As President, Dennis KUCINICH WILL REPEAL PATRIOT Act ,

[DemBones DemBones]

and he is the ONLY Democratic candidate to make that promise.

It is one of the "Ten Key Issues" listed on his website. I am posting the first five here to inform those who haven't yet visited http://www.kucinich.us

Read these and discover DENNIS KUCINICH: THE PROGRESSIVE CHOICE!


This is what a Kucinich administration would work to deliver for America:

<1> Universal Health Care with a Single Payer Plan

Over 40 million Americans have no health care and 30 million more have only minimal coverage. Those with coverage often pay exorbitant amounts. The current profit-driven system, dominated by private insurance firms and their bureaucracies, has failed.

A Kucinich administration would establish streamlined national health insurance, Medicare for All. It would be publicly-financed health care, privately delivered. It would provide affordable prescription drugs, thanks to bulk purchasing. The General Accounting Office of Congress has concluded:

"If the U.S. were to shift to a system of universal coverage and a single payer, as in Canada, the savings in administrative costs would be more than enough to offset the cost."

<2> Full Social Security Benefits at Age 65

Social security is the basic covenant our society has with workers who have built our economy. At a time when CEOs earn 240 times the pay of the average worker, it is unconscionable not to return full retirement benefits to age 65.

A Kucinich administration would make that possible through a progressive tax structure and reordered national priorities. Social Security must not be privatized. Retirement years cannot be dependent on the rise and fall of the stock market.

<3> Withdrawal from NAFTA and WTO

The global trade regime of NAFTA and WTO has enriched multinational corporations. But for workers, family farmers, and the environment, it has meant a global race to the bottom. Companies leave the U.S. in search of low wages, low commodity prices, anti-union climates, and lax environmental laws. NAFTA has been used to whipsaw workers at the negotiation table, forcing wages and benefit concessions under threat of moving jobs overseas. Trade treaties must be conditioned on workers’ rights, human rights, and environmental principles.

Among the first actions of a Kucinich Administration will be withdrawal from NAFTA and the WTO—to be replaced by fair trade agreements.

<4> Repeal of the "Patriot Act"

The "Patriot Act" is not what American patriots have fought and died for. To allow our Bill of Rights to be nullified without judicial supervision invites tyranny. The Attorney General has been handed unfettered power to wiretap, search, jail, and invade our most sacred right to privacy. The government must not be allowed, without probable cause or warrant, to snoop on our communications, medical records, library records, and student records.

<5> Right-to-Choose, Privacy, and Civil Rights

In a Kucinich administration, a woman’s right-to-choose will be protected as essential to personal privacy and gender equality. Only those who agree to uphold Roe v. Wade will be nominated for the Supreme Court. Civil rights (and voting rights) enforcement will be intensified. Lesbians and gays will be afforded complete equality throughout society. Affirmative action will be maintained as a tool for racial and gender equality. Drug policy will emphasize treatment over criminalization, and not a rampaging war that erodes Constitutional freedoms, privacy, and law enforcement resources. An end to capital punishment will be sought.


:dem: KUCINICH 2004 :kick:

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Let's hope everyone gets on that bandwagon,

to the point that even the repuke candidates are forced to include it on their platform.

Cool!

[Nicholas_J]

2. How ?

Everyone talks about WHAT the next democratic president will be repealing, but they wont repeal jack without the co-operation of the OVERWHELMINGLY Republican Congress.

[Mairead]

6. He can effectively repeal it: instruct the DOJ not to enforce it.

But I agree that we need to get supportive congresscritters in place too. If we all start working to get Dennis's message out there, the groundswell of support will make everyone grab his coattails, and we'll have a true centrist congress in hand.

[Nicholas_J]

13. Doesnt quite work that way

Once a law is is law...

[Mairead]

14. Sure it works that way

Legislatures create law, courts resolve interpretive conflicts, and executives either enforce or don't enforce. That's what's going on when some mayor tells the cops not to enforce anti-pot laws, for example.

[John_H]

15. and executives can get sued for not enforcing laws

n/t

[Mairead]

18. Sure. And tell us how often that's happened successfully.

[jcgadfly]

47. Once a law is law...

It can be struck down by executive order, iirc.

[sally343434]

3. Whatever

Whenever I read this sort of thing, it reminds me of Ross Perot pontificating on what he would do if elected.

What a lot of people seem to forget is that, Bush not withstanding, one cannot simply "repeal" an act of congress by fiat. It has to be repealed by congress. Furthermore, one cannot simply make changes to the SS Act, implement universal health care, etc., without the congress.

