Transcript:

These are the elements of the Kucinich 12-Point Plan for Iraq:
(with a few selected quotes)
http://kucinich.us/iraqplan

1. The US announces it will end the occupation, close military bases and withdraw.

“A US declaration of an intention to withdraw troops and close bases will help dampen the insurgency which has been inspired to resist colonization and fight invaders and those who have supported US policy. Furthermore this will provide an opening where parties within Iraq and in the region can set the stage for negotiations towards peaceful settlement.”

2. US announces that it will use existing funds to bring the troops and necessary equipment home.

“Congress appropriated $70 billion in bridge funds on October 1st for the war. Money from this and other DOD accounts can be used to fund the troops in the field over the next few months, and to pay for the cost of the return of the troops, (which has been estimated at between $5 and $7 billion dollars) while a political settlement is being negotiated and preparations are made for a transition to an international security and peacekeeping force.”

3. Order a simultaneous return of all US contractors to the United States and turn over all contracting work to the Iraqi government.

“Reconstruction activities must be reorganized and closely monitored in Iraq by the Iraqi government, with the assistance of the international community. The massive corruption as it relates to US contractors, should be investigated by congressional committees and federal grand juries. The lack of tangible benefits, the lack of accountability for billions of dollars, while millions of Iraqis do not have a means of financial support, nor substantive employment, cries out for justice.”

4. Convene a regional conference for the purpose of developing a security and stabilization force for Iraq.

“The international community may have an interest in helping Iraq, but has no interest in participating in the implementation of failed US policy.”

5. Prepare an international security and peacekeeping force to move in, replacing US troops who then return home.

“The UN has an indispensable role to play here, but cannot do it as long as the US is committed to an occupation.”
6. Develop and fund a process of national reconciliation.

“... defined as an airing of all grievances and the creation of pathways toward open, transparent talks producing truth and resolution of grievances.”

7. Reconstruction and Jobs.

“Rebuild roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and other public facilities, houses, and factories with jobs and job training going to local Iraqis.”

8. Reparations.

“... special programs to rescue the tens of thousands of Iraqi orphans from lives of destitution.”

9. Political Sovereignty.

“A) setting aside initiatives to privatize Iraqi oil interests or other national assets, and B) by abandoning efforts to change Iraqi national law to facilitate privatization.”

10. Iraq Economy.

“... a plan to stabilize Iraq’s cost for food and energy, on par to what the prices were before the US invasion and occupation.”
11. Economic Sovereignty.

“... restore Iraq’s fiscal integrity without structural readjustment measures of the IMF or the World Bank.”

12. International Truth and Reconciliation.

“In 2002, I led the effort in the House of Representatives challenging the Bush Administration’s plans to go to war in Iraq. I organized 125 Democrats to vote against the Iraq war resolution. The analysis I offered at that time stands out in bold relief for its foresight when compared to the assessments of many who today aspire to national leadership. Just as the caution I urged four years ago was well-placed, so the plan I am presenting today is workable, and it responds to the will of the American people, expressed this past November.”

Read the entire Kucinich 12-Point Plan for Iraq:
http://kucinich.us/iraqplan

It is a sad commentary on the state of our democracy when peace advocates are surveilled because they are suspected dissidents. When we are the largest arms supplier and have the largest military. When we are building an empire. When we torture, spurn the Geneva Convention, engage in ‘renditions’. When the pResident cannot be held accountable by the Congress. When much of the operation of our government is secret. Kucinich appears the only candidate that advocates for peace, but of course he is not taken seriously by media. To be taken seriously by media it is necessary to raise buckets of money…and that disqualifies anyone but war mongers. So much for ‘democracy’.

Israel made it clear at the recent AIPAC convention that it wants America to stay in Iraq, and it wants America to bomb Iran, starting a new war that will make the Iraq fiasco look like a hangnail.

Nancy’s Pelosi’s antiwar remarks were loudly booed by the crowd at the AIPAC convention, and the Israeli prime minister warned Congress not to do anything to make it harder for Bush to start a war against Iran.

Pelosi got the message. She promptly removed from her “antiwar” legislation the provision that forbade Bush to start a new war against Iran without Congress’s explicit permission.

There is no conceivable American interest - no, not even including the most cynical economic considerations - that would be served by the war against Iran that Israel is screaming for.

But we’ll do it, because everyone in our government and media is so terrified of the “anti-semite” smear which the Israel lobby uses so effectively against all critics.

This is our fatal weakness: our idolatrous worship of Israel.

Americans think, “Israel MUST be a saintly country! After all, WE’RE a saintly country largely because we support saintly little Israel unquestioningly! (We dare not face what Israel is—because then we might have to face what WE are)...”

Israel-mania is a cancer that is killing America.

