Community First

We have an election coming up, and the citizens of District 8 must choose their next congressional representative. Two women each hope to be elected: Laura Jones and Jessica Steinmann. They are both industrious people, and both have the mental skills to carry out the duties of that office. 

One, however, has a value system that I like, and the other has values that do not work in our modern world.

As you may know, Steinmann is the Executive General Counsel for the America First Policy Institute. Let me repeat the name of that organization: it's the AMERICA FIRST Policy Institute. Those capitalized words say it all because this group wants our country to play a zero-sum game in the community of nations. That means "Our way or the highway", rather than build a win-win for all.

And that is a problem.

Want some proof? Well, let's see...

• Our northern neighbors hate us because Trump says that Canada should be our 51st state (and has tariffed the Canadians until they submit to his will). 

• 194 nations are STILL pissed because Trump pulled our country out of the Paris Climate Accord (a legally-binding international treaty that we signed in 2015). 

• Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Bolivia denounced our military strikes and seizures of Venezuelan oil as a violation of international law.

No need to go on; you get the point. All of these are examples of AMERICA FIRST thinking; i.e., the kind of thinking that Jessica Steinmann has to offer. Hers is not so much a political philosophy as it is an attitude, and that attitude is RESENTED by individuals and nations around the world. 

Contrast that with the perspective that Laura Jones would bring to the table. Laura asks that you make her a COMMUNITY FIRST public servant. She is not motivated by the fear that America is getting ripped off and disrespected at every turn. Instead, she will support efforts to keep our country strong while respecting the needs and sovereignty of other nations. 

As the New York Times wrote in a recent editorial, the world now desperately needs SIGNIFICANT international cooperation in at least three major areas: AI safety, the Middle East, and climate change. "America First" does not support that cooperation; "Community First" does.

Remember that when you choose your next representative to the United States Congress.

Steve Kobb

Concerned Citizen

You can read my other blog posts at https://www.laura4tx.com/blog