The Democratic debates have been filled with Bushwhacking and mudslinging, as the race for the Democratic primaries heats up. The candidates are attacking Bush, with each amount of press they get, and they’re trying to seem more liberal than each other. However, the candidates who had the power to voted for Bush’s polices, such as the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act, and they weren’t critical of the president, when they could have exercised their power in government. Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich has rallied against the Bush administration, voted against his policies in the House, and is the true progressive candidate.The bloody mess that Iraq has become is the primary issue that the Democratic candidates have been attacking Bush on. Roughly, a troop a day is dying or injured. The U.S. casualty list is well over 400, and the Iraqi death toll is well into the thousands. Each day, the Iraqi resistance is continuing.
Ironically, Lieberman, Kerry, Edwards, and Gephardt have attacked the president’s Iraq policy. However, they all voted for the war in October 2002 in the Senate. Why weren’t these Democratic candidates critical of the president before the war began? How can they speak against the war now, when they voted for it? Kucinich was outspoken about the war, since September 2002. The New York Times ran a piece about Kucinich building a strong resistance in the House against the war. In late September 2002, Kucinich was interviewed on CNN, and he spoke out against the war. His anti-war comments continued, up until the bombing began in March. He believed Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, and because of Kucinich’s leadership in the House, the House Democrats voted by two-thirds, against the Iraqi war resolution in October 2002.
Kucinich also believes that the U.S. needs to work for peace, withdrawing from war and excessive military spending. Kucinich believes the United States should work more with the U.N., and other countries, to ensure domestic safety. He would also cut military spending, and invest that money in social programs, such as healthcare, education, etc.
Kucinich would also ban weapons in space. Under Kucinich, there would be no dangerous Star Wars program, which the Reagan administration outlined and the Bush administration wants to go forward with. Kucinich also wants to establish a cabinet-level Department of Peace, to form non-violent tactics, both domestically and abroad. Kucinich would also rejoin the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Small Arms Treaty, and the Chemical and Biological Weapons Convention. These are all treaties for world peace, which the Bush administration has undermined.
Congressman Kucinich also stands strong on equality and civil rights. He was the only candidate who voted against the Patriot Act, which was a severe assault on civil liberties, allowing the government easier access to people’s Internet information and library history. The act also made racial profiling and unfair emigrant deportation easier. As president, Kucinich would completely repeal the Patriot Act, restoring civil rights and liberties to all Americans. The presidential candidate also stands strong on gay rights. He supports gay marriage, and he believes that same sex couples should have the same benefits as everyone else, such as Social Security, health insurance, etc. He also supports equal adoption rights, no matter the couple’s sexual orientation.
As president, Kucinich also states that he would end the ban on openly gay people serving in the military. Congressman Kucinich also stands strong on Affirmative Action and a woman’s right to choose. He would also push to universalize health care, providing it for all Americans. The Ohio Congressman believes in freedom, rights, and equality for all Americans.
Kucinich has also gained support from the global justice movement. Kucinich believes the U.S. should completely withdraw from NAFTA and the WTO. These trade agreements have lost three million manufacturing jobs in the U.S., since July 2000. The trade policies make it easier for companies to move overseas, allowing the corporations to pay unfair wages to sweatshop workers. Because of this, U.S. citizens lose their jobs, and workers overseas are treated poorly. NAFTA has also helped the U.S. gain a trade deficit of over $400 billion. Kucinich would also repeal Bush’s tax cuts, which benefit the wealthiest of Americans and corporations. He would re-instate the estate tax, to get the economy moving again and create a fair distribution of wealth.
Congressman Kucinich is the true alternative to the destruction and havoc the Bush administration has caused. Kucinich has gained the support of the new peace movement, the global justice movement, much of the LGBTA community, and people who want a progressive change.
The Ohio congressman has also received the thumbs up from environmental groups, due to his support for renewable energy and the Kyoto Treaty, a treaty designed to stop global warming, which the Bush administration ignored and refused to sign. Kucinich has been in opposition to the Bush administration since they came to power. He’s not playing a popularity card, and his action in the House proves he’s a progressive choice for president. Even if Kucinich doesn’t win the Democratic primary race, hes still an important figure in the government and an important leader to activist movements.
Brian Fanelli is a sophomore majoring in comparative literature.