I'm registered as a  Green Party member, a co-founder of the Populist Party which put Ralph Nader on the ballot in Maryland and a member of  the Libertarian Party.  All three parties agree on the 'peace, justice, and democracy' issues I will be focused on. They also all agree on ending corporate welfare and prosecuting corporate crime, restoring civil liberties and ending big business control of government (which undermines local entrepreneurship, reduces wages for working people and warps the priorities of government).

Peace: The principal focus will be ending the Iraq War and occupation. I currently work on this issue with Democracy Rising --  I'm the director of the program.  In addition to the peace issue we are also leading the way on impeachment of Bush and Cheney. See: “Bush is Not Above the Law” an article published in Salon, “The 'I' Word,” an article  published in the Boston Globe. I'm a co-founder of After Downing Street an organization working to get out the truth about the claims made support the Iraq War. I also work on the anti-war issue locally as a co-founder of Montgomery County Coalition for Alternatives to War -- a coalition of 20 organizations. In addition to Iraq, my peace plank will also include a focus on the root causes of so many military conflicts -- our dependence on more resources than we produce -- especially oil (of course that also has energy and environmental impacts as well which will also be emphasized in my campaign). An important component of peace not only in the Middle East but throughout the world is a just,  viable and lasting peace based on principles of international law between Israel and Palestine. To achieve this we need an open dialogue about the relationship between Israel and the United States. This dialogue should include bringing to the United States advocates for peace between the Palestinians and Israelis from Israel and the Palestinian territory.  The U.S. should also discuss modifying our support for Israel so the U.S. is not participating in Israel's widespread human rights abuses of the Palestinian people or violations of UN resolutions. Of course, Palestinians also must continue to be criticized if they condone terrorism against Israelis. Neither Palestinian nor Israeli violence can be condoned -- both are counterproductive to the goal of a peaceful resolution.  Americans should not be called anti-semitic for criticizing the actions of the government of Israel such name calling prevents rational discourse on a critically important issue.

Democracy: A prime issue of focus will be requiring a paper record for computerized voting as 25 states have passed laws requiring a paper record while Maryland is one of two states (Georgia is the other) that votes statewide without a paper record that can be used in independent audits and meaningful recounts.  The Democratic Party leadership in particular has been a problem on this issue in Maryland. I'm a co-founder and core group member of TrueVoteMD and I'm on the board of Velvet Revolution – an organization working for transparent elections. I also support other election reforms -- debates that include all ballot-approved candidates, instant run-off voting (also known as ranked choice or majority voting), universal registration, same day registration, clean money campaigns as well as other steps to reinvigorate our democracy.

Justice: A centerpiece will be ending the failed war on drugs which is costing tens of billions annually, is racially unfair (Maryland is the most racially unbalanced in the United States with 90 percent of those incarcerated on drug charges being African American) and fails to protect our youth or community health and safety. And, with the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on medical marijuana leadership is needed in the U.S. Senate to protect the health of patients and their providers.  I'm president of Common Sense for Drug Policy, and a co-founder of the Maryland Treatment Not Incarceration Coalition. I also served on Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke's Working Group for Drug Policy Reform. Other justice issues I will focus on include economic justice -- ending the rich poor divide, corporate welfare for national and international businesses that create unfair competition for local entrepreneurs and big business control of government. See: “Creating a Real Ownership Society.”  And, we need to restore civil liberties undermined by the Patriot Act.