Hello!
Thank you for finding your way to my campaign exploration fundraising page. I'm Nat Hewett. I grew up in Raymond and Holden, Maine, the son of a father who dedicated his life to bettering the state of Maine by creating jobs and developing people and a mother who is dedicated to growing business activity in the small town for which she consults. My parents instilled in me the Maine values of working hard, making a difference, and maintaining integrity in everything that you do.
Consequently, I cannot sit idly by as Susan Collins neglects her commitment not just to Maine values, but to the Maine people who voted her into the U.S. Senate four separate times. It's time for a change. It's time to return to Maine values in the US Senate. The Senate needs loud, passionate voices for the dwindling moderate wings of both of our parties and it's time for a fresh perspective on the moderate ideals that Maine voters expect and deserve from their Senator.
Two years into the Trump Administration, it is clear that our senior senator is a moderate Mainer no more. She is a right-wing Republican catering to the same electoral base that cheers the President's mocking of a sexual abuse survivor. She was a crucial vote in passing the Tax Reform bill that permanently slashed the corporate tax rate and generated billions of dollars for corporations while creating an unprecedented budget deficit and trying to fool people like you and me with a temporary personal tax cut.
Susan Collins likes to pay lip service to her more moderate leanings - yes. But the time for lip service is over. It is time for Maine people to have a US Senator that can once again bring the proud tradition of The Maine Way back to the Senate.
What is The Maine Way?
The Maine Way is Honest – you stand by the truth and own up to what you’ve done, even when it's hard. Brett Kavanaugh demonstrably lied to the Senate judiciary committee. Susan Collins committed to her constituents in September that Brett Kavanaugh being dishonest to the committee would be disqualifying. Susan Collins went back on her word.
The Maine Way is Tough - Politics is gritty work. Susan Collins gave her vote to Tax Reform in exchange for "guarantees" that the GOP would help shore up the exchanges within the Affordable Care Act. Those guarantees were nothing more than empty promises that have never been honored. Collins should have known better. But, too many times she has given her vote to the Republican right wing and gotten absolutely nothing in return.
The Maine Way is Fair - I was dealt a good hand to start life. My family worked hard to become comfortable, and with my parent's support -- along with my own work-study and summer jobs -- I left college without debt. 1 in 7 Mainers live below the poverty line. Common sense reforms to provide access to education and training opportunities while removing the shackles of crippling student loan debt are key to giving every young adult in our state and our country the same leg-up that I received.
The Maine Way is Decent - Disagreements happen. I have many wonderful friends on both the left and right side of the aisle with whom I disagree. We remain friends by maintaining our kindness, our empathy, and our desire to learn and understand the other's perspectives. In the US. Senate, we have reached a point where the loudest voice in the room takes the mic and shouts down any attempt at discussion or compromise. That's not how we treat each other - not in Maine - and we should hold our elected officials to that same bar.
The Maine Way is Compassionate – for people today and for generations to come. The Republican ruling class is mortgaging our future as well as the future of our children and grandchildren in order to line the pockets of corporations and their wealthy donors. Our national debt needs to be addressed to ensure that we will be able to care for our parents as they age and our children as they grow up while leaving a stable, sound economy for our grandchildren and beyond.
The Maine Way is The Way Life Should Be - Nothing I've written should be controversial to the Mainers reading this page. This is how each and every one of us was raised. We all get one life here on earth; let's make the most of it with those we have the privilege of sharing it with.
My childhood in Maine instilled the values of The Maine Way in me from a young age. I grew up and became the person I am today in our state. Let's get this out of the way up front - I've been away from Maine for a time. After my four years at John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor (go Crusaders!), I attended college in Massachusetts and have spent the first seven years of my professional career in Boston and, most recently, Chicago. I have grown my career and gained exposure to the multitude of experiences our great country has to offer. But let's be clear, Maine is my home. Always has been - always will be.
It's time for me to serve the people of Maine and to shape sound public policy to create more opportunities for kids in Maine to build their lives in Maine. Our country needs more Maine families, and no parent should be forced to watch their children raise their grandchildren away from them because opportunity and prosperity are not available at home. Mainers are looking for a fair shake, not a handout. If I were your Senator, I would push for responsible fiscal policies that will stabilize our social safety net for those who are in times of need while addressing our ballooning national debt and the crisis it creates for future generations. I would work with my colleagues - at home and in Washington - to support innovation, entrepreneurship, and trade policies that will help grow the Maine economy and create new high paying jobs. It's time to create the same welcoming, inclusive spirit - the spirit embedded in the DNA of Mainers that allows us all to get along even when we disagree - in Washington, DC and the rest of our country. It's time to create change, and that change starts by electing a US Senator in 2020 who will stand up for the Maine Way.
