Matt Reichel Announces Second Run For Congress In Illinois
Matt Reichel, who won a contested primary last February for the right to run in the special election to fill Rahm Emanuel’s fifth CD House Seat in Chicago, has announced that he is going to campaign for the seat in the 2010 general election.
“We were promised change we could believe in, and instead have gotten short changed. All the hope in the world isn’t going to bring Americans the peace and justice they so deserve and have so stridently demanded, not while we are stuck with the same two parties of Empire and Wall Street.”
Reichel, 28, beat out Deb Gordils, Mark Fredrickson, Alan Auguston and Simon Ribiero in the Green Party’s Feb. 5 primary to run in the general election. Barely 7 weeks later, Matt Reichel faced off with eventual winner Democrat Mike Quigley and Republican Rosanna Pulido. Reichel pulled an impressive 6.6% of the vote in the heavily Democratic district in an election with very low turnout.
Following the election, Reichel, a former Democrat and activist with the Dennis Kucinich campaign, had some harsh words towards the Green Party:
“Upon securing the Green Party nomination on March 3rd and declaring that voters were now faced with a decision to “Go Green or Go Machine,” the party offered me absolutely zilch to run an effective campaign. While the rank and file helped the best they could, the party gave me not one dime and were reluctant to provide organizational support…”
However Reichel added this statement as well:
Now, if one ranting and raving peace activist with a campaign manager asleep on an inflatable air mattress alongside piles of campaign literature can register over 7% of the vote in just 5 weeks, imagine what could happen if the party had a little organization to it. Imagine if instead of hating the media, we learned to mingle a little with the corporate news hotshots and convinced them that Green is the future! Imagine if instead of always being negative, we were occasionally positive: if we smiled and said, “history is on our side!”
As the economic crisis continues to deepen, jobs continue to vanish, people’s health continues to diminish, the people are desperately looking for a populist movement to rise to the fore.
This was in April, weeks after his loss. Today, three months later, Matt Reichel is apparently refreshed and ready to hit the campaign trail in Chicago again, with the Green Party, and with a strong platform and message. And I’ll give credit to Reichel – he’s got the message down.
Below is the text of his announcement in its entirety.
I have been emailed, called and approached on the streets by numerous supporters over the last three months about my plans for the 2010 campaign season. How will I follow my impressive 7% score in the special election to replace Rahm Emanuel in Illinois’s 5th Congressional District? After much consideration and reflection, I have decided to officially announce my candidacy for the same seat in 2010.
The primary issue of my campaign will remain “ending the American wars of aggression against the people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.” These are no longer Republican wars; upon assuming power, President Obama asked for an additional $100 billion of funny money to expand this imperial bloodbath and the Democratic Congress obliged. When the “Emergency Supplemental” passed the U.S. House the first time, 51 Democrats cast an “anti-war” vote against the spending. When an even worse bill returned with funding included to bailout foreign banks through the International Monetary Fund (IMF), these 51 Democrats could have killed the war funding. However, 21 of them changed their mind amidst intense pressure from former 5th district rep Rahm Emanuel. Among them were local reps Jan Schakowsky and Luis Gutierrez. Current 5th District Rep Mike Quigley voted for the funding both times.
And so the wars go on.
The Democrats were brought to power in Congress and the White House on promises of changing the disastrous foreign policy posture implemented under the far-right rule of President George W Bush. Instead, they have elected to continue these wars, whilst also continuing to bailout the criminal financial institutions whose avidity has sent the international economic system teetering towards its most fantastic collapse since the Great Depression. We were promised change we could believe in, and instead have gotten short changed. All the hope in the world isn’t going to bring Americans the peace and justice they so deserve and have so stridently demanded: not while we are stuck with the same two parties of Empire and Wall Street.
In addition to addressing the issues of war, the banker bailouts and greed on Wall Street, I will campaign in support of single-payer universal health care. I’m not talking about a public option; I am talking about a public system. Everybody in, nobody out!
I was fortunate enough to have completed my Masters’ studies in France, where I was provided world-class health care in a timely, efficient and affordable manner. I then returned to the United States and have had to live without any coverage as I have searched for full-time work, or worked through one of the increasingly common temp agencies that people must endure in our backward system of industrial relations.
I sincerely believe we can change this ailing country by rising to the occasion, holding our heads high and remaining passionate and confident in our pursuits. We shall not let the goons and thugs that govern this city, this state and this country bully us around. They are remnants of an authoritarian past that is rapidly vanishing from view, while we are part of a vibrant future.
The Green Party vastly expanded its share of the European Parliament in this year’s EU elections, with the French contingent winning as many seats as the Socialist Party, which has long been the principal party of the French left. Citizens of the world are increasingly identifying the Greens as the party most adept at addressing our planet’s most pressing issues: global warming, banker greed, addiction to war, savage inequalities, urban violence, and rampant superficiality. Here in Illinois, Green Party Gubernatorial Candidate Rich Whitney finished with greater than 10% of the vote state-wide in 2006. In 2008, the Greens followed this success by running an expansive slate, with some candidates reaching into the 30% range in two-way races. In the high-profile special election to replace Rahm Emanuel in the machine-operated 5th district of Illinois, I won 7% of the vote despite just five weeks of general election campaign time.
In 2010, I will have a full 9 months between the primary and general election. What’s more, I have not stopped campaigning and have continued promoting our movement and our ideals of peace, liberty and social justice.
I do believe we can make history in 2010, and it begins with you: the supporters who propelled me to an outstanding showing in this years’ special election. Please help jump-start this campaign by contributing $10,20,50, up to $2400 on the website at www.mattreichel.us or by sending a check to:
Matt Reichel for Congress
1726 W. Carmen
Chicago, IL 60640
This is great news, Matt!
I’ll be helping out.
We here at Third Party Revolution endorse Matt Reichel in his campaign for Illinois’ 5th Congressional District, along with many other third party and independent candidates seeking public offices nation-wide, ranging from local to federal levels.
Fantastic young Green Party Candidate.
Let’s hope the Illinios Green Part can field a full state of local, state, and federal candidates in 2010..
As Rich – the Guv candidate has said is the plan…
Given the 60 candidates Illinois GP ran last year, I’d say it is doable
It’s extremely encouraging to see so many Illinois Greens getting an early start on the 2010 race. I hope to see Green challengers to all the pro-war members of Congress, starting with Quigley, Gutierrez and Schakowsky.