Hi. I'm Kellen Squire. I'm an emergency department nurse from Barboursville, Virginia. I'm a father of three; husband to an outstanding wife. I'm a Christian, an outdoorsman, and a noted purveyor of groan-inducing dad jokes.
I'm also an unapologetic rural Blue Dog, running in the 58th Virginia General Assembly district.
And- as mentioned in the article title- I'm going to save the Democratic party.
I know, I know- usually, thems fightin’ words, especially considering that on the rec list now is a diary featuring a woeful diatribe against "third way" politics. But everything I said above is true. I've lurked on DailyKos long enough that even posting these words'll have some folks flying to their keyboards and mice, ready to sneer "REPUBLICAN LITE!". Crap, Markos himself might be poising his finger over the banhammer, ready to bojo my profile immediately.
But this isn't a troll article; and I'm not here to wreck the dialogue. I'm here to build it and improve it. And, yes, please- bring me your cries of "neo-liberal" or "third-wayism". Because I can handle it; I can handle my views being challenged. I'm not afraid of the flames. I told you, I'm an emergency department nurse. I've been forged in fires hotter than any internet flame war.
And besides, you're not all wrong- I mean, take a look at the old Blue Dogs. If I was one of them, I'd certainly deserve your scorn. The example I like to use- for anyone here that knows dog breeds- is the bulldog.
Bulldogs were a once proud breed, until they got selectively bred into oblivion, the end result of which today is that you've got an animal that can barely breathe on it's own, and can't actually give birth on it's own- it has to be done via c-section.
Can anyone think of a better analogy to what happened to the Blue Dogs that went extinct in 2010? I sure can't.
And they absolutely deserved to go extinct! Good riddance! They forgot their roots. They forgot the folks they were supposed to be fighting for, the working class folks of all colors, creeds, religions, et cetera. Not the demi-corporatism, faux-fiscal conservatism that they ended up actually fighting for.
Me? I ain't like them. I'm like a shelter mutt; I might be a mix of a bunch of different breeds, but that only makes me healthier. And yeah; that might mean you might come home once and awhile to see me chewing on your shoes, but when it comes to fighting for you? You won't find anyone more loyal or ferocious in doing so.
And we can all get along- we can. But not only can we, we have to. We have to if we want to win. I watched the Tea Party destroy the Republican party, which would've imploded them spectacularly if the Democrats hadn’t self-destructed at the local level (of which the old Blue Dogs own a huge part of), and enabled the gerrymandering that's infected our Republic. Let me tell you, folks, that ain't gonna work on the opposite side of the pendulum. The answer isn't to "run hard left"- but it's to find and work with folks who hold the same values we do. We might differ on some issues, but I'll bet a hundred percent that you and I hold the same values. And I think most of the country does as well, if we can reach ‘em.
For instance, gun control? I take a very Brian Schweitzer-ian look of "you control your gun, I'll control mine". Why? Because I think the entire Bill of Rights needs to be as open as it possibly can be. But d'you know what else that means? That means I also think voting should be as open as it possibly can be. The folks who, somehow, think that restricting voting as much as possible (with no shame about their intentions and the people whose votes they want to restrict) and wanting gun laws to be as permissive as possible are... well. I probably not ought to write those words in a public forum, now that I'm a politician. Suffice it to say that I believe fervently that you don't get to pick and choose which of our Amendments you get to champion.
And d'you know what I'm not afraid of? Research. Organizations like the NRA are so peeing-their-pants scared of even research they've made sure the CDC is kneecapped on their ability to look into gun violence. Why?!? I'm not afraid of research. Look, even Scalia said the 2nd Amendment wasn't unlimited. And can you think of a better way to figure out targeted and precise actions to curb gun violence, while simultaneously keeping the Second Amendment as open as possible? I can't. And I'm sure I'm going to have my opponent salivating over me saying this; in fact, I can already see his talking points being written as we speak. "Something something slippery slope, liberal, blah blah blah." But whatever; I'm a nurse. I'm not afraid of research. I don't want to do things just because they seem like a good idea, I want to do what peer-reviewed, evidence-based practice says is best.
