October 22, 2007

 

DK for DFA

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The progressive political action committee (PAC) Democracy for America (DFA), founded by Howard Dean (HD) in 2004, is holding a Presidential Primary Pulse Poll (PPPP) to decide which candidate deserves their support. I voted for Representative Dennis Kucinich (DK), the only candidate who aligns 100 percent with my political views on 11 major issues: Iraq, Immigration, Taxes, Stem-Cell Research, Health Care, Abortion, Social Security, Presidential Line-Item Veto, Energy, Same-Sex Marriage and the Death Penalty. You can take the same poll I did to determine how the candidates align with you (an O' Tip to Kelso's Nuts, who love us).

FWIW, on my list below DK was Sen. Chris Dodd, with whom I disagree on Iraq and Immigration. The next five candidates, all Democrats (duh), were tied according to the poll's scoring, but as the disagreement issues varied widely I'd place them thusly: former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel (endorsed by Ralph Nader, for whom I voted in 2000), New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former U.S. Senator John Edwards, Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barak Obama. At the bottom of the list of Dems is Senator Joe Biden.

I was surprised to see that next in line, starting off the Republicans on my list (as if this matters in the slightest, but humor me), is Mr. 9-11 himself, Rudy Guiliani, and with a poll score identical to Biden's no less. Ron Paul holds second place alone among the Repubs, with Mitt Romney a distant third. Fourth place is held in tie by Jim Gilmore and Sam Brownback, while the basement party is attended with equal fervor by John McCain, Duncan Hunter and Mike Huckabee. Call Ripley's, because I actually agree with those last three on one different issue each.

Back to DFA, so far I have only seen the first three pitches of candidates Kucinich, Edwards and Obama, and I see something kind of interesting. DK's letter to DFA members imploring them to support him in the poll runs in right at 1300 words. Not a taciturn fellow, and I will offer some highlights from his concise address in a sec. By contrast, Edwards' plea was just over 700 words while Obama didn't even log half of that. I've already heard my man so technically what the the rest of the pack has to say is moot but I look forward to seeing how seriously (or not) they consider this.

Okay, KUCINICH HIGHLIGHTS (with various emphasis added by moi):
"I know that many of you agree with me that half measures, compromises, misguided thinking and hollow rhetoric are not the answers. They are symptomatic of the problems, and, to a regrettable extent, the causes of the problems. That's why we are in a war, and why we're moving ever closer to another. That's why our Constitutional rights and protections are being violated every day. Why 47 millions Americans are uninsured and another 50 million are under-insured. Why millions of American jobs have been outsourced."

"I am the only Democratic presidential candidate who campaigned against and voted against the war authorization resolution in 2002 and every supplemental appropriation since..."

"Five years ago, I presented evidence to my colleagues in the House and Senate based on my own intelligence analysis which showed that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction and was not a direct threat to the U.S. or our allies. I rallied more than 120 members to vote against the authorization. The defense offered by other candidates - 'If I knew then what I know now' - is a feeble excuse for making the wrong decision when it mattered most to make the right decision. Many of us did know then because we weren't tricked or bullied by the White House. We knew it was wrong, and we knew the consequences. But what makes the newfound anti-war claims of some other candidates even more indefensible is that they voted to continue funding the war, year after year, at least until their Presidential campaigns began."

"Right now the Congressional leadership is unwilling to challenge the President. My plan, embodied in HR 1234, would end the war, end the occupation, establish an international security and peacekeeping force, begin the process of reconciliation, and provide the kind of support needed for reconstruction. My target is not 2013. My target is three months after taking office. In the meantime, we in the Congress, with your support, must use every means at our disposal to stop the White House from launching a new war on Iran with the same flimsy, deceptive and outright fraudulent claims it used five years ago."

"I am the only Democrat running for President who voted against the unconstitutional and illegal U.S.A Patriot Act. The other candidates were wrong then, and various federal court rulings have made that abundantly clear. We can't condone the shredding of our Constitution in the name of 'national security.' And we can't support leaders, candidates or policies that do."

