- Omar N. López Statement to the Press
[En Español]
Monday, December 10, 2007
 |
|
Omar N. Lopez
|
Today we are announcing that I am seeking the Green Party of Illinois nomination for
the position of Congressman for the Illinois 4th congressional district. Should the Party nominate me, my name
will be on the ballot for the November 2008 general election.
In these struggling economic times, voters in the 4th congressional district need and
deserve proper representation. My decision to seek the
nomination of the Green Party responds to the need to bring a new direction, a new vision and new leadership to
the stale and ineffective representation which the incumbent is known to provide.
I have chosen the Green Party because it is the Party that truly reflects the democratic
principles embodied in the Constitution of the United States of America. It is my belief that the Green Party
is the only viable alternative to the morally bankrupt and politically impotent behavior characteristic of the
two parties currently in congress. The Green Party is known to champion workers' rights, quality education for
all, as well as a platform of just and comprehensive healthcare and immigration reform.
 |
|
Campaign Supporters
|
As your congressman I will fight to place the immigration debate within the context
of labor law reform, rather than to continue with the current myopic focus on national security and the single-minded
need for law enforcement. As long as our legislators continue to define immigrant workers as criminals and ignore
the fact that their labor creates much of our national wealth, fear-based conclusions will continue to call for
the construction of larger and larger border walls and the build-up of a greater military presence. That is, by
continuing to ignore the intimate relationship between migration and undocumented worker's abuse, legislators will
not see the need to advocate for a living wages nor to begin the task of legislating for proper labor law reform.
Concommitantly, until our legislators recognize the link between globalization, our failed free trade agreements,
and the deepening economic crisis at home and abroad, the conditions which force millions to migrate will never
be addressed or resolved.
The United States faces many global challenges. Our involvement in the Iraq war amidst
the Middle East crisis has forced our own citizens to question our government's foreign policy while the value
of the dollar is in decline world-wide. Latin American nations with democratically elected presidents are forcing
a progressive re-arrangement of regional economic power. In the face of these global challenges we cannot
afford to neglect the educational preparation of our children for the new realities of global politics. Quality
education must be available to all as it is the only real safeguard to our democratic way of life.
A nation whose views are driven by tax breaks for the wealthy and clouded by denial
for the realities of our failed free trade agreements cannot prosper. Our nation needs to redefine the road to
economic recovery and health. Our citizens must have access to quality healthcare for them to be able to
contribute with their labor to the betterment of our Nation. Every single citizen must be healthy enough to be
able to learn, and feel free of discrimination and persecution because of their national origin or economic status.
Today, as I announce my intention to run for congress, I am appealing to every able
bodied citizen to join me in our campaign. I want your help in bringing a new direction, a new vision and new leadership
to the 4th congressional district. We need it; we deserve it!
|
