Dennis Kucinich - United States

Rep. Dennis Kucinich:
Democratic Leadership Failing U.S. Citizenry on War

interviewed by Amy Goodman

www.democracynow.org/, May 24th, 2007

On Capitol Hill, the House is expected to agree today to give President Bush $96 billion to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a major victory for the Bush administration, the Democratic leadership abandoned its effort to include a non-binding timetable for withdrawal from Iraq in the war spending bill. Congressmember and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich of Ohio says the Democratic leadership is failing the U.S. citizenry. [includes rush transcript]

On Capitol Hill, the House is expected to agree today to give President Bush $96 billion to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a major victory for the Bush administration, the Democratic leadership has abandoned its effort to include a non-binding timetable for withdrawal from Iraq in the war spending bill. The Democrats made the concession after President Bush vetoed an earlier bill that included a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Democrats say they do not have enough votes to override a veto and want to avoid accusations of denying funding for U.S. troops.

Antiwar groups have harshly criticized the Democratic leadership. United For Peace and Justice accused the Democrats of supporting a disastrous war and occupation. The group Win Without War said this decision marks a "complete capitulation to a failed president and a failed policy." We are now joined by one of the leading antiwar voices on Capitol Hill - Congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.

0. Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Ohio Congressman and Democratic presidential candidate.
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AMY GOODMAN: We go to Washington, D.C., to Capitol Hill. Juan?

JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, on Capitol Hill, the House is expected to agree today to give President Bush $96 billion to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a major victory for the Bush administration, the Democratic leadership has abandoned its effort to include a non-binding timetable for withdrawal from the Iraq war, from the spending bill. The Democrats made the concession after President Bush vetoed an earlier bill that included a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces. Democrats say they do not have enough votes to override a veto and want to avoid accusations of denying funding for US troops.

AMY GOODMAN: Antiwar groups have harshly criticized the Democratic leadership. United for Peace and Justice accused the Democrats of supporting a disastrous war and occupation. The group Win Without War said this decision marks a "complete capitulation to a failed president and a failed policy."

We're now joined by one of the leading antiwar voices on Capitol Hill, Congress member and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich of Ohio. Welcome to Democracy Now!, Congressmember Kucinich.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Thank you. Good morning, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: What is your assessment of this?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, you know, there's a fundamental misperception about the path the Democrats should be taking. We shouldn't be offering any legislation at all. We should just simply tell the President we're not going to fund the war. And this idea about funding the war to help the troops is absurd. You want to help the troops, bring them home.

I offered a plan, HR 1234, that would provide for a plan that would bring the troops home, close the bases, end the occupation and reach out to the international community for an international peacekeeping and security force that would move in as our troops leave. But we can't do that until we end the occupation. We can't end the occupation until we stop funding the war. We simply do not have to have a bill, Amy. It's just as simple as that.

JUAN GONZALEZ: What about those Democrats who argue that they could not get a majority vote or at least one that would survive a presidential veto to stop the funding, so that they've got to then have a concession of some sort?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: I want to make sure I'm being clear about this. I'm saying that it's not necessary to have a bill, that the process depends on legislation to keep the war going. But there's money in the pipeline right now to bring the troops home. We simply should tell the President we're not going to fund the war, period. We don't need legislation to do that. And the idea that somehow we need to fund the war to help the troops, again, it's an absurd thought, and we need to start to reorient ourselves to getting out of Iraq. This administration isn't going to do that, and frankly, the Democratic Congress is failing the American people at this moment.

AMY GOODMAN: Congressmember Kucinich, you spoke for about an hour on the floor of the House about the proposed Iraq oil law. Can you talk about this?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Yes. It's really not too well known on Capitol Hill, but the benchmarks that the administration has been insisting upon, and now the benchmarks are in the Warner amendment that will be included in this legislative process that will keep us in Iraq, include a provision that insists that the Iraqi government pass a hydrocarbon act. The benchmark says it's about equitable sharing of revenues. That's three lines, vaguely worded lines, in a thirty-three-page document that's all about the restructuring of the Iraq oil industry to permit multinational oil corporations to take over 80% of Iraq's oil. I mean, this is a criminal action that is going on here, and we ought to be standing up against it and challenging it. We have no right to take Iraq's oil or to facilitate the acquisition of Iraq's oil on behalf of multinational corporations.

