Having cast votes on both sides in my life (though 100% Democratic since 2004), I’m deeply disappointed that the MA Democratic Party has chosen to fund negative campaign mailers attacking Nadia Milleron, the Independent candidate challenging U.S. Rep. Richard Neal. I have come to expect this kind of behavior from Donald Trump’s name-slinging version of Republican politics, but seeing my party resort to misleading claims and half-truths is especially discouraging.
Richie Neal has held this office since 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down. If he has done his job well, he should be able to make his case to voters based on his accomplishments and his vision for the future.
Nadia Milleron is running an Independent campaign, like Bernie and others have done, to break through voter frustrations with the similarities in the way both parties are linked more to corporate interests than their own constituents. Like other Independents, Nadia is 100% voter-funded, and in her first campaign she garnered over 133,000 votes in our district (37.2%). In the primary, progressive Democrat Jeromie Whalen advocated for nearly identical policies as Nadia, and he showed how many voters are looking for a change by getting 46% of Democrats’ votes. Instead of dismissing these candidates through attack ads, the Democratic Party should ask why voters are looking elsewhere.
I encourage everyone to visit Milleron’s website, nadiaforcongress.com, and read her positions for yourself. You will see she supports the widely popular commitment to cancel income tax on the first $100,000 of income for each household, ending senseless wars (saving the government billions), healthcare for all (saving us citizens billions, and protecting a woman’s right to choose), and term limits, among other sensible ideas.
Once you have read up Milleron, compare her proposals with Neal’s record and decide who best represents you, the citizen. We can all agree that resorting to personal attacks or misleading characterizations isn’t who we want to be.
Brennan Smith
Granby