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by tommi avicolli mecca

Ten for Kucinich

HERE ARE 10 reasons to vote for U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich in the March Democratic presidential primary over the other contenders, no matter what the polls show or who's ahead of the game:

1. It's a primary, and therefore you don't have to feel as though you're throwing away your vote by supporting someone who may not ultimately end up in the race against Republican incumbent George W. Bush, the scary man most San Franciscans desperately want out of the White House.

2. Since it's a primary, you can listen to your conscience and not your practical side. What I keep hearing from folks is that Kucinich has no chance, and therefore everyone should jump on some other guy's bandwagon. Many of us find our consciences pushing us toward Kucinich. Listen to that voice. It's a wise little person who's tired of choosing the lesser of the evils. In Kucinich progressives have a presidential candidate we can believe in wholeheartedly. That's a rarity among Democratic Party candidates these days.

3. While he may not be perfect – what politician is? – Kucinich is better on the issues than the other candidates in the race. He has a proven track record that far surpasses the front-runners in the Democratic camp. For proof of this, go to www.kucinich.us.

4. Kucinich was one of the only members of Congress to consistently oppose the war budget and the two wars in the Middle East. He has been more outspoken and firm on his antiwar stance than almost anyone else in Washington, D.C. When he says he opposes war, you can count on it.

5. In 1978, as mayor of Cleveland, he refused to sell off the city's publicly owned electric company (a promise he made to voters) to pay the city's debts and thus lost his reelection bid. Twenty years later the Cleveland City Council issued a commendation to Kucinich for "having the courage and foresight to refuse to sell the city's municipal electric system." This alone should make him a shoo-in for progressive voters, especially Bay Guardian readers, in San Francisco.

6. He supports national health care, affordable housing (through innovative ideas such as community land trusts), and a living wage instead of a minimum wage. He is also staunchly opposed to the death penalty and has introduced legislation to ban it nationally.

7. He isn't a Teflon Democrat like Bill Clinton. He won't waffle on queer rights. He won't give us Don't Ask, Don't Tell or sign the Defense of Marriage Act at 2 a.m.

8. His family was on-again, off-again homeless when he was a child, so he understands the urgency to find ways to house every person living in this country. Listen to his story about sleeping in the family car at night and tell me if you don't trust this man to fight hard to end poverty in America.

9. Kucinich probably has a better chance of beating Bush than any other Democrat because he presents a sharp contrast to America's top Republican. As the Democrats have gone more to the center, people are finding it harder and harder to distinguish them from the GOP. Kucinich will wage a campaign that can demonstrate the real difference between the parties, something Al Gore failed to do four years ago (which is why he lost the election).

10. Isn't it time to be idealistic and go with a man who sounds more like a '60s Haight Ashbury hippie than a '90s hack politician? This is a man who will not sell out; he's had the chance, and he hasn't done it. Imagine real change for a change. Being defeatist and saying he doesn't have a chance is self-fulfilling at best.

Tommi Avicolli Mecca is a longtime radical queer antiwar social justice activist and writer.