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 Mark
Binder -- Democrat for US House of Representatives
First District Rhode Island
Who is Mark Binder?
Mark Binder is an ordinary citizen. He is a father, a husband,
a small business owner. He is an author and a storyteller. He is
an educator. He holds a third degree black belt in Aikido, the martial
art for peace. After two years of running East Bay Coalition for
the Homeless, he left the organization with a three year budget
surplus. In 2004, he ran for Congress and received more than 25%
of the primary vote.
Why does Mark Binder want to be your Representative?
Truth be told, Mark is not a career politician. He doesn't aspire
to power. He's a normal person, who is sick and tired of the current
situation. Do you want a representative who spends months in rehab?
Do you want a representative who votes for the war? Do you want a
representative who is disconnected from the kind of life that most
people live? Neither does Mark. If someone else was running, Mark
would support her (or him).
Bold New Platform Initiatives for 2006
- Impeach the President. Torture is a high crime and misdemeanor.
- Impeach the Vice President too. Racketeering.
- Enforce the United States Constitutional mandate that only Congress,
not the President, has the power to declare war. (Article 1, Section
8, Clause 11).
- Declare the War on Terror over. Everybody lost.
- Revoke "No Child Left Behind" while simultaneously increasing
funds for all schools that teach children reading, writing, 'rithmatic,
civics, science, arts and business. Eliminate national standardized
testing. If any state wants its students to be ignorant, let them.
- One dollar per gallon tax on gasoline with ALL funds to go to
public transportation and alternative energy research. Any patents
developed will be held in the public trust.
- Creation of Federally funded inter-urban light rail system
- Subsidies for alternative power, new house efficiency, and old-house
renovation
- I support a woman's right to choose. If you're against abortion,
you'd better be adopting kids into your home, and paying for their
education...
- Increase funding for adult education. Require co-payment for
adult education.
- Add a non-binding question to the US Census that allows citizens
to choose where to spend tax dollars.
- Restore cleanwater and clean air acts.
- Campaign finance reform. Maximum spending limits on ALL federal
campaigns.
- Bring all our National Guard home, so that they can guard our
nation.
- Require both Israel and the Palestinians to renounce violence
if they want to receive US Aid. (Heck, maybe that should be true
of anybody who gets US Aid. Of course that would kill off our
lucrative business of selling arms....)
- Eliminate tax incentives and increase trade barriers for trading
with countries and companies that have low environmental standards
or employ slave or wage-slave labor.
- Sign the Kyoto accord.
- Sign the Ottawa Treaty banning the production and use of anti-personnel
(land) mines.
- Revoke the Patriot Act. Encourage patriotism, not spying on
the American public.
- Treat terrorists as criminals, not warriors, and recommend the
death penalty for acts of terror.
- Institute campaign finance and election reform to require all
funding for a candidate to come from within his or her district.
All votes cast must have a paper trail.
- Issue a national public apology for the arrogance of the Bush
Administration in claming that they represent the people and values
of America. The values of Freedom and Democracy can never be imposed
by external force at the point of a gun.
Lower Priority (though not unimportant) Issues
- Single Payer National Health Insurance - Is it the best idea?
Maybe not. Is it the best I've heard. Yes. So far.
- Encourage gay marriage. Encourage interfaith marriage. Encourage
interracial marriage.
- Simplified progressive income tax
- Suspend NASCAR -- not because I don't like racing, but because
it's such a huge waste of oil. We are in a national crisis.
- Require national testing of people who want national testing
- Lower the drinking age to 18. If you can vote and die in a war,
you can drink a beer.
- One year civil service for everybody. Phase this in over the
next 5 years. Everybody, that means us.
- Completely rethink our illegal drug policy. Current anti-drug
policy doesn't work. Locking people up for human frailty is ineffective.
- Research and impliment method to reduce the percentage of "minority"
males in Federal and State Prisons. It's a national shame.
- Eliminate home mortgage deduction. Allow homeowners to deduct
property tax from their income to a certain limit.
- Fund magnificence in the arts.
Some questions I have no answer to:
"How the heck do we dig ourselves out of the unfunded pension hole?"
and "If we really are running out of oil, how am I going to heat
my home, commute 30 miles a day to work, and how am I going to get
fresh organic lettuce in December?"
"If more than 240 million Americans are going to die in the
next 100 years, how much can we expect government to pay for some
of them to stay alive, let alone protecdt their pensions?"
"Would I want to be a better politician than Patrick Kennedy?"
Vote early and vote often.
- Mark Binder
Mark Binder is an author and a storyteller. He's a professional
liar, but doesn't get the same tax and health benefits as a professional
politician.