So if you're under the impression that any candidate once elected will be able to "magically" make all your dreams come true, you're sadly mistaken. Unless 2/3 of congress is on board, you haven't got a chance. And for some of these proposals, like universal health care, that simply isn't going to happen as long as the deep pockets of the obscenely rich and profiteering drug company CEO's play a role in this.

The only hope is to remove all private funding from politics without exception. All elections must be publicly financed, with each candidate given an identical amount of money. But in our plutocracy, money has the same "free speech rights" as people. So, the more money you have, the more "free speech" you can buy! Until that changes, nothing will change. In other words, we're screwed.

[plurality]

5. you can repeal the PATRIOT by Fiat

Because PATRIOT is enforced by the Justice Dept. an Executive Branch Dept. Therefore, the President can decide who works there based on what policies they follow, ie, enforce PATRIOT get canned. The President also decides when to disperse funds to government agencies so he can say, quit enforcing PATRIOT or you don't get any money. The same way he could de facto end the Drug War without Congress, kill funding to the DEA and the Drug War is over, at least on a Federal level.

[sally343434]

7. Not quite

It isn't the president who funds anything. He may propose a budget, but it is the congress that passes budgets and determines funding.

No, like I said, unless 2/3 of congress is on board, nothing gets passed or repealed. If DOJ isn't enforcing something congress wants done, they can (and have) make the AG's life so miserable that he will play ball or resign. Look at Janet Reno for example. Despite her misgivings, she had no choice but to do what she did because the congress wouldn't have it any other way (thanks to dems abandoning Clinton in his hour of need.)

[plurality]

22. check again

Congress apropriates funds yes, but it is the Pres. that disperses them, remember Clinton shutting down the government twice? That's because he refused to give them any money until the Congress fixed the budget.

[Mairead]

8. Do you really think

that if Dennis were to do a 'fireside chat' asking that everyone tell their congresscritters to pony up the money for (e.g.) expanding Medicare, that they wouldn't do it?

The problem with most politicians, as has been brought out in DU time and time again, is that they're conflicted. They're in bed with Big Money themselves, so they can't say anything Big Money doesn't want to hear. That's not true of Kucinich. If he is elected, it will be because of us, because of our recognising that he's got the goods in the parcel, that he's the one. It won't be because he's sold his soul to Big Money to get financing for saturation marketing.

He does have the goods in the parcel, and he doesn't need Big Money if we get out there and spread the word for him.

[DemBones DemBones]

10. What you are ignoring is that Kucinich is the only candidate even

suggesting the right things. These things sure as hell won't get done by people who don't have the courage to say they should be done.

We're all aware of the realities of getting legislation passed but, as has already been stated by others in this thread, there are also executive orders and other ways of getting around a recalcitrant Congress.

[gottaB]

17. other candidates

Other candidates are critical of the PATRIROT Act to varying degrees, including Edwards, Sharpton, and Moseley Braun. Here are some quotes from Carol:

From first debate in Columbia SC:

We have to take very seriously the assault on our civil liberties that Ashcroft and the Bush administration have begun and that Congress opened the door for with the PATRIOT Act. That act arguably violates the First, the Fourth, the Fifth, the Sixth, the Eighth, and the Fourteenth amendments of the Constitution, have opened the door to e-mails being tapped and phones being tapped and searches and people disappearing in this country for the first time. We have a real crisis in America when it comes to our civil liberties, and I do hope that this act will be repealed.

From an interview with Ray Suarez on Newshour:

What concerns me, Ray, is that they won't level with the American people about the cost of this war, how much, whether it's 65 to 200 billion dollars, and then there's a big question mark. We don't know if we'll be in there three days, three weeks, three months or three years. We don't, we have a sense of -- no information about the exit strategy or the planning.

So they've used all the focus - -they've focused everybody in on Saddam Hussein and defeating this bad guy, while we have at the same time Patriot Act I, Patriot Act II, something called the passenger profiling, not to mention total information awareness and our liberties, our privacy rights being taken from us, as well as mean spirited in some regards, cuts in budget programs, in education, in environmental protection -- the cuts throughout this budget in areas that I think American people would be very, very concerned about if the focus wasn't so redirected. And when you look at what's happening with state and local governments, facing huge deficits that they won't get any help or support for, as well as our now record national deficit of $300 billion from a surplus.

