Primary Election Date: 06/05/2012
General Election Date: 11/06/2012

Who Am I?

Author • Policy Researcher • Public‐Interest Advocate • Political Activist

* Co‐chair of the Commission on a Green New Deal for the North Bay
* Healthcare Not Warfare national campaign co‐chair, along with Congressman John Conyers and Donna Smith of the California Nurses Association
* Former member of the national advisory board for Progressive Democrats of America
* Author of a dozen books on media, political discourse and public policy
* Elected Obama delegate from Sonoma and Marin counties to the 2008 Democratic National Convention
* Received the first Alex Forman Peace Award from the Marin County Democratic Party.
* One of the lone voices on national television against invading Iraq before the start of the Iraq war in early 2003, appearing on CNN and other major TV networks more than a dozen times to argue for diplomacy instead of a U.S. attack
* The New York Times Magazine has called him “a leading progressive activist.” The Los Angeles Times has called him “a formidable thinker and activist.”
* Recipient of numerous awards including the George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language, and the Annual Ruben Salazar Journalism Award
* From 1997 to 2010, as founder and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, oversaw policy research and liaison with thousands of experts on global warming, foreign policy, labor rights, “welfare reform,” economic equity, lax enforcement of federal regulations, civil liberties and a wide range of other topics related to federal, state and local government policies nationwide

Norman Solomon’s book “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death” was published in 2005. The Los Angeles Times called the book “brutally persuasive” and “a must‐read for those who would like greater context with their bitter morning coffee, or to arm themselves for the debates about Iraq that are still to come.” The Humanist magazine described the book as “a definitive historical text” and “an indispensable record of the real relationships among government authorities and media outlets.”

Solomon's book “Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn’t Tell You” (co‐authored with foreign correspondent Reese Erlich) was published in 2003 by Context Books before the Iraq invasion. “Target Iraq” has also been published in German, Italian, Hungarian, Brazilian and South Korean editions.

In the introduction to the 1999 book “The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media,” Jonathan Kozol wrote: “The tradition of Upton Sinclair, Lincoln Steffens, and I.F. Stone does not get much attention these days in the mainstream press ... but that tradition is alive and well in this collection of courageously irreverent columns on the media by Norman Solomon. ... He fights the good fight without fear of consequence. He courts no favors. He writes responsibly and is meticulous on details, but he does not choke on false civility.”

One of Solomon’s other books is the 1982 classic (co‐authored with Harvey Wasserman) “Killing Our Own: The Disaster of America’s Experience With Atomic Radiation.”

Why Am I Running?

I am running to promote progressive values for implementation in federal policies. Our society is currently being depleted of resources for a vast array of government programs and services.; the traditional political approaches are dismal failures, jeopardizing the future for the next generations. The cave‐in on Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and other capitulations have set the stage for further negative developments that could include undermining Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. I believe we need genuine progressives in office at all levels of government – working as part of social movements to define and implement our values.

Elected to Congress, I would fight for enhanced Medicare for all; reduced military spending; protection of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; strengthening of civil rights and workers' rights, and long‐term federal jobs program akin to the New Deal, providing good green jobs across the country. I support the 21st Century Humphrey‐ Hawkins Full Employment and Training Act (introduced by Rep. John Conyers), which would commit the federal government to full employment while imposing a ¼ of one percent transaction tax on Wall Street, yielding $150 billion a year that would go to help finance training and jobs programs. I support and would vote in favor of a further extension of unemployment benefits, expansion of the SNAP food stamp program and federal policies to either provide significant rent rebates or assist homeowners struggling to keep their underwater homes.

Hold Me Accountable!

1. Jobs/The Economy – I support a vigorous and expansive approach to job stimulus that would include massive federal jobs programs as urged by such economists as Paul Krugman and Robert Reich.

2. War Economy – I believe that war and overall military spending have circumscribed our realities, and I favor reduced spending for war. Promoting peace has never been more critical to the health and prosperity of our nation.

3. Health Care – I will continue to work for guaranteed health care for every American, in tandem with protecting and enhancing our social safety net.

My DFA values:

For 18 years, Congressmember Lynn Woolsey, Co‐Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has ably represented the North Bay District of Marin and Sonoma Counties, speaking out against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and promoting progressive policies in Congress. The district lines were re‐drawn in 2011 and Representative Woolsey is not seeking re‐election in 2012. Working within this newly‐defined district, our campaign strives to represents the unique interests of the Northern California Coast, from Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border. By not accepting corporate PAC money, we are laying the framework for a genuine, people‐powered campaign. As a 3rd term elected delegate to the DSCC and Obama delegate in 2008, Norman is well‐known for working closely with the CDP Progressive Caucus and local DFA chapters to promote progressive values in California and the Democratic Party and will continue to do so.

My Campaign is People-Powered!

Our campaign has far more individual supporters and volunteers than all our opponents (as of 11/1/2011). We have the largest number of individual contributors (2,331 to date); our average contribution is under $100 ($96.42); we have had several dozen house parties (56), far more than all the other candidates combined, and have more than 600 volunteers. We were the first campaign to open a HQ office (in San Rafael) and next week will open a second campaign office (in Eureka, at the Humboldt County Democratic Party headquarters), while none of our opponents have yet opened a campaign office.

We are supported by the CDP Progressive Caucus leadership and by progressives throughout the country; we are the only campaign in our district to announce refusal of corporate PAC money. Our campaign has been building a coalition of progressives throughout the district and as a part of social movements rather than on top of those movements. Our campaign is multi‐issue, participating in many public events and community forums as opportunities arise.