JUAN GONZALEZ: And in terms of -- even within Iraq, this law seems to be going nowhere, obviously because the contending forces there. What do you think in terms of an actual act that would permit the possibility of continuing a legalized framework for the trading of oil from Iraq that should occur?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, first of all, this is a question that is for the people of Iraq to decide when they're not under occupation. You have to keep in mind that this process that the Bush administration has been pushing began even before the invasion of Iraq. They were meeting with oil companies, looking at how they could create a beachhead, essentially, in the Middle East, and they have been looking at the prize of Iraq oil for many years now.

And so, you have to remember that even though it looks like this legislation isn't going anywhere, there is enormous pressure being put on the Iraqi government, and you can bet that before too long they'll put the kind of pressure on them that the Iraqi government will break, will relent, and go ahead and pass this law that will permit about 80% of its oil to be controlled by multinational oil companies. Now, keep in mind that Iraq has as many as 300 billion barrels of oil. At a market price that looks like it's going toward $70-a-barrel, you can be talking about $21 trillion worth of oil, 80% of which will be under the control of multinational oil companies, if it's up to the Bush administration.

This is a crime, literally. And so, I'm challenging it. I'm letting the Congress know about it, and I'm going to keep an eye on this, because I think it's the basis for a war crime charge.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to read from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, your hometown paper. It says, "It's all about Iraq's oil -- rich, abundant, and coveted by multinational companies waiting to line their deep pockets. Or so said [Rep.] Dennis Kucinich Wednesday in an unusual hourlong address on the House floor. He laid out his contention that the White House and Democratic-led Congress are helping oil companies grab a stake in Iraq's vast oil fields while claiming to be interested merely in winding down the Iraq war. The claim has brought Kucinich derision within his own Democratic Party. Leaders reject the suggestion that they would help 'privatize' Iraqi oil. And Republicans dismiss him altogether, with Republican Party spokesman Dan Ronayne saying, 'It sounds like congressman Kucinich is trying to get noticed with a nutty conspiracy theory.'" Your response, Congressman Kucinich?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, if you look at the facts, the facts speak for themselves. Prior to the invasion of Iraq, Vice President Cheney was meeting with oil company executives. They were planning this takeover of Iraqi oil. You know, everyone knows that it has one of the largest oil supplies in the world. This war has been about oil from the beginning. And I've been one of the few people who's been willing to challenge it and say that. And I think the American people need to know that our government has been instrumental in trying to push the privatization of Iraq oil for the profit of multinational oil companies. Our soldiers shouldn't be there in Iraq. We need to bring our troops home. And when someone looks at the long test of truth over the last five years, I'm the one who's been telling the truth. This administration has not told the truth. And some of my colleagues in Congress have kept their head in the sand, while there's been enormous catastrophe in Iraq, loss of life there, loss of lives of our troops, up to over $500 billion wasted already in American taxpayers' funds. I mean, someone has to stand for the truth here. Someone has to stand for the Constitution. And that's what I'm doing.

JUAN GONZALEZ: Congressman Kucinich, I'd like to ask you also about the US attorney scandal and yesterday's congressional testimony by former Justice Department official, Monica Goodling. Up until last month, Goodling had served as the department's liaison to the White House, and she denied having a major role in the firings of the attorneys, but she accused Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty of misleading Congress. She was questioned by Democratic Congresswoman Linda Sanchez of California.

0. REP. LINDA SANCHEZ: What things did you specifically brief him on that you felt he was not entirely forthcoming before Congress when he testified?
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0. MONICA GOODLING: He was asked whether the White House was involved in any way, and he said, "Well, these are presidential appointments, so I'm sure White House personnel was informed at some point." Certainly --
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0. REP. LINDA SANCHEZ: And why would that not be a complete answer?
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0. MONICA GOODLING: I think because of the way -- the way it came across. I think people believed he was downplaying the role to a certain extent. And the White House had been involved for several -- he had -- he was aware that the department had worked for at least several months with the White House, and that many offices in the White House had signed off, and that they were, in fact, you know, participating and making phone calls and different sorts of things with members.
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AMY GOODMAN: That was Monica Goodling. Your response, Congressmember Kucinich?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: I think there's a chill that's settled over America with the thought that the Justice Department process in this country has been politicized. When you look at the statue of Justice, Lady Justice has a blindfold, because justice is supposed to be impartial. What we see here is the possibility that the quality of justice in this country has been determined by politics, and I think that ought to be of great concern to all the American people.