While we agree that Nancy Pelosi is acting like she’s running (for) the office of Queen Of Collusion, Dennis Kucinich has been no more willing than Pelosi to question President Bush about Bush’s own, voluntary, repeated, incriminating 9/11 witness statements, indicative of prior knowledge at the highest level of the U.S. government.

(Imagine if 9/11 had happened a year earlier, and the U.S.A. had suffered its worst-ever defensive military failure on Clinton’s watch.  Then imagine that Clinton had let slip that he’d watched the ‘secret’ attack unfold on TV before going on with his photo op that morning as if nothing unusual had happened [even though the only known video of the opening salvo of 9/11 did not surface until well after dark].  Then imagine no Republicans ever questioning WJC about it!)

Investigate 911-Gate!

Abso-tively right Hank,

As much as I admire Kucinich’s outspokeness, the praise being heaped upon him here reveals a deep longing for a “hero” to come and save us.

That kinda scares me.

A hero in the White House won’t change a political landscape polluted by corporate money and media. WE have to do that, at the hometown level.

Sorry folks, but this here is a democracy. The White House is powerful, but Congress is where the rubber meets the road.

And Congress is all about coalitions and compromise.

About one-quarter of our citizens are liberal, about one-quarter are conservative, and the rest just want to be left alone.

Some of our fellow citizen really do believe that we’re fighting terrorism in Iraq. Many don’t know what we’re fighting for… they just don’t want to “lose”.

Dennis Kucinich - speaking from far off Washington - will not change their thinking. But you - the guy or gal next door - can.

The Dems in Congress will move decisively against the war when we show them that it is safe to do so.

So praise Kucinich for speaking the truth, but don’t elevate him to “The man on the white horse”.

Kudos, Mr. Kucinich!!  Finally a politician with the courage to stand up for what is RIGHT rather than what is politically advisable.  In my mind, the only other politician doing this is a ....yup…a republican!  Ron Paul has been as vehemently opposed to both wars, the patriot act, the military commissions act as Kucinich.

We need to encourage both of the brave representatives to continue doing what they’re doing.

DK is a Saint.  Abraham Lincoln would be honored to shake his hand.  He will be the greatest President we ever have.  He’s the wisest man in America, and, as President will surpass the standards set by the Founding Fathers.

And if I say what I really think about him it won’t be posted.

Comment #60474 by Amigo typifies what is wrong with our political system.  Amigo serves up nothing more than empty platitudes—“Obama is the Lincoln of our times,” he “is to politics” what “Tiger Woods is to golf;”  he is enthusiastic, compassionate “I-M-P-R-E-S-S-I-V-E.”

Our “Amigo” has failed to say one thing specific about where Obama stands on issues that truly matter.  While Obama gives lip service to opposition to the war in Iraq, he has voted for every supplemental Bush has asked for.  When pressed for why he does not support an immediate cut off of funds, Obama asserted that this is because there are not enough votes in the Senate.  That, my friends, is a lie.  It only takes 41 Senators to block an appropriations bill by way of fillibuster.  A vote to fund the war is a vote to allow Bush to leave them in harm’s way.  That isn’t “support of the troops,” it’s betrayal.

Obama, like Clinton and Edwards, is a corporatist who offers up a “universal healthcare” scam that amounts to subsidies for health insurers.

There is only one Democratic candidate who has consistently opposed the war, who has, in HR 1234, set forth a detailed plan to end this illegal occupation, replacing American troops with an international force as Iraq’s economy and oil are returned to its rightful owners—the Iraqi people—who proposes bringing the U.S. in line with every other industrialized nation by a sensible, single-payer health care system; who has consistently supported the working and middle class by ending the massive outsourcing brought on by NAFTA and the WTO; who proposes restoring the Fairness Doctrine and breaking the strangle-hold of the media conglomerates on what most Americans see, hear and read.  His name is Dennis Kucinich.

So long as we select our leaders based on empty platitudes rather than detailed, issue identification, we will perpetuate our national malaise.

Jesica,

Ron Paul has caught the eye of a number of people who hardly expect to agree much with any republican.  I have read many of his weekly letters.  I receive them in my email.

I have heard of Unity 08 which may be a way these two candidates could come together.  Ron Pauls comments about how we should return to our original foreign policy and his critical words concerning free trade isolates him from receiving the Corporate money from the republican camp just like Dennis from the DNC.

The Unity 08 program requires candidates to pick a running mate from a different party.  It would be nice if they considered this aproach rather then continue to be silienced by the leadership and contributors of their prospective parties.

