Kucinich Hits The Dems Where It Hurts

From the Kucinich Campaign Website:

WASHINGTON, DC - On the 5th anniversary of Congressional authorization to go to war in Iraq, Ohio Congressman and Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich today demanded that the Democratic leadership of the Congress honor its commitment to voters and demand that funds already appropriated to continue the war be used, instead, to bring all U.S. troops home beginning immediately.

That part we've heard throughout DK's speeches, debates; whenever he can, because he's passionaltely against this occupation that has killed an estimated 1 million Iraqis and almost 4,000 U.S. soldiers.

However, Kucinich goes on and hits the Dems where it realy hurts: their anti-war postures!

"If they don't, then they're just as responsible as the President for continuing this illegal and immoral war," said Kucinich, "and open to accusations of fraud upon the American people for promising during last year's elections that Democratic control of the Congress would mean an end to the war. Instead of ending the war, the leadership has knuckled under time and time again and given the President every dollar he's asked for to continue it."

By delaying a vote until early next year on the Defense Department's $190 billion appropriation bill, the Democratic leaders of the House and the Senate have tacitly acknowledged that the war effort is already fully funded for the next several months, Kucinich said. "The leadership needs to force a showdown with the President and demand that those billions of dollars be used to bring our troops home now." He estimated the cost to withdraw all troops and equipment at between $5 billion and $10 billion. "That money is there right now. There is no excuse not to use it to bring our troops home."

Thank you, Dennis Kucinich! "If they don't, then they're just as responsible as the President for continuing this illegal and immoral war." That is exactly the point. The Dems want, desperately, to avoid accepting any responsibility for this war. Let me repeat that: all the other Democratic Candidates, hoping to hold our highest office; hold our highest position of responsibility; will not accept any for a tragedy affecting our whole Country, as well as the world. How's that?

It's "George Bush's War" they say. Yet, they say it as millions are killed, maimed, homeless, humiliated. I've argued in an earlier diary why this type of thinking and negligent passivity sticks us right where we are: An occupying nation in Iraq. And so I am truly proud that Dennis Kucinich is claiming his responsibility as a leader. But, responsibility and leadership are nothing new to Kucinich.

From his own 2002 Intelligence analysis:

"A unilateral attack on Iraq by the United States will cause instability and chaos in the region and sow the seeds of future conflicts all over the world."

"Unilateral action against Iraq will cost the United States the support of the world community, adversely affecting the war on terrorism."

"There is no credible evidence that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction."

"There is no connection between Iraq and the events of 9/11."

All true and only the beginning of his effort to cancel this unjust and illegal action. Again and again he has spoken out against the war, the occupation that it became, the unjust oil privatization, agressive actions in Iran, and of course, the misleadings and the lies.

Of course, there's Bush, who, Kucinich states, "lied about the reasons to go to war in the first place..." But, then there's the Dems themseleves:

Democratic protestations that they don't have the votes to block additional funding "is a hoax. You don't need votes. All we need is the backbone to exercise our Constitutional authority and the integrity to keep our word to the voters to do what we said we would do: end this war. Now."

the Democratic Party has broken its word to the voters last year about taking steps to end it"

Kucinich is, quite literally, the soul of the Democratic Party. He's everything that Democrats say they stand for, but don't, and his challenge and criticisms of the Democratic party are nothing more than a defense of it:

It's time for an end to the lies, an end to broken promises, and an end to the war."

It's time for a Democratic Party and a Democratic President.