In his address to the nation, Bush focused almost completely on allowing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but he ignored clean and renewable sources of domestic energy production such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, tidal and non-edible biomass fuel sources. As oil supplies dwindle and we continue to produce electricity from polluting coal plants, our economy, health and national security are put at further risk.
· We have a massive opportunity to create gasoline and diesel – not just ethanol – from agricultural wastes and biomass here in Georgia and across the country.
· We must focus on low-carbon sources of energy that generate millions of family-supporting jobs and which drive dollars into the U.S. economy.
· We can create a tax base for our domestic programs and stop borrowing money from other countries.
Our leadership’s failure to recognize the massive economic opportunity that exists in building the infrastructure for clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency could result in more wars, economic despair and the collapse of the petroleum-dependent food production, processing and delivery network. We need more Senators with a vision of energy independence to invest in a new, energy-efficient infrastructure for the U.S.
Senator Chambliss doesn’t have any more understanding of the issue than the President does:
· Saxby voted against the Alternative Energy Subsidies amendment to the Energy Bill
· In 2002 and now again in 2008 Saxby has appeared in the Center for Responsive Politics’ Top 20 List of Congressional members who take money from oil and gas companies.
· Saxby will sell-out to the nearest oil company and remain complacent while
American people are seeing the value of their hard earned money erode and their quality-of-life diminish.
We cannot continue to elect “business as usual” politicians to Federal office or the struggles will worsen.
I understand the struggles. I have a wife and two young children. I work a full time job. I pay nearly $4 at the gas pump and I consistently see the price of groceries increasing. I can help lead the nation towards energy independence, energy efficiency and long-term economic security that will lead to an era of extended prosperity for everyone.
I get it. You get it. They don’t get it.
return to top
Fire Saxby Chambliss and Take Care of America
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 4/10/2008
It is imperative that every American ask themselves what the legacy will be, when -- in the future -- our children and grandchildren look back upon us and the choices we made. We are currently at a crossroads and we have to make a choice: do we grasp the opportunity to have happy, healthy, prosperous people?...Or do we stay idle, watching the disparity among the economic classes get larger and more of our people lose their homes, their jobs, their money and their healthcare.
There is grave danger in allowing Saxby Chambliss to remain in office for six more years. I say that it's time to fire Saxby Chambliss. Saxby has been fiscally irresponsible and beholden only to corporate interests that completely ignore the needs of working families and the basic necessities of healthcare, education and long-term economic security. Saxby has walked hand-in-hand with George Bush and Dick Cheney and has supported discrimination, wars, and has promoted a culture of fear of our government.
Georgia needs a fighter who will restore democratic values. I have the tools in my pocket to go to battle for Georgia and I can win against Saxby and stand up for working people. As the richest country in the world we must provide healthcare for our citizens and a world-class public school system for our children. For too long we’ve allowed the George Bush, Dick Cheney and Saxby Chambliss to take from the American people and give to their cronies while abusing the power of the government and bankrupting our Country.
Our hard-earned money has been given to foreign corporations, our jobs moved offshore, and our healthcare taken away while our citizens fight wars overseas. I don’t want to see one more person die in the Middle East when we have an immense capacity for domestic energy right here at home. I don’t want my children fighting a war for oil 20 years from now. I say that we must move forward.
return to top
Family-Supporting Jobs
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 4/1/2008
Green Collar jobs are family-supporting, career-track jobs that anchor the middle-class and are in the industries of the future.
Green jobs exist in manufacturing, construction, operations and maintenance, and new installations of water and electrical-power infrastructure.
Examples of green jobs that build green profits and green savings:
• Retrofitting buildings for energy and water-efficiency
• Building new, energy efficient mass transportation networks
• Building cars that are plug-in hybrids and that run on clean energy
• Revolutionizing energy and focusing on solar, wind and hydro power as well as biofuels
Every dollar we invest in Green Collar jobs will strengthen the middle class, reduce carbon pollution, improve quality of life and provide a federal and local tax base to pay for healthcare, Social Security, education and infrastructure, which, in turn, will generate more jobs.
This process will help our people and allow our country to pay down our debt.
return to top
Yes, we MUST secure our economy
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 3/15/2008
My calling is: “yes, we must.”
