This Number Explains Why American Politics Is Broken...And How to Fix It 

If I - as a middle class person - wanted to talk to my Senator, I'd have to wait for the rare town hall meeting, stand in line, and maybe get to ask a single question. If I wrote a big enough check, I could get a one on one meeting to discuss my concerns. If I write my Congressman, I get a robo-signed response written by a staffer. If I make a donation I might get a photo and a handshake, but unless I'm buying a $2,000 plate at a fundraising dinner I'm just not worth their time.

No more corporate lobbying! Corporations should not be considered individuals with rights equal to the people!

I don't live in Nebraska but he's got my vote

Regular citizens have been deliberately disenfranchised from voting.

I hope he wins. Every state needs working class politicians.

People who work for a living are subsidizing those who let their money do their work.

It's not "inflation." It's greed. Let's call it what it is.

I live in Nebraska. I'm a registered independent. Former Democrat. Former lifelong Republican. And while I was aware of Mr. Osborne, I can't say I paid any attention to him. It's tough to go against the Republican party in this state. But now I'm going to reach out to his campaign and also forward this video to people that I know. Thanks for sharing this.

No paid sick leave is insane. How does anyone support that kinda crap?!

ZERO correlation between Average citizen support and probability of policy adoption is very telling.

Our politicians actually work for the people who can give them big campaign donations.

I've told my friends and family for years, if a man or woman doesn't know the price of a loaf of bread and isn't affected by the cost of a gallon of gas, you shouldn't vote for them. It's a warning sign that a person is too wealthy to represent you and your interests. That's not a reflection on the character, or critique of, the well off. It's just that rich people are occupied with rich people problems. The blinders of wealth they wear contribute to their inability to solve your problems when they're elected to government office. That is what I see as a top five reason for our country's poor governance.

I identify with that. I was a welder for 12 yrs, got sick from the welding fumes, had 3 accidents that caused me lifetime injuries. While I was working at NASSCO we had a very strong union, I was making pretty good money, I could afford to buy a house, etc. Economically we were doing very well, couldn't complain about that... Nowadays, I can understand why the Blue Collar Workers are so pissed off about not having a Union to protect their earning potential... The corruption that infiltrated the US Government since the Reagan administration has a lot to do with what is going on today...

We can have democracy or concentrated wealth in the hands of a few in America, but we can`t have both.

The average candidate running for the senate needs to raise 45k a day, 365 days a year, for 6 years to have the funds necessary to effectively compete in one race. Considering that a great many of us (if not most) can’t afford the expense or have the will to donate anything close to 10k a year (let alone, more!) to political issues and candidates, it becomes blatantly obvious who the candidates are going to serve.

We need an end to two party politics.

now imagine 2% of workers going on strike. they'd have more power than big money interests as the economy grinds to a halt.

Political campaigns are too expensive for working class people to run. Regular folks are too busy trying to keep a roof over their heads and can't afford to take time of for politics. Many working people aren't even allowed time off work to vote.

As an American who has lived in Europe, I gotta say the concept of sick-leave is mindblowing to most Europeans. Humans don't plan to be sick, and shouldn't be at work when they are sick. All they need is a doctor's note. There's no limit.

This is exactly what we need. I’ve always been afraid to run for office because I didn’t have the proper education but clearly I’ve learned we need more working class people to stand up for us!

If you live in Nebraska or know someone that does, please share this and vote for this man! Politicians will spin the same old lies for people not to vote for him! And we wonder why nothing changes.

I thought this was about 2% of the population owning all of the politicians.

"The consequences of a Rail Strike will be devastating" To whom Deb? Warren Buffet? Well he is almost dead so I don't think he should be considered.

The people who won't raise our wages spend most of their day on our dime calling their bribers for more bribes while not helping the working class. The people who want to raise the retirement age couldn't last in our jobs for a week!! I've picked my carpenter husband up off the floor after his back gave out. He's 54 and they want him to keep doing this until he's 67?! Thank you to boomers (my parents), who is the only generation to have had it better than their parents and kids, for not paying attention and letting the government screw over your kids and grandkids!!

This video should be shown to every Nebraskan (and every American)

Thanks Jessica and MPU and candidate Osborn! Great report.

