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The Daily Cardinal Est. 1892
Friday, November 08, 2024

Here is why you should give me your vote

It has not only been my privilege to represent the students, faculty and staff of UW-Madison in Congress, it has also been my good fortune to enjoy life-long ties to this campus. As a very young child in the 1960s, I attended anti-war rallies on the Library Mall with my then-undergraduate mother. I saw the wonders of my grandfather's laboratory at the Enzyme Institute and the magic of my grandmother's costume shop in the Union Theater.  

 

 

 

As a first-year law student here, I ran for and won a seat on the Dane County Board of Supervisors. Some questioned my sanity, but I sought that office and, later, a seat in the Wisconsin state Assembly representing the campus area. I did this because I know, as you do, that students and young people matter. Your voices need to be heard, your concerns taken into account.  

 

 

 

Many of my colleagues in those bodies saw young people as a nuisance-nothing more than non-tax-paying transients. I know that is not the case. Your purchases help support our economy. Your talents enliven our culture. Your questions are real and relevant. Your involvement in our society, and in our democracy, is essential. 

 

 

 

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I believe the most crucial skill for a representative is the ability to listen, and I do listen-all the time. I listen to what my constituents tell me, then take that information and try my best to use it effectively to make your voices heard in Congress, to have our nation's laws and policies reflect your wishes, and to forge partnerships whenever possible so your federal government truly serves you. 

 

 

 

I'm proud of my advocacy on behalf of UW-Madison, including working to increase funding for the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation, which are the main sources of funding for scientific research at UW-Madison fighting to require Pell Grant levels regain their purchasing power in the face of steep increases in tuition, working to lift President Bush's restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research and advocating for U.S. students studying abroad as well as foreign students and faculty coming here. 

 

 

 

I represent a diverse district, encompassing all or part of seven counties, each with different challenges: urban, rural and suburban; public and private; young people, growing families and aging seniors. I do my best to represent these many groups and their varying needs and interests. 

 

 

 

But there is one concern that encompasses my entire district, indeed, our entire country, and that is the need for affordable, quality health care for all. Universal health care is my goal. It is the challenge that drew me to public life, and now it is what keeps me there.  

 

 

 

I cannot and will not ignore the 45 million Americans who have no health care coverage; the millions more whose coverage would be inadequate in the face of a catastrophic illness or injury; the millions who stay tethered to a job they don't like because it gives them coverage; the millions of businesspeople who face constant strain over the high cost of insuring their employees; and the millions of seniors with Medicare who cannot afford the prescription drugs they need.  

 

 

 

Ours is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not guarantee health care to all its citizens. I find that unacceptable.  

 

 

 

Yes, this is a bold vision, but we have strived for and achieved others. A free education for all our children, women's suffrage and civil rights are just a few examples. Health care for all will never happen unless we create the national will to make it so. You can join me in this effort. I ask for your vote on Nov. 2. 

 

 

 

Tammy Baldwin is the U.S. representative from Wisconsin's Second Congressional District.

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