JUAN GONZALEZ: I'd like to ask you also about the immigration situation right now. Obviously, the Senate has begun debate on an immigration bill. And what's your sense of this bipartisan compromise and what may happen in the House?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, we have to see the language, but I think that someone needs to say, and I'm willing to say it, that the basis of this whole battle over immigration ignores the fact that the waves of immigration started right after NAFTA passed. Wages collapsed in Mexico. Migrants came across the border seeking a chance for a better wage and a better life.

I'm saying that we need to go back to NAFTA. We need to cancel NAFTA and cancel the WTO, go back to bilateral trade conditioned on workers' rights, human rights and environmental quality principles. Once we have a trade agreement between the United States and Mexico that's based on workers' rights and a decent wage, then workers in Mexico can be assured that they can have a decent living. They don't have to go north of the border in seeking that opportunity. People should have a chance to make the money where they live, but they haven't been able to do that, because of these trade laws.

We need to stop attacking these migrant workers, because actually what's been happening is they're the victims of a system that has enabled corporations to make great profits using a cheap supply of labor. This has been a disgrace in this country, where we've actually supported a form of slave labor, and that has to stop. People who have been in this country and have been contributing to this country should have a path to legalization. We need to have, certainly, some control at the borders. But I'll tell you, the way this whole immigration thing has been couched, I think, has done a disservice to the proud tradition of this country in welcoming immigrants from all around the world.

AMY GOODMAN: Back to the Attorney General: do you think Alberto Gonzales should resign?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Of course, he should. But he's not the only one who should resign. I mean, this administration has been responsible for conducting an illegal war, for lying to the American people about the cause of a war. I mean, I've submitted legislation to impeach the Vice President. I think the President has to be called to an accountability. I think the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense and others should be subject to serious questions, whether or not they should be prosecuted for war crimes. I mean, there are some serious issues here related to governance.

And here's the thing, Amy. Whoever would be the next president -- I'm hoping that it's going to be me -- that, you know, we have to ask, what will their standards be? If we don't challenge this conduct of office right now, we're raising the bar for expectations so low that we can have a criminal in the White House next time around, and who cares? I care. The American people should care. We should want the Constitution protected.

AMY GOODMAN: Do you think the Democratic-led Congress has failed the American people right now?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Absolutely. Are you kidding? This isn't even a close question. We were elected in November to end the war. That's why people voted Democrat. That's why they gave us control of the House and the Senate. And they expected us to take a new direction. They didn't want a Democratic version of the war, and they didn't want to be told later on, "Well, we just don't have the votes." Well, you know what? You don't need the votes to say no. You just don't offer any legislation at all.

AMY GOODMAN: Congressmember Kucinich, I want to thank you for being with us, Ohio congressman and Democratic presidential candidate.

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"This Isn't American Idol, We're Choosing the President of the United States"

Representative Dennis Kucinich on Corporate Media Campaign Coverage

Democracy Now interview, March 28, 2007

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D - OH) was one of eight Congressmembers to vote against the House war-spending bill last week that set a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. We go to Capitol Hill to speak with Kucinich about the bill, why he thinks impeachment "should be on the table," the corporate media's coverage of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination and more.

AMY GOODMAN: Last week, eight anti-war Democrats voted against the supplemental spending bill when it came before the house. One of those lawmakers, Congress member Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, joins us from Capitol Hill. Congress member Kucinich is also running for the Democratic Presidential nomination. We welcome you to Democracy Now!, Congressman Kucinich.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Good morning Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: Good to have you with us. First of all, as you stand overlooking the capitol, talk about your vote against the war funding bill.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, we were given false choices. We were told that we either buy into president Bush's plan, which is keep the war going indefinitely, or accept the Democratic version of the war in Iraq, which would keep the war going for another year or two. I say those choices weren't sufficient.

The Democrats could have refused to send a bill forward. We didn't have to fund this war. We're not under any obligation to keep the war going. And yet our leaders took another path. Furthermore, Amy, you may be interested to know that the 2008 budget, which is before Congress today and will be voted on tomorrow, contains another $145 billion for the war, and on top of that, they're putting another $50 billion for the war in fiscal year 2009.

So this talk about ending the war by March or by September belies the fact that the budget has money in it to keep the war going into 2009. And I think that's wrong. I think the American people will reject that type of thinking, and I'm standing strong to say get out now. I put forth a plan embodied in HR 1234. To accomplish just that.

