Kucinich YouTube Debate Support For Gay Marriage

Here's one more DRA photo...the dance company is "DARRELL GRAND MOULTRIE" dancing "Trois La Femme."

From the Democratic YouTube debate last evening, this question and answer caught my attention:

COOPER: Our next question is on a topic that got a lot of response from
YouTube viewers. Let's watch.
QUESTION: Hi. My name is Mary.
QUESTION: And
my name is Jen.
QUESTION: And we're from Brooklyn, New York.
If you were
elected president of the United States, would you allow us to be married to each
other?
COOPER: Congressman Kucinich?
KUCINICH: Mary and Jen, the answer to
your question is yes. And let me tell you why.
Because if our Constitution
really means what it says, that all are created equal, if it really means what
it says, that there should be equality of opportunity before the law, then our
brothers and sisters who happen to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender
should have the same rights accorded to them as anyone else, and that includes
the ability to have a civil marriage ceremony.
Yes, I support you. And
welcome to a better and a new America under a President Kucinich
administration.

If only that could happen. Other than Mike Gravel, the rest of the Democrats are opposed to same-sex marriage. My vote will go to a candidate who is courageous enough to support my right to marry my partner. I know I won't be voting for a Republican but I doubt that I will be voting for a Democrat.

Jim

Gravel - An American Patriot

Former Senator Mike Gravel, who is running for president, was, at first, not invited to join the HRC/LOGO debate that will take place in August between most of the Democratic candidates for president. This is in spite of the fact (or maybe because of it) that Gravel fully supports gay equality. However, HRC changed its mind citing "an enthusiastic community response" and has now invited Gravel to appear in the debate. One can imagine the tone of the "enthusiastic community response" that HRC received!

Will Gravel win the nomination much less be elected president? No, he's a dark horse candidate with little money and therefore little chance of getting very far in the American political system, which is all about money and the power and influence that money can buy. This is "democracy" American style. One can only wonder what the Founding Fathers would think of the way our political system functions today. They were upper class Lockeans so perhaps they would not be all that upset with money-based politics. But I do not believe that they would be too happy with the corruption of our politics wrought by the influence of money over everything and everybody political.

We ought to be thankful that people like Mike Gravel are willing to enter the fray, speak truth to power, and thereby at least raise the level of discourse to a higher plane that would exist if he were not running. Here's an anecdote that illustrates what I mean. Ms. Clinton and John Edwards were overheard, taped I believe, chatting about the need to weed out the lesser candidates from future debates. It seems as though they would prefer not to have to have their positions juxtaposed with those of real progressives like Gravel and Kucinich. However, one astute observer, Craig Crawford, who writes for the Congressional Quarterly, thinks that Ms. Clinton was being disingenuous. Interviewed on the Today Show, Crawford thinks that Hillary would actually prefer to keep the less monied candidates in the debates. This is because she could then stick basically to her talking points instead of having to go into detail about her positions. The bottom line is that either way these power candidates really don't want to have to face the fire of or be compared to progressives like Gravel. They would prefer to either exclude the likes of Gravel and Kucinich, or allow them in but not have to respond in detail as to why their positions are not as progressive as the long shot candidates like Gravel. So, be glad for Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich. It's thanks to them that we have any hope of forcing the politically mighty to say and do the right thing.

Jim

NGLTF Report: Presidential Candidates On Gay Issues

Click on the title of this blog entry above to view the full report. Here are a few interesting excerpts:




“Marriage has got historic, religious, and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time, and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been: between a man and a woman.” - Hillary Clinton





“If a couple of lesbians or gay men want to get married, and they love each other, they should have the right to do that and enjoy all the legalities in our society that go along with that. I have no problem with that at all.” “I think that people who create these problems of homophobia and the likes of that do us a disservice,” Gravel continues. “We are all human beings
and one of the things that should motivate us, most of all, is love.” - Senator Mike Gravel



“Rudy Giuliani believes marriage is between a man and a woman. He does not - and has never - supported gay marriage.”


