Dennis Kucinich's Positions on 10 Key Issues & multiple "rights" issues

[paineinthearse]

Another post -
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3802031#

...says "what we need is a good, concise, easily understandable . . .populist program . . . a 7-Point Plan, if you will (7 being the number because 10 seems too big , and 5 not big enough) . . . the goal of which would be to return the United States and its governance to the people . . . the seven points I'd like to see included are:

1. Ending the war in Iraq.
2. Restoring the right of privacy.
3. Restoring citizen authority over corporations.
4. Universal healthcare.
5. Preserving Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid.
6. Protecting the environment (and creating new industries).
7. Transitioning from the oil economy.

I've been wanting to get Dennis Kucinich's and Bernie Sanders' positions in front of DU for a while. See Bernie's positions at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3803055

So what do you think of Dennis' positions?

http://www.kucinich.us/issues/

(note - for each area under "read more, go to his website for active links).

Kucinich on the Issues

I want to inspire America to take a new path, a different direction. I envision an America which has the capacity to reconnect with the heart of the world; an America which proceeds in the world optimistically and courageously. An America which understands that the world is interdependent, that it is inter-connected, and that what we do today impacts future generations.

I want to break the shackles of fear which have deprived our citizens of rights. We need to change the way this country values humanity, so that instead of fear and lies, we can live our lives based on principles of peace and hope. We need to regain the trust of the American people and we need to have a government which trusts the American people.

It's time for America to resume its glorious journey; time to reject shrinking jobs and wages, disappearing savings and rights; time to reject the detour towards fear and greed. It's time to look out upon the world for friends, not enemies; time to counter the control of corporations over our politics, our economy, our resources, and mass media. It's time for those who have much to help those who have little, by maintaining a progressive tax structure. It's time to tell the world that we wish to be their partner in peace, not their leader in war. Most of all, it is time for America to again be the land where dreams come true, because the government is on the side of its people.

Ten Key Issues

Universal Health Care
International Cooperation: US out of Iraq, UN in
Jobs and Withdrawal from NAFTA and WTO
Repeal of the "Patriot Act"
Guaranteed Quality Education, Pre-K Through College
Full Social Security Benefits at Age 65
Right-to-Choose, Privacy, and Civil Rights
Balance Between Workers and Corporations
Environmental Renewal and Clean Energy
Restored Rural Communities and Family Farms

1. Universal Health Care

Over 43 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.

We must establish streamlined national health insurance, Enhanced Medicare for All. 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.

Read more:

Universal Health Care
Prescription Drugs
Medicare Bill
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Medical Marijuana
Mental Health
Disability Rights
Back to list

2. International Cooperation: US out of Iraq, UN in

America must return to its role as the most admired -- not hated -- nation. The doctrine of "pre-emption" must be retired, as well as the current aggressive, unilateralist foreign policy that makes our homeland less secure, not more. Our security will be enhanced by working with other nations and the UN instead of acting like an Empire, arrogantly undermining international agsreements such as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Biological and Chemical Weapons Conventions, the Small Arms Treaty, the International Criminal Court, and the Kyoto Climate Treaty. I continue to work to implement two measures I sponsored in Congress: the Space Preservation Treaty, which bans space-based weapons, and a cabinet-level Department of Peace, to establish nonviolence as an organizing principle in both domestic and international affairs.

We must cut bloated and unneeded weaponry from a military budget that now almost equals the military spending of all other countries combined. The resulting peace dividend can then be invested in education, health care, environmental clean-up, urban infrastructure, Social Security, veterans' benefits, and other pressing domestic needs.

Read more:

Iraq
International Cooperation
Aid to Africa
AIDS
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
Cuban Embargo
Department of Peace
Depleted Uranium
Haiti
Korea
Middle East
Military Spending
National Security
Nuclear Weapons
Veterans
Terrorism
Weapons and Non-Proliferation
World Hunger
Back to list

3. Jobs and 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.

The U.S. must withdraw from NAFTA and the WTO -- and replace these with bilateral fair trade agreements.

Read more:

Trade
Sweat Shops
Cuban Embargo
Jobs and Infrastructure
H-1B and L-1 Visas
Outsourcing Jobs
Back to list

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.

