Ocean City Patch Letter to the Editor: Why I'm Running for Congress [UPDATED]

To the Editor:

I am running for Congress because the people deserve better than what the ‘big money’ duopoly of elephants and donkeys have to offer.

The Dems and Repubs are a 2-headed monster with a single body. Like a vampire lusting for blood, this political duopoly lusts for money. They fight each other for the biggest corporations and richest individuals in an attempt to satisfy their greed. Once their political prize is attained, it is these deep pockets they serve.

For all Congress critters, constituent service should be their greatest priority. This is part and parcel of the job and for the most part done well enough by nearly all of them. This is the reason that the American people when polled express disgust with Congress but like their own Congress critter well enough to return them to office year after year.

Congressman LoBiondo, first elected in 1994 with his 6-term limit pledge, is now going for his 12th term. He attempted to justify reneging on his pledge in almost patriotic terms: “Because other Congressmen have broken the term limit pledge, it would be unfair to people in his district to abide by it.” When in reality he couldn’t say the real reason which was the splendor of eating from the trough.

Mr. LoBiondo’s constituent service has been as good as anyone in Congress; however, it is his national service which raises questions.

For him to have a 93% ranking by the NRA means he will not likely support bills requiring background checks or addressing the buying of guns at gun fairs. For a family who loses a loved one from gun violence no amount of constituent service can ever justify such poor national service.

Another example of the corrupting influence of big money contributions to Mr. LoBiondo come from his membership in the Drone Caucus. This is basically a group of 58 Congressmen who do the bidding of the Drone industry in getting bills passed favorable to the drone manufacturers’ interests. In return, they have received $2.3 million since 2011. The Constitutional Protections and Privacy Rights of the American people are irrelevant to Mr. LoBiondo and his Caucus colleagues. It’s all about the money.

There are 9 major platform priorities which motivate my Congressional Candidacy:

1. Income Inequality. It is unacceptable that the top 1/10th of 1% have as much wealth as the bottom 90%.
2. Ending the corrupting influence of millionaires and billionaires like the Koch Brothers who attempt to buy elections leaving in place a rigged economy benefitting the 1% at the expense of everyone else.
3. Committed to Medicare-for-All. This would provide a single level of care for all Americans without insurance companies being allowed to profit and interfere in the relationship between patients and their physicians. With government officials having the same healthcare as ordinary citizens they would have motivation to make sure it’s the best healthcare possible.
4. Climate Change must be immediately addressed by ending our dependence on fossil fuels. In addition to the climate problems, they cause cancer, lung disease, and asthma. Recent epidemiological research suggests the ultrafine particles emitted when fracked gas is combusted is a likely factor in the increasing incidence of Dementia, Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis. We must transform our energy system to Clean Energy jobs with decent salaries for American workers.
5. Free Tuition for students in Public Colleges and Universities. This is to be financed by a tax on all financial transactions between the “too big to fail banks.’ We bailed them out, now it’s their turn to bail out the American students who are now drowning in predatory loans.
6. Stopping international trade agreements like the TPP. These agreements outsource American jobs to other countries and undermine the wages of American workers.
7. Guns must be controlled by common sense measures such as instant background checks, closing down the gun show loopholes and banning automatic and assault weapons. It would be a badge of honor to be given a 0% ranking by the NRA.
8. Commitment to peaceful solutions rather than violence and war. It is the unforeseen and unconsidered consequences of the Iraq invasion which created ISIS. Recently both Clinton and Trump declared the actions on Bastille Day in Nice, France as an Act of War rather than the actions of a mentally ill person. ISIS claiming that he was one of their foot soldiers is not proof of anything more than a shared hatred of the West. The epidemic of fear and hatred being fueled by politicians on both sides of the aisle makes critical the need for independent voices in Congress to combat the insanity. The ultimate elephant in all the Mideast tensions is the illegal occupation for nearly 50 years of Palestinian territory by Israel. America must be an unbiased mediator in this quagmire. It is only when America demands a level playing field in negotiating a just solution will peace prevail.
9. Commitment to work for ending the “Drug War.” We must stop locking up so many non-violent drug offenders and invest in jobs and education instead of more jails and incarceration. It is only by the government controlling and regulating drugs will the deaths of so many Americans from too pure or too impure drugs finally end.

Steven Fenichel, MD
Fenichel4congress@yahoo.com