Get ready to axe Bush (Opinion)

"Why should anybody in his right mind vote for George Bush in the next presidential election?"

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"I want a president that will actually reduce American casualties across the planet.

The man who will do this is Dennis Kucinich, the Representative from Ohio, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. Kucinich has gained a tremendous reputation in Congress for always speaking up for the rights of ordinary citizens and protecting their interests from those of big business.

Thursday I went to a meeting with some local Kucinich supporters. Most of them were ex-hippies and other leftists, but they all stood behind one man. The wildest part was that they all seemed to have a different reason to support Kucinich. Some said they mainly liked his belief in destroying North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization, while others liked his support of single-payer healthcare. A couple of people liked him simply because he is a vegan. But one man who was close to tears expressed the overwhelming reason that these people so passionately supported him: "In all my years, there hasn't been anyone on the political scene who so clearly believed in the things that he has preached," he said. "It's so exciting, and also so refreshing.

With a man like Kucinich in the race, the presidential choice is easy. The choice is between George W. Bush, who shames me with this impulsiveness, violence and his proclamation of Christianity amidst his international aggression - or - a man like Rep. Dennis Kucinich who is everything that I aspire to be.

To me, the choice is easy."


Full text at
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the rest of America, who seem him as an unrealistic socialistic, hippie dreamer who doesn't live in the real world. Now, mind you, that's not MY opinion of him. Having grown up near Cleveland, next to his Congressional district, and remembering when he was mayor of Cleveland and stood up to the bullying of the banks who wanted him to sell the municipal power plant to the private company that the banks controlled (which would have dramatically raised utility rates for most Clevelanders), thus taking the blame for Cleveland's default when it wasn't his fault, I have nothing but admiration and respect for him and happen to agree with most of his positions.

But we have to be realistic. I don't think he'll be able to overcome his image and frankly, he's more liberal than most Americans who will vote. And he doesn't have the time and resources necessary to overcome that image and to develop the necessary support.