A Sad Day in America: Kucinich Loses Election

It seems that most in the U.S. Congress and Senate are oblivious to the real needs of working people and the insanity of our foreign policy. Ohio Representative, Dennis Kucinich, is one exception to that rule. He was forced out of office by the redistricting scheme of his state’s GOP. He lost last night in a primary election.

Kucinich is one of the few congressman who was actually willing to stand up to presidential administrations and party leaders, both republican and democratic, whether it was against military buildup, the Patriot Act, or the latest defense act which legalizes indefinite detentions. He has pushed to end disastrous trade agreements such as NAFTA. He has been a vocal critic on the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the impending war against Iran. He was one of the few that really stood up for the working man and progressive values.

He has been labeled a Communist, extremist, unpatriotic, and naïve; however, despite all the labels, he is one of the few leaders in Washington who has actually represented the people, not the corporate wealth and militaristic special interests. He will be missed, and I truly hope he finds the way back into the discussion. More, now than ever, the U.S. needs his prophetic voice.

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The Greatest Loss of 2010

Amid all the disappointment of last night’s election results (though with a few surprise victories for Democrats), the one that is the hardest to swallow was the defeat of the great progressive Senator from Wisconsin, Russ Feingold. Feingold was one of the few legislators that seemed to really stand for his progressive values and beliefs, regardless of what it cost him.

Feingold was the only U.S. Senator that voted against the unconstitutional Patriot Act signed in the days after September 11th, when it was very unpopular and damaging to vote against the legislation. In the 90’s, he was one of the few Senators that stood against the leader of his own party, Clinton, with Clinton’s ideas of deregulation on the market, a trend that helped lead to the most recent recession. He also stood up to the President on his idea of NAFTA, which many argue has done great harm to workers on both sides of the border. He was the Senator who joined alongside Senator John McCain to pass campaign finance reform (which unfortunately was ruled unconstitutional by the absurd and undemocratic ruling of the Supreme Court).

Feingold can go out proud, knowing that he stood by his principles, even when they were extremely unpopular. Unfortunately, the man who defeated him, Ron Johnson, is an unqualified millionaire who somehow was able to sweep to victory in the craziness which was this past election. He chooses to ignore climate change, supports the same trickledown economics which have done nothing but enrich the wealthy and hurt everyone else, and counts Atlas Shrugged as his guiding philosophical book.

 The U.S. needs Senators like Russ Feingold; we lost a great and important progressive voice in the Senate. He was the one few legislators that actually makes me reconsider the need for term limits. My hope is that other legislators will take up on the legacy that he left and stand for what is best for the common man, the worker, the immigrant, and the oppressed. Feingold has a left a brilliant example in doing that.

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Why Obama’s “Bush-Like” Policies Are Damaging His Credibility

As an individual who worked on the Obama Campaign, it is tempting to give him a free pass or the benefit of the doubt for everything that he does. However, recent security moves by the Obama Administration should be very concerning to any citizen that cares deeply about issues of liberty and justice.

One of the most troubling moves is the ability of the federal government to kill any U.S. citizen abroad that they perceive as a security threat-without a trial. Perhaps, this administration will not use this power to a large extent; however, it is opening up the door for a hawkish president to extremely abuse this process. The U.S. is supposed to be built on the ideas of justice, trial by jury, and freedom- that does not all get thrown out the door because you are “perceived” as a security threat. It is placing a scary amount of power in the federal government’s hands.

Another troubling fact is the president “expanding” the Bush era’s use of wiretapping to include monitoring citizen’s activity on the internet. This should automatically raise alarms for any person concerned about too much government spying and oversight. Once again, will Obama greatly abuse this power? My opinion is probably not, but it is opening up a Pandora’s Box that can be easily abused by future administrations.

Obama has also not acted quickly enough on issues like the closing of Guantanamo Bay. This is greatly hurt his credibility to many in his base. I am not willing to throw Obama under the bus, but I do think it is vitally important that his progressive base that helped him get elected president, speaks out against these draconian policies. There was a reason that the nation wanted a change in 2008; however, Obama and the Democrats have seemed to carry on many of the hawkish, neo-con ideas of the previous administration and have seemed to be too frightened to make real lasting change. The result is that the base is demoralized and the Republicans are likely to come back into power. Perhaps, if Obama really ruled with the progressive ideals that he campaigned on, the Democrats wouldn’t be facing much of the uphill struggle they are. The base would come out in droves to support the Democrats. There are definitely large issues between the Republicans and Democrats; however, policies such as these make many people doubt how much difference there really is between the two parties. Even more importantly, it makes people doubt if anyone is really working for civil liberties and freedom anymore.

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Protecting Even the Most Offensive of Speech: Quran Burning Day

This coming Sunday a small church in Florida is planning to have a “burn a Quran day”. This in turn has sparked protests around the Muslim World and has even forced General Petraeus to make a comment saying how the event could cause danger to the military personnel abroad.

The whole event is somewhat mind-boggling. The pastor planning the event is so far from the message and life of Jesus that it is hard to even comprehend. His complete disregard for the lives of others that may be put in jeopardy shows the true narcissism of the man and the overall church. I think 99% of individuals in the U.S. would agree with this. However, this event can serve as a powerful test of our freedom of speech.

The freedom of Speech just doesn’t pertain to nice, quiet, and respectful political or religious rhetoric; it also protects the profane, disturbing, and offensive. Whether it is burning a Quran, a Torah, a Bible, or an American flag, there are going to be some people that say the government should make it illegal-either because the simple offensive nature of it or the disturbance it could cause. However, just as the right should never have tried to take on a crusade against flag burning or other attempts at public censorship, the left cannot make some crusade against Quran burning or displaying a picture of Mohammad.

There may be backlash because of it; while I understand the deeply disturbing nature of the Quran burning (like most Americans would be deeply offended if someone was burning the Bible for some kind of show), for people to start rioting and being violent against the U.S. government or other U.S. citizens for this is stupidity. The overwhelming majority disagree with this childish act from the church, and the government has come out in strong opposition to the demonstration. However, we cannot allow the threat of violence and extremism to cause us to deny the freedom of speech and expression, just as the government was wrong in denying other civil liberties following the 9/11 attacks. The price of living in a free society means allowing things which are disgusting and offensive and may even cause security issues. However, the price of trying to censor and stop these actions is much greater- a slow and gradual loss of our liberties and freedoms. Speak out against the Quran burning day, let your Muslim friends know that this type of extremism does not represent you or your family; however, realize that the effects of allowing to this happen are less dangerous than the effects of the government stopping it from happening. This is a hard truth to swallow, but something we have to hold forth in a free society.

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