Who is John Frohnmayer
Lawyer, author, ethicist, John Frohnmayer’s views on the First Amendment and the role of government in respecting and preserving the Bill of Rights first captured national attention when he served as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts during the first Bush administration.
John's personal and professional career is marked by a commitment to social justice -- from bringing Martin Luther King, Jr. to Stanford as an undergrad, working with youth clubs in England and the Bronx, and representing victims of sex, job and religious discrimination as a trial attorney for 25 years in Oregon and Montana.
What are his positions?
Learn more about John's positions on the following important issues:
- Accountability for Spending
- Education
- Health Care
- Jobs and the Environment
- The War on Terror
- Electability
Why is he right for Oregon?
Let John tell you in his own words:
Sometimes the old ways work just fine -- the old roads get us to exactly where we want to go -- the old networks supply us with all of our real needs.
But other times those old ways don't work, don't get us there, don't offer what we so desperately crave. In those times a new approach is needed. This can be true for an individual - or a state or nation.
I believe today is one of those times for Oregon and for this nation. And that is why I am running as an Independent to represent Oregon in the United States Senate.
I believe that we can make government work again.
I believe we can take our government back from career politicians and special interests and make it accountable to us.
I believe the time is right in Oregon for a Voter's Revolution, a movement that will find the way to bring that accountable government back to all Oregonians.
There are so many issues for our state and nation that need immediate attention, but that have been buried beneath platitudes and paralysis:
For our national security, our economy and personal welfare, as well as our continued leadership in science and technology, we must make quality education at all levels a priority.
For our future, we must create more ways to engage good business practices with good environmental practices and build an economy that embraces both.
For citizens from infancy to old age, for those in perfect health to those with special needs, we must create a health care plan that will offer to all the opportunity to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
For the sake of our nation's well-being now and into the future, we must demand fiscal accountability from our federal government. We must know that our tax dollars are being spent in the interest of our national well-being, not just that of special groups or interests. And we must never again allow our leaders to engage in war without clear provocation and without a plan, both for battle and after victory.
These are but a few of the important issues I will be addressing in the upcoming campaign.
Shortly after the signing of the U.S Constitution, a woman asked Benjamin Franklin what type of government had been decided upon. He replied, "A republic, if you can keep it."
A republic supposes some basic truths -- truths that touch the lives of all those who live within it.
It supposes that the men and women who elect their representatives will demand integrity and leadership.
It supposes that those representatives, in turn, will offer integrity and leadership.
And it supposes that if that integrity and leadership is lacking, citizens will decide, indeed, to "keep" their republic and find leadership that will enable them to accomplish that. The built in Constitutional remedy for a constitutional crisis is impeachment. With 1,100 Presidential signing statements in which the President has refused to enforce the law, we must impeach to uphold the Constitution.
I am not a career politician, though I have been involved in public service nearly all of my adult life. I am, however, a citizen of Oregon who has watched for the past decade as effective leadership has been replaced with panderous posturing, visionary courage with blinded timidity, and inspired creativity with tepid disregard.
On each of these issues and so many more, effective leadership is needed.
What is effective leadership? In a word, courage.
The courage to stand by my words, to say what I mean - and mean what I say.
The courage to be creative, to move beyond old answers that are no longer working, and beyond old special interests that look out only for themselves.
The courage to lead in ways that Oregonians in the past have treasured.
The names Tom McCall, Richard and Maurine Neuberger, Mark Hatfield and Wayne Morse are representative of that courage, of that willingness to buck the tide of business as usual.
Oregon in the past has been known across the nation as a leader, an innovator in government, the environment, education and business. It's time to reclaim that reputation.
Do I, as an independent, have a chance to win a race for the United States Senate? Or am I only going to be a spoiler?
There is no doubt I will be labeled that by both Republicans and Democrats. But polls have shown that more Oregonians than ever do not identify with either major party, and a recent Gallup/USA Today poll reported that 58% of Americans say that a third party is needed.
Spoiler?
Not if you, as Oregonians, consider seriously the vital nature of the choices and actions we must take to find resolutions to our problems.
Not if you, as Oregonians, recognize that more of the same will only get us . . . more of the same.
Not if together, we, as Oregonians, have the mindfulness and courage to dare to lead, to dare to create a new way that will move us toward solutions instead of status quo.
I believe that what we each do makes a difference.
Ultimately, what we do now and in the immediate years is a moral issue -- a thread of decisions and actions that begins with our everyday choices and weaves itself into our local, state and national policies. The results of those choices will be felt by our children and their children for many generations to come.
Now is the time to begin with our choices.
That is why I am running for the United States Senate from Oregon as an Independent and that is why I am asking you to seriously consider my campaign and the issues I think are vital, the stands I take on those issues, the straight talk I offer -- and the difference it could have for all Oregonians."
Is he electable?
The USA Today/Gallup poll in July 2007 found that 58% of Americans say a third party is needed. This is because Congress receives a dismal 20% approval rating and people understand that neither the Democratic nor Republican parties are paying attention to business. When bashing the other party is the prime goal, and when each party is funded by big business (oil, insurance, banking, labor, trial lawyers), the voice of the people and solutions for people's problems get lost. I'm talking about healthcare, immigration, deficit spending, pork, ethics scandals -- you name it, they can't fix it.
An independent is not beholden to a political party. The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) has no platform other than to promote independent candidates and help them get on the ballot. Our political system has become toxic, and we can't expect either the Republicans or the Democrats to change it.
Change is America's birth right. We declared independence once, and we can do it again. The First Amendment gives us the tools -- speech, petition, press and assembly -- with which to reform our government, and the vehicle for doing that is to be independent of political parties, to vote for the person rather than the party, and to choose a person who reflects our values and will give us a fair hearing.
There are historical times when American has awakened from its torpor. Rejecting slavery in the 1860s, working through the depression in the 1930s, seeking racial justice in the 1960s. 2008 is another one of those times. We citizens can reclaim our government. It's not the government of big oil, or big labor, and we deserve to know what our candidates stand for rather than to be satisfied with candidates who are marketed, packaged, and presented like a commodity. Public office is not an auction -- it shouldn't go to the person with the most money, but the person with the best ideas.
Address LABOR (education; skill and importance) Independents will win because the independent campaign is about better lives for people, not whether the party wins or loses. As Independents we must be fearless, courageous, and self-directed. Saying: 'Yes, I'd like to be independent but I want to vote in the Democratic primary doesn't send a message to the Democratic Party. You can send a much stronger message by changing your registration to the Independent Party of Oregon.
Finally, a response to the question, 'Aren't you just a spoiler?
What's to spoil? The political system is broken, and voting for a Democrat or Republican just perpetuates its shortcomings. In the U.S. Senate, even three Independents could caucus independently and, depending on how the other seats were held, hold the balance of power -- a position of tremendous responsibility and opportunity. An Independent can weigh ideas on the basis of their merit, not of their origin on one side of the aisle or the other. An Independent can use his powers of persuasion to build alliances outside of the typical political machinery. An Independent can be an honest broker.
But perhaps most compelling when faced with the question of whether you're a spoiler, is the question, 'Can't we do better than we're doing now? Spoiler is a partisan word. It assumes that only the Republicans or Democrats have a right to govern this country -- that the one-third of us who are not Republicans or Democrats deserve no say. Time is short: we must do better now.
What can I do?
You can get involved in a number of ways. Donate to the campaign, sign up to be a volunteer, register to vote or sign up for news and email updates.
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