10 Reasons Why I’m Running for Congress

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February 6, 2020

Here are 10 reasons why I, Richard Thripp, am running for Congress in Florida’s 6th Congressional district.

1. I have the skills and charisma to win!

2. The climate crisis endangers my son’s future. Even now, the human toll from fires, heat waves, hurricanes, droughts, flooding, and crop failures is huge. I support the Green New Deal and want to fight for legislation and policies that address the crisis.

3. Lyin’ Donald Trump must be stopped, and the Republican party is irretrievably corrupt and broken. I will support Democratic policies and candidates during and beyond this election as they are the only party of the two major parties who are moving in the right direction when it comes to equality and equity, the climate crisis, healthcare, and many other issues.

4. As a young person and young father I can connect with voters and represent their interests in a way that most candidates cannot.

5. Florida’s 6th district needs local representation in Congress. I was born at Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach and have lived in Volusia County my entire life. I know this district and its issues. The incumbent lives in St. Augustine Beach, outside the district. Ambassador Soderberg came down from Jacksonville to run. Mr. Curtis is from up north. Enough is enough!

6. Florida’s 6th district is looked at as a lost cause for Democrats. Ambassador Soderberg outraised Rep. Waltz mightily but failed to translate this into votes. I think this can be a competitive district. Nancy is wonderful and superbly qualified, but I don’t think she makes for a good politician. Her speeches, TV commercials, and positions did not have the “oomph” or inspirational/motivational message one needs. She lacks vocal variety—something I learned well giving speeches and being a Club President in Toastmasters. In my opinion it wouldn’t have mattered if she raised $10 million. Rep. Waltz is a more animated speaker but he often says things that make no sense and really can be attacked quite effectively for it along with his promise to reform entitlement spending (instead of taxing high incomes which can easily fund Social Security forever), and on Medicaid expansion and Obamacare both of which are popular and poll well.

7. I am the best candidate to run and this is a golden opportunity due to the lack of other qualified or well-connected candidates. I can make a huge difference in Congress and just by running am bringing attention to important issues. This is not all about me, but also the Democratic political machine in Florida, the outrageous and unlawful conduct of Lyin’ Donald Trump, Butt-Dialin’ Rudy Giuliani, and the GOP that will drive away voters, and the many volunteers and efforts we are making to register and enfranchise voters as well as getting out the vote. The 2020 blue wave could be HUGE and could give us a unified Democratic government that really gives us the opportunity to reverse many of the terrible policies we are seeing now and implement legislation, policy, and leadership that can protect the future of Americans, earth, and humanity as well as addressing widespread issues of inequality, inequity, and social justice.

8. I just came off completing my Ph.D. dissertation which was a HUGE amount of work and put me behind a computer screen for far too long. I am not cut out for the tenure-track professor career route. Dissertations and academic journal articles do not get read by many people. By running for Congress I feel I can make a real difference. I am writing this response from Washington, DC with my wife and son. We visited the U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court, Mt. Vernon, and Holocaust Museum. We love the city and although the commitments of being a U.S. Representative are difficult, we can make it work.

9. We need innovative people with broad-spectrum competence in Congress. When I see our representatives going up there and comparing the Internet to a series of tubes, or asking Mark Zuckerberg to write legislation to regulate Facebook for them, it makes me cringe. I teach educational technology to future teachers. I can leverage this to get nearly all the teachers and other educators in FL CD6 to vote for me. We have too many lawyers and phonies in Congress and this needs to change!

10. Constituent services are very important to me. I’m the only candidate who has promised to open a district office in mid-town Daytona Beach (not a mobile office that visits for 2 hours a few times a year). As a U.S. Representative I will interview and hire a staff that will set a national example of leadership for constituent services. Nationwide, polls show 25% of Americans think Obamacare was killed by Lyin’ Donald Trump and the GOP—NOT true—it is still alive and 10 million Americans could be getting a huge health insurance subsidy but are not enrolled. Even if I cannot actually get much done in the U.S. House of Representatives as a freshman Congressman, I can have a huge impact wielding my title and annual budget in excess of $1 million that each U.S. Representative receives toward helping and advocating for constituents with federal agencies, as well as holding numerous town hall meetings to listen to and advocate for their concerns. The Republican incumbent rarely if ever holds a town hall meeting. Let’s go! We can do this!

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