Vote Tasini

Tuesday is primary day in New York, and it’s an interesting one. Local term limits, combined with extreme dissatisfaction with incumbents at all levels of government have led to an unusual number of contested elections. Furthermore the continued implosion of the New York State Republican party means that a lot of offices are going to be decided on Tuesday. Registered Democrats should be sure to get out and vote.

The first election is for U.S. Senate, and here the choice is an easy one for all progressives and libertarians: Jonathan Tasini. Tasini’s a labor activist and former National Writer’s Union president with a long record of commitment to progressive causes. He’s been directly involved in protecting the rights of writers and readers from the copyright englobulators of the corporate media. He’s a staunch opponent of the Iraq war, and can be counted on to oppose the national security state that’s been imposed on us by successive administrations, both Democrat and Republican.

His opponent of course, is Hilary Clinton, an Iraq war supporter who voted in favor of the Patriot Act and in favor of cluster bombing Lebanese civilians. Clinton has an undeserved reputation as a progressive based mostly on a few papers she wrote in law school. The truth is she doesn’t differ significantly from her husband on any issues. She’s a moderate conservative in the Nixon mold, and only the extreme rightward tilt of the political classes and the misogyny of talk radio has painted her as a liberal. She’s no friend to the poor, to the imprisoned, or to the people being bombed by U.S. warplanes. We need someone to stand up for freedom and basic decency for everyone, not just rich white Americans. Jonathan Tasini is that man.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 10th, 2006 at 7:27 AM and is filed under New York, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the Atom feed. You can make a comment, Digg this story, or trackback from your own site.