Ashwin Madia's parents came to America from India with $19 in cash and a dream that America would provide opportunities for their children. Now their child, Ashwin Madia is running for Congress in Minnesota's third congressional district as the Democratic Nominee to replace retiring Republican Jim Ramstad.
He is a Iraq War Vet who ran a grassroots campaign and defeated a better funded establishment candidate for the Democratic nomination. Now he is facing Erik Paulsen a state representative and extreme conservative (for example, he even voted against raising the minimum wage). This will be one of the most contested races in the country. It is targeted by both parties but it is a fantastic opportunity to send a great representative to Washington who will shake things up. That's why I'm proud to announce that Ashwin Madia is the latest Obamajority canidate and that he is joining us shortly (About 1 ET/ 12 CT) for a conversation about his campaign and the future of this country.
Follow me below the fold to learn more about Ashwin.
As I mentioned above, Ashwin is a First Generation American but he has been blessed with the opportunities of this great country. In college at the University of Minnesota he served as student body president. Then after law school at New York University Ashwin joined the U.S. Marine Corps.
His first duty station was Okinawa, Japan, where he served as a prosecutor, defense counsel, and legal advisor to a Marine Corps commander.
Ashwin was the lead attorney in over one hundred trials, including thirteen jury trials. The one that stands out for me is his successful work defending a gay Marine from administrative discharge in 2005 for commission of a serious offense, when it was clear that commanders were using disparate standards in their treatment of this Marine compared to other Marines.
After that Ashwin served in Iraq from September 2005 to March 2006. While in Baghdad, he worked with U.S. officials, European Union and United Nations representatives, and Iraqi judicial officers to strengthen the Iraqi criminal justice system.
Then in 2006 he returned home to Minnesota and began practicing law where he performed free legal work as an advocate for victims of domestic violence and for a victim of political oppression overseas. In late 2007 when his home congressional district opened up Ashwin once again answered the call to serve and ran a grassroots campaign for the Democratic endorsement. Although he started out as a huge underdog he worked hard and stayed focus and beat all odds to win the endorsement.
Now he is facing a tough Republican opponent in a district that hasn't been represented by a Democrat in almost 50 years. But the district is also trending Democratic. Senator Amy Klobuchar won the district in 2006 and many Democrats have won seats in the state legislature from the district. It is the true definition of a toss up. But don't you want someone who says this about our Constitutional freedoms in Washington?
"We need to decide what kind of nation we want to be in the era after September 11th."
Since that day, we have allowed our government to make many decisions in the name of protecting ourselves. Politicians have parsed words about the meaning of torture, authorized warrantless wiretaps, and created Guantanamo Bay and secret prisons without ever discussing fully and publicly whether our nation should use such measures.
We can do better. These radical departures from our American traditions are simply not necessary to keep us secure. We can protect ourselves and protect our values at the same time.
Or this about the Green Economy:
Our economy needs a long-range recovery -- not just a "feel-good" stimulus. We can bring manufacturing jobs back by investing in the innovation of a green economy. Union workers can make energy-efficient refrigerators, energy-efficient air conditioners, fuel-efficient vehicles, carbon
sequestration technology, wind, solar, bio-fuels, and bio-based products and export these goods to the rest of the world. With fair-trade agreements that include labor standards, respect for the environment, and real enforcement against technology piracy, we can finally reduce or eliminate our trade deficit.
Ashwin ran for the Democratic nomination on the message that Democrats need to get some guts and a backbone for once. I can tell you one thing. He is not going to disappoint us if he gets to Washington and he will be a strong member of the Obamajority. So please join me in welcoming Ashwin Madia to DailyKos and if you can sending him a donation.
We need more leaders in Washington. Ashwin Madia will be a leader. You can find about more on his website and here is a video to give you a feel of what he is like.
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