From Nancy Skinner’s official website:

It certainly was a difficult decision to make.

It took a great deal of soul searching to come to my decision. I know what I’m in for, having run as the Democratic nominee from the 9th Congressional district in last November’s election. I was told then that it was a suicide mission to take on 14-year incumbent Joe Knollenberg, who walloped his previous Democratic challengers by 20 points. I believed differently and asked myself if people like me, who were so passionate about bringing about change, didn’t run for office, who would? So with the help of the entire Skinner for Congress team, we worked past exhaustion to get our message out – that alternative energy and advanced technology is the solution for our troubled auto industry and imperative for our national security and environment. And we nearly won, getting 47% (127, 690) of the vote to Knollenberg’s 51% (142, 390).

The race for November 2008 has begun, and with the early announcement of former lottery commissioner Gary Peters, some have argued that a primary should be avoided at all costs and that I should not run again, ironically, even for a seat I nearly won. While I can somewhat understand the argument behind “we can’t afford a primary,” recent developments in Washington, DC have persuaded me that we can’t afford not to have one.

There is a serious divide among Democrats on some big issues, including the war in Iraq and our energy future. I believe that too many Democrats, boxed in by their fear of the perception of being “against the troops,” have acquiesced to continuing this endless war.

President Bush is now asking for $190 billion more – bringing this historical travesty to nearly a trillion dollars. Even former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says candidly that this war was about oil. Greenspan predicts great turbulence in the oil markets ahead and that shocking oil prices may force Americans into driving plug-in electric vehicles.

Imagine if just $20 billion of that amount had been allocated to Michigan’s auto industry, to make a rapid transition to advanced technologies like plug-in hybrids or fuel cell vehicles and the hydrogen infrastructure to accommodate them. Instead of fighting change, Michigan could have led the way to energy security.

The fact is, too many politicians on both sides of the aisle are too fearful to be courageous and take the path of least resistance. Government is too big and bureaucratic and increasingly it is serving only the special interest groups that fund political campaigns. As we saw in Lansing, the process itself is broken.

Do I relish the idea of running again? No. The truth is that modern campaigning means the candidate will spend most of their time in a small room, on the phone, begging for money. This is to be able to afford the most thirty-second spots on TV attacking your opponent. And running in a primary is even more difficult because it feels like a family spat. The bottom line for me, as someone who has been very passionate and active in progressive politics for most of my adult life, is that the stakes are too high and the time is too short for me to walk away from what I know needs to be done.

We need courageous, progressive members of Congress willing to follow their conscience - even when it conflicts with their party leadership. And we do need more women. We have only two women among our 15-member delegation. That’s sad, but it’s understandable. It’s harder for women to mobilize the resources in the political arena, which is mostly controlled by men.

A primary election will allow voters to test their would-be leaders. Will you vote to de-fund the war in Iraq and safely bring the troops home? Yes or no? No blurry lines and messy middles. There is no need for bruising or negative personal campaigns. The Democratic presidential campaign has offered us a great choice of candidates who are competing on the idea battlefield, not the personal. No one says Senator Barack Obama shouldn’t run against Senator Clinton because he might hurt her chances against the GOP nominee? It’s called democracy – it’s called America.

So let’s allow each candidate for this great office to voice their ideas and actually let the people decide who they want to represent them in Congress; not the big donors, not the party insiders, but the people. It’s not an easy personal choice for me to make, but in my heart I know it’s the right decision.

That’s why today I’m announcing my candidacy for the United States Congress.

Nancy A. Skinner

Posted: October 19th, 2007 under nancy skinner, knollenberg watch.
Comments: none

We need to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and becoming the dominant power in the Middle East. I believe that with every fiber of my being regardless of what the political polls may say. If we don’t confront the evil in the heart of the Iranian president, the world will regret it. You know that is true. I know that is true.

Isn’t that exactly what you said about Iraq, Congressman? The only thing that the rational part of the world regrets about that is that they believed you and President Bush. That we got bogged down in an endless war that has cost billions of dollars and tens of thousands of innocent lives, all while making the world safer for terrorists.

And now you want us to do it again? On your word? On the President’s word? Again?

Shame on you.

Posted: October 19th, 2007 under president bush, national security, iraq, knollenberg watch.
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Joe Knollenberg has done a lot of terrible things while blindly obeying President Bush and the Republican Party - many involving the war in Iraq - but he’s reached a new low. How can a man sleep at night after deciding that his political party is more important than the health of American children?

The expansion of the S-CHIP program is supported by over 80 percent of Americans, but Joe Knollenberg thinks it is too expensive. He thinks it is more important to fund a failed war than to provide health coverage for our children.

Or maybe he doesn’t think at all. He follows the President like a lemming, and he wants to take all of us over the cliff with them.

Posted: October 19th, 2007 under health care, knollenberg watch.
Comments: 1