From my article in the Marin newspaper today:
Compromise is one thing, but capitulation is another — especially when core principles of decency and fairness are at stake.
We must stand our ground on behalf of seniors, children, the disabled and other vulnerable Americans. All the rhetoric about "shared sacrifice" rings hollow when the vast majority of us are being sacrificed to the financial benefit of big banks and large corporations.
There are plenty of sensible and effective ways to reduce the deficit — including a transaction tax on Wall Street, closure of tax loopholes for big companies, an end to the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthy and a major reduction in the military budget.
In Washington, job one should be creating jobs. And that won't happen by continuing to give tax cuts to the wealthy while imposing benefit cuts on the rest of us.
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey's announcement that she won't run for re-election in 2012 has created this open seat. I certainly agree with the press accounts that say I'm the candidate most in sync with her progressive politics.
I'm proud that our campaign already has several hundred volunteers and about 1,500 different individual contributors. We'll be working with people in every corner of this new congressional district -- at the grassroots.