AMY GOODMAN: But what do you say to those make the argument that if president Bush has on his desk a bill that gives money, gives a fortune in continuing the war, and he has to veto it because he doesn't like the timetable, that this puts him in a very difficult position?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Our decisions have to be way above politics. We have the lives of our troops at stake here. There's no military victory in Iraq. We're there illegally. The occupation is fueling the insurgency. Democrats can still, after president Bush vetoes the bill, which he will, Democrats can still take the right position, which is refuse to fund the war, use money in the pipeline to bring the troops home.

AMY GOODMAN: What about the pressure from the leadership, the Democratic Party, from the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, all of the stories going around of Congress members voting for the funding so that they could help out the spinach farmers, etc.?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: On matters of war and peace, I think people have to vote their conscience. I can say I wasn't pressured.

AMY GOODMAN: But what about those that were, and what about the spending bill going way beyond funding wars?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: It's a legitimate concern. I mean, if you're for peace, you vote for peace. If you're for peace, you don't vote for war because somebody's giving you a plum in a bill that's designed to keep a war going. I think the American people want new leadership which understands that if you're for peace, you vote for peace, you don't fund wars.

And so I'm moving forward with a plan, it's embodied in HR 1234 that would stop the funding and the occupation, close the bases, bring the troops home, and set in motion a parallel process that would stabilize Iraq with the help of the international community, which will only help, by the way, unless, you know, if the United States takes a new course and ends the occupation.

So my plan envisions that America will take a new direction. What's happening right now, Amy, is we're looking in this budget, and people, and Democrats that look at this budget today are going to be surprised to find out that our leaders are proposing keeping the war going into 2009.

AMY GOODMAN: Let me play a clip of you, of House Speaker -- for you, of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushing for the passage of the supplemental spending bill. This was her comment after the bill passed.

0. HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: Proudly this new Congress voted to bring an end to the war in Iraq. It took one great, giant step in that direction. We voted "NO" to giving a blank check to an open-ended commitment, a war without end, to the President of the United States, and "Yes" to begin the end of the war and the redeployment of our troops.
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AMY GOODMAN: I then want to play for you a clip of President Bush. President Bush's comment after the House passed the spending bill last week.

0. PRESIDENT BUSH: This bill has too much pork, too many conditions, and an artificial timetable for withdrawal. As I made clear for weeks, I will veto if it comes to my desk. And because the vote in the House was so close, it is clear that my veto would be sustained. Today's action in the House does only one thing, it delays the delivery of vital resources for our troops.
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AMY GOODMAN: Congress member Dennis Kucinich, your response.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, the Democrats' position should have been and can still be, that we refuse to fund the war, that we don't give this president a dime to keep the war going, that we use money in the pipeline to bring the troops home and set in motion a parallel process that would secure Iraq. We're under no obligation to keep this war going.

But I would say, Amy, that if you look at the budget, which is facing Congress tomorrow, it provides not only $145 billion for fiscal year '08 for the war, for all of it, but another $50 billion for fiscal year 2009. I wonder how that squares with Democratic leaders' position that they want to bring the troops home in March or in September of next year. There's something that's contradictory here.

So I'm going to try to see if I can reconcile that today in Congress by talking to leadership and alerting my fellow members that money is in the budget to keep this war going past President Bush's term. President Bush has been very clear. He's going to keep this war going through the end of his term. I say that American should get out now, that it's not a choice between President Bush or keeping the war going another year, year and a half. We need to get out now, and we need to let the troops know we truly support them, by bringing them home.

AMY GOODMAN: Congressman Kucinich, what would getting out now look like? I mean, do you mean, for example, today, you begin the process, and when would the soldiers be home if -- well, if you were president, Dennis Kucinich?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: I crafted my plan with the help of the people at the UN, and I will tell you that they say that it would take about two months, three months to mobilize a sufficient force that would replace US Troops leaving. So I say two to three months we could have troops home and have an international force that would help stabilize Iraq. But the international community will not become involved as long as the United States intends to occupy Iraq and keep bases open. So we need to take a new direction.

My plan would be as follows: to put in place the provisions of HR 1234, which ends the occupation, closes the bases, sets in motion a plan to bring the troops home, bring in international peacekeepers, and stop the privatization of Iraq oil. One of the things in the bill that passed the House was a demand that the Iraq government pass a hydrocarbon act which sets the stage for broad privatization of trillions of dollars of Iraqi oil interests.

Now, think about it. If Democrats had told the American people last October that if you vote democrat in November, we'll not only give you enough money to keep the war going through the end of President Bush's term, but we'll also privatize the oil of Iraq and then help the US oil companies win the prize that I think the war was all about from the very beginning. I don't think the people would have voted Democrat. So Democrats have to keep faith with the American people.

