John,
Sorry for the radio silence the past few days, but I’ve been on the road in Turkey without much time to write, and anyway, I’ve been SPITTING MAD over the news back home, and needed to calm down a bit before I could put my thoughts down clearly.
A few of the things I love most in this world – my daughters, my wife, the military, and my country – are all impacted by the outrageous SCOTUS leak threatening to overturn Roe v. Wade.
As a father, I will walk through fire to protect my daughters. Some of you may know this, others may not, but I recently became aware that I had a second daughter through ancestry.com. Her mother never told me; she became pregnant well before I got married, of course, and she never told me. I shipped off to the military and she just raised our daughter on her own.
For that, I will always be both eternally grateful, as well angry that I did not get to watch our daughter grow up or help shape her into the beautiful woman she is today.
Thankfully, we’re catching up now – she’s well on her way to becoming a nurse, and I am so proud of her.
I can't wait for both my daughters to have children, if that’s what they choose to do. I would love to be a granddad, so I selfishly do hope they decide to have kids … but it needs to be their choice, not anyone else’s, and certainly not the government’s!
How can Republicans argue they are against "big government" in one sentence, and at the same time say the government should dictate what a person does with their own body? The hypocrisy is nauseating, but that’s the GOP, folks – and that’s who I’ve dedicated my life to fighting, now.
Meanwhile, it might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about abortion rights, but the military has a special place in this debate.
Unfortunately, sexual abuse is still rampant in the military, and though awareness is growing, the problem has still not been fully dealt with, even today, in the ranks – 1 in 3 female veterans report having been assaulted during their tours of duty.
Many female soldiers have written to me in confidence about the difficulties they have faced, or are facing, and I’m trying my best to help where I can. As a public figure, I feel I owe it to them to use my platform to help reform and rectify the way our military treats women.
The scenario that is often talked about, which Republicans dismiss so casually, about a woman being forced to carry a rapist's child is all too real for some of our bravest women who choose to serve. To disrespect them the way Justice Alito’s opinion does is disgusting and infuriating.
To that I say: Over my dead body!
I am still traveling abroad, but I’ll be cutting my trip short in light of this news to return home and work to elect more Democrats so we can have the majority needed in the Senate to codify Roe v. Wade into law. Shame on us for not doing it sooner.
(I also really miss my wife. Her preferred vacation has always been relaxing on a beach or a cruise, while I love to walk around and explore new cities and cultures, so she sat this trip out. She’s back home working on finishing our new house, and I can’t wait to see her.)
Anyway, folks: The right to choose has been the law in America for damned near 50 years, and it is on all of us – every single person reading this email – to make sure it stays that way, men and women alike, and every other gender, too.
Fellas, if you love your daughters, if you love your sisters, if you love your mothers, if you love anyone in your life who can get pregnant, this is your chance to prove it and fight for them.
I have recently been made aware that over 80% of the donations that have come in the last few days have come from women, and that is unacceptable! We men need to step up, and I am confident that we will.
I’m also confident we are going to reach that lofty goal No Dem Left Behind has set of raising $1 million in May to expand our Senate majority, and that this issue and others will allows us to flip large numbers of Republican and Independent women to our side and win big in the midterms.
So please, chip in now, and let's get to work
Sappers clear the way, Airborne all the way!
--Richard
