Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer is an American academic. He sought the endorsement of Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party as a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2008 but was defeated by Al Franken.[1]
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Jack was born as the youngest of four brothers to parents Wayne and Audrey Nelson in 1951. He was born and raised in Minnesota. He went to high school in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, and then went to St. Olaf College in Northfield. After graduating with a B.A. in political science, he attained his Masters of Divinity from the Union Theological Seminary in New York. He has written several books on war, hunger issues, theology, and foreign policy. For the past 15 years, he has been a professor at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota.[2] He is married to his wife of 25 years, Sara, with whom he has three daughters, Hannah, Audrey and Naomi.
Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer announced his intention to challenge incumbent Democrat Martin Sabo for the Minnesota's 5th congressional district U.S House of Representatives seat in early 2006. Following the announcement of Sabo that he was retiring,[3] several other democrats announced their intentions to run for the House seat. At the district convention in May, Keith Ellison won the endorsement after Nelson-Pallmeyer withdrew from the endorsement process and threw his support to Ellison, who went on to win the general election.
On October 10, 2007, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer announced his candidacy for the U.S Senate, for the seat held by Republican, Norm Coleman.[4] He ran against Al Franken for the DFL Party nomination. Nelson-Pallmeyer established the Iraq war, education, universal single-payer health care, and global warming as some of his key issues. After a long fight for the party's nomination, culminating at the 2008 State DFL convention in Rochester, MN, Nelson-Pallmeyer lost the nomination to Al Franken.
Nelson-Pallmeyer believes that global warming is anthropogenic (caused by humans), as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) claims, and has proposed a plan in which 80% of greenhouse gas emissions are cut in the United States by 2030. He argues that we need a renewable energy economy, which would bring jobs to the United States.[5]
Nelson-Pallmeyer has been a strong critic of the war in Iraq since before the invasion occurred. The war in Iraq is, according to Nelson-Pallmeyer, a war about fear and oil. He calls for the U.S. to announce its commitment to end the war, and begin pulling out troops immediately with all U.S. troops removed in a time frame of six months. The money that has been devoted to fighting in Iraq should, in Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer's view, be used for social issues in the United States and to help reconstruct Iraq and provide assistance for our troops when they return to the U.S.[6]
Nelson-Pallmeyer advocates a national, single-payer health care system.[7] This would provide universal coverage for all Americans. It would reform the U.S. health care system.[8]
All three of Jack’s daughters have attended or are currently attending public schools for their K-12 education. Nelson-Pallmeyer supports increased funding for public elementary, secondary, post-secondary and pre-kindergarten education. He opposes No Child Left Behind, a policy implemented by George W. Bush.[9]
Nelson-Pallmeyer supports the repeal of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Jack supports the Dream Act and the right to organize for all workers, regardless of citizenship status.[10]
Nelson-Pallmeyer supports full and equal rights for members of the LGBT community, with no exceptions.[11]
Nelson-Pallmeyer believes that the issue of abortion should be left up to individuals and not the state. According to him, abortions should be able to be performed safely and legally in the United States.[12]