We have the ever ignored(except by Willie Nelson--go Willie!;)
Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich
Here is a plea for a Kucinich/Paul ticket.
Plus an item about Kucinich that is grilling him for how dare he hire an avowed anti-Israeli jew (Noura Erakat) to his stafff. So hear this you will be put under the spotlight as a betrayer of Israel if you even hire jews that are oppositional Israel. AIPAC never sleeps in its drive to purge anyone, anywhere in U.S. Government that is not hard core pro-Israel.
Pro Israel Lobby is more, significantly more fearsome and powerful than the quite scary McCarthyism movement in 50s.
<<3/12/2007
America needs a Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich "unity ticket".
By Esbe
opednews.com
With the right hand shake, between the right two people, you could have your country back.
Today –as of this writing- Congressman Ron Paul, (R Texas) threw his hat into the insanely large GOP Presidential pool. Although I’d probably disagree with Paul on certain issues of taxation and social issues, I’ve been a big fan since this wretched war was fabricated and I’ve watched him repeatedly make some of the most principled stands against this administration, damn the consequences, of anyone in Congress. He voted against the Iraq war. I like Ron Paul, and more importantly, I respect him as one of a veritable handful of people in Congress with political courage, good judgement, and an understanding and respect for the Constitution; He’s “old school” in all the best ways. But you and I know, he’s never going to be elected President. At least not a Republican President. And as a lone maverick Republican, by himself, I doubt he could make much of an impact as a third party candidate.
There is another Congressman, who’s a Democrat, and more importantly, one of the most principled Progressives in Congress; Dennis Kucinich. Although portrayed as the epitome of “the left”, Kucinich embraces virtually the same “America first” old-school nationalism and populist bent that Ron Paul embraces in terms of major issues (like war and unfair trade). Kucinich is obviously more of an internationalist in terms of his view of the U.N., but the core values of both men are remarkably similar in their recognition of the fundamental nature of America as the Founders envisioned.
More than half of this country doesn’t vote, and given the reality of the two-party system, I for one can hardly blame them. Although I vote, I don’t expect anything to change and so far I’ve not been surprised by much of anything, lest of all the Democratic party’s cowardice on the most pressing issue of our time.
It’s been said before, but never in circumstances more dire or in need of remedy that these; we need a third party. What I would like to see, is a third party made up of a coalition ticket disavowing the leadership of both parties, which would exercise the discipline required to simply ignore the less relevant issues (Like divisive social issues), and to commit itself to solving the major foreign policy and economic issues currently destroying the country. Such a coalition ticket would be a unity ticket, but run as a third party. It would commit itself to bringing back tens of millions of rightly cynical non-voters by promising to restore America’s manufacturing capacity, to engage in the economic protectionism the vast majority of American citizens have demanded for decades without redress, and would abide in the wisdom of the Founding Fathers by “avoiding foreign entanglements” and unnecessary wars.
I would like to see Ron Paul, and Dennis Kucinich together on a unity ticket. In addition to millions of former non-voters such a ticket would bring back, there are millions of Republicans and Democrats absolutely appalled and disgusted by their own parties, who have nowhere to turn. I believe the central ideals held by both of these men, are actually held by the vast majority of American people, who want the following changes implemented:
1. A level playing field in trade, IE not “free trade”, but FAIR trade.
2. An end to the imperialistic interventionism which has made the United States the mosted hated nation on earth. A series of policies ended that do NOT make us more secure.
3. A national defense based on actually defending the homeland, beginning with the borders.
4. A commitment to the right of personal privacy for Americans.
5. An end to corporate welfare.
6. An end to the unqualified support of Israel’s every action, and using the power of the United States to effect a just enforcement and a permanent settlement of the Israeli Palestinian dispute.
7. A restoration of the public airwaves in the public interest, and new laws including digital transmittals as “public domain”.
8. A commitment to 100 percent renewable energy and energy independence by 2020, a commitment which equals the commitment to put a man on the moon made by JFK.
9. Get us out of Iraq immediately and let the Iraqi's settle their own differences. Both of these men would do this, and end the politics which are keeping us there.