And, ooh, another hot button topic- I'm unashamedly pro-life. Abortion isn't good. We need to do everything we can to curtail it's prevalence. But d'you know what the best way is to NOT curtail abortion? Make it illegal. Those of you who work in emergency medicine- nurses, physicians, EMS, fire- already knew my position on that, because, like me, you've already seen what the end result of making abortion illegal would be. And I'm sure, like me, you've got stories that would make most folks in this forum lose their lunch if you repeated them. Besides that, there's nobody here- as much as the Republicans would like you to think so- who are going HURRAY FOR ABORTION!!!
So we know the worst way to curtail abortion is making it illegal- so, what's the best way? Well, hell, if I recall correctly, isn't the abortion rate the lowest it's been in... ever? Like, since Roe vs Wade? I wonder if that has anything to do with education, contraception, women's health services, etc, being readily available? Someone on the internet the other day grumbled on why he ought to have to pay them there promiscuous ladies' birth control. I responded to him, via my campaign’s Facebook account- and quite honestly- that I'm proud to do that with my tax dollars because I actually WANT to lower the abortion rate in our country. If that's what it takes to get it done, by God, sign me up. Those few dollars a month from my paycheck are worth it to me.
And how can you be pro-life and be anti-refugee? How can you you be pro-life and not be for funding adoption, foster care, SCHIP, pre-K, counseling, at-risk nutrition programs, etc, etc? Simple answer- you really can't. Now, again, I see my opponents' talking points writing themselves. Hold on... I can do this... something something your tax dollars paying for XYZ, family values... ahh, I ain't as good at writing those BS talking points as I thought I was. Dagnabbit. But you get where I'm coming from.
But that's a quick view into who I am- and, listen, if that's still insufficiently ideologically pure for ya'll, then the Democratic party is in real trouble. Because the Republicans will hammer that hard- oh, don't get me wrong. I could certainly never run as a Republican, because while they don't mind their voters being centrist or having contrary opinions to the party line, you think they'll let any of those folks anywhere near a position of any power or consequence whatsoever? Pffft!
I'm not too afraid, though. I was initially- when I embarked on this run, when I marched into those first county party meetings to declare my intention, I was ready to get the sort-of response I alluded to above. Shades of the tea party driving any principled Republicans from their party for the crime of showing a backbone or daring not to toe the party line. But that hasn't happened- it’s been the exact opposite, and it’s shown me exactly why we’re going to win.
I've done speeches in where I chronicle the things I have above, where I differ and why I won’t compromise my values. That we’re not going to agree on every issue. And I’ve gotten thunderous applause from doing. Heck, I went to a group of "Democratic Socialists", which I’ll be the first to admit I viewed skeptically as being a long way from me politically and culturally. But, as a nurse, I always look to expand my knowledge base. Particularly in the emergency department, "not knowing what you don't know" gets people killed, and I'm not akin to it. So I went to see what I could learn and understand.
Y'know what? Our values were almost matching on every front. I even did an impromptu speech, where I told them about an old lady I met who told me, on a couple of issues, Bernie Sanders was, quote, "goofier than a pet goat"- but that she believed he’d fight for her. I told them the same way with me, where I might disagree but why I respected him anyway (again, with issues vs values). And why I needed to support them- and they needed to support me, if we wanted to save our Republic. Instead of boos and hisses, I got a loud applause. An incredibly sweet retired teacher, who is on a fixed income, was moved enough by that to send a $200 check to my campaign. The letter she wrote to me, which I managed to not get any tears on while reading it, is on my refrigerator, and will be something I’ll take to my grave, no matter what happens with this campaign.
I've yet to meet a single person on God's green Earth I agree with a hundred percent. And that's fine. You and I? We're gonna disagree on some things, and we'll be arm-in-arm on others. But it's values- conviction politics, principled and accountable leadership- that's going to bring us together and take back the center of the country. It "never worked" because, as I said before, that's not what was offered. It was more stuff like, "I know! We’ll tell folks that we’re okay with the gays and unlimited power on Wall Street! Brilliant! We can't lose!"
The voters ARE there. We CAN win them back. And I, personally, can absolutely win in my district. The 58th is an aggressive district, but I can win it. The gentleman I'm running against... well. If you like transvaginal ultrasound bills, unfunded mandates, gerrymandering initiatives, civil asset forfeiture, “papers please” road stops, bragging about having no deviance from the Republican party line, and unlimited special-interest donations, well, then he's the guy for you- not me.