Read more:

Patriot Act
Civil Liberties
Back to list

5. Guaranteed Quality Education, Pre-K Through College

Since education is the only proven way to reduce poverty, it is unacceptable that a child's education be dependent on where they are born or the financial status of their family. The federal government spends only 2.9% of its budget on education. This must change. Quality education is a core American right and value.

Education must emphasize creative and critical thinking, not just test-taking. Schools need money to decrease class size, increase teachers' salaries, renovate decaying facilities, and include hands-on job training for those not going to college. Pre-kindergarten and after-school programs should get increased funding, and the soaring costs of college must be reversed.

Read more:

Education
Vouchers
Children's Issues
The Arts
Back to list

6. 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 531 times the pay of the average worker, it is unconscionable not to return full retirement benefits to age 65.

This can be accomplished 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.

Read more:

Social Security and Pension Protection
Seniors
Taxes
Back to list

7. Right-to-Choose, Privacy, and Civil Rights

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

Read more:

Reproductive Rights
DC Statehood
Voting Rights
LGBTQ Rights
Affirmative Action
Drug War
Marijuana Decriminalization
Death Penalty
Back to list

8. Balance Between Workers and Corporations

American workers are working longer and harder for less pay than 20 years ago. What is needed is a resurgence of organized labor; the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively must be tenaciously defended. 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 only the wealthiest Americans. 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.

Read more:

Workers' Rights
Taxes
Corporate Power
Economic Justice
Minimum Wage
Small Business Growth
Public Services
Back to list

9. Environmental Renewal and Clean Energy

Clean air and water, as well as an intact ozone layer, are not luxuries, but necessities for our children's future.

The U.S. must toughen environmental enforcement; support the Kyoto Treaty on global climate change; reduce oil dependence; and spur investment in alternative energy sources, including hydrogen, solar, wind, and ocean. Clean energy technologies will produce new jobs. Tax and other incentives will favor sustainable businesses that conserve energy, retrofit pollution prevention technologies, and redesign toxins out of their manufacturing processes. The right to know (for example, when food is genetically engineered) must supersede corporate secrecy. Globally, the U.S. should become a leader in sustainable energy production and a partner with developing nations in providing inexpensive, local, renewable energy technologies.

Read more:

Clean Air
Clean Water
Electronic Waste
Energy
Environment
Forests and Logging on Public Lands
Genetically Engineered Food
Hemp
Nuclear Safety
Organic Farming
Back to list

10. Restored Rural Communities and Family Farms

Agriculture, trade, and economic policies that favor agribusiness conglomerates have devastated family farmers, rural communities, and the environment. While the number of family farmers has plummeted, profits have soared for a handful of agribusiness giants that increasingly control everything from seed to shelf.

Agricultural monopolies must be broken up and a strong, independent family farm system restored, with fair prices for farmers and healthy food for consumers. Contamination of our air, water, and food from factory farms must be monitored, with strong USDA enforcement of tough new food safety laws.

Read more:

Farm Policy
Genetically Engineered Food
Organic Farming
Mad Cow Disease

Go to http://www.kucinich.us/issues/ for links to these other issues (see right side of page)

Campaign Issues:

Campaign Finance
Campaign Reform and Instant Runoff Voting
Electronic Voting
Media Reform
Open Debates
Crime/Law Issues:

Crime
Death Penalty
Drug war
Gun Laws, Gun Rights & Violence
Mandatory Minimum Sentences
Marijuana Decriminalization
Economic/Financial Issues:

Corporate Power
Economic Justice
Farm Policy
H-1B and L-1 Visas
Jobs Programs / Infrastructure
Manufacturing
Minimum Wage
Outsourcing Jobs
Public Services
Small Business Growth
Social Security and Pension Protection
Space Exploration
Taxes
Workers' Rights
Environmental Issues:

Clean Air
Clean Water
Electronic Waste
Energy
Environment
Forests and Logging on Public Lands
Genetically Engineered Food
Hemp
Nuclear Safety
Organic Farming
Family/Social Issues:

The Arts
Children's Issues
Domestic Violence
Education
Housing
Poverty
Predatory Lending
Seniors
Vouchers
Health Issues:

