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This is what Election Day is really about

Jeremy Sprinkle
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For American working families' sake, #SaveTheSenate

What kind of Congress do you want - a Congress that fiddles while Rome burns, as the saying goes, or one that is willing to do the hard work the American people want - rebuilding our country to create millions of jobs, raising wages and empowering workers to bargain for better, protecting and expanding Social Security, and holding accountable bad apples on Wall Street and Corporate America?

If those priorities are your priorities, then you better vote in this midterm election, and you better vote to return Kay Hagan to the U.S. Senate. If Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party take control of the Senate, they will waste the next two years waging a political war against the President and against working families and the federal programs, protections, and priorities we hold dear.

That's the message of J. David Cox, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, in his blog post published today in the Huffington Post:

I've been hearing a lot of issues being discussed in this election - the economy, Ebola, immigration, and income inequality, just to name a few.

But what this election is really about is one question: Do we want a government that sits on its hands in times of great challenges, or one that rolls up its sleeves and tackles the problems head on?

I believe the answer is clear. We need a government that will find a cure for Ebola and work to improve public health for everyone who calls this nation home. One that will fight for the working poor by increasing the minimum wage and cracking down on corporations that outsource jobs desperately needed in this country. We need to do right by our veterans, our retirees, our educators, and our aspiring business owners by investing in public services and programs that benefit communities.

We've seen what happens when ideologues on the far right of the political spectrum hold the government hostage in a brazen attempt to impede progress on the issues that working class women and men care most about. We get a 16-day government shutdown, no action on legislation to increase the minimum wage, and deep cuts to hundreds of programs impacting medical research, housing for low-income families, and national defense preparedness.

I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of the endless deadlocks, budget battles, and partisan disputes that leave our nation less prepared for the next pandemic, the next global conflict, the next U.S. manufacturing company to close its doors.

We need to elect leaders who will stand up for working people and the bread and butter issues we care about. Things like decent wages, safe neighborhoods, retirement security, and a strong national economy.

Read and share the rest of J. David Cox's post.

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