Attention! Voters in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District who never have voted in a primary or general election; who requested a Republican (“GOP”) ballot in previous primaries; or have requested a Democratic Party ballot in past primaries elections - I speak to you!
A registered voter can request a primary ballot of either party in early voting or at the polls on May 5. I run as a Republican because for too long progressives have sat back as stupidity, ignorance & hatred in the guise of “conservatism” have dominated the GOP.
Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines “progressive”: “favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are, esp in political matters”
The word “progressive” has become pejorative on today’s political scene, but was long embraced by GOP elected officials, most notably President Theodore Roosevelt and Wisconsin Senator Robert LaFollette.
The GOP of recent years is neither progressive nor “conservative”: “Predisposed to traditional attitudes, beliefs, and teachings; favoring established traditions, social stability, and gradual developments as opposed to abrupt changes.” Black’s Law Dictionary.
The GOP’s traditional attitudes, beliefs and established traditions were contained in the GOP’s support of protecting civil rights (Lincoln, Reconstruction, opposed Dixiecrats in 1950s), our environment (T Roosevelt; EPA under Nixon), opposition to the military-industrial complex (President Eisenhower’s farewell address).
The GOP opposed accumulation of great wealth in few hands (1854 origins; T. Roosevelt’s “busting” of “trusts”) and was extremely aggressive as it sought to protect the rights of those newly freed from slavery.
The unfettered power of money in campaigns was notably opposed in 1894 by Montana’s GOP and limits on contributions to campaigns. Neither the minority of people who hacked and took over the GOP in recent years nor my opponents in the May 5 primary are conservative.
Religious bigotry - as pushed by one of my opponents Rev Micah Beckwith - and embracing the recent idiocracy to which the GOP post-tea party has devolved are neither progressive nor conservative.
I want to be clear about voters to whom I do NOT appeal: racists, people who embrace notions of dictatorships, those who believe our military should kill as many people as possible. Those individuals have over a dozen other candidates for whom they may cast ballots.
By May 5 the only contested elections that seem on our Hoosier primary horizon will be in the Democratic Party for POTUS and for Indiana’s 5th Congressional District. By then even those races, from a practical standpoint, may be over.
If you want to begin to push forces of bigotry and ignorance out of politics, you should vote for me. We need to protect civil rights, repair our infrastructure, and make our nation more secure by cutting our military spending in half.
That’s right - our military has made us less secure. We have bombed and killed a lot of people for “freedom and democracy.” When people and bombed and killed, they tend to want to bomb and kill right back.
Another “war” we have waged that has hurt us is the so-called war on drugs. We should end the prohibition on drugs. Portugal’s rates of use and overdoses have dropped significantly since that country decriminalized laws FOR ALL DRUGS in 2000.
My name is Mark Small. I am a GOP candidate from the nomination for U.S. House District 5 and the only candidate who is pro-choice, pro-environment, anti-war, progressive and truly conservative. I approve of this blog. Hell, I wrote it.