DEXTER'S POSITIONS ON ISSUES
The Maine peace movement has provided leadership and a positive vision for America. The professional politicians in the Democratic and Republican parties have not provided leadership for generations on the critical issues facing ordinary Americans. On many issues, it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between the Democratic and Republican parties. There is no plan, there is no discussion, and there is no leadership coming from professional politicians in Washington today. The United States has spent over 300 billion dollars in Iraq for reasons that nobody has been able to explain and, at the same time, cut the taxes of America’s wealthiest and corporations only to shift the burden to the middle class and the poor. We must move away from this wartime economy with its promise of continuing debt, higher taxes and death. We must look for a more hopeful future.
Take a look at what I stand for and what I am willing to work for. It is past time to reinvest in America. We must start by converting war industries to peacetime industries and by working toward a future with real jobs, by cutting taxes for the middle class and the poor and redistributing taxes more equitably, by making affordable health care available to all Americans, by making education better and more affordable, and by holding politicians accountable for not acting in the interests of ordinary citizens.
IRAQ
The status of Iraq is undoubtedly the most crucial issue facing America today.
All of the reasons we have been given for invading and occupying Iraq have proven to be false. The invasion of Iraq was based on fraudulent information put forward by the Bush Administration and accepted blindly by the Congress. The occupation of Iraq is illegal because it is in violation of the US Constitution and the UN Charter. It is illegal, immoral and cruel because the United States has inflicted punishment on and has caused the death and maiming of hundreds of thousands of Americans and innocent Iraqi civilians, especially women and children.
As a parent of a soldier who just returned from eleven months of hell in Ramadi, Iraq, I call for immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq and the region, and to take care of the soldiers when they get home. I call for an immediate vote in Congress to stop funding the war in Iraq. It is dishonest for members of Congress, like Tom Allen and many Democrats, to say they are against the war in Iraq only to continue to vote to fund it. I call upon the Congress to begin making a plan for reparations to be paid to Iraq to restore what the United States has destroyed.
The presence of U.S. troops in Iraq prevents Iraqis from governing themselves freely. I oppose the presence of permanent U.S. bases in Iraq.
War is a waste.
It is past time to leave Iraq to the Iraqis and to reinvest in America and Americans.
IRAN
Iran may soon compete with Iraq as the most crucial issue facing America.
The Bush Administration is preparing to attack Iran. I oppose the current plan to take military action against Iran for any reason.
The Congress is again in danger of ignoring its constitutional obligation to be the sole governmental entity with the authority to declare war. I call upon the Congress to immediately put President Bush on notice that the war power authority that Congress illegally granted to President Bush does not authorize the President to declare another preemptive military action in Iran or elsewhere.
I assert that a declaration of war with Iran or any other country by President Bush would be in violation of the constitutional restriction reserving the obligation to declare war to the Congress of the United States and to do so would be an impeachable offense.
There is no reason to widen the war in the Middle East except to put more profits in the pockets of the no-bid favorite contractors of the Administration and Congress and to increase our dependency on endless war. It is time to reinvest in America and Americans.
MILITARY/FOREIGN POLICY
Military and foreign policy are among the most crucial issues facing America today.
I will work to reduce the American military budget by at least 50% over 5 years or sooner. The military budget of the United States of one-half trillion dollars is equal to the military spending by the rest of the world. There is no justification for the United States to pay out one-half of the money spent in the world on the military.
There is no plan, there is no discussion, and there is no leadership coming from professional politicians in Washington about how to invest in America today.
I will work to convert American industry from dead-end industries building weapons and the tools of waging war that result in high costs and taxes levied on the American middle class and poor. This amounts to a war penalty for most Americans. I will work for a peace dividend by investing in and creating incentives for industries that will provide good jobs and badly needed products for Americans for generations to come. I will work to encourage building a light rail mass transportation system for America like President Eisenhower did in the 1950’s with the federal interstate highway system program. I will also work for similar initiatives to encourage alternative energies, non-fossil fuels production, the manufacture of wind and tide electricity generators, solar panels and industries that will make significant contributions to employment and a better life for us all.
It is time to reinvest in America and Americans.
I will work to strengthen the United Nations so that it can be a more effective advocate for world peace and human rights.