From "just $300,000..." damn how many of us working-class people would kill for that kind of money. Also I work in education and I tell everyone willing to listen that anyone who is on a committee or part of any group that holds power over the purse strings of education, especially special education needs to have some experience with special education. Like a grocery store manager - they spend weeks in each department learning what it takes to do the job. Politicians need to have some literal experience with the children in SpEd. Feeding, cleaning, facing behaviors, teaching, seeing and doing what our SpEd teachers do everyday with dwindling support or no support at all. Then and only then can they make decisions about educational budgets.

I've never even visited Nebraska and likely never will, but this guy's platform is impressively straightforward, sensible, and noninflammatory. He's what's needed. I sent him $20.

I'm a retired pipefitter/welder and I really hope this man succeeds.

We absolutely do not have ‘Free and Fair’ elections. When most people hold their noses and vote for the ‘Lesser of Two Evils’ - that is not a free choice. When you have only TWO choices and both are 80+ year olds when in most corporate jobs you are forced out by the time you are 65, that is a sign that this system of elections leads to 2 parties and gets rid of serious competition. A 3rd candidate often ‘spoils’ the election - this leads to no competition and a race to the bottom. As citizens, we need to be able to choose from the ‘Best of the Best’ NOT ‘Lesser of Two Evils’. The solution to this is ‘Multi-Choice Voting’. We need to reform our election system before we lose it. We have republicans who hate Trump but either choose to not vote at all or vote for Trump rather than voting for Biden. We need MORE OPTIONS, we need MORE COMPETITION for politicians. We need reform before we lose democracy.

The consequences of forcing railroad workers to work while they are sick is devastating.

Term limits for all! Make sure to push hard for this. No politician or judge should be allowed to stay around forever.

When a lawyer chooses politics for a career you know which position pays better...

Anything labor or civil is progressive , especially in the US. And people need to stop shying away from saying as much. My local is 40% conservative, and actively argue *against* benefits and organizing initiatives. We had a polling done when the UPS contract came up, and literally almost all of that 40% actively said 'we shouldn't ask for more money' and instead shoehorned in an option to, and I quote, 'Reduce the overhead of the union by reducing the number of office staff and stewards across 12 work sites.' Take a wild guess which side argued we should get more pay, more sick leave, and more protections on the job? It sure wasn't the conservatives, that's not their issue. But you wouldn't know it because the liberal side doesn't want progressives 'being too aggressive about it.'

I'm sending this guy a campaign contribution!! We need so many more of him.

The folks interviewed exemplified the problem even as they complained about it 😮‍💨 Most of them said or implied that they don't vote at all, and even the ones actively fighting for standard Democratic policies (fighting economic inequality, labor/union rights, public education, social benefits, etc) kept talking about how they're not "progressives" or how "it's not about party". NE has a little short of 2M people. According to their State Elections Board, about 1.3M folks voted in 2020, of whom 600k were registered Republicans, and 370k were Democrats, with 270k listed as "nonpartisan/independent". If some of the independents actually voted with the party more aligned with their stated policy interests, then they'd have more competitive races at the State & Federal level.

I’m 100% with this guy.

I count Dan Osborn as being among America's heroes.

People talk about problems with U.S. politics all the time, but this is ^THE^ problem.

How can ANY politician withstand the thousands upon thousands $ that corporations give politicians to see things their way. It’s a huge stumbling block. Citizens United in 2010 destroyed our political system.

Vote for Dan Nebraska! You've got this! As voters overall, we need to start voting in every one of our local elections. If we don't start there, we can't make the changes at the top.

I know a regular guy who is running in my state for the state assembly. He is part of a group I volunteer with. Unfortunately I am not in his district so I can't vote for him, but I am so excited to see how hard he has been working to improve the lives of others. We need more working-class folks in office. But like the video mentions, the system is designed to favor elites who can raise millions for a campaign via legalized bribery from the wealthy. I don't know how we can fix this when it was always built like that on purpose. I wish Dan the best of luck.

Citizen's United is why we're completely broken and can't overcome corporations.

We need more people like him and Katie Porter, she doesn't take corporate money.

The issues he laid out in rural Nebraska would also work in dense urban areas. And any minority community as well. There really are a lot more similarities when politicians aren't stoking the division.

