Liberal Democrat

Liberal Democrat
Individual Freedom For Everyone

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Al Jazeera: Riz Khan- Interviewing U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich (2007)

Source:Al Jazeera- U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich (Democrat, Ohio) Al Jazeera (Arabic: الجزيرة‎, romanized: al-jazīrah, IPA: [æl (d)ʒæˈziːrɐ], literally "The Island", though referring to the Arabian Peninsula in context[3]) is a Qatari state-owned[4] broadcaster based in Doha, Qatar, owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network. Initially launched as an Arabic news and current affairs satellite TV channel, Al Jazeera has since expanded into a network with several outlets, including the internet and specialty television channels in multiple languages." From Wikipedia.
"Riz Khan talks to US Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich a Democratic congressman, who argues for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, urgent measures to heal the environment and the provision of universal healthcare for Americans." 

From Al Jazeera

Dennis Kucinich and Bernie Sanders to me represent what Democratic Socialists in America say that they want both politically and everything else. And since they are not happy with the progressive Democratic Party, because they don't believe they are socialist enough or far enough to the left, that they see the Democratic Party as "Republican Light", which to me as a Democrat is an insult. They should recruit Dennis Kucinich and Bernie Sanders to run for President in 2012.

When Barack Obama ran for President in 2007/08, the Far-Left in America got behind then Senator Obama, because they saw him as a Democratic Socialist. They thought he would try to make America more like Europe, with a broader welfare state and broaden democratic socialism in America. Expand Medicare and Social Security, send everybody who wants to go to college. Increase taxes on high-earners not to pay down the Federal budget deficit and Debt, but to bring their vision of what America should but which it isn't. More like Europe and turn America into a social democracy instead of a liberal democracy. As well as gutting the Defense Department to the point where we look more like Europe.

But since Barack Obama became President two years ago, Democratic Socialists in America have spent a lot of their time being against the President and his Administration. Because Barack Obama is not a Democratic Socialist and never has been. He's a Progressive Democrat who us also pragmatic. Meaning he rather get most of what he's looking for, instead of nothing. The Recovery Act, Affordable Care Act, Wall Street reform and the Bush tax cuts, are prefect examples of this.

I wouldn't want to see Representative Kucinich and Senator Sanders run for President in the Democratic Party and go up against President Obama, as a Democrat. That would be devastating and probably cost Democrats the presidential election as well as Congress in 2012. But head of a their own social democratic party like the Democratic Socialists. 

Perhaps a new socialist-libertarian party, or broaden a current Socialist Party. Whether it's the current Democratic Socialist Party or the Green Party or whoever. Then these Socialists in America would have their own political party that they could turn to and their own voice in American politics. Instead of just being a fringe, a vocal fringe but a fringe in the Democratic Party.

Democratic Socialists in America will never be happy as Democrats, they'll always see us as too mainstream and not idealistic enough. And there's simply not enough of them in the Democratic Party to ever make it the party that they want. But with their own social-democratic party, they'll have their own voice and be able to lay out the policy's and platforms that they want with their own leadership.