There are no perfect candidates. They all have at least one flaw. But we still haven't found one for the progressive seeking the open House seat based in Honolulu, Stanley Chang. Blue America endorsed him because he's quite literally a progressive dream candidate. He's great on women's equality, LGBT equality, immigration reform, environmental issues, and campaign finance reform. But today we just want to emphasize the populist economic vision that puts Stanley, a former student of Elizabeth Warren's at Harvard Law, right in synch with the proud Hawaiian traditions advanced by Patsy Mink, Tom Gill, Jean King, Dan Akaka and Mazie Hirono.

"Social Security," he told us "is the bedrock of the safety net for our kupuna. Make no mistake, 'chained CPI' is a euphemism for deep cuts to Social Security, a program that keeps 22 million seniors out of poverty. I was relieved that the White House dropped chained CPI from its most recent budget proposals, but we should continue to be vigilant. Social Security must be strengthened, not gutted. Let’s look at simple, commonsense reforms, like raising the cap on taxable income, which would ensure that Social Security stays solvent for many more generations. Surely we can do better than to balance the budget on the backs of our kupuna who have worked a lifetime to enjoy a secure retirement."

Same type of progressive attitude when it comes to raising the minimum wage: "When the minimum wage was introduced, it was $10.74 in today’s dollars" he reasoned. "Today, the minimum wage is only $7.25. Many of the homeless on our streets today work full-time jobs, but can’t afford rent or even a security deposit on their minimum wage paychecks. Raising the minimum wage would stimulate the economy, generate more jobs, and lift working families out of poverty. Hawaii is in particular need of a raise as its minimum wage is stuck at the national minimum. No one who works full time should be relegated to poverty and homelessness."

And he's eager to go much further, of course. "Almost one quarter of American families live outside the mainstream banking system and spend, on average, over $2,000 per year on costly fees and services such as payday loans, bill paying and check cashing. With 35,000 locations across our country, the United States Postal Service is well positioned to provide these service at a low cost to families and is exactly the kind of innovation our financial system and working families need. Providing basic financial services at a dramatically reduced rate while pushing some of the most unscrupulous banking service providers out of the market is a smart move for America… I support a new Glass-Steagall Act, which for generations banned investment banks from gambling away people’s life savings. America’s five biggest banks hold more than half the banking assets in the country. Clearly, we must fight to increase capital requirements and break up the banks that are 'too big to fail.' We have to prevent the large banks from keeping all the profit from the good years while forcing American taxpayers to bail out their losses."

Sound like your kind of candidate? He's ours and his opponents in the August primary are a nightmare, mostly a bunch of DINOs from the other wing of the party, the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. This district is deep blue; whoever wins the primary will be going to Congress. Let's make sure it's someone who shares our progressive values. You can contribute to Stanley's campaign here. Have you ever contributed to someone running in Hawaii before?

We are all in this together,
Howie, for Digby, John and the Blue America team