Writer: Mobilize now for 2018 midterms
It’s time to prepare for the Nov. 6 midterm election. Here in Central Virginia in the Fifth and Sixth Congressional Districts, the seats currently held by Republican congressmen Tom Garrett and (retiring) Bob Goodlatte respectively, are being contested; incumbent Democratic U.S. Tim Kaine is running for his 2nd term.
In 2017, Virginia Democrats demonstrated how powerful they could be as a united voting apparatus. Further, it is worth noting that in 2016, Virginia’s presidential vote favored the Democratic candidate by almost 5 percentage points with nearly 4 million total votes cast (72 percent of registered voters).
As Democrats, we have observed in the past 15 months the detrimental results of a single-party governing the executive and legislative branches of our federal government. Democrats in Virginia must act decisively to win back a majority in the House of Representatives and contribute to a strong nationwide effort to also achieve a Senate majority.
Fellow Democrats, progressives, independents and concerned Republicans, Democratic wins in the Fifth and Sixth House Districts can be achieved with your strong commitment to turn out and vote. Begin by ensuring you are registered as a legal voter. Secondly, call on others to make that same commitment. Lastly, stress to all the newly 18-year-olds you may know the importance of becoming registered voters. This may be their first election but it is one that we need their active input.
When we vote, we win. It’s time to make America a nation we can all be proud of again.
SANDRA NELMS-LUDWIG
Bedford
Bill of Responsibilities
The USA has a Bill of Rights. What it needs is a Bill of Responsibilities!
So what would a Bill of Responsibilities include? Among others, these:
(1) An American citizen has the responsibility to learn and become fluent in America’s national language: English.
(2) An American citizen has the responsibility to learn America’s history and to learn how that history created and fashioned his local, state and federal governments.
(3) An American citizen has the responsibility to become and remain well-informed politically and to resist any political or religious movement whose goals include the forcible overthrow of the Constitution of the United States.
(4) An American citizen has the responsibility to do everything in his power to become and remain a human asset to his community, his state and his country, as opposed to a liability. A human asset becomes educated, financially independent, obeys laws, abstains from substance abuse and deals with everyone honestly, respectfully and equally. A human asset takes good care of their own physical, mental and spiritual health, and trains children to do the same — with the help of a fully committed life partner.
(5) An American citizen has the responsibility to instill in himself and his children a love and appreciation for the United States that is over and above that which he may retain for his or his family’s country of origins.
What five responsibilities would you add?
CHARLES MICHELSEN
Lynchburg