AIDS
Complementary/Alternative Medicine
Mad Cow Disease
Medical Marijuana
Medicare Bill
Mental Health
Prescription Drugs
Universal Health Care
International Issues:

AIDS
Aid to Africa
Cuban Embargo
Haiti
International Cooperation
Iraq
Korea
Middle East
Sweat Shops
Trade
World Hunger
Military/Defense Issues:

Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
Department of Peace
Depleted Uranium
The Draft
Military Spending
National Security
Nuclear Weapons
Terrorism
Veterans
Weapons & Non-Proliferation
Race/Ethnicity Issues:

Affirmative Action
African American Issues
American Indians and Hawaiian and Alaskan Natives
Arab Americans
Irish Americans
Racial Discrimination
Rights Issues:

Animal Rights
Civil Liberties
DC Statehood
Disability Rights
Immigrants' Rights
LGBTQ Rights
Patriot Act
Reproductive Rights
Voting Rights
Water as a Human Right
Workers' Rights

[wideopen]

1. Kick!

Dennis is da man!!

[Dhalgren]

2. Thanks! I was hoping Dennis would jump back into the mix.

It is strange for me to find a politician, these days, with whom I am in so much agreement. Thanks again. :hi:

[paineinthearse]

3. When did he jump out?

He's been an activist without a break.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. This is why the proudest vote of my life

was the vote I cast for Dennis Kucinich in the Minnesota caucuses of 2004.

This is also why the mainstream media pointedly ignored Dennis from the moment he declared his candidacy, giving him about 1/10 the coverage they gave to Gephardt, Lieberman, and other so-called "candidates who had a chance" before any votes had even been cast.

His ideas are too threatening to the status quo.

However, the status quo is what is killing this country.

[tlcandie]

12. I totally agree!!

It did my heart good to vote for him as well before the Nov 4 election. I really only wanted to vote for him November 4th as well because he is truth...he knows no other way.

With Dennis, what you see is what you get. There's nothing hidden. And to think that many were laughing at him for wanting to push the Peace for Star Wars or Space agenda!

He's way ahead of the curve on everything...if only people could get past the "he's not marketable" whatever the hell that means!

I say it's time we back DK just like they do Chavez in Venezuela!!!

GO DK!! He's always held my vote!

:hug:

[kittenpants]

14. I loves me my DK n/t

[katinmn]

24. Yes, and even many so-called liberals are fighting to maintain it

...the status quo that is.

If anyone comes out with a bold new idea that actually addresses things that needs fixing, people panic and revert back to the norm.

I think things have to get REALLY bad before people will support any change from the course we're on.

I am discouraged.

[Zorra]

5. Dennis Kucinich should be our President. This is the agenda that

America needs to make it a truly awesome country.

[MN ChimpH8R]

6. The most common sense

I have seen in one place at one time in ages. This is the platform a 21st century FDR would run on. In a sane country he would already be president. Unfortunately, that exempts the modern U.S., with its plurality of gibbering Jeebus kooks and TV-addled pinheads that have the attention span of a canary. :banghead:

[Itsthetruth]

9. This Is What Ralph Nader/Peter Camejo Were Saying In 2004

Nader For President 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2004

Ten Ways to Beat George W. Bush

The Independent Presidential Campaign of Ralph Nader and Peter Miguel Camejo has a gift for Senator John Kerry—Ten Ways to Beat Bush The Kerry/Edwards campaign is failing to distinguish itself enough from Bush/Cheney. They are not putting forward explicit solutions that meet the daily needs of the American people, not putting forward an effective foreign policy alternative to the pre-emptive Bush war doctrine, and not crisply challenging Bush on his failed record.

1. The Failed Presidency of George W. Bush Shows he is a Compassionless Conservative

On the home front and around the world, President Bush has failed the United States. His economic record is one of record deficits, loss of jobs, creation of low-wage jobs. He has failed to create a budget that puts people's needs before corporate greed. He has made us less safe at home, turned allies into adversaries, and trapped us in an impeachable, illegal quagmire. The four-year record of George W. Bush shows his rhetoric of 2000 is not consistent with the impact of his presidency—more poverty; lower paying jobs; more people without health care; less protection from pollution, disease, and job hazards; and more military and civilian casualties.

