[From On the Wilder Side]
IW: While faux progressive sites like Daily Kos and MoveOn have threatened Kucinich for not voting for the toothless health insurance bill, independent media site like Black Agenda Report and Democracy Now! have lobbed softballs his way. Even Nader refused to directly criticize Kucinich in his roll in mollifying a potential break away of progressives from the Democratic party over the Afghanistan/Iraq Wars and Health Care Reform. We need leaders who not afraid to speak truth to power, even when it’s their friends. We need a political party that is willing to stand up for the best interests of the voter, not defense contractors and insurance companies. And where is a real voice that is not afraid to speak truth to power like Cynthia McKinney? Is leaving her out part of Democracy Now’s continual policy of marginalizing the Green Party?
Black Agenda Report came to the only conclusion possible:
And it was a defining moment for those who believe there is anything politically worthwhile that can be accomplished within the structures of the Democratic Party, now firmly controlled by its corporate wing. There is nothing for a true progressive to do in Obama’s Democratic Party, but shut up, and roll over.
But hasn’t that really been true for a long while. Hasn’t the so-called progressive wing of the Democratic Party just been “sound and fury signifying nothing”. Where were they during the last Democratic convention? Where were the calls for ending the wars and single-payer healthcare to be put in the Democratic Party platform? Not a people was heard from these so-called progressives. Where have the the calls for the Congressional Budget Office to run the numbers on single-payer healthcare so we could all see how it would save our economy money? Not one of these so-called Pregressive Democratic Congressmen dared cross that line?
Democracy Now just asked Kucinich to the firedoglake question of whether he was “going to be giving back the money to people who gave to you all over the country because you said you would not support healthcare reform without a public option?”
Well, that ain’t enough. Kucinich should work to give a voice back to all the people he (and firedoglake) disenfranchised by supporting Obama’s candidacy. And Kucinich is still proper up the Obama presidency with the lesser evil argument that we “don’t want the Obama presidency to go down, because they’re concerned if that happens, forces of reaction would set in that would make it impossible to pass employee free choice and some other things that labor really wants.” Please does he really expect employee free to choice to be put up by Obama if he hasn’t already. More lambs to slaughter.
And what did Nader ask of Kucinich?
What—I think Dennis Kucinich has been known as the great dissenter in the Democratic Party—against the criminal wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan, for impeaching Bush and Cheney, for single payer, on and on. His subcommittee hearings, which are almost never covered by the press, provide a standard for what House subcommittees should be investigating all over the country. But I think he owes an explanation to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of progressive Americans, many of whom who watch this show, who have clinged to Dennis Kucinich as the great dissenter, as the principled person, as the person who will hold the banner high. “The Star-Spangled Banner” has this phrase, “And the flag was still there.” But for the progressives in this country, they want to keep saying, “And Dennis Kucinich was still there.” So I would like him to go all over the country, after this malicious vote by the Democrats in the House, and address audiences all over, starting a complete new wave for full Medicare for all before this bill kicks in in 2014, so all the members running for reelection in 2010 are going to have to face it.
That Kucinich go on a speaking tour to amend for his sins? Yeah some more self-promotion to make progressive Democrats feel its ok to be in a party that opposes everything they stand for? That won’t help much.
And Nader mentions that Peter Camejo’s upcoming autobiography states that “Well, this is the latest chapter of corporate Democrats crushing progressive forces both inside their party and against third parties.” But Nader leaves out that Camejo confronted Kucinich on his direct attempts to undermine real progressive parties and Green Party candidates. And that Kucinich lied to Camejo when he promised to take a request to change from Green Party enrollment to Democratic Party enrollment out of his campaign video, but didn’t.
Green Party Governor campaigns to watch in 2010: CA, IL, MA, NV, OH & NY