"I am the only Presidential candidate who supports a truly universal, single-payer, not-for-profit health care system to cover all Americans. Every other plan preserves, and in some cases, enhances the role of private, for-profit insurance companies that make their billions by not providing coverage. Forcing Americans to buy private insurance denies the moral obligation of this nation to provide coverage for its citizens. Any scheme that provides subsidies or other financial incentives to for-profit providers to make coverage less expensive or more accessible is just that: a scheme. It further enriches the insurers, at taxpayers' expense, and would still not guarantee full coverage or universal availability. Michael Moore has endorsed my health care plan (HR 676), as have thousands of physicians, nurses, and labor union members. It's time to catch up to the rest of the industrialized nations and declare that health care is a right, not a commodity that some people can afford and others can't."

"I am only the presidential candidate willing to demand the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney. This President and this Vice President have committed serious crimes worthy of impeachment. This it not a personal attack against the Vice President. It is about the sanctity of the Constitution. This democracy must be protected against leaders who have no regard for the Constitution or the rule of law. The mechanism for taking action against such leaders is impeachment. We, the people, have not only the right but the obligation to stop this. HR 333, which I introduced, is the appropriate recourse under the law to hold those leaders accountable and answerable."

"My candidacy for President of the United States is about who we are as Americans. It is about who we are as Democrats. It is about who we are as progressives. There are clear distinctions between my friends in this race and me -- major differences on every issue of importance to me and to you. I stand proudly for my core beliefs. Only if you and others with the courage to hold the Party and its candidates accountable will we be able to make progress on a real agenda for real change in this nation. And by doing what's right, all of us together, we can send a proud and powerful message that we know what - and who - is wrong. And, very simply, we've had enough."


So there you have it. If you are inclined to jump on DK's DFA bandwagon you can go cast your vote HERE. If you are inclined to jump on DK's campaign bus you can go HERE. And please, no comments about jumping on DK's wife.

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Comments:
Very interesting poll. Granted I'm not a US citizen but I take enough of an interest to be au fait with all of those issues, and Kucinich wins by the length of the street with me as well.

He's been proven 100% correct (and correct first time) on a couple of really BIG issues of late, so it would be a real shame if he didn't gain any political reward for his wisdom.

A lot of experts say that most politicians in the US are more rightwing than the general population (or rather, the general population is more liberal than their leaders), so I reckon that the more people who take that poll, the better.
 
"so it would be a real shame if he didn't gain any political reward for his wisdom."

Umm, we don't work that way.


O'Tim - did and done.
 
he's got my vote.
 
Bah! I jumped on that bandwagon ages ago. You are so behind! :)

DK rocks my socks, and I don't care how big his ears look. I refuse to listen to the "He's not electable! Don't throw away your vote!" crap being spewed by the others. He'd be electable if people would stick to their principles and not vote for the person with the biggest war chest. I am so done with the current class of Dems, ya know? DK stands by what he says, has principles (?) and isn't afraid to veer off the script his handlers decided for him (based on polls and research...C'mon, Hillary! We're real people out here, chick!). That's better than electable in my opinion.

Oh, and I'd chop off my own fingers before I'd vote for either Clinton or Obama. Just sayin'.
 
I'm quite similar to you, O'T -- Kucinich is at the top, aligning with all but 1 issue for me (death penalty). He's followed by, in order, Richardson, Edwards, Obama, Clinton, Dodd, Gravel and Biden. And then, yes, Giuliani, with whom I apparently agree on everything but Iraq, taxes, health care and social security.

I'll be supporting Kucinich in the primary for certain. Beyond that, I'll vote for whatever Democratic candidate we have. I've never taken that hard-line of an approach before, but my lowest-scoring Democrat, Biden, still scored four points higher than my highest-scoring Republican.
 
I took the same poll a couple nights ago and got the exact same result. Still big time for Special K, but a new found respect for Dodd, too. Jesus' General has endorsed Dodd, fwiw.
 
