Just weeks after the attacks of September 11th of 2001, a petrified Congress was confronted by a chops-licking bloodhound (Bush) whose taste for blood and power was then and now remains insatiable. He pushed a 132-page bill in front of Congress, giving them 48 hours to vote for it blind, telling them that if they did not pass it sight unseen, he would publicly dub them as “soft on terror”. Anthrax was circulating around Congress at that very moment, somehow or other managing to target Democrats in office. (Even the ACLU which is very image-conscious, mentions the anthrax in Congress being timed with the matter I am talking about here).
Congress caved.
Only one brave Senator, Russ Feingold, howled his lone “Noooo!” into the eerily silent echoes of the Congressional space. Approximately one third of the House also stood firm and said “Noooo”, among whom was Dennis Kucinich.
With life and career image at stake, these were no small acts of bravery on the part of all who stood firm.
The Act being “voted” for blind was the Patriot Act.
Its contents are what retired FBI agent Ted Gunderson called “a giant step toward a police state”. It grants FBI agents individually the power to arrest people without court review, warrant, or probable cause. It set the warrantless wiretapping mechanism in motion on a "legal" level (even if the program already was in operation prior). FBI agents gained new powers to subpoena private records of "terrorists" based on "an authorized investigation" which, lacking judicial review, was basically self-certified by the FBI agents individually at their own whims. Using a loose definition of “Terrorism” to sweep up activists and religious groups in its definition, it obviously was designed to silence war resisters. The fact that Greenpeace has been dubbed a “terrorist” organization along with what (as a pattern) has turned out to be peace groups, is a sign that the Act was intended to silence anybody who stood in the way of oil and war profiteering. Interestingly enough, the ACLU reports that pro-Bush crowds are allowed to frequent the areas where Bush drives through, yet Bush protestors are corralled into areas far away from the media. According to the ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation's statistics, mostly innocent Americans have been targeted as “Terrorists” by the FBI since the passage of the Patriot Act, not merely muslims, among which almost none were terrorists: http://www.rightsmatter.org/multimedia/
In fact, former FBI agent Mike German reported to ACLU members that only one terrorist has been caught since 9-11 as a result of the National Security Letters (the FBI subpoenas) under the Patriot Act. The Red Cross estimates that more than 70% of Guantanamo detainees are innocent.
Kucinich not only “Just said No” to the Patriot Act. He has warned people on the 2007 campaign trail that the rights to due process of law are at stake under the current Administration. Obviously concerned, he filed articles of impeachment for Cheney and Bush (is the death of his brother coincidental timing with those articles of impeachment, or is it legitimate? It’s all speculation for now. Only time will tell).
Knowing exactly what mentality he is up against in filing those articles of impeachment, once again he has exhibited no small courage. He is a man small in stature but with the courage of a lion.
Showing great foresight, smarts and ethic alike, Kucinich voted "no" for the Iraq War and continues to vote against funding it.
Kucinich also got funding for the war veterans at a time when Congress was neglecting them.
As a young rookie in his 30s, he as mayor of Cleveland blocked the sale of the local utility company (which was providing significantly lower rates than the bank-sponsored entities which were poised to replace it) and thus, 15 years later, he was credited by Cleveland for saving the taxpayers millions of dollars in utility bills. That's no small feat for any politician at any age, let alone for one so young. Kucinich obviously is not dumb. Maybe he’d even be the one to reduce our national debt.
So let us now ask the question:
Why is it that “Kucinich will not win” ?
Because he stands as a threat to political agendas which are not for the public good. And somebody in the higher ranks doesn’t want him to win. They are scared of him. Wrong-doing does not like to see the light of day, and a man as courageous and ethical as Kucinich will surely blow the whistle.
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