Letter: Congress Must Listen to Rural Communities
To the Editor-
Kudos to the Vernon County Board for passing two important resolutions at their January 21, 2014 meeting.
The first resolution opposes the Trans Pacific Partnership or TPP. TPP joins previous trade deals such as NAFTA and CAFTA that have outsourced jobs and decreased Wisconsin’s manufacturing base. Multinational companies with lobbyists in DC have negotiated the TPP to their advantage, while Wisconsin’s workers and small business, the heart of our rural communities, are being ignored, as they can’t afford to send lobbyists to DC.
The second resolution opposes the NSA spying on US citizens without a warrant. The NSA’s collection of information on American’s without warrant is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. If abuses by the NSA continue, we are in danger of losing our privacy, our individual security and our constitutional rights.
Our Congress needs to start listening to rural communities, like the Vernon County Board, not Wall Street and DC special interests.
Our congressman, Ron Kind, who supports the TPP negotiations and voted to fund NSA’s spying, stands in opposition to Vernon County’s resolutions. On both these issues, Ron is wrong. He needs to start listening to the people he serves rather than the special interests that provide him with over three quarters of his campaign financing.
Ken Van Doren is running for Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District, you can contact Ken at [email protected] or visit kenvandoren.com