Nine Page Maine News Interview With U.S. Maine Senate Candidate Tom Ledue

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Nine Page Maine News Interview With U.S. Maine Senate Candidate Tom Ledue
Maine News: Tom, why are you the best candidate for U.S. Senator from Maine in the
2008 contest?

Tom Ledue: I am the best candidate because of the quality and strength of both who I am and of my message, its scope, reach, and ideas. The plans and ideas that I present are fresh and strong, aimed at changing the political status quo, built upon principles that will help us reclaim our greatness as state and as a nation:

- The Common Good
- The Interdependence of All Americans
- Fiscal Responsibility
- Partnership with the American People
- The Promise of our Ideals

I am bringing forth a broad scope of integrated, consistent and coherent thought. I am not a two, five or seven issue candidate. I am running on multiple ideas and issues that will require assertive, slightly impatient and visionary leadership that demand change; I have not set out to make a marketing plan to get elected. Rather I have asked with my team: “How are we off course as a nation and how can we best set a new course for Maine and the Nation?” I am not playing it safe vying for a hollow political middle. Rather, I seek to bring concrete, common sense issues and solutions to the table that will make a difference. I have brought forth very specific ideas in every policy area.

The reach of my platform is wide. The common sense of Maine that I bring forward will appeal across party lines. There is no aisle to reach across. We are all in this together. My message is based upon the promise of the ideals of our country and not based upon traditional political thinking. Fiscal prudence and social justice are not mutually exclusive – in fact they go hand in hand to build a strong nation and a vigorous economy. Somehow Washington has decided that we need to sacrifice our economic security and national security to fund an economy that relies on corporate imperialism, war, waste, finite reserves of fossil fuels, and the exploitation of people and places around the world economy. I just don’t believe that is the best way to maintain healthy capitalism and it certainly is not the best way to invest in the foundation of our people or in the future that puts the American Dream within reach of every American.

Washington is broken – if we do not change the players, the game will remain the same. As a parent of four young daughters and as an educator who has worked shoulder to shoulder with Maine people for over twenty years I offer a different kind of experience than that of career politicians. I see our problems from the trenches of trying to serve Maine people in our communities and from the perspective of trying to raise a family in these challenging times. I will represent the people of Maine in the United States Senate with a commitment to keep the needs of our people and our great country at the heart of every day and at the heart of every decision, steadfastly immune to the political and corporate pressure that will seek to corrupt that commitment. There is no time for business as usual.

Maine News: Two of your opponents, including the incumbent, are well known, generally highly regarded, longstanding political figures. In comparing yourself to them, you've stated,
> http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080214/GJNEWS03/777017923/-1/SANNEWS, "In an interview with the Sanford News, Ledue said his ideas and framework for making decisions are preferable to Collins' and Allen's styles. Collins is "powerful" when it comes to reacting to issues, he said, but not when it comes to leading the public away from problems before they occur. Allen is a "good man," Ledue added, but he is an "incremental" leader."

Can you provide details in regard to how specifically these differences that you view manifest themselves, providing examples in the context of the duties of a US Senator from Maine?

Also, what are the specific actions, votes or decisions of your opponents that have led you to the above conclusions?

Tom Ledue: A United States Senator must have a clear and transparent vision of the direction that he or she intends to help lead our country. For both of these candidates I see a lack of a clearly defined vision of how we can move forward as a people to capture the promise of our ideals for all people. I do not see either of them as champions of the politics of the possible. Rather I see elected officials who have settled into styles of leadership that either maintain the status quo or inch forward when it is perceived as a good time to do so. Their leadership styles are not transformative. Our Nation is at a critical point in its history. We need transformative leadership, leadership that is in a hurry to protect and promote the inalienable rights of all Americans. We are ill served by leadership that fails to invest our tax dollars in our people while serving special interests instead, or leadership that fails to uphold the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

While dealing with problems as they arise is important, dealing with issues before they become national problems is more important. For example, my education platform is based on the goal to find effective ways of offering comprehensive and effective education for everyone. This begins with preschool and sees our students through high school, to college and beyond – as far as they need to go to be as productive as they can be. The size of one’s wallet should not determine educational access. Senator Collins makes news when she sponsors legislation to give a $300.00 tax credit to teachers. While this is great and it helps a lot of people, it is a small gesture. We need leadership that will pursue a substantive vision that will create real change, investment in our people that will support them so that they can support themselves and contribute to the common good.