I will work to reduce and eliminate all nuclear weapons and to support the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The United States, as a signer of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, must cooperate with other nations to reduce all nuclear weapons arsenals to zero as quickly as possible. It is immoral to use nuclear weapons because of the profound destruction they cause in terms of death of innocent civilians and to the planet's environment for millennia. It is also hypocritical for the U.S. to lecture and threaten other countries about building nuclear weapons at the very time the Pentagon is developing new generations of battlefield nuclear weapons. Weapons do not solve people's political or cultural problems; they make these problems worse.
I oppose the resumption of nuclear testing. I support the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and support its signing by the United States.
I oppose national missile defense and all weapons being placed in space. I will vote to eliminate funding for all research and development of the “Star Wars” program. I support outlawing the production of and use or ownership of land mines by the United States.
I support the prohibition of arms sales and military training to governments that the State Department deems human rights abusers. The United States should not be a major manufacturer or seller of weapons. I oppose the notion that a large part of our economy must be dedicated to weapons sales and military training because those activities virtually ensure endless war. The United States would be made safer and more financially secure by addressing the underlying causes of war: poverty and the struggle for power by people who want to control resources and wealth.
I oppose efforts by the Pentagon to obtain the private information of minors without parental consent for use by military recruiters. I will work to stop the Pentagon's consolidated military recruitment database.
I support a cabinet level Department of Peace that will be responsible for finding solutions to war. War is a waste. Peace is positive. It makes sense to pursue peace. For more information about the proposed Department of Peace, please visit www.mainedop.org.
HEALTH CARE
Health Care is one of the crucial issues facing America today.
There is no plan for health care for all Americans, there is no discussion, and there is no leadership coming from the professional politicians in Washington today. Promises, promises and more empty promises are all we hear about health care.
I will work to provide every American with universal, single-payer health care. We will save money and provide better health care for all Americans simply by eliminating the 30-35% profit and overhead charged by the insurance companies and by administering health care through a government agency modeled after Social Security or Medicare with a 4% overhead cost. A nationwide emphasis on preventive health care would drastically reduce, even eliminate, the expensive emergency care currently used by those who have no health insurance, thus further reducing the costs of health care.
I will work to lower drug costs. I will work for the re-importation of drugs that are priced lower in other countries than the same drugs in the United States. I will also work to remove patent protection for those drugs that are priced higher than the costs to produce a generic substitute, after taking into account the research investment costs but excluding free research grants and advertising costs. I will consider supporting laws that require excess profits taxes to be assessed to pharmaceutical companies that have unreasonable profits as a result of unfair competition because of their virtual monopoly advantages and use those windfall taxes to reduce the cost of drugs.
I will work for American programs to provide funding for worldwide AIDS prevention programs, including a broad commitment to reproductive/sex education, the distribution of contraceptives (including condoms) and abstinence education in a single, unified program.
It is time to reinvest in America and Americans.
LIVING WAGE/FAIR TAXATION
A living wage and fair taxation are among the crucial issues facing America today.
It is a sad commentary when our Congress values ordinary citizens so little that they pass huge, unneeded tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of the middle class and the poor. People making over $1,000,000 per year (two tenths of 1% of Americans) were granted tax cuts by the Congress which amounted to 54% of the total tax cuts. That tax cut gave these wealthy friends of Congress a gift of almost $20,000 per year on average. Almost all of the tax cuts (97%) were given to 4% of Americans and they have incomes higher than $200,000 per year. In the current economic recovery, American corporate profits are almost twice as high as in an average recovery while jobs, savings, the GNP and other indicators lag behind the average recovery statistics. Now who is really benefiting from our professional politicians?
What is the plan for fair taxation in America, where is the discussion, and who is providing leadership that is in your interest?
I will work for a living wage and for equity in taxation. A living wage is a wage that will support reasonable shelter, food and health care for a citizen.
I will work to eliminate income taxes for individuals who earn less than $16,000 per year and families who earn less than $18,000. I will work to bring taxation back to a more equitable distribution by rolling back the tax cuts given by the Bush Administration to the wealthiest Americans. I would increase taxes on corporations because corporations are avoiding their fair share of taxes on profits at the expense of the middle class and the poor. I will work to reinstate the higher inheritance taxes with a provision for forgiveness of inheritance taxes for family businesses and family farms, provided that the forgiven taxes are to be recaptured if the business or farm is sold outside the family at a later date.
