A Letter To DFIA from Andrew Smith
Democratic Candidate
Iowa House District 40
Gov. Howard Dean (left) with Andrew Smith in Iowa
Democratic Candidate
Iowa House District 40
Gov. Howard Dean (left) with Andrew Smith in Iowa
Today,
Iowa is in serious trouble on many fronts. There is a crisis of
poverty. There is a crisis of drug abuse. There is a crisis in
education. There are too few resources going to our police and
firefighters, and our young people feel alienated from politics. Most
of all there is uncertainty for the future. We have some real serious
problems ahead of us. But no matter what problems we face, I truly
believe we can fix them, but we must never give up, or lose hope.
I'm am
running for the Iowa House because it is now unmistakably clear that we
can only change the disastrous and divisive policies being pushed at
the Iowa Capitol only by changing the men and women who are now making
them.
Andrew Smith
Democratic Candidate for Iowa House District 40
Dear DFIA Members,
Howard
Dean changed my life. I first heard him speak in 2002 at the
Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner. I was immediately taken by his
honesty, his compassionate spirit, and his courage to speak his
mind. He obviously was not your typical politician. He was
one of us, and you could see it in his heart and soul.
Unfortunately,
that may have been Dean's downfall because in today's world of plastic
politics, candidates are not allowed to be “human” and to show real
emotion and passion when under the constant microscope of the
media.
In 2002,
I was angry and frustrated with my party. No Democrat was standing up
to the Republicans or for what I believed in. I watched our civil
liberties and cherished rights get trampled on. Civil rights were being
tossed aside which had been forged with the blood of countless
Americans… rights that were fundamental to our cherished Democracy. Yet
despite the cries from many at the time, they fell on deaf ears. Few of
our Democratic leaders stood up to question or challenge the appalling
decisions that were being made and proposed by the Bush Administration;
decisions which would damage the future of our public schools, our
long-term foreign policy, and our economic stability. It was a tough
time for those who stood for principle and progressive ideas… but then
out of the darkness came Howard Dean.
Dean
said, in a no-nonsense Harry Truman sort of way, what I was thinking.
He gave me and millions of others a voice. He made it ok once
again to challenge Bush and his policies, and with real backbone,
exemplified the spirit of a true patriot.
Liberals
and progressives are often accused of hating America, of being
unpatriotic because we tend to challenge the status quo. To me, there
is nothing more American. There is nothing more American than fighting
for what is right and fighting with courage to change what one sees as
injustice. There is nothing more American than pointing out that we can
and should be a better society. That is exactly what Howard did.
Like any true patriot, he led the charge to battle and was the first
one with guts to stand up and say “enough is enough.”
He not
only revolutionized politics by bringing supporters together on the
Internet in such a unique way, but he also brought new life to the
Democratic Party by energizing and giving hope to those like myself,
who at one point had lost all hope.
I met
Howard several times last summer while he was in Iowa, most notably in
tiny New Hartford, Iowa. It was around the time he was on both the
cover of Newsweek and Time, and I had him sign both magazines, which
today are displayed in my office along with a photo of us shaking
hands.
This
spring I received a call from Democratic leaders urging me to seek the
office of State Representative in my home district (Tama and Grundy
Counties). At first I thought there was no way I could run for
office; after all, I am just a 25-year-old law student. But after
researching my opponent's record, I decided that I had to accept this
challenge for the people. I decided to do this because someone named
Howard Dean told me that “I had the power to change this country” and
the state of Iowa for the better. He inspired me, and gave me the
confidence and courage to stand up for what I believe in.
My
opponent is well connected. He has tens of thousands of dollars in
special-interest money, mostly from Political Action Committees and
other special interest groups tied to the Des Moines insurance
industry. I, on the other hand, don't have tens of thousands of
dollars in the bank. But I am standing up for the people regardless. My
fate in 2004, like most candidates facing a powerful incumbent, may be
defeat, but what I do have is more powerful than money… it is heart, a
passion for the issues, and an unceasing desire to help the poor, the
elderly, the downtrodden and those who do not have a voice in this
legislature.
I will
stop at nothing until I have knocked on every door in Tama and Grundy
County, and shared my vision for the future of the State of Iowa. Then
I'm going to turn around and knock on every door again before November
2nd, no matter if it takes me 17 hours a day.
I'm
going to stand up like Howard Dean and fight for the good people of
this state, because for far too long nobody has given the citizens of
this great state a real voice in Des Moines, and that needs to
change. I am running for public office because I am convinced
that the State of Iowa is on a perilous course, and I feel obliged to
do all that I can for the people of the State of Iowa.
This
election is a key crossroads in the future of the state of Iowa and to
the future of our great nation. The victory we seek this November and
in future elections will not be easy. We all know that in our hearts.
We recognize the powerful forces that will be aligned against us. But
if we continue to fight for social and economic justice, we will
eventually succeed.
Des
Moines is a town now run by the special interests, and those who would
like to weaken our civil justice system to achieve economic gain. I, on
the other hand, am sick of the culture of greed that has taken hold in
Des Moines. The special interests have corrupted our political system
and kept good people from running for public office. One of my
key disappointments is the legislature's unwillingness to limit
campaign spending and the growing influence of special interest groups
on our public policy.
Money
and contributions from banking, insurance, and utility company
interests have corrupted politicians and stolen our democracy away from
the people. Now just to remain viable in an election, good people have
to resort to playing a stupid money game to remain competitive. This is
a rat race to the bottom and it needs to stop.
Today,
Iowa is in serious trouble on many fronts. There is a crisis of
poverty. There is a crisis of drug abuse. There is a crisis in
education. There are too few resources going to our police and
firefighters, and our young people feel alienated from politics. Most
of all there is uncertainty for the future. We have some real
serious problems ahead of us. But no matter what problems we face, I
truly believe we can fix them, but we must never give up, or lose hope.
I'm am
running for the Iowa House because it is now unmistakably clear that we
can only change the disastrous and divisive policies being pushed at
the Iowa Capitol only by changing the men and women who are now making
them.
Today, once again, like Howard Dean and the many other great patriots before us, we begin our fight for justice.
Thank you, Andrew Smith
Democratic Candidate for Iowa House District 40
To read more about Andrew Smith, go here and here.
You can contribute to Andrew Smith's campaign through his page at Citizen Whip.
Blog For Iowa 
Andrew,
Great letter! Thank you so much for agreeing to run for the legislature! You are just the kind of person we need to represent the interests of ordinary Americans.
There is something about that line, “You have the power!” isn't there? That was the line I repeated to myself when I stepped forward to host my first Meetup last July, something I would normally not do. But over the course of the last year I find myself asking, “What would Howard do?” and then doing it. (Well, maybe not running for office, lol. Go Andrew!) The hardest part was to keep on fighting even after the campaign “ended”, to keep up everyone's spirits, even at a time when I didn't know that Howard himself would also keep trying to save the country. I think I must have known in my heart that Howard would not abandon us. Now I think Howard is inspiring us all to become our own little Howard Deans, out here in Iowa.
One thing Howard does very well is to inspire others to free their inner leader. Likewise, your actions in running for office will be an inspiration to others.
Good luck. (And the check is in the mail, so to speak.)
Alta Price
altaprice@mailblocks.com
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