Welcome to Firedoglake Gary. I hope this will be the first of many visits for you. This weekend the hottest topics on everyone’s mind– at least in this community– were Bush’s FISA and war funding bills each of which passed with the connivance of the right-of-center Democrats led by Steny Hoyer and Rahm Emanuel. In both cases, a majority of Democrats voted against Bush’s legislation but Hoyer and Emanuel were able to line up enough Blue Dogs and Dixiecrats to vote with the GOP to pass the bills. Blue America has 7 incumbents on our endorsed list– Donna Edwards (MD), Tom Allen (ME), John Hall (NY), Hilda Solis (CA), Carol Shea-Porter (NH), Jerrold Nadler (NY), and Steve Cohen (TN)– and they all voted against both bills. If you were representing MI-09 last week, instead of Joe Knollenberg, who, predictably voted, zombie-like to continue the war with no timelines, and who voted to grant his big campaign donors in the telecom industry retroactive immunity, can you tell us how you would have voted and why?

Hi everyone,

It’s great to be here. I’m looking forward to a good discussion.

Welcome Gary! You sound like just the kind of progressive candidate we are always talking about, someone who sticks to his principles. Glad to have you here at firedoglake. Can you tell us what made you decide to enter politics?

Welcome to FDL Gary.

Here’s hoping you get the opportunity to help us recover our Constitution.

I would have voted no. Let me start out by saying that, I am absolutely committed to keeping America safe, taking on the terrorists, and defending our national security. I was a Lt. Commander in the Navy Reserve, and I spent time over in the Persian Gulf. I understand what kind of pressure our people are under to get good intelligence. Good intelligence is absolutely critical to the safety of our soldiers and to protecting our country. We can’t function without it.

We definitely need to update FISA to give our intelligence agencies the tools they need, while also absolutely guaranteeing that Americans’ rights are protected.

There are important updates that we need to make to FISA, but I can’t support the retroactive immunity – and I sincerely hope that those provisions get stripped out in the Senate.

Thanks, egregious. I’m happy to be here.

My parents inspired me to enter public service. They taught me to always stand up against injustice and to fight for what I believe in. They have always seen a need for people to stand up for what they believe in and take in active role in their communities.

My parents instilled many values in me that truly have guided my life in public service. Specifically, my mother’s involvement as a steward in organizing SEIU local 79 in Detroit, where she overcame great adversity and pressure to help unionize healthcare workers, is an example of standing up for what you believe, even when it is difficult.

Hi Mr. Peters,

Really glad you’re in this race.

In each election season, but particularly this one, the Democrats have been painted as the party of, well, wimps - soft on security, big on welfare, etc. etc. How do you yourself intend to counteract that image of the Democratic party, and how do you think we as a party can fight the stereotype?

Gary, how do you address the folks like Lindsey Graham, also a reservist, who have used their positions as a Reserve JAG to push things that are totally at odds with the Constitution?

Welcome to FDL, Mr Peters, and thanks for challenging this odious incumbent. Can you tell us what issues are uppermost in voters’ minds as you campaign in your district? What do voters ask you about?

Thanks for stopping by today, and thanks to you and your family for the sacrifices a campaign entails.

And what about war funding? Most Democrats voted against it Thursday. But Hoyer and Emanuel were able to round up enough reactionary Democrats to vote with the Republicans so that it passed. Even Pelosi voted “no” on this betrayal. What would you have done?

Hi Gary, welcome to the Lake!

Best of luck for your campaign — with Howie and Blue America behind you, you can’t lose. We need you now more than ever.

I think the typical Republican attacks aren’t going to stick against me. I have a strong background in business, I’ve served in the military, and I’ve got a solid record on fiscal responsibility.

On the national security question, in the Michigan Senate I introduced and passed legislation to crack down on threats related to biological, chemical, and radioactive weapons – and I did this three years before 9/11.

I should be thanking you for all of the work that you do. It’s people like you who believe in this campaign that make change possible in this country.

The biggest thing on everyone’s mind is the economy. Our unemployment rate just hit 8.5% in Michigan – which is still the highest in the country.

For the first time in the five generations that my family has been in Oakland County, parents are starting to fear that they won’t be able to provide as good a life for their children as the one their parents gave them. I know that’s how I feel.

