http://winograd4congress.com/images/stories/Campaign_Finance_Reform.jpg Problem: Banks, health insurance companies, war profiteers, and other large corporations unduly influence lawmakers by spending inordinate amounts on campaign contributions and hiring professional lobbyists to inundate Capitol Hill, as well as our state capitol. Consequently, big money can determine policy on everything from health care to warfare.  Plus, too much time is spent on raising money, not enough on governance.

Solution: Offer an alternative method for campaign financing, using various means – corporate taxes, government contractor and industry lobbyist fees, and auction revenue sources – to establish a public fund to match candidates’ small donations, thereby empowering grassroots candidates.

Some of the goals of fully publicly-funded campaigns include:

*accountability: increases candidate accountability to entire district; reduces influence of special interests
*diversity: creates opportunities for candidates from different backgrounds
*access:  allows more time for candidates to talk to voters
*fairness: provides enough money for an effective competitive campaign
*flexibility: limits the time candidates must devote to fundraising

Marcy Winograd supports both the federal Fair Elections Now Act (H.R. 1826 & S. 752) and The California Fair Elections Act, two efforts, federal and state, to enhance the power of the people in the legislative process.

The Fair Elections Now Act, introduced by House Reps. John Larson (D-CT) and Walter Jones (R-NC) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), would enable congressional candidates to run for office without relying on large contributions and big money bundlers, and would free them from constant fundraising in order to focus on community concerns. From the Fair Elections Now web site:

Participating candidates seek support from their communities, not Washington, D.C. Here’s how it works:

• Candidates would raise a large number of small contributions from their communities in order to qualify for Fair Elections funding. Contributions are limited to $100.

• To qualify, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives would have to collect 1,500 contributions from people in his or her state and raise a total of $50,000.

Qualified candidates would receive Fair Elections funding in the primary, and if they win, in their general election at a level to run a competitive campaign.

• Qualified candidates receive $900,000 in Fair Elections funding, split 40% for the primary and 60% for the general. Qualified candidates would be also eligible to receive additional matching Fair Elections funds if they continued to raise small donations from their home state.

• Donations of $100 or less from in-state contributors would be matched 4 to 1: four dollars from the Fair Elections Fund for every dollar raised.

From the California Fair Elections Act website:

• To Qualify: Secretary of State candidates must show broad grassroots support by receiving 7,500 $5 qualifying contributions and signatures from registered California voters. They must also agree to strict spending limits.

• Fair Elections Candidates Receive: Enough Fair Elections funds to run competitive primary campaigns ($1,000,000). If they win their primary they receive enough funds to run competitive general election campaigns ($1,300,000). A candidate may also receive “fair fight” funds if they are outspent or if outside groups attack them or support an opponent.

• Fundraising Prohibitions: Participating candidates would be prohibited from raising or spending money beyond what they receive from the fund. They are banned from raising any money for their campaign from lobbyists, their clients, or anybody else.

The California Fair Elections Act is funded primarily by registration fees on lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist employers, with no taxpayer dollars going to candidates. Currently lobbyists only pay $12.50 per year in California, among the lowest rates in the country.

Why the Secretary of State?

The Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing and regulating the state’s lobbying activity and the integrity of our elections, and the California Fair Elections Act will assure voters that the Secretary of State is focusing on his or her duties, not worrying about raising campaign contributions.

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http://winograd4congress.com/images/stories/womens_rights_fp.jpg During college, Winograd volunteered in a Planned Parenthood birth control clinic, assisting women with forms and procedures, and holding their hands during times of stress. Later, upon entering the field of radio broadcasting, Winograd produced shows on deplorable conditions in the LA County Women's Jail and the need for equal pay for equal worth. As an educator, Winograd encouraged her students to write research papers on gender-associated issues, such as sexual harassment, self-mutilation, and teen pregnancy. During the 2004 election campaign, Winograd co-organized the Swing State Sisters, a group of women who traveled to Arizona and Florida to get out the vote.

Winograd is in complete agreement with NOW's positions on reproductive rights, pay equity, affirmative action, gay and lesbian rights, and violence against women.

(Adopted from the National Organization for Women)

Reproductive Rights

Winograd fully supports access to safe and legal abortion, to effective birth control and emergency contraception, to reproductive health services and education for all women. Winograd opposes attempts to restrict these rights through legislation.

Pay Equity Issues

* Winograd supports a constitutional amendment that would eliminate discrimination based on sex, race, sexual orientation, marital status, ethnicity, national origin, color or indigence. Members also call for further study of age and disability as classes to be included in the struggle for constitutional equality. Winograd supports NOW's Pay Equity Petition that demands all branches of the US government withdraw all objections to - and actively endorse - pay equity and maternity care provisions for all women.