We need 99 more like him in the senate, and 435 like him in the house!

4:35 "The consequences would be devastating." I guess not devastating enough to give rail workers more benefits.

4:40 Sen. Fischer didn't lift a finger to ensure the rail workers could _live,_ while the Biden administration negotiated a better contract after the strike was broken. I'm sure another Democratic administration (coughClintoncough) might have dropped the ball on this, but credit where credit is due.

I can't help but be excited about Dan's efforts... but wow it must be hard. I do not know how he finds time to sleep. I very much hope he's successful. Great work More Perfect Union.

Everyone in America needs to watch this video yesterday. Keep making great content like this!

Those who campaign for office should be heavily vetted and none should be representing corporations.

The consequences of a rail shut down would be devastating??? Working for the railway is devastating! And if you don’t want it to shut down, PAY YOUR &%#!¥ WORKERS!

The most telling stat I've seen is that Congress people spend something like 30 hours per week on fundraising. If you don't raise funds for the party, you don't get committee assignments. Imagine how tedious it must be to spend so much time asking for money.

The best of luck to you Mr Osborn, you have the heart of a lion ❣️

Huge issue with voting is we don’t use a ranked system which forces us into a two party government. Due to people not wanting to, “waste” their vote. Ranked system allows you to select 1,2,3 and so on if 1 loses 2 gets your vote and so on.

I have $10 in my account until the end of the month. I just went and donated $3 of that to his campaign. My dad was a shipfitter all my childhood. We need more honest real working non-elite folk in senate for all the states, no matter what party they run for or what kind of politics they believe in.

The rich have implemented a strategy that started at least as early as Ronald Reagan to transfer wealth from the poor and middle class up to the top 1%. It is frustrating and disappointing to me that the rest of us are not well-informed enough to use our vote to change that. There are more of us than there are of them. If I lived in your state, I would vote for this man-he understands the core issue that is driving our politics and our economy into the ground. We have to vote. It is the only weapon we have against the grift of wealthy politicians only serving the political interests of the super rich. Please vote. The margins are so slim between candidates that at this particular point in our history, ALL of our votes matter. Do what our founding fathers intended-support a democracy by the people for the people. That is how we can change the momentum of transferring wealth to the super rich. Your vote matters!

Need someone like him in Ohio definitely would get my vote

That wealth migration that he mentions at 4:00 is what’s referred to as “trickle-down economics”. That was pushed by the working-class hero R. Regan.

Definitely need campaign reform on so many levels.

I am literally launching a nonprofit to help independent and grassroots progressives run for office. Like, I filed for the business license yesterday. Wish I had more of it off the ground, because this seems like a perfect place to plug it.

Again. We need more people like this. Government of the people. Not of the corporations and industrial war complex.

So, where do I start. I am Dan,or in the same boat at least. In 2020 I ran for mayor for my small city becuase I did not want to see the only person in the race go unchallenged.To my surprise I won. I worked my butt off. We are only 370 people city, but I ran as a Republican. I was asked at every door I knocked on, Republican or Democrat. We are only talking about 370 people, that is all the cared about. During that time I was becoming disenfranchised with my party or parties in general. All the disfunction was getting to me. Fast foward two years, and I tossed my hat into the county mayors race as an Independent. I was called everything, Democrat in disguise, to a Geroge Soros candidate. I just ran as a Republican in the last race. How can that be? How am I anything in disguise? How can a man or a woman win a race where the general public is so pitted against each other, that party is all that matters. Not only that $270,000 dollars was spent for the Republican candidate to get just over 2,000 votes and win. I funded my campaign, with the exception of a few people that really believed in me. I took no outside money at all. How do we compete against it. How do we change a system that is so broken when we can not even look at a candidate for their ideas, without asking Republican or Democrat?

Good for Mr Osborne - I hope he wins. It will inspire MANY more working class people to go to Congress. Yes, it will!!!

I would vote for someone like this in Washington State over our establishment senators that auto win every year, turning my home state into a corporate nation.

Everything from Buckley v. Valeo to Citizens United needs to be repealed. That has to be the start.