I think it has become a huge problem when both parties are dominated by NEO CONSERVATIVES / NEO LIBERALS.  I can understand the philosophies of Conservatives and progressives, but these NEO whatever seem to be too willing to sellout “WE THE PEOPLE” for their little place in supporting the fascist society that currently has been robbing taxpayers money while creating endless War and shredding our Constitution.

Kucinich is the ONLY candidate with the integrity and foresight to lead our country out of this moral, financial and intellectually bereft quagmire we have now.  Both political parties have been wrong on practically EVERTHING.  They only represent the corporate hydras feeding at the public trough.  I’m tired of these neoliberal counterfeits who back so-called liberal social issues while maintaining the ‘free market monopoly’ which has bankrupted our people.  The DLC is as guilty as the Republican neocons on this issue of fiscal policies.  We need FAIR TRADE NOT FREE TRADE.  These phony neoliberals LOVE ‘social’ issues because IT COSTS THEM NO MONEY.  On everything else—ie. universal single payer healthcare, fair trade, working with unions, net neutrality, a return to the fair use doctrine on the public tv air waves,an end to this Iraq debacle, guaranteed pension protection from corporate raiders, an end to No Child Left Behind, and a repeal of Patriot I & II, Military Commissions, etc.—they remain either silent or side with the Bushies.  The ONLY Democrat that has consistently worked for the average citizen has been Kucinich.  The ONLY ‘democrat’ that has consistently stood up to the DLC has been Kucinich.  THE ONLY DEMOCRAT I WILL SUPPORT IS KUCINICH.

I would be delighted to see a Kucinich/ Ron Paul ticket for the 08 elections. This country needs to be reunited, and a progressive Dem/Repub administration could really help this country get back on its feet, facing forward.

The DLC has been intellectually and morally bankrupt for the last several years.  The ‘Neoliberals’ or ‘New Democrats’ as they like to call themselves are nothing more than free market republican lite parading around as progressives.  They accept liberal positions on social issues because it costs them (or the corporate interests they represent)—no money.  In the interim they pushed through NAFTA, GATT, WTO, IMF, etc., which decimated trade unions and hurt the very families they profess to represent.  It’s time to bring the party back to the previous ideal as a bulwark against corporate hegemony, and a defender of the average working person and their rights to both political and economic justice.  It’s time to force the Dems to actually represent the little guy like they claim. If not; then it’s time to abandon the Democrats and build up alternative parties with the trade unions pulling their massive contributions and GROOMING OUR OWN CANDIDATES AT THE LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL LEVELS.  WE MUST ORGANIZE TO BECOME A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH.  Right now, the only ‘Democrat’ worth electing to the Oval Office is Dennis Kuccinich. 
  We also need to eventually dismantle the two party system with it’s winner take-all injustice.  I agree, instant run-off voting is the way to go.  Most of the democracies in Europe do just that and the people have more effective and accountable representation and a better quality of life for the average family.  They have universal healthcare, free or low cost university educations and a pension plan that cannot be stolen by employers.  Here in the US, under the Dems, we have the right to work ourselves to death and have no pension rights, no healthcare rights and now under this Congress—no civil rights.  Time to send them all to the ‘political guillotine.’
Jeanine Molloff
10116 Thorpe Ave.
St. Louis, MO. 63114

Dennis Kucinich for mayor of Cleveland!

Wait. He already did that.  And he screwed it up, big time.

Holding noble positions doesn’t make you a leader. Dennis Kucinich has never done anything to show that he can lead, that he can bring people together, that he has the DIPLOMATIC skills to be a leader.  What made FDR or Bill Clinton or even Ronald Reagan able to get done what they wanted? Diplomacy—the ability to bring all kinds of people to the table.

Dennis Kucinich has never shown a hint of doing that.  I see him as one of the WORST choices running for the Democratic nomination. He gets the nomination and the Re-Thugs keep the White House.

Still, if he MANAGED to get elected President, I don’t think there’s a Repub running who would be better than him.  But that’s not much of a compliment.

Dennis is way too progressive and morally incorruptible to be a Demo-hack.

Why vote to simply change the oppressors; to those who are just as morally bankrupt with greed and ambition? There is a “dimes worth of difference” between the status quo Dems and GOP. Sure there are exceptions like Dennis, but they are few and far between.

The Republicans don’t give a sh!t, they’ll tell straight out they don’t like yah if you’re not wealthy. The Dem’s are worse cuzz they are two-face and exponentially worse hypocrites.

We need a not only a third and fourth, but a number of political parties.

If you frequent this site and agree with the content on here, time to give up your Democratic loyalty and join a truly progressive party. I’ve voted Green for ten years now, and I’m 30.

Time to break-up this duopolistic system!

I’m tired.  I use to believe in the ideals set forth in our most sacred documents.  Dennis still believes.  He fights the good fight even though the forces of Global wealth does everything it can to drown out his voice. 

