Eldridge challenges his party

If there’s one word the Jamie Eldridge campaign wants voters to remember about his candidacy, it is: progressive.

It’s a word used five times in a campaign flier mailed to homes in the 5^th Congressional District this week, and Eldridge, 33, emphasized it in a recent meeting with reporters and editors of Community Newspaper Company.

What does it mean to be a progressive? The state representative from Acton wants an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. He wants hearings on Capitol Hill on the Bush administration’s conduct of the war in Iraq and the war on terror. Congress should consider impeachment proceedings for the president, Eldridge said.

The lawmaker supports a single-payer universal health care proposal. He wants to see dramatic increases in automobile fuel efficiency and consumer energy conservation efforts. He believes the federal education plan called No Child Left Behind needs to be fixed and funded.

Eldridge said he’s running for the seat to replace U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan — whom Eldridge worked for as an intern in Washington, D.C., while in college — because Democrats are not standing up for progressive values.

“We need more progressive Democrats to help change government,” Eldridge said. “People throughout this district are looking for leadership.”

Eldridge acknowledges that not every voter is going to agree with every stance he takes. But he believes that residents will respect him for being straightforward and following his beliefs.

As proof that he is willing to go against the pressures of politics, Eldridge points to his decision to run as a Clean Elections candidate his first term, which some considered career suicide. Instead, he became the only Clean Elections candidate ever elected in Massachusetts.

While Democrats on Capitol Hill have been hesitant to immediately bring U.S. troops home from Iraq, Eldridge said he would push to end the war now and to hold the Bush administration accountable for taking the country to war in the first place.

Eldridge wants the troops to start withdrawing in 90 days and be completely out of Iraq in about six months. As an occupying force, Eldridge said the United States is causing a lot of the violence in that country.

The state representative, who supports cutting off funding for the war, acknowledged chaos will ensue when troops leave, but he said it will be a quicker path to stability than keeping American soldiers there. He added that he supports sending monetary aid to help rebuild the nation for years to come.

Eldridge said President George W. Bush has abused his power, and the legislator is afraid future presidents might do the same if Congress doesn’t stand up to the administration.

On the campaign trail, Eldridge has also talked a lot about a plan for single-payer universal healthcare, which would cover all Americans and make healthcare a right. He called the fact that 47 million Americans don’t have health insurance a “moral outrage.”

“It’s a public good,” he said of health insurance. “It’s the same as public education.”

If the universal healthcare bill, currently supported by 69 U.S. representatives, becomes law, the healthcare system would be publicly financed and privately delivered. Users would be fully reimbursed and there would be no co-pays or premiums. Eldridge said the plan could be paid for by repealing the Bush tax cuts and raising the employer and employee payroll tax 3 percent.

When it comes to energy and the environment, Eldridge said the government and Americans aren’t doing enough. He supports the idea that there are about 10 years left to stop the global warming trend before it’s too late.

He supports investing in alternative sources of energy, such as wind, solar and hydroelectric. But he opposes options such as nuclear, saying it uses fossil fuels to make and creates waste issues, and ethanol, noting that it takes too much energy to produce it. Eldridge would also support a moratorium on building additional coal-fired power plants.

Even greater strides could be attained by convincing Americans to conserve more energy, according to Eldridge. To do this, he would support measures to raise fuel efficiency standards across the automobile industry to 40 miles per gallon by 2012 and to 55 mpg by 2020. He also supports energy efficiency standards for buildings and corporate and consumer carbon taxes.

“We need to sacrifice,” he said, adding that the increasing sales of hybrid automobiles show Americans are willing to embrace alternatives. “I think we need dramatic action to stop global warming.”

When asked about recent polls showing him toward to bottom of the field of candidates competing in the Tuesday, Sept. 4, primary election, Eldridge remained optimistic.

He said perceived frontrunner, Niki Tsongas, a dean at Middlesex Community College, has fallen in polling data. Eldridge considers himself in the pack with Eileen Donoghue, the former Lowell mayor, and Barry Finegold, a state representative from Andover. Jim Miceli, a state representative from Wilmington is also in the race on the Democratic side.

Eldridge also believes that primary voters will gravitate toward his progressive message and that the high voter turnout in the southern portion of the district will offset major city areas like Lowell and Lawrence, where he said the other candidates will split the Merrimack Valley votes.

Robert Burgess can be reached at 978-371-5732 or at rburgess@cnc.com.