In a reactionary style, Senator Collins deals with problems as they arise and then offers band-aids or stop gaps to fix them. One example is the energy crisis that we face. This is not a new issue, and we have been aware of the insecurity caused by over reliance on fossil fuels for at least forty years. In recent months Senator Collins has trumpeted her support of LIHEAP. This is an example of managerial leadership applying small bandages when needs become acute enough to get attention. While LIHEAP has served as an important safety net for many Maine families this year, it was only necessary because of the lack of visionary leadership in years prior. Susan Collins has had over eleven years to work towards our energy independence and failed Mainers when she failed to vote for S.AMDT.784 that would have pushed the country to reduce oil imports 40% by 2025. Such a measure in combination would cut worldwide demand significantly, thus dropping prices in the short term. Combined with other efforts to promote wind, solar and geothermal energy it would have done much to provide true security and for our country and our pocketbooks.

In addition to energy security, Senator Collins' work in homeland security has been troubling at times. Her support of the Patriot Act in addition to her introduction of S. 1959, the “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007” in the Senate makes me think of the Red Scare from the last century. The language of this bill is so vague, that one could argue any politically minded group of citizens with dissenting opinions and a desire for change could be targeted. Combined with her support for the Real ID Act, an unfunded mandate that fails to protect privacy while potentially leading to more identity theft, I fear that we are on a course for a brave new world where people are less secure and have less freedom.

Congressman Allen has filled his role as a Representative in a safe fashion. I am sure that there is reason for doing this in the sometimes-venomous atmosphere of the present day Congress. While I am also sure that the atmosphere in Washington has not beaten the passion for Democracy out of all of our Congressmen and Congresswomen; I think it has left many of them always looking for the safe ground. I am not sure if this is why Congressman Allen refuses to hold the executive branch accountable and support impeachment hearings. Playing it safe will not safeguard the rights and freedoms that so many of our servicemen, servicewomen and the great leaders of our past gave their energy and in some cases their lives to build and ensure for us. I will fight to restore the vision of our forefathers who wrote the Constitution with insistence upon proper checks and balances of power. I will be more assertive in developing legislation that serves the common good, even if it initially seems that there is not enough support for success. I will use my position as a Senator to bring forth ideas that need to be heard, from redirecting some of our military spending to increase our energy security to redirecting subsidies away from corporate giants and toward our local communities.

Maine News: According to a recent press account in Foster's Daily Democrat, http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080201/NEWS0104/217527883: "Thomas Ledue, a Sanford Democrat, has raised between $15,000 and $20,000 so far, according his campaign manager. Ledue did not file with the FEC until after Dec. 31, so he was not required to file a fundraising report for the last quarter, Doak said."

Will you be able to raise an amount of money to be seen as a viable candidate by the media and others, and if so, how will you do so?

Tom Ledue: Raising money is no easy task. One always hopes to first raise the level of dialogue so that principles and ideas are the substance of the headlines. And it is encouraging that in a recent NY Times poll, it does seem that most people do not want constant reminders of the “horse race” reporting that focuses more on money and the “polls of the day.” That said, we do need money and we have formats for doing fundraisers – we will plug in as many as we can each month while getting our message out to as many groups and areas as we need to. Right now the goal is to win the primary and that is our main focus. We will also look to the Internet to raise money but more importantly to raise awareness of issues and the substance that we offer. If people offered us either $100 or 10 hours of work, we would want the time more than the money. Of course, both would be nice, but spreading the word and getting each person to bring 2 or 3 more people to our campaign would be a huge victory. If our campaign wins with the least amount of dollars spent, we believe that statement would go a long way to restoring the hope of governance by the people instead of government by the people with the most money.

Maine News: Your website, http://tomledue.com/, has some nice features. Can you detail some of them?

Tom Ledue: Thank you – that is indeed a compliment coming from someone as experienced with the technology as you appear to be.

“Meet Tom” provides readers with a quick introduction to my life complete with a variety of snapshots of my life that provide context for my candidacy.

“Goals and Issues” is the great strength of the site because of the coherence and common sense of the ideas presented within it. All of our policy ideas are packaged into four goals and each goal is supported across all major policy areas.

The principles and framework sections offer a clear vision for the voters to evaluate. This is important. People can read the framework of thought that I am committed to.

