Abel Tomlinson

Abel Tomlinson is the Green Party candidate in the 2008 congressional elections for the 3rd Congressional District (map) of Arkansas. He won the Green Party nomination to challenge incumbent John Boozman (R-Ark.), in the primary which took place on May 20, 2008.

Healthcare
Mr. Tomlinson supports HR 676 not-for-profit, single payer, universal healthcare. He believes that this healthcare system would be more efficient and effective than the current system, and would eliminate hundreds of billions of dollars in waste.

Iraq War
Tomlinson has been a vocal critic of the Iraq War from the outset and is particularly concerned with the cost of the war. He often cites the $3-4 trillion war cost estimate of Nobel-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. Due to this cost and other reasons, Tomlinson believes the war should be ended rapidly and systematically.

Energy Independence
The topic of "clean energy indpendence" to end oil dependency, address global warming, and decrease the liklihood of future oil resource conflicts is one of Tomlinson's greatest concerns. He believes that a cabinet level "Department of Sustainability" should be established to create the administrative body for this considerable accomplishment. To become energy independent, Tomlinson thinks America must vastly increase energy efficiency and conservation in homes, businesses and automobiles. He also believes that the government should increase clean energy research and development, especially for battery and solar technologies, and to incentivize and encourage large-scale deployment of photovoltaics on the roofs of millions of homes and businesses. Furthermore, Tomlinson believes the Solar Grand Plan article published in Scientific American was an important idea that should be implemented to some measure. This article suggested that many large concentrated solar power plants be built in American deserts, which would help create energy independence.

Nuclear Weapons Abolition
Tomlinson believes the United States should spearhead an international effort to strategically abolish all nuclear weapons. He thinks this is a top priority because nuclear weapons pose a grave threat to world civilization and the currently abundant nuclear materials could be more easily obtained by terrorists.

2008 elections
On May 20, Tomlinson won the Green Party nomination to challenge incumbent John Boozman (R-Ark.), in the primary which took place on May 20, 2008.

Committees
Tomlinson will be assigned committees if and when he is elected to Congress.

Affiliations
Tomlinson is a member and community organizer with the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology. He is also a member of the ACLU, Sierra Club, Campus Greens and President of Impeach for Peace UA.

Contact
915 West Lawson Fayetteville, AR 72703 abeltomlinson@gmail.com

External resources

 * Green Paper's page on Arkansas 3rd Congressional District
 * Official Tomlinson for Congress Web site
 * Campaign Announcement Coverage

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Iconoclast Blog Post
 * Arkansas Times Post on the Youtube Video of Tomlinson and Boozman