DEPARTMENTS
ANTI-WAR
DEATH PENALTY
ELECTIONS
ENVIRONMENT
GLBT ISSUES
HEMP
INTERNATIONAL
NATIONAL
REVIEWS
|
Departments Election Issues I'll Follow Kucinich to Kerry, Sorry Ralph I expect in fact that Dennis will not need to tie himself in knots or reverse any positions. Understanding this helps me to accomplish something I find extremely difficult – sympathizing with John Kerry. A year ago I would not have lifted a finger to help Kerry's campaign. I did, however, quit my job to become Kucinich's press secretary, a position I quit in February. I was attracted to Kucinich's campaign by a platform that does not at first seem to have much overlap with Kerry's. Our biggest plank was a plan to end the occupation in 90 days. The two positions that Dennis stressed most frequently after that one were creating single-payer health care and withdrawing from NAFTA and the WTO. Some other key proposals not supported by Kerry were repealing the "Patriot Act", creating free preschool and college, guaranteeing full Social Security benefits at age 65, substantially reforming our tax laws to lower most Americans' taxes, developing a WPA-type jobs program, creating a department of peace, and cutting the Pentagon's budget. On every one of these points, Kerry has a position distant from Kucinich's but also – and more importantly at this stage – distant from Bush's. Kerry favors rebuilding alliances with other countries and abandoning the doctrine of "preemption." Kerry does not support the use of torture and has not begun hinting at which country he'd like to attack next. Kerry has a plan that at least for the short term would provide many more Americans with health coverage, rather than fewer. Kerry proposes to improve rather than worsen our trade laws, to restrict rather than expand the rights violations permitted under the "Patriot Act," and to fund public education far more substantially than Bush while opposing vouchers. Kerry wants to give free college in exchange for two years of national service, to protect Social Security from privatization, to repeal Bush's tax cuts on the super rich, to invest in infrastructure, and to refrain from further increasing the bloated military budget while redirecting portions of it to the needs of soldiers and veterans rather than non-functioning weapons systems. Then there are the issues on which Kucinich and Kerry come close to agreeing: women's rights, workers' rights, environmental protections. In each case, Kerry's positions are much closer to Kucinich's than to Bush's. Kucinich committed to not nominating any Supreme Court justice who would not promise to uphold Roe v. Wade. Kerry is very likely to follow through on that promise without ever stating it. Kucinich would join the Kyoto climate change treaty. Kerry might, which is much more than can be said for Bush. Kerry would devote at least a Carter-sized effort to conversion to renewable energy, and he would – as he accurately puts it – "repeal the Bush environmental onslaught." Kucinich would expand workers' rights by repealing the Taft-Hartley Act, but Kerry, in stark contrast to Bush, would work to protect the right to organize and support the use of card-check. Kerry is a cosponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act. Kerry's positions are light years ahead of Bush's on immigrants' rights, veterans' rights, and gun control. While he won't support same-sex marriage, he will support civil unions. And one can picture him eventually coming all the way around on that issue under pressure, as one cannot with Bush. Kerry sees affordable housing as a problem to be addressed. Bush does not. Kerry would reduce the use of the death penalty, not expand it. And on and on. The choice between Bush and Kerry is like night and day. And I believe that Dennis will be able to say so. I even believe he'll be able to say so with his usual passion. He is likely, as usual, to generate tremendous applause and to go unmentioned in most of Thursday's media. It's the story of his campaign. And that applause will not come because convention delegates are out of touch with the mainstream. Don't believe the hype! These are Kerry's delegates. These are typical Democrats who in many cases voted for the candidate they were told had "electability" and "momentum". Applauding is not yet controlled by those factors to the extent that voting is. The few media outlets that do cover Kucinich's speech will likely accuse him of contradicting himself. To some extent he may be doing so. To some extend Kerry has been doing so ever since he discovered that illegal wars and attacks on the Bill of Rights are not popular. But, as Walt Whitman would have pointed out, what counts as a contradiction is not black and white. Do I contradict myself? Very well, but at least