[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Sarah Granger

Imagine a great person, a principled woman, a dedicated mom in Congress. Yes, there are already a few of those, but we're very close to electing one more. On April 8th, former California State Senator Jackie Speier may succeed to where she aimed nearly three decades ago, U.S. Congress. Speier, shown left with me and my daughter, a resident of Hillsborough, California, the youngest woman elected to the San Mateo County supervisors, reportedly the first mom to breast feed in the California State Assembly (as a new widow), and a well-respected two-term state senator first ran for congress after a terrifying experience where her boss, then U.S. Congressman, Leo Ryan, was killed in front of her eyes.

This is a woman who I've had the privilege of seeing in action firsthand and whom I have admired for many years. (Photo is from last year, taken on my phone of me, my daughter, and Senator Speier.) People like her are rare, and our nation would be incredibly lucky to have her legislating on our behalf. Due to a sad twist of fate, Senator Speier may become Congresswoman Speier in a special election next week.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Kai Stinchcombe
Founder
The Roosevelt Institution

The most obnoxious piece of advice ever given to a potential candidate for office is also one of the most frequent: don't talk about "process."

The "process" -- our political process -- sucks, and that's worth talking about. It is entirely predictable that our schools, our healthcare system, our economy, our justice system, and our environment are not what they should be -- they are produced by a system that is not what it should be. Yet every time an aspiring candidate says they want to build a better system, they get the same answer: "Don't talk about process."

According to this logic, the public is like the man facing a firing squad -- he has no objections to the guys with guns, he just doesn't like the bullets. Promise people you'll take away the bullets hitting the guy -- talk about healthcare, the environment, and the economy -- but don't mention the political process that is shooting these bullets.

If you start thinking about running for office, so you will be advised. Can you imagine anything more frustrating than being told, "Don't talk about the firing squad, just promise you'll stop the bullets"?