Dennis Kucinich on corporate power

[antigop]

http://www.kucinichforcongress.com/issues/corp_power.php

>>
Corporate Power

The challenge before us today is whether we can maintain a government of the people, by the people and for the people, or whether we will timidly accept the economic, social, and political consequences of a government of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations.

The implosion of the Enron Corporation is a cautionary tale of the danger to the people of our nation, to our economy, and to our political system of unregulated corporations. The influence wielded by the power industry at every level of government must be shaken. The drive to privatize must be halted.

Enron's considerable financial contributions to the campaign coffers of 71 Senators and 186 House members clearly demonstrate the urgency of creating full public financing of our elections.

Government at the state and federal levels must reclaim its rightful role as regulator in the public interest, restructure electric rates to protect residents and small businesses, finance the construction of municipal power systems, and ensure -- as my Progressive Tax Act of 2003 does -- that corporations pay their fair share in taxes.

Despite the overwhelming influence which corporations have in the life of our nation, I see a new era of corporate accountability. I see a new horizon in America where ethics, sustainability, and sensible priorities guide corporate conduct in cooperation with vigilant, fair-minded, government regulation.

We cannot stand by idly while powerful economic engines -- virtually unregulated corporations -- violate workers' rights, human rights, and the environment, sweeping aside antitrust laws, eliminating competition.

We need a new relationship between our government and corporate America, an arms-length relationship, so that our elected leaders are capable of independently affirming and safeguarding the public interest. Just as our founders understood the need for separation of church and state, we need to institutionalize the separation of corporations and the state. This begins with government taking the responsibility to establish the conditions under which corporations can do business in the United States, including the establishment of a federal corporate charter that describes and clearly delineates corporate rights and responsibilities.

Corporations must be compelled to pay a fair share of taxes. If corporations shift profits offshore to avoid paying taxes, they should not be permitted to operate in the United States. The decrease in corporate tax responsibility is an indication of the rise of corporate power. Corporations pay three and half times less in taxes now than they did in the 1950s. Working families have to make up the difference.

We need an administration that will take corporate crime seriously and significantly increase the capacity of the SEC, the FTC, and the Justice Department to address it.

Wall Street should not get its hands on Americans' hard-earned Social Security savings. The Social Security system is not in financial crisis, but it faces the same political crisis much of our government faces: the pressure to privatize.

I am working to prevent the privatization of Social Security, of water, of municipal services, and of our democracy.
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[caseycoon]

1. DK is the only one who tells it like it is

and actually wants to DO something about it all.

[lateo]

7. There is another.

http://gnn.tv/videos/4/Countdown

[Zorra]

49. Yep. DK totally gets it. He has my vote. n/t

[Nederland]

54. DK is clueless about Enron

I just finished watching "Smartest Guys in the Room" a few days ago. Based on this, I think DK is really, really confused about what happened. In sum, the Enron bankruptcy is not a story about what happens when corporations are unregulated, it is a story about what happens when corporations get in bed with politicians all too happy to write regulations that favor them. The California energy market was never deregulated, it was the most highly regulated, convoluted cluster-fuck set of regulations in the entire country--regulations that were passed by Republican governor Pete Wilson.

DK really needs to educate himself on a subject before he starts talking about it.

[dickbearton]

58. Pull your head out of your ass if you can...

The Criminal Bush and the Corrupt Republicans have made this a
government of the corporation, by the corporation and for the
corporation. Enron and Kenny Boy were part of the Criminal
Bush-Chaney energy cabal. As for California, they got taken
for a ride;  like America is being taken for a ride by the
corporations. You are clueless, hell you are stupid.

[Nederland]

76. No, you are clueless

You obviously don't understand the difference between corporatism and capitalism. Go look it up.

[redqueen]

77. What did he say that makes you think

that he doesn't know about / understand CA's regulations?

[Nederland]

79. This

The implosion of the Enron Corporation is a cautionary tale of the danger to the people of our nation, to our economy, and to our political system of unregulated corporations.

Again, the problem was not "unregulated corporations". The problem was regulations that were specifically written to allow corporations to game the system.

[redqueen]

80. Okay, well if the regulations are designed by lobbyists...

those aren't really regulations, are they? They're more like just window-dressing, right?

[southerncrone]

2. Thank you, Dennis, for all you do on our behalf.

:loveya: :yourock:

[LWolf]

12. I'll join you in those thanks. n/t

[ThomCat]

3. This kind of talk should be more than enough to get people behind him.

Damn, we need politicians who can represent real people like this. I'm sick and disgusted with all the people who support corporate shills.
x(

[BonnieJW]

42. Like Hillary?

I hear you. She's raising all kinds of lobbyist money, especially from the health care industry. Seems like she's promised them a windfall.