Yes, we must fund critical clean energy and energy efficiency research.
Yes, we must launch the next generation of domestic manufacturing by rapidly commercializing renewable component production.
Yes, we must retrofit our public buildings, our homes and our neighborhoods for greater efficiency.
Yes, we must trigger the cap on carbon emissions before 2012 and invest massively in carbon capture and sequestration technologies.
And yes, we must – above all else – secure our economy and arrest the scourge of global warming by requiring our trading partners to pay the price for the carbon content of products they ship across our borders.
In short, we must do unto others as we would do unto ourselves.
And if we achieve what we must, if we pass the laws and create the jobs that set our nation on the path to energy independence…If we meet the challenge of literally renewing America…
Then we will be rewarded with something far more precious than gold...we will earn the everlasting gratitude of our children and grandchildren for bequeathing them with what our parents gave us -- a world healthier, more prosperous, a world richer in opportunity than the one they inherited.
That is my calling. To seize this historic moment to do right by those we love most -- our families and the working men and women of our great country.
return to top
Green Jobs, a Green Economy, & Working Families
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 2/15/2008
I endorse the Employee Free Choice Act, which allows for the establishment of unions in any workplace where a majority of workers sign up.
I also support middle-class job creation through federal investments that are an opportunity for our nation to prove that economic development and environmental progress can and should go hand in hand. Examples such as the AFL-CIO and affiliated unions formation of the Apollo Alliance to create jobs with a public investment in sustainable energy such as hydrogen fuel systems and related transportation, construction, and manufacturing are exactly what we need.
We can combat climate change, achieve energy independence, and revitalize American manufacturing in the process. Last year, the AFL-CIO executive council approved a resolution that said, in part:
It makes sense to seek energy independence through investments in infrastructure, clean coal/carbon sequestration, advanced technology vehicles and their key components, alternative energy resources (solar, thermal, wind, biomass, etc.) and energy efficient buildings and appliances. Each of these should be linked to domestic investment and production.
These values and priorities are exactly what America needs, and this is what I will fight for in the U.S. Senate.
return to top
The America that I see in the 21st century
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 2/12/2008
The America that I see in the 21st century is one that once again leads the world in the education of its children and the retraining of its workforce. The America that I visualize will never allow a great city like Detroit to have a 75% dropout rate, or any state (such as is the case in Georgia today) to only graduate 60% of the girls that enter 9th grade. The America that I visualize knows that building more colleges and fewer jails is the way to grow prosperity for all citizens, and in the America that I see in the future, college is affordable and students contribute to the goodwill of the country by willingly volunteering their time to national service programs.
The America that I see in the 21st century is one that produces most all of its own goods and services within its own borders and within the constraints of its own resources. This America sends its soldiers toothpaste made in the USA with no poisons, and makes toys for its own children without lead-based paints, and grows its own food from local family farms. The America that I visualize balances its budget and has no debt because it sends dollars back into local economies instead of overseas factories and looks out for the needs of all people instead of the wealth of just a few.
I visualize an America that has the respect of the rest of the world once again. I see a compassionate America that can respond to humanitarian emergencies worldwide, but also has taken care of the humanitarian crises in our own backyard. I visualize an America where veterans are no longer sleeping on grates and under bridges because they have the healthcare that they need, and they are integrated back into the economy with good-paying jobs that support their families. I visualize an America that does not live in fear of bioterrorist attacks or "dirty" nuclear bombs because we finally work with the rest of the world in a way that engenders the love of one another living in "one big house" where we truly realize that Peace is every step.
return to top
Clean Energy = Good Jobs & Healthy Families
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 2/11/2008
I visualize an America where we are in control of our own clean and renewable energy. An America where the production, delivery, and consumption of energy grown and captured in the USA creates good jobs in America that pay a living wage to families so that they don’t have to work two or three jobs to take care of their families. In the America that I visualize, the alternative energy that we use helps us to transform to a low-carbon economy and to send our money back into the physical infrastructures and tax bases upon which we rely for sustenance.
