Memorial Day With Mitchell Howie-- A Vision For A Future Filled With Hard-Headed Hope For Alabama And For America

I got into the race to represent the Fifth Congressional District of Alabama when I looked around and saw it was apparent that the current occupant (the party switcher Parker Griffith) lacks a sense of service. Back in the mid-1960s, when our Congress passed then-controversial pieces of landmark legislation such as the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act, that institution was composed of 70% Veterans. Today, that number is at a historic all time low of 20%. Certainly, simply being a Vet doesn’t qualify you to serve in Congress. However, with all of the partisan bickering today over simple, common sense ideas like health care reform, financial reform, and clean energy one could hardly argue that a renewed sense of service is not needed on Capitol Hill.

One of the most important things I ever did during my service as a Captain in the United States Air Force JAG Corps was drafting wills on midnight mobility lines at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina. It was an important job, making sure service members had their families taken care of in case they didn’t come home from the war they were about to get on a plane to fly into. One night, on my way home from one of these mobility lines, I stopped for gas. As I watched the dials click over on the pump, it occurred to me that our petroleum purchases here in America essentially fund the enemies those brave men and women I had helped were going to fight. That thought has weighed heavy on my heart ever since.

That’s why part of my platform in this race is to create a Green TVA here in North Alabama. The Tennessee Valley Authority has brought jobs and electricity to homes all across the Tennessee Valley for decades, and I want to do the same with clean energy. A Green TVA just makes sense. We can create American jobs by manufacturing products like wind turbines and solar panels in the auto manufacturing plants who’s doors have closed over the passed several years. North Alabama’s deep water ports can ship these products to consumers and vendors all over the country, who currently must send American money to China in order to meet their clean energy needs. Research universities within this district can provide the know-how to develop newer, better clean energy technology so we can stop relying on foreign oil, and secure our nation with clean, American power.

Some have said this is a far fetched idea, but I remind them that the same was said about walking on the moon before a team of rocket scientists started their research at the Marshall Space Flight Center and Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, which still stands in Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District.

This Memorial Day, I hope all Americans will remember the service of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for American freedom, but also think about how many more of our brave men and women will have to lay down their lives to fund the oil addiction that weakens our country. We need clean, American power that brings jobs, a sustainable climate, and security that can’t be influenced by the same powers that fund international terrorism. That’s why my name will appear on tomorrow's Democratic Primary ballot in North Alabama, and one of the many reasons I’m going to bring service back to Washington.


UPDATE: Tomorrow Is Election Day In Alabama

Mitchell is running against two conservative corporate shills whose vicious, negative campaigns have made a mockery out of Democratic Party ideals. In all likelihood Mitchell will be forced into a primary with a sleazy lobbyist, Steve Raby, who has given thousands of dollars to Republicans in Alabama and across the country. If people thought it would be impossible to find a worse candidate than Parker Griffith, they never imagined Steve Raby running. Please take a look at the candidates' videos at the Madison County Democratic Party Reunion Thursday. If you can vote, or have friends or family in north Alabama, please consider Mitchell Howie, the candidate who could make a real difference and offer a clear alternative to Parker Griffith or whatever gunk the Republicans dig up to run in their primary tomorrow.