Karen Ramsburg Campaign Speech

I'm Karen Ramsburg, running for Congress in Pennsylvania's 9th District against Bill Shuster.

History is rife with politically motivated ideological battles designed to blind average voters from the reality of the world. Personally, I wish to take no part in that sort of selfish politics, instead taking my beliefs from a firm footing based in part on the works of prominent women in American history. I am committed to returning prosperity, ending suicidal trade pacts, and stopping the export of jobs to China.

Unlike Shuster, I want good paying manufacturing jobs at home, affordable healthcare for all, clean sustainable energy, equal pay and rights for women in the work place, and an effective public education system.

Shuster voted for TARP, which squandered billions bailing out corporations and banks. He voted to spend ridiculous sums on wars that have eroded, not enhanced, national security. He voted for the Patriot Act and does nothing to resist the erosion of our privacy or our Constitutional rights. Shuster consistently votes against the rights of women in the work place, opposing equal pay and nondiscrimination.

He has also voted to take away funding from planned parenthood. I aim to restore sanity and integrity to government. I refuse to accept corporate money or meet with corporate lobbyists. I will represent the People and strive to restore the American Dream, keeping in mind that it can only be restored if everyone, working as equals, is given the chance to succeed.

In 1890 Mary Elizabeth Lease, an advocate for the right of women to vote, said of our government that "It is no longer a government of the people, by the people and for the people, but a government of Wall Street, by Wall Street and for Wall Street". Despite the statement being over 100 years old, it rings
even truer today. The American economy has been severely damaged by euphemistically named free trade agreements, ill advised deregulation, and unsustainable business practices like futures trading. As the 9th District's representative I will work to free us from the trade agreements that have helped erode our industrial base and fight to reinstate sensible regulations, such as Glass-Steagal, that protected tax payer money from being used to bail out failed banks. A desire to rebuild our failing infrastructure and create real, lasting jobs with equal pay for women and men will be the focal point of my economic policies.

Our education system, much like our economy, is in a state of decline. Children are not assembly line products, and each has particular needs that can not be met by a cookie cutter approach to education.

The current political dialog pits unions against the states in a ridiculous display of short sightedness. I plan to help end this pointless feud and focus on recruiting the best and brightest into the field to ensure that our children receive the highest quality education possible. I also oppose vouchers and cutting education funding. To paraphrase Susan B. Anthony, if the rich wish to utilize public education they should concentrate some of their money on improving our schools until they reach the highest of standards. A voucher system is counter to such an ideal and only serves to take funds away from
already struggling schools.

The healthcare debate has drug on long enough in this country. While we squabble and pass half measures, other countries have had stable and less expensive public healthcare for years. The United States spends nearly twice as much of its GDP as The United Kingdom on healthcare, yet lags behind the developed world in quality of care and access. Rather than fighting with private healthcare providers or pandering to the interests of insurance companies, I propose the creation of a national primary care system that would directly provide basic medical care to any legal resident at an affordable price. This system would be independent from insurance companies and in no way interfere with the current private healthcare system, save perhaps to foster a little bit of healthy competition.

On the subject of the environment, too much time is spent debating the validity of well supported scientific fact rather than trying to move us in the direction of independence from foreign oil. Coal, oil, and natural gas are all resources we depend on and will continue to do so for decades, but we must work to have sustainable, clean, domestic energy when those resources become too scarce and expensive to use. I will also fight to stop cap and trade pollution schemes, which will become nothing more than another futures market, artificially inflating consumer prices.

I believe that, with all time lows in Congress's approval ratings and the complete lack of representation that Bill Shuster offers the women of central Pennsylvania, it is time to bring consistency and integrity back to government. I will defend the Constitution by voting against infringements on the Bill of Rights and fight to repeal laws such as the PATRIOT Act. I also support term limits, as government should be a role of service, not a personal career choice. If you want to help restore sanity to Congress, please vote for me, Karen Ramsburg, in the upcoming November Election.

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