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Dennis
Kucinich Walks the Talk
January
19, 2004
By DiamondSoul, Dover, Dweller, JohnKleeb, Lwolf, Mairead,
Rucky, Sweetheart, and Tinoire
Editor's
Note: To mark the beginning of the primary season, the
editors of Democratic Underground solicited articles from
our members in support of the eight Democratic presidential
primary candidates. Publication of these articles does not
imply endorsement of any candidate by the editors of Democratic
Underground.
 Dennis
Kucinich walks the talk. You can count on him for democracy, social and economic justice, peace,
and for the people.
Since the Supreme Court’s stunning decision of 2000, millions
of Americans watched in disbelief as our political leadership
chose corporate globalization over the welfare of our citizens.
We embarked upon oil-enriching wars which endanger the lives
of innocent people who echo our anguished cry from September
11: “Why do they hate us?”
While we were asking this question, the Bush administration
used our grief and anger to propel us into war. Millions have
lost jobs. Living from pay-check to pay-check in the wealthiest
nation, we are suddenly fearful of losing everything. Unimaginable
figures like $87 billion for the continued occupation of Iraq
have become reality. Only
two candidates, Kucinich and Sharpton, unequivocally said
NO to the $87 billion aid package stating
that the money was needed to take care of domestic programs
at home, rather than to occupy nations and enrich corporations.
Kucinich, Co-Chair of the Progressive Caucus, has been a
staunch, consistent, and outspoken leader in the opposition
to the Bush Administration and its agenda of war, fear, and
greed. He is the only candidate who has presented a
clear, detailed and workable plan for ending
the conflict while committing money for reparations and US
help in reconstruction. US military casualties in Iraq have
now exceeded 500, and the media has begun comparing the figure
to the number of US dead in Vietnam in 1965 prior to the significant
expansion of US operations there. We are out $155 billion
already with hundreds of billions at stake if we remain there.
Our continued occupation does not bode well for families with
loved ones presently serving or with children approaching
the draft age. Kucinich sees the solution to the quagmire
in which ‘Operation Iraqi freedom’ has trapped us. Kucinich’s
plan will phase our troops out and international peace-keeping
troops in within 90 days of its implementation and return
Iraq to a peaceful order. "US out/UN in"!
For over a year now Kucinich has been telling us that every
dollar spent oppressing the Iraqi people to enrich Halliburton
is one more dollar taken from the average American’s dinner-table.
$87 Billion is money stolen from inner city schools so that
the Pentagon can embark on it’s never ending cycle of self-justification.
$87 Billion is a lot of money when you can’t find a few million
for job retraining programs.
Our domestic programs and safety nets are in disarray. Kucinich
proposes a 15% cut in the Pentagon’s swollen budget in
order to fully fund domestic priorities here at home. Beginning
with what is an undisputed right in almost all industrialized
countries-- a universal, single-payer health care plan in
which no American would be left behind. Under Kucinich’s plan,
phased in over a ten-year period, medical care will be privately
delivered but publicly funded. Kucinich is the candidate whose
health care plan has been endorsed by the Physicians for National
Health Care Program (which published the first major single
payer proposal in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1989).
The PNHP and Congressman Jim McDermott requested detailed
plans from every candidate and examined them- Kucinich’s plan
was singled out as "by far the most comprehensive, because it guarantees
coverage to all Americans and overhauls the health care finance
system. It would also do the best job of controlling costs
among the Presidential contenders’ plans." It has also
received one of the 2 passing marks from JustHealthCare.
Our trade policies have caused tragic affects on workers,
environment and the job market on a global scale. America
alone has lost an estimated 3 million jobs to NAFTA and WTO
policy. Kucinich is the sole candidate planning to replace
NAFTA and the WTO with bilateral trade agreements. Kucinich
also addresses economic exploitation in the United States
with a proposal to repeal Taft-Hartley: "Workers’ rights are
truly human rights whether they be in the Maquila region of
Mexico, Saipan or Chinatown in New York City." (Interview, July 25, 2003)
Like John F. Kennedy, Dennis Kucinich grew up in a Catholic
home and his position on reproductive rights is one of the most complex
and worthy of respect than any of the candidates’. He has
nailed women’s rights issues and garnered the support of women’s
rights activists and feminists all over the country. He has
a true legislative commitment to the concept of "justice."
He recognizes that it isn’t "justice" to force women to bear
children in the worst of circumstances by removing the final
safety net to prevent such a situation. He recognizes that,
for women to be truly equal, they must be free to determine
when and if they are able to bear and provide for a child.
He knows that the current system for caring for unwanted and
mistreated children is ineffective and overloaded. What Kucinich
understands is that first we must take care of and meet the
needs of those who are here, right now, today; we must meet
that challenge before moving on to philosophical discussions
about the morality of abortion. Ironically, Kucinich was the
first candidate pledging not to appoint any judges who will
not uphold Roe vs. Wade. (Kerry has since stated the same
intention).
Kucinich is the leader we have searched for. He resonates
with Truth. He has revived trust and enthused Americans with
HOPE. The great American dream we once had is but a memory
now; only one candidate has a realistic platform to recapture
that dream for all people. His website, http://www.kucinich.us/ reads like an encyclopedia
of solutions.
No chains are needed around our ankles as long as they can
chain our minds and imprison our hopes. No acetylene torch
is needed to free ourselves from the chains of our country’s
current situation. We can snap the chains, walk through the
bars. All we have to do is decide to do it.
Vote Kucinich
But don't confuse caring for weakness
You can't put that label on me
The truth is my weapon of mass protection
And I believe truth sets you free
What Ever Happened to Peace on Earth – Willy
Nelson
For more information about Dennis Kucinich, please visit www.kucinich.us.
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