2. Bush is Not Telling the Whole Story on Casualties in Iraq and the Likely Return of the Draft or Facing Up to the Challenge of Peace in Israel-Palestine

Consistent with the fabrications and deceptions that sent us to war and trapped the US in a quagmire, the Bush administration is under-stating casualties in Iraq by not reporting the likely thousands of wounded and sick soldiers hurt in non-combat situations. The administration is also not telling Americans about the likely reinstatement of the draft—yet where are the troops for escalation in Iraq going to come from when already 40% of the troops in Iraq have come from the National Guard and Reserve? A decisive peace plan for Israel and Palestine is needed ,rather than the drift and subservience of the Bush administration. Seventy percent of Americans of Jewish faith want peace in Israel and Palestine through a real peace, two-state, solution plan. What is not needed is automatic acceptance of the policies of the military government of Ariel Sharon. Seek peace in the Middle East by highlighting the voices of the broad and deep Israeli peace movement, which includes former military officers, rabbis, local and national government officials, legislative incumbents, and academics, among others, with their Palestinian and American counterparts.

3. Protect the Environment and Face Up to Global Climate Change

It is time to face up to the environmental crisis we are facing. The epidemic of silent environmental violence continues. Among the environmental emergencies are the 65,000 Americans who die every year from air pollution, the 58,000 Americans whose demise comes from occupational toxic exposures, and the cruel environmental racism leaving the poor and their often asthmatic children to live in pollution sinks located near toxic hot-spots. The evidence of global warming is mounting in Alaska, the Andes, and Antarctica. It is time to break our addiction to fossil fuels. We threaten the global environment with our continued use of fossil fuels. Not only is this an ecological threat, it is a tremendous economic threat, facing all of humanity. Global warming alarms the re-insurance industry, spreads infectious tropical diseases, causes massive ecological disruption, and increased severe, unpredictable weather—all of which will significantly impact commerce, agriculture, and communities throughout the US and the world.

4. Confront Corporate Crime & Corporate Welfare and Challenge Corporate Control of Government

It is time to end massive corporate welfare programs so costly to taxpayers; prosecute corporate crime, fraud; and abuse; and put the real owners of corporations in charge—the stock holders. In addition, we must pledge to not put corporate representatives in charge of agencies regulating their businesses.

5. Expand Worker's Rights by Developing an Employee Bill of Rights and Providing a Living Wage and Health Care to All NOW

The rights of workers' have been on the decline—take-home pay is at the lowest percentage of GDP since 1929, when figures started being collected. It is time to reverse that trend and begin to give our workers—the backbone of the US economy—the rights they deserve. Workers need a living wage for themselves and their families—not a minimum wage—as there has been an ongoing decline in median family income, access to health care, and reductions in medical benefits and pensions for current employees and retirees. Roadblocks to union organizing, including the Taft-Hartley Act, need to be removed. The US should withdraw from trade agreements that undermine worker's rights, environmental protections, and consumer rights by putting corporate profits before national sovereignty. The US should renegotiate them so they are "pull-up" and not "pull-down" trade agreements. See: For more information see: Workplace Fairness, www.nerinet.org

6. End the Drug War and Restore, Expand Civil Liberties and Constitutional Rights

Civil liberties and due process of law are eroding due to the "war on terror" and new technology that allows easy invasion of privacy. Americans of Arab descent and Muslim-Americans are bearing the brunt of these dragnet, arbitrary practices. Advocacy is necessary for the restoration of civil liberties; repeal of the Patriot Act; an end to secret detentions, arrests without charges, no access to attorneys, and the use of secret "evidence;" military tribunals for civilians; non-combatant status; and the shredding of "probable cause" determinations. Civil liberties must be expanded to include basic human rights in employment and truly equal rights regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or religion. An end must be brought to the failed and expensive war on drugs—with public health, social services, and tender, supportive time with addicts, especially youngsters, in our depersonalized society. Law enforcement should be at the edges, not the center, of drug policy.

