which show that Kucinich is the real deal. :-)
http://www.lcv.org/Campaigns/Campaigns.cfm?ID=1601&c=4General Statements
http://www.lcv.org/Campaigns/Campaigns.cfm?ID=1796&c=4Energy Statements
http://www.lcv.org/Campaigns/Campaigns.cfm?ID=1797&c=4Clean Air and Water
http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/kucinich101503.aspGrist Magazine Interview
No sound bites from well crafted speeches here!
Grist: Is this philosophy of interconnection at the root of your progressive platform? You are known as the progressive Democratic candidate. Can you elaborate on what makes you more environmentally progressive than other candidates?
Kucinich: I'm not tied to any corporate interests that would strip our forests, that would pollute our air or water.
Throughout my career, I have worked for structures of law that protect the environment, and the principles that animate my campaign are principles of sustainability. The principles that animate my life are principles of sustainability.
Grist: It sounds like you are referring to a broad, far-reaching notion of sustainability -- not just in terms of the environment, but in terms of econ--
Kucinich:
Everything. In terms of everything. You know, monopolies are not sustainable economically. A full-employment economy is sustainable. Health care for all -- that's sustainable. Taking the profit out of health care creates sustainable health systems. Preventive health care, complementary and alternative medicines a sustainable approach to health care. And universal education from pre-k all the way through college is a sustainable approach toward education. A qualitative approach to education is sustainable, as opposed to quantitative, which is based on test-taking.Grist: So you want to apply the principles of sustainability we associate with environmentalism to an all-encompassing political model?
Kucinich:
Yes. Sustainability is a principle that must infuse our whole approach to life. And the environmental movement is the path toward that. It's the key to understanding that the Earth and the air and the water provide the precondition for life. Life cannot exist without that. So we need to organize our structures of governance in a way that helps support basic principles for the furtherance of life on this planet. And when there is a collision between those values that support life and economic practices, the economic practices must always yield to protect the environment.
Grist: That's a very strong statement. Many environmentalists, and certainly most politicians, believe that there have to be tradeoffs between environmental and economic concerns. The Bush administration has led us to believe that these two goals of growing the economy and protecting the environment are radically incompatible. That's untrue, but still, you can't deny that big business at large fundamentally does not like environmental regulations. How would you balance these issues as president, knowing that you can't fully antagonize big business?
Kucinich: Well, wait a minute, you have to have enforcement of
air and the water. Many big businesses are not using sustainability, we have to show big business where can make money by being sustainable. That's where the profits are in the future. You know, the thinking of the future shows that you can make money from clean air and clean water -- improve productivity. And we have to recognize that air pollution and water pollution find some sort of transfer of wealth away from the people of the country toward corporations. That's not fair and that's not just. So I intend to challenge that thinking and lead America to new thinking on sustainability.
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Emphasis added by me. Go Kooch!
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