[Amonester]

4. "I see a new era of corporate accountability." - DK

Sounds a bit like: "I have a dream." to me!

Unfortunately... Tens of millions citizens will have to feel the pain of their own losses to come before they'll wake up... but broke.

Hope Dennis will still be there for them to "finally" vote for... when that will happen.

[dickbearton]

59. What we need is for DK to be another TR...

The trustbuster, Teddy Roosevelt, kicked corporate ass.

[Amonester]

73. Agreed!

Dennis Kucinich For A "New" New Deal! :thumbsup:

[cosmicdot]

5. knr

[superkia]

6. If he stands for the people and seems behind what we all want...

why do people not support him? I know that without the media advertising its tough but even people here on DU that may have more knowledge of him and his issues, still choose not to support him. I think its all the media but when I say that people say its not that, but hes unelectable or will never win. Both of those don't tell me what it is about him and his issues that makes them look away?

[Mind_your_head]

8. Not everyone on DU is a genuine democrat, liberal, or progressive...

And those that BELIEVE they are, but truly AREN't.....well, here's a good article that deals with SOME of those issues, imo.

…Dr. Haidt combed the literature of anthropology and psychology for ideas about morality throughout the world. He identified five components of morality that were common to most cultures. Some concerned the protection of individuals, others the ties that bind a group together.

Of the moral systems that protect individuals, one is concerned with preventing harm to the person and the other with reciprocity and fairness. Less familiar are the three systems that promote behaviors developed for strengthening the group. These are loyalty to the in-group, respect for authority and hierarchy, and a sense of purity or sanctity.

I was struck by just how perfectly the “individual” moral systems describe progressive values, while the “group” moral systems describe conservative values. Progressives believe in equal opportunity and protecting the rights of the individual against more powerful entities. Conservatives are absolutely loyal to their leaders and frequently use religion to claim the moral high ground.

http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/09/18/whos-looking-out-for-you

[dickbearton]

61. Exactly, this needs a thread of it's own.

It's time we begin to dissect the neocon nazi mind.

[The Wielding Truth]

9. I called his campaign headquarters the other day and gave

my support. I think that we have time and if those who dismiss him can put their superficial ideas of who a president should be aside, and listen to his message, Kucinich will rise and win.

[BigDDem]

45. "Kucinich will rise and win"

Good luck with that!
Oh, if he wins, Ill pay for the victory party.

[The Wielding Truth]

46. Thanks, I won't need a party. The world will be better and that will

make me happy! But I like parties. Maybe a party and the world better?
:kick: :grouphug:

[The Wielding Truth]

47. oh, yea

:party: :bounce:

[Mind_your_head]

74. Gotcha on 'record' with that.....

Please pm me your credit card number in advance ;-) to pay for the celebration/victory party! :P

[fenriswolf]

13. some people are dillusional

some people want to live in fairy land where the most likely dem candidate to be elected should be the one elected, unfortunatly this is not the case and alot of people cannot handle the fact that their party will be betrayed not only by a democratic congross but also by a democratic president. Unfortunatly this is the case at hand and people need to wake up and realize that most of the candidates have been bought and paid for many times over while spewing out the same rhetoric that the candidate to the left and right are saying so that america thinks they have no other choice
well they do and his name is Dennis Kucinich and people need to wake up if they think that universal for profit health care, contineud wars of aggresion, increasing global agression and a falling economy is the answer DENNIS KUCINICH FOR PRESIDENT because america cannot afford another corporate tool.

[Mind_your_head]

15. Welcome to DU fenriswolf.....

Nice to have you here!

:hi:

[redqueen]

28. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[radiclib]

35. Sad to say

...but those who resist his candidacy yet agree with his positions don't see him as "Presidential"--i.e. he's too short, looks like and elf, doesn't dress right, etc etc Of course, they won't admit it. They just call him "unelectable".
The other myth is that he's "out of the mainstream" and "won't be able to work with Congress". However, true leadership is about carrying the mainstream with you, and the more DK gets his message out, the likelier that is to happen.

[FREEWILL56]

67. I actually thought W was unelectable and couldn't get along

and I still believe that as I feel the election system was thwarted to get that dumbass into office, no doubt aided by daddy's money and pull in the republicon party. We sit here debating if one candidate has a chance or not and when we as democrats leave out any candidate in our ranks from debates, meetings , etc., that insures an inside job for others in eliminating competition and this makes it no better than what the cons are doing. There are many candidates all with their own aspects + and - that we need to weigh as individual voters making the decision. Nobody is unelectable it would seem and as long as a candidate is in the running that candidate must be held with and to be equal to the others running in the party.
I happen to like Dennis and will give him my vote on primary day, but I will certainly give the support to whomever is democratically elected to represent us as a party, the democratic party. I have not and will not ever vote for a republicon as I had promised my father (now deceased) and I agree with that stance against what republicons truly represent.

