Thursday, December 27, 2007

Dennis Kucinich on the Issues

It's important to vote for a candidate based on the issues, experience, and judgment as opposed to the production values of their television commercials. The candidates do their best to hide their positions on important issues. Here is my effort to try and present where they stand on the issues.

Iraq
Dennis Kucinich favors a full withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq as soon as possible. Kucinich voted against the 2002 resolution to authorize the war in Iraq. He had consistently voted against funding the war.

Health Care
Kucinich advocates a single-payer government-run health care system. He would buyout private insurance companies.

Immigration
As with all Democratic nominees, Kucinich favors a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He is against wasting funds to build a barrier on the Mexican border.

Education
He advocates fully funding No Child Left Behind.

Free Trade
Kucinich would reverse NAFTA and is skeptical of free trade.

Environment
He advocates the Works Green Administration, to ensure each aspect of the federal government would incorporate green goals. He wants to move away from carbon-based energy. He would phase out nuclear power. He wants create jobs by giving home the choice to switch to wind and solar power. Kucinich is skeptical of using ethanol and is against subsidizing.

Other issues
death penalty: Against
gay marriage: For
gun control: For
Cuban embargo: For lifting it.

Other stuff
Dennis Kucinich has been a representative from Ohio since 1997. He was mayor of Cleveland in the late 1970s. He ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2004. His strength is as an anti-war candidate. He has proposed a Department of Peace. Kucinich is running a narrow campaign war in Iraq is his signature issue. In 2004, he was the anti-war candidate with the most experience. That is no longer the case in this election. He is right on issues such as the death penalty, gay marriage, and gun control, but those are issues that will most likely be decided by the states at this moment in time, regardless of the president's positions.

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