Hi Everyone - thanks for taking the time to join our chat. Here is an introduction, feel free to ask any and all questions - Mike.
I believe that to lead is to serve. By this I mean that service in Congress
should be rooted in service to ordinary people. This is an idea that has been forgotten in national politics as well as
right here in Northwest PA under Phil English’s inept leadership.
Right now our government serves the people at the
front of the line, those with the most money, power, and clout. It is not representing the rest of us. I’m running to represent the people who feel
they haven’t had a voice in our government.
Like many families in Northwest Pennsylvania, my
family’s experience has been one of struggle. My grandfather, a steel worker, was killed building the same hospital,
St. Vincents, where my daughter was recently born. My Grandmother, a single mother before the
term was invented, put her neck on the line, and lost her job because she
organized a local hospitality workers union. To this day, my mother works the graveyard shift at a gas station
because she can’t afford to retire. Things
were difficult, I learned that I had to work hard in order to succeed and get
what I want. Right now I don’t have
healthcare, like more than 40,000 people in this district.
This experience is far too common in this
region. We can’t accept it anymore, and this
is at the heart of why I want to be your representative in Congress.
This is why I have given my life to service, because
I understand the needs people face everyday, and I know how we can work
together to solve them. I’ve spent my
entire career on the frontlines of the most pressing social issues that face us
everyday. After attending Penn State I
worked here at Sara Reed Children’s Center helping children with mental
disabilities.
I was attending Union Theological Center in New York
when the 9/11 attacks happened, and I went the next day to pray with the victims. Seeing this first hand, smelling it, seeing
families searching desperately for their loved ones, changed my life. At the same time, mired in this tragedy, the
essence of the American spirit shone through.
I have never witnessed anything as powerful as the
unity displayed on September 12th. Regrettably, what we failed to do as a country was to move forward with
a new politics rooted in the spirit of September 12th, where in the midst of
tragedy we came together ready to overcome any obstacle, to meet any challenge. I have seen the passion that all of us have
to make our country better.
This experience prompted me to delay my plans to
enter the ordained ministry and to become a public servant. Accordingly, I decided to pursue service
opportunities as Director of Operations at the Interfaith Center, working to
solve problems such as poverty, health care access, and domestic violence. Here, I pioneered innovative programs to
tackle the issues that people face.
This position required me to navigate very complex
situations, working with people of all faith beliefs, from all parts of the
world. The basic function of this job
was bringing people together while respecting their differences, and the integrity
of their beliefs – but at the same time working together towards common goals. If you think bringing together feuding
politicians is hard, try, as I have, bringing together religious and community
leaders with deep historical divides and strong personal grievances.
I think I can safely say that I am the only
candidate in this race with direct experience working with all segments of
society: individuals, politicians, religious leaders, business leaders, and
community activists, to create proactive solutions based on our common
interests.
This seat requires someone who shares the values and
concerns of the residents of this region, and at the same time has the ability
to comprehend the complexity of an increasingly globalized world. I understand the challenges of the 21st
Century and I know how we can work together in Northwest Pennsylvania to meet
them.
IRAQ
The war in Iraq is a disastrous blunder, and a
failed policy by the Bush administration. Voters in the 2006 election sent a clear message to Congress that they
wanted an end to the war.
I will fight to bring our troops home in no longer
than 12 months. I will use the power of
the purse, voting only for funding that is tied to a concrete timetable. This is not a retreat, it is a strategic redeployment.
We need to begin an aggressive diplomatic push,
including all regional powers, and bring in an international peacekeeping force
in to help our transition. We must rest
the troops who have served multiple tours, and strengthen our presence in
Afghanistan, particularly on the border with Pakistan.
We have spent nearly half a trillion dollars on this
war, and if we keep going we could spend a trillion. A recent report showed that we spend $12
billion per month on this war, think about what we could do with that money
back here at home.