[BonnieJW]

43. several reasons

He's short, he's been married two or three times, he's currently married to someone considerably younger than he is, and he says what needs to be said rather than what he should say to be PC.

[tom_paine]

65. Definitely media programming. That's why the Bushies took control

when they saw how powerful a weapon TV could be once they had subverted and sabotaged the Free part of the Press, and that Cable and the 24 hr. news cycle was a vehicle which could turn Americans ignorant and insane (not ravingly, per se, people still got to work together 8 hrs a day/5 days a week) if abused "properly" (in the world according to Evil Authoritarians, that is).

The Bushies have done just that. On many planes (not all, especially violence, thank God) the mentality of the collective Imperial Subjects of Amerika, especially the 26-32% Bushie part of it, is equivalent to the Nazis and the Bushies cultivated it so for a reason, to use the bludgeon of zealtry to batter down the doors of democracy.

My point is that such mentality, such Bushie framing and thinking, even for us who are aware of it and defend against it, it is so pervasive and pernicious, having been laundered into "Conventional Wisdom", one almost cannot help but lapsing into it sometimes. And if yuou think I am excluding myself from that criticism, you'd be wrong. I noticed it when I have seen myself using Bushie Frames and Orwellian Linguistics myself.

And that, my friends, is one of the main points of the New Totalitarianism, as crafted by Orwell-loving Frank Luntz, no doubt, and it could be straight out of 1984:

The point is to change the language where dissent becomes impossible to discuss because the words do not exist to discuss it.

The Bushies have waged an undeniably, incredibly successful war (mostly by not being opposed by people in positions to do it while there was still time) on this front.

And we get ringside seats for the New Totalitarian Nightmare.

[Gonzo Gardener]

10. I agree with Dennis 100%

He grasps what it will take to put this country on the right track.

[MetalCanuck]

11. i wish Dem voters would

wake up to the possibility of Dennis as pres, he is the only
one who is not in the CFR. Mike Gravel would be great but
unfortunately he doesn't have even as much of a chance as
Dennis. 

[antigop]

14. Thanks for the kicks and recommendations. Nice to see there are people on DU who understand. n/t

[slipslidingaway]

16. Thank you and a K&R n/t

[EndElectoral]

17. And the media says he is unelectable so the people will beleive it.

[hayu_lol]

18. What has Dennis done about the Diebold Corp. in his own state?

Ummm, so far, nothing. Honest voting isn't important to him.

[druidity33]

19. a ridiculous statement... nt

[William769]

21. Why is it ridiculous?

After the stunt he's pulled with the AARP forum in Iowa, he has lost all credibility.

[kenfrequed]

27. See below

And study election law a bit. Kucinich has consistently done as much as he legally can.

[radiclib]

39. "Stunt"?

You mean that he objected to being barred from the forum because of filing technicalities, which were due to lack of campaign resources, which are due to lack of $, which is largely due to his lack of wealthy backers? That "stunt"? Oh I forgot.."If he can't run his own campaign, how can he run the country?" Gimme a break

[dickbearton]

63. William769, Don't talk about stunt, you and the Criminal Bush are a stunt.

[kenfrequed]

26. Well

I know that I didn't do as well in Ms Marenchin's 9th grade civics class as I ought to have, but I do seem to recall that voting laws about machines like this are actually a state matter with some laws passed by the federal government to ensure sufferage of all people.

So as a representative to congress Kucinich really doesn't have a say as to what kind of machines are used by his home state. He has spoken out about these machines and about other attempts to steal the elections in the past and taht is about the most he can legally do.

So your arguments are garbage.

[Norrin Radd]

20. k+r

[jackster]

22. I'm finally on board for Dennis....

I've been thinking about it for a couple of days.... I've wavered but now I believe I can say I'm solidly in the Kucininch camp.

Only he can tell it like it is....

[redqueen]

29. YAY!

Welcome aboard!

:toast:

[tomp]

33. give him money! nt

[Ignis]

56. It's an open--but dirty--secret, isn't it? Welcome aboard! (nt)

[KoKo]

23. K&! Kucinich and Gore....two not afraid to speak out about corporate corruption!

Gore is ignored and Kucinich is being treated like he's not even in the race while the media has fawned over that idiot Thompson for months and the flip flopping McCain whose almost as delusional as what's squatting in the WH.

[Roland99]

24. BRAVO!!!!!!!!!

[antigop]

25. 42 recommendations! Thanks, all! n/t

[cooolandrew]

30. Kucinich has something more powerful than WMD, the clear, crystal truth. He's the only rightful ....

... president.

[toadzilla]

31. too bad our democracy has already been privatized

[Greyhound]

32. K & R. We have a model of our future right at hand.

Iraq.

