Jerrad Christian

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Money has distorted our politics so badly that people barely recognize the system anymore. When the Supreme Court handed down Citizens United, it opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate spending and told the richest voices in the country they could drown out everyone else. Billionaires should not have a louder voice than a teacher, a mechanic, a nurse or a janitor. If we are serious about self-government, we have to end Citizens United, cap campaign spending, and make it clear that elections are not auctions. Lobbying as it exists today is legalized bribery with paperwork. Corporate interests and well-funded groups swarm Washington to extract policy that benefits them, not the people. Dark money flows through shell organizations so voters cannot even see who is pulling the strings. And yes, foreign interest groups should not be shaping our laws. That includes banning foreign-linked organizations, including groups like AIPAC, from influencing elected officials through campaign cash or political pressure. If you represent Americans, your loyalty and your funding should come from Americans. Clean up the money, expose every dollar, and watch how quickly policy starts reflecting working families instead of donor-class wishlists.

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Protect Voting Rights & democracy

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The government is not some distant machine. It is us. And in a healthy republic, the people hold the power. That means protecting the right to vote with the seriousness it deserves. We should pass the Voting Rights Act and fully restore the protections that were stripped away after Shelby County v. Holder. When federal oversight was weakened, states were free to pass laws that made it harder for certain communities to vote. An updated framework like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would reestablish clear guardrails against discrimination and ensure that changes to voting laws are reviewed before harm is done. Protecting democracy means making sure every eligible citizen can cast a ballot without unnecessary barriers and know it will count. The government should answer to the people. And if those in power ever forget that, the ballot box is how we remind them.

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Defend Civil Rights & Equality for all

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For the past century, we have improved our country by expanding liberty to people of every demographic. Voting rights, marriage rights, housing rights – all were won in showdowns against think tanks, white supremacists, and religious institutions that sought to limit access to freedom, equity, and equality. Today, those freedoms are being erased. The groups that sought to prevent civil rights hold the reins of power. Instead of discussing policies to improve our conditions, corrupt politicians direct our attention to boogeymen like The 1619 Project, CRT, DEIA, and transgender athletes. They manufacture fear around racial, sexual, and gender minorities to keep Americans divided and stop us from uniting against them. Minorities do not oppress us. Bad policies do. Politicians and corporate greed keep us living paycheck to paycheck, unable to pay our bills or find jobs, and watching helplessly as our communities fail. We cannot unite against our oppressors if we kick marginalized groups off the playing field. Pushing back against legislative discrimination and political propaganda is not enough. Congress must pass and codify expanded protections for civil rights, reproductive rights, marriage equality, and religious freedom.

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Abolish & Prosecute Ice

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ICE was created in the panic and fear of the post-9/11 era, folded into the Department of Homeland Security and handed orders that have steadily expanded with little oversight. What we have now is an agency that conducts raids in communities, separates families, and operates detention facilities where abuse and neglect are documented again and again. When an institution repeatedly violates rights and erodes trust, the answer is not cosmetic reform. It is structural change. Abolishing ICE as it exists and replacing it with a narrowly tailored, accountable system focused on real public safety is a serious conversation this country needs to have. And accountability cannot be optional. If agents break the law, falsify records, abuse detainees, or violate constitutional protections, they should be investigated and prosecuted like anyone else. A badge is not immunity. Law enforcement in a democracy derives its legitimacy from the rule of law, not from fear. If we expect immigrants to respect our laws, the government must respect laws first. That standard should not bend for any agency, including ICE.

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Pass Universal Healthcare This is not an abstract concept or a handout. Universal healthcare is a non-partisan policy in nearly every other modern country. It is proven to lower costs while removing the middle men who tell us which doctors we can see and which medications we can buy. It provides the freedom to start a business without the fear that you or your child will get sick, the freedom to leave a job you hate and find one you love, and the freedom to take a chance on something without your health being chained to an employer’s HR department. Right now we tie our lives to jobs in a way that keeps us stuck. Coverage disappears when employment does. A layoff becomes a medical crisis. An entrepreneur has to “price in” private premiums before they even open the doors on a new business. That is not a market that encourages innovation and growth. It is a system that punishes risk and rewards consolidation. Universal healthcare breaks that chain.

