Digby, John and I first met Jeff Merkley when he was Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives. We worked hard to help him win his first Senate race and he's never disappointed us since. A few days ago I was speaking to him about a privacy bill he's working on regarding airlines spying on passengers and I was so inspired by some of the unrelated things he told me that I asked him to write a guest post, which you can read below.Jeff is one of the few members of the Senate who puts his constituents and the American people first-- even before his own career. That has a lot to do with why we have endorsed him for re-election and why we feel good asking Blue America members to chip in for his re-election campaign. He's also working hard to help elect more senators who will be part of the team that defeats Mitch McConnell's decision to take on the role of the Grim Reaper and turn the Senate into a graveyard for the progressive ideas, the ideas that have always motivated Jeff's political career. Please read Jeff's guest post and, if you can, please consider contributing to his campaign by clicking on the Blue America Senate thermometer on the right. And, rest assured, we have every intention of finding and helping more Senate candidates this cycle. Climate Crisis, Opportunity Crisis, Democracy Crisis-by Jeff MerkleyMy story is the story of the American dream. I was the first in my family to go to college. My dad was a union machinist and on his modest income, we had enough money to buy a home and go on summer camping trips. I still live in the same blue collar neighborhood, but today, many families just like mine don't have the opportunities that I had growing up. It's not because they're different. It's because America is different.Instead of a country that gives everyone a chance-- or aspires to that ideal anyway-- the privileged and powerful have rigged our political system and our economy. Instead of pulling together to meet big challenges and build a better future for those who follow us, a new generation of robber barons is looting our nation's wealth and mortgaging the future. And they've left us facing three great crises that threaten America.We have a climate crisis. From longer wildfire seasons in the West to extreme flooding in the heartland, to killer hurricanes in the east, climate chaos threatens our very way of life. We must take bold action that matches the threat we face. I'm 100 percent dedicated to this fight. I was the first Senator to introduce a plan to end all burning of fossil fuels and have led the movement to Keep it in the Ground. We need a Green New Deal to rise to this challenge and save our planet and our way of life.We have an opportunity crisis. I bet you've noticed how the costs of the most expensive and important things to any family-- housing, education, and health care-- keep spiraling up. But wages don't. The fact is, our economy has been designed by the wealthy and powerful to make them wealthier and more powerful. But those foundations for working families to thrive-- affordable health care and housing, a good education, and a living wage job-- slide a little further out of reach for most people. Instead of giving giant tax breaks to the corporations and wealthy, we need a major reinvestment in the things that matter and make a positive difference in most people's lives.And we have a democracy crisis. There has been a systematic attack on democracy in America, not just by Russia, but by the super-wealthy and special interests, who have systematically undermined the "We the People" vision of our Constitution with gerrymandering, huge infusions of dark money, and rampant voter suppression. We need to pass the For the People Act that has passed the House and that Senator Tom Udall and I introduced in the Senate, a comprehensive campaign finance and ethics reform package that would help end the stranglehold special interests have on our government. But we should go further and do away with the electoral college and give full voting rights to DC, Puerto Rico and the territories.If we're going to tackle the three big crises before us, we need the right person in the White House for sure, but that's not enough. We also need a Senate ready to be a full partner. That's why I decided not to run for president and instead run for reelection to the Senate. If we're going to rise to the occasion and meet the crises at our doorstep, we need to be ready to govern in 2021. That means winning the Senate, and fixing the Senate so Mitch McConnell can't do to the next president what he did to Barack Obama.We've got big battles ahead. The other side has tons of money and has rigged the rules. But if there's one thing I've learned from a lifetime of improbable victories, it's that you can't win if you don't get on the battlefield. Our strength is in our numbers, our passion, and those first three words of the Constitution, so important that they were written in oversize print: We the People. I know that, to paraphrase Bobby Kennedy, our movement can create a blue wave so mighty that it will sweep away the walls of oppression and exploitation. But only if we join together to make it happen. So thank you to Blue America, not just for the endorsement, which I'm honored to receive, but for making your voices heard about the critical issues facing us. Together, we have the power and we have the votes. Let's take back the Senate. Let's take back the White House. Let's restore our "We the People" democracy and bring back basic human decency to the Oval Office.
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