DISCLAIMER: The paragraphs are long, the writing unedited, because she is The Ranting Mexican.

Our current Congressman here in the 31st district of southern California, Pete Aguilar, is running for reelection this November.  I have never been particularly into politics.  In my younger years I never felt my vote mattered.  I believed my opinions were tiny guppies in a sea of sharks.  And now I realize, it does matter.  Because I believed this for so much of my life, I voted ignorantly, and sometimes didn’t vote at all.  My punishment?  This guy is in office, making decisions for me, my family, and the community where I am raising them.  But reelection is coming.  And this time, my voice will be heard…

Pete Aguilar had the grand opening of his campaign office in the business district of San Bernardino, CA, this past Saturday May 14th, 2016.  A few dozen of his supporters showed up between 9-10 am.  Their initial demeanor suggested they expected nothing eventful, nothing out of the ordinary.  They casually exited their cars and strolled toward the office entrance.  Little did they know the Survivors were there, myself included, to protest this atrocious and deceptive Congressman.  

We held abortion victim images, signs that read “Pete Aguilar supports baby killing”, and “A vote for Pete Aguilar is a vote for baby killing.”  Because it’s true. Pete Aguilar receives campaign donations from none other than Planned Parenthood.  He claims to be “proud” to be backed by a business like them.  A business that profits directly from the exploitation of low income women and the murder of innocent human beings.  We cried out: “Don’t vote for a politician that uses the blood money of exploited women and children for his own political gain.  He is willing to oppress us further to fulfill his own dreams, while crushing ours! ”  Some of his supporters laughed, a usual sign of feeling uncomfortable and not having words or courage to articulate one’s emotions.  A few even tried to argue with us, only to either walk away frustrated and without knowledgeable rhetoric, or whisked away by one of Pete’s campaign workers.  A few scurried into the building in shame.  And yet the people on the streets honked in encouragement, gave a drive-by thumbs up, or yelled a “God Bless you” as they drove by.  Pete himself never showed his face. Never addressed the issue or attempted to get to the bottom of the discontent.  Some kick off to a political campaign…a clear indicator he’s just another politician campaigning for himself, not the people.

But how did Pete get the seat?  It could’ve been the 2.2 MILLION dollars in campaign funds he raised last time around (to raise money for a campaign, one must endorse…in comes Planned Parenthood and my oh my we know how much of the green stuff they’ve got oozing out of their billion dollar pockets!) or, it could’ve been a seat he didn’t actually win.  Winning would indicate a majority vote, assuming everyone voted.  Perhaps it was a seat he was given.  Given due to a lack of vote. Forfeited by apathy.

I have lived in the 31st district all of my life.  I was raised here, and now I am raising my family here.  For all its flaws, I love it.  It’s home.  One thing that seems to be true is we have a lot of eligible voters, but not a lot of votes are cast.  Here, we are a working class people.  Just trying to make ends meet, love our families, fighting for a better life for ourselves and our children.  We are a people of faith and family.  We are for the most part a minority people but a mighty people, mighty in the will to persevere through adversity, through trials and tribulations.  We strive to keep our humanity and for our voices to be heard.  Yet, we are not voting.  Why?  I believe there are many out there like my former self who believed our voice won’t be heard even if we scream as loud as we can.  We are so busy, so caught up in today, we forget about tomorrow.  We are so stressed out and caught up in other things we forget to listen, forget to participate.  Then we get stuck with politicians like Pete Aguilar who don’t represent our values, don’t represent us as a people.  We are for the most part Hispanic people of Mexican descent, so we hear the name Aguilar and we assume he’s for us.  We assume he’s one of us and that he made it.  That his last name is Hispanic is a pride for us all.  But all that glitters isn’t gold.  

Pete Aguilar is willing to promote a business like Planned Parenthood that by their own admission “serves” “low income” women.  So why did they set up shop in San Bernardino in the first place?  Because they have a lot of clients here…low income women.  Without business they don’t stay open.  End of story.  So they come here to take advantage of women in painful situations, preying on our ignorance and struggle, convincing us that murdering the babies will make life better.  They lie to us.  These women come out of that clinic with the same pain in their hearts plus now more  -- a dead baby to grieve.  And Pete takes their blood money and is “proud” it.  No, he is not one of us.  He is not for us.  We need someone who is for the people, who will represent who we are and what we want to become.  The only way to make a change for our women, children, families, ourselves, our tomorrow, is to vote our values.  Evil has taken over the system that was meant to protect us.  It’s our chance to take it back.

Let your voice be heard!  You don’t need to be a millionaire or have a degree or be a certain race or type.  You just need to care enough to listen to information that’s presented to you, seek it out, and ask yourself: is this me?  Is this who I want to be?  Is this what I want for my children and my legacy?  

Don’t forget who you are, who we are, and how far we’ve come.  Protect the future for the next generation!  Get out there and vote your values!!!!!!

by Sheila Jimenez, the Ranting Mexican