My father came back from WWII, he had the GI bill to put him through college, and he taught public school in Rochester Hills for more than 25 years and built a good life for our family. That’s not the way it works anymore. That’s really why I decided to run for Congress.

FISA as originally written kept us safe throughout the cold war. Exactly what additional “tools” do our intelligence agencies now need?

I agree, Congress has to have some backbone, there’s no question about it.

I would not support funding for the war without real accountability measures and without a clear plan to start bringing our troops home now, safely and responsibly.

When I get to Congress, I will work to start bringing our troops home immediately. Our forces are already stretched to the breaking point. Current and former generals have been testifying to Congress for years saying the same thing – we can’t sustain this level of operations without breaking our military. And we need to refocus on the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where our intelligence agencies all agree that al-Qaeda has gotten stronger.

Gary, a gay activist sent me this today: “Another reason to be motivated to defeat Knollenberg is that he has very anti-gay/pro-discriminatory policies in spite of the fact that he has a gay son.  I’ve spoken to Joe’s wife, Sandy, and they think that having their son’s boyfriend over for Thanksgiving is the ultimate expression of acceptance.  It’s insulting.”

Knollenberg’s record in Congress in terms of gay issues is exactly a zero. No one is worse, not even notorious gay bashers like Marilyn Musgrave, Mean Jean Schmidt and John Boehner.

I know the GOP used your support for equality against you when you ran for Attorney General. Is Knollenberg going to try this one in 2008– maybe as a way to get people’s minds off high gas prices and his failed health care policies?

Thanks Elliott. Taking on an incumbent is never simple, but I believe that with the grassroots and netroots support we’re getting, we will win and be able to change Washington.

Welcome, future Congressman!
I wanted to say that Americans will support any tax policy that will bring 1 million new manufactering jobs to America.
Preferable Wind Power, Solar, and LCD panels.
Our local semicondutor plant closed and lost 400 good jobs, they have been replaced with Lowe’s and Walmart jobs, much, much lower pay.

That sounds like a continuation of the so-called “War on Terror.” Is that really the best foreign policy?

Will anyone match my $25 today?

When faced with failed economic policies, rising gas prices, and a crisis in health care, of course they’re going to try anything they think might change the subject. But people here are more focused on the economy and their jobs, so I don’t think it’s going to work this time around.

Howie mentioned the story in the introduction about my Attorney General race, so I won’t tell it again. Regardless, I’m not going to back down on my position. I fundamentally believe that our Constitution is there to protect rights, not take them away.

Also, at a time when Michigan is losing jobs and losing qualified workers, I think we should be trying to attract more people here, not driving them away by denying basic rights and benefits.

If someone else will match Teddy, I’ll match you both

Thanks for bringing this up. The situation you describe is exactly what’s been happening here in Michigan.

We need a real investment in alternative energy and job creation here in Michigan, and across America. We have an incredibly strong manufacturing, research, educational, and cultural base here, but we’ve been absolutely decimated by the Bush economy and their trade policies.

My opponent has consistently voted against investing alternative energy, and he just did it again. He’s been in lockstep with the President on voting to protect the subsidies for Big Oil, at a time when we’re paying $4.00 at the pump, instead of investing in the new and alternative energy technologies that we need right now.

And matching can be done here, at our Blue America page. I want to remind everyone that each of our Blue America-endorsed incumbents voted against continued war funding on Thursday night and against Hoyer’s FISA bill yesterday. Gary has already told us that had he been in Congress this week he would have voted against both. Knollenberg voted yes, of course, just like Hoyer.

Thanks for the question. When I was sworn in as a Naval officer, I took an oath to defend and protect the Constitution, and I will do the same thing in Congress.

Is your district hit by the mortgage and foreclosure crisis? What are local banks doing to work with people so they don’t lose their homes? Thank you.

Does Free Trade mean the US worker has to compete with child labor, prison labor and countries that kill union organizers? By the way, the country with a history of killing union organizers is Columbia.

Hello, Gary.
Fair winds to you.

In addition to supporting Dems such as you, we need to see what progressive democrat with legs surfaces in MD 5 and then raise money and [Edited by mod] go after Steny in 2010.
no forgiveness.
Raising money for true blue dems is what we talked about at Eschacon II.

