|
Greens for Kerry
|
View this Thread in Original format
| DaveSZ |
Some Green Party people have launched a coalition to support Kerry in battleground states:
http://www.greensforkerry.com/
The Greens for Kerry site includes information on Kerry's progressive voting record, and makes note of these ratings:
Organization Ratings Overview: The Kerry Record
League of Conservation Voters Lifetime Rating: 96%
AFL-CIO Lifetime Rating: 90%
Americans for Democratic Action Lifetime Rating (liberal rating): 92%
2001-2003 Leadership Conference on Civil Rights: 100%
2000-2003 National Education Association: 100%
1995-2001 Planned Parenthood: 100%
2001-2003 National Abortion Rights Action League: 100%
2001-2002 National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare: 100% |
|
|
| DaveSZ |
On John Ashcroft and the Patriot Act
Violating the Public Trust: John Ashcroft and the Patriot Act
As Greens, we disagreed with Kerry's vote in favor of the Patriot Act. But, we are heartened by his strong condemnation of Ashcroft’s tactics and misuse of its provisions. We also recognize that Kerry was one of the key Senators to demand a sunset clause to be included in the Act, meaning it will expire next year. Kerry has stated that he believes Aschroft has violated civil liberties and abused his authority with invasions of privacy without justification, holding detainees indefinitely without cause, and refusing to provide information on how his Department is using the new authorities granted in the wake of 9/11.
"I voted for the Patriot Act right after September 11th, convinced that, with a sunset clause, it was the right decision to make. . . . But George Bush and John Ashcroft abused the spirit of national action after the terrorist attacks. They have used the Patriot Act in ways that were never intended and for reasons that have nothing to do with terrorism." -- John Kerry
Kerry has proposed the following changes to the Patriot Act (Source: johnkerry.com):
· Stop indefinitely detaining American citizens and give basic rights to those detained.
· Stop "roving" wiretaps
· Strengthen terrorism laws that work, including sharing information with local law enforcement.
· Restrict authority to seize library or business records.
· Stop unreasonable sneak and peek searches, and ensure that there are reasonable safeguards on the use of roving wiretaps and the seizing of library and business records.
· Assuring that terrorism laws are used to combat terrorism and not in ordinary criminal cases, such as to send the FBI to churches or anti-war demonstrations or to help a political cause.
· Assuring government is transparent and information is available so that Congress and the public can hold the Justice Department accountable.
Reasonable Approaches for Detainees
John Ashcroft’s Justice Department has been so reckless and arrogant with detainees that even the Department’s Inspector General has cried foul. The Inspector General criticized the Justice Department for detaining 762 Arab and Muslim non-citizens, sometimes for many months, regardless of lack of evidence. Some were arrested in chance encounters or on flimsy leads, but all were sucked into the FBI's September 11-related investigation. Most were never charged with a crime and not one was charged in relation to the terrorism probe. The average wait for the FBI to clear a detainee for deportation was 80 days, with some waiting as long as eight months. In numerous cases, people not accused of any crime were locked down 23 hours a day, sometimes in solitary confinement, and shackled when outside their cells.
· STOP HOLDING DETAINEES INDEFINITELY WITHOUT CAUSE. John Kerry believes that we should stop indefinitely detaining people without charging them and without a judicial determination that they should be detained.
· RIGHT TO CONSULT A LAWYER. John Ashcroft has designated American citizens as “enemy combatants,” and has incarcerated them indefinitely without charging them with a crime, without allowing them to appear in court, without allowing them to consult with counsel or communicate in any way with the outside world. John Kerry believes citizens should have the right to a lawyer and that foreign citizens should be given the right to hearings to determine their status.
· NO NEW LAWS THAT PREVENT DISCLOSING INFORMATION ABOUT DETAINEES. Abuses of detainees under John Ashcroft’s watch have been meticulously detailed. Yet John Ashcroft wants to make it easier for the Justice Department to deny releasing material on suspected terrorists in government custody. John Kerry will ensure that there are no new laws preventing disclosure of detainee information.
