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Fourth District includes:
Bridgeport - Darien - Easton - Fairfield - Greenwich - Monroe - New
Canaan - Norwalk - Oxford - Redding - Ridgefield - Shelton (part) -
Stamford - Trumbull - Weston - Westport - Wilton
Connecticut Green Party Announces Endorsement of Diane Farrell for Congress
NORWALK, CT, October 23, 2006 - The Connecticut Green Party has agreed to endorse Diane Farrell
in her race for Congress in the 4th Congressional District and accept
the strategic withdrawal of its candidate, Richard Duffee.
Duffee and Farrell made the announcement at a joint press conference at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk at 2:30 P.M.
"On Saturday, October 21, 2006, the Fairfield County Green Party
decided that Republican threats to the future and to our form of
government are so serious that it is more important to bring the House
of Representatives under the control of the Democrats than to run a
Green candidate for Congress in the 4th District," said Duffee.
"Our decision is a vote of confidence in Diane Farrell's seriousness
about putting some brakes on Bush's imperial presidency and at least
returning us to the rule of law," said Duffee, a former law professor.
By Connecticut law, Duffee alone has the right to take his name off the
ballot. He chose in July to allow the Fairfield Greens to make that
decision in caucus as the campaign developed.
"I would like to thank the Green Party and Richard Duffee for their
decision today," said Farrell. "I would also like to mention the
valuable voice brought to the table by Richard Duffee in this year's
debates especially on topics such as human rights, the War in Iraq and
socio-economic issues affecting our country and I believe that the
Green Party should be included in future debates here in Connecticut's
4th district."
"We share a common belief that the Bush administration has led us
astray especially as it pertains to the War in Iraq, energy policy,
education and environmental issues," Farrell said.
Farrell met with members of the Fairfield County chapter of the Green
Party on Saturday and explained her position on issues of concern to
the Greens.
Duffee said that the Greens decided to back Farrell because she appeals
to a larger audience than the Greens at the present time and she can be
most effective in reversing the current war policies on Iraq.
"Our decision to back Diane Farrell is not a decision to become
Democrats," Duffee said. "Nearly all of us became Greens because we
believed that the Democratic Party does not adequately serve the public
interest because it is not sufficiently committed to resist corporate
pressure."
"But the Bush Administration is not only negligent and infinitely
pliable to corporations. It is also deceitful, flagrantly
unconstitutional, criminal, and more impeachable than any previous
government. So the choice between Democrats and Republicans is now a
choice between the status quo before 2001 and rapidly growing graft,
fascism, war, and chaos. If we want any competent government at all, if
we want a future, we must side with the Democrats," Duffee said.
Farrell noted that the Democrats and Greens share common goals that
include universal literacy, universal pre-kindergarten education, fully
funding transportation initiatives such as mass transit that we so
desperately need here in Fairfield County, and refocusing the nation on
the development and use of clean energy sources.
"Diane will work in Congress to bring about a full review of the Indian
Point Nuclear Power Plant, which is upwind of hundreds of thousands of
Fairfield County residents and a target for terrorists," said Nancy
Burton, the Green Party candidate for Attorney General.
"I am pleased to join Eliot Spitzer and others in working to ensure
that adequate replacement power is developed and available in the
region to allow for an orderly and phased shutdown of this facility,"
Farrell said.
"I enjoyed sharing a stage with Richard Duffee and the Green Party in
the debates and I look forward to working with him and the Fairfield
County Green Party in the future," Farrell said.
Duffee said among other reasons given by the Greens for their decision
to back Farrell are their conviction that current war policies be
reversed, that Shays must be removed because he is a prime promoter of
the war in Iraq, war against Iran must be prevented, a Bush impeachment
can only occur with a Democratic majority and the Bush environmental
legacy and failure to address global warming require a Democratic House
to undo.
The Connecticut Green Party continues to present candidates for U.S.
Senate, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer,
Comptroller, Attorney General and state legislative races.
Richard Duffee's Candidate Statement:
We Americans don't understand that our power is so stupendous that
nearly all our international problems are "blow-back"--unintended
consequences of our own actions. We spend 18.5 times as much per person
on our military as other nations, on average, do, yet pretend we merely
defend ourselves. We operate 725 military bases in 132 countries and
run thousands of covert operations, yet imagine other countries are
more aggressive than we are. We dishonestly blame other countries.
Nuclear Winter from accidental war and Global Warming from CO2
emissions threaten our physical security far more than terrorism.
First, we should make Nuclear Winter impossible by convening all
nuclear-armed states to disarm proportionately until all nukes are
destroyed. But our conventional forces are so terrifying that we can
only accomplish this by putting our weapons on the table. Second, we
should devote most military funds to renewable energy and energy
efficiency.
To begin creating international stability, we should reform
international economic institutions to lift 1.2 billion people out of
absolute poverty. We must earn the world's trust by closing Guantanamo
and our 140 secret prisons. We should strictly observe international
law and ban all covert operations intended to prop up tyrannies and
overthrow democratically elected governments. We should join the
International Criminal Court and prosecute international criminals
instead of using them as excuses to make war.
We can improve our quality of life by reducing disparities of wealth
that cause crime and disease. To fund universal single-payer health
care and education nationally, we should restore income taxes on
millionaires and corporations to 1940's levels. We should allow no CEO
to earn more than five times the wage of the least-paid employee. We
should end the race and class injustice of the phony "War on Drugs,"
which wastes the lives of more than a million people needlessly in
prison.
We must reform election law, creating a tamper-proof voting system,
public funding of all campaigns, instant runoff voting, and
proportional representation. If we do not impeach Bush and Cheney for
defrauding Congress to invade Iraq, they risk setting off
uncontrollable events by senselessly bombing Iran.
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Get campaign news and share ideas! Our email group is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RichardDuffee
Richard is one of several Green candidates running in Connecticut.
See the whole Green team!
Ten Key Values of the Green Party (click for details):
GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY - SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY -
ECOLOGICAL WISDOM - NON-VIOLENCE - DECENTRALIZATION - COMMUNITY-BASED
ECONOMICS AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE - FEMINISM AND GENDER EQUITY - RESPECT
FOR DIVERSITY - PERSONAL AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY - FUTURE FOCUS AND
SUSTAINABILITY
Fourth District includes: Bridgeport - Darien - Easton -
Fairfield - Greenwich - Monroe - New Canaan - Norwalk - Oxford -
Redding - Ridgefield - Shelton (part) - Stamford - Trumbull - Weston -
Westport - Wilton
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November,07,2006
REPUBLIC NOT EMPIRE
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