Representing ALL the Citizens of District 4
Political partisanship has been a part of our country’s history from the beginning. Robert Kennedy addressed this in his California Victory Speech on June 4, 1968:
I think we can end the divisions within the United States. What I think is quite clear is that we can work together in the last analysis. And that what has been going on with the United States over the period of that last three years, the divisions, the violence, the disenchantment with our society, the divisions- whether it's between blacks and whites, between the poor and the more affluent, or between age groups, or in the war in Vietnam - that we can work together. We are a great country, and unselfish country and a compassionate country. And I intend to make that my basis for running.—Robert F. Kennedy
Since that turbulent decade the megaphone of money, political action groups, and partisan talk shows has greatly amplified the divide. Bipartisan action has become an almost impossible objective. For years our local District 4 representative has done nothing but say “no”. How much have we lost in our district due to this concerted effort to derail any and all of this Administration’s legislation?
I will do what I can to change this by reforming the way we work together. My Congressional Office will bring in representatives from all the parties across District 4. We will work as a team on a day-to-day basis in order to reach the best possible solutions for ALL the citizens of District 4. This includes not only the Democratic and Republican Parties, but also the Peace and Freedom Party, the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, and the American Independent Party.
By providing access to the decision-making process and by working together instead of against one another, we can insure that ALL the citizens of the District are fully represented and that everyone's ideas will be heard and considered. We will bring back our tax dollars to fund our schools and our needs rather than forfeiting them to other states.
While this is a leap from the usual practice of winner-takes-all and the usual Congressional office that is filled with operatives of a particular party; we must start working together in order to break the gridlock that has overtaken our country. Allowing ourselves to be separated into small groups eliminates our chance of achieving goals that benefit us all. The only winners are those few at the top who control the resources.
We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.—Benjamin Frankli