· NO SECRET MONITORING OF ATTORNEY-CLIENT CONVERSATIONS. John Ashcroft has issued regulations that allow him to grant permission for secret monitoring of attorney-client conversations, without the normal judicial review, including those individuals who were detained but not charged with a crime. Detainees have long had a constitutional right to speak with their attorneys on a confidential basis. This regulation was put in place without any public comment. Kerry believes that this should not be simply left to the judgment of John Ashcroft.
Stop the Ashcroft Abuses: Ensuring Terrorism Laws are Used for Terrorism
The Ashcroft Justice Department has abused his role as Attorney General and undermined the spirit of any new authority he was given in the wake of September 11th by using anti-terrorism authority to be used to stop anti-war protestors and aid political goals.
· STOP ALLOWING FBI TO ATTEND ANY MEETING WITHOUT CAUSE. John Ashcroft has granted permission to FBI agents to attend church meetings, anti-war protests, rallies and other political organizing simply on their own initiative without requiring approval from a supervisor or showing that the meeting is connected to any type of investigation.
· STOP USING TERRORISM LAWS FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES. Ashcroft and his Republican friends in Congress even used the Department of Homeland Security to locate a number of Democratic legislators, whose presence was necessary to push through a controversial redistricting plan that would assure more Republican seats. To search for the missing legislators, Republicans used thirteen FAA employees and a new tracking system that was put in place to find terrorists.
· STOP USING TERRORISM AS AN ASSAULT ON IMMIGRATION: John Ashcroft has revamped the immigration process, weakening the immigration review and appeals process. He has also detained more than 1,400 individuals, including some 650 apprehended abroad and held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and more than 750 arrested in the U.S. who were arbitrarily classified and detained either at a maximum security federal prison or at an INS detention facility. Most of these immigrants are guilty only of routine visa violations that carry no penalties aside from deportation.
Prevent Unchecked and Unreasonable Invasions of Privacy
The Patriot Act took some important steps against terrorism in the wake of September 11th, including increasing information sharing among law enforcement and creating important tools and mechanisms to cut off terrorist financing. However the spirit of the law has been abused by the Ashcroft Justice Department, which has taken every opportunity to limit freedom and civil liberties. Given these abuses, John Kerry believes it is necessary to scale back several provisions in the Patriot Act to assure our enhanced security does not come at the expense of our civil liberties.
· MORE OVERSIGHT OF “SNEAK AND PEEK” SEARCHES. John Ashcroft has used new authority under the Patriot Act to perform “sneak and peek” searches without ever notifying anyone and without any judicial oversight. Agents can break into a home or business to take photos, seize physical property, examine and copy computer files, load a secret keystroke detector on a computer, or download the information from a previously loaded keystroke detector. Kerry believes there must be strong oversight to assure the authority can only be used in cases where notice of the warrant would endanger a person’s life or safety, result in flight from prosecution, or result in the destruction of evidence. Kerry will also require that law enforcement provide notice of the covert search within seven days, unless a court extends the period of notification if the need for secrecy continued.
· NO UNWARRANTED SEIZURE OF LIBRARY OR BUSINESS RECORDS. The Patriot Act enables law enforcement to obtain a vast array of library and business records with minimal judicial oversight. This provision permits the FBI to conduct fishing expeditions regardless of lack of suspicion. For example, an FBI agent could walk into a library and ask for records – a list of who has checked out what book – without having any clear suspicions of terrorism. Kerry believes that this broad authority to scrutinize the subject of library patrons’ interests is a threat to free speech and free thought. He will require a court order for the information and require the FBI to show that there are specific reasons to believe that the person is an agent of a foreign power.
· STOP UNCHECKED ROVING WIRETAPS. Under the authorities of the Patriot Act, the Justice Department can use roving wiretaps without adequate checks or safeguards. This roving wiretap authority threatens personal privacy and increases the likelihood that the conversations of innocent people wholly unrelated to the intelligence target will be intercepted. John Kerry will require law enforcement to identify the place or the target to be wiretapped and require that surveillance be conducted only when the presence of the target is ascertained. These are the requirements for use of roving wiretaps under the criminal code.
· NO BLANKET PREEMPTION OF EXISTING CHECKS ON LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT. In their proposed Patriot Act II, George W. Bush and John Ashcroft want to do away with important locally-determined consent decrees that prevent police officers from spying on citizens. Bush and Ashcroft proposed to terminate all state law enforcement consent decrees before Sept. 11, 2001. John Kerry will ensure that actions are not taken that make it easier for Federal or local law enforcement officers to spy on innocent people.