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In the richest country in the world, no American should have to live in poverty. That is a baseline standard of dignity. The minimum wage has been allowed to erode for years while productivity and corporate profits soared. People working forty hours a week are still choosing between rent and groceries. In the wealthiest country on Earth, that is a policy failure. Raising the minimum wage is not radical. It is an adjustment to reality. Housing, child care, food, health care - everything costs more. Wages at the bottom have not kept pace. When people earn more, they spend more in their own communities. Small businesses benefit. Local economies strengthen. The alternative is what we have now: profits concentrating at the top while taxpayers subsidize corporations whose employees still qualify for public assistance. We can debate the exact number and how to phase it in. What should not be up for debate is whether someone who works deserves to live above the poverty line.

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End the housing crisis

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The housing crisis did not happen by accident. We have treated housing like a speculative asset instead of a basic foundation of stability. Corporations and private equity firms buy up single family homes in bulk. Zoning laws lock entire neighborhoods into artificial scarcity. Wages lag while rent climbs. And working families are told to just “budget better” or "earn more" while half their income disappears into a landlord’s account. Ending the housing crisis starts with building more homes. Reform exclusionary zoning so duplexes and small multifamily units can exist in places that outlaw them. Incentivize first time homeownership instead of luxury developments only investors can afford. Crack down on large institutional buyers distorting local markets. And make it easier for first time buyers to compete without getting steamrolled by cash offers. Housing is stability. It is where kids do homework. It is where families build wealth. It is where small businesses are rooted. If we want strong communities and a functioning middle class, people need a place to live that does not feel like the Sword of Damocles.

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Reform Public School Funding

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Your child's future success should not depend on your ZIP code. A child in a rural district in Ohio should not get fewer opportunities than a child in a wealthy suburb simply because property values are different. We built a system that ties school funding to local wealth, and then we act surprised when the outcomes mirror inequality. It is not accidental. It is structural. Education is infrastructure. We do not tell some towns they get paved roads and others they get gravel because their houses cost less. We should not do that with classrooms either. We have to fund schools based on students’ needs, not neighborhood tax bases. That means fully funding special education, investing in early childhood programs, paying teachers like the professionals they are, and making sure rural and working class districts are not forced to run perpetual levies just to keep the lights on. Public schools are where most kids learn, eat, build friendships, and figure out who they are. Treating them like a line item to be trimmed weakens the entire country.

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Strengthen & Protect Unions

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Unions built the American middle class. The weekend, overtime pay, workplace safety standards, child labor laws - none of that was handed down out of corporate generosity. Organized workers forced the country to recognize that labor is not disposable and that safety and dignity on the job matters. Over the last few decades, union power has been chipped away while executive compensation exploded. When workers cannot negotiate, wages stagnate, benefits erode, and jobs become more precarious. Strengthening and protecting unions means defending the right to organize without retaliation, passing real penalties for companies that break labor laws, and repealing policies that weaken collective bargaining. A strong labor movement does not hurt the economy. It stabilizes it. When workers have a voice, they earn more, spend more, and build communities that last.

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Defend & Restore Social Security

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Reducing energy costs means increasing supply while modernizing the grid and investing in efficiency. That includes domestic production, but it also includes scaling renewables that have no fuel cost once built. Wind and solar drive prices down over time because the input is free. Nuclear keeps baseload stable. Storage and grid upgrades prevent outages and price spikes. The goal is reliability and affordability while keeping our air and water clean. We should also make it cheaper for families to lower their own bills. Home weatherization, efficient appliances, rooftop solar where it makes sense. Every kilowatt saved is money back in someone’s pocket. Energy policy should be about keeping the lights on at a price people can afford.

