Kucinich gets Green support

Congressman Dennis Kucinich supports legalizing gay marriage, repealing the death penalty and the Patriot Act, withdrawing from the World Trade Organization and scrapping the North American Free Trade Agreement, implementing national ranked choice voting and publicly financed political campaigns, ending the occupation of Iraq, creating universal single-payer health care, forming a Department of Peace, cutting the Pentagon budget by 15 percent, legalizing medical marijuana and upholding legalized abortion.

...Thursday in San Francisco, three of California's most prominent Green Party members voiced support for Kucinich, though stopping short of formal endorsements because of the party divide.

"If Kucinich is the Democratic nominee, I am sure the Democrats and the Greens will work collaboratively to oust George Bush in next year's election," said Matt Gonzalez, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, who introduced the candidate at a breakfast for his supporters.

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Global Exchange and Code Pink Women for Peace and U.S. Senate candidate for the Greens in 2000, told The Examiner that Kucinich is "as green as you can get."

...Peter Camejo, California's Green Party candidate for governor, said if Kucinich were to win the Democratic nod, he "would favor calling an emergency national convention of the Green Party" to discuss how to support the progressive candidate.

http://sfexaminer.com/news/default.jsp?story=080103n_greens

Don't misunderstand me, I agree with many of his radical ideas.

However, I am realistic enough to know that most of those positions will never sell with the majority of Americans.

We have become the Germans of the 1930s, and just as blindly obedient!

peace department-since when did the idea of peace become radical

universal health care- radical? this country has been discussing this issue since the 1940's

Pentagon spending cut 15%
How is it radical to want to stop the waste that's going on in the pentagon? Yet the social safety net programs are cut we don't throw money at them when they screw up and lose money.


the corporatist state along with the reich-wing think tanks have done a fine job of convincing people in this country to go against their interests. It isn't just repukes that have fallen for it, it's across the whole political spectrum. They've done a fine job of spoon feeding people with wedges issues to divide us. tsk tsk!
IF the radio hate heads turned into peace heads and the think tanks where more progressive and seeking truths and good for the whole society I don't think you would look at DK's vision as being radical ideas.
What we have here is a corporatist state and the majority of Americans don't see that truth.

I just don't see how a healthy populace and society driven for peace is radical?

We've been talking universal health care forever its not that radical we're merely trying to catch up with our buddies overseas. Peace is nesscary for all good to happen. As many have said he'd be considered just plain old liberal up until the mid 80's but now hes a radical. Dennis Kucinich really makes me proud to be a democrat when so many feel the need to move right just because its easier to win.

Until the mid 80's, Kucinich's stand on the issues would not have been considered radical. Liberal - Yes! The idea that this man could some day be president gives me hope.

I know that there is no way, short of a miracle, for Kucinich to be nominated, much less be elected President this time around. However, if Bush is gets a second term and stays on his present course economically and militarily, the standard of living for most Americans will tumble. As the situation in Iraq becomes even more dire and our troops continue to die, people will wake up. In this situation, Kucinich would have a chance in 2008.

Don't get me wrong - Bush MUST go in 2004. Anyone Democrat would be an improvement.

But Kucinich's stand on the issues comes so close to my own that I can't help but hope for that miracle in 2004.

Good point r.e. Kucinich being a potential benefactor if Bush wins in 2004.

If 2000 should have been an easy win, then 2004 is an even bigger gimme: lies, debt, unemployment, market collapse, Enron/Worldcom, national insecurity, world animosity, troops dying, terrorism betting pools being exposed, etc. etc.

Of course, only an opposition that spends most of its time bending over would have trouble turning either that or this election into a victory.

In other words, it would require breathtaking incompetence on the party's part and extreme banality on the candidate's to lose this one.

So: go, Lieberman, go! Pave the way for the return of principles to the Democratic Party in 2008!

Must see ---> http://www.joseph2004.org

My Mom ( a Green), sent me this article today. Just want to let DK supporters know it's floating around.

An Open Letter to Congressman Dennis Kucinich
by Kenny Mostern

Dear Congressman Kucinich:

I read your letter of July 24 (Open Letter to Nader Voters and the Greens) asking for my support for your campaign with interest, but also with some bewilderment. Let me say up front that I would love nothing more than to vote for you for President of the United States. I read your long list of issues on which we agree, and I certainly felt that it was a shame that your name will not appear on my primary ballot in March.

But, you see, Congressman Kucinich, last time I checked, you were not running for President on the Green Party line. And while you claim to “understand that Greens and Nader voters are not just liberal Democrats,” you don’t give me a single reason why I should abandon my choice of registration. It does not occur to you that my choice might itself be a principle, that I stand for the Democratic right of the people of the United States to be able to choose among more than two parties!

In fact, your letter does not say one word about the key issues that make it impossible for Third Parties like the Greens to run in the US. You say nothing about the ways that our electoral system is financed. You say nothing about how your party colludes in ensuring that Big Money and undemocratic elections remain the only game in town.

Now, if you were to announce that you were seeking the Green Party nomination as well as the Democratic nomination – if I could vote for you without changing my registration – I certainly would do so.

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0801-12.htm

"Our election system is in need of serious reform to expand and enrich democracy. I support measures such as comprehensive campaign finance reform and Clean Money public financing of the public's elections; ample free television time for candidates, coupled with the break-up of the media monopolies that restrict political debate; election day as a holiday; election day voter registration; enhanced voting rights enforcement; an end to the racially-biased disenfranchisement of felons who have served their time; full Congressional representation for residents of the District of Columbia; cross-party endorsement or "fusion"; an inclusive debate process that does not exclude credible 3rd-party candidates; and expansion of elections using full (proportional) representation, which assure more accurate and broader representation than winner-take-all elections.

I also support "Instant Runoff Voting." IRV offers a cost-effective way of insuring that the winning candidate is preferred by a majority of voters; it encourages voters to vote their wishes and not their fears; it promotes greater voter turnout and positive campaigning.

I am running my presidential campaign in line with these reform principles. I don't take corporate PAC money. My campaign is financed largely through small donations, mostly through the Internet -- and propelled by thousands of volunteers. A true grassroots campaign."


http://kucinich.us/issues/issue_campaignreform-irv.htm

Bolding added by myself

and will defeat a cheap labor conservative if people listen to what their positions on the issues are.

Kucinich will protect and fully fund Social Security, and "roll back" the age for full retirement benefits to 65.

Bush* will continue taking money away from Social Security and "privatize" it.

Kucinich will protect and fully fund Medicare, and expand Medicare coverage to include all Americans.

Bush* will continue taking money away from Medicare and oppose any attempt to get national health insurance.

Kucinich will cancel U.S. participation in NAFTA, which has encouraged many companies to send American jobs to other countries where labor is cheap. Kucinich will also end U.S. involvement with the WTO and will instead support "FAIR trade."

Bush* will continue U.S. involvement with NAFTA, the WTO, and the whole "free trade" cabal, and tell those who get laid off because their jobs are moved to another country that it's THEIR fault for "not keeping up their skills."

If they realize just these three things, do you think the American people are going to vote for Bush*?

and old news.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=46966&mesg_id=46966