The disaster that has been created, and I'm talking about what has happened since the "war" was over, is exactly the neo-con_® plan for the world. Paul Bremer and the rest of the slime, imposed every bit of their agenda on that shattered nation, from privatizing all services to outlawing labor unions, and just look at the results.

They have brought down two (three) nations and possibly the world's economy all in the name of their egos and their intellectually bankrupt ideas. Ideas BTW, that history has proven to be wrong several times already.

And still we hear that impeachment is unachievable/impractical, that corporatism (fascism by definition) is good and if only we just sit here and let "the adults" take care of it, everything will turn out all right.
:kick:

[WarhammerTwo]

34. I'd vote for him....

...in the primary.
If I wasn't a registered independent.
Perhaps I can convince my wife.
She's a registered Democrat.

[radiclib]

40. What state do you live in?

Can't you reregister this many months ahead of the primary? Damn!

[ProudDad]

51. Just re-register in time for the primaries

that's what I did -- registered dem to vote for Dennis...

(and to lobby the HELL out of my local semi-DLC congresscritter)

[5fingersurfer]

36. I'm glad..

I haven't switched my party affiliation from dem to independant on the voting rolls yet. The only name I will vote for when it comes to POTUS (Primary and main event) this next turn is DK. While he may not be perfect, the only dem that seems to be sticking to the core values of what it used to mean to be a dem before the corporate influence corrupted the party. What people are calling "progressive" needs to split from the dem party before all the dem corporate shills can coopt that term.

[antigop]

37. welcome to DU, 5fingersurfer! n/t

[iaviate1]

55. I agree. DK is it.

He's the only Dem running at this time who will get my vote in either the primaries or general election.

[redqueen]

78. Hi 5fingersurfer!

Welcome to DU!

So glad you're voting for DK in the primary! :D

:hi:

[pberq]

38. K&R - Dennis is great!

[Fire Walk With Me]

41. K&R.

Why is there only one voice speaking out about this problem? Why are more voters not interested in this message?

[RangerRK]

44. K&R

Thanks for posting!

[mikelgb]

48. k4K

:kick:

[BornagainDUer]

50. K&R! What sickens me is how the Press is already deciding that Hillary

and Romney, or maybe a Ghouliani "surprise", will be running in '08.

[concerned citizen23]

53. They always do...

[concerned citizen23]

52. "New" Preamble to the United States Constitution

Original:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Perhaps it ought to be re-written as follows:

We the Corporations of the United States, in Order to form a more profitable Union, establish self serving Justice, insure global domination, use at will the common defense for pre-emptive offense at the expense of the people, promote Corporate preservation, and secure the Blessing of financial Liberty for ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of the world….

Why vote for any of the leading candidates?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3532891

[reggie the dog]

57. Kucinich

I was hoping Kucinich would have gotten the nomination in 2004. Let's hope he gets it in 2008. I think he would win in a landslide. He always voted against the war in Iraq and the Patriot acts, 2 things that the Republicans come up with and are no longer popular with the voting public.
But what do I know, I am just a citizen, not a corporation with other motives for having politicians run a country.

[madrchsod]

60. oh i wish he would win

a very intelligent man and woman in the whitehouse who actually understand what the PEOPLE of america need

[antigop]

62. Wow! 64 recommendations! THANK YOU!!!!!!

[tom_paine]

64. Wow, I just endorsed Edwards on another thread, but DK has it, too!

They are the two candidates who would best represent We the People.

Which is why neither probably has much of a chance.

[Catbaloo]

68. Media black-out of Kucinich

The corporate media hate Dennis for obvious reasons, so it's up to us to get his message out.
I've been bombarding everyone I know with vidoes of his speeches. Once they know who he is and hear his message, most are convinced.

Don't forget those who are not on the internet ( like my 85 year old father in law, who had only vaguely heard of Kucinich in the MSM, and for whom I printed out and sent all the Dennis stuff I could find....and now my FIL is going to vote for Dennis!)

Get the message out every way you can, people! Just talking to like minded folks on the internet doesn't do the job.

[antigop]

69. Welcome to DU, Catbaloo! n/t

[tom_paine]

71. Welcome to DU, catbaloo and thanx

:toast:

[WHAT]

66. Also, note how cm is saying "American" corporations...

like we are on the same side, or something. Anymore, I think what is good for gm (or any of them) is bad for America ('s citizens). Corporations are a real security concern...Blackwater USA? it's the USA that is scary. These corporations don't deserve to operate with a usa label.

I like Kucinich because he does discuss the real issues. Most of the time, I agree with him as now.

[unkachuck]

70. kick....

....because Dennis speaks the truth....

[f the letter]

72. go Dennis

amen

[antigop]

75. Welcome to DU, f! n/t