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Expand rural internet access

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Broadband is infrastructure. It is as essential as roads, electricity, and clean water. Expanding rural internet access means investing in fiber where it makes sense, supporting wireless and satellite where terrain demands it, and making sure federal dollars actually reach unserved communities instead of padding balance sheets. It also means accountability. Companies should not take public funds and then leave whole counties behind. Rural communities are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for a fair shot. Reliable high-speed internet lets a kid apply for college, lets a farmer access markets, lets a small-town entrepreneur compete with anyone. If we say we believe in opportunity, we have to wire the places that have been overlooked.

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Support American farmers

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American farmers work harder than almost anyone in this country, and too many of them are getting squeezed from both sides. Input costs rise and commodity prices fluctuate. Meanwhile, a handful of massive corporations dominate seed, fertilizer, meatpacking, and distribution. When four companies control most of the market, that is not a free market. Supporting American farmers means enforcing antitrust law and breaking up monopolies that choke competition. It means strengthening the Packers and Stockyards Act, increasing transparency in pricing, and making sure independent producers can actually get fair contracts. We should also invest in local processing capacity, conservation programs that actually reward stewardship, and rural infrastructure that keeps farms viable for the next generation.

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Protect Our environment

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Protecting our environment is about heritage as much as health. In Ohio, hunting season and fishing trips are not side hobbies, they are traditions. They are mornings before sunrise in a tree stand. They are kids learning patience on the bank of a creek. If the water is polluted and the wildlife disappears, that way of life goes with it. Clean water and healthy habitats mean strong deer populations, thriving turkey, walleye runs that actually return year after year. Conservation is not partisan. Protecting the environment means investing in conservation programs, protecting public lands, restoring habitat, and managing resources responsibly so the next generation has the same opportunities we did. Stewardship is part of the culture in rural communities. We pass down rifles and tackle boxes. We should pass down healthy land and water too.

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Cap Ohio's Gas wells

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Ohio has thousands of old oil and gas wells scattered across farmland, forests, and backyards. Many are orphaned. Some leak methane. Some contaminate groundwater. And too often, taxpayers end up footing the bill after companies walk away. That is not responsible energy development. That is privatized profit and socialized cleanup. Capping Ohio’s abandoned and orphaned wells should be a priority. It protects drinking water, reduces methane emissions, and creates real jobs for skilled workers who can do the remediation work safely. We should require bonding levels that actually cover cleanup costs so companies cannot underfund their obligations and disappear. If you drill, you are responsible for the full lifecycle of that well. Period.

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End corporate welfare

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Corporate welfare is one of the quietest scams in American politics. Politicians talk about free markets and personal responsibility, then turn around and hand out tax breaks, subsidies, and special carve-outs to corporations that are already profitable. Small businesses compete on their own. Working families pay their taxes. Meanwhile, massive companies negotiate incentives behind closed doors and threaten to move if they don't get them. If a business model only works with public money propping it up, it is not a strong business. It is leverage. We should end targeted giveaways, close loopholes that let corporations pay less than teachers and firefighters, and require strict clawbacks when companies fail to deliver the jobs they promised. Public dollars should build public goods: infrastructure, schools, research, and communities that benefit everyone.

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Working people pay taxes out of every paycheck. There is no army of accountants smoothing it out. It comes out before they even see it. Meanwhile, some of the wealthiest individuals and corporations in this country use loopholes, offshore structures, and preferential treatment to lower their effective rates below what a school teacher pays each year in taxes. That is not a system built on fairness; it is a system built on access. Making the rich pay their fair share does not mean punishing success. It means applying the same rules consistently. Capital gains should not be taxed at a lower rate than wages. Billionaires should not be able to borrow against their assets indefinitely and avoid taxation while their wealth compounds. Large corporations should not report record profits to shareholders while reporting near-zero tax liability to the IRS.

