Transcript for Candidate Free Air Time: 2008 Howie Hawkins

My name is Howie Hawkins. I'm the Green Populist candidate

for Congress in the 25th District. I'm a Green because

building a Green economy is how we can recover

from the economic crisis we now face and it is how

we can stabalize climate in order to prevent

catastrophic global warming. I'm a Populist because

we need fairer distribution of income and wealth

and power. I am the only candidate in this race who opposed the Wall Street bailout

from the start and called instead for taxpayer buy-in

to create publicly owned and controlled banks

that would restore credit and investment and get the

economy moving again. I am the only candidate in this

race who supports a single payer national health insurance

plan. I am the only candidate who says it is time for an economic bill of rights,

starting with the right to a job at a living wage.

Private jobs are good, but public jobs are necessary

for full employment. When people cannot find jobs in the private

sector, they should be able to go to the employment

office, not the un-employment office and say I want

my job. And they should be put to work in public works and services

to meet needs defined by that local community.

I am the only candidate in this race who supports a

full withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.

I am the only candidate who supports deep cuts in military spending

and investing the savings to rebuild our communities with sustainable green

technologies. If we don't cut military spending and

bring all our troops home there won't be enough money

to meet the people's needs and restore the environment. It is time to end these wars

for oil and devote our public resources to building a

new green infrastructure of solar powered sustainability,

renewable energy, mass transit, building our railroads,

clean buildings, green manufacturing,

organic agriculture. That is how we can put people

back to work for economic prosperity.

We need public investment in the real economy as labor and industry

and we need to reregulate the paper economy of finance

and make it serve the real economy of production again.

So I stand for a real alternative to the two

old parties now entrenched in Congress. That is why I offer my candidacy

and ask for your vote.