I am lessening the chances of world destruction during the next four years. How can I justify not supporting Nader? His positions are more to my liking and in my opinion more likely to win wide support. But those positions are only likely to win an election if backed by a major party – which is why I supported Kucinich in the first place. If you backed Kucinich in the primaries and now insist on backing Nader in a state that's fairly certainly decided, I won't argue with you too much. But please consider the need to devote our energies to turning out votes in swing states for Kerry in order to be rid of Bush. I do think of it as voting against Bush rather than for Kerry. The endless convention speeches bragging about Kerry's exploits in a war that killed countless Vietnamese almost bring me to tears. Kerry's stubborn refusal to oppose the Iraq war, even at the serious risk of losing the election, strikes me as perverse. And yet, I will dance and sing when Kerry defeats Bush and the Supreme Court steps aside to let the results stick. Think what a Supreme Court we'll have for the next generation if Kerry loses or has the election stolen. We'll have to get through a Kerry-Bush debate or two between now and November -- and a few months of media. It won't be pretty. On the Charlie Rose Show Monday night, the host asked Newsweek's editor in charge of Democratic convention coverage what five questions he would be trying to answer in Boston. When he'd responded, Rose had the decency to point out that four of the five questions were about Bush. The media, having already given more than enough fair and balanced coverage to substantial issues, are not just focused on the convention and who may be upstaging whom. They are also busy hyping an internet animation, a remake of "This Land is Your Land" on a site called JibJab. The animation, just like most news talk shows, ridicules politics and seems aimed at lowering voter turnout. The animation repeats various media-generated myths: for example, suggesting that Bush comes from a less affluent background than Kerry. In fact, it's not clear what this animation does that's different, except in style, from what Ted Koppel or Bill O'Reilly does. The media are enthralled with this thing. Here's what the New York Times says: "It was not supposed to be that way, but the tone of political discourse on the Web is often intensely partisan. After all, the Internet can be a medium of infinite narrowness, where the like-minded can visit the same Web sites, blogs and mailing lists, confirming their shared beliefs and prejudices. But in a refreshing break with form, one of the big new hits on the Web is a silly, two-minute satire of the current Republican-Democrat bun fight, starring President Bush and Senator John Kerry as animated cutout figures." Get it? Partisanship is bad. Disparaging both sides evenly, whether the facts merit it or not, is good. Is it a wonder we "elect" a fascistic freak and half the country still may not vote while others will waste their votes on hopeless candidates? Seriously, how does JibJab's song differ in approach from that newspaper in Appleton, Wisc., requesting pro-Bush letters from its readers in order to create "balance" with all the anti-Bush mail that keeps pouring in? Silly me. I should have thought that political engagement by democratic citizens, i.e. partisanship, was exactly what this country was running dangerously low on. I should have thought the high level of energy coming out of the convention, despite the fact that it's completely scripted, was a hopeful sign for our democracy. David Swanson's website is http://www.davidswanson.org. |
|
Recent Election Issues Articles Ohio's official non-recount ends amidst new evidence of fraud, theft and judicial contempt mirrored in New Mexico Impossible Phantom Votes in New Mexico
The 2004 Presidential Election: Who Won The Popular Vote? An Examination of the Comparative Validity of Exit Poll and Vote Count Data Ohio GOP election officials ducking notices of deposition as Kerry enters stolen vote fray Another third rate burglary Hacking the vote in Miami County Update from the Ohio Frontlines Lawsuit Before the Ohio Supreme Court Kerry votes switched to Bush and ballots pre-punched for Bush Uncounted votes in Cuyahoga County Provisional ballots in Cuyahoga County Uncounted votes in Summit County Uncounted votes in Hamilton County Default settings in Mahoning County Ohio electoral fight becomes 'biggest deal since Selma' as GOP stonewalls Observations from an election observer TV Networks Officially Refuse to Release Exit Poll Raw Data; Mainstream media finally displays true colors Election results in Southwestern Ohio Voting Rights Groups 'Block' Talk of Machine-Free Elections Statistics from Warren County The greatest story never told The United States of Ukraine?: Exit Polls Leave Little Doubt that in a Free and Fair Election John Kerry Would Have Won both the Electoral College and the Popular Vote Certifiable election results Sinclair Broadcasting's Long History of Journalistic and Corporate Deception Ohio vote count battles escalate amidst new evidence of potential criminal activity American democracy hangs by a thread in Ohio Startling new revelations highlight rare Congressional hearings on Ohio vote New Ohio voter transcripts The One-Two Punch of Racism: Whitewashing the Voter Fraud Issue Rigging the vote in Lucas County
