Wisconsin U.S. Senate Candidate for the Democratic Nomination: Changing the Conversation
Steven Olikara was an opening speaker for President Barack Obama’s campaign rally on UW-Madison’s Library Mall in 2010.
Part 2 of 2
By Jonathan Gramling
For Steven Olikara, jazz is a metaphor for good politics.
“Jazz is the best way to get to know me and my politics,” said Olikara who once studied jazz under Richard Davis at UW-Madison. “I grew up in Waukesha County as the son of Indian immigrants. Needless to say, there were very few people who looked like me or shared my background as a first-generation American in my home community. But what allowed me to build connections with other people was music, first playing in a rock band. I picked up the guitar when I was in third grade and the drums when I was in fourth grade. When I was in middle school, I really got into jazz music. And the reason why jazz is a metaphor for my politics is because at its root, it’s about openness and collaboration. It’s about seeing our common humanity and dignity. The number one skill of a jazz musician is listening, which I think is also true for a successful U.S. Senator. And of course we know that Ron Johnson has not been good at listening to his constituents. I think that really gives you a sense of the spirit that I am bringing to the U.S. Senate.”
Olikara brings a lot of compassion to his views about the issues facing Wisconsin voters. And it is important to him to apply the values of compassion and dignity as the foundation for any stance he takes on the issues.
“Part of why I am running for the U.S. Senate is because I believe there has been a loss of dignity,” Olikara said. “And I think this homeless crisis we’re having right now is part of the indignity in our society that politics is not serving well. We are the richest country in the world and we should not have the level of homelessness that we see. You see it particularly among veterans and people who have substance abuse challenges. We need to help people with that. Also having travelled around the state many, many times, I hear from people in the bars. I remember being in Sheboygan and someone was talking about the affordable housing crisis there. The jobs and salaries just do not match the housing stock. What I will propose is expanding our funding through the Housing and Urban Development Department around Section 8 housing vouchers. I think we should even rethink the formula to make those vouchers available to more people who need them. And around homelessness, there are a lot of interesting programs right now. There is one that my organization worked on around a new financing mechanism called social impact costs. It’s a way to ensure that our efforts to reduce homelessness actually work and bring in public and private capital to actually reduce homelessness. There are creative things that I’ve seen. But again, it gets at the root of this dignity crisis that our campaign is focused on.”
And it is dignity for all Americans and indeed all world citizens that drive Olikara’s policy positions domestically and abroad.
“I would also work on human rights,” Olikara said. “That is essential to our dignity agenda. Domestically what that means is insuring that the one in four adults who have some form of disability are seen, supported and protected by the federal government. And in practice, that is updating the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that people not only have equal access to employment, but also equal access to enjoyment. That is a dignity issue. We’re grateful to have the support of a number of people in the disability rights community. But also when you look at human rights and dignity abroad, what that means is being the anti-war candidate, taking on the military-industrial complex and ending this practice of defense contractors buying members of Congress. Wars should absolutely be the last resort. I think we should be much more focused on building multilateral coalitions and investing in our humanitarian support around the world. My North Star for foreign policy is protecting human rights and preserving human dignity.”
Olikara is also concerned about how Americans view each other, that people have been taught to hate people unlike themselves and that what it means to be an American has been lost. For Olikara, we must have shared experiences so that we treat each other with dignity no matter what their background.
“One last thing I would like to mention is national service,” Olikara said. “I’m the only candidate running on a national service platform. I’m proud that Barack Obama’s director of the Peace Corps has endorsed our campaign. And I have been a long time board member of the Service Year Alliance, which advocates for making a service year a common opportunity for young people in our country. Giving people that common experience and learning how to work together across our lines of difference is important. If you are doing Peace Corps, it’s in a different country. If you are in AmeriCorps, a Madison graduate may got to rural Alabama to work on a service project. I think that is very important.”
Olikara passionately feels that his grassroots approach will lead the Democrats to victory in November’s U.S. Senate race.
“The strategy for defeating Ron Johnson is the candidate who cannot only fire up the Democratic base, but also attract what I call the ‘exhausted majority,’” Olikara said. “That’s what we’ve been doing because we need to remember that 2022 structurally is much more similar to 2010 as it is to 2018. If you believe in that conventional wisdom, running a conventional candidate will not win. Democrats need to nominate an unconventional candidate who is an independent-minded outsider who also has the experience to pass a legislative change. And that is what we are bringing here to the table here. I would also like to say that I’ve been extremely consistent over the course of my political career. You can look up anything I’ve said over the last 15 years and I’ve been calling for the same things. The difference is I just haven’t been saying it, I’ve been doing it. I’m the only candidate directly involved in passing any kind of federal legislation. Again I don’t think the U.S. Senate is an entry-level position. We need someone who can defeat Ron Johnson and enact reforms to save our democracy.”
Olikara is passionate about the policies that he stands for. And they are policy stands on which he would base his senatorial career, win or lose.
“Are they going to exhibit the kind of political courage that President Kennedy talked about in his book,” Olikara asked about Wisconsin’s senatorial candidates. “I’ve done that work. And I know what I am prepared to lose my job in the U.S. Senate over. At the end of the day, this campaign is not about me. And my time in the U.S. Senate is not about me. Who is willing to exhibit political courage, take themselves out in the process and serve a cause that is larger than themselves, who actually want to do something in public office? That is what I am committed to do.”
Steven Olikara stands ready to represent the everyday interests of the citizens of Wisconsin.
