When we joined the military, we did not do it for the military discount or for people to thank us for our service. We did it to serve my country and take part in something that is bigger than ourselves. We take pride in our service and wouldn’t change anything about it. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve this country, but we are also honored to serve alongside some of America’s greatest men and women - some whom have lost their lives fighting on foreign soil to protect certain rights that many of us have been taking for granted. Every day we try to stop and be thankful for those rights and take part in my civic duties. We have always voted in elections, stayed informed, and participated in community events. We enjoy the American values and the duties that come with living in this country.
Today, we continue to live those values and pass them on to other Americans. As we come closer to the midterms, we can’t help but notice that there is a certain congressional candidate who is running for the title, instead of helping the district. We’re talking about Josh Harder. It has been proven that Josh Harder hasn’t voted in an election until 2017 when he started running against Congressman Denham.
It seems to us that Harder is running for a job without caring about policies within our district. Voting is a right in our nation that many Americans have sacrificed everything to do. We are not just talking about our service members, but the suffragettes and civil rights leaders who devoted their life’s work for people to voice their opinion in our government. This has been a slap to the face. Josh Harder continues to talk about being progressive and continuing to live the American values but fails to act on his American duties.
Shockingly, Josh Harder has the nerve to ask us to vote for him after he has been delinquent in voting himself. This type of behavior is unacceptable in today’s politics. We have been saying to my friends and family for a while that if they didn’t vote, they should not complain about the politicians or policies. You had the opportunity to voice your opinion but threw it away. Right now, Josh Harder is asking for us to vote for him after he has failed to do so himself. How do we know that he isn’t using this opportunity as a stepping stone to put his self-interest before the district? We don’t know and that quite frankly worries us.
Sadly, our politics seem to become more and more contentious. We cannot find the middle ground within either party nor can we find a vote cast by Josh Harder. It’s unacceptable for a candidate to say something but do another. This is the shady behavior that continues to stigmatize our politics and create controversy within our government. It is time to not only just vote but vote for a candidate who has the intestinal fortitude to carry out what he or she says. We can no longer have anyone for politics because it’s cool to have it on their resume.
We need experience and knowledge representing us in Congress, and we shouldn’t settle for anything less.
