I'm getting close to actively supporting Kucinich... Any other supporters....

[Flabbergasted]

who can fill me in on why I should or should not support this guy please post here...


Articles etc...are good...

Thanks

[cyclezealot]

1. Search for Studd Tekrel's comments.

Studd's says Kucinich would be America's only populist president. Ever. Studds Terkel should know, he writes as America's people.

[WindRavenX]

2. I'm holding out supporting him b/c I am a big Gore fan...but I'd totally support DK

So if Gore doesn't run, I guess that makes me a DK supporter.

[Flabbergasted]

6. Did you read this one

http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20020506&s=terkel

[John Q. Citizen]

3. I'm on board. I have three criteria this election:

1.Was both smart enough to not enable the bush war and was smart enough to not continue to fund the bush war.

2. Supports single payer fee for service universal healthcare

3. Supports citizen control of the elections process.

If Gore runs I might switch over, but of the field we have now Kucinich is the only one I can fully support. He also supports a lot of other good things, and he has detailed published plans for all of them.

We know that the "other" candidates all now think the war was a mistake (but they keep voting to fund it)We know the other candidates want to end the war (but they haven't said how)

We know the other candidates want affordable health care (but they haven't said how)

We know the other candidates support a paper voting trail (managed by the corporations.)

So at this point Kucinich is the one.

[BayCityProgressive]

4. opposes

free trade, opposed the war and other military missions from the begginging....supports single payer health care, supports repealing taft-hartley....supports abolishing nuclear weapons....the list goes on.

[Imagevision]

5. Kucinich is every bit as sensible as Obama, Even Obama voted for funding the war but he

voted against going to war with Iraq. Kucinich should be given equal air time.

[mdmc]

9. How much does Obama support the drug war?

When you put all the platforms next to each other, all look the same, except Kucinich.

[Luckyduck]

17. Obama spoke against the war...

but considering some of his votes, I am not convinced he would have voted against the war had he been in the Senate at the time.

[cyclezealot]

27. that's the problem.

He won't be given equal time. What time he gets will be back handed commentary from the likes of Chris Matthews. Media Moguls will of course slander Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich talks of the fairness doctrine and even breaking up the media. The media is one big corporate interest. Good for those who challenge it.

[ikojo]

7. Kucinich is very against the war

[mdmc]

8. If you want policies that you can be proud of, then support him

If you want someone that can beat McCain, then support Hillary.

The bottom line is that Dennis Kucinich is the real deal. All others are GOP-lite - they will better a little less evil then their republican counterparts.

[jmatthan]

42. Will Hillary send Chelsea to the frontline in Iraq?

Remember what was being said on the DU about the Bush twins?

Remember Hillary has been constantly supporting the Iraq war!

[Luckyduck]

10. Kucinich Platform

Here is a shortened version of his presidential platform- also the issues he is fighting for in Congress...

1. US out of Iraq * 12 point plan
There is a compelling need for a new direction in Iraq, one that recognizes the plight of the people of Iraq, the false and illegal basis of the United States war against Iraq, the realities on the ground which make a military resolution of the conflict unrealistic and the urgent responsibility of the United States, which caused the chaos, to use the process of diplomacy and international law to achieve stability in Iraq, a process which will establish peace and stability in Iraq allow our troops to return home with dignity.

I am offering such a plan. This plan responds to the concerns of a majority of Americans. I will present this plan to leadership and members as the only viable alternative to the Bush Administration's policy of continued occupation and escalation. Congress must know that it cannot and must not stand by and watch our troops and innocent Iraqi civilians die.



2.Universal Health Care
We must establish streamlined national health insurance, "Enhanced Medicare for Everyone." It would be publicly financed health care, privately delivered, and will put patients and doctors back in control of the system. Coverage will be more complete than private insurance plans; encourage prevention; and include prescription drugs, dental care, mental health care, and alternative and complementary medicine.



3. Jobs and Withdrawal from NAFTA and WTO
I have a Jobs Plan that will put 2 million Americans back to work at a living wage in such enterprises as rebuilding schools, designing roads, refurbishing environmental projects, and manufacturing steel for water systems. The Kucinich jobs plan will also increase the quality of life in America, by making highways safer, water cleaner, and schools more conducive to learning.

