Candidate for
United States Representative; District 11; Democratic Party

America was founded on a very liberal idea of democracy, government by the people, not the aristocracy. From Thomas Paine, George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson to the economist Adam Smith, there was a strong belief that great concentrations of wealth in the hands of a few were a grave danger to democracy.

Today, our government is literally a wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America. 80% of all laws are written by the corporate lobbyists to benefit industry at the expense of the people. Politicians from both parties spend so much time raising money, much of it from these same lobbyists, they freely admit they don't read or even understand the laws they are signing. This is wrong and is why we need full public financing of campaigns, not just lobby reform. Government needs to work in the common interest of the citizens, not the special interests of big business.

There is no better example than the California "energy crisis" a few years ago. Ken Lay submitted the blueprint for deregulation, guaranteeing him an easy time rigging electricity and gas markets completely unsupervised by any regulatory agency that wasn't packed with his cronies. A well known Republican Senator and his wife made sure there would be no criminal violations at the Federal level, by passing rules exempting all energy trades from commodity trading oversight.

As a result, Californians were ripped off for billions of dollars with virtually none of it being paid back. My gas bill went from $50 to $300 in one month because gas was unregulated. That happened to ALL of us. There has been zero talk about those ill-gotten gains being refunded to us. The Enron executives Mr. Lay and Mr. Skilling have been convicted of relatively minor securities violations, not the massive premeditated criminal fraud against California.

The President and Vice President said it was our own fault and claimed the market was working fine when it was so obviously a rigged market. The Administration turned a blind eye to this robbery because "Kenny boy" was an old friend and big time money donor.

In 1936, the Democratic Party's platform began with, "We hold this truth to be self-evident - that government in a modern civilization has certain inescapable obligations to its citizens, among which are: (1) Protection of the family and home; (2) Establishment of a democracy of opportunity for all the people; (3) Aid to those overtaken by disaster."

I would add: Protect the citizens from the excesses of big business and organized money.

I feel strongly that the heart and soul of the Democratic Party can be found in the "New Deal" and the government reforms by Franklin Roosevelt. These are the principles that set the stage for American prosperity in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. These are the same principles that rebuilt post WW2 Germany and Japan. These are the principles that created the modern middle class.

These are the principles that are now being destroyed by "free market" global trade policies. "Free market" principles that are protectionist when it comes to the rights of global investors, at the expense of ordinary working people. Protectionist of the $400 million retirement plans of oil company executives, while working people's pensions are destroyed. Protectionist of the rights of investors to freely violate our environmental laws with impunity if they reduce their profits.

Henry Clay, one of the greatest Senators in US history said in 1832, "Free trade is as incessant as the cry of a spoiled child in its nurse's arms. Free trade has never existed, it never will exist." Trade laws make markets, laws that say who, gets what.

It is time to restore the purpose of our government to providing economic opportunity and economic security for the citizens.

It's time for "Fair Trade" policies that will strengthen the middle class and respect the environment in America. This can and should build the middle class and respect the environment around the world.