[Cross-posted on DailyKos and MyDD.]
Greetings to the national Netroots. I’m Steve Marchand and I’m running for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire to challenge John Sununu in 2008.
I’m writing today because I want to extend the dialogue I’ve begun with our New Hampshire Netroots to the national level. As a longtime reader of national blogs like DailyKos, MyDD and Swing State Project, I value the open forum you’ve created, a forum that enables some of the most productive progressive dialogue in America today.
I’m running for U.S. Senate because we need a change in our nation’s direction. In my recent New Hampshire Democratic State Convention speech, I spoke about my experience and my vision for America. You can watch the video of that speech on my website.
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In my speech, I said what I strongly believe: we need to end the Iraq War right now. We need to end it because it was fought under false pretenses and has been conducted with reckless leadership by the Bush Administration.
I applaud those members of Congress (including New Hampshire’s own Rep. Paul Hodes and Rep. Carol Shea-Porter) that stood up to the administration and refused to issue them a blank check for this war with a NO vote on the recent Iraq funding bill. We need to see real withdrawal progress–right now–or we need to stop funding failed policies.
There are other battles, however, that we also must not lose sight of. We need to guarantee affordable, quality healthcare coverage for every American, rich or poor. As someone who has lived through the consequences of the national healthcare crisis, I understand what lack of coverage can mean. Let me explain a bit more.
I grew up on the working-class West Side of Manchester, New Hampshire. My father, a carpenter, and my mother, a millworker, came to this country from Quebec to build a better life for their children. We didn’t have much, but more than anyone, they helped me understand the value and the power of hard work.
In the early 1990’s, however, New Hampshire’s economy was hit hard and our housing market crashed. My father was left with a home that he couldn’t sell. My family went without income for an entire year. In this time of crisis, my parents did what millions of Americans have been forced to do: they dropped their expensive health insurance so that they could afford to feed their family.
And then, in her late thirties, my mother suffered a heart attack.
We were lucky; she recovered and is still well today. But my Mom and Dad were forced to declare bankruptcy just to keep their home. These are the consequences of not having healthcare coverage when you need it most.
So when John Sununu says that we need to “stop complaining about healthcare,” well, I dare him to tell that to my parents and the millions of Americans without healthcare coverage living paycheck to paycheck.
We also need a Senator who knows that global warming is a problem and that we need real solutions to it–right now. As Mayor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, I’ve fought to make sure that our city is taking important, meaningful steps to become more green. We aren’t waiting for the federal government to take the lead. We’ve built the only Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED)–certified public building in New Hampshire, our new public library. We’ve converted our city fleet to biodiesel. And we’ve begun energy audits of all public buildings so we can make real changes to our energy use.
The best part is, these changes in Portsmouth are saving taxpayers money. Indeed, I’ve gained a statewide reputation for earning the trust of taxpayers by delivering value for their tax dollars. We’ve shown that you can be fiscally responsible and socially progressive at the same time. Those are values that I will take with me to the U.S. Senate.
And finally, as the recent Supreme Court decision shows, we cannot take Roe v. Wade for granted. As the only 100% pro-choice candidate in this race, Democrat or Republican, I will always defend a woman’s right to make her own choices about her own body.
I look forward to being actively engaged with you here and in our New Hampshire blogs. I appreciate your consideration, welcome your feedback, and encourage you to learn more about my campaign at my website, www.stevemarchand.com. Together, we can bring real change to the U.S. Senate.