Thanks for your questions and I will try to answer all of them. But before I get to your questions, I want to clarify some of the points made in our introduction as well as expand on what we specifically fight for in the district.
This is a video my staff and I made yesterday.
Hi I’m Jim Ascot and I’m running for congress here in the 7th Illinois Congressional District and I’d like to tell you a little bit about myself and why I’m running for Congress.
I was born in Greece and immigrated to this country when I was nine years old with my family. My parents worked in a restaurant and they worked 24/7 to make sure that my sister and I had the resources to be able to succeed. Their work ethic was unbelievable and I admire what they accomplished with the minimal resources that they had. They worked hard and played by the rules and they were successful. Unfortunately working hard and playing by the rules doesn’t seem to be enough today. In today’s economy, people need more help and that help has to come from the government. Right now with the crisis economy that we’re facing, we’re losing jobs and we are also losing our homes. We need the government to step up and help.
I’m not a career politician. I’m a small business owner who has run a business for more than 25 years and I know what it takes to be able to maintain it. We need help today from the government to make sure we can survive this economic crisis.
The first thing I want to do in Washington, the first day I open my office to make sure I bring financial security to the district. Financial security that we need badly. Unemployment is increasing, we’re losing our homes to foreclosure, our infrastructure is crumbling around us. President Obama and Congress have passed a stimulus bill for that purpose and a lot of money has not been spent or allocated as yet. Here in Illinois we have 6 billion dollars that have not been spent. We need to ask our governor and state legislature to allocate this money quickly so that it increases job production and stop foreclosures.
This is the action needed to support people and our infrastructure. This is what has to be done and this is what I will advocate when I’m in Washington. Thank you.
We will be making more of these videos in the coming weeks focusing on specific policy issues and hope that they will result in an increased discussion of the problems facing the 7th district and the country as a whole. As these videos are an ongoing project, we welcome all feedback and comments and want to know what issues you think need to be addressed.
Moving on to your questions, I want to again thank you for your thought provoking inquiries. Diving right in, CornSyrupAwareness asked what I thought of the current Congress and what I would do to fix it. I believe that the government is on the right track. Our elected officials are tackling some of the most difficult issues in areas like health care reform and immigration, topics that were once considered too dangerous to discuss.
But I see areas for improvement. The American people spoke in the 2008 elections and said that they want real change now. The Democrats in Congress must fulfill the promises they made. I will do everything I can to guarantee that the Democratic Party keeps moving forward and introduces real and lasting reform. We must stimulate the economy to benefit all Americans, give the middle class a chance to regain its footing, make sure small businesses have the credit available to survive this crisis economy and create new jobs.
Blank Frank, MinistryOfTruth, deha, thegood thebad thedumb and thejoshuablog asked me about possible caucus membership. If elected, I plan to join the Congressional Progressive Caucus as I certainly agree with the CPC's founding statement of purpose focusing on "principles of social and economic justice, a non-discriminatory society, and national priorities which represent the interests of all people, not just the wealthy and powerful." Further, my voting record and legislation will demonstrate the progressiveness and resolve of my character.
In response to Mahakali overdrive's question about Afghanistan, I think that it is important that we provide support to the Afghan people as we move forces out of Iraq. But we need to begin transitioning our presence to that of humanitarian aid and infrastructural support as Afghans step up and take control of their own destiny.
Liberal Thinking asked where I stand on the prosecution of Bush administration officials for breaking the law. To begin with, I feel that it is important that we move forward with a progressive agenda and fight the tendency to get caught up in political retribution. That being said, I do believe that we must enforce the law and criminals should be prosecuted. The Justice Department should be free to investigate and pursue anyone responsible for illegal activity.
As for standardized testing, a topic brought up by rossl, I'm very skeptical about testing as an exclusive indicator of one's scholastic growth or development. Additionally, studies have demonstrated that a high test score is not necessarily an indication of a successful future, and vice versa. I believe that a student's achievement should be gauged through a variety of methods. Our students need to know more than just how to pass a test; they need to have the tools to think constructively and creatively if America is to compete internationally.
When it comes to election reform, as rossl and duende mentioned, I think it's an issue of critical importance. Going out there as a candidate to raise money is one of the most difficult things to do. Any elected official who wins an election starts getting prepared to campaign and raise money again, especially in the House. As soon as you get elected you're out there raising money for the next term, before you've even had a chance to deal with serving constituents.
There is just way too much money involved. And when you raise the funding, you're somehow obligated to the special interests or the people who gave you the most. Access should be available to everyone, not just those able to meet unreasonably high financial requirements.
JimmyTheSaint and Ms Bluezone brought up the issue of gay marriage. I am a strong proponent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and believe that we need to push a civil rights agenda in Congress. I will be addressing specific legislation next week on Kos and on my campaign website.
These are the issues I believe in and these are the changes I will be arguing for when I get to Washington. I will be online for the next hour and will try to respond to any new questions or comments.
Thanks again to everyone for your questions and comments.
Jim
Campaign Website
Act Blue Page
Facebook
Twitter