There's a great progressive candidate running for Congress in Rhode Island. His name is David Segal and he deserves national attention and national support. Howie Klein lays it out really well at Down with Tyranny today:
Our friends at PCCC have never sounded so excited and committed about anything as when they called us to tell us about a congressional candidate they had found in Rhode Island. David Segal isn't just one of those "but he's better than the alternative" kinds of candidates. Helping elect David Segal isn't like blocking a conservative like Blanche Lincoln or Marco Rubio. David Segal is one of us. He was elected to the Providence City Council in 2002 as a Green, and is now a lefty Democratic state Rep for Providence and East Providence. He has a very clear path to victory and he can win-- and if he does, he'll be among the strongest voices for progressives in the halls of the Capitol.
Howie goes on to write:
But he's never shied away from the really controversial issues: He's been a vocal leader on criminal justice reform, standing up for the rights of immigrants and for gay rights, and has pushed as hard as one can from the state level against war spending. He's an ardent supporter of gay marriage, and was the sponsor of the last year's bill, which was passed over the Governor's veto, to allow gay partners to plan each other's funerals.
David Swanson wrote about Segal on the Let’s Try Democracy Blog that:
When it comes to the Citizens United ruling and limitless corporate spending on elections, Segal says he would cosponsor Rep. Donna Edwards' amendment restoring free speech to people, not corporate persons. But he also recognizes the need to work around the institution you are trying to fix. He is the only state legislator in the 50 states who has gone into his state house and proposed calling a Constitutional Convention to undo corporate personhood and the application of free speech rights to the spending of money on elections.
And one of our country’s brightest public intellectuals, Lawrence Lessig, recently recounted on Huffington Post his encounter with David Segal at the Rhode Island State House:
I just testified before the House Judiciary Committee of the Rhode Island State Legislature, in support of a resolution introduced by Representative David Segal. Segal's resolution would exercise Rhode Island's right under the United States Constitution to demand that Congress call a convention "for proposing amendments" to the United States constitution. There has never before been such a convention, but I was very happy to testify in support of Segal's resolution.
David is a blogger himself, writing regularly for Huffington Post and the Rhode Island progressive political blog RIFUTURE.Org. There aren't many politicians who use new media this way to push a consistently progressive agenda.
David is an organizer who's helped build progressive power in the streets and in the halls of power. I've worked with David for years now -- as a labor activist and Jobs With Justice board president, on the picket lines and in the halls of the State House. Take it from me, he's the real deal. Please support his cause --www.SegalForCongress.com