Help me bring The Maine Way to Washington. Return Honesty, Toughness, Fairness, Decency and Compassion to a place in desperate need of it. Our Senior Senator has fallen well short of The Maine Way and it’s time for her to learn that Maine people won't stand for that. It's time for change; it’s time for a young, Maine Senator to bring The Maine Way to Washington, DC, the same way Margaret Chase Smith, Edmund Muskie, George Mitchell, and Bill Cohen did in their days. I will not let you down!
[Please note that pledges will be used for exploring the feasibility of candidacy. Once feasibility is ascertained, any funds would transfer to the established campaign.]
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November 6, 2018
Lessons to Learn from The Republican's 2018 Senate Strategy
Written quickly - please excuse any typos
This is a disappointing evening in the Senate. At this hour (around 10:30pm ET), it’s looking like the Senate will stay in Republican hands and the House will move to the Democrats. Let’s hope there’s a tide change in the next few hours, but at the end of the day, this is not the wave election that we were hoping for deep down returning the legislative branch fully to the Democratic party. There are some small pieces of good news. With House control still likely, the legislative branch can begin to exert some oversight upon the Executive and uncover the corruption that under the surface. And Beto O’Rourke may take us one step closer to being able to call Texas a purple state, which will have an important impact on our electoral college math for future elections.
But overall, tonight did not go the way democrats were hoping. On to the next one. Let’s take an early look at a few things that went wrong tonight so we can apply these learnings to 2020:
The Democrat Joes and the National Base -
Two states that voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and have perceived economic improvement since. Joe Donnelly’s vote against Kavanaugh in the closing hours was brave (and right), but it cost him his job. Joe Manchin played politics. He waited until the vote was out of hand, and then closed his eyes and voted to confirm Kavanaugh. It was a meaningless vote after Collins floor speech secured 50 votes for the nominee. As a result of staying true to the wishes of his state, Joe Manchin will return to work in the Senate on January 3, 2019.
Republicans are never afraid to play the political game. Democrats will not be able to create change on a national level if it relies on litmus tests for each of its candidates - insisting that their candidates represent the party as opposed to the people that voted them into their office. In 2020 - democrats must nominate candidates who share the liberal ideology, but also are committed to representing the voice of the coalitions that vote them into office.
The Exit Polls and the One-Issue Race -
In the closing weeks, democrats stayed true to their key issue - Healthcare. And it was effective to a point. For the first time in many elections, the economy was not the most important issue to voters. 41% of voters stated that healthcare was their most important issue. However, immigration (23%), the economy (21%), and gun policy (11%) were issues 2-4 on voters’ minds. Your quick math isn’t wrong - 55% of voters cited policies that the Republicans can rally their base with.
Republicans divide and conquer to be “everything to everyone” within their base for every election. Donald Trump’s political rallies were targeted at stoking fear and rally the base who care about immigrants. The NRA continues to pour money in directing their members to Republican candidates. The candidates themselves can then talk to local issues and the benefits of the Trump economy. Regardless of your main issue, the Republicans make space under their tent and find a way to talk to you. Democrats must find a way to talk to voters and govern for voters who don’t connect to the party’s single most important issue.
The Consequence of an Correction to the Left -
Democrats relied on anger against Trump to fuel their Blue Wave - counting on a mass of independent voters to hold their nose and vote for a candidate campaigning on a more progressive platform. And it’s going to cost them. Voters vote for personal reasons first and foremost, and the swing so quickly to the left may have turned off voters who worry about democrats raising their taxes and governing for their extreme base in the same way that Republicans are catering to their extremes.
To win on the national level, democrats must rally and turn out independents. In order to do this, the democrats have to build a camp that caters not only to their base, but also to voters who want to reject the negative identity politics of the right, but also aren’t fully bought in to the implications of the democratic party’s more progressive leanings. Bring independents along and earn the right to govern with progressive policy instead of dictating platitudes and demanding every candidate fit within that structure. That is our path back to responsible, liberal ideals in action.
Donate today and that is the approach I will bring in 2020.
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