Americans acknowledge "The sky is falling." We, the people must unite and take our country back. Democrats must choose the most desirable candidate. The best candidate is defined as the one who can win the White House. The Top Three are fine; perhaps, not as good as, they could be, but they will do the job. Dennis Kucinich, for many is ideal. His proposals are well thought out and he fully addresses the issues that affect the common folk. However, Americans hear at every turn, Dennis Kucinich does not have a chance.
Presidential aspirant Kucinich was excluded from the American Association for Retired Persons [AARP] debate in the Hawkeye State. In Granite country, ABC News declared Dennis Kucinich would be barred from the dialogue. Silver State voters were not able to see the profound Presidential hopeful on stage. He was relegated to the streets allowed to speak only to the neon lights. The Palmetto State decreed, "Dennis, this is not your kingdom." Indeed, you are locked out in this land of liberty. Now, Texas tells its tall tale. Dennis Kucinich will not be the hero in the Lone Star State.
The consensus amongst those whose capital counts votes is, it is important to win the White House. Dennis Kucinich and his supporters only slow the process. Actually, they threaten the comfort that is the status quo. While many Progressives hesitantly accept this may be true,; nonetheless, these Democrats who seek change state, we must do as we have done before. We need to unite behind a single candidate, two, or three. Choose from those who have a chance to "beat" the brutal Republicans, and then, once the field is narrowed, all Democrats must vote for the nominee.
After all, there is war in the Middle East. Iraq and Afghanistan have been torn asunder. Iran may be next. Israel is unstable. North Korea is a concern. We must not forget Lebanon, and our own shores. No one is safe or secure.
Here at home, the Health Care system is in shambles. Jobs have gone aboard. The stock market is down. Morale is low. The economy is in the tank. Fuel costs are high, as is rage among the American populace. It is time for a change. Democrats need to take the country back if we are to survive. If the Republicans "win" the White House, the average American will be locked out. The people cannot be treated as Dennis Kucinich has been.
Kucinich supporters must face the facts. Come in from the cold. Forget their commitment to principles that honor all people equally. Those devoted to the common cause must be sensible. If the Democrats are to triumph, every Progressive must accept that America may be at war in Iraq through at least 2013. If those on the Left wish to be victorious we must follow the Clinton, Obama, or even Edwards lead. If that means more troops are sent to Afghanistan, so be it. We Liberals have to submit to the notion that a Single Payer, Not For Profit Heath Care plan will not be in our future. If Insurers and Pharmaceuticals still decide for us, oh well. At least a Democrat will be in the Oval Office,
Remember the math, 1+1=2. Facts are facts. Philosophical arguments are useless; they are merely a waste of time. If you vote for potential President Dennis Kucinich, you just throw away your ballot, and forfeit our chance to win. Hence, Progressives, Liberal, Democrats unite.
Each day, as Elections approach, Democratic Americans join arms. In Iowa, citizens held hands as they caucused. In New Hampshire, constituents came together to cast their ballots. Nevada and Michigan residents had their turn. Voters determined who might represent them. In South Carolina Republicans rekindled their zeal for democracy. Days from now, Democrats will do the same in that southern region.
Throughout the territory, Americans take advantage of every opportunity to be informed. Inhabitants in the first primary States became personally acquainted with the aspirants. In every locale people sit around television sets and watch the Presidential hopefuls debate. The populace truly makes an informed decision, or so we are lead to believe. Yet, in a nation where corporate moguls with mountains of money own the airwaves, and the companies that supply our medical, mechanical, and mundane needs dictate what is advisable, the people do not have the freedoms they could have.
Americans know this. Common folks understand all too well, we do not have access to information. Americans remember the false intelligence that led us into the Iraq War. Each of us recalls the atrocities hidden from view. The body bags flown into Dover Air Force Base in the dead of night were sadly not a dream. The Human Rights violations witnessed belatedly through photographs too long suppressed, from Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prison were a glimpse into stark reality of what is.
The people speak out; yet, they remain silenced, and powerless. In part, as Americans we have learned to accept that we alone can do little. We are convinced not to vote for our convictions, but to cast a ballot for the presumed electable, corporate determined, candidate.
There is reason to believe that there is strength in numbers, and there is. However, if we consider the large numbers of us who do not follow the wisdom within, our perspective changes. When one-by-one we relent, and become part of the mass movement, then we as a whole settle for less than what might have been. When the Party nominee is the person, who from the first, we fully endorse, whose proposed policies we truly support, then there is no problem. We can follow the lead of our allegiance.
However, when the person who best represents our authentic principles, from the beginning has been locked out, and declared "not viable," when that individual is unknown to most Americans, and is not placed on many a ballot, we must decide whether we will submit, and settle for what is available to us.
Many ask Kucinich supporters not to vote for principles, for a person emblematic of all that they value. Those who wish to see Dennis Kucinich in the Oval Office on January 20, 2009, are told to endorse a chosen candidate, one the Party leaders, and the media deem electable.
