New Endorsement– Dan Canon: “I’m a progressive. I don’t try to hide it.”

Blue America

Indiana was Trump country last year, but there is one district, it looks to us, ripe for a red-to-blue flip– IN-09, which stretched from the suburbs north of Louisville and the Ohio River, due north through Bloomington into the suburbs of Johnson and Morgan counties south of Indianapolis. Freshman Trey Hollingsworth, a complete Trump rubber-stamp, only managed to get 54.1% of the vote last year, seriously underperforming Trump. Next year Hollingsworth is likely to face Dan Canon, the first serious progressive to run in the district in living memory.

As of today, Blue America has endorsed Dan. We asked him to introduce himself– and we’re asking you to consider contributing what you can to his campaign here.

My name is Dan Canon. I’m a civil rights lawyer. You might know me as one of the attorneys on the Supreme Court’s marriage equality case, or the guy who is suing Donald Trump for turning a mob of white supremacists on a peaceful Black protester, or one of the lawyers on the front lines of attacking the White House’s ban on refugees, but today I’m talking to you as a Congressional candidate for Indiana’s 9th District.

“I’m a progressive. I don’t try to hide it. I couldn’t very well run from it if I wanted to. I’ve been a civil rights lawyer, fighting for people and causes, for more than a decade. Sometimes those people and causes have been unpopular, or at least controversial… Legal medical cannabis creates jobs, creates revenue, eliminates a black market, and substantially decreases opioid use. Decriminalizing marijuana altogether is the clear path forward– there is literally no good reason why it shouldn’t be legal. However, both Trump and Sessions have been very clear that they want America to go further and further backward, and this Congress is willing to let them lead us there.”

When I tell folks I’m running for Congress, the question everyone asks is “Why?” The answer to that question is complicated, but it has a great deal to do with how I grew up. My mother raised me on her own, sometimes working two or three jobs at a time to make sure I was safe, healthy, and well-educated. She made a lot of sacrifices that no one should have to make. But whatever it took, whatever was thrown at her– my mom stepped up and did more. I dropped out of high school when I was 17, but building on her example, I beat the odds, got my GED, and became the first person in my family to finish college.

I learned a lot from my mom. I learned about hard work, fairness, dignity, perseverance, and courage. But I also developed an important belief by watching what she went through: we– as a society– can do better. We can do better for working people, we can do better for our families, and we can do a better job of taking care of each other.

We can do better. Right now, we have the ability to give everyone the tools and opportunities they need to live their best lives.

We can guarantee meaningful work to anyone who’s willing and able to take it. We can put people to work rebuilding our roads and bridges, creating smart, renewable energy grids, creating public transportation that works, and ensuring everyone has internet access. And we can make sure that if someone works a full-time job, they have the ability to take care of their family, save money, and reinvest in their community.

We can guarantee a safe environment to live in: clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and secure, reliable housing for everyone.

We can guarantee quality education for everyone– education that isn’t only for the wealthy, and doesn’t leave our kids with crippling debt for the rest of their lives.

We can guarantee healthcare as a basic human right. We cannot tolerate one more American going bankrupt or dying because they can’t pay a bill.

But this is just the beginning. Our campaign is not only going to be about getting one person elected. It’s going to be about changing our culture and fighting our way forward.

The incumbent in this seat will largely self-fund his campaign from family money. We won’t outraise him, and we don’t need to. We have a better message. But all this costs money.

Bringing our shared beliefs to Congress will take all of us working together to dispel the lies that we have been fed for years by big business and corrupt politicians who put profits before people. That means spending on data, media, travel, and staff. With our platform we won’t be getting contributions from large corporate interests, so I hope you’ll consider helping out with our grassroots fundraising efforts by donating now. We can only keep going with your support.

I hope you’ll visit our website to learn more about this campaign. You can also follow the campaign on Facebook or Twitter.

Thanks for always doing what you can to make this a better world,

—Howie, for the entire Blue America team