Dennis Kucinich vs. Ron Paul

I'll admitt it, I can't stand it. I can stand seeing another, intelligent, liberal friend of mine fall into the Ron Paul trap! It's driving me nuts! Meanwhile Dennis Kucinich can't drum up nearly the support Ron has when his policies are heads and shoulders above Ron's! Ron Paul seems to have an almost hypnotic hold on his supporters and few of them have researched anything beyond "legal drugs, legal guns and no taxes" or if they have they seem perfectly fine with selling out gay rights, Latino rights, abortion rights, the poor and the environment so that they don't have to pay taxes.

The Issues

Abortion

Kucinich would keep it legal, Ron Paul is against Roe v. Wade

To read Dennis' indepth approuch to reducing abortions while still providing safe access to those who need them go here.

Death Penalty

Both are against

Stem Cell Research

Kucinich is fine with it, Ron Paul is against it

ANWR Drilling (Environmental Issue)

Kucinich is on the side of the earth, Paul would see it plundered for corporate gain

Kyoto

Dennis supports Kyoto (voluntary reduction in carbon emission, only the US has not signed even though we are the biggest polluter). Paul is againt Kyoto *cough* is it getting hot in here?

Banning Assult Weapons

Kucinich supports banning assult weapons, Paul is against banning them

Background Checks to Buy a Weapon

Kucinich supports background checks, Ron Paul does not

Patriot Act

They are both against it

Guantanamo, Torture and Wire Tapping

Both are against all of the above

A path for Citizinship for our Latino Brothers and Sisters

Kucinich is for it, Ron is against it

A Fence on the Southern Border

Kucinich would not build a fence, Ron Paul would

Internet Neutrality

Kucinich would keep the net open and equally accessable, Ron would turn it over to big business so that the only pages you could get would be the ones "they" want you to see (Hummmm.... wonder where all the Ron Paul spammers would be then? They could fill up the net with their Paul-isms but no one could read them)

Iran

Both oppose sanctions on Iran

Iraq

Neither supports the Iraq war and neither would increase troop levels

Minimum Wage

Dennis wants to increase the minimum wage, Paul does not

Gay Rights

Dennis supports civil unions and/or marriage, Ron Paul would leave it up to states (and most states have already ammended their constitutions against it)

Health Care

Kucinich is the ONLY canidate with a universal, not-for-profit health care system.

So those are the popular issues but what about some of the not so popular ones? Ron Paul supporters always like to bring up that Ron Paul would pardon all non-violent drug offenders, he would abolish the IRS, he's a constiutionalist, and he would make drugs (including marijuana and by virtue the non-drug hemp) legal and he would investigate 9/11.

Dennis advocates returning America to a strong constiutional democracry. On the drug issue Dennis says, "The primary job of law enforcement should be protecting our country and its citizens -- not protecting people from themselves. Drug addiction is a medical and moral problem that should be treated by professionals, not dumped on the criminal justice system. Setting up a national commission of medical professionals to develop an intelligent program, based on the experience of drug experts from around the world, would be a first step. Allowing doctors to treat drug addiction humanely and intelligently, including the prescription of maintenance doses, would allow us to quickly eliminate most of the black market and much of the damage to a safe, free, and just America.I have studied the issue for decades and recognize that our "War on Drugs" has failed. In fact, because our War on Drugs drives up the price, it encourages violence. Prohibition simply doesn't work. It only creates thousands and thousands of Al Capones. Prison should be for people who hurt other people, not themselves. We don't jail people for merely drinking. We jail people when they drink and drive or hurt another human."

On decriminalizing marjiuana, Dennis proposes;

"As a nation, we must work to implement a drug policy that removes responsible recreational users and medical users of marijuana from the criminal justice system, in order to redirect resources toward the following goals:

* Enforce penalties for those who provide marijuana to minors.
* Enforce penalties for those who endanger the rights of others through irresponsible use, such as driving under the influence.
* Develop drug treatment programs focused on rehabilitation, rather than incarceration.
* Support the efforts of state governments in developing innovative approaches to drug policy.
* Improve drug education by emphasizing science over scare tactics.
* Implement a Department of Justice program that would review the records of, and consider for sentence reduction or release, inmates convicted for nonviolent marijuana offenses." He also supports legalizing Hemp by the way.

As far as taxes are concerned Dennis has a wonderful plan and policy that you can read in full here.

Also, on November 24th, 2007 Elizabeth Kucinich said that not only would Dennis change the monetary system but that he would re-open the 9/11 investigation!

So here's something else to chew on, Ron Paul is not in favor of social services either, at all. He would get rid of them. Have you ever been on welfare, a housing voucher, section 8, food stamps, or any other program that helps the needy and desperate get by another day? I kow I have and I know lots of Paul supports who have as well and it strikes me as extremely hypercritical of them. Reform of these programs is a valid argument, abolishment is not, especially when Ron Paul doens't support the minimum wage increase. Removing the only safety net some people have in times of desperation is not the answer to strengthing our nation.

I would also like to point out that before politics Dr. Ron Paul was an OB/GYN. That's right, an OB/GYN. He is one of the countless males in our culture that believes that he and the rest of the medical profession know more about delivering babies than women do. Not only does he like women birthing in hospitals he decided it was his calling, his career, to put them in that place. Ron Paul went through what must have been 10 years of hard medical school because he wanted to put women's feet in stir-ups, he wanted to shoot them up with drugs, he wanted to slice open their vagina's or bellies and pull their traumatized babies away from them as they screamed. He liked it, a lot. He must have otherwise why would he have gone through all that schooling to make it his full-time job? And where on earth would our midwifery protections and rights to birth at home go if we had a former OB as our president? I shutter to think!

Have you ever been working really hard for minimum wage and couldn't make ends meet? Do you know someone who has? Do you have gay friend, neighbor or relative who would like to be able to marry their loving partner and recieve the same rights heterosexuals have? Have you ever benefitted from a social service? Have you ever needed, wanted or considered an abortion? Ever know someone who has? Do you want a clean and healthy environment? Do you want to be able to view and post whatever YOU want online and know that everyone has equal access no matter who they are? Do you know a hard working Latino family who immigrated to the US? Has anyone in your family ever immigrated to the US legal or otherwise? Are you any race other then Native American? Do you want a fair shot at having your own business? Do you want a strong, localized economy? Do you want the return to small town business?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions I would put forth that Ron Paul should NOT be your canidate.

Or maybe you don't care because this doesn't hit home to you. You don't have any of these issues or you don't percieve yourself to but I implore you on behalf of my family to not vote for Ron Paul. My partner works very hard but we still need food stamps to get our children healthy foods. My children and I are uninsured and we could never afford private insurance. My mother-in-law is working well past retirement because her husband is sick, dying perhaps, and she cannot lose her health coverage for him. I have gay friends who deserve the right to marry. I'm a bi-sexual who would like to have the opportunity to express my choice fully and marry a woman if I chose to. I would like to know that if I became a single mother again and found myself in a position of not receiving child support, that my kids and I could get emergency money, food and shelter.

But most important of all I want all the children of this world to grow up in the cleanist, healthiest environment we can possibly provide them.

Please include the poor, women, minorities, and the environment in your revolution of love.