Matthew Abel

Green Party Candidate for U.S. Senator, Michigan

I seek election to the United States Senate to promote Green values, including:

• Nonviolence:
  Redirect foreign policy to reduce conflict worldwide. Rather than protecting American oil and mineral interests abroad, work for peace, slash military & CIA funding; end Iraqi/ Cuban sanctions; respect other nations,and sovereignty. Eliminate funding for fraudulent missile defense system. Sign Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. End death penalty. I support the Second Amendment, and rights of native peoples to hunt and fish as guaranteed by treaty. Require instant background checks for handgun sales.

• Ecological wisdom:
  Strengthen OSHA, improve workplace environment. Strengthen Clean Water & Endangered Species Acts; raise fees for grazing/logging/mining rights on federal lands; no clear-cutting or old-growth logging; stop urban sprawl; respect global warming treaties; reduce oil dependency, mandate greater vehicular efficiency; replace coal/nuclear with clean energy; promote bike paths, mass transit. Assess additional taxes against polluters to pay for cleanup of pollution they generate. End hemp prohibition. Stop the war on "soft" drugs

• Grassroots Democracy:
  Publicly financed federal elections, instant runoff voting, and proportional representation for greater diversity (racial, religious and economic) among elected officials.

• Community-based Economics:
  Fair Trade requires living wages, worker health and safety. Promote renewable energy. Local production of food/clothing/shelter. Immediate withdrawal from WTO, GATT, NAFTA. Subject trade treaties to strict human rights, labor, and environmental standards. Repeal Taft-Hartley. Tax cuts for middle class and the poor; increased capital gains tax; eliminate FICA cap. End corporate welfare. The best single thing we can do to stimulate the economy is to pay down the national debt.

• Social Justice, Feminism; Women's Equality, Respect for Diversity:
  Support woman's right to choose. Support Affirmative Action. Equal pay for equal work. End racial profiling. Full funding of WIC, HeadStart. Double minimum wage with exemptions for small businesses. Free universal health care.