A push for a cashless society and global free trade have bought off our media and our government.  They advance War, arms production, free trade, and a host of acts designed to reduce the say of “WE THE PEOPLE”.

We have never heard a theory that can explains the timing of the fall sequence of the Trade Towers.  10 seconds should demand that Thermite be looked for at ground zero.  It wasn’t in the commissions cover - up mode.

“We The People” have been played like a harp since 9/11/01.  It hasn’t been done to serve the interrest of us.  It initiated a collective fear and the killing goes on by our enemy within.

If anti-war Republicans (there SURELY must be some!) would start a draft Paul O’Neill campaign, we might see re-posturing in both major parties.  O’Neill was in cabinet meetings when this war was instigated.  AND he had his own way to raise American esteem in Africa—without killing people.

It may be way too late for this, it may be way too late for anything, but if someone wants to feel like they’re doing something positive for the future, consider working for the establishment of INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING.

Until instant runoff voting (IRV) becomes widespread reality, our two-party system which is only a façade for a single party system will condemn us to the final solution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting

Dennis Kucinich may be the most judiciously ignored human being in history. Kucinich could ascend into heaven on a bolt of lightning and we wouldn’t read a word about it in the speedy babble press. Probably the only thing he could do to break the Kucinich media embargo is get caught in some kind of sex crime. Even at that, it’d better be a pretty nasty crime or the media will be too afraid that he might get good press out of it.

Egads, I had it with the dems. First, Peeeeelosi wants a big jet so she can fly non-stop to visit her grandkids. And then, the dems added 20 % (20 billion ) of pork into the apporpiation bill for Iraq.

Should’ve, but didn’t but will vote next time for the Green Party.

DK would get my vote if I lived in the States even though for the long term good the Democratic Party needs to be decimated.

The so called “progressive” blogs will ignore DK and the moral bankruptcy that this bill represents.

C & L has been deleting posts all day, from those who’d point out what this was really about. And they won’t be putting DK’s comments up either.

The so called progressives are a cancer. They give the uninformed the illusion of choice. But that is all it is. An illusion.

The John Amatos, the Kos’s et al should hang their heads in shame. But they won’t. They’re as corrupt as the Repubs they pretend to loathe.

Soon the food and water will be poisoned and america will become a waste land as it is currently in iraq.Americans are so fricken stupid.we need food,water and shelter,thats all—-now we have crazed men, bombs and lies,just ask the tillman family….

I’ve had it.  I can’t believe the House gave ANOTHER fortune to this nauseating war.

I’m not writing a check to the IRS this year.  Instead, I’m going to figure out my tax bill, then pay out that exact amount to my local school, day care, senior center and library.  I’ll send the receipts to the feds on April 15.

I don’t care if I go to jail, that’s how sick I feel when I think about all that money for death.

This government is not interested in getting out of Iraq, but they’re really interested in invading Iran.

Dennis Kucinich is the one person on whom we can depend.  I have seen the corruption in the Democratic Party. The leadership is bought and paid for and couldn’t care less what the people want. The more I see of politics, the less I want anything to do with politics.  Dennis, the one Presidential candidate who cares about the people, is our best hope for saving the Democratic Party and for saving America.

I think you’re right about Dennis. He seems to be the only representative speaking about true progress at this time, but I also hope people are searching for the facts as displayed in intellectual writings, such as Howard Zinn’s “People’s History of the United States”. This nation has never been a genuine republic, there has never been equal voice for all people in this country, and from the beginning, this nation has been built specifically on the self-interests of wealthy individuals. Change must come and part of that change is our perception as a people of what this country has truly stood for. I feel a strong movement of people ready for such change, and I believe Dennis is the one who can bring this conscious movement into the mainstream. Peace everbody

Kucinich will be my man only if he solemnly promises that, if he doesn’t get the nomination, he will run as an independent.
No more of treacherous Howard Deans!
Troops out of Iraq NOW!

DK is emerging as the one sane voice in these mad times, the one person possibly fit to lead the country back to being a republic once again.

Mr. Kucinich, You tell us facts we know but none of it ammounts to anything till you, or the other near honest Democrat running, Al Sharpton, can at minimum bring up it is strange how 3 buildings did slide into their foundations 9/11.  Very strange, right?  Ok, say it.  You know, 20 years from now most citizens will understand there is a 9/ll coverup.  Good grief.  Say it.

60258 needs to read the 12 point kucinich plan(HR 1234) to end occupation and stablize iraq. then maybe hed see the US is not leaving iraq with just a mess the US created if we end occupation. we’re actually do everyhting we need. the international community IS willing to help iraq, but not under a failed US policy. it is NOT imcompetant. it is comprehensive. it is compassionate.

