The State of Maryland has just posted its list of Presidential Candidates who will be on the ballot in November. There are three choices for Maryland voters: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Jerome Segal.
Segal, the Presidential Candidate of the newly formed Bread and Roses Party challenged Senator Ben Cardin in the 2018 Maryland Senate Primary. Following the primary, he resigned from the Democratic Party and founded Bread and Roses.
A philosopher and policy analyst at the University of Maryland, Segal is internationally known for his work (over the last 38 years) on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He is also known for what he calls "the politics of simplicity" -- the view that public policy should be directed at making it feasible for families to decide to pursue simple living. He is the author of Graceful Simplicity: The Philosophy and Politics of the Alternative American Dream.
In November Segal will be joined on the ballot by his running mate, John de Graaf, a Seattle based, prize-winning, filmmaker and author. De Graaf has also espoused simple living and is the author of "Affluenza" and "What's the Economy For, Anyway?"
Unlike other third-party candidates, Segal and de Graaf will not be competing in any swing state.
"Our view is that defeating Donald Trump is the overriding objective this fall. In all swing states, we urge our supporters to get to the polls and vote for Joe Biden."
"In many other states, such as Maryland, it is a certainty that Joe Biden will win the electoral contest. In Maryland, recent polls show Biden with a 24 point lead, 59% to 35%. It will likely be higher."
"The fact that Maryland is a very safe Biden state opens up possibilities for Bread and Roses in the state. It allows voters to both vote against Trump and to vote their values."
"Bread and Roses has a unique electoral platform. Our "Bread" agenda overlaps substantially with the ideas advanced by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren during the primaries. What is unique about our party is "Roses."
"Roses speaks to our need for Beauty, the importance of creativity and meaning, and the necessity of sufficient off-the-job time to do those things in life that are most important."
"Our campaign has three distinct policy proposals. First, The Beauty New Deal, which includes a wide host of programs to promote beauty and the arts, from coast to coast. The initiatives Include providing access to natural beauty through a free summer camp for disadvantaged children, grants for artists and performers, funding for reparatory companies in every mid-sized town and city in America, and beautification of our inner cities, starting with the planting of millions of flowering fruit trees in those "mean streets."
"Secondly, we call for U-BE-IT (as distinct from U-B-I). UBEIT stands for Universal Basic Employment, Income, and Time. At its core, it contains a Federal Jobs Guarantee at a Living Wage and with ample leisure. Over time the objective is to make available to every American the possibility of earning, through 20 hours of job-work, sufficient income to meet core economic needs. The other 20 hours, as people would choose for themselves, would be divided between time for family and friends and passion-work, pursuing, (whether for pay or not), those activities that bring one most fully to life and align with one's deepest values and desires."
"We believe that through The Beauty New Deal and UBEIT we can transform our culture and bring Renaissance to America."
"Our third initiative involves a new approach to the Middle East, to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to Iran. We call for U.S. recognition of the State of Palestine and its admission to the United Nations. We believe that rather than the U.S. once again seeking to broker direct PLO-Israel negotiations, we should do as Great Britain did in 1947, we should turn the issue over to the United Nations through the re-establishment of the 1947 UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). The revived body, UNSCOP-2 would be charged with drafting a full detailed peace agreement based on two-states and consistent with the Arab Peace Initiative. Subsequently, this peace plan should be put to the referenda of the Israeli and Palestinian people. US policy towards Iran should offer Iran a reset in relations, if, in advance of an Israeli referendum, Iran affirms that it will view as legitimate any Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement affirmed by referenda of the two peoples." (In 2012 Dr. Segal co-authored a proposal along these lines with former Israeli Foreign Minister, Shlomo Ben-Ami, and has discussed these ideas with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.)
For more information see the Bread and Roses website: www.BreadandRoses.us and the campaign site: www.SegalforPresident.org and John de Graaf's website: www.JohndeGraaf.com