When you add all that together, what you have are people who are using our pain to disguise a whole lot of activity that's not being focused in on. And I hope to use this presidential campaign as an opportunity to talk about whether or not we think it's a good thing to cut teacher training and technology and education and health care for poor people, and health care for seniors -- all these, what's really going on in terms of this administration's direction is bad for America, and that's why I'm running for president.

From MoveOn:

This administration has used 9/11 as a shield to impose an extreme right wing agenda on the American people. Nowhere is that truth more apparent than in regards to civil liberties and the courts. The Patriot Act must be allowed to expire by its own terms, and we must insure that the privacy and constitutional protections traditionally enjoyed are not further diluted. George Orwell wrote fiction: we must not let it become prophecy.

Your enthusiasism for DK is admirable, DemBones, but he is not the only candidate with these issues on his radar.

[DemBones DemBones]

23. Has any other Democratic candidate promised to repeal the

Patriot Act? Did any other candidate vote against it? (Obviously the second question doesn't apply to those not serving in Congress when it was passed.)

Has any other candidate promised to get the US out of NAFTA and WTO?

Promised universal health care with single payer plan?

Other Democrats may have the same issues on their radar but I don't see them being as definite in their plans to deal with the issues.

Has any other candidate supported medical use of marijuana? Dean said he'd look at it but now he's backing off.

Has any other candidate supported labeling of GM foods?


Besides, this is a Kucinich thread, a thread explaining and promoting Dennis Kucinich's stand on the issues, not a comparison thread. Not that there's anything wrong with a comparison thread, just that it's something different from what I intended. :-)

[GeronimoSkull]

26. Dean is waffling on medical marijuana?

What did he say? When? Where?

[DemBones DemBones]

29. See Nicholas J's thread in the Politics forum. He provides a link

to the story.

[plurality]

30. yeah, here' the link to that thread if you're lazy

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=108&topic_id=10&mesg_id=10&page=

[GeronimoSkull]

36. Thanks

I guess that's the kind of thing we can expect from "straight-shooter" Dean.

[Egnever]

40. No Dean is not waffling

How many times must this be shot down?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1784&mesg_id=1784&page=

I know in nic j's psycho world of spin and loosely snipped comments he is but the guy is on record time and again with the same position read it for your self

[gottaB]

31. President vs. Congress, DK vs. the World

You're seeking to differentiate Kucinich from the other candidates. No doubt about it. But let's make sure the comparisons are accurate. A Kucinich vs. the world position on every position, right or wrong, is neither credible nor wise.

1. On repeal of PATRIOT, CMB stated that she hopes it is repealed. That would be a Congressional action, if I understand correctly. Otherwise, she wants to see it die when the sunset provisions kick in and it comes up for a vote. Make no mistake about it. A President Braun would not sign such a bill into a law. A President Braun would probably issue executive orders to her attorney general stopping the unconstitutional provisions from being exercized. Other candidates have essentially taken that latter position, arguing that Ashcroft's use of powers conferred by PATRIOT has been unjust and unconstitutional. DK, Braun, and perhaps Sharpton (?) are in the same camp here. There isn't much difference between their positions. Other candidates have also expressed criticisms, so in fairness, there is an alignment against PATRIOT among some dems. It is not DK vs. the world.

2. Look at Gephardt on NAFTA. There's a reason he gets so many union endoresements. Kucinich's rhetoric is the steeliest, but if you take the time to examine what the others are saying you will see substantial agreement on labor rights and trade issues.

3. Universal, Single Payer Health Care. Carol Moseley Braun again. Sorry, Dennis is not unique here. The others have good ideas too.

4. Medical use of marijuana. Recently Kerry. Perhaps Moseley Braun, but her campaign is not making it a big issue. Dennis is a leader here, no doubt about it. But if it's something you really care about, you shouldn't discount the other candidates who may be supportive, as opposed to Dean, Edwards, Lieberman and perhaps Graham, who are not very supportive at all.

5. Labeling GM foods. GO DENNIS!

[revcarol]

32. CMB needs to check on the act itself.

Some of the most egregious parts do NOT have a sunset provision!!

I salute her for wanting to repeal it, but just letting the act supposedly sunset will NOT work.
See the ACLU site for details.

DK would repeal it, no ifs, ands, or buts. And the nation would support him and force Congress to repeal it.

[gottaB]

42. DK can't repeal it, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Somebody needs to check on the US Constitution, and it ain't CMB, the law professor.

