Speech addressed to the CT AFL-CIO Political
Committee
Sunday, August 18, 2002.
Where I Stand.
Leadership.
I am not afraid to take strong stands on issues. I am a patriot who is not afraid
to challenge the so-called Patriots Act. I also am not afraid to challenge (1) the
fundamentally flawed "war on terrorism", including the upcoming war on Iraq,
which is killing hundreds of innocent people, creating more terrorists and
making our world more dangerous for all of us; (2) the failed drug war, which
is putting sick people in jails instead of hospitals and treatment programs; (3)
the insurance companies and HMOs that are profiting from health care
instead of providing health care to all Americans. I am not afraid to stand up
for (1) reparations for the descendants of African-American slaves; (2) equal
protection for gay and lesbian families; (3) Taft-Hartley’s repeal for organized
labor—yes, the repeal of Taft-Hartley, when have you heard a Democrat talk
about that?; and (4) environmental justice for our communities.
Independence and Integrity.
The largest political group in this country today are the unaffiliated,
independent voters who are fed up with the Republicans and Democrats and
are looking for independent candidates to support. Because Greens are
independent, we remember that the Declaration of Independence begins:
"We, the People…", not "We, the Corporations…." As Ralph Nader says: "Big
business has been colliding with American democracy and democracy has
been losing."
We also have integrity. We do not take campaign contributions from Big
Business and Corporate PACs, as the "Enron" Republicans and "Arthur
Andersen" Democrats do. And Rosa DeLauro is an "Arthur Andersen"
Democrat. She twice accepted contributions from Arthur Andersen’s PAC and
then voted for what Nader calls "The Corporate Fraud Protection Act," which
made it more difficult for shareholders to sue crooked companies like Enron.
This law, actually known as the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, also
limited the liability of auditing firms like Arthur Andersen, which had helped companies like Enron lie, cheat and steal from its employees, its shareholders and every pension fund beneficiary that held stock in these companies. This is why independent Green candidates, like me, can and will represent the people in their districts, not just the corporations that have given over one billion dollars in campaign contributions to both Democrats and Republicans in the last decade.
Fairness.
You and I know that our health care system is rigged, our financial system is
rigged, and our political system is rigged. The majority of Americans who play
by the rules are fed up and ready to vote out of office the politicians who are
supported by and are part of these rigged systems. That’s why I think not only
some of you, but also thousands of other voters in the Third District will vote
Green in November and send me to Washington.
Charlie Pillsbury
for
Congress.
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