Taxes are necessary to provide services that society needs but that individuals cannot provide by themselves. In order to receive such services, citizens must pool their resources in order to obtain those services. Since all individuals benefit from society generally, all individuals should be subject to taxation. However, no citizen or family should pay income taxes until that person is receiving a living wage. Since all Americans benefit from advantages of being citizens of the United States, there should be no maximum income amount (or ceiling) to the income being taxed. All citizens should pay taxes on any income over a living wage.
I will work to help teachers and health care workers because of the importance of their work to the welfare of all Americans. I will work for laws that allow forgiveness of income taxes on wages paid to individuals who work full time in the fields of teaching in public schools and in health care up to the amounts they pay to reduce their educational loans.
I believe that men and women have a right to receive equal pay for equal work. I will actively support legislation that is consistent this position.
It is time to reinvest in America and Americans.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT POLICY
Environmental and energy policy are among the crucial issues facing America today.
There is no plan, there is no discussion, and there is no leadership coming from professional politicians in Washington today about solving energy and environmental problems.
The Congress has been sitting on their hands for over thirty years doing nothing about energy / environment policy. Look at our fuel bills, the lack of alternative fuels, the lack of public transportation and the environmental degradation worldwide. Look at the wars over energy sources. These are the results of a failure to take care of the people’s business by Congress. Our Congressional delegation (three of whom are long-term professional politicians) and their political parties cannot escape accountability for this dismal record.
It is time to reinvest in America and Americans.
I will work for lower energy costs and against pollution by requiring America to invest in new technologies, alternative fuels, mass transportation, and other methods to lower per person consumption of energy. I will work to provide incentives to individuals and businesses to invest in technologies that reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and/or that increase the use of alternative, non-polluting fuels.
I will work to require the United States to be a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol that outlines goals for reversing problems of global warming. I will work to require the United States to aggressively redirect public funds away from weapons development and manufacture to a world leadership position in the development and deployment of technologies and policies that achieve the Kyoto objectives thus resulting in a substantial positive impact on the U.S. economy.
I will work for laws that require excess profits taxes to be assessed to energy companies that have unreasonable profits. These taxes shall be used to support research of alternative, non-polluting fuels and for subsidies for fuel for poor people.
Considering the long-term health implications of hazardous chemicals, I would support government oversight of chemical use that includes substantial penalties for their unlawful use or misuse, and I would support efforts to reduce and eliminate hazardous chemicals, including pesticides, from general, unrestricted use.
EDUCATION
The future of education in America is one of the crucial issues facing America today.
There is no plan for providing affordable education for ordinary Americans today. There is no discussion, there is no leadership outlining how America will regain its preeminence in education in the world.
I will support a loan program for Maine students to finance higher education for selected students. This program will provide a form of financing for students entering any community college or public university in Maine in exchange for a promise by the student to work for a period in Maine after graduation. The two requirements of the proposal include maintaining good academic standing and working in the state for two to four years after completion of degree. If a student meets those conditions, the loan would be forgiven.
I will work for an increase in funds and programs to insure the loans to students that were decreased by the Congress.
It is time to invest in America and America’s future by investing in education.
IMPEACHMENT
I call for impeachment of the President of the United States and prosecution of those who misled America into the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
I will vote for Congressional action to be undertaken to determine if there are individuals who should be held accountable for any fraud in making the case to invade and occupy Iraq and to impeach and/or prosecute anyone found guilty of such fraud.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
The cost and availability of housing is affected when low and moderate income people cannot afford to pay the housing costs and/or when there are people who are willing to pay a higher price than low and middle income people can afford to pay. Until decent housing is a reality for all citizens, government must find ways to enforce codes and regulations governing housing habitability and to produce more affordable housing for its citizens.
In the past, the federal government provided incentives to create new housing to fulfill such needs. In addition to providing low interest loans to developers and subsidies to tenants, government could look more closely at models such as Habitat for Humanity that allow poor and moderate income people to use “sweat equity” to purchase housing.