My plan would do that, by returning full control of the Iraqi oil assets to the Iraqi people. Put in motion a plan for reconciliation between Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds, which cannot happen as long as the United States occupies. Provide for honest reconstruction, you know, none of these contractors from the US can be there. They've stolen money from the Iraqi people and also from the US taxpayers.

We have to give the Iraqi people jobs with Iraqi contractors doing the work. We have to provide for reparations so that we can pay money to the Iraqi people who have lost their homes or lost the lives of loved ones. We have to stabilize energy and food prices. And when Iraq goes to the international community, make sure that Iraq doesn't suffer from the structural readjustment provisions of the IMF or the World Bank.

AMY GOODMAN: Your response, Congress member Kucinich to Halliburton saying they're moving to Dubai?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, I think the honest thing would be to have a good Attorney General call Halliburton in and start the questioning of them about their conduct, and I think that they should not be immune from prosecution simply because they're moving to Dubai.

AMY GOODMAN: We continue with Dennis Kucinich from Ohio, Democratic Presidential hopeful. He is standing right outside the Capitol right now. You mentioned Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. What do you think should happen to him?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: It's very clear that the Justice Department has become so politicized that it cannot function in the interests of the American people. The honorable thing would be for Mr. Gonzales to resign.

AMY GOODMAN: And if he doesn't resign, should he be fired? Should the President fire him?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, I don't think that's going to happen. I think he's doing what the President has asked him to do. The question here is what's his sense of honor about his responsibility to the law and to the American people. That's going to be his decision.

AMY GOODMAN: Speaking of the President, what do you think should happen to President Bush? Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, said that impeachment is off the table. What are your thoughts?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: I don't think that it's wise for the House and the Congress, for co-equal branches of government, to essentially give the President carte blanche in his decision making by saying no matter what you do, impeachment is off the table. I think that impeachment has to be on the table, and I also think that it's time to have a national conversation in cities, in towns all over America about the appropriate conduct for a President and a Vice President, about whether it's right for a President and Vice President to lie to the American people and take us into war. About the erosion of civil rights in America and how that's come about as a result of this administration's conduct of the war.

I think that it's time to have that kind of a discussion, and I've urged that from my website at kucinich.us, and I'm asking to hear from people about what they think, and I think that we need to make sure that this President understands that he can't do whatever he wants, that he is bound by the constitution, that he is bound by national and international law.

AMY GOODMAN: Congressman Kucinich, you've mentioned the word treason. What do you mean?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: I don't think I mentioned the word treason.

AMY GOODMAN: Have you talked about President Bush and treason?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: No, I've never -- I never mentioned the word treason. I do think that accountability is a key word here. And I think the President and the Vice President must be held accountable. That's why I think it's a mistake for anyone to say impeachment is off the table. At the same time, we have to take a responsibility as members of Congress to uphold the constitution of the United States. That's our obligation as a co-equal branch of government.

So I'm waiting to hear from the American people. I would ask people who are listening or watching to go to my website at: www.kucinich.us. I'd like to hear from you. What do you think? Should the House move forward with a resolution of impeachment and what do you think the dimensions of it should be? I want to hear from the American people on this.

AMY GOODMAN: What do you think of the Center for Constitutional Rights going to Germany to file a complaint against former Congress member -- or rather, former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld? It's not only against him, it's against Alberto Gonzales, it's against General Sanchez and Miller for torture, over the issue of torture.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: I think that all members of this administration, including the President, the Vice President, and all the other officials you mentioned, should be held accountable under international law, and that that accountability does not expire with the expiration of the term of this President. America at some point is going to have to restore its moral equilibrium, which has been lost, because this administration took us into a war based on lies. They all have to be held accountable. They must be held accountable, not only under national, but international law.

AMY GOODMAN: When you came to the National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis, you talked about holding hearings around the FCC, heading up a committee that is responsible for the FCC, I think it's the Domestic Policy Subcommittee the House Oversight on Government Reform Committee. What do you plan to do?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, our committee just started its work last week. The Domestic Policy Subcommittee has jurisdiction over the Federal Communications Commission. It's been 20 years since we've had and hearings at all on the Fairness Doctrine. It's been a long time since Congress has held hearings on the concentration in the electronic media.

And so I want to proceed with hearings sometime in the next few months that would review the -- those animating principles of the FCC embodied in the Federal Communications Act of 1934, and that is that the electronic media shall serve in the public interest, convenience, and necessity. I want to hold that up and see if today's conditions corresponds to what it was that gave the public the inclination to cause electronic media to be licensed and if the licensees have kept faith with the American people.

