Hi I'm Jen! I'm not here to tell you how to vote. I'm here because as corny as it sounds I love my country and I want to protect it. And there is a problem that is much bigger than political parties. It's a problem that is at the root of our political system and it's spreading like a rock through our democracy and it's called corruption. Our political system the one that's supposed to work for us, the American people, is broken and it affects basically every issue that you and I care about, health care, public education, the environment, you name it…

Hi I'm Jen! I'm not here to tell you how to vote. I'm here because as corny as it sounds I love my country and I want to protect it. And there is a problem that is much bigger than political parties. It's a problem that is at the root of our political system and it's spreading like a rock through our democracy and it's called corruption. Our political system the one that's supposed to work for us, the American people, is broken and it affects basically every issue that you and I care about, health care, public education, the environment, you name it…

How does this happen? It happens because politicians need a lot, a lot, a lot of money to run for office to have a seat in the Senate. You have to raise fourteen thousand dollars a day for six years. And if you win that entire cycle starts all over again. So if you win, these politicians are spending 70 percent of their time fundraising instead of working for us, the American people. And because only a tiny fraction of Americans can actually afford to give these gigantic donations to politician, politicians focus more on the very few Americans that can actually cut these gigantic checks instead of us. And again we're talking about both sides of the aisle here are doing this. When you give something, you want something in return, which is why corporations and wealthy special interest groups give politicians billions and billions and billions of dollars in return for benefits and tax cuts and laws that benefit them and aren't necessarily good for the rest of us.

How does this happen? It happens because politicians need a lot, a lot, a lot of money to run for office to have a seat in the Senate. You have to raise fourteen thousand dollars a day for six years. And if you win that entire cycle starts all over again. So if you win, these politicians are spending 70 percent of their time fundraising instead of working for us, the American people. And because only a tiny fraction of Americans can actually afford to give these gigantic donations to politician, politicians focus more on the very few Americans that can actually cut these gigantic checks instead of us. And again we're talking about both sides of the aisle here are doing this. When you give something, you want something in return, which is why corporations and wealthy special interest groups give politicians billions and billions and billions of dollars in return for benefits and tax cuts and laws that benefit them and aren't necessarily good for the rest of us.

I remember when I was turning 18 and I was about to vote for the first time my brother explained to me the the suffrage movement, the suffragettes the women who picketed and fought for my right to vote and he told me that to be a woman not to vote would be a slap in the face to all of the women who fought and picketed for that very right. So I have always seen the right to vote as a huge responsability But now that I think about how how we don't really have an impact in Washington it feels like a slap in the face to all of us to every American and to every voter to the very principles our country was founded on liberty and our own pursuit of happiness. So I think that we can all agree that no matter what side of the aisle you're on, no matter if you hate politics and want nothing to do with it, this isn't right. A government that doesn't care about its people or that isn't governed by its people is just Un-American. And America can do better than this. And America must do better than this. Thank you guys for having me.

I remember when I was turning 18 and I was about to vote for the first time my brother explained to me the the suffrage movement, the suffragettes the women who picketed and fought for my right to vote and he told me that to be a woman not to vote would be a slap in the face to all of the women who fought and picketed for that very right. So I have always seen the right to vote as a huge responsability But now that I think about how how we don't really have an impact in Washington it feels like a slap in the face to all of us to every American and to every voter to the very principles our country was founded on liberty and our own pursuit of happiness. So I think that we can all agree that no matter what side of the aisle you're on, no matter if you hate politics and want nothing to do with it, this isn't right. A government that doesn't care about its people or that isn't governed by its people is just Un-American. And America can do better than this. And America must do better than this. Thank you guys for having me.