All Information Available to the People - Unless It's a National Security Risk
A government for the people should make information available to the people. The Bush Administration has failed to provide basic information about the war against terror at every step. They have withheld information about 9/11 that would have provided us with critical information to prevent another attack. John Kerry will require that information be released unless it explicitly undermines national security or the war on terrorism.
· BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAS FAILED TO RELEASE CRITICAL INFORMATION ABOUT 9/11. The Bush Administration has refused to release critical information to the 9/11 Commission. In fact, the Commission even issued a subpoena to Secretary Rumsfeld because of his unwillingness to share information that will help the nation learn how to prevent another terrorist attack. The Bush Administration also requested that the Republican leadership shut down the Intelligence Committee’s investigation of 9/11 over trivial disputes.
· STOP WITHHOLDING INFORMATION ON KEY GOVERNMENT DECISIONS. John Ashcroft has issued a new policy on the Freedom of Information Act that encourages agencies to fully consider any reason for not disclosing information, even if there is no indication the information will be harmful. The Freedom of Information Act is a critical part of assuring that the people can understand what their government is doing and John Kerry will restore it to assure this information is available.
· REGULAR REPORTING ON ANTI-TERRORISM ACTIVITIES. John Ashcroft and George W. Bush have fought to keep all information about the Administration’s actions to combat terrorism secret, limiting the ability of Congress and the public to hold the Administration accountable. Ashcroft has refused to provide information to Congress or to the public about his use of the Patriot Act, his manipulation of the immigration laws, and his use of the enemy combatant status. |
|
|
| DaveSZ |
On the Environment
League of Conservation Voters Lifetime Rating: 96%
"John Kerry is a man whose unparalleled record on environmental issues has earned him an extraordinary lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters. . . .This is a man who understands that the 2004 election is about the world we pass on to our children not passing the problems of our world to our children. John Kerry is the candidate...to defeat President Bush, who has compiled the worst environmental record in the history of our nation."
-- Deb Callahan, president of League of Conservation Voters
"I hope that every American who cares about the environment will unite behind John Kerry. And he will be a President who will give us the environmental leadership we so clearly need.”
-- Robert Kennedy Jr., 2003
Read Kennedy’s blistering expose of the Bush Administration’s assault on our environment in “Crimes Against Nature”, Rolling Stone Magazine
“They have their Healthy Forests thing; it's a fraud. Clear Skies; it's a fraud. It's all very Orwellian -- remember in 1984 where "war is peace"? That's the Bush environmental policy.”
-- John Kerry, October 2003
Kerry's Environmental Record
The Senator was one of the original organizers of the first Earth Day in Massachusetts (in 1970), and chaired the National Earth Day board in 1990. He and Senator Barbara Boxer passed a Senate amendment to impose a moratorium on oil drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and the West Coast, including California's coastline. The Kerry-Boxer amendment closes a loophole that would have allowed oil companies to drill in environmentally sensitive areas and protects the fishing and tourism industries from being trumped by Big Oil.
Kerry co-sponsored Senator Lincoln Chafee’s Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act of 2000, a bipartisan bill providing national brownfields cleanup and redevelopment in urban areas. This legislation expands tax incentives for federal brownfields coverage and places brownfields revitalization in a special attention category separate from Superfund. The goal is to stimulate the economies of these communities by attracting new residents and businesses partially through brownfields improvements.
Along with Senator Joe Biden, Kerry sponsored a State Department bill amendment that addressed the issue of global climate change by mandating the Bush Administration to engage in international environmental renegotiations and to work toward revising Kyoto Protocol. This amendment would promote shared international responsibility from all major world powers in preventing the acceleration of global warming.
The Sierra Club has publicly commended Kerry for his environmental record, stating that, "there is no stronger advocate in the Senate for environmental protection than John Kerry."
He and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) brokered a bipartisan compromise to propose increasing fuel-efficiency standards by 50%, with a goal to reach a fuel economy average of 36 miles per gallon by the year 2015.
