Congressman Dennis Kucinich supports legalizing gay marriage, repealing the death penalty and the Patriot Act, withdrawing from the World Trade Organization and scrapping the North American Free Trade Agreement, implementing national ranked choice voting and publicly financed political campaigns, ending the occupation of Iraq, creating universal single-payer health care, forming a Department of Peace, cutting the Pentagon budget by 15 percent, legalizing medical marijuana and upholding legalized abortion.
Those positions may not land the Ohio Democrat his party's presidential nomination, but they have a number of third-party and independent progressives solidly behind his candidacy.
Thursday in San Francisco, three of California's most prominent Green Party members voiced support for Kucinich, though stopping short of formal endorsements because of the party divide.
"If Kucinich is the Democratic nominee, I am sure the Democrats and the Greens will work collaboratively to oust George Bush in next year's election," said Matt Gonzalez, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, who introduced the candidate at a breakfast for his supporters.
Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Global Exchange and Code Pink Women for Peace and U.S. Senate candidate for the Greens in 2000, told The Examiner that Kucinich is "as green as you can get."
"He's so genuine, you wonder how this guy ever got to Congress," Benjamin said.
Peter Camejo, California's Green Party candidate for governor, said if Kucinich were to win the Democratic nod, he "would favor calling an emergency national convention of the Green Party" to discuss how to support the progressive candidate.
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