YOUTH
Young people in Maine face many of the same issues we all face, such as finding good jobs, affordable health care, and affordable housing, as well as quality education at an affordable cost. Perhaps not as readily recognized though, is the harsh reality that young people will face the costs of the Iraq War long after their parents have died. Young people have a reason to call their elected officials to account for the escalating debt and the slaughter of Americans and Iraqis in the Middle East and for not calling a halt to it.
Young people will inherit the legacy of a degraded environment because we, their parents and elected officials, have not lived up to our responsibility to aggressively address the abuse of the environment. When we all begin to realize the true costs of this neglect, I hope that young people will turn out and vote current politicians out of office who have not had the courage to lead the effort to save our planet from our own greed and lack of care for the environment.
I am running for office as an independent candidate because I know that neither major political party has made any progress in addressing these issues for over 30 years. Our political system is set up in such a way that our current Senators and Representatives must care more about their own re-elections than they do about the future of young people, and they should be voted out of office if they disregard making a better future for us all.
ELECTORAL SYSTEM
There is a serious question as to whether there is effectively a multi-party system on the federal level. It has become increasingly difficult to distinguish genuine differences between votes of members of the two major parties as well as to measure progress by the American two party system to solve significant challenges facing America and the rest of the world. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult to hold elected officials accountable for their lack of initiative to solve problems. Third parties and Independents provide the mirror which reflects this increasing similarity between Democrats and Republicans. For example, as an Independent, I can take positions that conflict with the wishes of major corporate donors or powerful constituents who contribute substantially to a particular party. I am at liberty to be independent because neither I nor my party is taking their money.
In terms of electoral policies, there is a serious need for reform. I will work for Instant Run-off Voting (IRV) because it is the only fair way to determine the public's wishes in a close race among more than two candidates. It allows voters to vote for minor party candidates in multiple candidate races without being penalized. For more information about IRV, go to www.sfrcv.com/vote.
There have also been serious allegations of election fraud in America and throughout the world. It is clear that safeguards must be in place to guaranty fair and accurate voting systems vote counts. We can do much more to assure and secure the fundamental right to vote. The makers of voting machines still have not solved the problems that the makers of ATM machines solved over a decade ago. I will work to put into law safeguards that include paper trails and mandatory random vote auditing of all electoral contests as well as requiring that all voting machines and materials used in voting be secured until the certification and appeals periods have expired.
PRIVACY/SURVEILLANCE
I will work to stop the administration's illegal and warrantless surveillance of citizens and domestic organizations. I have personally joined in the Maine Civil Liberties Union effort to request that the Maine Public Utility Commission investigate whether Verizon and MCI cooperated with NSA's warrantless domestic wiretapping program. I am opposed to ex post facto or retroactive legislation to make warrantless surveillance legal. I support significant civil and criminal penalties against all persons and corporations that violate an individual's rights to privacy.
I will work to require that if the President believes a new law to be unconstitutional and if the President is not successful in vetoing that law, the President will be required to present a case against that law to the US Supreme Court for final adjudication instead of issuing "signing statements". Further, I will work to make "signing statements" to be held unconstitutional as a matter of law. I will also work to have the Congress investigate and to contest the legality of the President Bush's "signing statements" that assert the administration is not covered by over 800 plus laws passed during his term in office.
I will work for real privacy for people. I will work to prohibit the collection of any personal information from any source and to prohibit the sale of software that allows the collection of any personal information from any source without the express prior permission of the person involved. This prohibition would apply on each instance of information collection. I will work for laws that provide substantial penalties for violations of these prohibitions.
HUMAN RIGHTS
I would have voted for the 2005 McCain amendment to prohibit torture, and I support an independent bipartisan commission to investigate previous abuses.
I will work for the immediate closing of all facilities used to detain people without charges and/or a trial and for the release of all people detained without charges and/or a trial by an independent international court.
I will work to make it unlawful to engage in illegal detainment, imprisonment, and torture of prisoners by Americans no matter where such activities occur. I will work to insure that all persons imprisoned are unconditionally guaranteed the right of habeas corpus.
