Jeff Merkley Interviewed on Daily Kos

Over at Daily Kos, diarist Sarah Lane has an interview with US Senate candidate Jeff Merkley. The interview spans a variety of topics, starting with Merkley's position on the war in Iraq, as well as Universal Healthcare:

What is your plan to end the war?

Jeff: There are five things we need to do in regards to Iraq. We need to bring the troops home now, and all troops should be out of Iraq in 6 months. There cannot be any permanent bases in Iraq. We need to immerse ourselves in diplomacy with Iran, Syria and Turkey, they all have a huge stake in Iraq. We need to get the American contractors our of Iraq, and we need to invest in infrastructure through Iraqi contractors. We also need to invest in the Iraqi Parliament and the Iraqi Courts.

I liked his answer, particularly the part where he calls for getting all the American contractors out of Iraq and investing in Iraqi contractors. It was such a huge mistake for our country to send in American contractors to do the job rather then Iraqi contractors. Why didn't we realize that in letting Iraqis build their own infrastructure, we could have bettered their lives? Oh yeah, Bush and greed. Nuff said.

Are you for Universal Health Care?

Jeff: Yes, indeed, with all my heart and soul. Truman proposed UHC 60 years ago, Congress has failed to do its job. Every single man, woman and child should have access to UHC. We've gotta get it done now.

Yes, yes, yes! I'm hoping in 2009 that we have Edwards as our next POTUS. If we can replace Smith with someone like Merkley, we have a much better shot at passing UHC. Every vote counts, and we need to make sure that every Dem we support this next election supports UHC. I'm happy that Merkley supports UHC so forcefully.

Merkley also describes what his immediate priorities will be after being elected:

When you're elected to the Senate what will be your top priorities?

Jeff:
1. End the war in Iraq
2. UHC
3. Completely redirect our energy policy and address global warming
4. Restore and respect the observation of our constitution

You can read the rest of the interview and comment over at Daily Kos.

Sept. 30, 2007 Posted in elsewhere.