aid to Israel as a precondition for peace. The party also sought to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan. During the 2008 presidential election, the Socialist Party continued to place a strong emphasis on its full-scale opposition to American wars abroad, with Brian Moore, the presidential candidate, claiming the war was destroying small communities throughout the country. He also criticized what he called "pressure on the local governments" by the Bush administration. The Socialist Party of Connecticut denounced Obama's troop surge in Afghanistan, claiming that the President wasted needed resources the country needed to get pulled out of the financial crisis. After denouncing him, the state affiliate organized a protest in front of the federal building in Hartford. In April 2017, the party issued a statement opposing further United States intervention into the Syrian Civil War. Ten days later, the party issued a follow-up statement opposing both the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack and United States' subsequent missile strike. In May 2017, the party condemned the Manchester Arena bombing and stood "against any attempt to turn this tragedy into political capital to further right-wing agendas and target oppressed communities". Government Socialist Party candidates, such as New Jersey gubernatorial and senate candidate Greg Pason, have also emphasized immediate public service demands—these reforms include socializing the United States health care system, a steeply graduated income tax, universal rent control and the elimination of all educational debts and tuition fees. In 1997, Pason called auto insurance "a regressive tax against working people". Moore was also vocal of his support for public healthcare and socialized medicine. Moore believes that capitalism is a system based on both exploitation and selfishness, which operates to serve the interests of corporations and the ruling class at the expense of workers and the poor. During his presidential campaign, he claimed that the lack of available remedy to collapsing economic conditions stems from the capitalist system's foundation upon "greed" and advocated its replacement with a new system founded upon economic democracy through social ownership and workers' control of our reigning industrial and financial institutions. State and local parties , the Socialist Party had thirteen chartered locals and two chartered state parties. There are also local organizers active in Arkansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming. State parties Socialist Party of Michigan Socialist Party of New Jersey Socialist Party of WisconsinFormer state parties Socialist Party of California Socialist Party of Maine