[Peace-discuss] democrats 04 literature version 2

[Peter Rohloff]

Ok. I have taken everyone's comments and come up with this second 
revision. I continue to welcome comments and corrections, especially 
where I have made errors. With one exception:  I have already spent far 
too much time on this flyer, and I am unlikely to take up suggestions 
to add additional topics unless you do the research for me.

Text following:

Is there a credible progressive presidential candidate to oppose George 
Bush in the 2004 election?

AWARE examines some key foreign and domestic positions for leading 2004 
Democratic candidates....

WAR IN IRAQ

Lieberman, Kucinich, Gephardt, and Kerry were all serving Congressional 
terms when the Bush administration proposed launching a war against 
Iraq. Of the three, Kucinich was the only one to vote ‘No’ in the 
Congressional resolution authorizing the commencement of hostilities.

In a recent interview, Joseph Lieberman stated: “I supported the war. I 
thought it was the right thing to do. I feel the world is safer…with 
Saddam Hussein gone”  (Radio Free Europe 08/03). Lieberman has been one 
of Bush’s staunchest Democratic supporters. In 1991, he was one of the 
cosponsors of the Congressional resolution leading to the first Gulf 
War.

In contrast, Dennis Kucinich stated in February as the hostilities were 
just commencing: "The facts are these, Iraq was not responsible for 
9/11 or al Qaeda's role in 9/11 or the anthrax attacks on our country. 
. . . Inspections should continue. They worked before, they can work 
again. . . . This war is wrong." (Washington Post 2/03). He continues 
to remain critical of the United State’s post-war occupation of Iraq, 
and he is a strong advocate for the rule of international law.

Howard Dean, the former Democratic governor of Vermont, also initially 
opposed the war: “I opposed President Bush’s war in Iraq from the 
beginning. While Saddam Hussein’s regime was clearly evil…it did not 
present an immediate threat to U.S. security that would justify going 
to war, particularly going to war alone” (www.deanforamerica.com). 
However, once the war began, he moderated: “"now that we've started we 
can't stop ... we certainly can't pull the troops out." Currently, Dean 
advocates for greater United Nations involvement in post-war Iraq.

The civil rights activist Al Sharpton has been an outspoken and 
consistent critic of Bush policies. “[I]mperialistic go-it-alone 
military-oriented foreign policy is shortsighted, unworkable & will be 
too costly -- in money, lives, good will, & sound international 
relations. A U.N.-ignored, but U.S.-led, pre-emptive policy of invasion 
in Iraq has weakened the United Nations, the structures of collective 
security & international law” (thestate.com 5/03). Carol Moseley Braun 
has been critical of the Bush administration’s squandering of post-9-11 
world-wide goodwill: “Rather than fritter that goodwill away in a rush 
to preemptory, unilateral military action and in the process isolate us 
in a country on perpetual alert, we would do well to foster cooperation 
to freeze the very ground in which extremism and terrorism 
festers….duct tape is no substitute for diplomacy and I believe the 
people can and must demand an end to the saber rattling that has made 
us hostages to fear" (www.selectsmart.com).

John Kerry voted ‘Yes’ on the Congressional resolution authorizing the 
Iraq war but, in the aftermath of the occupation, has become 
increasingly critical of the admnistration's militarism and 
shortsightedness.  One activist in Kerry’s constituency remarks: 
"Saying one thing and doing another is par for the course for John 
Kerry. He tries to have it both ways.…He saves all his passion for his 
speeches, but he’s got no conviction when it’s time to vote. Kerry’s 
vote and position are based on nothing more than a political 
calculation. He’s looking at those red states where George Bush beat Al 
Gore and is going as far to the right as he has to to get elected 
president" (www.weeklydig.com). Like Kerry, Gephardt voted ´Yes´ to war 
with Iraq and, also like Kerry, he has apparently changed courses since 
he announced his bid for the presidency; now he accuses Bush of 
“chest-beating unilateralism’ and calls for renewed diplomacy and a 
greater role for the United Nations (www.gephardtgrassroots.com).

