Tonight is the first night of the Republican National Convention. I am not really a “convention” sort of guy — for either party. Sure, I’m running as a Democrat, but my beliefs and positions are my own, that of a Hoosier, someone who is your friend and neighbor. 

And neither Donald Trump nor Nancy Pelosi are going to tell me what Hoosiers need.

Both sides of the aisle claim they’re “fighting” for the working class. Yet time and again their actions prove otherwise. As a member of the middle class myself, with a boss and a day job, my wallet shrinks every time establishment politicians like Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, or our current congressman, Trey Hollingsworth, sell out to moneyed corporate interests.

Hang around the Hoosier state long enough and you’re bound to hear the old adage left over from the Reagan years that “government can’t accomplish anything.” In many ways, I agree.

But when we accept the idea that just because our government hasn’t worked for us in the past, it can’t ever work for us in the future, we lose our political power by forfeit. When we disengage, those who intentionally broke the system and are exploiting it to enrich themselves (like Trey Hollingsworth) automatically win. They steal our tax dollars, pollute our rivers, tilt the economy in their own favor and then pat themselves on the back for a “job well done.” It’s time we held them accountable.

Our government may be broken now, but it’s ours. We need to take it back. Together we can make government work for us.

Is it really too hard for the greatest nation on Earth to ensure a decent wage and good benefits? Guarantee healthcare for everyone? To maintain clean air and water? To take a practical approach to fighting COVID-19 so that we can finally get on with our lives?

If you’re like me and also think party politics and conventions are a bit — meh — and that supporting a neighbor is better than being forced to pick a “team,” please consider supporting my campaign. 

We are a grassroots effort, funded by regular Americans. We don’t take money from lobbyists, Wall Street, billionaires or corporations — unlike our opponent.

This election season, help me prove that a regular guy from Southern Indiana can run for Congress purely on his local record of public service and still win!

-ANDY