I'm running for U.S. Senate not just to send Jim Inhofe into retirement. I felt the call to public service several years ago while working with 9/11 victims' families groups.
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Working with these groups, I fought for the creation of the 9/11 commission. We also pushed for elected officials to come to the open hearings and give us honest answers about what led up to that terrible day, when my brother was killed. We also held Pres. Bush accountable when he used images from Ground Zero in political ads in 2004.
From Salon.com:
Bush's failure to cooperate with the [9/11] commission only stokes the families' anger. Andrew Rice called it hypocrisy. "On the one hand, he wants to use 9/11 for political gain, but he's not even cooperating with the commission. There is pretty extreme bipartisan cooperation for the commission. [Condoleezza] Rice won't testify, but Sandy Berger [Clinton's national security advisor] will. Clinton and Gore will. We're looking for balance on both sides."
These experiences led me to a place I never thought I'd be - I felt the pull to start fighting for good government from within. I moved back to Oklahoma and, last year, successfully ran for state senate.
Now, I'm running for U.S. Senate, taking on Jim Inhofe. When no other Democrat stepped up to the challenge, I made the decision to run. The things I saw while advocating in Washington, the things that are broken in our federal government, need to be fixed and cannot be ignored.
I need your support to defeat Jim Inhofe. We've nearly reached our goal of 350 ActBlue donors by Sept. 30, and we're hoping for a great quarter of fundraising.
I'm happy to be here to talk about my campaign and the issues involved. I'll be here for about half an hour to take your questions.