Jerry McNerney's website

The Tragic Distraction

The war in Iraq is a tragedy for many reasons. The most obvious is the unnecessary loss of life, the cost on our national treasury, the loss of good will the United States had in the world, and the terrorist recruiting that has ensued. However, the war is posing a threat to our country that is perhaps even more profound. This nation is facing challenges that will impact the very core of our society and our civilization, and these challenges are being addressed by lip service and benign neglect at best, and intentional disregard at worst. The world we grew up in is rapidly changing and we are acting as if it our prosperous and pre-eminent position is beyond doubt. However, there are forces, some of our own doing, that are growing and will disrupt our lives if we continue in ignorant bliss. The things I am talking about are the federal budget, trade, and credit deficits; our complete dependence on cheap oil most of which is imported; global warming; our falling behind in education; our failing health care system, to name my favorites. Each of these issues and many others I have not mentioned hang ominously in the horizon.

These issues have proven of little interest to the right wing leaders of this country. The war in Iraq gives them plenty of cover and enables us to ignore the peril. This distraction is possibly the most significant tragedy of the war.

If we wait until creditor nations come calling on our debt, or even more threatening to our way of life, if we wait until the peak of oil production becomes painfully apparent, then it will be too late, the changes thrust upon us will be so large that our economy will suffer a profound decline. If we wait until the final dots dry on the proof of global warming, we could be in for massive dislocations. If we wait until China, India, and the many other "developing" countries that are determined to surpass us produce the best engineering and science, then we will become the third world at their mercy.

Preceding generations of Americans worked hard, invested, saved, and handed us a country that was prosperous and secure. Now it's our turn. We owe it to our parents and grandparents, to ourselves, and to our children and grandchildren to step up and sacrifice from our plenty and invest in America's future. If we do so, the results will be spectacular. We will transform our economy into an economy that is sustainable long into the future, an economy that will leave a nation that is prosperous, secure, and healthy for many generations to come. We will once again become a nation that inspires the world to better things. Future generations will praise our accomplishments.

On the other hand, if we continue to consume our nation's resources with no preparation for the future, the consequences will probably be catastrophic. Our economy will collapse. Transportation and jobs will disappear. Food production will plummet. International conflicts over oil and other resources will take place. Future generations will look at ours as the era of irresponsibility and wonder why we did not feel a moral obligation to provide them with the keys to a prosperous life like had been handed us.

The choice is ours.

- Jerry McNerney

Is it time to stand up for what we believe?

Is it time to stand up for what we believe? Of course the answer is yes! But the real question is: "How far should we go in fighting for our beliefs?"

The leaders of this nation have embarked on a path that, I believe, is bringing degradation to our immediate standard of living, and worse, will most likely continue and even accelerate throughout most of our own lifetimes. The political right wing has focused, over a 30-year period, on gaining and holding power regardless of our nation's future. They have used the mantra of reducing taxes, or as it is cleverly referred to, "tax relief." They have used a narrowly defined notion of "moral values" to attract a following of self described religious groups. And they have utilized fear to galvanize people. In other words, they have used fear, fundamentalist religious slogans, and greed to rise to power, and have been singularly successful in doing so. This approach will also be the cause of their undoing, because it has not produced any consistent model of governance or ideology. There are ominous clouds on the horizon that portend trouble, and the national leadership is not up to the challenges. The Katrina debacle is an obvious indication of how bankrupt this leadership is.

The November election is now safely behind us

The November election is now safely behind us. The Democratic Party was a clear winner in this off-year election. Here in California, every single proposition that the Governor called for was defeated. Across the country, the Democratic Party gained. I congratulate everyone that worked hard for these results. Does this mean that our country has reached the turning point and a course correction is taking place? I believe the answer is yes, but let’s not get overly confident. The policies of the right wing leaders, who are still in control of the country, have been so outrageous that some kind of reaction is due. Many policies that are against the best interests of the American people, policies that have lead to the right wing dominance of the media, a reduction of corporate oversight and regulation to promote honest and competitive business practices, and the elimination of environmental protections among others, are already in place and will be having an impact long into the future. Overcoming these policies will take years of patient and persistent work. Fighting for our beliefs must be a year-round effort.

If we become overly confident or arrogant, then we will have been sucker punched. Arrogance contributed significantly to Governor Schwarzenegger’s precipitous decline and to how much Bush and America are hated overseas. Instead, the election results show us that we are on the right track. We are speaking up and starting to look like a strong party with good alternatives. This should encourage us to redouble our efforts, to keep our eyes and our hearts on the people who we serve and wish to serve. It should encourage us to be genuine and speak the truth. The people are starting to listen. Let’s work hard together to meet their rising expectations and show a path to a greater America that once again, offers hope for a better future.

- Jerry

The "Anti-War Candidate"

My critics have labled me as an "anti-war candidate." My response is this: If being anti-war means being against wars of choice, then I'm anti-war. If being anti-war means that we need to have a plan instead of an open-ended committment to supply troops, then I'm anti-war. If being anti-war means providing our troops with the equipment they need and taking care of our veterans, then I'm anti-war. If being anti-war means honoring our obligation to not send our young men and women into harm's way without a damn good reason, then I'm anti-war - and proud of it!

On the other hand, those who label me as anti-war must be prepared to label themselves as pro-war.

The Democratic Party leaders let this country down by allowing themselves to be bullied into giving the president war powers in Iraq with the evidence he and his surrogates were presenting. We have heard repeatedly that the majority of the Democrats authorized the war in Iraq. However, now more Party leaders are coming around to the notion that we must have a public plan, a timetable, to exit Iraq. This admission by Party leaders that we must now put forth a timetable will help rectify their mistake. We demand a timetable and are proud of our Party for doing so.

- Jerry