IMMIGRATION
I will work to reform immigration policy and to create a specific national immigration policy that identifies who can legally immigrate to the United States, includes clear qualifications for citizenship, and prohibits any temporary worker programs in favor of programs that offer permanent citizenship instead.
There is no carefully defined, administered and monitored immigration policy in the United States to ensure a clear path for immigrants to obtain citizenship without facing exploitation. The Congress needs to establish a clear set of laws governing immigration that specifies who may immigrate into the country and under what conditions. The Congress also should require specific and substantial penalties for those who violate immigration laws, especially employers hiring people who do not qualify to work in this country. The current level of exploitation of immigrants, which exists due to the lack of just such laws and penalties, is immoral.
SOCIAL SECURITY
I will work to eliminate caps on Social Security payroll taxes and to prohibit the withdrawal of funds from The Social Security Trust Fund, in order to ensure a baseline of future retirement benefits for every American. I will oppose investment of Social Security funds in private accounts because it is imperative to provide a guaranteed safety net for retirees.
ABORTION
I support choice. I will work to ensure that a woman will continue to have the exclusive right to control what happens to her body. I believe that only a woman can determine for herself what should be done to her body, and reproductive rights are the concern of only the woman who is affected and those she wishes to consult.
GAY RIGHTS
I will work to insure that no person will be discriminated against due to sexual orientation. I will support the right of same sex marriage to be extended to all couples who desire to be married.
LOBBYING REFORM
I will work for the people, not lobbyists. I will work to require all Representatives and Senators to record on their websites the dates, durations and subjects of all meetings and/or any communications with lobbyists.
I will work for campaign reform that will include the establishment of "clean election funds" that equalize the spending opportunities of candidates who qualify to be placed on the ballot for federal elective positions. I will work to eliminate all contributions by corporations and restrict the contribution of campaign funds to human persons (as opposed to corporate entities) with specific limitations regarding contribution amounts. The amount of total election funds that will be available to candidates in each State will be set at an equal amount for all candidates to spend on the campaign. I will work for substantial penalties for violations of the clean election laws.
ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE PEOPLE OF MAINE
I will conduct a regular series of publicized town meeting forums throughout the Congressional District during periods when I return home from Washington to listen to the people on any subject about which they may wish to speak. I will also provide regular updates on my web site and through constituent mailings about subjects of importance being discussed and processed in the Congress. I will also make myself available to the press regularly to answer their questions.
DEXTER’S FAMILY AND PERSONAL INTERESTS
Our family has made efforts to be stewards of the environment. We have done this by restricting our child bearing to zero growth by having two biological children, but we have enriched our lives by adopting two children and welcoming another into our family. We drive a hybrid automobile, have made serious efforts to run an energy efficient home, and have refrained from introducing non-organic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides into our household and landscape. We purchase locally produced products whenever it is possible. We have composted household waste at home and have recycled household waste through our town transfer station for over twenty-five years. We continue to look for ways to improve our energy efficiency and to lessen our impact on our environment. I am sure we can do much more.
Family is very important to me. Sometimes it is important for people just to be there for others. So often, just being there for people in need is exactly the encouragement they need to succeed and to feel needed. We all need family - however that is defined in this day and age.
I have many varied interests. I especially enjoy the out-of-doors and activities like hiking, kayaking, skiing, and snowshoeing. I enjoy music of all kinds, especially classical, but I also like the Dixie Chicks, choral music, and a capella. I like to listen to music that is new to me like some Chinese music that a student from China introduced me to recently. I like South American music by Ginastera and Villa Lobos and American music by Samuel Barber and Alan Hovannes. I like rock 'n roll, too, like The Beatles, U2, Pink Floyd, The Eagles and Procol Harum. I also like reading South American authors like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Jorge Amado. I think Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is one of Maine's most incredible treasures. I like art of all kinds. I like the honest things that people create.
My favorite places and things to do in Maine are: Hiking or snow shoeing up Pleasant Mountain or the Camden Hills, cross country skiing in Rangeley, kayaking on Casco Bay, looking at art at the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, any student musical event at USM, Bowdoin, Colby or Bates, walking through the blueberry barrens in Washington Count, watching the biathlon in Fort Kent, or snow shoeing on Orr's Island. I just love Maine.
Dexter Kamilewicz