Ever hear of this guy?

[raysr]

12/06/05: NY Sun--Clinton Faces Foe on the Left in Re-Election Bid

by Russell Berman

Senator Clinton faces a challenge from the left in her run for re-election: A former labor leader is mounting an anti-war bid for the Democratic nomination.



Jonathan Tasini, who headed the National Writers Union for 13 years, will launch his campaign today with a rally at the W Hotel in Union Square. He has touted the backing of noted liberal Democrats, including the anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan.

http://www.tasinifornewyork.org/node/90

[Canuckistanian]

1. There ya go. Cindy said she'd challenge Hillary.

Here it is.

[Nutmegger]

2. This is great news!

Right here in Connecticut, we may have an anti-war candidate running against LIEberman. I think this is turing out to be positive for the people. So many incumbents take it for granted. TIME TO FEEL THE HEAT!!!

[Historic NY]

3. Unfortunately he has no state-wide name recognizition..........

Ny is very large once you leave the city. We have 5 Dems running against Sue Kelly in just the 19th District. Its going to be awfully hard for him and others to run a slug fest against each other during primary season.

[oge]

4. Tasini looks ok

We got him to come meet with a small group in upstate NY last Thursday. No way he has the name recognition of Hillarity, but I for one will not vote for any republite dems. So it's good to have a choice here, and I look forward to voting against her in the primary. If you want to meet him, get some group together and invite him. Here's how I wrote up the meeting:
-------------------------
Briefly: He's there, close enough, on all the big issues. Apparently
clued
> that the group of 40 or so with whom he met was already in tune, he didn't
>
> spend much time wooing us. He made the point that Hillary is too close to
>
> the Bush camp to lead an opposition party. In addition to her pro-war
> stance, he mentioned her corporate-friendly positions, including her
> WalMart
> affiliation and promotion of NAFTA (he sketched his idea of fair trade),
and
> dispelled any notion that she supported a single-payer health program. The
>
> candidate emphasized that he was intent on forging a viable progressive
> alternative on which to build.
>
> He related his first-hand experience of the MidEast, having lived in
Israel,
> and justified his position for immediate withdrawl from Iraq. In
> countering
> a question about our withdrawal enablng a civil war, he emphasized that
our
> presence is fueling the insurgency and indicated a belief in the Iraqis'
> ability to overcome factionalism. He offered a 2-state solution for the
> Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
>
> He explained his approach to a single-payer health program as one of
> universal Medicare coverage, this being comprehensible to most voters.
>
> He spoke of the corporate lock on politics and the problem of the
> redistribution of wealth to the wealthiest, indicating a strategy to
> rectify
> these problems by reforming unfair corporate and personal taxation. In
this
> area he described a belief that he could have an impact even as a freshman
>
> senator.
>
> He described his background as an environmentalist, his commitment to
> conservation and alternate energy, and a strategy to refocus war
> production
> in line with the goals of a new economy. Throughout, he reminded us of the
>
> wealth of the country, which, despite the amount of debt owned by China,
he
> deemed sufficient for progressive purposes.
>
> He called for impeaching Bush-Cheney.
>
> He seemed receptive to suggestions regarding the special circumstances of
>
> rural upstate New York, and entertained discussion of small farm and small
>
> business needs.
>
> It was overall a warm reception. The candidate advised that he needed
> volunteers and of course cash; campaign paraphernalia should be available
>
> soon. In these connections, you may visit his website:
>
> http://www.tasinifornewyork.org/
>
> Link to the Oneonta Daily Star's coverage:
>
> http://www.thedailystar.com/news/stories/2006/01/13/speak3.html
>
>
>