7. Institute a Fair Tax Where Workers' First $50,000 in Income is Not Taxed, Where the Wealthiest and Corporations Pay their Share; Tax Wealth More than Work; Tax Activities We Dislike More than Necessities

Taxes are skewed in favor of the wealthy and the corporations, further garnished by tax shelters, insufficient enforcement, and other avoidances. Corporate tax contributions as a percent of the overall federal revenue stream have been declining for fifty years and now stand at 7.4% despite massive record profits. Tiny taxes (a fraction of the conventional retail sales percentage) on stock, bond, and derivative transactions can produce tens of billions of dollars a year and displace some of the taxes on work and consumer essentials. A fundamental reappraisal of our tax laws should start with the principle that taxes should apply first to those behaviors and conditions we favor least, such as the clearly addictive industries (alcohol and tobacco), pollution, stock speculation, the gambling companies, and extreme luxuries.

8. Create More Jobs by Investing in America's Infrastructure, Investing in Americans, and Withdrawing From Trade Agreements that Cost us Jobs

Since January 2001, 2 million jobs have been lost, and more than 75% of those jobs have been high-wage, high-productivity manufacturing jobs. Overall, 5.6% of Americans are unemployed, while 10.5% of African-Americans are unemployed. Unemployment among Latinos is nearly 30 % higher than January 20, 2001. By requiring two-way equitable trade, investing in urgently needed local labor-intensive public works (infrastructure improvements), creating a new renewable energy efficiency policy, fully funding education, and redirecting large bureaucratic and fraudulent health expenditures toward preventive health care, we can reverse this trend and create millions of new jobs.

9. Announce an Exit Strategy for Iraq With a Definite Date of Withdrawal

The only way to reduce the escalating violence is Iraq is to announce a dual military and corporate withdrawal from Iraq, so mainstream Iraqis know they will be getting their country back. US withdrawal should be preceded by internationally-supervised elections to replace the puppet government that we have installed. Continued planning of an ongoing military and corporate presence in Iraq fuels the resistance and prevents the onset of democracy and self-rule in Iraq.

10. Face Up to Increasing Poverty Especially Among Children and Demand an End to Commercial Exploitation of Our Children

The commercialization of childhood seems to have no limits. Children are urged to consume bad products and watch entertainment that is harmful to their physical and mental health. We must remove corporations from child-rearing and restore that role to parents. We must face up to the rise in poverty: the Department of Agriculture estimates that 34.9 million Americans, including 13 million children—experience food insecurity, or the lack of consistent access to enough food to ensure active, healthy living. Overall, households with children reported food insecurity at more than double the rate of households without children, 16.5% versus 8.1%. Forty-seven percent of single-mother households faced food insecurity. Make ending poverty for all Americans a priority, weave it into a network of known, proven policies, many advanced by conservatives and economists years ago. See Growing Up Empty: The Hunger Epidemic in America, By Loretta Schwartz-Nobel (Harper Collins 2004)

http://www.votenader.org/media_press/index.php?cid=229

[eridani]

37. Similar to Kucinich, except--

--Kucinich has actually held elective office.

[GreenArrow]

15. "common sense?"

But Kucinich is an "idealist."

Truth is, his solutions are more pragmatic than those offered up by the so called "pragmatists".

[redqueen]

7. .

:kick:

[Catfight]

8. Restoring citizen authority over corporations....I think that should

be changed to restoring balance between working citizens and corporations. Just shifting authority back and forth doesn't do any good.

[mopinko]

10. sorry, had my fill of dennis

they stole the election on his watch, and he hid under his desk. election reform is not even on the list. it should be number one. dk is a big fat phony.

[dissent1977]

23. Actually Kucinich has been a leader in the fight against Diebold

Dennis has done more than almost anyone else (with the exceptions of Boxer and Conyers) to raise awareness of the problems of paperless ballots. Yes, I wish he would have done more after the election. But he has been an outspoken critic of Blackwell, and he did point out the problems with Ohio's election systems. There really was not a whole lot more he could do than what he did. He is only a Congressman afterall, their power is limited.

[spindoctor]

11. As always, Kucinich is right-on on all the key issues

The only argument I have ever heard against this man is that he is 'unelectable'. "Sorry, but that's just the way things are".

Some say his plans aren't feasible, but I never hear why not.

He is the only man I trust to make the necessary changes to our goverment and to the way we manage this country. He is currently the only man that will get me to the voting booth in 2008.

