(Re)Introduction - Apr. 23, 2019

HEGAR: Where do I begin? We made a video, and people watched it – a lot of people.

VIDEO CLIP OF CNN ANCHOR JOHN BERMAN: Former Air Force combat veteran running for Congress in Texas and MJ Hegar – her latest ad has gone viral, nearly 2 million views in just five days.

HEGAR: And then, something incredible happened. People didn't just watch the video. They sprang into action, and we got to work.

AUDIO OF REPORTER: Here's Texas Air Force vet MJ Hegar, whose take on doors helped her break through.

HEGAR: We wanted to help build a better government and elect new leaders, that listen to people, not donors and special interest groups.

MSNBC HOST CHRIS MATTHEWS: Most political ads are like most political ads. This one – it was dynamite. And I loved the fact that when the camera moves, it all seemed to be like one of those continuous shots….

HEGAR: Millions of views turned into an army of everyday people giving their time and donating what they could. And across the country, people could see something special was happening in Texas. It was all so humbling for a working mom of two.

PATTON OSWALT: But MJ, what if people haven't seen "Doors"?

HEGAR: You're right, Patton. We've gotta go back. Here it is. Allow me to re-introduce myself. My name is MJ Hegar. I'm a proud Texan, a mom, and a former Air Force helicopter pilot. On my third tour in Afghanistan, I was shot and my aircraft went down. But I strapped myself to the outside of a rescue helicopter and returned fire on the Taliban while we were airlifted to safety. Injured and unable to fly, I was barred from my next career choice because I was a woman. But I don't give up that easy. So I challenged the Pentagon to change the policy. We got a lot of "no's" from Congress along the way, but we won. And since my representatives weren't willing to help, I ran for Congress myself. But here's the thing: I didn't win that election. But we won something much bigger. We didn't just close the gap in my district by almost 20 points, we helped change the status quo. New voices. New volunteers. New voters. Standing up to demand better, and that made it all worthwhile. And it wasn't just our race. Beto nearly won a Texas Senate seat, and dropped the F-bomb on live TV. Talk about Texas making its voice heard. But Washington still has a lot of listening to do, and I'm going to make sure they hear us. Texas deserves a senator who represents our values – strength, courage, independence, putting Texas first. I didn't get a [unintelligible] my first time trying, but we Texans don't give up easy, and everything we've accomplished is just the beginning. So saddle up Texas, because we've got work to do.

Wait, wait, wait – hold on. You didn't think I was going to let John off that easy, did you? For those of you who don't know Senator John Cornyn, he's that tall guy lurching behind Mitch McConnell in basically every single video. He calls himself Big John, but he shrinks out of the way while Mitch McConnell gets in the way of anything actually getting done in our government. And now John Cornyn's shrinking out of the way again while they try to take away protections for those of us with pre-existing health conditions. Weakness, partisanship, gridlock – those are not Texas values, John. But maybe you've been in Washington so long that you've forgotten that? Well, luckily for us, Big John, I'm running to remind you.