Affirmative Action

* Winograd supports affirmative action to ensure greater equity and access in education and jobs.

Gay & Lesbian Rights - Same Sex Marriage

* Winograd is committed to fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in all areas, including employment, housing, public accommodations, health services, child custody and military policies. Winograd supports educational efforts that combat the adverse effects of homophobia, promote positive images in the media and ultimately ensure civil rights protection for all. Winograd affirms the right of lesbians to live their lives with dignity and security, and the rights of equal marriage for all.

Violence Against Women

* We need a massive public education campaign to destroy the dangerous myths that perpetuate violence--women who dress provocatively are asking to be raped, they enjoy it; women could leave men who are beating them, but they like the excitement; women make false accusations of rape and child abuse to gain the advantage in divorce and custody cases. Additionally, we still need to press for stiffer laws. We should be encouraging arrests for domestic violence, upgrading this offense from a misdemeanor to a felony, requiring better reporting and giving it more weight in custody disputes.

http://winograd4congress.com/images/stories/economy.jpg Put America Back to Work:  Create a Massive Jobs Program

We stand at the crossroads of economic collapse and national rebirth. The choice is ours:  more counter-productive wars and billion-dollar bank bailouts -- or money for jobs, heath care, and education.

Problem:  Rising unemployment; foreclosure epidemic and lack of affordable housing; bank failures; property tax erosion; bankrupt legislatures; teacher lay-offs; credit squeeze; government waste on war.

Solution: When elected, Winograd will work to:

Winograd vs. Harman

Harman - Harman has consistently supported the waste of taxpayer money on unproductive wars and bloated weapons systems.   Most recently, she voted to spend another 97billion to fund the expansion of the Iraq war into Afghanistan.  She has done nothing to enhance the aerospace industry to meet the human needs of the 21st century.

Marcy Winograd - Winograd supports a new Works Progress Administration to put America back to work.  She recognizes the importance of capitalizing on the talents and expertise in the aerospace industry to make America energy independent and secure.  Winograd supports diplomatic efforts to stabilize the middle east, and will lead efforts to  end trillion-dollar government waste on the war and occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

http://winograd4congress.com/images/stories/medicare.jpg Provide Medicare for All – Put People Before Profit... In the richest country in the world, everyone should have access to quality affordable health care.

Problem:  An estimated 90-million Americans are either uninsured or under-insured, suffering with little or no medical care, forcing many into bankruptcy because they cannot pay their medical bills.   Insurance companies routinely reject applicants with minor ailments or pre-conditions.  Emergency rooms are jammed.  It can take a month to get a doctor’s appointment.  Despite spending more than twice as much as the rest of industrialized countries, the U.S. performs poorly in terms of life expectancy and infant mortality.

A Proposed Solution:  Medicare for All – A Single-Payer System

We need Medicare for All – or a single-payer system that pays doctors, nurses, and other health care providers from a single fund. The administrator of the fund is the federal government, which ensures every American has access to quality affordable health care. Under a Medicare for All plan, you can go to a public clinic or a private doctor.  It’s up to you.

Health Care for All is paid for by a tax on the employer, and, to a lesser extent, the employee.  No one goes bankrupt paying their medical bills.  Premiums are low and so are medical bills.

When elected Winograd will work to:

We have a system that works – Medicare. Let’s make it work for everyone!

Winograd vs. Harman

Harman voted for the bankruptcy bill which penalizes Americans who can’t pay their medical bills. Harman refuses to co-sponsor HR676 – Congressman John Conyers’ bill to establish Medicare for All. 

Winograd will immediately co-sponsor Congressman Conyer’s bill HR676 to provide universal single-payer health care.  In addition, she will work with governors of other states to form a single-payer consortium, whereby member states pool their resources and offer their own Health Care for All plan.

Medicare - Part D

Medicare, Part D, provides prescription drug benefits to millions of older Americans.  Unfortunately, it was born in a Republican-controlled Congress that
gave more benefits to the drug and health insurance industries than to the people Part D was intended to serve.

Here's what is wrong with Part D:

*It prohibits the administration from using beneficiaries' collective purchasing power to negotiate lower prices.

*It prohibits Americans from importing cheaper drugs from Canada.

*It requires seniors to enroll in a plan by an arbitrarily-selected deadline or face premium increases for each month beyond the deadline -- an incentive that clearly benefits insurance companies.

*It permits plans to change drug formulas whenever they want, without penalty.

*It is costly for patients.  In 2009 the bill requires beneficiaries to pay 100% of the first $295.00 -- 25% of the next $2,405.00 -- and 100% of the next $3,453.00 (doughnut hole).