Seriously, DK makes some great statements regarding civil liberties. I have read them. I agree with them. But these facts remain:

1. As President, he cannot by himself repeal PATRIOT. He advocates its repeal. He can lobby for its repeal. As President he can issue executive orders to curb its abuse, which he implies he will do.
   
2. His position is essentially the same as CMB's.
   
3. Other candidates are also critical, but less so.

You strike me as very idealistic, which is noble and fine. However, in your excitement over Kucinich, you are being unfair to other candidates, to their supporters, and to the facts. I submit to you that this not an effective way of gathering the support of the nation for your preferred candidate, or for the ideas he is putting forward.

Since you are wise enough to be down with the aclu, you might also see the wisdom in working to develop a politically viable and meaningful civil rights platform for the Democratic Party. This is not likely to be accomplished by Dennis on his own, or any single candidate. Throwing your vote behind Dennis of course does advance the cause of civil rights, so don't think I'm trying to persuade you otherwise. But why let your support come at the expense of togetherness, which you might also need to advance the cause? I simply remind you that you do have allies on this issue, and they are not all planning to vote for Kucinich.

See ya.


(I'm addresssing you too, Dembones, from the reply downthread.)

[revcarol]

43. WOW...agree totally!!

Dems need to be united for the positive things about civil rights they have always stood for and they/we need to be outspoken about it!!

:)

DK's outspokenness and thoughtful positions serve all Democrats well.As President, he will need support to accomplish this. We can start now by educating everyone as to the actual provisions of the Patriot Act and the implications and possibilities thereof. Lots of potential and actual allies are on our side!!

[gottaB]

50. gee

I was worried about coming off like a jerk, and here you are being friendly. :-)

Let's look at what IndianaGreen is saying downthread. We can get this issue into the platform. In the end there may be compromises, I reckon, but if we start with the clear message that we want this repealed and stick to it, we can make genuine progress.

It's great to see Kucinich bringing this issue to the fore, and the positive repsonse it's generating.


(Edit: its/it's)

[DemBones DemBones]

34. Kucinich vs. the world? I believe it's Kucinich FOR the world,

Kucinich for the people.

As I said earlier, this is a Kucinich thread, specifically a thread to introduce DUers to some of his positions. This is NOT intended to be a candidate comparison thread, though I don't object to your bringing up, to cite one example, Carol Mosely Braun's statement that she'd like to see the Patriot Act repealed. ( I will point out again that that is not as strong a position as Kucinich has taken, though.

My purpose was to post Dennis Kucinich's positions, period. (And I headlined it with the Patriot Act because I was in the process of writing a reply about this on another thread when I was magically transported from DU1 to DU2.) He's the man I'm supporting, for numerous reasons.

You seem to be supporting Carol Mosely Braun and I'd suggest that you start a thread and spell out her views for us to read, along with a link to her web site. I like Carol and would be glad to learn more about her.

[Speed8098]

12. Great post

I am going to pull the lever for the nominee with a D behind their name no matter who it is.

That said, I live in the real world and realize that it is going to be a tough road for that Democrat. As you say, NOTHING is going to magically change because the administration changes parties.

We need someone who can negotiate. That will be the key to getting back to reality. If we send in someone that thinks they can just change everything in the first week, we are in trouble.
Patience will be key, It's going to take two or three terms to just get close to where we were before the BFEE took control.

While I like the Kucinich message, I think John Edwards has the wherewithall to realize negotiation will be the only way to get what we need to turn this around. These re:puke:'s fight dirty and who better to deal with them than a trial lawyer who has been dealing with dirty fighters for years.

Like I said, the D get's my vote, but I'd hate to see him be a lame duck.

[DemBones DemBones]

28. Dennis Kucinich has many years of real world experience, having

been elected to office for the first time at age 23 (and now almost 57), so you need not fear that he has unrealistic expectations or lacks the skill to negotiate. You can also trust that he won't back down on promises,

[graphixtech]

4. this one issue

by itself,
is reason enough for my support.

-Kucinich 2004 -

[LWolf]

9. I just had this conversation with my mom this afternoon.

She is about to qualify for medicare; apparently, there is more than one medicare plan, plus some options for paying more of her SS $$$ for "enhanced" coverage. She's supporting DK.

[DemBones DemBones]

11. Medicare Part A is free but only pays if you're hospitalized.

Medicare B pays for visits to the doctor, but you pay for that coverage. A lot of people on Medicare also buy extra insurance to cover prescription drugs, which are a big expense for many older people.

