Dear Friends,
The war in Iraq has been dragging on for over four years. Thousands of Americans have been killed, and, even more alarmingly, an estimated 700,000 to 1.2 million Iraqis have been killed. Two to four million Iraqis have been made refugees. We have polluted Iraq with depleted uranium manufactured here in Tennessee at the Aeroject Manufacturing Corp. in Jonesborough. The current leadership has failed to make any clear advances to end the war in Iraq.
This misguided war in Iraq has cost our state seven billion dollars. The war in Iraq has cost the United States what was left of its good name internationally, in addition to creating hundreds of thousands of enemies. If the United States was interested in promoting democracy, it has taken a step backwards in the Middle East through its example.By staying in Iraq, remaining as an occupying power, we have only reinforced perspectives in the Middle East and throughout the world that we are rogue bullies, hellbent on occupation and devastation whenever it is deemed to be in the interests of the rich and powerful of this nation.
In the meantime, we have continued the abandonment of our cities, barely remembering the national disaster of Katrina and the displacement of over 250,000, mostly poor people of color. Our transportation infrastructure is crumbling and federal estimates put the cost of replacement at $100 billion for just the most immediate repairs to guarantee the minimum public safety, let alone investing in options such as light rail, urban rezoning to reduce sprawl, and investment in alternative energy such as wind and solar. Our national priorities are completely misguided and misdirected.
We are investing in war and corporate subsidies, creating the greatest gap between the rich and the poor in our nation's history. The middle class is disappearing as free trade agreements, corporate profiteering, and the race to the bottom drive down wages for the working class not just in this country but around the world. This is not just destroying the quality of life for those in this country but also contributing to generations of misery around the world.
If there was ever a clarion call for our elected leaders to wake up, now is the time . Tennesseans deserve candidates that represent the best, progressive values in our country, values that built the working class into the middle class, that brought our nation out of the deep injustices of the pre-civil rights era, values that spawned the environmental movement, the queer liberation movement, the women's movement and the immigrant rights movement.
I am running for Senate this year because these are the values that I stand for. I intend to run to be a voice for the progressive issues that need to be discussed in Tennessee -- ending the war, bringing health care to every citizen, abolishing our nuclear weapons stockpile, addressing issues of racial justice in the South, media democracy, election reform, international peace, and publicly funded campaigns.
The only way to move forward in this state is to build a progressive movement to win on these issues that a majority of Tennesseans support. Now is the time for change. Now is the time to move forward in Tennessee. That is why I am asking for your support in my efforts to seek the seat of US Senator from Tennessee in 2008. My work as a peace activist working with statewide coalitions to end the war in Iraq for the past five years will be helpful in getting out the anti-war message which is at the core of my campaign. Having worked for the past ten years with a range of progressive coalitions in Nashville, Tennessee, and across the country has given me a sense of what progressives want in terms of representation at the Federal level and the issues that they are concerned about. Your support will ensure that a Progressive Political Voice is a presence in the 2008 election.
Thanks for your consideration of support this election season. If you would like to support a progressive candidate in Tennessee please make checks payable to:
Chris Lugo for US Senate
9 Music Sq So #164
Nashville, TN 37203
Click Here to Donate by Paypal
defaultContent