Our forefathers gave us a wonderfully malleable scaffolding upon which to build and maintain a just and enduring republic – a governing republic long the envy of the civilized world. A republic nurtured by the intellectual honesty, integrity and good will of the members of Congress with whom this representative trust has been placed by its citizen voters. Current geopolitical events ought to remind us of the fragility and preciousness of our own democracy, how real patriots are willing to fight and die for the freedoms we yet enjoy, and the right to determine their own future. Authoritarian desires present an existentially clear and present danger to the continuance of our democracy. As a native Californian and 11th generation American, one who has taken the Oath of Office 3 times in the last 3 years and fully supports the gravity of its meaning, I will abide unreservedly by that oath – to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, not any one person, nor political party nor moneyed lobbyist.