Kerry chaired a governor's task force on acid rain as lieutenant governor and developed a national platform to address the problem. He’s rewritten fishery laws, marine mammal protection laws, plastic pollution laws, flood insurance protection laws, and coastal-zone management laws. He also took the lead on tuna/dolphin safety issues and on banning driftnet fishing. Kerry led the fight to stop Newt Gingrich from attacking the Clean Air and Clean Water acts in 1996, and the effort in the Senate to stop the drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. He also put together the first-ever sustainable development conference in Asia.
Kerry’s Environmental Agenda
Read Kerry's Environmental Plan
Kerry has said he would set up a toxic task force with the EPA, designating environmental empowerment zones for the most hazardous areas to receive federal priority. Through Kerry's Conservation Covenant, royalties from resource extraction will be reinvested and redirected into national conservation and protection efforts. He will develop a tracking system for chronic diseases that stem from pollutants, and will plug loopholes in the clean air laws after rolling back Bush's environmental deregulation. Other facets of Kerry's environmental plan involve water restoration for freshwater lakes, riverfronts, and lakefronts, as well as the removal of tax incentives related to urban sprawl. He will authorize full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, to be put toward the improvement of urban parks and recreation efforts.
John Kerry's energy plan includes a new Manhatten Project to make America independent of Middle Eastern oil in 10 years by fostering alternative fuels such as ethanol while making cars more efficient. The Manhatten Project will create 500,000 U.S.-based jobs in energy production. He also plans to make 20% of electricity come from alternative (non-oil) energy sources by 2020, along with some integration of hydrogen-based energy by 2020. He will make natural gas more affordable for Americans through the North American Energy Partnership, and will close a current loophole that allows luxury cars to receive tax deductions of up to $100,000.
Kerry has vowed to filibuster any attempt made by President Bush to open oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Senator Kerry has endorsed a Strategic Energy Initiative to target the private sector with incentives for the exploration of domestic and alternative energy sources. Approximately $16 billion in tax credits would be allocated for domestic oil production and development of alternative fuels. Experts predict this proposal could reduce American dependency on foreign oil by an estimated 1 million to 3 million of barrels per day. Tax incentives would be given to manufacturers producing fuel-efficient vehicles that utilize domestic biofuels and clean-burning fuel cell technology, as well as to investors of such technology.
In advocating a 20% national increase goal of converting to alternative energy vehicle technology, Kerry points to the billions of dollars in net growth accumulated by companies such as Honda, Shell, Toyota, BP, Ford, and Chevron when applying renewable resources ranging from electric to natural gas to solar to biomass to wind-based to fuel cell power when producing trucks, minivans, cars, and SUVs. This research has shown us that more jobs can be created from renewable fuels than from non-renewable fossil fuels, so consequently, an increase in renewable energy for the American auto industry will be both economically and environmentally advantageous.
Kerry has outlined a six-point plan:
1. A new and permanent commitment to “Green and Clean Communities.” He will fight for “Green and Clean Communities” by removing the threat of toxics from our communities, reinvigorating the Superfund cleanup program, improving our parks, and taking on traffic congestion and sprawl.
2. A new “Conservation Covenant” with America to protect and restore our nation’s Parks, lands, and other treasures for the benefit of future generations.
3. Protecting our Health by Reducing Dangerous Air Emissions. As President, John Kerry will immediately reverse the Bush-Cheney rollbacks of our nation’s Clean Air laws.
4. A new “Restoring America’s Waters” Campaign to clean up our nation’s waters, protect communities’ fresh water supplies, and help communities reclaim their riverfronts and lake-fronts as new centers of economic growth.
5. Reasserting American leadership in the international community to tackle climate change and other key global environmental challenges.
6. A new energy economy that will reassert American energy independence and power job growth and environmental improvement.
Kerry’s Voting Record: The Environment
2001-2002 On the votes that the League of Conservation Voters considered to be the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 92 percent of the time.
2002 On the votes that the Sierra Club considered to be most important in 2002 Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time.
2001 On the votes that the Sierra Club considered to be most important in 2002 Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time.
2001-2002 On the votes that the National Parks Consevation Association considered to be the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time.
1999-2000 On the votes that the League of Conservation Voters considered to be the most important in 1999-2000, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 94 percent of the time.
1999-2000 On the votes that the American Lands Alliance considered to be the most important in 1999-2000, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time. |
|
|
|
|
