[Peace-discuss] FW: Stefanie Smith - candidate for U.S. Congress Illinois 13th District

[David Johnson]

Who is Stefanie Smith - candidate for U.S. Congress Illinois 13th District

ABOUT

Why should voters nominate you and not your opponents?

I am fighting for the Green New Deal so that we have a planet that working
people can live on, not just billionaires. I am fighting to close the
concentration camps and broaden our paths toward citizenship to eliminate
the need for DACA. I am fighting for single payer healthcare, because
otherwise working class and disabled people will continue to suffer and die
unnecessarily. We will not be able to survive when medical debt collectors
call in their due. I am fighting for reproductive rights and comprehensive
sex education, not tacitly, not politely, but fiercely. That is not an issue
to compromise on, as reproductive control perpetuates violence against women
and other vulnerable people.

I am fighting for LGBTQ equality, including legislated worker protections
which would not shift with a change in the executive branch. I am fighting
for a living wage, as the National Low Income Housing Coalition points out,
$15/hr is not enough in 45 out of 50 states; we need minimum wages with cost
of living adjustments so that working people are not held perpetually
hostage due to inflation. I am also fighting to end the practice of
substandard wages for restaurant workers, incarcerated workers & migrant
workers; we deserve a living wage just like everybody else. I am fighting
for tuition-free public universities and eliminating student debt. I am
fighting for a Homes Guarantee and endorse the Public Housing Green New Deal
introduced by AOC and Sanders.

I will fight against war, and I will fight to end the Authorization of
Military Force. I am against a surveillance state, and would repeal the
Patriot Act. I am for decriminalizing sex work and ending the online
censorship bill FOSTA that has decreased our ability to combat sex
trafficking as well as made sex work even more dangerous. I am fighting to
end gun violence, and will do so by bridging the gap between the social
safety net standards of the US as compared to the rest of the developed
world. I am fighting for paid domestic violence leave so that survivors can
find safety and without losing their job. I am fighting to repeal the
Taft-Hartley Act so that workers and unions are not fighting with their
hands behind their back. I am fighting for card check, so that unionizing is
not limited to only those workers who receive the support to pay for
protracted legal battles.

What are your highest priorities for Illinois and the nation?

My highest priorities are the Green New Deal, Single Payer Healthcare, and a
Homes Guarantee.

[Most read] Aug. 27, 2016: Dwyane Wade
<https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-shootings-violence-
20160826-story.html#nt=interstitial-auto> 's cousin shot dead while pushing
her baby in stroller on South Side > 

Part of the Green New Deal and Homes Guarantee also means undoing
environmental racism and economic racism to the extent possible; that means
removing lead-lined pipes, that means more funding for community-led
environmental cleanups, and that means the beginning of reparations.

IMMIGRATION

If you could fix longstanding problems with this country's immigration
system, what would you do?

First, we need to end concentration camps. We need a path towards
citizenship for folks who come to America for safety. Undocumented labor is
exploited. Their wages are stolen, and because of their criminalized status
they cannot seek recourse. Facilities in which there have been workers
organizing or where a legal suit against the employer has been won have
subsequently been raided. The corporations benefit the most from our current
immigration system. Undocumented labor deserves labor and immigration
protections as it is not only humane but it also protects our labor force as
well. Vulnerable populations with less worker protections have been used for
over 100 years in America to break unions. We must acknowledge the history
and act accordingly.

ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS

Are you prepared to take up real reform to Social Security and Medicare to
ensure their future solvency? What specific reforms and cuts to entitlements
would you be willing to support?

I will cut corporate tax breaks, oil subsidies, and defense spending to
increase the solvency of Social Security, Medicare, and subsequently single
payer healthcare.

HEALTH CARE

What is the government's obligation, if any, to help American workers secure
health insurance? Do you support the creation or continuation of a program,
such as Medicare for All or Obamacare? Do you have a different idea? If you
support a government-related insurance plan, how would you pay for it?

I support single payer healthcare. In 2019, alone, 2 different unions had
their health insurance taken away during their strike. Those unions were the
United Auto Workers and the Decatur Federation of Teaching Assistants.

I would pay for single payer healthcare the same way we have historically
paid for warfare. Only this time when we appropriate the funds, we will make
cuts to corporate welfare, and agitate for cuts to our defense spending.

FOREIGN POLICY

What security role should the U.S. play in world affairs?

We should follow international law and submit ourselves to the International
Criminal Court. We should stop funding terrorist organizations for proxy
warfare. We should stop selling weapons to human rights abusers. We should
re-establish missile treaties to de-escalate tensions. And we should be a
leader in helping countries deal with the impacts of climate change.

ECONOMY

Unemployment is at a 50-year low and economic growth is steady. Assess the
state of the economy and tell us how you would improve economic prospects
for Americans.

These are blunt measures that do not tell the full story. When many of us
need multiple jobs to get by, unemployment numbers will drop, but it doesn't
speak to the reality of our quality of life. We are overworked, underpaid,
and suffering under immensely rising housing costs that are not in
proportion with inflation or wage increases. Bolstering worker protections,
lifting bans on rent control, and funding housing programs as well as safety
net resources like SNAP are imperative to creating a more equitable economy
for the working class.

CLIMATE CHANGE

What measures if any to combat climate change do you support?

I support the Green New Deal. I endorse both the Homes Guarantee by Peoples
Action & the Public Housing Green New Deal which also call for expanding
socialized housing. We also must regulate our military's pollution, as well
as fund the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science
Foundation to cleanup the overwhelming pollution caused by our military,
which has also increased cancer risks for current military personnel,
veterans, and nearby civilians.

GUN LAWS

Describe briefly your position on how to balance the 2nd Amendment and gun
safety.

Murderers frequently have a history of domestic violence. I support the use
of red flag laws, banning perpetrators of domestic violence from gun
ownership, including those in law enforcement. We have a 2nd Amendment right
to form well organized militias. We do not have a 2nd Amendment right to
personal weapons of mass carnage such as assault rifles, especially when
they are used to sever the human right to life and terrorize our
communities.

MORE

When have you shown independence from your party on an issue of major
import?

I am a frequent critic of establishment Democrat's complicity in increasing
war and surveillance powers for the Trump administration. Issues that affect
the survival of working and marginalized people come first. Anyone who does
not take this stand demonstrates a tacit endorsement of our exploitation and
oppression.

If you are an incumbent, tell us the most significant accomplishment of your
current term. If you are a newcomer, tell us how you as a rookie would keep
from being a backbencher.

As a grassroots candidate, I am not in the pocket of corporations or
establishment politicians, unlike both of my opponents. I stand for workers
rights and have gone to picket lines. My opponents have not because that
would upset their donors. I have bold vision informed by lived experience,
and a critical eye for policy discrepancies, miscalculations, and
manipulation. My opponents know assimilation well and are unequipped to be
anything more than tools of the establishment. I am ready to fight.

 

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