[cosmicdot]

16. [6] Balance Between Workers and Corporations

American workers are working longer and harder for less pay than 20 years ago. What’s needed is a resurgence of organized labor, and a Kucinich administration will tenaciously defend the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively. Since the purchasing power of the minimum wage has dropped 21% in two decades, it’s time for living wages, not minimum wages. And it’s time to reverse tax cuts that benefit the already well-to-do, and retain an estate tax. Investing $500 billion to rebuild schools, roads, bridges, ports, and sewage, water and environmental systems will do more to stimulate our economy than tax breaks for the wealthy.

Bring on the Kucinich Deal!
...the real deal replaces the raw deal...

no namby pamby talk vs walk half-way almost people-first oriented positions

The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks;
The long day wanes, the low moon climbs; the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.

-Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Ulysses

"The nobility of our calling will always be rooted in two commitments difficult to observe: refusal to lie about what we know, and resistance to oppression."

-Albert Camus

People have wondered what it would be like to have a Bobby Kennedy type leader - we have one in Kucinich.

[LWolf]

20. Great soundbite:

"The real deal, not the raw deal." I agree. Bring on the Kucinich Deal!

[Allah Akbar]

21. That is who he reminds me of actually

The passion of RFK and a heart to match.

[Tinoire]

19. Kucinich supporters- Vote in this DU poll

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=580&mesg_id=580&page=

in case you haven't seen it. Peace :)

[cosmicdot]

24. ... and, this poll, too ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=510&mesg_id=510&page=

[bobthedrummer]

25. DK is the only candidate on the record to repeal PATRIOT I

there wouldn't be PATRIOT II, which was analyzed by the San Francisco Labor Council earlier this year to assess it's impact on labor

http://www.labornet.org/news/0603/sflcwar.htm

The way it is, anyone can be labeled as anything by anonymous "patriots", it is truly fascist and unAmerican.

Just consider what we know about the passage of PATRIOT ACT, it was a chaotic setting during a biological attack on 107th Congress.

IMHO all candidates need to follow DK's lead on this-as we are going to take back our country from BFEE.

[gottaB]

33. fact check

please see my post further up.

[DemBones DemBones]

37. Fact Check: If another candidate is on the record saying she or he

will work to REPEAL Patriot Act , then give us the link.

Carol Mosely Braun is in favor of letting it sunset, which is not as strong a stand as Kucinich's promise to repeal it. And, as revcarol points out above, all of the act doesn't sunset.

[revcarol]

27. With leadership from the WH, all those Congresspeople and Senators

who have been bugged to death by constituents to repeal the Patriot Act will gain backbone...and all those repugs who have also seen their privacy decreased(finances disclosed to fly, etc.) will speak up more loudly.

WITH LEADERSHIP AND THE BULLY PULPIT OF THE WH, SUPPORTED BY MILLIONS OF US, THE PATRIOT ACT WILL BE REPEALED.

Hey, let's start bugging them again Monday. Prime the pump, as it were.

[JohnKleeb]

35. yay

Go Dennis

[ThirdWheelLegend]

38. Dennis Kucinich is hands down the best candidate

Repealing the unpatriot act is high on my list of issues.

Along with universal health care.
Along with repealing NAFTA, and replacing with agreements that bring up the life quality of workers around the world, instead of what NAFTA currently does, make it easier and more profitable for the corporations.
Along with appointing only PRO-CHOICE judges.
Along with being a force of PEACE in the world rather than death.


I could go on.. Some other candidates are good, some intriguing, but Dennis Kucinich is better far superior on more issues than any other.

He represents the people, and wants to make America what it should be.

[ParanoidPat]

39. It looks like I found someone who could represent ME!

It's about time! My rights are non negotiable. :evilgrin:
Count me in! :)

[AliceWonderland]

41. I'm starting to dislike Kucinich

He's making it difficult to be cynical about electoral politics, and I am a cynical soul. ;) Seriously, the more I read about this man, the more excited about him I become.

[dudeness]

44. At last a REAL alternative!!!

congrats to Kucinich...support him and make an impact on the world...

[Mairead]

45. kick

[dpbrown]

46. Peace is a Precondition

I love that phrase!

[IndianaGreen]

48. Repeal of PATRIOT Act should be in the Democratic platform

All of the Convention delegates that support antiwar candidates should insist that a plank be including in the Democratic platform that calls for the OUTRIGHT repeal of the PATRIOT Act.

[cosmicdot]

49. Polls are Popping Up all Over - here's another

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=poll_vote&poll_id=24&choice=6&forum=104&topic_id=2460