[Peace-discuss] [OccupyCU] Announcement of Candidacy for Congress

[Ricky Baldwin]

David will make a welcome addition to the candidate list, and not just because he is a very nice guy personally - we don't need to elect people based on those sorts of criteria - but as a candidate he will raise facts and issues that no other candidate is likely to bring before the public.  (The mainstream media will of course do everything they can to marginalize or ignore his ideas, but all the more reason to support the effort to drag these ideas into the public arena.)

His recent guest commentary on the history of the US Korean War is an example.  This statement, which it's hard to be against, is another.  If we support these ideas, we should support the candidate who espouses them.

Ricky Baldwin
Senior Field Organizer
SEIU Local 73
1606 Willow View Rd. #2A
Urbana IL 61802
217-328-7509
www.seiu73.org
________________________________
From: OccupyCU [occupycu-bounces at lists.chambana.net] on behalf of David Green [davegreen84 at yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2013 12:27 PM
To: peace at lists.chambana.net; peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net; occupyCU at lists.chambana.net
Subject: [OccupyCU] Announcement of Candidacy for Congress

David Green will be announcing his candidacy for Congressperson for the 13th District in Illinois, Democratic Party primary, on Sunday, September 1, 2013, 1:30 p.m., at the Champaign Public Library, Robeson Rooms A and B.
He will be conducting an insurgent campaign for the Democratic Party nomination, in opposition to the policies of the Obama Administration, the party’s congressional leadership, and the party’s organizational leadership.
This insurgent campaign is in opposition to the war-making policies of the Administration, the expansion and privatization of the military-industrial complex, drone warfare, our empire of military bases, intervention around the world, and military funding for Israel, Egypt, and Colombia.
This campaign is also in opposition to Wall Street, the major banks, and other financial powers that be, including the policies of the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank.
The campaign opposes the national security state and all that entails, including spying globally and on American citizens. It will also oppose the “war on drugs” and the regime of mass incarceration, directed particularly at African-Americans, who are the real targets of that war.
The campaign will appeal to leftists in the Democratic Party, those who identify with other leftist parties, including the Green Party, and anti-war libertarians.
The campaign supports guaranteed, living wage government employment for all who want or need a job. Massive areas of federal funding for jobs include public education, from pre-school to college; public mass transportation; conservation of land and energy; funding for the arts; mental and dental health; increased internet connectivity; and the U.S. Postal Service.
These programs would be paid for by savings resulting from a “Medicare for all” insurance program that would incorporate all citizens and eliminate health insurance companies, as well as diminishing pharmaceutical profits. They would also be paid for by savings from “national defense” related spending.
This campaign supports and encourages union activity in both the public and private sectors, including legislation that removes employer obstacles to union organization. It will also support lowering the value of the dollar in order to make American manufacturing more competitive at home and abroad, thus lowering or eliminating the balance of payments deficit. Any further deficits incurred by the federal government will be in order to support real and productive economic growth, especially infrastructure, rather than corporate out-sourcing to low wage countries, militarism, and financial bailouts, as is currently the case.
The campaign supports a dramatic revision of the federal tax system from regressive to progressive. The income cap on the social security payroll tax should be eliminated, the tax rate lowered, and benefits raised. Taxes on the wealthy and corporate profits should also be raised to reflect more progressivity, and to counter the dramatic effects of increased income inequality. A modest federal sales tax on internet purchases should be considered, to be distributed to the states.
In sum, this campaign represents recognition of the notion that the United States is no longer a functioning democracy. However, it challenges the notions that Americans are either unwilling to govern themselves or incapable of doing so.