This is the 8th diary in a 24-hour fundraiser for Gilda Reed, Democratic Candidate for Katrina-Burdened LA-01.
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LA-01 needs someone who is going to work full-time for their needs, one that will stand UP and FIGHT for her people in Congress on a full-time basis, not look to abandon the seat for "bigger and better things" like the U.S. Senate or the Governor's mansion, as former Congresscritters Sinator David Vitter and Governor PBJ did. That person is Gilda Reed.
For those of you who have never met me, I have a bilateral hearing loss. I have a cochlear implant in my left ear, and wear a hearing aid in my right ear. And when I met Gilda for the first time last year at the Yearly Kos Convention in Chicago, I knew that this was a woman who just doesn't give up.
I say that because Gilda hasn't let polio, which she contracted after swimming at Pontchartrain Beach in 1949, when she was but two years of age, slow her down. She had to learn how to sit up and walk again, and dealt with 17 surgeries along the way. Yet, she has never stopped - raising 7 children with her husband, a Navy veteran and a retired electrical inspector for Shell; earning her B.A., Masters and Ph.D. in 1991, 1994 and 1996 from the University of New Orleans; and teaching at UNO starting in 1994, and serving on the School Board of her Church Parish, despite the fact that all of her children attended public schools.
When I saw how she interacted with people at Yearly Kos, I knew that we needed to get her elected. She's a Wellstone, people. You'll always know where she stands, because she's not afraid to speak her mind.
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In short, Mrs. Reed epitomizes what it means to be a Democrat - while raising her children with her husband, and going to school to further her own education, she never stopped doing unto others - serving on that Church Parish School Board and teaching classes of her own at UNO while she was seeking her Ph.D.
Now that I've introduced her as a person, you may be wondering what qualifies her to be a Congresswoman? How about this:
For 4 days, we were zombies watching strange television stations that were not our trusted ones. Our cell phones were totally useless, and days went by without being able to contact our son and family who had headed for TN. And another son in Kuwait was frantic not knowing anything for sure. There was scrounging for prescriptions for the 3 great-grandparents, 1 of whom had a sudden, life-threatening spike in blood pressure. We were at the mercy of some strangers, and they came through for us.
For over 2 weeks, 12 and 7/9th’s of us, 4 generations, peacefully shared a 2-bedroom apartment. There was standing in Red Cross lines for food stamps, standing in line for prescriptions at the Civic Center, standing in line for depleted grocery supplies, waiting our turn in ER as my father suffered with severe abdominal pain. ...Once back at home in Metairie, we had lines for ice and MRE’s. There were lines at the scant few open grocery stores, allowing only 10 customers to shop at a time. As 1 shopper left, then another could enter.
We went very soon to check on our non-insured, non-home in Pass Christian, MS, threading through back roads and military checkpoints. We had to have shots first. Total obliteration was what awaited us. There were no walls or roofs for as far as our eyes could see. The community had been totally annihilated as if an atomic bomb had detonated. To this day, 3 of our 7 children will not go see the desolation, preferring to hang onto the years of good memories that 40-feet of water can not erase.
Can you imagine any of our current Members of Congress waiting on line for food stamps, or even living in what too many people think of as a "war zone?" Gilda came home, unlike Governor PBJ, who has recently put his Kenner home on the market.
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Worried that because she's a Louisiana Democrat, she'll immediately become a conservative voter in Congress? Let Gilda herself put your mind to rest:
As far as legislation goes, where do I begin? There should be regulations with the insurance industry to prevent the collection of premiums for years and then refuse to pay when tragedy strikes. Regulations to prevent them from skipping town with record profits. Regulations to simplify the claim process – claimants give up due to the complicated process. Insurance rates have skyrocketed – 350% above pre-Katrina, including areas not hit.
Recovery programs, like the Road Home Program, need to be efficient with dispensing funds. No one seems to know the physical location of the funds allocated. People who could not afford insurance face a possible 30% reduction in recovery funds. Senior citizens should be placed on the top of the list, since they do not have the years left to work for another home.
FEMA – should be strengthened, not diluted as it has been with Bush. FEMA should not be buried in Homeland Security.
Army Corps – needs to be reigned in, there should be an independent review process. We should learn from the Dutch in the Netherlands and build something that really protects and works.
We should put an end to disaster profiteering and the cronyism of no-bid contracts. Recovery should be geared toward the assistance of our citizens, not the lining of pockets of profiteers.
I keep telling you people that she's a WELLSTONE. She'll stand up and fight for progressive values, even if it is unpopular in the halls of Congress. Hell, she's not too popular with the corporate news media in NOLA. They're owned by conservatives, and they want to put a GOPer in the seat. Let's keep them from doing that ...
Rebuilding Louisiana: Gilda Reed 24-Hour Online Fundraiser
Help us support Kossack Candidate Gilda Reed for Congress in Louisiana's 1st District! She's running in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Bobby Jindal. We'll be posting diaries about Gilda for the next 24 hours to raise support and bring attention to her candidacy. Please join us and learn more about this great Democratic candidate!
Donate to Gilda securely via ActBlue.