Uncounted votes in Montgomery County Why history demands an Ohio revote Ohio election fraud uproar blasting to new level Dirty work at the Philly polls Voter Suppression: STEALING VOTES IN OHIO URBAN AREAS (full documentation) In Ohio 2004, it's the People versus the Party of Hate & Terror and the Party of Duck and Run...but will the Democrats now stand and fight? Warren County, Ohio: most successful voter registration drive in American political history, or stuffing the ballot box Jesse Jackson demands Ohio presidential recount, blasts GOP election officials, and says Kerry supports the process Kerry Supports Ohio Vote Investigation, Jackson says Hope for the Homestretch Favoritism in the suburbs New Ohio voter transcripts feed floodtide of doubt about Republican election manipulation Election officials gave wrong information about provisional ballots - revealed in affidavit. US tells Ukraine to recount votes on fradulent election! Not counting the votes Stealing votes in Columbus Making every vote count How a Republican election supervisor manipulated the 2004 central Ohio vote, in black and white More Ohio voter suppression testimony prompts upcoming legal filing for statewide recount Ohio Presidential Results to be Challenged Franklin County, Ohio voting machine assignments, and other information Coalition's Support of Voting Machines Causes Confusion
Hearings on Ohio voting put 2004 election in doubt Closing the Circle: The Corporatization of Elections Subordinating nation's secular values to zealots' will The Public Hearings and Rally About Election Fraud in Columbus, OH this weekend, Sat. 11/13-Please pass widely! Slip-sliding away in Columbus Green and Libertarian Presidential Candidates to Demand Ohio Recount An End To Mourning November 3rd action The Bible, The Constitution, and the James Carville Experiment Basic report from Columbus Waiting to vote Confessions of a political Know-Nothing in the wake of the 2004 elections Let the spin begin Back Stabbers Cost Kerry in Ohio! The Last Battle Republican America! Republican Forever! Is there inner-city election suppression in Franklin County, Ohio? Michael Moore in Columbus No love in the Heartland: Kerry gets mocked in Pa. school election Ten reasons for Greens to vote for Kerry Twelve ways Bush is now stealing the Ohio vote GW Bush Before the Iraq War
MISOGYNY Foreign Policy Forecast: If Bush Wins | If Kerry Wins Hope for the homestretch FactCheck.org says Cheney got it wrong Do the Hokey Pokey Hope for the homestretch Addressing Republican issues with John Kerry Gallup Polls- Conditioning for Vote Rigging? Too Many Cameras and Not Enough Truth: John Kerry Dodges the Press Nader 2000 Leaders United To Defeat Bush Shut up and color: the politics of bullying Kerry, Nader and the Greens need to kill the circular firing squad Don’t Believe the Hype; Terrorist Warnings Just Another Way Bush Will Steal Election President of Greater Stark County AFL-CIO speaks out on Bush’s visit in Canton, Ohio I'll Follow Kucinich to Kerry, Sorry Ralph Badnarik Doubles in Recent National Poll ‘A green world is possible’ planned in New York City during the Republican National Convention An open letter to progressives: vote Kerry and Cobb A street fighting man? How Kucinich can win Scary, Scary John Kerry With all deliberate stupidity: US self-isolation makes Iraq a virtual non-issue in the elections so far To support or not to support; the Nader question Halliburton, VP Cheney's Former Company Faces Second Criminal Probe In Four Years The Lone Ranger of Righteousness The Wrong Side of History High Noon in America The Truth is Out: Kucinich is the choice of progressives Dean and Kucinich Bush Should Be Facing 'A Long, Hard Slog' On The Campaign Trail, But Dems Too Busy Fighting With Each Other Read Election Issues Articles by Year: |
FREE PRESS EMAIL UPDATE
Donate to the Free Press Election Protection Fund to help us investigate and monitor election fraud in this year's election.
FOLLOW US ON
twitter
facebook
SEARCH THE FREEPRESS
1021 E. Broad St. Columbus, OH 43205 | 614.253.2571 | truth@freepress.org
All content © 1970-2012 The Columbus Free Press
Disclaimer