Day 40

At the end of the month, I will be in D.C. for a short (and much needed) vacation and the Hadassah Leadership Fellows advocacy seminar. I’m excited because I adore D.C. and its variety of museums and because with HLF, I will be advocating on Capitol Hill. I met with Congressman Marc Veasey last May while I was at the ADL Leadership Summit and had a positive experience. I have always admired him because he has taken the time to get to know the communities within his district (mine being one of them) and is constantly out in his district. That’s what a politician should be doing.

However, I have a feeling this particular visit will be very, very different. Along with the other Texas fellow, I will be meeting Senator Ted Cruz. I am still trying to figure out how I feel about this. It will be a unique experience for sure, but my politics are…shall we say, a bit more liberal than Senator Cruz’s. I mean, there is a reason I jokingly (but not really) apologized on behalf of liberal Texans when I was in Germany. Texas doesn’t exactly have a stellar reputation and is known as a very deep red state. To be frank, I’m not the biggest fan of Cruz or his policies and don’t even get me started on his views on Obamacare, a woman’s right to choose, or his support of outrageously bigoted immigration laws.

I will be respectful because I will be representing Hadassah, but I do plan to ask questions and make it clear that I do not share his views.

I do plan on wearing a pin that makes my views clear, especially after how Mitch McConnell and the Republican senators silenced Elizabeth Warren yesterday. #ShePersisted