The Little Vegan...

So as all of you know by now, I am a health freak. In fact I am so particular about what goes in my body, that I will not eat anything that includes ingredients with multi-syllabic names. Okay, so that is a load of crap, in fact I don't know that I would survive without my daily helping of MSG (I take it in pill form if I can't get to the Chinese Food Restaurant). With this in mind a candidate's view on diet and health does not really sway my opinion of him (sorry Mr. Huckabee), however, I am also not going to hold it against Dennis Kucinich that he is a vegan. Now for those of you who live in the mid-west and believe that there are only two food groups, meat and dairy, you will be surprised to learn there are people in the world who not only forgo meat, but also don't partake in any other animal by-products. Now before you go calling Kucinich a wimp, you need to learn a little more about his platform. His number one issue: Peace. Okay, let the name calling begin.

Kucinich is an interesting little man (and when I say little I mean it, he is only four feet tall). He is the modern day William Jennings Bryan, a man who seems compelled to run for president whenever an election is held. That aside, Kucinich certainly brings some perspective to this race. He is a man who was, is, and will forever be against the war. In fact Kucinich is the only candidate in the race (Republican or Democratic) who has consistently, and unequivocally voted against the war, funding the war, and even the word "War". Kucinich's number one issue, "Strength through Peace", may sound a bit touchy-feely, but in a day when we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on war, his message no longer seems so naive.

As you continue to learn more about his platform, it becomes apparent that the Kucinich strategy is to ensure that he is not outflanked on the left by anyone else in the field. He is the only candidate who is proposing a Universal, Single-Payer, Not for Profit Health Care System. Kuchinich is also in favor of ending world poverty, developing sustainable energy, and ending America's participation in NAFTA and the WTO. This last issue is the only thing that keeps Kucinich from being the anti-Ron Paul (In fact, aside from this issue, they are almost exact opposites of one another, which is fortunate for me, as now when I write my blog about Ron Paul I can just say "The opposite of Dennis Kucinich").

So to recap:

Positives: Anti-war, pro-health care, anti-poverty

Negatives: No chance of ever being elected, might kind of possibly be a bit of a socialist, no explicit plan on how to pay for his myriad of initiatives.

All-in-all Kucinich is the candidate for those of you out there who are still holding onto the idealistic view of a socialist society that we were indoctrinated with by our overweight college professors. Although, I think that Kucinich has some strong ideas, he has no chance of being elected in the real world, where real people live. This little man does have some fight in him, and I am sure that he will not give up easily. He has been successful in government and successful in love (he has a smokin hot wife who must be a full foot taller than him), so don't rule out this diminutive little warrior.

Okay, so you can rule him out! He really doesn't have a chance, but first we should take some time to listen to what he has to say. Thoughtful community geared policies and genuine compassion for people are ideals that we should all embrace.

Candid Candidate Review...

I have refrained from commenting on the Presidential race thus far (which hasn't been difficult as this "race" has become more of an ultra-marathon). I have stayed away because honestly I thought it was too early to begin engaging in this process, but alas the first primaries are now less then a month away.

Over the next week or so I am going to review the candidates one at a time (well the Democratic Candidates anyway...perhaps we will sprinkle in some of the Repubs). I will share with you my thoughts on their strengths and weaknesses and how I feel about their platform and views. At the end of my review of all the candidates, I will announce my official endorsement.

I know that everyone is anxiously awaiting this news, so stay glued to your screens folks.

**A note to all campaign managers out there: I know your candidates are nervously pacing, waiting to see whom I choose to endorse. As you all know my words carry with them a great deal of weight, and the backing of untold millions in dollars and volunteer hours. Picking up my endorsement is tantamount to winning Super Tuesday and having the runner-up being linked to a gay porn drug dealer who may or may not be Osama Bin Laden's cousin. So fear not, I will certainly announce my endorsement well before the January 3rd Hawkeye Cauci.

To the Woodshed with the Dems....

So after shaking off the proverbial rust off of my blogging tool kit, I announce my return to this wonderful, but in the case of my blog, seldom read medium. Much has happened in the months since I last felt compelled to sit and share my views with all of you, so many might be wondering what has precipitated my umpteenth return to the blogosphere. Irony my dear friends, simple irony. When I typed in cnn.com today, the same way that I type it in every day, I was in for quite a surprise. For there on the homepage it listed the top stories of the day. Now there is nothing unusual or odd about this at first glance, however, as I looked closer something struck me as odd...the headline for the first story was:

"Deal could mean $70,000,000,000 for war" (that is 70 billion for those of you who are numerically challenged)

then right beneath that story was the #2 story of the day:

"President Bush vetoes child health bill again"

Now I am no public relations specialist, but I would think that the White House would try to avoid having these two stories appear in the same news cycle. As I read on, (and consulted other sources) I couldn't help but wonder what the hell was wrong with our leadership in Washington. This "Democratic" congress, who came to power touting reform, and was elected largely on its promises to lead our country in a new direction, one that did not involve massive military conflicts with vague objectives, and little if any chances of success, has officially and unequivocally soured even this most idealistic amateur politic. There is no logical explanation for the President to veto a bill that aimed to expand health care for poor children. Whats more, even if one were to accept his reasoning that this bill was poorly written and would give coverage to those who didn't need it, the entirety of the bill was $35 billion over 5 years. The President, at the same time is seeking $200 billion (and will apparently get at least $70 billion of it) to continue the war in Iraq.

Now lets assume that the health care bill is bad, and will provide coverage for those who do not necessarily need government health care, certainly this is a better use of $35 billion tax payer dollars. Iraq is a quagmire at best, the largest foreign policy mistake ever made by this country at worst, and is wildly unpopular both here in America and abroad. It is unconscionable that we could spend another $200 billion on war while refusing to fund health care at home. Add to this that we have already spent by some estimates over $450 billion on the war (http://nationalpriorities.org/cms/costofwar) and you can see why my stomach began churning even as I read the headlines.

So, you may ask, where are the Democrats? Why are they not standing up and speaking out about this atrocity? Perhaps the President is too strong? No, he still has approval ratings hovering in the thirty percent range. Well maybe, they don't have the votes? No, again not right, they hold the majority and can influence the swing votes. So why you ask? The answer is simple; they need to get re-elected. What? Thats right, see if a budget is not approved then the Pentagon may start laying off civilian employees. This would cause a serious problem for many politicians who would have to face angry constituents. However, this is not the real problem. The real reason why Democrats in congress are acting like spineless amoebas is that the Pentagon would have to shut down funding to some defense contractors. Defense contractors are major contributors to members of congress on both sides of the aisle. So again it all comes down to money.

It has been almost 50 years since Eisenhower's Military Industrial Complex speach, and his words ring more true today then ever before. I am a Liberal, I am a Democrat, but before those I am an American, and I am disappointed and infuriated by the leadership of my party. If Democratic party wants to count on my vote in the future, then I need the leaders of my party to show that they have ideals beyond wanting to be re-elected. They need to show that they can stand up for what they believe, what they have promised, and what is right.