What Voters Want

By Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack

Posted October 31, 2006

So
what do voters want? Not just
talking to them, but listening and realizing that the answers to the
questions and challenges we face are not found on K Street, but on Main
Streets across the country.

Too often
when a politician goes to Washington they come home and try to explain
the goings on of D.C. to their constituents. They've got it all wrong.
We shouldn't be trying to bring D.C. to Main Street. We need to bring
Main Street, along with the ideals and vision of our constituents to
Washington, D.C.

My
wife Christie and I were home for Labor Day in Mount Pleasant IA, and a
neighbor named Ray Stigge, who is a local corrections officer, came
over to say hello. A few minutes into our conversation he told me that
he was "frustrated and really mad at the people in Washington, D.C."

Ray's a fairly apolitical fellow so I was
surprised by his passion and his comments. And I said, "Well, why are
you upset with the folks in Washington, D.C.?"

And he said,
"They think I'm stupid. I go by the gas station every day and I see
the pump prices go up and down, but I never see profits of oil
companies, particularly, go down. I see them go up. And the folks in
Washington must assume either that I don't realize that there's a
problem, or that I don't realize that they haven't done anything about
the problem."

He said, "Either one of them makes me feel stupid and it
makes me angry."

For every Ray Stigge that I meet who is angry at the current
leadership of our country, I find others who are anxious and worried
about our current state of affairs both domestically and abroad.

They
are worried with good reason. Those who are working lower income jobs
worry every time they pass that gas station and see the price of gas
because they know maybe a third of their paycheck will fill the tank.
Those that don't have health insurance, worry that one sickness might
cause them great financial difficulty. And if they have insurance they
are worried about whether they can keep it as the costs continue to
increase.

For those of us my age we worry about our children who are
going to college at an ever increasing expense. We may also be worried
about our parents and the cost of long term care. People across this
country are also worried about job security, the notion that we can
have the opportunity to work in the same place long enough to be able
to support our family and support our community.

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Overshadowing all of that is the war in Iraq and constant homeland security threats.

So what do we do and what do voters want? I believe it is important and necessary for candidates to engage people in this country. Not just talking to them, but listening and realizing that the answers to the questions and challenges we face are not found on nK Street, but on Main Streets across the country.

Too often when a politician goes to Washington they come home and try to explain the goings on of D.C. to their constituents. They’ve got it all wrong. We shouldn’t be trying to bring nD.C. to Main Street. We need to bring Main Street, along with the ideals and vision of our constituents to Washington D.C.

That’s what this election should be about. Voters want candidates who have answers and vision, but they also want to know that as politicians we are listening and heeding their calls. n

Democrats have a great opportunity in 2006 to not only make gains in Congress, Governor’s mansions and state houses across America but to show the people of this country that we are ready to listen, ready to learn and ready to lead. I think that’s what Ray Stigge wants and it’s what he and all voters deserve.n

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Overshadowing all of that is the war in Iraq and constant homeland security threats.

So
what do we do and what do voters want? I believe it is important and
necessary for candidates to engage people in this country. Not just
talking to them, but listening and realizing that the answers to the
questions and challenges we face are not found on K Street, but on Main
Streets across the country.

Too often
when a politician goes to Washington they come home and try to explain
the goings on of D.C. to their constituents. They've got it all wrong.
We shouldn't be trying to bring D.C. to Main Street. We need to bring
Main Street, along with the ideals and vision of our constituents to
Washington D.C.

That's
what this election should be about. Voters want candidates who have
answers and vision, but they also want to know that as politicians we
are listening and heeding their calls.

Democrats have a great opportunity in 2006 to not only make
gains in Congress, Governor's mansions and state houses across America,
but to show the people of this country that we are ready to listen,
ready to learn and ready to lead. I think that's what Ray Stigge wants
and it's what he and all voters deserve.