[Itsthetruth]

13. Kucinich Could Have Won

Actually, Dennis Kucinich was far more "electable" than any of the other Democrats who sought the nomination. But, the Democratic Party and its corporate sponsors were not about to select someone like Kucinich nor will they adopt his platform.

So their main pitch against Kucinich was that he could not get elected President while John Kerry could and would get elected!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. But..he wasn't "electable" like the guy with the medals.

Besides that, he isn't good looking enough. And, he says things that don't pander to the right. And, he didn't kill a goose.

[Itsthetruth]

19. Kerry Needs More Military Medals

All John Kerry needed was a lot more American flags on display and a bigger chest full of medals and ribbons during his convention speech.

Perhaps Kerry should have worn Sid Caesar's old military uniform.

That would have clinched the election!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. That's OK. He made up for them with a lack of integrity.

Just another cheap pol doing what politicians usually do.

[mikelgb]

17. DJ Kucinich

was the only other democrat to recieve votes at the '04 Convention.. I thought them powerful votes for peace myself....DJK is the man who opened my eyes to the web of deception... btw on electoral reform, I think Kucinich was the only one to have anything on election reform on his '04 platform....

[Ron Green]

18. I'm afraid Kucinich is unelectable.

He's my favorite candidate, he's the one I voted for in the primary, and in my view he's the best man to be President of anyone in my lifetime (and my first vote was for McGovern.)

However, it's just too easy for the RW propaganda machine to cast him as a pencil-neck weirdo. His policies don't matter, you see. It's all about the emotional connection with primal fear. The media have so completely woven together the entertainment, information and branding strands that reason is no longer an option for the American public forum, and Dennis won't live long enough to see it come back.

[Itsthetruth]

22. So You Think Republicans Could Have Made Kucinich Look Worse Than This??

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/07/27/28snap_kerry_wideweb__430x309,1.jpg

[Ron Green]

26. Yeah, they would have gone to town on Dennis.

They would not have had to use those types of shots, because John Kerry is the epitome of the executive look: tall, good hair, strong chin, etc. So they had to come up with windsurfing and cocoon pictures to weaken and "sillify" his image.

Dennis, however, is a caricature waiting to happen, and the RW noise machine would roll over him without leaving second gear. Remember, it's all about television, and what can be conveyed on television.

[Itsthetruth]

27. Kerry Did Look Like A Millionnaire Corporate Executive

"John Kerry is the epitome of the executive look"

And that's just one more reason why millions of ordinary working class people wouldn't vote for him. We don't need or want a corporate CEO type running this nation.

[Ron Green]

30. I do think people want a "heavyweight" executive-looking person as the

leader of the United States in the world, and the RW would portray Dennis as a nebbish. They have successfully cast Bush as the swaggering everyman in a suit, but more importantly they discredited Kerry with the pictures you showed, as well as with the "elitist" meme.

My point is simply that they would do such a job on Dennis that we'd be pushed away from progressive policies for decades to come.

[eridani]

38. It's all about progressives not yet being well-organized enough--

--to do an end run around the rightwing noise machine. I don't think he would have been any worse off than Kerry in that respect. He would have fought back more, at any rate.

[spindoctor]

28. Here we go again

Can we focus on the issues please?

Ross Perot wasn't much of a looker but he certainly stood his ground and was arguably close to actually winning at some point.

Dennis won't live long enough to see a second term because he'll probably be assasinated faster than you can say JFK. My personal plan is that he appoints Al Sharpton as Vice P. for insurance purposes.

[Ron Green]

31. I'd love to focus on the issues. Just how in the hell do you get the MSM

and the Sheeple to do it?

[spindoctor]

34. We have to work with what we got

If (IF) we do not have access to the MSM, we'll have to use channels that ARE available to us.
Go door to door if we have to. It will be worth it.

[katinmn]

20. I think it's brilliant.

:thumbsup:

But as you can see by the comments, Democrats aren't ready to embrace populist thinking.

[Desertrose]

25. Dennis could not be "controlled" by the Dem party.,,,

therefore he is a threat and the best way to deal with a threat to your power is to minimize it by ridicule and pretending it doesn't exist. Which is exactly what the dems - as well as the MSM - did to him from the time he chose to run. Too bad...like shooting yourself in the foot. Dennis has very pragmatic plans if anyone takes the time to go beyond the spin and take a look.

