Former Bernie Sanders staffer Dave Bushaw’s campaign for a congressional seat in Iowa’s second district made its way to the Iowa State Fair.
On Saturday, Aug. 15, Bushaw took the stage at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox, where he used the platform to speak to Iowans who feel jilted by what he called “the uni-party.”
The independent candidate is running on a platform that champions universal healthcare, a return of American manufacturing and national ballot initiatives. His belief that politicians in Congress are too far removed from working-class American people is what led him to announce his candidacy last November.
During an impassioned speech Saturday, it became clear that this belief is still what’s keeping him in the race.
“I’m a squash farmer, I’m a longtime community organizer, I’m a labor unionist and I’m pissed as hell that I have to be up here today,” Bushaw said. “In America’s 250 year history, less than 2% of Congress has ever been from the working class. I want the halls of Congress to be filled with working people, not panderers and promise breakers.”
In Bushaw’s eyes, the best way to achieve his vision for America is to build up the presence of independent candidates across the country. On the Soapbox stage, he expressed his support for Michael Bridgford, the independent candidate running for Congress in Iowa’s 1st District. During a press conference held after leaving the stage, he solidified his support with an endorsement.
“Bohannan and Miller-Meeks are absolute disappointments,” Bushaw told gathered media. “So yeah, right now I am endorsing Michael Bridgford for United States Congress.”
Whether either man gets elected come November, Bushaw is determined to keep no party candidates on the ballot in coming years. It’s not going to be easy, he said, but the working class needs a voice, and he is determined to give them someone they can count on.
“I know my ideological perfect isn’t going to be a reality,” he said. “What I need to do is focus on policies that have a common denominator: what are the issues that affect everyone, and how do we come to solutions together? This left and right divide, it’s not helping anybody.”
With that in mind, Bushaw said his first move if he were elected would be to introduce national ballot initiatives.
“I trust the American people to make decisions ourselves,” he said. “I want to give more direct democracy power to the American working people.”
While taking questions from the audience, Bushaw called for a reform of education to make it work harder for the working folk, saying he would rather have learned how to balance a checkbook than about how mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.
When asked about his stance on women’s access to reproductive healthcare, Bushaw told those gathered that politicians don’t belong in a doctor’s office.
As an independent candidate, Bushaw’s beliefs cover a wide swath of political territory. Despite this, he said he is willing to sit down and discuss policy with anyone from any party- he just won’t caucus with them. In his eyes, this is what makes him the perfect candidate for voters in the second district.
“Are you sick and tired of politicians failing America time and time again?” Bushaw asked. “Then stop electing politicians and send a worker to Washington.”
Norah Judson is a reporter for the Register. Reach her at njudson@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Independent candidate Dave Bushaw fires up the crowd at Soapbox
Reporting by Norah Judson, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Norah Judson, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
