A Letter to America from Mindy Finn

Over the course of this campaign, Americans have watched two of the most unpopular candidates in history treat the democratic process, common decency, and our founding principles with total disregard. It’s abundantly clear that neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton is fit to serve as President of the United States.

Just this Friday, a video of Donald Trump emerged that showed him glorifying sexual assault in the most vulgar possible language. As the mother of two young sons, I am furious at Trump for sending the message that abusing women is the privilege of rich and powerful men. This is not how we raise the next generation of young men to respect women as their equals.

Unfortunately, Hillary Clinton also fails to meet the minimum ethical standard necessary to serve as Leader of the Free World. She demonstrated contempt for the rules that safeguard classified information, then lied about her actions. She behaved as if she were completely above the law.

I don’t want my children or yours to grow up in a country led by either of these candidates, which is why I eagerly agreed when Evan McMullin asked me to join him as his running mate.

Allow me to introduce myself.

I grew up as the only child of a single mom who started a business out of our home. She was a work-from-home mother before it was cool. Being raised by a strong, smart, female small business owner, I learned some valuable lessons. She taught me to never spend more than what I had, to always keep $20 in my pocket in case of emergency, and to seek empowerment by working hard and supporting myself. Those weren’t just words — she put me to work in her office before I was a teenager so that I could learn that there is no easy route to success, but also that there is no limit to what I could achieve.

Those values have stayed with me into adulthood. For my entire adult life, I have considered myself a Republican, because being a Republican meant standing for the values my mother instilled in me: hard work, personal responsibility, and the importance of family.

I believe that America’s strength comes from its people — cities, towns, and communities all across the country filled with everyday heroes who work hard, raise their families, and help their neighbors. We are an entrepreneurial and industrious people; when government stays out of the way, small businesses can thrive and Americans can lead the world in innovation and technological progress.

Unfortunately, the Republican Party has strayed far from those principles by nominating a man who rejects this inclusive and optimistic vision in favor of bigotry and prejudice. In Donald Trump, we have an aspiring dictator who repeatedly insults those who are not like him: Mexicans, Muslims, women, the disabled, and even war heroes. These are not “special interests”: they are us, they are Americans.

Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, wants to use the power of the Presidency to make unilateral decisions about what you and your family need — ranging from how to educate your kids, to what health insurance you can buy, or what car you drive. She thinks that your business is her business. She wants to double down on the failures of the Obama years that have left our nation $19 trillion in debt. The Hillary Clinton playbook is to spend more, raise taxes, and resist changes to the inefficient and bloated government programs that keep us in the red. Ultimately, we have two candidates in Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump who have already decided who you are and what you need, and they are both wrong.

A Trump or Clinton presidency would also be a disaster for our national security. Trump thinks our alliances are protection rackets, whose purpose is to turn a quarterly profit. He constantly praises murderous dictators like Kim Jong Un, Saddam Hussein, and Vladimir Putin. Clinton spent four years as Secretary of State during which she aided and abetted the failures of President Obama. When terrorists murdered four Americans in Benghazi, Clinton knew the truth yet blamed their deaths on an unrelated video. To protect herself, she deceived us all.

We’re at a crossroads in our nation. Americans have grown distrustful of the institutions we’ve relied on, and we are in desperate need of honest leadership. Despite our skepticism, the only way to protect the sacred rights of all Americans is to participate in public life at every level. Our nation’s history has been defined by countless men and women who stepped up to defend the ideals of our great nation when it was needed most.

That’s why I joined Evan in this fight. It’s time for a new generation of American leadership.

We want to build a movement that empowers American citizens to ensure that they have an accountable and responsive government. I’m stepping up for the college students who have waited their whole lives to vote and shouldn’t be stuck with unacceptable choices. I’m stepping up for the military men and women who fight for our freedom today and for the veterans who risked it all for our ideals. I’m stepping up because you deserve better choices than Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. I’m stepping up because our nation depends on its citizens proudly voting for what is right and not just settling for the lesser of two evils.

Americans thrive when we are united by a common cause. At this critical time, our cause must be to restore the Founders’ vision of a constitutional republic, where we respect the rights of all men and women, regardless of their race, religion, or national origin. We must rise above the racism and prejudice that are undermining our bonds of trust.

I am humbled to join with Evan to be your voice, and to restore and sustain the principles that have made us the greatest nation in the world. Join us as we fight for a brighter future for all Americans.

Mindy Finn is an independent candidate for Vice President. Follow her on Twitter @mindyfinn, like her Facebook page, and sign up for campaign updates at www.evanmcmullin.com/grassroots.