Maybe Kucinich and a few others who are disgusted enough with this incestuous Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee disaster should get together and form a genuine alternative for voters to the pending ruin of your once-fair country by a Zionist elite that runs the books in both camps, and an obscenely bloated and fatal military-industrial complex that is a handmaiden for the world’s greatest war crimes, and has completely forgotten the reality of life’s purpose on planet Earth.
Otherwise, y’all get ready for very hard times, the end of everything your fragile Constitution was designed to protect. The light is fading fast.

The first phase of the election, the massive fundraising, is proceeding but it is possible, given the profitability of war, that we will not be allowed to have the choice of a candidate who advocates peace. It is a sad commentary on the US that people who advocate peace are regarded by police and security personnel as dissidents.
If by chance the massive auction does not produce a militarist there is always the actual election to make things right.
http://www.seconnecticut.com/elections.htm

I have support Kucinich since 2003. He seems to be the only person of principle running for President. I cannot believe that some, such as commenter 60258, think that because we “broke Iraq” we somehow should stay there until we “fix it”. That is truly insanity. We did break it, so we get out of there and provide funding to the Iraqi people to “fix it” themselves. They are perfectly capable of deciding what needs to be done in their own country. What arrogance to think only we in the USA are capable of fixing things.

It is high time, the media start focusing on a candidate’s leadership qualities, sincerety, integrity and his or her stand on the issues, as criteria for electing our next president. In my opinion, there is nobody like Obama who has all the aforementioned qualities and he is the ‘REAL DEAL’.
About his “lack of experience” complaint by critics, I wish to remind everyone that, one hundred and fourty six years ago, another son from Illinois, after only TWO years in the STATE legislature, went on to become the greatest President this country has ever produced. Obama is “the Lincoln of our times” and this country and the world desperately need some one like him to lead us into a brighter future. A true testament to his maturity, wisdom and grasp of issues is amazingly revealed in a TV intrerview he gave to a Chicago station in Nov ‘02, almost FOUR months BEFORE the Iraq war started (and aired by C-Span, during the presidential anouncement coverage ) in which he expresses NOT ONLY opposition to the war but also his concern about the POTENTIAL problems associated with the aftermath and re-construction - - - - all of which has played out EXACTLY to the last word in the past four years; it makes him sound and look like a prophet.
(Obama is to politics, like Tiger Woods is to golf; the same enthusiasm,passion and ablility to fire up everyone’s imagination to expect greatness.)
Like many, I hope and pray that he will be swept into the White House on a huge populist wave, the like of which this country has not seen since Bobby Kennedy’s short and ill-fated run fourty years ago.
I would suggest that everyone, including Bill Clinton, watch that TV interview the Senator gave in Nov ‘02; THAT should convince anyone about his maturity, wisdom and grasp of issues and THAT IS WHAT MAKES OBAMA SO CREDIBLE AND I-M-P-R-E-S-S-I-V-E !!!

How much is the interest on $9,1 Trillion?

Plus another $100,000,000,000.00?

How in the world are our grandchildren going to pay for THAT!?

Oh, by the way, anybody seen 600 tons of 100 Dollar Bills that J.P. Bremer lost in Iraq?  Couldn’t you see that much cash from space?

I don’t think anybody in Congress is even looking.

Kucinich is the only candidate not already in the pocket of the corporatocracy. He is the only candidate with any integrity and he’s not afraid to speak the truth. Yes, we need to get out of Iraq and yes, we owe them big time for the damage we’ve inflicted. That means underwriting international efforts to rebuild. It also means prosecuting the present misleadership for crimes against humanity and thoroughly examining our relations with the rest of the world and our foreign policy.

Kucinich is wise and insightful and the genuine voice of the liberal/progressive community.

What Pelosi Inc. did was disgusting. Cut the funding and be done with it. Then Nancy’s fanclub can throw her a parade.

The Colbert Report: “Are Democrats a bunch of pussies? I think they are”

Kucinich is correct; the Dems are using the wrong strategy. The Dems leave themselves vulnerable when they try to stop the Iraq war with legislation that restricts funding. Then Cheney, a draft-dodger himself and 5 draft deferments to his credit, calls the Dems “unpatriotic” for not supporting the troops. Ridiculous! Look, this is Bush’s war and until the Dems came to power recently in 2007, there was no Republican-controlled “oversight”; it was
spend, spend, spend!!! The alternative is this:
First, this was a war sold to Congress on lies and under false pretenses. Therefore, the Dems should REPEAL THE EARLIER-GIVEN “AUTHORITY TO WAGE WAR.”
If this were done first, then let Bush ask for money, and let the “supplemental appropriation
bill” be introduced by the Republicans, who were so glad to have this costly war. Congress and the American people were lied to; a conspiracy brought
this war into being, a “conspiracy to defraud the United States,” a serious violation as per Title 18, Section 375 of the U.S. Code. Congress did not follow the Constitution in starting the war. There should have been in Oct., 2002 much debate before a vote to “authorize use of our armed forces,” and that resolution was NOT a “declaration of war.” The Dems should let the Republicans, led by Bush,
Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz, Perle, and Feith, answer for this needless war. By approving
the supplemental appropriation, the Dems are in fact “legitimizing” the continuation of the war, which is where they go wrong. Impeachment should be started for those individuals listed above, and without further delay. Ron Paul, a Republican, is, like Kucinich trying to follow the Constitution and we should praise them for it.

