KAREN BRESLIN

WHY I’M RUNNING

As a political science professor, I am shocked at the Trump Administration’s disregard for the restrictions on his powers as president. Make no mistake, this presidency is a threat to our system of government. THIS IS NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL. Trump must abide by those restrictions on his power or be impeached. 

As a human being, I am angered by Trump, Vance and others who malign anyone who is not white and not male. Divide and conquer is a tried and true method used by the wealthiest and most powerful to rig the system for themselves. 

And rig the system they do. Every year we hear about the way the superrich manage to avoid paying taxes. Lobbyists move between government posts and serving corporate clients. In fact, the interests of the largest corporations and the wealthiest people hold sway over Congress, “. . .while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence.” Is it any wonder that middle-income Americans, after decades of losing ground, turned to Trump?

Too many Democrats have enabled this state of affairs to persist across decades. John Hickenlooper is one of those Democrats & he is the wrong candidate for this moment. 

As Colorado governor, he supported Amendment 71, which limited the power of the people to initiate changes to the Colorado Constitution, joining forces with the real estate industry, oil and gas, and the restaurant industry, each of which faced grassroots initiatives that threatened their bottom line.

As Colorado’s US Senator,  he also supported Amendment 131, which, via ranked- choice voting, would have altered the primary system, a change that would have advantaged wealthy candidates and was funded by billionaires. 

Hickenlooper calls himself an “extreme moderate” and believes moderate political positions are the way to improve conditions in this country, blaming the extremes of both parties for the conditions we find ourselves in.

But there is nothing “moderate” about continuing to allow wealth inequality to expand, as somewhere between 30 and 60 percent of Americans financially struggle, living paycheck-to-paycheck.

A system that doesn’t serve the majority of Americans is vulnerable to attack, from people like Trump-demagogues who convince working people that HE is the answer to their problems. Corporate-loyal Democrats like Hickenlooper contributed to this sorry state of affairs.

He needs to be replaced.