What A Grassroots Progressive Blueprint For America Sounds Like Far, Far From The Beltway-- OH-06

We've written a few posts here and there about Steve Israel's worst recruit of the 2014 cycle, Jennifer Garrison, an anti-Choice, anti-environment, homophobic fanatic who has been embraced by the DC Blue Dogs and by others from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. We haven't done as much about Garrison's progressive primary opponent, Greg Howard, mostly because he is relatively new to the field of battle. Progressives in eastern and southern Ohio didn't mobilize to find a real Democrat until early in 2014, long after Garrison assumed she had wrapped up the nomination (having chased state Senator Lou Gentile out of the race).

This morning, Gallia County's Gallipolis Daily Tribune published a report by Michael Johnson on Greg's campaign blueprint. ALthough Greg only draws distinctions between himself and Republican Incumbent Bill Johnson, almost all of those distinctions allies equally well to Jennifer Garrison. Her vision of governance has far more in common with Johnson and the GOP's than with Howard's and the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party's.

Greg Howard has several points for what he calls a “blueprint for a Democratic and economically sound society.”

...The first item on his blueprint calls for no cuts to Medicare or Social Security.

“People need to know the things I took for granted,” he said. “Medicare and Social Security are not entitlements. We pay for them and they shouldn’t be messing with them.”

Howard also believes in job creation and plans to call for the end to the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“I’ve looked at (NAFTA) pretty hard,” he said. “It promised 600,000 to 800,000 jobs and we’ve lost 1 million. Mexico hates it, too. They were in the streets not too long ago protesting it. It only benefits a few guys on Wall Street. As far as I’m concerned, (NAFTA) needs to go away.

“The Trans-Pacific Partnership should not even get started,” Howard added. “We need to review all these trade laws and start creating legislation for the American people.”

Howard said monetary reform is in need to build infrastructure in the U.S.

“High-speed broadband is a necessity, not a luxury,” he said. “Companies won’t come here if there is no access to it. The fast Internet-- the gigabit system, does not exist in District 6 or anywhere in Ohio.”

Howard also said many highways and bridges are needed.

“Many of our state, county and township bridges have been de-rated,” he said. “This limits growth at the grass roots level. We need a program to bring them up to highway standard.”

Howard also believes money should stay away from politics.

“Government is not broken, it is ‘fixed,’” he said. “It is working just as Big Money intends. The Supreme Court decision, Citizens United vs. FEC, of 2010, has allowed corporations to flood the political scene with money. This drowns out the voices of individuals and effectively silences them. No longer is it ‘one person, one vote.’”

Other points on Howard’s blueprint include employment, energy, agriculture and education.

“Congress has worked diligently at keeping unemployment high,” he said. “High unemployment equates to high corporate profits.”

Crystal clear… and if you'd like to help make sure Greg Howard is the Democratic nominee in Ohio's 6th district-- and voters there have an actual choice rather than being forced to pick between two conservatives-- you can contribute to one of the most grassroots-oriented campaigns anywhere in the country… right here.