The following was sent to supporters of Matt Reichel, a Green Party candidate for Congress in Chicago:
I would like to extend best wishes on a Happy New Year: may the coming year bring well-being and joy in all of your lives.
To be frank, 2009 was a disastrous year for progressives. The theme at the beginning of the year was “hope,” and now it may as well be “nope.” No, Americans’ hope for a world-class system of public health insurance did not transpire. No, Americans’ hope for an end to our wars of imperialist aggression in the Middle East did not transpire. No, Americans’ hope for an end to the bailouts of the criminal banks and financial houses of Wall Street did not transpire. No, we did not see our civil liberties, stolen away during the Bush years, restored under Obama. Nor did we see a restoration of habeas corpus and due process of suspected terrorists.
“Give the guy a chance” say my Democratic friends. My response: “Give me a break!” Almost a year in, and the president and Congress have accomplished no meaningful reforms. Nothing. Zilch.
This is why we in the Green Party are ringing in the New Years with something better than hope: ACTION!
If you haven’t decided upon your New Years Resolution yet, maybe you can join me in making the same pledge as me: to cease doing business with corporate banks once and for all. Please visit http://moveyourmoney.info/ and enter your zip code so as to find the nearest community banks. Then get out there and transfer everything to a bank that won’t put your investments into the roulette wheel of risky securities, derivatives and so forth. Invest in a bank that doesn’t prey on the poor with predatory mortgages and credit cards, while stealing from them with excessive ATM fees and overdraft fees.
If you are still banking at Chase, Citibank, Bank of America,or Wells Fargo, close your accounts today and shift them over to a community bank.
If we can all make this pledge, and recruit 5 friends or family members to do the same, 2010 will be a year of victory for the American people. Together, we will rise up and shut down the criminal racket that is Wall Street!
Happy New Years!
Solidarity,
Matt Reichel