Kucinich Calls for Congress to Seize Back War Powers

Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio has begun circulation of 2 privileged resolutions designed to retract powers lent to the Excutive Branch to fund wars in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Kucinich, a consistent anti-war Democrat, announced the drafting of the resolutions after President Hamid Karzai said his country would need US's military support for another 15 to 20 years, making the 2011 draw down that President Obama recently proposed impossible.

My bills, which would trigger a timeline for a timely withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and Pakistan, invoke the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and are intended to secure the Constitutional role of Congress, as directly elected representatives of the people, under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, to decide whether or not America enters into war, continues a war, or otherwise introduces armed forces or material into combat zones.

Despite the president's assertion that previous congressional action gives him the authority to respond to the attacks of September 11, 2001, a careful reading of the Authorization of Use of Military Force (AUMF) makes cleat that the AUMF did not supersede "any requirement of the War Powers Resolution" and therefore did not undermine Congress' ability to revisit the constitutional question of war powers at a later date.

Kucinich will be speaking at an anti-war rally in Washington D.D. on December 12 sponsored by EndUSWars.org. Other speakers include Senator Mike Gravel, 2008 Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney and World Can't Wait's Executive Director Debra Sweet.


Privileged Resolutions PDF
War Powers Act of 2001

Ballot Access Laws Challenged State by State

Ballot Access News has reported that the most outspoken left Democrat, Kucinich, filed a ballot access suit in Texas, where he was kept off the Democratic party ballot for not pledging his support to whomever the Democrats nominated. Texas party and state ballot access rules are the toughtest in the U.S. - for a reason. No other party or state, BTW - requires such an oath.

Richard Winger, Editor of Ballot Access News also reports about a McCain case in Indiana which sets a new and perhaps unanticipated legal precedent beneficial to all petitioners. While wishing to not deprive voters a chance to vote for McCain over "meaningless technicalities," a stringent rule was rescinded. The board cannot do that for McCain without all parties making use of that decision.

The General amongst ballot access lawsuits has got to be Ralph Nader, who in 2oo7 filed a lawsuit against the DNC and several Democratic leaders, for their flagrant and harassingly unfounded lawsuits against the 2004 Nader-Camejo Presidential campaign. In Hawaii, progress seems to have been made. On the East Coast, several different suits are being combined into one and will be heard later this month or in April in Washington D.C.

Read more from Ballot Access News

Green Party Leaders Protest Exclusion of Anti-War Candidates from Debates

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders and candidates protested the exclusion of Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel, and Ron Paul from primary presidential debates sponsored by major news organizations.

Greens noted that Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Gravel, and Mr. Paul hold strong positions against the Iraq war and other Bush policies, in agreement with most Americans but contrary to the positions of other Democrats and Republicans running for the White House.

Mr. Kucinich, like the Green Party, favors single-payer national health care, unlike his fellow Democratic presidential candidates and the major media, which rely on corporate campaign contributions and advertising dollars from insurance firms, HMOs, and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Mr. Kucinich was excluded from an ABC TV debate on January 5.

The six candidates for the Green Party's presidential nomination, all of whom oppose the war, will be featured in upcoming Green debates. The first debate will take place in San Francisco on January 13 . The nomination will be decided at the Green Party's 2008 national convention, July 10-13 in Chicago.

• Jody Grage, treasurer of the Green Party of the United States: "In democratic elections, voters have a right to be informed about all the candidates whose names they'll see on the ballot. Fox and ABC TV have violated the public interest and their licenses to use the publicly owned airwaves. They're acting like the official news bureaus of dictatorships."

• Jason Wallace, peace activist, Iraq War veteran, and Green candidate for Congress in Illinois (11th district) : "It's no accident that Kucinich, Gravel, and Paul -- the most vocal opponents of the Iraq invasion -- are getting shut out of the debates. While the Democratic and Republican parties and big media conglomerates try to close down serious public discussion over the Iraq war, the Green Party's 'Peace Slate' will continue to represent the opinion of most Americans, whom poll after poll have shown oppose the war. On Election Day 2008, the only truly antiwar candidates on the ballot will be from the Green Party or another third party or will be independent."

• Rodger Jennings, Green candidate for Congress in Illinois (12th District) : "The Democratic and Republican parties and media companies like Fox and ABC have censored the opinions of the majority of Americans, who want to see a quick end to the Iraq War. It's revealing that Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee won in Iowa. Among the frontrunners within their respective parties, they've been the most critical of President Bush's foreign policies. But Mr. Huckabee has only criticized the Bush Administration's strategic blunders in Iraq, rather the war itself. While Mr. Obama has opposed the war, he only favors a vague and delayed timetable for partial withdrawal of troops, which suggests that the occupation will continue in some form regardless of which Democratic frontrunner might be elected in November. Mr. Obama has also added his voice to the military threat against Iran, and says nothing about holding the Bush Administration and war profiteers accountable for their crimes. Unfortunately, voters are being denied the chance to hear the real antiwar candidates and are being told that Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel, and Ron Paul shouldn't be taken seriously."

• John Walsh, Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party delegate to the Green Party's National Committee: "In recent elections, the Commission on Presidential Debates, the corporate-owned body controlled by the two established parties, has only allowed Democratic and Republican presidential candidates and has barred Green, independent, and other candidates from participating. We urge all Americans -- especially those who oppose bipartisan warhawk policies on Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran -- to speak out in demand of fair elections and election coverage, and inclusion of all qualified candidates in the debates, regardless of their positions or party memberships."

Condolences to Dennis Kucinich

We send our condolences out to Dennis Kucinich and the rest of his family. Kucinich's youngest brother Perry Kucinich, 52, was found dead in his home today. The police have not cited any possible foul play.

This will have to impact Kucinich's big campaign push in California which starts tomorrow. Kucinich and supporters have intended to hold a progressive campaign rally up and down the coast by train. The "Peace Train" is scheduled to leave Oakland Saturday morning and make stops all the way to Southern California through Sunday.

While Kucinich has been held on the fringe of the Democratic stage throughout the primary, his appeal to Progressives has continued to grow in California and across the nation. His recent pressing for impeachment of Dick Cheney has garnered him newly energized constituents.

We wish you peace at this time of your loss.