Matt Reichel, Green Party candidate for the U.S. House, 5th district Illinois

Hi. My name is Matt Reichel, and I am a Green Party candidate running for the U.S. House seat from the 5th district of Illinois in the coming special election.

I am running because I believe that the Congress needs an innovative perspective that won’t be offered by the mainstream politicians seeking this office.

I am the youngest and most progressive candidate in this election. At 27 years old, I offer the freshest perspective on the very serious challenges that face this country today: unending imperial war in the Middle East, a drastic recession created largely by corruption and greed in the financial sector, and the increasing precariousness of the working majority. What’s more, my background is as a peace activist and grassroots journalist: my track record is one of consistent progressivism. I have fought to end the Bush wars since the day the president took office, be it as a canvasser, lobbyist, writer, political volunteer, or, now, as a candidate for federal office.

I am not a career politician; I am a career activist. I believe that this is the world-view that Washington needs more of: someone who will emphasize principle before politics and people before profit. I will not compromise on my determination to shut down the greater Middle East war of Empire, and I will not accept President-elect Obama’s message that we must deepen our entanglement in the disastrous and murderous war in Afghanistan. There is nothing “good” about this war: over 500 dead American troops, over 10,000 dead Afghanis and hundreds of thousands more displaced or injured.

These un-ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are serving nothing but to bankrupt our people and to make us the perceived enemy of the world. It is time we re-enter the world community, by recommitting ourselves to diplomacy and reaffirming our belief in the capacity of the United Nations to play a role in international peacekeeping. After years of arrogance and pre-emption, it is absolutely necessary that we demonstrate to the world that the United States can be a responsible leader, rather than an over-zealous bully.

Meanwhile, it is time we bring the United States into the 21st century. We can begin by committing to a system of universal single payer health care. The first thing I will do as congressman is sign onto the bill that will accomplish this feat: HR 676. It is an embarrassment that we have allowed greed to interfere with providing high quality care for all Americans. Health is not a commodity to be floated on the open market: it is a human right that absolutely must be guaranteed by any responsible government.

We must also affirm our commitment to maintaining a full employment green economy, where we invest in our future with green works projects, such as public transportation and alternative forms of energy production. As unemployment goes up and spending power goes down, the working and middle classes are getting squeezed into precariousness. Meanwhile, the wealthy bankers and CEO’s make out with highway robbery via ill-advised bailouts for the same greedy speculators whose carelessness created this malaise in the first place.

We have the financial and innovative capacity to succeed in the 21st century, but will ultimately fail unless we change the way business is done in Washington. While president-elect Obama has brought us baby steps in the right direction, we have much left to do in order to rescue this nation from the alarming state created by years of radical conservative rule. It is time that the people of principle and the citizens of substance rescue this country from the extreme right wing and their crooked friends on Wall Street.

Together, I know we can make this journey happen in Illinois’s 5th District. Regardless of whether or not you live in Chicago, you can help by visiting our website, spreading the word and donating to our efforts to cleanse Chicago politics, while adding a fresh voice for peace and progress in the United States Congress.

I thank you for your interest in this campaign and look forward to working with you to make this country a more just and equitable place.