Local
Jobs
Things have not been good here for some time
now. In the last year Pennsylvania has
lost more than 12,000 manufacturing jobs. In this region, we have lost more than half of our manufacturing jobs in
the past 30 years. Luckily, there is
something we can do about this. We stand
at the cusp of the next great transition in the American economy, in which
green development will play a leading role. We need to transition and upgrade our manufacturing capacities to meet
the needs of this 21st Century economy.
Northwest Pennsylvania is uniquely suited to take
advantage of this, with our long history of ingenuity, manufacturing prowess,
and hard work. With the right
leadership, we can make this region a national and international center for
green jobs. To do this we need to
support heightened incentives for all companies, especially small businesses that
invest in and energy efficient products, and help with worker training.
Right here, GE makes the best, cleanest locomotives
in the world. There is already a
tremendous amount of interest abroad in their Evolution series locomotives. We took a step in the right direction
recently, as the EPA established new heightened emissions regulations – this will
greatly benefit GE Transportation and will spawn innovation. We need to take further steps to ensure that
GE and other local companies become leading international and national
manufacturers.
We can also work with our already vibrant building
industry to make the transition to sustainable building. We should offer incentives and help our
companies gain green building certification from the National Association of
Home Builders.
We still have time to be at the front of this market
– and our companies can export their services and consult across the
country. Another thing we can do is
make Lake Erie a center for wind energy, which will benefit the environment and
the local economy, as we have companies here that produce wind turbines.
Health
Care
I believe that health care is a human right and
America needs action now to help solve our national health care crisis. It is a moral imperative and an economic
necessity that we move in the direction of true universal health coverage. I am the only candidate who supports the
implementation of a single-payer universal health care system, which would
correct this crisis and reduce the burdens of high health care premiums on
small businesses throughout the nation. I support the implementation of HR 676, which already has nearly 90
supporters in the House of Representatives, and will have considerably more
support after the upcoming elections. This is not socialized medicine, it is civilized medicine.
As I mentioned earlier,
I am a firm believer that “To lead is to serve.” This is why I have been focusing all of my
campaign’s considerable resources to building the largest grassroots operation
in this race. This way I can gain direct
access to the voters of this district, so I can hear your voice and share with
you my vision for positive change in this country and this district.
Every Saturday we have nearly
20 volunteers and interns hit the streets going door-to-door. To date we have already knocked on over 7,000
doors, making direct contact with over 13,000 individual voters. Our operation is constantly growing as we
convey our message. We will hit at least
25,000 doors by April 22nd. I
am the only candidate doing this, and the only candidate who can do this.
I am also the only
candidate in this race with a national fundraising base. In fact, the success of our grassroots
campaign is bringing in new donors every day. I’ve just launched the “Change You Bank On” fundraising campaign, which
allows more people to get involved by making small contributions.
We are doing this to
ensure that Phil English is no longer our Congressman on January 1st,
2009. None of us can do this alone, but
we can do it together. There is
too much at stake for all of us. This
election will determine how many of us remain uninsured. . .how many soldiers
will die or be maimed fighting overseas. . . how many of us will face pressure
to leave our home for lack of employment. The way for us to affect real change in this region is to send a new
type of leader to Washington.
It is simply too risky
to settle for another lawyer, or another politician. If we fail to nominate a new type of candidate
we run a serious risk of facing nearly two decades of Phil English’s
non-responsive leadership in Congress. I am in this race because we can’t face
this prospect.
Now
is the time to act. Now is the time to
redefine what it means to serve and to lead in this country. Have no doubt about it, we can do this
and we will do this. Some of you may be
surprised to learn that this district has 10,000 more Democratic voters than
Republican. There is absolutely no
reason that Phil English should be able to continue clinching to what he
considers an entrenched seat, a job for life. This is not the Supreme Court. This is the US Congress, the body constructed to represent our
interests. Please join me and together
we can take our future in our hands and demand the dawn of a new day for the
people of Northwest Pennsylvania. A day
in which I, as your Congressman, will fight for your interests, and fight to
serve you.
