Candidates Who Signed the Common Ground Pledge

Amy Chai, MD, MS

Office & District: US House CT-1

Political Party: Republican

ChaiForCongress.com

Why Did You Sign The Pledge: We all share some common ground. So, let's start there. Let's work from a place of unity instead of division. A representative's job is to represent all of the constituents, not just the ones who support that representative's party. We actually have the capacity to make America better for all of us, and we need to start doing exactly that. I am a physician, and I have had patients come into my office suicidal over our political divides. Our "get out the vote" tribal rhetoric and campaign tactics are causing serious harm to real people on both sides of the aisle. That is not acceptable, and it isn't fair. People should never be used as rage bait for someone else's ends. I believe that hyper-partisan histrionics in the quest for political domination is an existential threat to the United States, and I refuse to participate. Yes, I know all the neurobiological research about what works to motivate humans. I know that fear hits the "lizard brain" and bypasses the cortical brain until people can no longer reason. I do not believe in taking advantage of human biology and human psychology to manipulate people. I think that is immoral. But political operatives use this tactic to gain advantage, and the result is bad policy and depressed, divided citizens. This is the main reason that I support term limits so strongly. The incumbent advantage is almost insurmountable, so the incumbent becomes an agent of a party and an agent of donors instead of an agent of the constituents. This warps the political landscape and distorts the mission of the representative. The extreme voices of partisan politics should not dictate public policy. I am a pragmatist, and I believe in solving problems instead of creating them.