I visualize an America where our citizens have the time to spend parenting their children and actually enjoy their lives instead of worrying about the basics necessities and the health of their family. I visualize working families making a decent enough living where they don’t have to stress nearly as much about paying exorbitant heating-oil bills and gas bills that drive them to be watching their clocks in order to get to their next job in time and therefore leaving their kids at home without time to read or help with their schoolwork. In this America of the future, working parents whose employers don’t offer healthcare can still take their children to the doctor because everyone has access to quality healthcare.
I see an America that understands the impact of its consumption on the natural world and actively works to improve the quality of life and health of the people and the ecosystems upon which we rely. I visualize an America with a Green Corp that works to restore the integrity and viability of all ecosystems, and is constantly retrofitting the urban infrastructure to be 21st century models of energy and water conservation. I visualize an America that leads the world in developing and exporting environmentally-friendly green and clean technology and that develops green-collar labor union jobs.
I see an America that is looked up to by other countries for leadership in setting policy that allows humanity to live within the Earth’s carrying capacity.
return to top
A Strong Voice for Georgia’s Working Families
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 2/1/2008
• Labor is a central part of our Democracy.
• I will vote for the Employee Free Choice Act!
• I will stand with Labor to demand that the exporting of jobs overseas be stopped and that more good-paying jobs are created here in America.
• I am a friend of Labor who will constantly fight for Georgia’s working families and will always be a vote for Labor in the U.S. Senate.
• When I am elected to the U.S. Senate, I will stand in unwavering solidarity with Labor to strengthen and defend worker’s rights to organize and bargain collectively.
• I will demand economic freedom for Georgia’s working families when I support a further increase in the Federal Minimum Wage to achieve a Realistic Living Wage.
• I will fight against the Republican anti-labor agenda by standing with Labor on the issues of Banning Striker Replacement, Davis-Bacon, Safety Standards, and Fair Trade.
• I understand and can feel the worries that the majority of Americans struggle with each day, and I will fight for good jobs in Georgia.
• I stand with and support working men & women in America. Nobody should be forced to work 2+ jobs to support a family!
return to top
Oppression of the Middle Class
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 1/20/2008
Unfair trade deals like NAFTA and organizations like the WTO- combined with Saxby Chambliss fighting against the rights of workers to unionize- all combine to equal the oppression of the middle class.
I will work with Democrats in Congress to roll back Bush's tax breaks for the wealthy--so that the richest 1 percent of Americans (with yearly incomes averaging $1.3 million) will not pocket $300 billion over the next four years.
Tax burdens on the middle class can be eased if the wealthy pay their share.
I support FAIR TRADE that protects workers' rights and the environment, while opposing wage-reducing "free trade" agreements that protect only corporate rights to globally exploit unprotected labor.
When I am in the U.S. Senate, I will fight to block renewal of "fast track" authority, which allows the White House to enact trade deals without Congressional amendment.
return to top
Economic Justice & Worker's Rights
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 12/8/2007
ECONOMIC JUSTICE:
· I believe that everyone who works should earn a living wage.
· I believe in the right to organize and that labor unions are crucial for a functional Democracy.
· I believe that labor unions are essential for a safe and just workplace.
· I believe that "right to work" laws should be abolished and that all impediments to union membership should be eliminated immediately.
· I believe that childcare should be affordable, safe, educational, and reliable so that all those who wish to work may do so without impediments and restrictions.
· I believe that government should provide an adequate safety net of income and services for those who through involuntary unemployment do not make enough to cover their necessities.
· I believe that safe, affordable housing is a right, not a privilege.
· I believe that taxes should be progressive and based on wealth and income.
· I believe that government subsidies, export incentives, and tax loopholes and shelters that benefit large corporations at the expense of small businesses, workers, and communities should be eliminated.
· I believe that everyone should have access to a good education, and those with special needs should have access to additional educational resources.
· I believe that teachers must to be well paid to encourage their retention.
· I oppose school vouchers and unfair rivalry from programs that compromise public education.
return to top
Governmental & Election Reform
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 11/9/2007
GOVERNMENTAL AND ELECTION REFORM:
· I believe that the freedom and fairness of our electoral system is absolutely critical.
· I believe that voting should be made easy and burden-free in order to maximize public participation in the most vital act of citizenship.