*It is costly for states. Some states are losing money under the bill because of the formula used to calculate their share.

http://winograd4congress.com/images/stories/forclosures.jpgReading by 8 - Focus on Early Literacy & Academic Intervention

Drill and kill seat work in a test-driven curriculum will not keep more students in school. Instead, we need to foster a joy of reading in the early grades, critical thinking for all students, and community-to-school apprenticeship programs that encourage students to become problem-solvers.

Problem: Not only are our schools languishing in disrepair, but our students are lagging behind the rest of the world in science and math. No Child Left Behind has, unfortunately, made testing, not teaching, the focus of our efforts.

Solution: We need to improve teacher training, foster school-community partnerships for hands-on project-based learning, and equip our students with state-of-the-art technology in order to close the achievement gap and make school exciting. Let's begin by investing in the critical grades:  3rd grade & 9th grade.  If a student isn't reading by the end of 3rd grade that student may be dropping out of school in 9th grade.  Funding early literacy is imperative, as is early academic intervention in high school.  Let's give schools incentives to adopt the best research-based literacy practices as part of a national initiative: Reading by 8.  Let's pass legislation to mobilize the national will behind an effort to ensure that every child can read by the end of 3rd grade.

When elected, Winograd will work to:

Winograd vs. Harman

Harman voted for No Child Left Behind and has done little to improve our schools.

Winograd, a veteran educator, supports changes in No Child Left Behind that will allow schools to create alternative assessments to standardized tests.

Environmental justice and fairness are vital underpinnings of sound ecology and energy policy. Everyone is entitled to drink clean water, breath fresh air, and live on unpolluted land.

Problem: For decades policies favoring powerful petroleum, nuclear and coal industries have been the norm in Washington D.C.

Here in Southern California, poor air quality is directly linked to pollution due to outdated and unsustainable reliance on internal combustion engines and fossil fuel. Air pollution is rampant near the port of Los Angeles, in large part due to diesel-powered trucks that need to be upgraded. Truckers, long-classified as independent contractors, cannot afford to upgrade their vehicles to meet labor and environmental standards.

Solution: Southern California needs an ambitious and efficient expansion and modernization of our public transportation system to reduce gridlock and air pollution. We must institute higher fuel efficiency standards and help truckers and car owners transition to low-emission vehicles.

The Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports rightfully calls for independent truckers to be reclassified as employees of corporations doing business at the port. These corporations should then be required to subsidize the costs of upgrading trucks to meet labor and environmental standards.

Additionally, we need modern battery technology and massive projects to harness solar, tidal and wind energy.

When elected Winograd will work to:

Winograd vs. Harman

Harman’s support for the invasion and occupation of Iraq and her recent authorization of 97-billion dollars to escalate the war in Aghanistan speaks volumes about her record on the environment. War is the ultimate destroyer of the environment, leaving toxic waste in its wake, polluting land, air, and water – and sending our soldiers home to suffer with their own environmental nightmare – lungs damaged by depleted uranium dust from US weapons systems.

Ever mindful of war’s devastating impact on the environment, Winograd will continue her long-standing opposition to the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. As a leader in the Progressive Caucus she will oppose the construction of new nuclear power plants and work closely with the environmental movement to ensure the rights of working families come before the interests of corporate polluters.

http://winograd4congress.com/images/stories/constitution.jpgThe U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights cannot be taken for granted.  Core values concerning freedom of speech, due process, and respect for the rule of law must be reaffirmed in light of massive violations during the past eight years.  Policies that usurp the power of the legislative branch weaken our nation. 

Problem: The Bush administration undermined core constitutional values concerning freedom of speech, right to privacy, due process and protection against cruel and inhumane treatment.  The administration enacted military tribunals, suspension of due process, secret prisons, torture, signing statements, illegal wiretaps, and surveillance of anti-war organizations.

With a new administration in Washington, we must continue to demand the protection of constitutional rights that serve as the foundation of this nation.  It is not enough to transfer power from one political party to another if core constitutional values are violated as a matter of national policy.

Solution: When elected, Winograd will work to:

Harman - Harman was one of the few members of congress briefed on the Bush administration’s massive warrantless wiretapping program, as well as torture. (See reporter Jeff Stein’s article in Congressional Quarterly (http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=hsnews-000003098436&cpage=1))

On the eve of Bush’s re-election Harman reportedly pressured the New York Times to withhold the truth about the Bush administration's constitutional crimes stemming from a massive illegal wiretapping program.  Following that, Harman reportedly made a deal with then-attorney general Alberto Gonzales to defend the illegal wiretaps in exchange for the attorney general closing an FBI investigation of Harman’s secret dealings with the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).  On another matter, Harman wrote to the CIA urging the agency not destroy tapes which showed CIA agents using torture on detainees.  Although Harman went on record raising questions about the use of such torture, she did not ask the agency to stop.  Nor did she take to the floor of Congress to protest the torturing of detainees.  Her right to protest in congress would have been protected under the US Constitution.