It’s a huge problem here. Southeast Michigan has been particularly hard-hit by the mortgage and foreclosure crisis. I know there have been some local efforts to help people, but it’s difficult without a comprehensive approach.

A real solution will require getting our economy moving, creating jobs, dealing with health care, and addressing rising energy costs. The mortgage crisis is a symptom of the failed economic policies of the Bush-Knollenberg administration.

I support Fair Trade policies. For too long, our workers and industry have been severely undercut by countries that do not have to comply with standards set within our borders.

Our trade laws must be written to include environmental and labor protections and these provisions must be enforced. Fair trade requires trade laws that set environmental standards that protect our planet, and labor laws that outlaw child labor sweatshops and protect the collective bargaining rights of workers.

My opponent has repeatedly supported unfair trade laws that ship our jobs overseas, including voting to move forward with the new Columbia FTA, which you mentioned.

Firepups should know that Gary Peters is already well-seasoned, harassed by ultra far-right wingnuts like the character in this post at Michigan Liberal.

If he can deal with this, he can deal with just about anything. I know I would not have been as cool-headed.

(Psst…Gary, you might want to have a post up at MichLib letting them know you’re here at Firedoglake.)

Do your constituents understand that no President has ever fought a war without raising taxes? That the National Debt is now 9.3 trillion dollars or over $30,000 per every person in America and that Japan and China hold the most US Tresuries by foriegn governments. Japan maybe our friend, but China certainly is not. China already came after our ninth largest oil company, and Congress told them to get lost, but for how long?

we’ve been absolutely decimated by the Bush economy and their trade policies.

can you expand on this a bit please? what do you think about president clinton’s trade policies? it seems to me that they have been every bit as destructive as president bush’s.

looking forward to an obama presidency (hoping!), i want to know that members of congress are willing to fight a democratic president who pushes for neoliberal trade policies. this didn’t happen during the ’90s and as a result, democrats in congress voted for trade deals they never would have supported had we a republican president.

what can you tell me to reassure me?

Thanks! It’s pretty clear that they’re not going to give up this seat without a fight.

In fact, they’re even bringing President Bush here next week (about 12 miles from where I’m sitting now) to raise money for the state GOP. Knollenberg has been one of his most reliable supporters over the past 8 years. In 2003 Knollenberg voted with Bush 100% of the time, in 2006 it was over 95% of the time.

How have Congressman Knollenberg’s challengers fared in the past, and how many terms has he served? What will you be doing differently to defeat him this time, Mr Peters?

Thanks very much.

As someone who has represented voters in Oakland County since the mid-1990s, I’ve watched the impact of unfair trade deals on Michigan’s manufacturing sector for well over a decade – and seen the damage they’ve done to families and communities.

I want to reiterate that I believe in fair trade, and when given a level playing field, American workers can compete with anyone in the world.

In addition to trade policy, we also need to revamp corporate tax policy. Currently, corporations receive tax breaks to ship jobs overseas, and this must end. Tax policy should reward investment in American businesses, American workers and American plants and equipment, not more investment overseas.

The engine of growth in our economy is not driven by the expansion of multinationals, but rather by expanding small businesses in our communities.

You bring up a great point. President Bush has been the most fiscally irresponsible president in history. Along with his followers in Congress, like Rep. Knollenberg, he has increased the debt by more than every previous administration combined, and that’s a big reason why our economy is having problems now.

The voters in Oakland County are very concerned about the Bush-Knollenberg administration’s total lack of fiscal responsibility.

My record of fiscal responsibility, in the state Senate and as the director of the Michigan Lottery, has really allowed me to connect with people on this issue. While in the state Senate, I returned the equivalent of an entire year’s operating budget back to the taxpayers, and at the lottery, I raised record amounts of money for public schools while operating under budget every year.

Gary,
What’s your perspective on the moves by the various states and federal government to out-source and/or privatize EVERYTHING, whether it’s the local lottery, toll roads, education, or Intelligence Operations?

Where are the savings when a for-profit entity tries to perform these operations that are not designed for profit and wind up costing the tax payers more and more to support them?

Since you ran the Michigan lottery, I’ll ask you this: can you explain these GOP plans, like Governor Arnold’s here in California, to “privatize” the lottery? How does that work, exactly, and who benefits?

Thanks.