A correction:

The Dennis Kucinich campaign website is kucinich.us, not “kucinich.us.gov”. This was spoken correctly by Dennis Kucinich in the MP3 file, but the transcript is wrong.

The direct link for information about HR 1234 is: http://kucinich.us/iraqplan

i’m afraid Jeff Badura is right about the Dems. the Repugs sell influence, and the Dems sell *themselves*. and they do seem partial to those pretty faces..  next party, please..

also agree with the person who said we at least need to rebuild their infrastructure. but sadly i’m afraid destroying their infrastructure was part of the plan, as well as putting women back in their place and creating a culture of unquestioning submission by putting religion back on the throne. they were oppressed under Hussein but they were allowed to learn and think, and that didn’t suit our purposes because it sets the stage for dissent. the war wasn’t against dictatorship. if it was we’d go after the Saudis, the most brutal and longstanding dictatorship in the area. not just a dictatorship but a “divenly ordained” monarchy. dictatorship, religion, and social conservatism: these are a few of our favourite things, because they create the stability reqired for a “favourable investment climate”.

google “Strauss neocons”. they know what religion was made for and use it expertly, because it glorifies top-down authority and discourages both democracy and socialism. we fomented the current wave of Muslim extremism for just that purpose, and it’s now coming home to roost.  tell ‘em Jeff!  ya sexy ko’k, ya.. love ya babe..

We need more people like this man Dennis Kucinich, to represent the people of our country. People who are not afraid to cut through the BS and speak the truth. People who just might respond to the will of the majority of the people!

Kucinich is a hypocrite
Filed under: Public Square

Dennis Kucinich says he’s insulted. The local congressman and long-shot presidential candidate says it’s “an insult to the voters, and the height of cynicism for candidates to refuse to take the public stage and subject themselves to public scrutiny.”

The congressman’s fuming because prominent Nevada Democrats, and several presidential candidates, have forced the cancellation of an August presidential candidate debate, sponsored by Fox News. Most voters would agree with him that politicians “take the public stage and subject themselves to public scrutiny.” The only problem is that Kucinich has refused to publicly debate any challenger to his seat since coming to Washington in 1997.

A few examples:

Mike Dovilla, Kucinich’s GOP general election foe in 2006, was stood up by the congressman at two separate scheduled debates: First, at the prestigious City Club of Cleveland (where Dovilla debated Kucinich’s empty
chair) and then at a major candidates forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters (LWV) at Cuyahoga Community College.

Both times, Kucinich claimed “scheduling conflicts” prevented his participation. The previous April, the congressman stood up Barbara Ferris, his 2006 Democratic primary challenger, at another City Club forum. Ferris was so angry that, after leaving the event, she traveled to Kucinich’s Lakewood district office and, in full view of a group of veterans and a local TV crew, challenged the congressman to debate. (He refused).

And in October 2004, Kucinich failed to show for still another City Club primary debate with Ferris (running then as an independent) and Ed Herman, the GOP challenger. Despite having confirmed his appearance beforehand, he cancelled at the last minute, saying “the people already knows where I stand.”

How’s that for arrogance? I could go on but suffice to say, Rep. Kucinich has not debated a single challenger to his congressional seat since he was first elected to Congress in 1996. Talk about Chutspah.

Given his career-long track record of refusing to debate his challengers, Kucinich reveals himself to be a hypocrite of the first order. He owes a public apology to the Nevada Democratic leaders and to the presidential candidates who he, unfairly and unmercifully slandered. Shame on him.

Lawrence J. McDonald
Fairview Park

Jesus saves.  Bush kills, Hillary authorizes.

that’s just kucinich.us   no .gov

I am from Ohio and have to admit that there was a time that I thought Dennis was slightly nutty but now I think he may be one of the few who actually are thinking clearly. Maybe we should all give him another look and listen.