Liberal Progressives receive requests, "Ignore the fact that Big Three are each tied to profiteers." We can only expect so much. If we are to be good Democrats, we must make sure that Republicans do not take office. That is of utmost importance. It matters not that the Party's, neither of them, act in the interest of the average Joe or Joanne.
Sure, they say . . . "A national Single Payer, Not for Profit Health care would be nice. An immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq would be welcome. No war with Iran, ah, but to hope. The promise of a repeal of the Patriot Act and the restoration of civil liberties . . .Well, we can only imagine. To think the United States might cancel the North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA] and the rebuild the auto, steel, aerospace, shipping, and manufacturing industries . . . dare we dream. Could we possibly initiate carbon-free and nuclear-free energy policies. One can only wonder."
Those who believe that what we conceive, we can achieve know that with Dennis Kucinich, in the White House all this would be possible.
Yet, supporters, such as I, feel as a lone Chicken Little the smallest voice among the dissenters. I cry in fear as do my fellow Democrats, "The sky is falling. The sky is falling." Progressives say they have heard that before and while they believe it to be true, an umbrella will protect them. I think not.
For me, a small cloth collapsible canopy made of thin fabric will not shield me from harm. I have tried to safeguard my brethren and myself for years. Many of my ballots were parachutes intended to slow the fall. However, none truly did a adequate job. The wind and watershed of the wealthy who control the economy and the agenda always had their way.
My lovable eighty-nine year young cousin mused aloud of his near century of votes. He reflected, throughout his adult life only once has he voted for a Presidential candidate who spoke to his ethics, beliefs, and humane principles. In his days as a voter, he did as people have done. He cast a ballot against the Presidential candidate he thought worse for the nation, for the world. In each of the decades that my relative was able to vote, he did not feel the person he cast a ballot for in the general election was the quality candidate America needed. The nominees were corrupt, or tied to powers-that-be. The interests of the people were ignored, and consistently, while change was promised, the average American did not benefit.
I offer the reflections of another frustrated citizen who cares, who observes his choice for President and our dreams are being crushed. Michael Collins, I thank you.
Forced Loyalty Oath Locks Out Kucinich
By Michael Collins
"Scoop" Independent News January 19, 2008
Dennis Kucinich may not win the Democratic nomination for president, but he's leaving a pro-democracy legacy across the country. To begin with, this candidate actually discusses critical issues demonstrating his respect for voters. With regard to the voters' right to know, he just asked for the first recount in memory for a presidential primary simply because it makes perfect sense. The New Hampshire results need a serious second look.
Kucinich struck another blow for democracy by challenging the restrictive loyalty oath required by the Texas Democratic Party to get on the primary ballot. He actually reads the contracts he signs. When presented with the loyalty oath required to run as a Democrat in the Texas primary, Kucinich prudently edited the document to reflect the requirements of free citizens living in a democracy: . . .
The concern expressed by Kucinich was simple. If the eventual Democratic nominee supports the Iraq War, signing this oath would require Kucinich to support that nominee and therefore the war. To make matters worse, supporting the war would negate his duty as a Member of Congress to protect and uphold the Constitution. Like a few others, Kucinich knows that this is an unconstitutional war since it was never declared by Congress (See Article I, Section 8, "To declare war"). What other choice did he have but to reject the loyalty oath? What justification did the other candidates have to accept the oath? . . .
Democracy's Champion among the Candidates ??
Dennis Kucinich is the one consistent advocate for expanded democracy and measures to fight election fraud among all of the presidential contenders. Kucinich has a strong record as an advocate for working men and women by promoting civil rights, voting rights, and human rights at home and abroad. He's never shied away from taking both principled and practical positions on elections. These are, after all, the essential element to achieve his goals.
His call for a recount in New Hampshire was without rancor or negative speculation. He simply recognized the problem, invoked the right to recount, and paid the bill. . .
From his first days on the national stage, Kucinich has stood for the people and against the interests of greed and exploitation. In return for his efforts, he's been ridiculed and marginalized.
Imagine, a man who fights for the people, the Constitution, the rights of all Americans, and for this reason is intentionally removed from view. Then, envision that same quality person seated in the White House, having been elected by an educated electorate. Oh, I do dream of the time when a President of the United States represents the common folk. I also understand, that if I, join with all other Democratic Americans and vote for the candidate that is thought to be the lesser of the "evils," then I will have helped my fellow countrymen to get what we have had for all the years that my eighty-nine year young cousin recalls.
I will not contribute to change if I concede Dennis Kucinich cannot be my candidate of choice. I will have simply surrendered to the status quo.
Mahatma Gandhi teaches, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Perchance, if we wish to expect a different outcome from elections we must not do as voters have done for at least a century. . Open-minded Progressives may wish to consider, facts, as we know them only prove what we already believe. Mathematicians may discover that just as the sum of angles of a triangle in a three dimensional plane do not total 180 degrees, if we do as we have never thought to do, we may realize 1+1 does not always equal 2. Perhaps, if we change, so too will the State of the Union. Indeed, America may actually become a nation where all men, women, and children are created equal.
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." ~ Albert Einstein [American Physicist]
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