PALESTINE AND ISRAEL

While occasionally styling himself as a peacemaker for the Middle East, 
Lieberman is in fact  a strong supporter for most of the policies of 
the Israeli occupation. In January, Lieberman met with Israeli prime 
minister Ariel Sharon and reaffirmed his belief in Israel’s right to 
‘self-defense’ and conceded that, with respect to two years of violence 
and bloodshed, “the blame goes on the [Palestinian] terrorists”  
(Palestine Chronicle 01/03). He was also a cosponsor of Senate 
Resolution 247, which expressed solidarity with Israel in its ‘war on 
terrorism.’

John Kerry takes a similar position: “Israel is our ally, the only true 
democracy in a troubled region…America has always been committed to 
Israel’s independence and survival we will never waiver” 
(www.johnkerry.com). Gephardt easily glosses over any moral culpability 
on the part of the Israeli occupying forces: “We must be steadfast in 
our support of Israel. There is no moral equivalence between suicide 
bombings and defending against them” (Associated Press 06/02).

Howard Dean favors a ‘two-state solution’ and admits that one criterion 
for true peace will be the removal of Jewish settlements from 
Palestinian territory. However, although he routinely calls for the 
ending of Palestinian violence against Israel, he does not call for the 
ending of Israeli violence against Palestine. He has expressed 
unwavering support for Ariel Sharon, and feels that the United States 
should ‘continue its historic special relationship with the state of 
Israel’ (Palestine Chronicle 08/03).

Dennis Kucinich has been strongly critical of the United States' 
preferential treatment of Israel: "The same humanity that requires us 
to acknowledge with profound concerns the pain and suffering of the 
people of Israel requires a similar expression for the pain and 
suffering of the Palestinians…If we seek to require the Palestinians, 
who do not have their own state, to adhere to a higher standard of 
conduct, should we not also ask Israel, with over a half century 
experience with statehood, to adhere to the basic standard of conduct, 
including meeting the requirements of international law?" 
(www.kucinich.us).

Although Moseley Braun has not focused much on this issue in her 
career, during her career as a senator she consistently voted in favor 
of pro-Israel legislation. Furthermore, in 1998 she was one of 81 
signatories on a letter to President Clinton which criticized the 
administration for considering putting public pressure on Israel and 
blamed the Palestinians for derailing the peace process (aaiusa.org). 
Sharpton has made trips to the Middle East and advocates for more 
balanced United States policy and talks about the “right of 
Palestinians to a state” (aaiusa.org).

RACISM AND CIVIL RIGHTS

During the affirmative action case against the University of Michigan 
heard by the Supreme Court this year, Dennis Kucinich and Rep. Barbara 
Lee issued a joint statement: “Affirmative action is necessary, 
affirmative action is right, and affirmative action must be 
preserved….Affirmative action is still essential because a truly level 
playing field is still an elusive goal, not a reality. Today, we stand 
united in our support of affirmative action and the University of 
Michigan. Our nation is at a critical junction; the Supreme Court must 
not send our nation back into some of the darkest moments in our 
history, but instead lead our nation to a fair and just future.” 
(www.kucinich.us). Similarly, Howard Dean called the Supreme Court’s 
upholding of affirmative action “a victory for the civil rights of all 
Americans” (www.deanforamerican.com).

As governor of Vermont, Dean signed historic civil union legislation 
giving equal rights to same-sex partners. Dean advocates for universal 
health care legislation for  those under 19 years of age. Kucinich and 
Moseley Braun offer the most sweeping prospects for health care reform, 
since both favor an universal single-payer system similar to Canada’s. 
In a similar vein, Sharpton
advocates for adding an universal health care ammendment to the 
constitution (www.al2004.org). Lieberman, Kerry, and Gephardt do not 
favor universal health care, and they continue to tie coverage to the 
workplace.

Al Sharpton has spent his entire career in the civil rights movement 
and, as his record demonstrates, has probably the clearest commitment 
to anti-racism work of any Democratic candidate. Carol Moseley Brown is 
endorsed by the National Organization of Women and the National Women’s 
Political Caucus.

Kerry, Gephardt, and Lieberman also have an ambiguous relationship to 
other civil rights issues such as affirmative action. Although they 
both now officially endorse affirmative action programs, they have been 
embarrassed in the past by making inconsistent statements. In 1995, for 
instance, Lieberman called affirmative action programs “inconsistent 
with the law and basic American values of equal treatment and 
opportunity."
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