....and that not being "bought" is the thing I love most about him...perhaps admire is a better word. He stands his ground and walks his talk...never empty rhetoric with DJK.

His ideas, if they were presented failry to most people would resonate very strongly...how could they not? His plans are about people and having a government that works for us rather than feeds the fat cats off the backs of most of the rest of us trying to get by.


FWIW- he spoke out about vote reform all during his campaign.....

DK :yourock:

[spindoctor]

29. Exactemento!

Although Kooch has a gift for producing idiotic soundbites, we would sway a lot of people if we had the resources to get the actual message out.

Oh well, one step at a time.

[LWolf]

45. kick

:kick:

[SnoopDog]

32. As soon as a person like Dennis is elected,...

our country and our world will get back on track.

Mr. Dennis Kucinich has a PERFECT voting record this year. He is one of ten, only ten, Democrats in our government who VOTES LIKE A Democrat.

Additionally, he speaks out for our Democratic principals and has the guts to run for President.

If you'all want to get our country back, we need to vote in a person who talks and votes like us. Mr. Kucinich seems to be that person.

[anarchy1999]

33. Someone please remind me again, why wasn't Kucinich viable for President?

Too short, not handsome enough, elflike? What, too smart? Too "progressive", too "socialistic", not "Christian" enough. A Vegan kind of guy? Not married, not gay? maybe gay........

and the list just goes on and on, the reasons why Kucinich was not a "VIABLE" candidate. Edwards and Kerry were.

And how did that work out, Virginia?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

40. And it didn't help one bit that the MSM tried its best to ignore him

and/or ridicule him even before a single voter had spoken.

Dean supporters rightly complain that their guy was subjected to a build-up followed by a hatchet job, but at least he was mentioned! The New York Times would mention everyone's campaign stops except Dennis's. Who needs assassination when you can pretend that a candidate doesn't exist?

It's interesting that in the states where he had volunteers who were able to do an end run around the MSM (Minnesota, Maine, Washington, and Hawaii) he did well. Even in Iowa, the "3%" was the number of delegates, meaning that DK got 15% or more in 3% of the caucuses and got some unknown number less than 15% (possibly over 10%) in the rest of the caucuses.

Having volunteered in a small way on the Minnesota campaign, I know that the range of volunteers and interested people went WAY beyond the stereotypical "granola" types to include anyone of any social class who thinks that this country needs a major course correction.

[Freddie Stubbs]

41. Because he couldn't get a significant number of Democratic primary voters

to vote for him.

[Desertrose]

43. What you say is true as far as it goes, but don't you want to ask why?

Its like saying bush won because he got a significant number of repub votes....

But why?? and how?? (of course thats another story....)


Same thing with Dennis.....

Why did he not get enough primary votes???

BECAUSE PEOPLE NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR ABOUT HIM and to find out what he had to say about the issues.

[MuseRider]

35. He hits all the issues

that people are concerned about right away and if you look into them more he generally has most everything covered right there with 10 points.

Of course I think they are certainly the answers to the pitiful state we find ourselves in now. I have always thought that.

A kick for Dennis Kucinich.

[Desertrose]

36. afternoon kick

for DK!!!!!
:bounce:

[eridani]

39. Evening kick.

:kick:

[realFedUp]

42. excellent work.

These are really helpful. Thanks DK

[LWolf]

44. This is why I became a Democrat.

Dennis Kucinich has the intelligence, the perspective, and the plans to draw me out of a lifetime of political independence and into an actual party. I became a Democrat to vote for him in the very first primary of my 45 years, and I've stayed a Democrat to help support him in any way I can.

To hell with the public spats over new and old leadership between the senate and the Dr.; I want the focus on the issues. I'd like to see the issues addressed and acted upon. For me, it's the issues, stupid. It always has been, and always will be. And DK owns the issues, from my perspective.

[CountAllVotes]

46. DK has all of the right ideas

I support Dennis Kucinich 100%. I voted for him in this past election for the reasons you list. He has the proper agenda. It is only someone like Dennis Kucinich (is there anyone?) that can SAVE OUR COUNTRY!

GO DENNIS!!!

:kick: