DNC Winter Meeting Series: Dennis Kucinich

Back in the day, I lived in Cleveland under the Dennis Kucinich administration. At the time, he was a 17-year old mayor (oh, okayyy, maybe he was a little older), who had some good ideas but seemingly lacked any ability to bring people together. He takes a lot of the blame for forcing Cleveland to the brink with his, well, brinkmanship.

He was succeeded by George Voinovich, an exact opposite -- not many ideas, but an ability to bring people together. Once together, it was the City Council, business, and financial leaders who were able to put together a strategy for making Cleveland what it is today.

Since those early days, his style has matured and his voice become clear. He now offers well-considered strategies on everything from Iraq to health care to education, and more. He ran for President before, but wasn't noticed because the podium always obscured him (sorry, short person joke). An original opponent of the Iraq invasion, he is one of the few non-mongers running in either party this season. Here's his speech at the DNC Winter Meetings (watch it here):

I grew up in the city of Cleveland, the oldest of seven children. My parents never owned a home. We were renters, we kept moving, with each new arrival to our family. We lived in 21 different places, including a couple of cars. I know first hand what happens when someone in the family lacks adequate health care, or daycare or doesn’t have the money for college or can’t afford to pay the utility bills.

I remember where I came from. My priority as President will be to create economic opportunities and prosperity, to rebuild America’s cities, to repair America’s neighborhoods, to restore America’s industry, to renew America’s schools, to reclaim America’s health. I will ask our Democratic Congress to pass a single-payer not for profit health care plan, Medicare for All, a Universal Pre-Kindergarten bill, a Rebuild America’s Infrastructure bill, and legislation to create a cabinet-level Department of Peace and Non-Violence, which takes Dr. King’s dream and makes it an everyday reality.

Of all the candidates for President, I not only voted against the authorization but I have consistently voted against funding the war and I have a 12-point plan devised with the help of international peacekeepers, to bring our troops home and to end the war.

Of all the decisions a President must make, the most far reaching is whether to commit the lives of our young men and women to combat. I believe that I have demonstrated the clarity and foresight people have a right to expect of a President. This war would have never occurred in the first place if I had been President. But we do not have to wait for 2009 and my Inauguration as President to end it.

Right now, the Democratic Congress has the ability and the power to end the war and bring our troops home. This past November, Democrats received a mandate from the American people to end the war. Democrats have an obligation to reclaim Congress’ constitutional power to end the war. If we support the troops we should bring them home. Money is there now to bring our troops safely home. Supporting my 12 point plan, Congress can require the Administration to end the occupation, close the bases, and bring the troops home and stabilize Iraq.

I want to stress, the Democratic Congress must deny the President the money he wants to keep the war going through the end of his term, money which he can also use to attack Iran. If we give President the money the Democratic Party will have bought the war.

This past summer I implored our government to intervene to stop a blood bath between the Israelis and Lebanon. As it turned out, our government encouraged the destruction My wife and I traveled to south Lebanon immediately after the war. Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw in South Lebanon: Bridges, water systems, sewer systems, schools, social clubs, recreation areas, stadiums, cemeteries, fruit groves, factories, small businesses, mosques and churches, all bombed. Countless cluster bombs were strewn about and landmines lined roads and adjacent fields, making on-foot travel perilous. The smell of death was everywhere. Over 30,000 homes were destroyed. We traveled through village after village, with names like Aita, Maroun Raas, and Bent Jabil stopping to assess the damage, talking with people through interpreters, moving cautiously through the rubble of children’s toys, household appliances, televisions, computers, clothing with popular American insignias. Because the bombs were widely assumed to have come from America, big bold signs declared “This is your Democracy, America”

Our last stop was in Qana, where the Bible tells us Christ performed his first miracle. We arrived unannounced, late at night. We asked to express our condolences to the families of dozens of villagers who had lost their lives when a thousand pound bomb dropped on a four story apartment building, collapsing the structure and crushing everyone inside. We were led to the town square, now a makeshift cemetery. Lights from our vehicles illuminated the graveyard where rows and rows of the family pictures of the deceased sat atop the graves. Elizabeth and I stopped at one gravesite. The picture of a beautiful little boy of cherubic countenance smiled at us. It was the type of family picture American department stores specialized in years ago The first response was to smile at the picture of this smiling little boy with his freshly cut hair and his bright red sweater, then the realization that this precious child was dead. As Elizabeth and I stood weeping an arm extended around my shoulder and comforted me. The person guided us to the next grave, that of a woman and three children. “This was my family” our comforter said through an interpreter. This experience transformed us. Someone who had lost his entire family had been comforting us.

We were led by villagers down a narrow street and over a large mound of rubble to the site of where the bomb dropped. Light from the headlights of motorbikes lit up the rubble where fragments of the bomb and pieces of clothing were intermingled. The word spread that an American congressman was present, a crowd quickly gathered. We had no body guards. We were surrounded by people who had suffered great loss, who had every right to express anger or even rage, yet instead they expressed a remarkable depth of forgiveness, compassion and a desire for peace and reconciliation, speaking calmly from the crowd through interpreters.

“Tell the American people we love them.”

“We don’t hate America. We love the American people”.

“We do not like what your government does.”

“America could have saved our families.”

“Please tell the American people we are not terrorists.”

“We are not terrorists. We do not hate Israel.”

“We want to be safe in our village. We want to be left alone.”

“We want peace.”

“We want peace.”

I promised the people that I would bring the message from Qana back to America.

And before we left Elizabeth and I knelt at the grave of that beautiful little boy and I made a promise to work for a world where all children are safe.

The people of the village retrieved a fragment of the bomb which destroyed so many lives and they gave it to me. And here it is. I want to show it to you because it is time that we took a stand to stop the destruction of the lives of innocents, whether they live in Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Pakistan, India, Sudan, or America. We must make it our priority to work for peace in the Middle East and throughout the world.

We have lost so much since 9/11. It is time to bind up our nation’s wounds from 9/11. It is time, in the words of Lincoln, to move forward with malice toward none and charity for all.

This is the philosophy behind the 9/10 Forum, an idea of Elizabeth’s. As we travel across America, Elizabeth and I will bring together groups to rediscover who we were before 9/11, to envision the community we want and to create a plan to get there. Through sharing in a process of Appreciative Inquiry we can rediscover the beauty of ourselves and our nation. Please contact Kucinich.US to join our efforts to restore the soul of America through reconnecting with our highest aspirations in truth and reconciliation with compassion.

This presidential campaign and my Presidency will lift up this country, reclaim all that is good about America, remember the land we love, the America which heals the sick, feeds the hungry, shelters the homeless, comforts the afflicted, lifts up people’s hopes; the nation whose soul magnifies what is good; a shining city on a hill whose spirit rejoices and sends forth its light. Crown thy good, America. Crown thy good, America. Crown thy good. Thank you.

(Photo Credit: Dennis & Elizabeth Kucinich)

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