2004 Results: "The story of America is that your vote matters."
Mark Binder declares victory with 25.6% of the vote
"Unknown" Candidate takes 25 percent against Patrick Kennedy Contact:
September 14, 2002
At 9:44 PM with 97 percent of the vote counted, Mark Binder
declared an end to his Congressional Campaign.
According to one count, Binder received 25.6 percent of the vote
while Patrick Kennedy received the remaining ballots.
"I am thrilled to have done so well," said Mark Binder, 41. "We
ran a low-key word of mouth campaign against Patrick Kennedy. We
spent less than $500 on the entire campaign, and we did great."
Mr. Binder's campaign focused on opposition to the War in Iraq,
the need to eliminate the use of fossil fuels by 2020, and the necessity
of funding education and the arts.
In his brief concession remarks, Mr. Binder said that he hoped
his campaign would encourage other candidates to take a stand.
"If there's one thing that this campaign proves," he said, "it
is that every single vote counts."
 Why
am I running for Congress?
Two years ago: My son Max is in second grade in the Providence
public school system. Next year, his school may not have Art or
Music teachers. Instead, the money has been sent overseas to fight
a war against terrorism.
Today: Max is in the fourth grade. The art and music teachers are
half time. The war on terror is now being called "The Long
War." The President of Iran is sending letters to the President
of the United States to establish their relationship as "one
religious guy to another." I'm afraid that it might work.
We haven't won the war on drugs.
We haven't won the war on poverty.
We haven't won the war on illiteracy.
W e won't win the war on terror.
It's that simple.
While I support a strong defense of this nation, I believe that
the course charted by the current administration is deeply flawed.
Machiavelli said that no thoroughly dissafected people can be held
down by force of arms alone. The modern corollary is that Democracy
can not be imposed at the point of a gun.
Instead of increasing our safety, they have increased our fear.
Instead of spending our money wisely, they've squandered it on shortsighted
goals that profit a few at the expense of the many.
If elected, I will vote for peace, fiscal responsibility, and the
education of our children.
It's that simple.
Mark Binder's National Issues
- Reduce fear without increasing vulnerability. Arrest terrorists,
don't give them political power.
- Create a new national mission to eliminate our dependence on
fossil fuels by 2020
- Decrease the use of military force as a method of solving international
problems
- Support for Freedom of Speech and other key rights
- Confront overseas job movement, and changes in the availability
of scarce resources
- Create training programs for adults to manage transitions from
outmoded industries
- Renew our national commitment to the environment
- Support the growth of small businesses, especially in urban
neighborhoods
- Create a generation of educated and informed citizens by giving
schools the resources to make "No child left behind"
a reality, and require them to put in the hours and the effort
to do what it takes
Mark Binder's Biography
Public Work
- Served as Acting Director of the East Bay Coalition for the
Homeless. Moved that organization from deficit to surplus.
- He is a founding Board Member of "Bright Night," which
rescued Rhode Island's premier New Year's Eve celebration
- He has lobbied to restore funding to Art and Music programs
in the Providence Public Schools
- He has improved Providence by organizing park renovations, traffic
calming, and tree plantings
Professional Work and Education
- He has a BA from Columbia University and an MA from Rhode Island
College.
- He is a professional storyteller
and author. He presents his work in schools, libraries, as
well as community, senior and religious centers
- He is the founder of The American Story Theater
- He is the author of four books and three audio cds
- He has served as the editor of the Rhode Island Jewish Herald
and Food Distribution Magazine
Private Life
- He is a family man, happily married to Alicia Lehrer, with
three children -- Max, Harry and Francesca
- His hobbies include mystery reading, Aikido--the martial art
for peace, and bread baking
Vote for Mark Binder because
- He is a private citizen, doing his civic duty
- He is not a career politician
- He will cast votes with integrity and conscience
- He has a lifetime of experience from living with family and
working in the real world
- He has the same issues that you do -- living a good life today
and building a better world for the future
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Register and Remember to vote in the RI Primary,
September 12, 2006
Click
here to find out where you vote
 Election
Day Actions
On election day, you can help by going to the polls and handing
out fliers.We've got a full page and a half page flier you can download
and print out. (The half page needs to be cut.) They're black and
white PDF files.
- Download the PDF file
- Print out a bunch of copies. 25, 50, 100 or more.
- Cut them if you've chosen the half-page
- Go to the polls and cast your vote for Mark Binder
- Ask the poll workers where you may stand to hand out literature.
Look for other people handing out literature.
- Hand voters a page and ask them to "Mark Your ballot
for Mark Binder"
- Be nice and respectful. Say thank you.
- Don't be offended if people don't want to take the paper.
- Smile a lot
- When you're done, recycle any left-over handouts.
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