Matthew Thieke | ||||||||||||||
I ran as a Green for US House of Representatives.
| Job History: | |
 | Matt has been involved in progressive politics for over 25 years and joined
the Green Party in 2000. He has worked as a fundraiser for environmental groups, as an intern with the State Planning Commission, and for the last 18 years as a computer software analyst, specializing in healthcare applications. |
| Important Issues: | |
| IRAQ / FOREIGN POLICY
• Remove all troops and mercenaries from Iraq within 6 months. Push Iraq’s parties to a negotiated settlement. • No permanent bases in the Middle East, close most overseas bases. • Have the U.S. join the International Criminal Court. • Ban the use of landmines, cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions. • Respect the right of self-determination for all people everywhere. • End military aid to Israel, and push both sides to negotiate the creation of a viable Palestinian state. • Negotiate for a worldwide reduction in weapons. • Work to reform the UN and strengthen its peace-keeping missions. THE ENVIRONMENT • Fight pollution and global warming by encouraging alternative fueled “clean” cars and improved mass transit and conservation. • Shut down nuclear power plants. Replace them with renewable energy sources like wind, solar and water. • We need a new, 'green' 'New Deal'. By shifting money from the bloated military budget, we can create an infrastructure improvement program that creates jobs and “greens” our economy with clean technologies and puts people to work. THE ECONOMY • Create a universal, single-payer, health care system. • Repeal the Bush tax cuts, and make corporations and the rich pay their fair share of taxes. • Oppose public money being spent on corporate welfare. CIVIL RIGHTS • Oppose racial and ethnic profiling. • Support an individual’s right to make reproductive choices. • Support full and complete equal rights for gay couples, including marriage. • Abolish the death penalty. • Repeal the USA PATRIOT Act and the Military Commissions Act. • Repeal the recent changes to the FISA Act. Restore the Bill of Rights. • Close Guantanamo Bay and all secret prisons. • Support a program of reparations for African Americans and the Native American nations. WORKERS’ RIGHTS / IMMIGRATION / TRADE • Advocate the right to a living wage, and to join a union. • Repeal NAFTA, CAFTA and the WTO. • Repeal China’s “most favored” trade status. • Immigration reform that provides amnesty for most undocumented workers, secures our borders, and makes it easier for immigrants to apply for entry. • Oppose privatization of vital community services such as schools, hospitals, and prisons. • Support a just transition for all displaced workers whose industries have failed. GREATER DEMOCRACY • Enact “Clean Elections” public financing of Campaigns, and mandate free air time for all candidates. • Support Instant Runoff Voting, letting you rank the candidates by order of preference. • Support Proportional Representation, so minority voices are heard. • No electronic voting machines without verified receipts. Don’t let private companies count our votes. • Repeal the Electoral College. • End the legal concept of corporate “personhood”. |
| My speech at a public forum on the Iraq war, held in Cherry Hill, NJ.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iKLHSx-kto&feature=user |
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