My brother the labor leader says DLC stands for Democratic Lap-dogs of Corporations and I tend to agree with him on that. I sure get tired of hearing “New” Democrats argue over who is the most moderate (read conservative).

Dennis Kucinich is definately not a corporate lap-dog. When he became Mayor of Cleveland, he ran on a promise to stop the planned sale of Cleveland's electric utility to private interests. Once in office, the capitalists (a large bank that would benefit from the sale) told him in no uncertain terms that if he didn't follow through with the sale, they would kill Cleveland's credit rating and the fallout from that would kill Kucinich's career.

He kept his campaign promise, the capitalists dropped Cleveland and Kucinich was not reelected. It took him fifteen years to resurect his political career but he did it and has now served, I believe, six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He favors protecting the environment, creating a national health system that provides for all citizens and seriously working for peaceful solutions to international problems. He isn't anti-business but insists that economic progress include workers as well as corporations.

Of course he wants the U.S. and the world free from terrorism and is committed to the elimination of terrorism but he doesn't believe WWIII is a necessary step in realizing that goal. He did not vote for the PATRIOT Act and says that most Congressmen who did vote for it did not bother to read it before voting.

He is known as a pro-lifer in every respect. Don't kill people on the battlefield, in prisons or during pregnancy. During a Q&A period here on Sunday, he was pointedly asked about his position on a woman's right to choose. He answered that he believes the U.S. Constitution guarantees a woman's right to choose and he strongly supports the Constitution and a woman's right to choose in the bargain. He added that, as President, he would propose programs to provide birth control, educate young people, and provide economic and community support for women who choose to carry to term but he was emphatic that he would continue to support a woman's right to choose and would appoint judicial candidates whose view of the Constitution includes respect for the right to choose.

The Kucinich links provided by a guest, above, will have more and better information but I figured more people would read this post than click through to the sites.

      - Mark