Goodevening Kossacs, I am John Laesch, the "fighting Democrat" who is running against Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert.
This race will be profiled next week (Feb. 28th) on Air America's Majority Report.
I look forward to blogging with you all a bit this evening and for a couple hours after the radio interview on 2/28.
Read on!
Hastert survived Tom Delay's house of corruption and retained his job as Speaker, but he will not survive the 2006 election against this progressive Democrat.
Laesch vs. Hastert:
I want to begin by letting you know that Hastert has not had a serious challenge since he took office almost 20 years ago. For the first time in a long time, we have seen "Hastert for Congress" yard signs popping up during the Illinois primary (March 21st).
This comes at a time when he is very vulnerable. Dennis Hastert is part of the culture of corruption in Washington and recently gave $69,000 of Jack Abramoff's money to charity.
About the District:
As people from Chicago continue to migrate into our open prairie lands in the 14th District, we have earned the honor of having two of the fastest growing counties in the United States, Kendall and Kane Counties, for a combined increase of 86,000 new residents. A recent census in Yorkville, IL (Hastert's home town) showed an increase of 10,000 residents.
Here in Kendall County, I have been working with the local Progressive Democratic Council to overthrow the stagnant Democratic Party. We have recruited 42 Precinct Committeemen and the Republicans only have 41. A strong structure will be essential to defeating Dennis Hastert.
Additionally, the four largest towns within the district, Aurora, Elgin, DeKalb and Dixon, all ousted Republican Mayors in exchange for new, Democratic leaders in the 2005 municipal elections. The Democratic Party has not stopped growing.
A Winning Background:
In addition to being the only "fighting Dem" with a military intelligence background in the Middle East, I have connections that are capable of attacking Hastert's base. I was born on the mission field in Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa and my father still works at Lutheran Bible Translators in Aurora, IL. We have many connections in the faith-based communities in both Kane and Kendall County.
We live on a small farm in rural Kendall County (Newark, IL is 9 miles from Yorkville, IL). Before I turned 16 years old, I was already bailing hay, plowing fields and shelling corn for many local farmers.
I am currently a Union Carpenter for Local 195. I spent some time working for SEIU's Illinois for Healthcare as an organizer and activist.
Kossacs, when was the last time you ran across a candidate who can talk corn & beans, foreign policy and tell folks in a church why this war is immoral?
A Progressive Platform:
IRAQ: I have a brother currently stationed in Iraq and I support our troops, but I have been opposed to the Iraq war since before the war began. With the understanding that the only thing that Iraqi's agree on is an end to the ongoing occupation by U.S. forces, we clearly communicate our intentions to develop an exit strategy. The only way to move towards a diplomatic solution is to agree upon and execute a clear and flexible timeline for withdraw of U.S. forces. The dates for withdraw should be negotiated between the United States and the Iraqi leadership. The best way to support our troops is to develop and implement a plan to bring them home safely.
HEALTHCARE: I support a National Healthcare plan that would allow every American, regardless of age, the opportunity to enroll in a Medicare health insurance policy. This will decrease the cost of healthcare by 25-30% for every working family and cover every medically necessary procedure. We would also strengthen Medicare, which is expected to lose solvency in the year 2026.
I would vote for H.R. 676, Single-payer National Healthcare, but this is not the platform that I campaign on because I think we are a long way off from passing this bill and America needs help now.
ECONOMY: I believe that we need to do two things to put our economy back on track.
- We need to stop outsourcing our jobs to China and Mexico. The best way to do this is to implement trade barriers (tariffs) to countries that do not endorse workers' rights, women's rights and live up to the same environmental standards that we live up to here in America.
- We need to create jobs by developing a new energy policy in this country. We need to stay technologically ahead of other countries and at the cutting edge for the 21st Century. Here are some specific things that we can do to put this country back to work:
- Implement a 21st Century Jobs program modeled after FDR's WPA. By removing the waste, fraud and abuse associated with private government contracting, we can put more Americans back to work.
- I support tax breaks for small businesses that employ fewer than 100 workers.
- I think that we could build a high-speed rail system from coast-to-coast that would conserve energy and reduce traffic. In addition to creating jobs, we would greatly reduce pollution.
- We can offer tax breaks to people who make energy efficient improvements to their homes, like better insulation or integrating solar energy.
- Offering financial incentives to automakers that will produce energy efficient, hybrid vehicles or cars that use alternative fuels.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS:
I support a woman's right to choose, but I believe that Democrats need to address the abortion issue by fixing the economy and enacting a national health care plan.
I support equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender. In fact, this campaign is run by women with the exception of myself, the field organizer, and the web developer.
What else do you want to know about my platform? I spend lots of time on the streets, knocking on doors and very little time on-line, but I will be around for an hour or so tonight.
Race successes:
- I have been endorsed by Veterans for Progress, the AFL-CIO, IFT (Illinois Federation of Teachers), United Auto Workers Local 145, Illinois Committee for Honest Government, GoodworksPAC, Illinois Federation of College Democrats and Progressive Democratic Council of Kendall County.
- Earned front page coverage in seven newspapers, including many small-town, Republican-owned papers.
- Built a strong organization of passionate volunteers and supporters who have chosen to write their names in history by winning this election.
- Raised more money against Hastert than any Democrat has in the past decade.
- Helped build a strong Democratic party by recruiting and training new precinct committeemen and candidates for local office.
Thank you for reading about this campaign and I welcome any comments or donations. You can read more at www.john06.com or donate on our ActBlue-powered Website.