FRANKFORT, Ky. — The primary election is June 23 Spectrum News 1’s political reporter Michon Lindstrom sat down with Daniel Kemph a Democrat running for the Sixth Congressional District.
Q. We are close to the finish line, how are you feeling?
A. I'd like to say typical but this is all kind of new to me and especially campaigning in this kind of environment. It's not like there's a single Election Day we've had pretty much three weeks of Election Day, everybody's mailing in their ballots, all the time. So you know we're constantly working the phones and asking people for their support. And about half the time people are saying well I already voted. It's interesting, I miss the people, I miss getting together with folks and shaking their hands and hearing about the things that concerns them most. And that's a real shame but we're all concerned about quality, affordable health care. We want those 21st century Information Age jobs right here in Kentucky and that's what I'm working for it and a lot of people that resonates with them.
Q. What issues are important to you and central to your campaign?
A. Health care, of course,I'm proposing that we expand Medicare open that up and allow people to participate in that and choose for themselves, give it a try for a year and if they don't like it then they can opt out. It's more of a dynamic more organic. I don't know if Medicare is the ultimate choice or the ultimate solution but we have to try something it's not trying a little bit offends me. And the other part of our platform is 21st century jobs for Kentucky families. And what this means is, as we've seen with the pandemic we're all stuck at home and we see how valuable the tool the internet is. And so what we're proposing is having broadband internet become a public utility the same as electricity and water. So if these large companies want to come in and get the lucrative markets like Lexington and Louisville, then they also have to cover Pikeville and Paducah with the same broadband internet and have it regulated and have it monitored like we do with electricity and water, and they will create more of an even playing field. It will also draw talent from other places to come to Kentucky because as more people work from home, they're discovering home doesn't have to be the Upper West Side, they can come out here to Carlisle or to Versailles and enjoy Kentucky life and we can expand the dynamic and what it means to be Kentuckians.
Q. With the pandemic and the focus on healthcare Do you think this pandemic has has shown you know the the flaws in our healthcare system?
A. Oh absolutely, our healthcare system creates a lot of anxiety for folks even if you have good insurance and you have coverage. You know that you go see the doctor and you pay your copay and you walk out and three weeks later, you get a bill in the mail for another $150-$200 in facility fees or what have you. And we just know that it creates more than what's necessary, that type of anxiety and then pain the pandemic has really brought that about, it's tied to the jobs whether you have an insurance carrier or not. And that's a real shame you know what the ACA was trying to achieve was more portability that you wouldn't be stuck to your job because of health care. And that's if we introduce Medicare as an option for folks, they can change their jobs, it will increase worker product productivity, but also increase a better life experience. Kentuckians can always be happier, more involved in their communities. It really is the key to most everything. If we can alleviate some of that anxiety for folks, it would really be a good thing.
Q. What do you think is the biggest issue facing the sixth district?
A. Jobs, 21st century jobs, everybody being able to participate in the economy. The sixth district is such a wonderful place, it's such a great mix of rural and urban, we have our agriculture communities and we have the towns and cities. And that mix is what makes us such a rich fabric of life. Having solutions where all people are benefiting is what is our biggest challenge. So I want to focus on our rural communities, those smaller towns, because when they're doing better, we're all doing better collectively and that's why the broadband internet is the tool that will help everybody, elevate everybody, elevate everybody's game. Allow more people to participate in the economy.
Q. The Sixth District is bellwether, so it can go either way. So why do you think you're the candidate who can flip it back to blue?
A. This particular election cycle, more so than any other election cycle really is a referendum on the identity of what it means to be an American in the 21st century and we need a clear choice between the Democratic Party of prioritizing people and the needs of people over corporate profits. I understand why a lot of people vote Republican, I get, especially our rural communities where they don't want Democrats coming in and messing stuff up or over regulating them, because there's this inherent unfairness because Republicans tend to trend towards supporting more corporations. So our smaller family farms have these regulations put on them, they see these corporations around them that are evading them, there's a sense of unfairness to them so there's this appeal that Republicans have where we won't do anything we promise to do nothing. And a lot of people are just fine with that. And that, you know, there's a bill--there's an overdue bill that Democrats have because we have had support in our rural communities before and we can get that back. We just have to pay up that bill that for the sacrifices those communities have made for us. So we do that we keep the focus on people and helping them. And in this particular election cycle, Republican light isn't the solution and Republican isn't the solution. People want a clear new direction and they want to be able to participate in a 21st century economy, and it's the Democratic Party that is going to bring that about and I'm the candidate, I'm the only candidate in this race that is really embracing that and asking the people for their vote in that choice.
Q. With the protests that are happening nationwide, and in Lexington and Louisville a lot of that is surrounding policing and so do you believe that policing needs to be reformed?
A. Absolutely, but it's not just policing, it's systemic racism, Black Lives Matter, I stand with the protesters, I absolutely support what it is, I see exactly what they're talking about. But the policing is a symptom of an overall systemic racism that's pervasive in our country. It's not just the policing it's the prosecutors, it's the judges, these all need to be examined and there needs to be a federal baseline for performance. When minorities receive a longer sentence compared to white person in a trend, then yeah, there's something going on there needs to be taken a closer look at. Bank lending practices, school policies, we must fully fund all of our public education. We have to get all of our kindergarten and pre kindergarten classes fully funded, you know, six out of 10 American children don't attend kindergarten full time. And what this does to the child is that they don't learn the routine of school and so in later years of school the teaching is less effective because the child isn't paying as close attention, or they're disruptive in class. If we fully fund our pre-K and our kindergarten courses and we have children that grow up with this and learn the routine of school, school will be better and they'll become better citizens, the more that fully participate in this system will sort itself out but we do need immediate reforms, the Democrats in Congress were very responsive and they put put forward bills and Republican leadership just refuses to even have the debate, they're not even going to talk about it, they're not even going to discuss the merits the pros and cons of the bills. And it's the not discussing the issue is, what is that is so wrong with our broken political system right now.