Why? Well, for starters because we are approaching 4,000 dead U.S. Soldiers and have wasted over a trillion of the tax payers dollars. If it there's anything worse than those considerations it's the outrageous losses in Iraq: estimates of over a million Iraqi deaths and over 3 million displaced refugees.
What I want to do is explain what Dennis Kucinich is offering our country right now when he talks about "Strength through Peace"; to get a better understanding of what he means by peace and how it will make our country stronger as a whole. We need to understand that creating peace is not simply some idealistic hope for ending wars, but rather a very pragmatic plan that builds relationships based upon fairness and justice and which, predictably, reduces the likelihood of hostilities that lead to crimes, violence and wars. I want people to start seeing peace as a balance, not only in our foreign relationships, but here at home as well; a balance in the economy, a balance in healthcare, in education and government. And I want others to understand peace as paying us a dividend, that peace is a practical investment in our future. But, I want to begin by looking at where we are. Where is America right now?
H.R. 676 is a bill, co-drafted by Dennis Kucinich, which will enact a true universal health care system for the United States. The bill will create a publicly financed, privately delivered healthcare program that provides all U.S. citizens with comprehensive medical coverage, including office visits, hospitalization, emergency care, long term care, prescription drugs, medical equipment, mental health services, drug and alcohol treatment, dental and vision care; with no co-pays, deductibles, or denial of coverage.
Of the top four candidates for the Democratic nomination former Sen. John Edwards is the only candidate who does not have any paid staff or campaign offices in the nation's largest state. The campaigns of Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and Gov. Bill Richardson all have devoted resources on the ground in California including offices and paid staffers.
Delegate rich California, with a population of 38 million people, will deliver a mega amount of delegates on February 5, 2008. In the latest SUSA poll Sen. Hillary Clinton has a 21 point lead in California over Sen. Barack Obama with Edwards finishing third with 15%.
"The Edwards insurgent road map is clear: convert progressive positions into labor endorsements, win Iowa, ride a big momentum wave in terms of press coverage and online money and then slingshot out to the bigger states" like California, said Democratic consultant Chris Lehane, a veteran of the Clinton White House who worked for Al Gore in 2000 and for 2004 presidential candidates John Kerry and Wesley Clark.
Democratic consultant Bill Carrick, who's worked on presidential campaigns for Bill Clinton, Dick Gephardt and Ted Kennedy, said if Edwards stumbles in Iowa "he won't have a California campaign."
However, Carrick said even while concentrating on the earlier states Edwards must establish a campaign in California if he is to take advantage of early momentum.
"If you don't have any preparation in California ... it makes it all the harder to be competitive here if you do get here," he said.
Carrick recalled that in 1988 Gephardt, the former Missouri senator, won Iowa and finished second in the New Hampshire primary, but lacking money he didn't have the organization in other states to be competitive and fell out of the race.
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Edwards and Kerry carried California by double-digits in 2004, but surveys this year show the former senator trailing Clinton and Obama.
With Edwards' fundraising lagging millions behind Obama and Clinton he must pick his spots, said Bruce Cain, director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
"You cannot campaign in California without spending tens of millions of dollars," Cain said. "He's got to think long and hard before he diverts money to California."
So I wandered out on the patio for a moment of outdoors time. When I tried to get back into the convention center, I found myself locked out. But there was a Democrat who realized my situation from a good 40 feet away and stopped his conversation and came over to the door to let me back in. He said, "I'm the candidate who opens doors." Thank you Congressman Kucinich.
"You can't say you're against this war if you won't vote to cut off funding." That's the challenge Dennis Kucinich says he will take to the other Democratic presidential candidates this afternoon when he addresses the California Democratic Party convention in San Diego.
Kucinich attacked a provision in a recently passed supplemental spending bill that he says would force the Iraqi government to give up control of its oil under the pretense of environmental protection. "Most of the media and have no clue" about this provision of HR 1591, known as the Hydrocarbon Act, said Kucinich.
"I'm appalled at the money involved" in campaigns, said retiree Virginia Laddey, 85. "That's why I like MoveOn. We get heard without having $2,300 (the contribution limit)."
And yes, I got to meet Virginia last night at the MoveOn town hall in Irvine last night. Actually, I was able to meet quite a few terrific Democrats (and others) from all over Orange County as we met in Irvine to see what the 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidates had to say about ending the Iraq War. We all listened to what the candidates had to say, and we all came to our own conclusions.
Some were deeply impressed by what Dennis Kucinich had to say about ending the war, while others just couldn't understand how he's a serious candidate. Some were glad to hear Hillary Clinton come out strongly in favor of ending the war, while others still thought that she was "waffling" on whether she'd really withdraw all the troops out of Iraq. Many were convinced last night that Barack Obama has what it takes to end the war, while others still have many questions about the Illinois Senator.
So do you still have questions about the MoveOn parties last night? Well, go ahead and read the rest of today's OC Register piece on the Orange County meetings to see what OC Democrats are thinking right now about the candidates.
Well, tonight is your chance! Go see the MoveOn Iraq War town hall debate tonight, and learn more about what all the candidates think about the war. I can guarantee you right now that there's one in your neck of the woods, so you don't have to go too far to see all the Democratic Presidential Candidates... But I can't guarantee how long space will last, as these parties are filling up fast!
So what are you waiting for? If you're in Orange County, go to one of our local debate parties tonight. If you're somewhere else, go ahead and find a party near you. You'll get to meet other progressive Democrats in your area, and you might just find the right candidate for you tonight. : )