This is Knollenberg’s 8th term in Congress, but this district used to be a lot more Republican. It was redrawn in 2002 and became more Democratic, and the Bush economy has got people from all parties and backgrounds looking for change this election.

Bush only won the 9th District in 2004 with 51.5 percent of the vote, and Democrats won here in both the Senate and Governor’s races in 2006. The Cook Report has the PVI for the district at R+0, and local observers say that this is one of the true swing districts.

As you all know, races like this are won and lost on the ground, and we’ve built one of the most comprehensive field programs in the country. We’re reaching out to almost 10,000 voters per week and our persuasion effort is the most aggressive this district has ever seen. As we speak, people are out there right now knocking on doors, and I’ll be going out myself again tomorrow.

I wanted to give you an idea for an ad, Bush sent 363 tons of Cash on pallets to the Iraqi Finance Minister, just because the Iraqi Finance Minister asked him to. A picture of that compared to some local need, would be a great ad. Fellow Democrat Alan Grayson (FL-08) has a good picture. Bush and Knollenberg are willing to give away your tax money.

It was the largest transfer of Cash in US history.

It’s pretty gratifying to know that Joel Knollenberg is sooo desperate that he’d actually let himself be linked to Mr. 24% Approval Rating in order to raise cash. The people of Michigan are very ready for change; those of us in the party will have to remind the rest of Michigan voters how very much Knollenberg is like Mr. 24%.

Will Obama’s presence at the top of the ticket help you?

In response to both Dakine and Teddy:

It has become increasingly clear that the alleged benefits of privatization often fall far short of expectations.

The lottery is a clear example of how privatization falls short. As the former lottery director here in Michigan, I opposed the privatization of the lottery because I believed profits that would have been earned by a private company should be sent to our public schools.

Accountability is another issue. People have the ability to hold their representatives accountable at the ballot box for the actions of government agencies in the way that they don’t with private entities.

The total lack of accountability in the operation of the war, and particularly with American taxpayers’ money, has been appalling. From Halliburton and KBR contracts to the pallets of money you mentioned, it’s been clear for a long time that we need real oversight, and we need to start bringing that money home to invest in our schools, roads, and communities.

thanks!

When you talk with Republican voters in your district, do you find them receptive to your message?

Definitely.

You all know what the Presidential map looks like, and that a Democrat needs to win Michigan to win the White House. In order to win Michigan, a Democratic candidate needs to win in Oakland County, so that puts the 9th District at ground zero for the Presidential campaigns this fall. Both Barack Obama and John McCain have held town halls here in the past two months.

In fact, I had the honor of introducing Senator Obama when he came to Troy. You can take a look at the video (which is a bit low-res) here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT6n8end9ns

Given all the challenges we face in Oakland County, Senator Obama’s message of change resonates with voters here. We are also seeing many new people being energized by his message, and eagerly coming out to volunteer for our campaign.

Absolutely. In fact I just recently addressed a local Rotary club here in the 9th District. The membership was primarily Republican, and they were particularly receptive to my record of working in bipartisan fashion to solve problems without compromising my core Democratic values. Several members approached me after the meeting and told me they were Republicans and that they were voting for me this November.

The fiscal responsibility issue we mentioned earlier is a top concern for most Republicans and independents here.

Gary, thanks for coming by and spending all this time with us on a campaign day. I know your district is a walking district, especially for the kind of grassroots campaign you’re running. Please come back any time and let us know how things are progressing. We’ll stay in touch with the campaign and see if there are any ways we can help. I want to remind everyone of one way: Blue America.

Thank you Gary, it was great to learn more about you and your race for Congress! Please keep us posted on how things are going for you and for the folks in Michigan.

Thank you all for a great conversation. I’m honored to have the support of the Blue America community, and I’m looking forward to talking with you all again in the near future, and after I get to Washington.

If there are any questions that I didn’t get to here, please feel free to email me at Gary@PetersForCongress.com.

And as you all know, support from the netroots has been integral to the success of our campaign so far, and I’m going to need your help in the months ahead. Please visit http://www.petersforcongress.com/ to learn more, get involved, or contribute to the campaign.

Thanks again!
Gary

Thanks for spending a summer afternoon with us Gary.

Looking forward to your visit after November as Congressman-elect Peters! :})

Thank you for your time today, sir! Go get ‘em!

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