As good as the site is now, we are still evolving different aspects. One feature that will be live shortly is what we call the Ledue Local button. This will utilize a fairly new Web 2.0 application. We believe this will be the first political campaigns to use such methodology. In some ways it will seem similar to a campaign-centered Facebook or My Space environment. It was built for the educational community and it allows for expansion on ideas. We invite people to contribute their thoughts here; the usual protocol of decorum will be maintained and expected, but we really want people to weigh in on our policy directions. We want them to tell us their stories, compare what is going on in their lives to what we are offering and see if our solution fits or needs adjustments. This is a conversation that we want to begin now and our goal is to keep it going throughout the campaign and beyond.

Maine News (Alex Hammer): On your "Why Tom" page, http://tomledue.com/?page_id=13, you discuss
your view in regard to a deterioration of conditions in Maine necessitating an "uncommon vision". A similar concern that Maine's challenges require new vision led me to run for Governor of Maine in 2006: This Great State. On your "Goals / Issues" page, http://tomledue.com/?page_id=7, you state in part:
"Tom Ledue's Campaign is guided by an unrelenting commitment to the common good and will propose policy decisions based upon three guiding principles:
- Interdependence
- Partnership
- The Promise of Our Ideals
We utilize these principles to address four broad policy goals to lead us in a better direction."

and on your "Principles" page, http://tomledue.com/?page_id=8, you write in part:
"A Foundation for Action: The Common Good
Core Principle One: Interdependence
Core Principle Two: Partnership
Core Principle Three: Promise"

Tie this together for us if you would. What should people walk away with to remember? Where does it come from? What is unique?

Tom Ledue: What is unique and what I want people to remember is that there is a framework of thought and a plan presented here for how we can reclaim our greatness as a country.
These thoughts were gathered and forged by a group of ordinary citizens concerned that our country is not headed in the right direction. That work led to my candidacy. Nearly all of this work was created by volunteer effort. No marketing or polling specialists were consulted. We did not concern ourselves with what democrats want to hear. Rather, we asked, “What are the problems? What change needs to be made? How do we get there? What makes sense? “ The thoughts we forged and the thoughts upon which I build my candidacy are of national significance.

I want people to take away that there is a large disconnect between the federal government and the people struggling to keep their bills paid. When people ask about why property taxes are going up so fast or why the state has to cut services due to shortfalls, but the federal government has the money to dole out a $150-200 billion “stimulus package” – no one is shouting about the disconnect. Taxes are used to provide the infrastructure that allows companies to grow and create jobs and make the country strong. When capitalism is allowed to work in its simple form; a need is identified and filled by a supplier who is compensated by a consumer, communities thrive. What we have now is a system that creates false needs to maintain the status quo for those that make the most money from it. (Start of underline) If we simply changed our investment priorities as a nation to prioritize investment in our people and communities we would find that we can create a country in which all of us can have the opportunity for the American Dream (end of underline) rather than the deep despair felt by a great percentage of our people.

As we talk with people around the state, we know that more and more people are recognizing the insanity – especially since more and more people are falling behind. Maine is not creating the jobs it needs to participate in the global economy. Indeed our nation is lagging behind in the new, clean and green economy that the rest of the world is taking the lead in. Even China refused US cars until US automakers agreed to more fuel-efficient standards. There is a real lack of common sense at our federal level – common sense that says the greed of our system cannot be sustained. Every action or inaction we decide upon has impact on the rest of the planet. By recognizing this interdependence we can build relationships and use best practices in all areas where challenges exist to reduce needless suffering across the street and across the globe. Our society is broken in its foundation to provide for the commonwealth of all citizens. Here, in the words of Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations: No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable. It is but equity, besides, that they who feed, clothe and lodge the whole body of the people, should have such a share of the produce of their own labour as to be themselves tolerably well fed, clothed and lodged.” Working together toward a vision that promotes the promise of our ideals for all of our people, we can create a stronger, more secure and and more economically sustainable nation.

Maine News: If you were US Senator from Maine, what is the first five things that you would do for the state, and why?

Tom Ledue: 1. I would work to empower Maine people by:
Providing health care for all by expansion of the currently available programs or private insurance for those who are happy with it. With a long term (5-7 year) goal of expansion of best practices to create a universal system that emphasizes preventive and primary care relationships for everyone.

2. I would work to strengthen Maine Communities by shifting our national subsidy priorities toward local, small business that are the lifeblood of local economies. In doing so we can support local solutions for critical problems especially through the support of
- Community based agriculture,
- Local clean energy production to begin on our journey toward energy independence,
- And local industry that relies on local resources, adding value to those resources in our home economies.

