Oakland Tribune – 2005-12-15 17:22:54
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_3283275
Feinstein May Encounter Green Challenge in’06
Oakland Tribune
OAKLAND , CA (December 15, 2005) — A co-author of San Francisco’s successful ballot measure opposing military recruiters on public high schools and college campuses has announced he might run as a Green Party candidate against U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Activist Todd Chretien, 36, of San Francisco has formed an exploratory committee and expects to announce a final decision in the next 10 days. In a news release, Chretien said he wants to make the election a referendum on the war in Iraq, forcing Feinstein to come to grips with polls showing a majority of California voters oppose the war.
“The Republican Party may be afraid to challenge Dianne Feinstein, but the Green Party and other progressives who represent millions of Californians who are opposed to the war in Iraq are not,” he said.
Los Angeles businessman Bill Mundell last week announced he will not seek the Republican nomination for the 2006 U.S. Senate race, leaving the GOP without any clear contenders.
Feinstein was among Senate Democrats who voted to authorize the war, but recently she has said she regrets her decision and has joined other lawmakers in pushing for completion of a stalled investigation into the use of prewar intelligence. Many on the left have faulted Feinstein for not working to bring the troops home.
Anti-war and human-rights activist Medea Benjamin challenged Feinstein on the Green ticket in 2000, earning 3.1 percent of the vote; Chretien was her campaign’s statewide student coordinator. 2000 Republican candidate Tom Campbell got 36.6 percent, while Feinstein won with 55.9 percent.
Challenging Dianne Feinstein’s a Pro-War Record
Todd Chretien / Green Party Candidate for Senate
The occupation of Iraq is the test of our generation. Over 2,100 young Americans and 100,000 Iraqis have paid with their lives. The USA Patriot Act is threatening our civil liberties. Thousands of people have been detained for the “crime” of being Arab or Muslim. Our hospitals and social services are starved to feed the skyrocketing Pentagon budget. California’s public schools, colleges and universities are crumbling under the weight of the No Child Left Behind Act and 100% tuition hikes.
But the tide is turning. Polls show that 60% of the American people want the US to get out of Iraq. Arnold lost all of his ballot initiatives in November. Students are protesting military recruiters. American soldiers are refusing to participate in an unjust war. Family members of fallen soldiers are speaking out. Hundreds of thousands of people marched on September 24 to bring the troops home now.
There were a small handful of Democratic lawmakers who opposed Bush’s war.
Senator Dianne Feinstein was not one of them. She voted in favor of the invasion of Iraq. She voted in favor of the Patriot Act, and its renewal. She’s voted for every massive escalation in the Pentagon budget.
Sen. Feinstein disagrees with the majority of Californians that the war must end immediately. She’s hoping you won’t notice that she makes George Bush’s war possible. She doesn’t deserve to be sent back to Washington, D.C. for another six years without a serious challenge.
That’s why I’m asking you to volunteer time, donate whatever amount you can and cast your vote for peace. Let’s bring the anti-war movement to the polls. Sen. Feinstein has all the money, the corporate connections, and the defense contractors on her side. All we have is the desire to build a movement for peace and justice.
Troops Home Now.
Todd Chretien For US Senate 2006, 1710 Broadway #124, Sacramento CA 95818. 1-888-LEAVE IRAQ (1-888-532-8347). todd4senate.org
