John responds to today's Advocate/Fairfield Weekly article

First, some factual information:
I began working closely with John Orman and the CFL in the summer of 2007. I contacted him in July 2007 because the Secretary of the State (SOS) refused to issue a petition to collect signatures to allow the Independent Party ballot access in 2006. (While, of course, they issued Joe Lieberman a petition. We later defeated the SOS on this issue in 2008.) I explained to John that I had been the Independent Party candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006, and that we had been refused ballot access, and that he should take control of the CFL more seriously. “John, the CFL has real value. It has a ballot line for U.S. Senate. You need to file real party rules.” The party rules that John had filed with the SOS had no procedures for electing officers or nominating candidates. John supported the use of the CFL to run for office and fight for good government, and John said “I want you to become chair.” I reluctantly agreed, worrying about how much work it would be. I wrote real party rules, created the CFL website, and held a statewide party caucus in March 2008. (An invitation was mailed to every registered member of the party, and more than 50% attended. Note: the members voted to endorse Barack Obama for President, NOT Sen. Dodd, as claimed by Sue Henshaw in a recent Hartford Courant article.) At that meeting I gave a short speech, in which I spoke about “turning this party into something real.” I was humbly surprised by the spontaneous applause that it elicited. (Sue Henshaw and Ed Anderson were present, and heard this speech.) I was elected unanimously as chair, and we ran five people for state rep. in 2008. We had another statewide caucus in early 2009. John Orman again voted to elect me chair. (Ed and Sue were no longer members of the party.)

A few months before John Orman passed away, he called me and said that he wanted to run for U.S. Senate against Chris Dodd in 2010, and/or Joe Lieberman in 2012. I explained that I had been working to get third parties to work together in 2010, and that I was going to seek the CFL nomination for U.S. Senate in 2010. He said “OK, you run against Chris Dodd in 2010, and I’ll run against Lieberman in 2012.” My friend John Orman knew exactly what was going on, and supported it. I wish he was here today to participate in what we are doing. He is sorely missed, and was one of the real good guys.

My motivation is not selfish. I have been an educator for a long time, teaching engineering, public policy, and environmental science, and volunteering in Hartford and West Hartford schools for 18 years. I want to educate voters, especially young voters, to not be “Good Democrats” or “Good Republicans”, and instead insist on Good Government. It’s time for us to stop supporting any career politician just because they wear the label “Democrat” or “Republican”. I will tell the unadulterated truth about the huge, long term problems that we face, the real issues that career politicians refuse to address because they care more about getting re-elected in two, or four, or six years, than they care about doing what’s right for us, the people.

I am running a serious campaign to bring real problem-solving to government. I urge all of you read the 30 detailed position statements and solutions to long term problems that I present on this website. Until you do so, I would argue that you should not criticize me or suggest that I should not exercise my democratic right to run for office. I would wager a great deal of money that you will agree with my positions more than those of any other candidate in the race. And I ask that you elect me to U.S. Senate in 2010.

Sincerely,
John Mertens

John Mertens hosting booth at WPLR Event in Waterbury this Friday

Come meet U.S. Senate Candidate John Mertens on Friday, October 2nd, at the WPLR radio station “Wigout” at the Riders Café, 2627 Thomaston Ave., Waterbury, CT. He will staff the Independent Party booth from 4-6 PM, and circulate afterwards.

John to speak at Statewide Green Party Meeting, Tuesday Sept. 29th

John Mertens will speak at the Statewide Connecticut Green Party Meeting on Tuesday, September 29th, 7 PM, at the Portland Senior Center, located at 7 Waverly Ave., Portland, CT. This meeting is free and open to the public.

Dr. Mertens will discuss 3rd party politics in Connecticut, and specific solutions to long-term problems to protect our economy, social security, medicare, the environment, and our quality of life. There will be a question and answer period following his remarks.

John Mertens, Rob Simmons, and Sam Caligiuri to speak on Sept. 26

Candidates for U. S. Senate John Mertens, Rob Simmons, and Sam Caligiuri will speak at the Federation of Connecticut Taxpayers Organizations breakfast meeting, on Saturday, September 26, from 8 AM to 12 Noon, at 1 Chatfield Dr., West Hartford. (Just off New Britain Ave., a little bit east of West Farms Mall.) To reserve a seat call (860) 841-8032 or (860) 528-0323 or email fctopresident@aol.com

There is a continental breakfast, and a suggested (optional) $10 donation.

John Mertens will host a table at the Hope Out Loud Festival, this Sunday, Sept. 20, 12-5 PM, Bushnell Park

Dr. Mertens will be hosting a table at the Hope Out Loud Festival this coming Sunday, 12-5 PM, Bushnell Park. Dahr Jamail will be speaking, and there will be a lot of live music. It's a free event. It's a concert, a day of remembrance, a day of inspiration, a day for renewal with many organizations dedicated to peace and the arts. Come say hi!

http://hopeoutloud.org/

It's will be on the northeast side of the park, between the pond and the Pump House Gallery. Rain location is the Great Hall at Union Station, right across the street from Bushnell Park.

Watch John's Campaign Kickoff Speech here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh3Tsl2V1_w

President Obama's Health Care Speech

I support these principles:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32766830#32766830

However, we must also address the $36 trillion of shortfalls we face in Medicare in the rest of this century. See my posting on Healthcare.

Apropos column from Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman

This excerpt from his column explains why I'm running:

"....our political system’s ability to deal with real problems has been degraded to such an extent that I sometimes wonder whether the country is still governable."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/opinion/31krugman.html