My campaign team is a motley crew; on my management team, I've got a fiery young pink-hat wearing unapologetic progressive woman who I described to the media recently as the "libbiest lib that ever libbed". I've got a bearded, bespectacled, bike-riding engineer who can wax poetic about Virgil's minor works ("Ahh, the Gregorics. You know, it was said that Virgil's mother dreamt of an olive branch the night before he was born..."). I've got a Kaine-ian Catholic. A libertarian L3. An ex-Airborne paratrooper. And all I did to get them on my team was to tell them who I was, what I stood for, and what I intend to do. Not because they agree with me on every point, or because they'll kiss my ass and tell me what I want to hear- in fact, I assembled the team I did specifically to avoid that. Echo chambers, sycophants, and yes-men disgust me. I did it because they’re a good representation of the folks that the 58th District embodies, and it’d be political malpractice for me to do otherwise.
What do I intend to do? Win my election, for one. But it has to be more than my election. I've put the word out- anyone that wants to learn, I want in my campaign. I've always benchmarked my success as a leader by one simple metric- if I can train people to be better than I am at a critical skill or task. I have no patience for lateral violence or shepherding knowledge as a job security measure. And we're so far down, we have to- HAVE TO- rebuild the critical infrastructure that'll win us elections. Every time I’m able to better prepare someone to face challenges than I am myself, it makes all of my hard
We're going to win this fall in my district. We're helping as many other folks in other House districts here in Virginia win their elections, too. Tristan Shields in the 18th, who you might recognize from NBC's "The Voice". Annette Hyde in the 30th, a semi-retired yoga instructor. Steve McBride and Bryan Keele in the 8th. Angela Lynn in the 25th. The better they do, they better I'll do- and the better prepared we'll be next year to take on Tom Garrett, our federal Congressman, in the 5th. And at the same time, I can build a template for candidates in Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, etc- showing them that all they need to do is step up and work hard, and they CAN win. That EVERY district can, and absolutely NEEDS, to be challenged.
But I can't do it alone- any good nurse knows that. Nobody is an island. Diversity and collaboration are the only way we keep people from dying in the ER, and the same holds true of any campaign- but it's particularly true of mine.
Those of you across the country who don't have state-wide elections right now, who are wondering what you can do to help strike back against the Trumpism that's infected our Republic? Help us. I need money, so I can get my infrastructure in place and start planning and training people. We’re going to go precinct by precinct, a real back-to-basics community organizing model like the one Dr. Fergie Reid champions. But it’s a big district and my opponent hasn’t had a serious challenge since 2009, so we can’t take any chances. We need that infrastructure in place in the next few weeks if we’re going to win in November
I need advice, because I proudly admit I don't know everything- but I want to learn so I can better win my campaign and represent the folks in the 58th District. I need people willing to teach AND willing to learn, so we can grow a new generation of candidates, activists, and organizers who'll take the skills and lessons we learn the hard way back to their own districts and win races there. To help the people in those districts. To help for future elections.
THAT. That is how I'm going to save the Democratic party. That's how I'm going to help save the Republic from the shadow that's fallen over it. And I'm not going to stop- I'm not going to rest- until we roll it back to the dark corners from which it came, until we annihilate every vestige of the hatred and vitriol that's infected our political system.
Do you know why? Because I'm a nurse. We don't quit. In the emergency department, when ambulances keep rolling in, we don't close the doors and go, "Nah, we're too busy right now." We don't see people suffering and go, "That's someone else's problem." When we see things left undone, we don't shrug and go, "I'll bet that'll figure itself out." When other people give up? We work harder. When people have nowhere else to go? We open our arms.
And I'll be DAMNNED if I'm going to sit idly by and bellyache on Facebook about how bad things have gotten.
Join me- today. Do you have expertise you can lend our campaign? Tell me. I'll use it or send it to another district to a candidate who needs it just as much. Can you make a donation? Do it. I need it to build a campaign infrastructure and go up against a guy who, in just the first week of January, raised damn near $300k. Heck, do you want to lay a diatribe against me about an issue or position I hold? Please do! I'm not afraid of contrary opinions, and if I'm actually wrong, by God, I want to know it.
I'm going to be around here frequently until November, but likely well beyond- because even if we take back Virginia, we've got a long road ahead. But when my grandchildren ask me where I was, and what I did, I can tell them with pride in my heart- when my country called, I stood up for her. I fought for her. And it took blood, sweat, and tears, but- by God- we DID it, together.
Thank you all- and God Bless.
