Greens for Kucinich
by
Josh Frank
Dissident Voice
February 21, 2003
Ohio
Representative Dennis Kucinich on Monday (Februrary 17th) tossed his hat in the
ring, announcing his bid to seek the Democratic nomination for President in
‘04. Co-chair of the Progressive
Caucus, Kucinich has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration’s
reactions to September 11th, the dismantling of our civil liberties under the
USA Patriot Act, and the pending attack on Iraq.
Rep. Kucinich has also been
a strong voice against Free Trade, opposing Fast Track legislation in 1997 and
’98, as well as 2002. His support among
unions and environmentalists are strong in his Cleveland Ohio district, and his
environmental voting record is credible, garnering praise from Public Citizen
and the League of Conservation Voters, among others. His food labeling efforts
are one of a kind as well-- even Ralph Nader has spoken highly of Dennis.
For progressives that have
followed Kucinich over the years, he has been on the better side of most issues
pertinent to our causes, but Dennis surely isn’t perfect. The lingering pro-life stance Dennis has
taken in the past yields much criticism from feminist organizations and other
pro-choice advocates. His opposition to
partial birth abortions and his vote against Medicaid funding for the procedure
have stirred quite a few controversies.
The likelihood he will be
able to overcome his choice record is grim, but we’ll see if the anti-war
movement can get behind him enough to stir the Dems in these early primary
days.
But come election time, if
nominated, Kucinich may not be the only peace candidate in the hunt. Ralph
Nader and Medea Benjamin of Global Exchange have been rumored to be seeking the
Green Party’s nomination- and both would bring hefty anti-war stances. Right swinging
Reform Party Patrick Buchanan is also anti-war, but few progressives would
label Pat pro-peace. The political
climate may be quite different during election season, especially if the Iraq
ordeal gets messy. If Kucinich can
hurdle his anti-choice record, Greens, and past Nader supporters will surely be
tested as to whom they should support.
Iraq is almost a go,
mid-March may be Bush’s breaking point, a couple weeks after the US and Britain
propose their new Resolution to the UN, authorizing their nasty attack on
Baghdad. Getting behind Kucinich now is
essential, and may help his grim chances of becoming a viable candidate for the
Dem’s nomination. Putting our Party
affiliations aside, anti-war voters should support the only true current
anti-war candidate in the race, and its Dennis.
For those skeptical
pro-choicers I say this-- Kucinich is unlikely to nominate or attempt to
dismantle current “right to choose” laws that are now in place. He is also likely to nominate liberal
justices if he were to be President- probably pro-choice judges. Also feminists
should not forget the great impact our free-trade agreements have on poor
working women all over the globe- these are feminist issues too, ones Kucinich
sides with us on.
But the real debate among
those that oppose attacking Iraq is- who in Washington can we get on our
side? Who among the decision makers can
we get on our side? Right now Dennis
Kucinich is our best hope for ‘04. If
he fails to get the Democratic nomination, like many expect, then that’s when
we should throw our energy behind the next candidate with strong
anti-war-anti-Dubya fervor. No other
Dems got it like Kucinich - and Nader ain’t runnin yet. It may change, but right now he’s all we
got.
Visit Dennis’s site - even
if you aren’t registered Dem - you can still support
him: www.kucinich.net
Josh Frank is
a writer living in Portland, Oregon. He can be reached at: frank_joshua@hotmail.com