Kucinich Rocks the Boat

[Guest guest]

>This is very interesting, that Kucinich of Ohio (a macrobiotic vegetarian)

>took the lead in Congress on this one, and the reception that he has gotten

>for his speech.

>

>Nina

>

>The Nation | March 25, 2002

>

>Kucinich Rocks the Boat

>Dennis Kucinich never doubted that millions of Americans had deep concerns

>about George W. Bush's ever-expanding war on ill-defined foes abroad and on

>civil liberties at home. But the Congressional Progressive Caucus chair

>admits he underestimated the depth of the discomfort until February 17, when

>he delivered a speech to the Southern California Americans for Democratic

>Action, in which he declared, " Let us pray that our country will stop this

>war. "

>

>Recalling the Congressional vote authorizing the President's response to the

>September 11 terrorist attacks--a resolution supported by Kucinich and all

>but one member of Congress, California Democrat Barbara Lee--the Ohioan

>thundered, " We did not authorize an eye for an eye. Nor did we ask that the

>blood of innocent people, who perished on September 11, be avenged with the

>blood of innocent villagers in Afghanistan. We did not authorize the

>Administration to wage war anytime, anywhere, anyhow it pleases. We did not

>authorize war without end. We did not authorize a permanent war economy. Yet

>we are upon the threshold of a permanent war economy. "

>

>Kucinich's " Prayer for America " speech was interrupted by repeated standing

>ovations. But the real measure of the message's resonance came as the text

>of the speech circulated on the Internet--where a genuine worldwide web of

>opposition to the Administration's actions led to the posting of Kucinich's

>words on websites (including www.thenation.com) and dispatched them via

>e-mail. Within days, Kucinich received 10,000-plus e-mails. Many echoed New

>Jerseyan Thomas Minet's sentiments: " Since the 'Axis of Evil' State of the

>Union Address, I have been searching like Diogenes with his lantern for one

>honest person in Congress who would have the guts to speak out about the

>attack on Democracy being mounted by the Bush Administration. It has been a

>frustrating search indeed, and I was just about ready to give up hope when I

>ran across 'A Prayer for America.' Thank God for this man's courage. " Others

>simply read, " Kucinich for President. "

>

>For Kucinich, a former Cleveland mayor who led Democratic opposition to the

>US bombing of Yugoslavia and proposed establishing a Cabinet-level

>Department of Peace, speaking out against military adventuring is not new.

>But he says he's never experienced so immediate and enthusiastic a response.

> " We can't print out the messages as fast as we are receiving them, " he says.

> " But I've read through a lot of them now, and they touch on the same themes:

>The Administration's actions are no longer appropriate, and it is time for

>Congress to start asking questions. The people understand something most of

>Congress does not: There is nothing unpatriotic about challenging this

>Administration's policies. "

>

>Kucinich was not the first Congressmember to express concern about Bush's

>plans. Lee cast her cautionary vote in September. In October, responding to

>reports of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, Representative Jim McDermott

>criticized the speed with which the Administration had taken military action

>and the failure of the White House to adequately consult Congress. In

>December, Kucinich, McDermott and Lee joined five other House Democrats in

>signing a letter to Bush, written by Representative Tammy Baldwin, which

>noted, " We are concerned by those in your Administration and among our own

>ranks in the Congress who appear to be making the case for broad expansion

>of this military campaign beyond Afghanistan. Without presenting clear and

>compelling evidence that other nations were involved in the September 11

>attacks, it is inappropriate to expand the conflict. " Another letter, by

>Representative Peter DeFazio, called on the White House to comply with the

>War Powers Resolution before expanding the war. In February Senator Robert

>Byrd said that Congress should no longer hand the President a " blank check. "

>Senate majority leader Tom Daschle suggested the war " will have failed "

>without the capture of Osama bin Laden--a statement rebuked by Republicans,

>who want no measure of success or failure applied to this war.

>

>But Kucinich's speech was a clarion call. " For most people, Kucinich's

>speech represents the clearest Congressional criticism they have heard about

>the conduct of the war, and of the Administration's plans to expand it.

>That's enormously significant, " said Midge Miller, who helped launch Senator

>Eugene McCarthy's antiwar challenge to President Lyndon Johnson in 1967.

> " Citizens look for Congressional opposition to organize around--they look

>for leaders to say something. When I read Kucinich's speech, I thought, This

>could be a turning point. "

>

>It has certainly been a turning point for Kucinich. Overwhelmed by

>invitations to speak, he says his top priority will be to work with Baldwin

>and others to encourage a broader Congressional debate over international

>priorities, Pentagon spending and the stifling of dissent. Expect battles in

>the House Democratic Caucus, where minority leader Dick Gephardt has been

>more cautious than Daschle about criticizing Bush. But Kucinich thinks more

>Democrats will begin to echo Senator Byrd's challenge to blank-check

>military spending in a time of tight budgets. Kucinich plans to encourage

>grassroots activists to tell members of Congress it is not merely necessary

>but politically safe to challenge " the Patriot Games, the Mind Games, the

>War Games of an unelected President and his unelected Vice President. "

>

>Kucinich, whose working-class district elected a conservative Republican

>before him, is confident Democrats from even the most competitive districts

>can safely join him in questioning the war. " The key, " he says, " is to

>recognize that there is a great deal of unity in America around some basic

>values: peace and security, protection of the planet, a good quality of life

>for themselves and for others. When people express their patriotism, they

>are not saying--as some would suggest--that they no longer believe in these

>things. There's nothing unpatriotic about asserting human values and

>defending democratic principles. A lot of Americans are telling me this is

>the highest form of patriotism. "

>

>JOHN NICHOLS

>http://www.thenation.com/docPrint.mhtml?i=20020325 & s=nichols