“I support the right of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons to have the full protections and rights afforded under civil law including the right to marry the person of their choice.” - Dennis Kucinich

Photo: I'm interested in Ikebana, the art of Japanese floral arrangements. This is one of my recent creations

Jim

Bloomberg: Will He or Won't He?

We take a lot of walks in the "Sunken Forest," a fantastic holly tree forest that is a part of the Fire Island National Seashore park. The forest is located about 20 minutes west of Cherry Grove by foot and features a wooden walkway that winds its way from bay to mid island. Dan took this photo of me and Bradley a few days ago.

Think of it: Michael Bloomberg could be the only candidate running for president besides Kucinich who supports gay marriage, if, that is, he decides to run. It sure does look as it he is seriously considering running. If he enters the race that will shake things up for certain. He has enough money to pay his own way, and he's a smart, successful businessman with a proven track record.

I would enjoy seeing a Bloomberg independent candidacy. I really hate the two party political monopoly, which for the most part renders mediocre candidates and no real choice for voters. I hope he decides to run. I could support an anti-war, pro-gay-marriage Bloomberg assuming he doesn't abandon his socially liberal positions. He would probably team up with Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, a fierce Bush and Iraq war critic. That worries me a little, because Hagel is a social conservative. Let's see how it plays out. Pundits are suggesting that Bloomberg would most likely make the call as to whether or not to run early next year. If he does run that might mean that voters would have three choices in November, 2008, but all of them from New York state!

Jim

Kucinich On State Killing

Here's a photo of one of the world's most beautiful settings for a large city. This is Rio, of course. The photo was taken from the deck of our cruise ship as we approached from the North in early March of this year. Rio is beautiful and fun, but it is also dangerous. There is a lot of crime and tourists are warned to take precautions.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich on the death penalty:

Morally, I simply do not believe that we as human beings have the right to "play
God" and take a human life -- especially since our human judgments are fallible
and often wrong...In Congress, I introduced the Federal Death Penalty Abolition
Act of 2003 to establish an end to capital punishment. At the same time,
however, I believe that criminals who take innocent life or commit other
horrific crimes should pay a severe penalty, and that we have a duty to protect
our society from danger. For that reason, I favor life imprisonment without the
possibility of parole as an acceptable moral alternative for the worst and most
violent offenders in our society

Once again, candidate Kucinich gets it right on an issue. I have always felt that the death penalty is barbaric. It lowers us as a society to the least common denominator...when we put people to death we become as bad as that which we abhor.

Jim

A Cool Fire Island Morning

It's a beautiful but cool morning out here on Fire Island. The garden is a delight in June, and one of the highlights are the Bearded Iris. This year mostly the yellow variety is in bloom, although we have black, white, and blue varieties in our Iris patch. I'll have to dig up and divide the rhizomes in the Fall.

My morning routine includes a walk on the beach with Bradley. We usually walk as far as the beginning of the Pines, where an old landmark, the Carrington House, signals that it's time to turn around and head back.

Kucinich on the media:

I believe the people should be involved in the maintenance of their
airwaves, creating public media outlets controlled by community boards
similar to the model of Pacifica Radio. Funding for public broadcasting
channels on television and radio should be greatly expanded, assuring the
existence of media outlets free of the influence of advertisers.

Kucinich, the anti-Bush.

Jim

Mainstream Political Leadership

The Republican candidates for president had a debate last night in New Hampshire. At one point they were all asked to raise their hand if they thought that gays and lesbians should be able to serve openly in the military. No one raised their hand, including Rudy. Nice.

Dennis Kucinich on gay marriage:

Regrettably, the America of which I dream and to which I and the many who
stand with me have committed ourselves, is not the same America that the
Republican Administration or the Democratic Party are campaigning to realize.
The Republican Administration is promoting a Constitutional Amendment that would
deny Americans the rights that the state of Massachusetts has granted. The
leadership of the Democratic Party is content to advocate a state-by-state
approach to the issue of same-sex marriages, cloaking its lack of resolve with
the words "civil unions." On this issue, as on every other, the mainstream
political leadership of our nation finds political expediency and political
popularity preferable to political courage.

Yes, the mainstream political leadership sucks, Dennis.

Jim