· I believe in same-day voter registration, early and mail-in voting, automatic return of voting rights for felons upon release, and the inclusion of a paper-trail for vote validation.
· I believe in publicly-financed election campaigns in which campaign spending is limited.
· I believe that openness and transparency are required to make a government free of corruption, and that campaign finance reporting, lobbying, gift, and open-meeting laws are necessary to reduce the influence of wealthy corporate and non-corporate interests.
return to top
Protecting Georgia and America
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 8/8/2007
The idea of taking care of business in our own backyard here in Georgia and in the United States is something upon which we can all find common ground. The first issue to consider is protecting our own shores and figuring out how to re-deploy the resources and humanpower once our troops are honorably returned home. The money we are currently spending in Iraq, needs to be spent in the United States. While some of that $100 billion a year can certainly be put to the nation’s top priorities (from paying down debt to financing social security), at the very least we need to start with an immediate redirection of wartime military spending to the restoration of dilapidated military hardware and domestic readiness operations to protect our own shores.
The redirection in funding is the impetus of the shift in policy and operations towards taking care of business in our own backyard. Since we are straddled with debt and unable to take care of the basic needs and requirements of our citizens here in the United States, it is quite rational to consider if we should begin charging a reasonable and appropriate amount of money to our allies for whom we provide military services and protections. Just for illustration purposes, if we are to consider the military protection that the United States provides to other countries to be a service that has to be maintained at all costs, then we would recognize that this is a time of unusually high costs (i.e. human, energy) and unexpected capital expenditures that are necessary to maintain the service (i.e. the reinforcement and regeneration our own degraded military infrastructure), and we would request financial support from those that we protect in order to ensure that the quality of the service continues even as our the U.S. debt levels continue to skyrocket.
return to top
Shift the Focus Home
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 7/6/2007
Taking care of business in our own backyard really takes a hold after we are able to get a handle on the war spending, increase our revenues for the services that we provide to other countries, and then begin to concentrate fully on domestic security issues and domestic infrastructure issues. More and more of the most respected think tanks and consulting firms in the country have begun to demonstrate, through a series of well-regarded articles and visualizations, that our bridges are failing, our highways and roads are in a sad state of disrepair, our water mains are crumbling, and our schools are in serious need of restoration. How are we planning to hande these issues? From where will the money come to take care of these problems if we have a constantly mounting federal debt and unbalanced budget that causes explosive annual deficits?
Just imagine what it would be like if you had 20% or 30% interest payments on your loaded-up credit cards and how that would limit your decision-making for your family, not to mention restricting your ability to do just about anything- from vacations, to private health care, to new clothes or a house-or possibly the inability to pay your basic bills. Now think about $9 trillion in debt right now in 2007 for the United States and how that limits our future decision-making. If we are to remain the greatest, most powerful and free country in the world for the next century, then we must stand up and speak out to demand a plan for balancing the budget, which will begin to allow us to invest in education, infrastructure, healthcare, and growth for our communities and businesses.
return to top
Practical Experience
Posted by: Rand Knight
on 6/7/2007
Taking care of business in our own backyard will be an easier task if we elect people who actually have their hands dirty with the problems that we are facing at home today. I want to see engineers, educators, scientists, doctors, mathematicians, social workers, soldiers, and working-class folks actually get elected and become a part of the decision-making legislative machine. After all, these are the people who directly face our country’s challenges everyday and understand the complexities of long-term solutions that we as a nation must adapt as our needs and circumstances change.
Why not send our best and brightest to Washington, DC? More people play fantasy football and fantasy baseball than vote in many cities, so why not draft our first-string players to tackle our country’s most pressing issues? We need sensible, loyal, and persuasive citizens who are extremely well informed and willing to sit down and bring people together to build consensus and realistic solutions to our problems – regardless of their political background or expertise in public policy. People with a vested interest in the middle and lower classes are apt to govern more responsibly than extremely wealthy senators and congressmen and women so far removed from the average American that they cannot reasonably represent those whom they claim to serve. The people of the United States of America deserve to have legislators who are willing to sacrifice their private aspirations and dedicate themselves to strategic planning in public service in order to fill the shoes of the great 20th century government leaders. May the passing of the torches begin now.
return to top
