors. Sit with your neighbors. Have a beer. Watch the fireflies. Whatever you do, turn off the TV.
These are strange times. For everybody. We’re all looking for a sense of control. One way to find that is by thinking locally. Who in Southern Indiana doesn’t miss the crowded churches and farmers markets and Hoosier-style diners? What are some ways, even now during the height of this pandemic, that we can show our left-leaning neighbors more understanding and our right-leaning ones more compassion? What do New York TV personalities know about us? You have more in common with your most politically contrasting neighbor than you will ever have with Anderson Cooper or Donald Trump.
I’m a different kind of candidate in Indiana’s 9th District -- an anti-establishment, Hoosier progressive, who wants to fight divisiveness as part of my platform. Our campaign is about bringing Hoosiers together. We are not funded by Wall Street, billionaires, lobbyists or large corporations: We are powered by the people.
-ANDY