DK is my computer-date as well. Unfortunately, not being registered as a Dem, I can't vote for him in the primaries. But if I were registered, he might have gotten my vote if only because of his smoking hot wife.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my city is on fire.

Ook ook
 
Sakes! The choir is in forceful unison today!

Cheezy said - A lot of experts say that most politicians in the US are more rightwing than the general population (or rather, the general population is more liberal than their leaders), so I reckon that the more people who take that poll, the better. - That's an interesting take I've not heard before. My inexpert inclinations led me to believe that as national elections go, a slim majority of the U.S. votes for conservatives because they're much less nuanced on the issues (the "drinkin' buddy" vote).

Joe said - Umm, we don't work that way. - Which is exactly why it will take a committed grass roots movement to make any difference in our electoral system, which we are in sore need of regardless of "electability." That said, I am planning on doing what I can for DK's campaign, even here in the chilly south. I voted for DK in the 2004 primary, and when I checked our local precinct results he had two votes (and one was not my wife the communist).

Annie said - he's got my vote. - You didn't have to say a word, girl ;)

JJ said - He'd be electable if people would stick to their principles and not vote for the person with the biggest war chest. - See comment to Joe above. As for DK (I am so NOT late!) Principles, integrity, brains, fearlessness - check. War chest - hmmm, maybe he should go with peace chest.

Jefe said - my lowest-scoring Democrat, Biden, still scored four points higher than my highest-scoring Republican. - I don't know how scientific this poll is, but it surprised me that Rudy scored the same as Biden.

Blue Gal - I put Dodd as my second choice in the DFA poll even before I took the issues poll. I like him despite his equivocation on impeachment, which unfortunately seems to be pretty low on everybody but DK's list.

Fez - So, based on wifely hotness, your evil Repug side would vote for Fred Thompson (aka Frankenberry)?
 
O'Tim, I was trying to think of where I read that theory (of the general population in the States being more liberal than their leaders) and I think it was in 'Stupid White Men'... Anyway, here's a Michael Moore quote (from a speech in 2002) that asserts this idea:

"We live in a very liberal, progressive country. Those words are never said. You've never heard that spoken probably – we live in a liberal country. All we hear is, We live in a country that's right of center, it's more conservative, and we have a lot of examples of a lot of rednecks doing a lot of horrible things. But the truth is, if you look at any poll, back when they took polls before our freedoms were reduced and you weren't afraid to answer the pollster, last Labor Day 58 percent of the American public said they support labor unions. They're pro-labor even though only 12 percent belong to one. Fifty-eight percent say labor unions are a good idea. We should take heart in that. Eighty-three percent say they are pro-environment and if asked the question are willing to give something up to protect the environment. Eighty-five percent consider themselves pro-women's rights, that women should be paid the same as men. Sixty-three percent now call themselves pro-choice. Did you ever think you'd live to see that day? On every single issue, other than the death penalty, the American public is very liberal. On the death penalty it's gone from 75 percent support down to 57 percent; it's dropped by almost 20 percentage points. This is what you have to understand about what's really good about your fellow Americans who don't live here, who live out there. They have a good heart. They don't define themselves politically – liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican. They have a good heart and a good soul and a conscience."

http://www.commonwealthclub.org/archive/02/02-03moore-speech.html

I'm sure I've read other liberal writers claim that more people think 'their way' than you'd believe, just going by what the media reports. I'd be interested in hearing what you think about this.
 
Well, I thought I voted for him. It is so sad that this communist cannot remember who she voted for in that primary.
 
This is the second time I took the poll, and I have different results this time, but Thompson is still my bottom candidate all around (and Romney is close in that basement.)

My tops are all Dems, too.
 
Very interesting. I had Giuliani at the top, followed by Kucinich, after whom Edwards and Romney tied for third. Ron Paul was further down than I expected, while Mike Huckabee landed at the bottom. What the hell does all that MEAN?
 
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