I believe that the American middle class was created by unionism, The New Deal and the G.I. Bill.

I believe that the American middle class is the strength and core of this nation.

I believe that America is the good guy, we should be the first to help, not the first to strike.

I believe that our religious communities are the backbone of our families.

I believe that working women and men are the backbone of Washington’s communities and a major driving force of our economy.

I believe that taxes are the price we pay to live in a civilized society that values everyone regardless of their ability to contribute but expects more from those that have benefited most.

I believe the principle that all workers, in both the public and private sectors, are entitled to form a union and bargain collectively in an environment free of interference, intimidation, or reprisals, and I actively support workers’ efforts to organize.

I believe that we have an obligation to prepare the way for the next generation through tax investments in our schools, roads, and other basic civic structures just as our parents did for us. We should “leave the campground better then we found it!”

I believe that a person’s body is their own and that there is no legitimate state interest in the medical health care decisions between a doctor and his or her patient.

I believe that a High School diploma is the beginning of a lifetime of education, not the end of it and that it should convey a mastery of basic subjects in reading, writing and arithmetic.

I believe that a college education should be available to all who qualify.

I believe we should also honor career choices that do not take the path of a four year degree: our community colleges and high schools should offer training for life long skills and apprenticeship programs.

I believe we have a choice between building schools or building prisons — schools are cheaper. Some people deserve and need to be in prison. We know that better schools, and better education simply leads to fewer people falling into crime.

I believe that health care is a basic necessity like clean water or electricity and we need to treat it as such. It’s not a commodity to be brokered to the highest bidder leaving millions without care.

I believe that the current employer-based health care system leaves American business at a global market disadvantage.

I believe that a single-payer health care systems similar to the current Medicare system or Veterans’ Administration health care system are known, tested and efficient models ready made for expansion for universal care to all citizens.

I believe that the earth is our home, and rich or poor, we have no other. We abuse it at our own peril.

I believe that ingenuity, integrity and enterprise make America strong. Greed, graft, and envy make us weak. Citizenship and freedom are our nation’s organizing principles. Values matter in government and in the private sector.

I believe that a social contract between American business and American labor in wages, benefits and job security needs to be renewed.

I believe that everyone needs good transportation. Everyone needs to get to work, every company and farmer needs to get products to market, and every household depends on stocked store shelves. Roads that work- work for everyone. That means investing in good roads, both in urban and in rural areas. Public transit offers another choice to keep traffic flowing.

I believe that America is a land built by reason and inspired by faith and that we Americans have respect for both science and faith. We know that both have their own integrity and we are a nation that respects those boundaries.

I believe that the church, and other communities of faith are, and have been, the foundation and champions of all human and civil rights around the world. Our civil rights movement was born in a church. Civil rights marchers from Warsaw to Beijing have sung the songs that sprang from the pulpits of America.

I believe in the rule of law, at home and abroad. We Americans created the United Nations after the most costly war in all history so that the great sacrifices of World War II would not be repeated. Our nation is for the United Nations. A world ruled by laws and not by the whims of men helps protect the world from a war that would threaten all humanity.

I believe that a strong defense is essential to our continued liberty because there are individuals, organizations and nations that would destroy us and our liberties if given a chance.

I believe we Americans are at our best when we seek justice and peace abroad. We are the only nation in history to have aided in the complete rebuilding of a former foe.

I believe we Americans know how to make peace and how to make peace work.