Winograd - As a former history teacher, Winograd taught the US Constitution and Bill of Rights, and engaged her students in mock trials testing freedom of speech, right to privacy, due process, and prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.  In her role as a grassroots leader within the California Democratic Party, Winograd supported resolutions declaring water boarding torture and led a successful effort to censure lawmakers complicit, either in word or deed, with the execution of torture.  During her 2006 challenge to Harman, Winograd made protection of constitutional rights a core issue – challenging Harman to come clean about her role in defending the Bush administration’s massive illegal wiretapping program. 

http://winograd4congress.com/images/stories/foreign_policy.jpgTo ensure the safety and security of the United States, we must invest our moral and financial capital in creating international goodwill and upholding the rule of law.  Bring our troops home from Iraq & Afghanistan.  Stop the drone attacks & secret war in Pakistan.

Problem: U. S. expenditures on war, occupation, and weapons are draining the American economy, destabilizing the middle east, and killing innocent people.

Solution:

• Congress passes a unified security budget that integrates the importance of preventing nuclear proliferation, strengthening our ports and transportation centers, and renewing our commitment to fight poverty, AIDS, and illiteracy at home and abroad.
• Congress supports our troops by bringing them home from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan because occupations & drone attacks breed resistance and create new enemies. Congress affirms President Obama’s emphasis on diplomacy with Iran.
• The United States joins the International Criminal Court to prosecute terrorists before the world community.

Nuclear Proliferation

To end nuclear proliferation, the United States must resume efforts to reduce its nuclear arsenal and reverse the Bush (1st strike) Nuclear Doctrine. Winograd supports President Obama’s call for eventual nuclear disarmament, and endorses the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s next steps:

• De-alert: Remove all nuclear weapons from high-alert status; separating warheads from delivery systems
• Make legally binding commitments to No First Use of nuclear weapons
• Initiate a moratorium on the research and development of new nuclear weapons
• Ban nuclear testing. Ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
• Control nuclear material by bringing it under strict international governance.

Palestine/Israel

As a founder of LA Jews for Peace, Marcy Winograd supports a negotiated peace settlement that ensures peace and justice for all parties to the conflict. A two-state solution should not preclude reparations for displaced Palestinians and the eventual establishment of a bi-national state where all people live as equals.

Steps Towards a Negotiated Settlement

• End the Israeli blockade of Gaza
• Prosecute those responsible for rocket attacks on Israel
• Remove Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem
• Build business & education partnerships involving Palestinians and Israelis

Armenian Genocide

It is time for the world to recognize and condemn the Armenian Holocaust, the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and after World War I. As a result of deportations, forced marches, and massacres, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed.

When elected, Winograd will introduce a new resolution to recognize
the Armenian Holocaust. READ MORE

U. S. – Greek Relations

When relationships between our allies are strained, our ability to form coalitions is hindered. Consequently, US interests would be served by supporting rapprochement between Greece and Turkey and by encouraging negotiations on a Cyprus settlement.

Winograd vs. Harman

Winograd wants to bring the troops home; Harman recently votes another 100-billion dollars to keep our troops in Iraq and send more young Americans to fight and die in Afghanistan.

Winograd supports an end to US policies that undermine a negotiated peace settlement in the middle east; Harman backs the Israeli blockade and siege of Gaza that has led to a humanitarian crisis.

Harman withdrew her sponsorship of a resolution to recognize the Armenian Holocaust; Winograd pledges to introduce a new resolution to acknowledge the Armenian genocide.

Additionally, Winograd supports the establishment of a Department of Peace.

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http://winograd4congress.com/images/stories/animal.jpg The way we treat animals reflects how we treat each other, locally, nationally and globally. All animals -- pets, farm animals, working animals such as search and rescue dogs, drug & bomb sniffing dogs, and service & therapy dogs, must be treated with kindness and care.

Humane treatment of animals precludes killing healthy animals.

The United States should become a leader in the field of humane animal care by following no-kill models of animal sheltering, such as those in communities like San Francisco, California and Tompkins County, New York.

I support legislation to increase humane and ethical treatment of all animals, including bills to:

I will introduce legislation that requires children and teens who abuse animals to be provided, either by their families or by the community, proper psychological counseling to not only prevent further animal abuse but to prevent potential future violence and domestic abuse.

Studies show that animal abuse is often the first step on the path to domestic violence and anti-social, deviant violent behavior.

Early intervention, as well as the teaching of empathy, can help children and teens change their behavior and refocus their lives.