This is only a partial list, but these are what I believe to be key elements that must be addressed to save the Republic. A third party unity ticket between the old-school Republican Ron Paul, and the old-school Progressive/populist Dennis Kucinich, would have the potential to draw tens of millions of voters from both parties: Democrats who’re onto the DLC’s corporate globalist game, and Republicans who’re onto the same thing. I believe that a majority of Americans, either actually know what’s wrong with the country as it exists today, or would recognize the problem through the solutions, that a third party candidacy which committed itself to solving the big problems, and not campaigning on the minor ones, could topple the established order, and actually make this country resemble it’s stated ideals.
Mr. Paul, Mr. Kucinich: Neither of you is ever going to be nominated by your respective parties. Likewise. neither of you is ever going to successfully challenge the established order by yourselves. Consider then the possibility of what I have set forth. I know there are ideological differences between you, but I also know that most of the values are goals are shared between you, and with most of the American people. A unity ticket between you could actually challenge the hobsen’s choice so long imposed on voters by the two party system. This is an idea who’s time should finally come; There has never been a more crucial time in this country’s history, to try to effect such a restoration to the people. I hope you will consider it.
Authors Bio: Jay Esbe is a writer with a background in cultural anthropology and comparative religion and lives in Seattle Washington.>>
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Kucinich Hires Critic of Israel for Domestic Policy Panel
By: Daniel W. Reilly and Patrick O'Connor
March 13, 2007 06:09 PM EST
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, announces he will run for President in 2008 at City Hall in Cleveland Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2006. Kucinich's wife, Elizabeth Harper, stands with the six-term congressman. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
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Democratic Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio has hired an avowed critic of Israel to work on his subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), who is Jewish and a staunch supporter of Israel, chairs the full panel.
Kucinich, who is again seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, hired Noura Erakat, a former grass-roots organizer, to work on the domestic policy subcommittee that he chairs.
Before coming to Capitol Hill, Erakat, a Palestinian, served as the national grass-roots organizer and legal advocate for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, a group that seeks "to change those U.S. policies that both sustain Israel's 39-year occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, and deny equal rights for all."
Republicans and Democrats alike maintain hawkish diplomatic and financial support for Israel. But Democratic calls to withdraw from Iraq concern some members of the pro-Israel community.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) received a mix of boos and applause when she denounced the U.S. invasion of Iraq as a failure during her remarks to the annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
Kucinich, an anti-war liberal, defended Erakat on her merits, saying he chose her from among many applicants.
"She has a tremendous background," Kucinich said. "She's brilliant."
The congressman's domestic policy subcommittee oversees issues related to energy, labor, education, criminal justice, the economy and national drug policy.
U.S. support for Israel has always been a sensitive political issue on Capitol Hill, where questions about support for Palestinians often spark heated debate.
Asked whether he believed his hiring of Erakat would raise such questions, Kucinich pointed out that his subcommittee's chief of staff is Jewish, as are his staff attorney in Cleveland and the aide who handles arts and education issues.
"This rounds out my balanced approach to the Middle East," Kucinich said of Erakat's hiring.
Waxman said he had not spoken to Kucinich before he hired Erakat, but Kucinich assured him later that she is "highly intelligent and an excellent researcher."
"I don't think we have a litmus test for her views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even if they may or may not agree with mine," Waxman said.
Erakat is an outspoken opponent of U.S. foreign policy in Israel. During an appearance last year on the "O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News, host Bill O'Reilly asked Erakat if she wanted to "destroy Israel." And she replied: "I want to ensure stability, security and freedom for all people, and that is not going to happen with occupation," but she added that she does "not want to destroy any nation."
Her former group likens the Israeli occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem to apartheid in South Africa. Its members are organizing a rally in Washington in June to "protest the 40th anniversary of Israel's illegal military occupation" of the disputed territories.
In a farewell letter to members of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, Erakat pledged to help organize the rally and encouraged members to make the trip.
"I hope to see you all in Washington, D.C., in June to tell the world that international law and human rights must prevail in this conflict and that Israeli Apartheid must, and will, end," she wrote.
Erakat has appeared at numerous rallies to protest U.S. policy toward Israel, according to videos posted on YouTube.
At last summer's Rally in Support of Lebanon outside the State Department, she yelled, "Stop placing Israel above international law."
The Web site of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation touts former President Carter's most recent book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," which sparked a controversy over a passage in which Carter seemingly justifies violence by Islamic terrorists. The group also sells black T-shirts that read: "End the Occupation.">>
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