1. United States
2. Colo.
3. Letter

As our national leaders publicly betray and humiliate us, the American People, as well as our allies, Canada, Mexico, Ukraine, and the other democracies of Europe, I am grateful that our State leadership has made a public statement of solidarity. Thank you. As billionaires and right wing fanatics deconstruct our federal workforce, I hope that State governors will come together to reject the federal government’s abandonment of public health, safety, and education, and start considering what we as States can do together. I wonder if there would be a way to create a funding model for science, health, and education supported by likeminded States that value a first world standard of living and the potential for a viable future for our children. Perhaps States like Colorado, Minnesota, New York, and California that send more money to the federal government than we receive could invest some of that back into State compact run institutions, insulated from the capriciousness of hyper partisan Executive action. As our federal government abandons us, perhaps it is time for States to take the lead in reclaiming democracy and progress. I appreciate your consideration of these ideas which, even to myself, would have seemed unhinged even a month ago.