No, no, no
We just can’t leave Iraq.
Under false pretenses we invaded a country that never attacked us and never planned to. A country in which women, contrary to Saudi Arabia our best ally in the Arab world, could drive, become doctors and lawyers. A SECULAR country surrounded by Islamic nations. We destroyed their power plants, most of theirs hospitals, schools and other institutions. According to a study done by the John Hopkins Department of Public Health our invasion killed around half a million innocent civilians. In a population of less than 20 millions it means that everybody has a relative of a friend who has been killed. Of course today women can’t drive or go to school anymore or work.

Their country was not the greatest place on earth, but they were able to manage, have project, function normally and have lives.
We removed all that and now we just want to leave without putting something else in place? Without fixing anything?  I don’t think so.
The world, the whole world told America NOT to attack Iraq because it would create a civil war. Scott Ritter told us in 2003 what would happened if we’d go there. The French and most of the Brits outside of the Blair team warned us NOT to remove Saddam Hussein. It’s not like we didn’t know what was going to happen.
America has the responsibility to fix the mess it created. We MUST at the very least bring back Iraq to an equivalent level to where it was before we invaded it. Forget about making it better or a democracy, that’s not possible and we don’t have to do that. But leaving it worse than we found it is unacceptable.

It would certainly mean that:

-We are incompetent
-We have no pride
-Forget about compassion
-We are weak and a bunch a wussies who cut and run when the game becomes harder.

Because basically that’s what it is. A tough job lies ahead and we want to get out.
Sorry, you broke it, you fix it.

Denis is right.  Period, the end.

Mr. Kucinich is right.  The bill is a complete sell-out.  The suggestion that a vote to end funding would reflect a failure to support the troops is Orwellian.  You don’t support the troops by enabling the Bush regime to leave them in harm’s way.  You don’t support them by providing enough funds to keep them in Iraq to the end of the Bush term.

The argument that the Democrats don’t have the votes to cut off funds is a canard.  All it takes is 41 Senators to block legislation for another supplemental.

How Josh sheer can listen to Dennis Kucinich and then say if there is a Republic running who opposes the war, he will vote for him is astounding.  Hello?  Mr. Kucinich is running for President!

I’m a 100% “red”-blooded proud neocon, but i know a little about politics? its my past time, my hobby, i find it so amusing that a true-“blue” consistent believer in “his” and the left-wing nut-roots dogma like Kucinch gets almost no play from the Dem’s ??? why is that ??? he was against the war before it was cool to be and he said so,  while Edwards and Clinton were voting to invade Iraq !! he was a populist while Edwards and Clinton were voting for or in support of NAFTA,  but today you have the pandering, sycophant, Edwards, a born again, anti-war, flip-flopper, who is the new darling of the nut-roots!! (thank Ann Coulter, i guess?) when Kucinich has been with you guys from day one!! but he still in on the outside, looking in !!  then your new hero, that Hollywierd is swooning over is Barak “Hussein” Obama!! (poor Hillary) so the stand up guy Kucinich is ignored, just like he was for his high-school prom !! ha ha ha ha.  the bulk of the Dem party, is all about show, its fake !! they stand for nothing, the non-binding Dem’s !! to feckless to support a war, and to feckless to stop it, their as fake as Palosi’s face, and Bidens hair-line, and the truth is Dennis just ain’t as pretty as Edwards and Obama !!! ha ha ha ha ha sorry Kucinich in a party were women rule, your all done !! too bad but keep up the good hard work, for your ungrateful friend’s,
illgramaticus knee o’kaun

Dennis is absolutely correct!!  The Democratic politicians have lost their minds.  I am a Republican who voted Democrat hoping to get us out of the war that the United States started.  But, no, the Democrats vote to extend it.

We need to get out NOW and pay for the reconstruction of Iraq. 

And then we need to try our leaders for war crimes.  We attacked a country without provocation. 

If a foreign army were in our country, I would be out doing the same thing as the Iraq insurgents.  I would be doing anything I could to defeat the invaders.  And you know damn well George W. Bush would be hiding under a rock shaking like a leaf letting someone else do his fighting.

Keep up the good work Dennis, you’re the man.  Speak the truth. Don’t politicize like Clinton, Rudy, McCain, etc., etc.  You were right from the start and YOU deserve to be President!

Dennis has laid out the real issues with the Dems and this bill. This is business as usual politics and to think that the Dems have changed the direction (Mr. Harris) is just wrong. They’ve tweaqed it a bit, but the direction as Kucinich indicates is unchanged. $124 billion dollars to keep this war going - conservatively, that translates into 20,000 human deaths and countless casualties. That’s the bottom line - and the one that drives Kucinich and other peace advocates to their passion - yours truly included.

This is not about Pelosi looking at the political landscape and compromising - this is about life and death and the drain on the US human social infrastructure. And what’s disconcerting is how, rather than fight this as empowered citizens, Americans are just acquiesing. The Republicans with their 30% approval are still very much in charge.