Unless we cancel the WTO and pull out of NAFTA, corporations will continue to move jobs out of the country and produce goods in developing and third-world nations (with great costs to those countries' workers and environment). In order to buy American, we have to assure that goods are still being produced in America. That's why we must first cancel the WTO and pull out of NAFTA, which have lost us millions of jobs and spurred a soaring trade deficit.



4. Repeal the Patriot Act
Without a warrant or probable cause, the FBI can now search your private medical records or access your library records. Your doctor or local library is forbidden from notifying you when these searches take place. The government may search your home while you are away and in some cases even confiscate your property. Judicial oversight of these measures is virtually nonexistent. These are only a few of the PATRIOT Act's provisions that compromise our civil liberties.
I believe the only way to stop these unconstitutional infringements on basic American freedoms is to revoke the exorbitant powers the PATRIOT Act has granted the government. I voted against the PATRIOT Act. I am working to repeal it.



5. Guaranteed Quality Education, Pre-K Through College
The right of every American child to a high-quality free public education is one of America's most treasured principles. We must improve the quality of public education in those schools that are struggling and expand public education to include pre-kindergarten beginning at age 3 for any families that want it, as well as tuition-free college for millions of students.



6. Full Social Security Benefits at Age 65
My platform is centered upon a non-negotiable commitment to preserve Social Security against all assaults. I stand to return full Social Security benefits to senior citizens at age 65 -- a rollback from the present age of 67. In addition, I staunchly oppose all efforts to privatize Social Security, thus diverting payroll tax dollars into individual accounts. I am against raising the retirement age, against raising the cap on taxable wages, and against means-testing for benefits.
There is no question that America can afford to uphold its social compact with its senior citizens. The finances of the Social Security system are more secure now than ever. America is wealthier than at any previous point in Social Security's history, and the fund is solid through 2042 with no changes whatsoever.



7. Right-to-Choose
The fact is that most Americans, including myself, are uncomfortable with abortions and feel there are too many of them. At the same time, the vast majority of Americans recognize that there are circumstances in which a woman and her doctor should be allowed to make this most difficult decision without government intervention.

I have a plan to reduce abortions by encouraging family planning, including abstinance training, combined with a full economic and health care plan that would clearly alleviate the number of abortions.



8. Balance Between Workers and Corporations
Whenever there is an organizing campaign, a picket line to walk, jobs to save, working conditions to improve, laws to champion, I'm there. This is my purpose: To stand up and to speak out on behalf of those who have built this country and who want to rebuild this country. This is my passion: To raise up the rights of working people. Workers' rights are the key to protecting our democracy.

There can be no true corporate accountability unless corporations are accountable to workers. There can be no accountability to workers unless workers' rights are protected.



9. Environmental Renewal and Clean Energy
To repair the earth, America must lead. We must reverse course on most Bush Administration policies and support the Kyoto Treaty that Bush rejected. We must strengthen environmental laws and increase penalties on polluters. We should provide tax and other incentives to businesses that conserve energy, retrofit pollution prevention technologies, and redesign toxins out of their manufacturing processes. Nontoxic, safe substitutes for hazardous chemicals must become permanent.
I would initiate a "Global Green Deal" to use our country's leadership in sustainable energy production to provide jobs at home, increase our independence from foreign oil, and aid developing nations with cheap, dependable, renewable energy technologies like wind and solar. A clean environment, a sustainable economy, and an intact ozone layer are not luxuries, but necessities for our planet's future.


10. Restored Rural Communities and Family Farms
Initiate a major new program of investment in rural America, putting thousands to work rebuilding invaluable public assets such as schools, hospitals, libraries, swimming pools, and parks. Teachers, doctors, veterinarians, and other important service providers would be offered incentives to work in under-served areas.

Shift USDA funding and focus away from the promotion of concentrated intensive and industrial agribusiness. The new focus must benefit family farmers, rural communities, the environment, and consumers, with policies crafted to enable farmers to earn a fair price and to provide safe, nutritious food to all people.

[Flabbergasted]

11. Was that ad lib or do you have a link? nt

[Luckyduck]

16. I cut it down to make it a shorter read

more on his isuues here
http://kucinich.us/issues

[Flabbergasted]

49. Thanks nt

[joe_b]

32. That's a great platform

I would be happy if he did #1 #2 and #4.

