This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

This Tuesday

I hope to earn your vote this Tuesday.


Traveling around this district, meeting folks and hearing their stories, has been one of the great privileges of my life.

I’ve heard uplifting stories of opportunity and heartbreaking stories of struggle. More than anything, people are telling me they’re tired of business as usual in Washington while businesses continue to close at home. People can’t find work and growth is screeching to a halt, and the people of the 10th district are losing faith in Congress’s ability to recognize the problem and do something about it.

There’s the wife whose husband had been laid off for a second time, and all they’re looking for is a fair shot.

Find out what's happening in Deerfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There’s the man who wrote to me saying that for 30 years he’d worried about being fired simply for being honest about his sexual orientation.

There’s the mother who’s concerned her kids won’t have clean air and clean water.

Find out what's happening in Deerfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There’s the couple who was getting worried they couldn’t send their kids to college and plan for a secure retirement.

These stories are becoming all too common in the 10th district and across the country. If we don’t take action right now, change the direction of Congress right now, and break the gridlock right now, then we’ll break the generational promise that our kids will have a brighter future than we were given.

Reversing this direction is a matter of having the right priorities and acting.

When groups like the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois, the Fraternal Order of Police, Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs Committee--all of whom previously endorsed Mark Kirk--endorsed me, they cited my experience and my priorities.

Two decades of experience helping small and family-owned businesses succeed and plan for the future have given me the skills to bring people together, find common ground, and solve tough problems. I’ve seen the impact of an overly complicated tax code, and I’ve seen how burdensome rather than smart regulation can get in the way. I know how to help businesses overcome their obstacles.

By focusing on rebuilding the middle class, improving our infrastructure, offering incentives to small businesses, improving education, preserving our environment, and keeping our promises to seniors, we will break through this stubborn gridlock and achieve real results.

But obstructing this progress is a slew of Republican policies based on the wrong priorities.

In two years, Congressman Dold has sided with Republicans – and the extreme of his party – on issue after issue. He has voted to defund Planned Parenthood, allow drilling in Lake Michigan, slash $250 million from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, end Pell Grants for a million students, repeal healthcare provisions preventing insurance companies from denying coverage to those with preexisting conditions, and replaced the Medicare guarantee with a voucher system. And all these votes, all these cuts funded tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and subsidies for big oil companies.

Rep. Dold talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk: “F” from the Sierra Club; 34 percent from the League of Conservation Voters; 35 percent from the Human Rights Campaign; and 0 from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

The record is clear: these policies are on the wrong side of history and must be defeated.

This won’t be easy, and our opposition will be fierce. But I’m optimistic about the state of the American spirit, and I’m confident that we can get this done.

I honestly believe that adopting the right priorities will mean opportunities for that woman and her husband, all Americans feeling secure in their employment, the environment preserved for our children, and families resting a little easier knowing their kids can be educated and their retirement will be safe.

I hope to earn your vote this Tuesday.

--
Brad Schneider
Candidate for United States Congress - 10th District 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?