Rep Glusenkamp of southwest Washington is a autobody shop owner. We need more blue collar, teachers, nurses and STEM people in DC and alot less lawyers.

Take the money away from politicians. The problems we face will be corrected. A corporation shouldn't have anything to do with our lives. We The People!

Just remember, not voting accomplishes nothing. THIS. This is how change is made. You don't like all the politicians? Then go out and support an independent or someone at a primary. Voter apathy has created the world we are stuck with today.

You can help even if you’re not from his district. Donate to his campaign and to anyone else you see anywhere trying to do the same!

Given many people in the US are convinced that a liberal democracy is some sort of sinful thing, that the proper way for a nation to govern is through a theocracy, or a very limited form of democracy whereby only landowners or heads of households ought to have a franchise, the issues are much deeper than what are painted in this video.

Agree 100%. Vote for Dan. In the mean time, which party in office _right now_ is more likely to vote for any bill that Dan Osborn introduces, and which presidential candidate is more likely to sign it? Getting money out of politics is absolutely necessary. Electing representatives who are more likely to _represent_ people first is absolutely necessary. Yes, the two-party system sucks, but which party _right now_ is trying to prevent the other from excluding regular working-class people from participating in elections? Please don't ignore the rest of the ballot. Don't be fooled by subtle attempts to convince you not to vote for either of presidential candidate. It is not hard to figure out which one of them does more for you and which one is only in it for himself.

Labor issues are progressive by definition in any nation that values and protects capital over people.

Dan Osborn should not run for Senate. He should run for President.

Ranked choice voting!

Let’s not forget that elite politicians and bureaucrats on both sides have gotten ridiculously wealthy from legal and illegal side-hustles and crimes. That’s not an excuse for any of them, that’s an (unnecessary) excuse to start enforcing our laws and throwing the guilty in prison.

Having regular working class people in government is my idea of government.

Great piece Jessica!

We need a worker and🏡🏘️co-op and Ⓐctive union revolution across our cities🌆to democratize🗳️💙the workplace☭. To preserve and improve our democracy.🌸🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

Citizens United needs to go. The speech and debate clause needs to be amended to not protect blatant lies and disinformation campaigns.

I remember an auto shop owner from a small town won her seat; she is a Democrat and wonder how she had fared among Congress

This is a movement that needs to happen if we are to take humanity into a better direction.

If the current congress put in 90hrs a week,,we would all be dead and stinking

Born and raised a mile from that Kelloggs plant mentioned. I love this guy, if I still lived in the state I would vote for him

I am fortunate to have two working class people in government, Josh Shapiro governor, and John Fetterman US Senator. I just makes me sick when politicians like Trump say they are for working people. He was given every thing from his Rich daddy. Hope Dan wins a seat! Thanks for your work.

finally someone with a platform talking about the thing I been hollering about since 1997! will wonders never cease?

Says he wants to stop inflation...proceeds to talk about tax cuts

Vote for Dan Osborn! More politicians like this could help us. Take back our government. #unionstrong

🇺🇸💪🏻

Great video and great candidate. One of my friends is running for a local office in NYS. It's her second attempt at getting elected. I am so proud to call her my friend.

Throwing fresh meat into a broken meat grinder doesn’t fix the meat grinder, it ruins the meat. You either become the thing you hated in the first place or you don’t get reelected. But sure, Dan is gonna be the exception 😂

As an Irish person, please don't take the overseas money back. That's our entire economy.

2%? I thought this would be a video about Kanye identifying who controls the government t.

This Video is a Keeper. Thanks!

Most politicians are actors... and that's it.

When you think of the juxtaposition between people hating the party they vote against and distrusting the party they vote for, we're reaching a point where a new party could have a good chance if they did the messaging correctly.

Land Value Tax + Universal Basic Income both are long overdue

As a 66 year old I've seen politicians become much wealthier over the past 5 decades. Both parties serve the 1%, although their rhetoric tries to hide that. Electoral politics doesn't work at all anymore. Unionization of the working class is the only hope, and that requires organization, solidarity & courage.

Our politics is broken because of preachers meddling in politics. Any explanation that isn't that is a distraction. The fact we no longer have separation of church and state is the problem.

He won't win, I grew up in Nebraska and people still blame politicians who have never even had policy choices.