I've listened to him and he makes more sense than any other candidate. His positions on the war and health care were not the winners in 2004 that they would be today among people generally. Health care costs have gone crazy since 2004. If he were ever able to get his message out, he could catch on, like Dean in 2004. Many people on DU who support his views discount him for various reasons to where it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. But if he could show some early traction in Iowa and NH, there might be a groundswell of support like there was for Dean. He ought to emphasize issues #1 and #2 -- those will be the two main issues and he has the arguments on both.

[cyclezealot]

45. 1, 2, 4 and Three is vital too.

I first became fascinated when he marched against NAFTA and lousy trade deals in Seattle in 99. I knew the guy had guts. American jobs are bleeding as fast as our lives in IRaq. Kucinich has the only real plan to stop the hemmorge of US jobs.

[ima_sinnic]

12. Of the current crop he is the best

I want to Gore to run but Kucinich is my pick until then.

For an easy way to compare platforms, and also to see each candidate's "VoteMatch" diagram, see http://www.ontheissues.org/ -- Kucinich comes up as a "Populist-leaning Liberal" and I agree with him on virtually every point in his platform.

[AbbyR]

13. I'm still hoping Gore will run

but if he doesn't, I'll be supporting Kucinich. Actually, I'd love to see a Gore/Kucinich ticket, but that's just in my dreams, I suppose.

[Stevepol]

14. I'm going to support Kucinich all the way this time!

I withheld my support for K last time because I felt he wouldn't be able to fight off the media blitz that would portray him unfairly. I ended up thinking that Kerry would be a great candidate because of his battalion of lawyers and his promise to demand a fair election.

I thought Kerry would stand up to the supposed powers that be as he did during the VN War and later in his investigations in Congress.

I still think Kerry would have made a fine president, but I was really disappointed in his ability to understand and respond to the obvious election fraud in OH and FL again. Which was entirely predictable and predicted. He had a horde of helpers, PhD's and politicos and just ordinary folks, who would have stood by him if he had demanded a fair vote count. He had the lawyers, he had the money, but he just folded his tent without so much as a whimper.

Maybe that's unfair to him and I'm not sure I would have been able to react any differently given the various forces that a figure of his stature had to deal with.

But I've decided that if my vote is not worth anything anyway to the DLC and beltway types, I will at least use it to support somebody I can wholeheartedly support, whose platform most closely matches my own. I think the primaries is the time for idealism and following your real conscience and your real beliefs and ideals. After that, I can live with almost any of the Dems, whoever comes out on top. I like a whole bunch of them: Edwards, Clark, Obama, all look good to me. I'll just feel cleaner and better about myself by contributing to Kucinich and supporting him as far as long as it's possible to do so.

[Luckyduck]

18. The recounts were fraudulent

Kerry could at least stand up and say something now.
But I guess since it was the Green Party that paid for the recounts...
(while Kerry say on millions- and the Green Party had to give up recounts elsewhere because of lack of funds)
he still won't say anything??

We have to vote our hearts, and fight for the people who fight for US. That would be Kucinich.

[skipos]

15. Hopefully he can at least beat Sharpton this time.

It would be good if he got some more face time.

[Luckyduck]

19. Listen to Kucinich on Health Care

http://ftp.radio4all.net/pub/archive/05.29.04/kucinich_on_insurance-k93b.mp3

[Egalitarian]

20. I agree with him way more than anyone else.

I just with I could vote in the primaries.

[Greyhound]

33. OK I'll bite, why can't you vote in teh primaries? n/t

[marmar]

21. After his DNC speech last week.....

and the paint-by-numbers speeches of the frontrunners, I'm leaning Kucinich, (or Mike Gravel, who rocked!), but I'm still holding out hope for Al Gore.

[Atman]

22. I happily voted for him in the 2004 primary

Because it didn't matter in CT...Kerry had it locked, so I could actually vote for the best candidate instead of just voting strategically. I voted my conscience. The only reason one could reasonably use for not supporting DK is because he's a small, dweebish looking guy, and American's are shallow idiots who instead choose to vote for insufferable dolts they think they could "hoist a beer with."

DK is da man. And American isn't ready for him.

.

[eridani]

23. If you want a brokered convention, go for it.

If we can't get enough delegates to put him over the top, let's sell our delegate support for something like universal health care, fair trade, or getting our economy off of its addiction to war and non-renewable energy. Either way, supporting Kucinich now is the thing to do.

[w8liftinglady]

24. after listening to Kucinich at the DNC meeting...

