From Kucinich to Edwards in ‘08

Philosophically, politically speaking, I’m most in league with the ideas and principles set out and espoused by Dennis Kucinich. But acknowledging that one cannot disregard the realpolitik that governs elections, I am going to support John Edwards in the Democratic primary. Of those running, and based on his policy papers, Edwards most approximates Kucinich’s progressive political platform.

The following points regarding Edwards’ positions on some of the major issues of the day outline my reasons for supporting him.

IRAQ:

Edwards supports the immediate withdrawal of 40-50,000 troops, and a complete withdrawal of all combat troops within 9-10 months. He would leave 3,500-5000 troops to protect the embassy, and to guard humanitarian workers. He vows to have no permanent bases in Iraq, but would keep “Quick Reaction Forces” in neighboring “friendly” countries to “prevent al-Qaida safe havens, a genocide or regional spillover of a civil war.” In addition he would “step up diplomatic efforts by engaging in direct talks with all the nations in the region, including Iran and Syria….”

HEALTH CARE:

Edwards has come up with a comprehensive and specific plan to provide health care coverage for all Americans. He has outlined how the plan works, how it will be financed and why it will be significantly cheaper for individuals, families and businesses. New York Times syndicated columnist Paul Krugman says about the Edwards’ plan: “It addresses both the problem of the uninsured and the waste and inefficiency of our fragmented insurance system. And every candidate should be pressed to come up with something comparable.”

GLOBAL WARMING:

Edwards’ plan to halt global warming is based on capping greenhouse gasses at levels that the latest climate science has determined to be necessary to avoid the worst impacts of global warming. The plan aims to “reduce greenhouse pollution by 20 percent by 2020, and reduce it by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050.” The plan is based on the cap-and-trade system established by the Clean Air Act of 1990 to limit pollution by acid rain.However the levels set by the Clean Air Act were regulated, and that has not been done regarding greenhouse gasses. This is a potential weakness in reducing the pollution.

The plan advocates a new global climate change treaty with the U.S. committed to leading the way in reducing CO2 emissions. It includes investing in renewable sources of electricity (wind, solar, etc.), with a goal of companies generating 25 percent of their energy from renewables by 2025. It will raise fuel economy standards to 40 mpg by 2016. It will bring developing economies into the mix by “share[ing] clean energy technologies in exchange for binding greenhouse reduction commitments.”

POVERTY

Edwards is committed to ending poverty by 2036. He will increase the minimum wage to (at least) $9.50 an hour by 2012 and indexing it to inflation. He proposes to create one million “stepping stone” jobs, strengthening labor laws and enforcing workplace protections.

CIVIL RIGHTS & CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS

Edwards pledges to protect the Constitution, and respect and restore civil rights and freedoms. In particular he vows that the U.S. will not engage in torture, will restore habeas corpus and shut down Guantanamo, will not engage in warrantless wiretapping, and will fix provisions of the Patriot Act restoring privacy safeguards. He maintains that he will end the practice of presidential “signing statements.”

ELECTIONS

He further pledges to reform election laws, require the use of paper ballots verified by voters, and end voter intimidation and suppression.

This is only a small sampling of Edwards’ comprehensive and very detailed policy papers that comprise his platform. If one wants to see in depth what Edwards is proposing and espousing, and why, it’s all laid out on his Web site: johnedwards.com.

A final and significant point. According to a series of polls – see the Web site for specifics – Edwards proves to be the most electable Democratic candidate when matched against the Republican frontrunners. This is a most important consideration to take into account when choosing a candidate to support.

So for the reasons outlined here based on a careful consideration of his policy papers and positions, and considering the other Democratic candidates in the race, I’ve decided to support John Edwards. Just as a personal aside, I’d like to see him run with Bill Richardson as VP, and then when in office consider Dennis Kucinich for a cabinet position.