So, Blanche Lincoln just won the Arkansas U.S. Senate Democratic primary. With this, the race has become Conservative v. Conservative. This is a really demoralizing blow. From the heights of the Sestak victory it seemed like we were going to take the Democratic primaries by storm, moving the Party to the left by kicking out all the Blue Republicans hiding in our ranks. This is our biggest failure in our fight against the Blue Dogs yet. The aftermath is going to test us Progressives. To support the Conservative Lincoln or to go an alternative route. Which one to choose...
This is John Gray. He is the Green Party candidate for the Arkansas U.S. Senate race. And unlike Lincoln or Boozman, he isn't an establishment hack or a Wall Street slave. He is just a real American, trying to fight for the interest of Main Street. And he'd know about Main Street, he is the mayor on a small town in Arkansas called Greenland. Here is his own little 'About Me' on his Senate race website.
I am John Gray, a retired Engineer, currently serving as the Mayor of Greenland, AR.
In the past, I have helped move nearly 1000 jobs out of the U.S.A. to Mexico. Now I fight to return jobs to this Country. I have seen workers on both sides of the border harmed by the policies of Free Trade, while management and the corporations they served, benefited greatly. I am convinced we can be the biggest benefit to the Latin American Citizen by requiring their government to prove they are paying a fair, living wage to their workers so they can afford to live in their own Country, before they will be allowed to sell here. I'll assure you, they will do whatever is required to gain access to our markets.
That covers my work history since 1985, but life has given me many opportunities that I've taken. The experiences have made me a strong environmental protectionist and preservationist. For instance, I've had the opportunity to climb Mount Hood twice, climb Mount McKinley, run the Pike's Peak Marathon twice, explore much of the back country of Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming as I taught my children about backpacking and leaving no traces that you had been there. I have had the opportunity to float most of the Ozark streams. While living in Portland Oregon, I had the opportunity to be a member of a team running from Mount Hood (the Lodge) to the Oregon Coast…where Lewis & Clark first saw the sea. Rafting the Deschutes River and the Rogue River was a lot of fun, also.
I have so much respect for the beauty of the Earth that when I see the Appalachian Mountains being destroyed by mountaintop removal to get coal to send to China, I find it very hard to deal with. It is a National disgrace! These corporations have no respect for anything, it appears!
I carry my backpacking experiences into everyday life. We should, like the Iroquois, make all our plans with the seventh generation in the future in mind. Corporations should not be allowed to rape the earth for their immediate profits. We should walk lightly on the earth and leave no permanent damage anywhere, for any reason!
Although I was born and raised in Morrilton, AR, until the 10th grade, my ideas were formed walking the trails of Petit Jean Mountain and touring the countryside by bicycle. Now, I am thankful for those experiences.
Our City Council considers me a "Yankee" because I do not have a southern accent. In reality, I am probably more "southern" than most.
One final point: The favorite place I have visited so far on this earth is the Titcomb Basin, of Wyoming. It is a twenty-five mile walk in, but it is worth it. In fact it was on the way there I started measuring the amount of material moved by Native Americans to build a trading route travois road up over "Indian Pass" and down into the summering grounds on the other side. They were trading horses and other items around 1300 years ago from central Mexico to Canada. The material they moved is greater than the volume of all the Egyptian pyramids combined. Yet, we do not recognize their culture for such monumental achievements. I tried to follow Chief Joseph's routes, where I had access. I admire that man and his care for his people. I wish we could have leaders like that today. We need them!
Now, of course, the issues are important. As he has hinted to, he is strong critic of Free Trade. This may put some of you off. Two parts of his platform address Free Trade. One calling for the return of the tariff system by leaving multiple free trade agreements like NAFTA and WTO. He also calls for all products essential to the USA, like for National Security, be made in the USA. Again, I realize this is controversial.
Beyond trade, however, his positions on the issues shouldn't disturb Progressives that much if at all. He calls urgently for Medicare-For-All stating that the solution to our health care woes "is simple. Provide National Health Insurance for everyone. Medicare for all ages. This is what every other advanced nation on earth has done, America can do it, it would work, and it would save American lives and the lives of Arkansans." And being against Free Trade, you know that guy is a staunch fighter against the corporations! Two of his main tenets on his platform are the end of corporate personhood and the strong enforcement of anti-trust laws and anything else that can end Too Big To Fail.
Progressives, in this election we can choose to support Blanche, the conservative that has no chance of winning and who derailed health care reform, has constantly flirted with cutting Social Security and Medicare, and overall is simply intolerable. Or we can make a statement. We can take this rare opportunity to tell the Democratic establishment that we Progressives are no longer going to be ignored and belittled by our own Party and then expected to fall in line in November. It's also a perfect chance to tell the Clinton machine to go fuck itself. So what's it going to be: a) Wall Street's next big lobbyist or b) a real, Main Street American?
If you choose B, you can find out more about his campaign and donate by clicking this link: John Gray for U.S. Senate