AMY GOODMAN: Congress member Kucinich, you also just returned from New York, where you held a news conference on universal healthcare. How does your plan differ from, for example, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York Senator, also Democratic hopeful - Presidential hopeful, also said she supports universal healthcare.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, it differs in every way. Everyone in this campaign is for universal healthcare. But what Senator Clinton, Senator Edwards, and others are talking about is having the insurance companies still in charge of healthcare, of having the government subsidize the insurance companies or forcing people to buy insurance or have the government subsidize the purchase of insurance.

Look, the President of the United States shouldn't be an insurance salesman. The President should stand for a position where everyone is covered, that's what my bill does. The Conyers-Kucinich Bill, HR 676, Medicare for all, it ends for-profit medicine, it is a single-payer system which recognizes we're spending $2.2 trillion a year on healthcare, but 31% of that, or $660 billion, goes for the activities of the for-profit system.

Take that money, put it into healthcare, and you have enough money to cover every medical need, including dental care, vision care, mental health, prescription drug, and long-term care. Healthcare is a right, it's not a privilege. Senator Clinton's plan helps the insurance companies, it keeps the for-profit system going, and my plan ends the for-profit system and uses the savings to provide healthcare for everyone.

AMY GOODMAN: What do you think of the media coverage of the Democratic Presidential race right now? A lot of attention on both Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator Obama and Clinton. Of course, last time you also ran for president, and there was a major issue the day after you took Ted Koppel to task at ABC for asking questions about polls and money as opposed to issues on your positions. The next day, the so-called embedded reporter in your campaign was pulled, the ABC reporter. What about the coverage now?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: My concern wasn't so much whether reporters were embedded in my campaign, as much as it was the fact that mainstream media reports were embedded with the war. But as far as my own campaign, look, I'm bringing issues forth to the American people. We're organizing in places like New Hampshire, where the Democratic Party just came out in favor of single-payer healthcare, not for profit. My campaign is about organizing door-to-door and grass roots fundraising, and people who want to get involved can go to kucinich.us and help us.

I'm not going to be on my knees begging for attention from the mainstream media. They have to realize that they have a responsibility as broadcast licensees to provide coverage to all the candidates. After all, this isn't "American idol", we're choosing a President of the United States. The American people have a right to a substantive discussion about those issues that affect their lives, such as war and peace, such as poverty and prosperity, healthcare for all, or keep the insurance companies in business in healthcare.

We need a new discussion, and I appreciate the chance to be on Democracy Now!, because I know your audience is an audience of people with principle, of activism, and I'm confident that when they hear what I stand for, they'll be interested in joining this campaign.

AMY GOODMAN: Finally, President Kucin -- finally, Congress member Kucinich, the men and women who have gone AWOL, there have been thousands of them, some are being court-martialed, like Lieutenant Aaron Witada will be court-martialed again. It was a mistrial in his first trial, first Officer to say no to war, to deployment to Iraq. What do you think should happen to these men? Augustine Aguayo, an Army medic who applied for CO status, didn't get it, and is now in prison in Germany. Do you support their saying "no"? Do you support their refusing to go to Iraq or redeploy to Iraq?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: I support the troops who serve and also those who don't feel it's right to serve. I think we have to ask our troops to be able to reserve the right of their conscience, and if they feel it's the right thing to go forward, then we support that. If they feel it's not the right thing, we should support that, too. I think we're in a point in the history of this country where many people have looked at the war and realized that it's wrong. Some of those people are soldiers. Soldiers are put in an impossible situation, not only those who are committed to serving in Iraq, but also those who know that the war is wrong and who question the war. I think we have to love our troops, whatever situation they find themselves in. And the way to support them is to bring them home.

AMY GOODMAN: Do you think they should be court-martialed?

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: You know, I don't think that anyone who's taken a principles and conscientious position should be subject to a court-martial. They should be permitted to leave the service if they so desire, but not be forced through that kind of a process. I think, you know, there has to be an underlying truth here, and the underlying truth is the war was wrong, period. The war is based on lies. We should support our troops by bringing them home, and we should support those who have challenged the war by giving them a chance to leave honorably.

AMY GOODMAN: Congress member Kucinich, I want to thank you for joining us from the Capitol. Ohio Congress member and Democratic Presidential hopeful.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Thank you Amy.

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