I have to say...I was incredibly moved...to the point of tears...by his touching stories of the Lebanese.Kucinich was the only speaker who wasn't reading from a script-who sounded genuinely sincere and committed to his ideas.I respect that.

[undergroundpanther]

25. He is the only candidate worth my time

Go 'K He has a bit of integrity.Besides the elfin look is cute I think. I'm sick to death of macho swaggering presidents and pretty boys with evil hearts.

[area51]

26. I like Kucinich;

I'll be voting for him.

[Swamp Rat]

28. I like Kucinch

:patriot:

[cyclezealot]

29. Terkel a working person's spokesperson.

anyone see his play "Working." Terkel tells of his observation of Kucinich in the Nation."Kucinich is the One."
snip.


When I finished reading John Nichols's exhilarating communiqué from California ("Kucinich Rocks the Boat," March 25), the bells began to ring. In his speech to the Southern California Americans for Democratic Action, criticizing Bush's conduct of the war on terrorism, Dennis Kucinich set the crowd on its ear--one standing ovation after another. Sure, they were all liberals, but what counted was the response on the Internet. The Cleveland Congressman's e-mail box was stuffed to overflowing with 20,000-plus enthusiastic letters. Among them was the call: Kucinich for President. That's when--bingo!--I remembered my first encounter with him. It was twenty-four years ago.

When I finished reading John Nichols's exhilarating communiqué from California ("Kucinich Rocks the Boat," March 25), the bells began to ring.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20020506/terkel
snip.
I have a video recording of that LA speech. Kucinich was exhilarating.

[_dynamicdems]

30. He's a good man and we could certainly do worse.

His ideals impress me the most but I don't think he has the backing or the money to be a contender. Gore and Clark are also on my short list, but I don't think either is going to run.

Obama has turned me off lately. It's the arrogance. He's already a legend in his own mind. Sigh. I'll still probably go with Obama when it comes down to it unless either Gore or Clark enters the race.

[OneBlueSky]

31. I like Kucinich . . . I like Gravel . . . I like Gore . . . that is all . . . n/t

[malaise]

35. Ditto n/t

[malaise]

34. Repeat of Dennis's speech at the

DNC meeting on CSpan 1 now.
Sp.

[Nictuku]

36. I support Dennis

[Strawman]

37. I have gone back and forth and back again on DK

I think it spins on the answer to the question: what does my vote mean?

Is it political "capital" to be invested in the person who will give progressives the most bang for their buck, by not merely making beautiful promises, but also being good enough at playing the game of Washington politics to keep them? If that is the case I have concerns about Dennis. He makes beautiful promises but many progressives have pointed out that Dennis' campaign is administratively challenged. That worries me. If I trust him to broker the votes of a progressive bloc to win platform concessions, I have to trust his ability to play that game and I can't say I do.

But perhaps "political capital" to be invested is not the right way to think of my vote. When I think about the rhetoric of the other candidates, it is clear that the only one who truly (and clearly) speaks for me is Dennis. I can support bargaining and compromise in the policymaking process, but what concerns me is that the very rhetoric itself of other Democratic candidates has become triangulated, poll-driven and pre-compromised. None of the ideas that should be core Democratic ones (the ones that Dennis articulates) make it far enough to actually be contested against conservative ones because the polls tell us we "can't say those things and win." If our political rhetoric is the lifeblood of our democracy, Dennis is the only candidate worthy of endorsement in the primaries. I feel like he's the only one speaking in my own voice. Watching his speech at the DNC on Lebanon really drove this home for me.

[Luckyduck]

38. Dennis has moles in his campaign

It is not completely his fault, but he should pay more attention.

We can still do whatever we can to convince others, especially those in early primary caucus states to FIGHT for Dennis.

And the more we get his platform out there, the more people will demand that our politicians work for US not the corporations.

[rinsd]

39. Moles in his campaign? Care to back that up?

Or are you simply repeating rumors from another website?

[Strawman]

40. Maybe, but I don't think all of the criticism comes from "moles"

Or their efforts at sabotage. The concerns about his campaign are fair ones.

And come next spring, I doubt more people will in fact have demanded that our politicians work for the people and not the corporations, especially if they view their own family's economic well being as connected to the fortunes of the corporations that employ them. The odds of his candidacy catching that kind of populist fire are remote. People care about themselves and their families. They care about their job, not our jobs. They care about their families' health care, not everyone else's. We care about our troops (even though most of us insulate ourselves from worrying about the burden of service by having a so-called "all voluntary force") and not their civilians.

