| Midge Potts, 39, a resident of rural Greene County, has announced her candidacy for US Representative in Missouri's 7th Congressional District. The self-proclaimed "progressive conservative," who challenged then House Majority Whip Roy Blunt in the 2006 Republican primary election, has submitted the required form to the Missouri Secretary of State's office declaring her intention to be a valid write-in candidate in the November 4, 2008 general election.
The Kickapoo High School graduate, whose relentless anti-war activism has been controversial at times, both locally and in the nation's capitol, is best known for standing behind Valerie Plame Wilson wearing an "Impeach Bush Now" t-shirt while the former CIA agent was testifying to the House Government Oversight Committee in March 2007. She since has begun lecturing at colleges regarding her experiences as a transgender politician and CODEPINK activist in a presentation she calls Transcending Traditional Politics.
"I believe that the federal government is no longer of, by and for the People," says Potts, "so I think that we have no choice but to represent ourselves. That's what I did by going to Washington DC last year, I was representing myself in the halls of Congress."
According to her website, issues that will be a priority during her campaign include facilitating a means of grassroots democracy, putting an end to deficit spending in order to balance the federal budget and subsidizing clean green renewable energy sources.
Of her top priorities, Potts commented, "I would like to return to a time when civil liberties were not wisked away at the whim of politicians, when the voice of individuals carried more weight than the influence of corporate power, and when American ingenuity was relied upon to solve our problems. Instead, we have been told by government that citizens need to be spied on for our own security, offshore oil rigs and coal burning power plants are preferable to windmills and solar panels, and that we have no choice but to borrow billions of dollars from foreign investors. I believe we do have other choices than those being presented to us by the status quo, so I am asking the people of southwest Missouri to vote outside the box when they go to the polls in November."
Currently the Co-Chair of the Progressive Party of Missouri, and a delegate to the Green Party of the United States' National Coordinating Committee, Potts has proven she has a knack for creative campaigning.
"I realized when I ran for Congress in 2006 that there is no way I can raise the amount of money that an incumbent spends to get re-elected," she said. "The only way I can compete against a career politician like Congressman Blunt, who is showered with cash from corporate lobbyists, is by creating unique ways to illustrate my positions on the issues that are important to the people of southwest Missouri."
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