My name is Merrilee Wineinger, and I’m running to be next Representative for Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District, which is an open seat due to Diane Black’s decision to run for our state’s governor.
I’m introducing myself to the Daily Kos community because I need your support to take compassion and justice to Washington, D.C.
So here’s a little background on me. I am an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, and over the past 15 years, I have served as the United Methodist Tennessee Grassroots Organizer. I have fought for Medicaid expansion and women's, children's and immigrant’s rights. I have worked to end childhood obesity, to find an alternative to the death penalty, and to stop racial injustice.
I am running for Congress because the values of courage, honesty, integrity, humility, and justice are missing from our federal government. Additionally, I am angry and tired of the lack of compassion and justice in Washington, D.C.
I have brought Tennesseans together to stand up to power. Now, it's time to take their voices to D.C. I am running to be their change agent. I will listen to what is in the hearts of the people in District 6, what makes their bellies burn, and what weighs on their mind.
I am running on the issues of Health Care, Education, and Equality. But more importantly, I am running for the seniors, families, single men and women, and children in the 6th District.
Health Care
Currently, our president and Congress are mutilating bit by bit the ACA and threatening Medicare and Social Security. Over 90 percent of the people who purchased health insurance from the Healthcare.gov Marketplace receive premium subsidies in 13 out of the 19 counties in the 6th District. In five other counties, over 80 percent in each one receive them.
Take away the ACA, people will be without health insurance, and they will become sicker, and more people will die. In addition to the 10 rural hospitals that have already closed in Tennessee due to the failure to expand Medicaid, more will close. Every time a rural hospital closes, communities are left without access to a hospital, costing residents jobs, and
mostly ruining their chances of having businesses or industries with higher paying jobs from locating there.
The majority of the 6th District’s 19 counties are rural, and some their hospitals are in danger of closing today.
Peoples’ lives depend on the ACA, and I will fight to keep it and make it better. I realize it’s not perfect, but I also know the devastating impact it would have on the people in my district if it were eliminated.
Wages
Tennessee has the highest number of minimum wage jobs in the country. Republicans like to brag about how many jobs they’ve brought to our state, but when they are low-paying ones, who gains? Paying people more stimulates the economy. Paying them minimum wage means there is nothing left to spend after paying for the necessities, such as housing, food, clothes, and transportation.
I’m running to gradually raise the minimum wage, something Congress hasn’t done since 2009, and because Tennessee legislators refuse to enact one in our state. Too many Tennessee families have to work two to three jobs just to provide these necessities.
For single mothers and women, it’s even harder because of the wage gap. Currently, white women make 79-cents for every $1 a man earns. African-American women make 63-cents for every dollar a man earns doing the same job, while Native American women earn 57-cents, and Latinas make 54-cents. Asian-American women do better than the others at 80-cents, but that’s still 20-cents below every dollar a man earns.*
We can do better for all of our working men and women.
EDUCATION
If Congress continues to let Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos have her way, our public education system will be decimated. We must reject the Betsy DeVos agenda to destroy our public schools. We can’t afford to spend your tax dollars money to prop up private schools.
The DeVos agenda has failed in Michigan where she’s from, and it’s wrong for Tennessee. I’ll fight for our Tennessee public schools and our students and teachers every single day in Washington.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
The citizens of District 6 are focused on healthcare, education, and jobs, and I’ll fight for policies that help our families and communities no matter who proposes them. But we need serious leadership in Washington, not reality show stunts, to get that done.
We need a member of Congress who will fight for our families and communities. I’ve brought people to Senate offices to fight for their health care. I’ve been on the front lines at the state legislature fighting for Medicaid expansion. We need a proven fighter in Washington.
To get there, I need your help. I have opposition in the Primary Election, and I need every dollar I can raise to win that election and be prepared to fight my Republican opponent in the General Election.
Will you help by donating to my campaign? I’m running a lean, grassroots organization, and we will be good stewards of your money. I know how hard it is to earn, and I will treat your money as if it were my own in this campaign and in Congress.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about me and why I’m running. Please consider donating today at http://bit.ly/DonateToMerrilee, so I can work with the people of the 6th District and help them thrive, not just survive.
*EqualPayToday.org