To change the course, Kucinich’s points must be taken seriously. We’re talking about lives, and we expect that Dems feet be held to the fire and fight to make a real change - if we still have too many Dems that believe in this war - let’s get them out. But the courageous fight was fought by Lewis, Waters, Lee, and Woolsey and of course Dennis Kucinich. They understand the real issue; they understand that war is extreme and to allow it to continue is not the moderate approach but the extreme approach.

How is this done? First you have to believe in the importance of getting out and saving lives. The means will follow. As long as these live are political caculations and abstractions they will continue to be expendable. Murtha caved in having been thrown under the bus by the DLC leadership.

The hardball should be against the war hawks, not those who want out.

Kucinich has my vote already. He’s the only one who has accepted the will of the people. As far as I can tell he’s the only one who believes he represents his constituency as opposed to being the Empirial Leader.

Kucinich is right Bush should be IMPEACHED and as soon as possible.  I am certain that with the help of Ohio via J.Kenneth Blackwell Bush and Company stole the election, and since they stole the election I think that for the last two years of Bush’s tenure that Kerry should fill that spot, especially since he really won the race for president.

I would wonder if there should be some provision that if an election is illegal, than the winner should be seated as soon as possible.

Of course all proof any any actions is always after the winner (illegal winner) has taken office.

The country will go under if the war continues, especially since this war was all about OIL.

I SAY IMPEACHMENT SHOULD BE RECONSIDERED, AND IF CONGRESS HAS ANY BACKBONE AND SINCE THEY REPRESENT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE THEY SHOULD WORK REALLY HARD FOR THIS IMPEACHMENT, JUST AS THEY (REPUBLICATIONS) WORKED HARD TO GET CLINTON IMPEACHED FOR SO CALLED IMMORAL BEHAVIOR, AND TO THINK THAT BUSH TALKS TO GOD AND GOD LET US GET INVOLVED IN THE CIVIL WAR IN IRAQ.

MARGARET FROM VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON

Our president can hear only one word and that is OIL.
He, and Dick Cheney should both be impeached for
crimes against our people and our nation.
As long as they are in office the world will be on “standby” for the next American invasion

Kucinich almost has it right. What congress must do is define what congress is and assert the responsibility of the 2nd leg of government. The gonads of congress has been missing since Regan.The Repugs showed some tenacity going after Clinton but really did not establish the power of congress. Bush has usurped the power away from congress…time to take that power back

Kuchinich is one of many Americans with doubts about the Democrats at this point in time.

If the Dems don’t handle their new responsibilities in Congress well, maybe Americans will look to third-party and independent candidates in 2008.

If the Dems put forth presidential candidates that are not acceptable to most average Americans, even more moderate and centrist citizens will find themselves disgusted with both the Republicans and the Democrats.

Maybe this will be a “blessing in disguise” and allow third-party and independent candidates to be elected, changing the dynamics of our government. For more on this, see:

“A much needed new path: Time for independent and third-party candidates to emerge, transcend and unite?”

By Steve Hammons
Columnist, PopulistAmerica.com
Populist Party of America
March 5, 2007

http://www.populistamerica.com/a_much_needed_new_path_for_2008

-  -  -

A serious Congressional inquiry on Iraq is necessary

By Steve Hammons
Columnist, PopulistAmerica.com
Populist Party of America
December 24, 2006

http://www.populistamerica.com/a_serious_congressional_inquiry_on_iraq_is_necessary

Kucinich is in fact correct and I might add this inability to remove us from Iraq is further proof that the voter is ignored and business money has derailed democracy.

Yes, our democracy seems to be broken, if not downright corrupt.  But let’s keep things in perspective.  Those of us over 50 all remember the Vietnam War years, when the political system seemed equally unresponsive and lethargic.  Johnson’s awful televised speeches, the continual stupid bantering in the Congress, the Nixon campaign, and the five more Nixon years of death and destruction before we finally pulled out.  And there never was a consensus in our country, despite the 50,000 U.S. deaths, 2 million Vietnamese deaths, and the draft.  Incredibly, even with perfect hindsight, there is still no consensus on whether the Vietnam War was right or wrong; I continually meet people who still claim that we were wrong to cut and run in Vietnam!  So why would we expect any kind of clear political direction from politicians today?
My observations are not in any way intended to suggest that we should not work harder than ever for peace.  However, we need to be realistic about how difficult it is to convince the ignorant and preoccupied (with whatever) American public that they need to take an active interest in what their government is doing.

Kucinich for president and Scott Ritter as his vice-president….great combo!

Together they can kick butt and get us back on track to truly deserve to be the leader of the FREE world!