The War Path of Unity
An excerpt from
Left Out! How Liberals Helped Reelect George W. Bush
by Joshua Frank
"I will be voting to give the president of the United States the authority to use force - if necessary - to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Oct. 9, 2002
From Antiwar.com
Although it was indeed sad, it was not surprising that Dennis Kucinich, the feisty liberal representative from Ohio who ran - er hobbled - for the Democratic presidential nomination, would roll over and play dead for Senator John Kerry just days before the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston. "Unity is essential to bring change in November," announced Kucinich on July 22, 2004. "Unity is essential to repair America. Unity is essential to set America on a new path."
Despite Kucinich's emphasis on the importance of "unity," it wasn't exactly clear what his "new path" mantra was all about. After all, Kucinich delegates failed (though they never really had a chance) to make "immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq" a central plank in Kerry's narrow platform just one week earlier. Kerry, of course, promised to put more troops in Iraq and call on NATO to intervene in the occupation and essentially be a more kick-ass administrator of Bush's egregious foreign policy than the neocons had been.
The second Democratic presidential candidate to abandon his antiwar base, Kucinich allowed his candidacy to be absorbed back into the dank establishment sponge. Just months earlier, Howard Dean embarrassingly touted the novel Democratic line of "unity at all costs," snarling in late March 2004, "In the end, it is Generation Dean voting for John Kerry for president of the United States that is going to send George Bush back to Texas, where he belongs."
Like Dean, Kucinich urged his former supporters not to succumb to Ralph Nader's tempting antiwar allure even though John Kerry did not oppose the war in Iraq or the ongoing occupation. "I intend [to] reach out on behalf of the Kerry-Edwards ticket to unite our party with all those who may have felt left out," he contended. "I will let them know that the time has come to unite in a common effort for change, which is essential, not only for America but for the world."
Meanwhile, many Kucinich delegates at the convention felt dejected. Initially, the man for whom they had devoted much time and energy intimated that he would "release" them, paving the way for their robotic votes for Kerry.
Later, after hearing impassioned (and tearful) testimonies from his delegates, Kucinich changed his mind and told them to "vote their conscience." Fair enough. But most ended up voting for Kerry regardless. And what did they receive in return for their candidate and most of their delegates' support for Kerry? Not much.
Read the rest at Antiwar.com
