I'M IN GOVERNOR'S RACE TO BROADEN DEBATE

Examiner contributor Dan Hamburg is the gubernatorial candidate of the
Green Party of California.

WE STAND at a crossroads in the history of our state, and our
planet.

The decisions we make in the next few years will have enormous impact
for decades to come. That's why I'm in this race.

My goals for this campaign are to build the Green Party movement and
to break the stranglehold of Democrat / Republican politics in
California. If that qualifies as spoiling, so be it.

Like the rival fiddlers Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Gray Davis and Dan
Lungren play an indistinguishable tune. The differences they exhibit
are far from the heart of the matter. We receive a meager fare of
warmed-over abortion, death penalty and assault weapon politics. We
even have to listen to them argue Vietnam again.

We hear nothing from the two campaigns about the fact that 7 million
Californians lack health insurance and nearly a third of our kids live
in poverty. Nor do we hear much about an environment that is nearly
compromised beyond our current powers of repair. Neither candidate
supports Proposition 9, the citizen initiative to stop a massive
rip-off by big utilities, or Proposition 5, the Indian Self-Reliance
Initiative. Both oppose implementation of Proposition 215, despite the
fact that the voters overwhelmingly said they want medical marijuana.

California, the richest state, can afford the richest education for
our children. Instead, we lag near the bottom. When our country wanted
to win the Cold War, President Reagan didn't hesitate to open the U.S.
Treasury. Do our children deserve less urgent attention?

California, the richest state, can afford health care for all of its
citizens. California, the richest state, can afford to clean up its
environment. California, the richest state, need not force its weakest
citizens to bear the brunt of popular discontent - especially the
children, our children. Our juvenile justice system is, overall,
shameful; many of the offenders caught in the three strikes madness do
not belong in prison.

I'm running for governor because the breadth of political discourse in
this state is too narrow. We need not just a new riff, but a whole new
tune. It's a tune about how we approached the brink and turned back.
The amazing thing is that we know what it would take to do that. We
know what it would take to make the transition to a more just and
sustainable economy and society.

Let's start with a living wage for all Californians; universal health
care; abolition of the death penalty and three strikes; respect for
the rights of indigenous people, gay people, all people; gender
equality on all levels; and an end to corporate giveaways. Let's move
forcefully to a non-fossil fuel economy so we can get some oxygen back
into the air. Let's stop paving over the best farmland in the state.
Let's make agribusiness pay its way. Let's stop using issues like
abortion, affirmative action, and bilingual education to divide our
citizens. Let's stop the mass extinction of species in California
before our species is next.

It's high time to let some light into the political process.
California needs prohibitions against corporate bribery (i.e.,
campaign contributions) and California could use some modern electoral
options like instant runoff voting and proportional representation. We
can re-energize the electorate by making voting more convenient, and
more meaningful. Just look at what the Greens are accomplishing in
Germany.

If there is a spoiler in Democratic Party politics, it is President
Bill Clinton.

Since he took office, Democratic numbers have crashed across the

country. The House of Representatives (net loss: 51 seats), the Senate
(7), governorships (18), state legislators (490), and Democratic Party
officials turned Republican (367) - this is what Bill Clinton has
wrought in six years. The Democrats' problem is the Democrats, not the
Greens.

Now, if only I could get Dan Lungren and Gray Davis to debate
me.

Does anyone out there have their cell phone numbers?

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady