After work yesterday, outside of my local supermarket I ran into
Jessica Flagg. Ms. Flagg was collecting signatures to get on the September 12 New York Democratic Primary running against
Eliot Engel for the Congressional seat in
NY-17.
I immediately took an interest because Engel is one of the six Democrats that took a Sledgehammer to the Internet. Ms. Flagg informed me that Engel received $40,000 from the phone companies for casting that vote meant to slience the blogs. When Engel voted to take away our internet, maybe instead of a tenth term, he should consider that $40,000 from the telephone companies a severance check or just go get a job as a telephone company lobbyist.
Engle has been my congressional representative since 1993. I use that term loosely because the fifty or so letters I've sent him have never generated an answer other than getting me on his e-mail list of Democrats he can spam. In addition to that he was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the resolution to invade Iraq.
It was the very first time I ever heard of Jessica Flagg. A woman who has almost no one backing her! Just a concerned American citizen trying to bring about some change in the "Business as Usual" going on in Washington.
Jessica Flagg, who received no special interest money in this election or in her 2004 bid for the same seat, presented me with an interesting flyer. On the left side was written;
End the War
Impeach Bush and Cheney
Universal Health Care for ALL
Work for Election Reform
And on the other side;
HELP BUILD THE PROGRESIVE MOVMENT and TAKE BACK AMERICA!
There isn't much information to be found about Jessica Flagg other than her impressive bio page.
Jessica Flagg has decided again to challenge Rep. Engel because of his position on the Iraq war, the way he speaks about Iran and his lack of support for the resolutions calling for Censure, impeachment or even investigation of the Bush/Cheney administration.
Too many Democrats who are in safely Democratic seats are not holding this administration accountable for the criminal acts it has committed, under the guise of the "War on Terror". Under this administration Congress has been rendered impotent largely due to complicit representatives like Mr. Engel. As a result the Democratic party is losing credibility with its base.
The media has not written mush about her bid to upset Engel's incumbency. Why should they? Engel won't rock the boat, he's a business player and quite friendly with the Republicans. From Engel's wiki page;
As the war evolved into a fiasco, he became conspicuously silent on the issue. He now responds to all questions about his support for the war with a staple "had I known then what I know now" defense, but has not taken a leadership role on troop withdrawal.
We spoke about issues and agreed on most. She seemed friendly and very serious about doing something for the people in our district. Here is Ms. Flagg's issue page.
So I spent about an hour with Ms. Flagg and collected a page of signatures. Took a few blank pages and promised to go through the complex I live in and collect some more.
Something that surprised me, actually made me very happy, was how many shoppers walking into the Food Emporium said to Ms. Flagg "I don't care what the petition is for. I'll sign it just because of that Impeach Bush button you're wearing."
We discussed DailyKos and she agreed to create a log in, while I agreed to come over and help her with her first diary. So soon she will come here for a more proper introduction.