If this election should tell us anything, it’s that Americans have lost trust in their government and lost faith in the political establishment to fix it.
Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders express the frustrations of average citizens who believe the system is rigged against them and for somebody else. This election year is the culmination of almost a decade of dissatisfaction that resulted in wave elections in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2014. Voters rejected the power structures in those elections and are prepared to do so again this year.
Before politicians can make progress on a lot of the ills facing the country, they need to regain the trust of the American people. They can’t do that if they continue to pander to the extremes in their parties. And they can’t do it if they put their own interests before the people they are elected to serve.
In the 8th Congressional District, Rep. Richard Hudson exemplifies the problem. Hudson is a product of the Washington establishment. He’s worked in Congress for more than 16 years and has lived in Washington for the past 10. He’s a political pro who has spent almost his entire adult life working in politics.
But you wouldn’t know any of this from reading his websites. Nowhere in his biography, either on his congressional or campaign websites, does he mention his extensive history on Capitol Hill. He never mentions what he did aside from waiting tables and working construction during college.
When he claims to have been named a “rising star” in Congress in 2012, he hadn’t even been elected yet, so, if it’s true, it was for moving up from congressional staffer to U.S. congressman. Talk about playing the inside game.
In his weekly columns in the local newspapers, it’s clear Hudson is only interested in talking to one segment of the population. He’s pandering to the most conservative of his base, railing against abortion, immigrants and Obama while rarely offering solutions to anything. In his gerrymandered district, he’s obviously been more worried about a primary from the right than a challenge from the middle.
And that’s a lot of what’s wrong with our system right now. It’s rigged for insiders who play the game and pander to their extremes. We lack transparency because access to big money can create personas out of whole cloth. The people who work hard and play by the rules are getting shortchanged by the people who cozy up to special interests and Washington power brokers.
Let me be clear. I’ve spent the past 20 years of my life as a political and communications consultant, working with Democratic candidates and advocacy organizations across the country to get their messages heard. I got into politics because I wanted to make a difference, not to get rich or be around power. I’ve never lived in Washington or Raleigh.
I’ve spent the past three years writing a blog, PoliticsNC.com, five days a week outlining what I believe. I’m sure much of it will show up in negative campaign ads funded by special interests, but I won’t run from who I am or what I’ve done.
I may have changed my positions about things I’ve written and I’m sure at times I’ve been flat-out wrong, but I’ll give voters in the 8th District a choice between an agent of the status quo and somebody who willingly and openly speaks truth to power.
Thomas Mills is the Democratic nominee for Congress in the 8th Congressional District. He is a native of Wadesboro.