And the prospect of Dennis serving as some shrewd bargainer on a gridlocked convention floor with a pivotal bloc of progressive delegates is probably also a fantasy. It's one that I entertained for awhile, but no longer feel is realistic.

Why vote for him then? Because the other candidates take too much off the table. Because he talks about things we ought to be talking about in a way that we ought to talk about them and nobody else does. We want to end the war, but we will not abandon the language that rationalizes US hegemony for fear of not sounding "muscular." Hence, we pass a resolution in support of Israel's bombing of Lebanon with 400+ votes in the House with almost unanimous Democratic support. An idea like the Department of Peace is something we're all supposed to secretly dream of but never articulate in public for fear of ridicule. And we don't want to sound as mean and nutty as the RW fundamentalists, but we don't reject hererosexist notions about marriage because they might make soccer moms or NASCAR dads "uncomfortable." If the primary is an important conversation where different factions of the Democratic party can contest what we stand for, I want in, and the only person who puts me in that conversation is Dennis. Dennis isn't going to win, but nobody else is going to lay the foundation for these ideas this time around and I think that is very important work. How do these ideas ever become viable if people of conscience fail to endorse them? A primary vote for Dennis allows this without the cost of political marginalization if one accpets the premise that the rest of the candidates are more or less the same. I think they are.

Every other candidate presents roughly the same set of possibilities (with the possible exception of Obama), and speaks the same old language. And to be quite honest, once Dennis loses, it might as well be Hillary from among that bunch. She may actually be able to deliver some benefits that are incrementally better than the status quo and the others would probably get eaten alive in Washington politics.

[cyclezealot]

46. EVEN if Dennis does not make it , so what

You vote for him you are futhering his platform onto the Convention.

[Strawman]

48. Yeah. I agree with you...kinda

I'm actually going a step further and saying that even if Dennis doesn't win, AND even if we get virtually nothing in the platform, we ought to endorse him because he is the only one who truly talks like a progressive ought to and gives us a voice. He is the only one that will contest some of these big bad ideas that need to be contested. I feel compelled to endorse Dennis for those reasons, esepcially when the cost of that endorsement is merely a possible win by some other Democratic presidential primary candidate who is roughly the same as his/her primary rival.

At the end of all this jumbled thinking out loud, I'm saying vote for Dennis, even if he can't win, even if his campaign is poorly run, even if he gets squat written into the platform.

If Dennis were running as an independent/Green and the cost of defection was a Republican victory, I would feel differently. If I were convinced that John Edwards was that much better than Hillary Clinton or vice versa, I would also feel differently. After seeing Edwards on MTP last weekend, I'm not.

[cyclezealot]

53. Reason to be for Dennis.

The other's candidates platform on Healthcare and Trade are unacceptable. I can't vote the first time around for someone's unacceptable platform. Not until it becomes a matter of having to vote for the lesser evil, will I do such.

[lovuian]

41. Love him Love Gore and will take Edwards if none of these

guys Run but Kucinich is Awesome

[KenHodson]

43. He is articulate...

and clean. It's schoolbook, man!

[dfgrbac]

44. Speaking Truth to Power

Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel made his introductory speech to the Democratic National Committee last Saturday morning. But it was not politics as usual! He broke the mold from the usual generalities of politics and spoke the truth – even to the point of challenging his own Party. But I can't describe it better than he said it himself. You can read the speech here.

Note that Gravel said we are in Iraq for the oil. How many candidates are willing to admit that?

[Orsino]

47. My favorite.

He openly advocates ending the war now.

I would happily support any other candidate who showed half as much integrity.

[MzNov]

50. Kucinich is not just a one issue candidate. He's a true progressive

He and Gore are now our only hopes. We have no one else. And two more years to listen to all the crap from all the crappy candidates. MAKE IT STOP....

[AnOhioan]

51. Well, I am late to this post but I hope the others...

have given you eough to decide that DK is the best of the crop. He is the underdog which means we will all have to fight a bit harder for him.

[mvd]

52. Right now, he has my vote.

If Gore gets in the race, I'll still vote for Dennis, because Dennis is all Gore is plus being anti-death penalty and making the drug war focus on the black market instead of all the individual users. But I would enthusiastically support Gore.