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END Israel's Genocide in Gaza

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We need to end U.S. funding for what is happening in the Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of civilians are dead. Entire neighborhoods are gone. Children are buried under rubble while our tax dollars continue to fund the weapons. I do not accept the idea that we are powerless observers. I’m not interested in partisan excuses or geopolitical gymnastics. The government of Israel has the right to security. That does not include collective punishment or the destruction of civilian life. If we claim to stand for human rights, that standard applies even when it is uncomfortable. We should immediately halt offensive military aid, demand a permanent ceasefire, and condition any future assistance on compliance with international law. American leadership should mean saving lives, not underwriting their destruction.

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END Russia's war in ukraine

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Russia invaded Ukraine. A larger nuclear power crossed a sovereign border because Vladimir Putin believed he could seize territory and outlast the world’s attention. That is the root of this war, and pretending otherwise does not make anyone thoughtful; it just makes them unserious. Ukraine has the right to defend its sovereignty. That is not negotiable. We should support them. The goal has to be a durable end that preserves Ukraine’s independence while reducing the risk of this spiraling into a broader conflict. That requires leverage, diplomacy, and clear-eyed limits about what we are trying to achieve and what we are not.

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We ask young men and women to serve in uniform, to move across the country or across the world on orders, to miss birthdays and funerals, to carry responsibility most civilians will never experience. Then too often we hand them a checklist on the way out and wish them luck. That is not a serious transition plan. Coming home is not just about a DD-214. It is about translating skills into civilian jobs, making sure mental health care is accessible without stigma, helping families adjust, and preventing veterans from falling into homelessness or isolation. A logistics chief, a medic, a weather forecaster, an aviation tech - those skills have real value in the private sector, but the pathway needs to be clear and supported. We should expand apprenticeship pipelines, partner with employers who understand military experience, and fully fund the VA so care is timely and competent.

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AI systems are being used to make hiring decisions, approve loans, generate news, write code, and influence public opinion. If those systems are biased, opaque, or weaponized, the damage scales quickly. We should require transparency in AI systems, clear accountability when harm is caused, and guardrails around how government and corporations deploy these tools. There should never be profiles built on American citizens. Data centers are important in this economy, and they come with real costs. They draw enormous amounts of electricity and water. In some regions, they strain grids and raise local rates. If communities are hosting these facilities, they deserve strong environmental standards, fair taxation, and infrastructure investments that offset the load. Growth is welcome. Exploitation is not.

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Defend Data PrivacY & Online Freedom

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Your search history, your location data, your private messages, your biometric information — that is personal. The Constitution was written to protect people from unreasonable intrusion. That principle does not expire because technology changed. Our digital lives are still our lives. The fact that they move through servers instead of filing cabinets does not make them public property. Right now, data is harvested, bought, sold, and analyzed at a scale most people barely understand. Companies track behavior across platforms. Brokers build profiles most citizens have never seen. Governments, including ours, purchase access to datasets they would otherwise need a warrant to obtain. That is a loophole around basic liberty. We should require meaningful consent, limit data collection to what is actually necessary, ban the sale of sensitive personal information, and close backdoor data purchases by law enforcement.

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Audit the Pentagon for fraud & Waste

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The Pentagon should be audited like every other part of government, and it should not be controversial to say that. The Department of Defense handles an enormous share of federal spending, and for years it has failed to produce clean audits. That should set off alarms for anyone who cares about waste, fraud, or basic competence. Patriotism is not writing blank checks. Patriotism is demanding accountability for how our money is used. Fraud and waste show up as inflated contracts, cost overruns, and procurement systems that reward the biggest contractors even when performance is poor. Meanwhile, military families deal with housing issues, child care shortages, and under-resourced health care systems. We should strengthen inspectors general, enforce real consequences for contractors who defraud taxpayers, and stop treating “national security” as a magic phrase that ends oversight.