Dale Strough
for States Attorney of Iroquois County
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for States Attorney of Iroquois County
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***PRESS RELEASE*** Iroquois County Green Pastures, local of the Illinois Green Party define values
The Green Party became established in Illinois in 2006 through the candidacy of Rich Whitney for Governor. The party is now running its first candidates for office in Iroquois County; those candidates being Dale Strough for State’s Attorney and Vince LaMie for county board in District V. Many people are not familiar with the new Green Party and what it stands for. The Green Pastures local believes it is appropriate to answer the question of voters interested and concerned about what the Green Party stands for.
While the 2 major political parties are somewhat divided on ideological basis, they tend to simply respond to problems and issues as they arise without a consistent set of principles. Often this results in candidates waffling on issues and changing their positions to meet the changing political rings or adjusting their positions as they move from local to higher office or from primary competition to general election in contrast. The Green Party is the only party that is defined by basic core principles. For the Green Party, these basic principles are known as the 10 Key Values. The 10 Key Values are Ecological Wisdom, Grassroots Democracy, Justice, Nonviolence, Decentralization, Community Economics, Gender Equity, Respect for Diversity, Personal and Global Responsibility and Future Focus. We believe these are basic human and American values.
As part of Grassroots Democracy, we believe in having a choice when we enter the voting booth. For too long we have entered that voting booth only to find too many offices with one candidate running unopposed.
The Green Party also believe in reforming the political system, fighting governmental corruption and returning government to the people instead of the influence of big corporation and special interest groups. The Greens propose to forbid pay for play politics, abolish corporate donations, limit individual donations to $1,000 and to provide candidates with public means of communication with the voters.
The Greens are also particularly concerned with the energy crisis. While global warming may be an inconvenient truth, it is an undeniable truth that fossil fuels are a finite resource and we are reaching a critical point where they will no longer meet our energy needs. That is practically demonstrated by the rising cost of energy and the financial pain the voters feel in heating their homes and running their cars. This is a practical equivalent of going down the road and running out of gas. It is not a Democratic or Republican problem. It is not a conservative or liberal problem. It is a practical problem. The only long-term practical solution is renewable and sustainable energy sources. We must proactively respond to this problem to avoid painful crisis in the future.
While the Greens are defined by basic values, the Green Party is also a “Big Tent” as to the application of those principles. While many Greens believe in a woman’s right to choose as a part of gender equity, the last Green congressional candidate for the 15th District was pro-life, because abortion is an act of violence that violates the Green principle of Nonviolence.
While many Greens favor gun control because guns may be weapons of violence, the Green gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney in 2006 stood by the right of the people to keep and bear arms because of the Green emphasis on Decentralization and the emphasis on the rights of the individual. The Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms is just as much of our individual constitutional rights as freedom of speech, association and religion.
The Green Pastures expect to issue further statements applying these principles to Iroquois County issues as the campaign progresses.
Green Pastures Local c/o Dale Strough P.O. Box 297 Watseka, Illinois 60970 (815) 432-4921 Fax (815) 432-6628 |
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dale@votestrough.com with
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