3+4. I would work to develop a stable and sustainable economy by:
Gradually requiring fair labor and green standards for all imports.
- Work to eliminate the exploitation of foreign workers and resources to bring “ cheap” goods to our markets.
- Level the playing field for US manufacturers.
- Assist in reducing our growing trade deficit.

Working to dramatically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by supporting clean power generation and committing to cut our carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, on pace for 10% in three years.
5. I would work to assert collaborative international leadership by:
Working to leave Iraq as quickly as possible while meeting our responsibilities there. We cannot maintain our presence in Iraq indefinitely. We have to withdraw our troops in the near future. We must honor our moral responsibility to help stabilize the country enough so that it will not fall into deeper chaos, violence and potentially genocide once we do leave.
- We must immediately work with the international community to replace any substantial need for American Troops with a multinational force of peacekeeping troops.
- We must make it clear in the international community that we are committed to find a way to stabilize the country (start of underline) within a limited time frame and use of resources. (end of underline)
- We need the assistance of the international community to create conditions in Iraq in which its people and the region can build a stable and secure future.

Maine News: How should a US Senator be judged?

Tom Ledue: Any elected official should be judged by how well they uphold the charge of their office, The Constitution, and how well they take the lead in issues that effect the people who put them there – by this I mean the voters not the donors. It is important to respond to crises as they arise, but the best leadership is leadership that serves to anticipate pitfalls and problems and acts quickly to prevent the crisis from causing damage. There is much talk about potential crisis’ on the horizon – many of these are not news and yet we are left with a crisis of political will to address them head on.

Maine News: In "Tom's Journal", http://tomledue.com/?cat=9, you wrote in part in your Jan 23 entry,
"The opposite of Greed is Justice
The opposite of Anger is Compassion
The opposite of Ignorance is Enlightenment
The opposite of Cynicism is Hope
The opposite of Complacency is Action"

Being in the blog business, an important question for me is, will you continue a blog if you are elected US Senator? In a more general sense, how would you structure your communications with your Maine constituents. What would be the intended purpose(s) of your communications?

Tom Ledue: Between our blog and our Ledue Local conversations we hope that the communication never ends. Communicating with our fellow citizens and with the state and local politicians is the only way we can be certain we are addressing the needs that Mainers prioritize. Keeping a Web log is new to me but as long as people find a value in it, we will keep it going.

Maine News: What is the intended purposes, also, of your blog now during the campaign?

Tom Ledue: Democracy depends on active participation in dialogue. The blog and our website is one tool for dialogue. We believe that every conversation has the potential to make our collective intelligence richer; we are all lifelong learners. The role of all of our communication will be to find and share examples of justice, compassion, enlightenment, hope and action that will lead to better answers for all of us.

Maine News: What have been the most surprising, and also the most memorable, campaign experiences so far and why?

Tom Ledue: There have not been many surprises. There have been many great memories. My favorite was talking with a group of old timers in Rangeley when one very stately man looked me in the eye and said, “Imagine what it would be like if we sent someone to Washington that we could really talk to.” This tone had been replicated in most places that I have been. There is a huge gap between the people and their government and my candidacy offers a hope of bridging that for people.

Maine News: What else would you like to say to the people of Maine that we have not asked you?

Tom Ledue: Let’s redefine homeland security. By focusing on local solutions to local problems, with the help of redirected Federal dollars, we can build warmer homes, local energy supplies, safer food and water supplies, stronger educational systems that better meet local demands, and a healthcare system that keep us all strong. If we expand our thought towards our neighbor, across the street and across the globe just a little, we can all sleep better at night. I once heard Sen. George Mitchell say – and I paraphrase – that “if a person is able to pick up a paycheck on Friday, they are less likely to pick up a gun.” If we are building our economy in the true fashion of capitalism, then we can all share the great wealth of our work. Knowing that all of these things can be accomplished without going into further debt will make us more secure as a nation. In Maine – far too many people are suffering. The chief reason they suffer is because of policies of inaction. Most of these people are from the vulnerable populations – the elderly, the young, and the mentally or physically impaired. The true measure of a society is in how it treats its most vulnerable citizen. (start of underline) We need to recognize that we have more than enough wealth to invest in adequate foundations for all of our people and our communities. We simply need to reassess how we use that wealth. We must put away the injustice of inaction and replace it with dignity and compassion. (end of underline)