Jim Hightower: "I'd settle for a second party."

[pnorman]

(I just got this email)
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 13:30:33 -0700
Subject: Note from Ani, Ed Asner, Elliott Gould, Ben Cohen & Friends
From: "Concerned Artists & Activists" <[e-mail]>

FROM ED ASNER, BEN COHEN, JAMES CROMWELL,
ANI DIFRANCO, BARBARA EHRENREICH,
ELLIOTT GOULD AND MIMI KENNEDY

Dear Friend,

We write you as artists and activists who believe the Democratic Party is at a
turning point. Jim Hightower says it best -- when asked what he thinks of 3rd
parties, he says: "I'd settle for a second party." So would we.

We want a Democratic Party that offers a real alternative to the Bush
Administration agenda of corporatism and war.

We want Democrats to stand up against the Bush Administration's war in Iraq,
and the continuing occupation which is so costly in lives and resources.

We want a Party that stands up for genuine universal health coverage and for
expanded educational opportunities and environmental cleanup paid for by cuts in
the bloated Pentagon budget. Our country's military spending now rivals that of
all other countries in the world combined. Yet most Democratic presidential
candidates have declared the Pentagon off-limits to cuts.

We want a Party that challenges NAFTA, the World Trade Organization and a
system of global trade that enriches multinational corporations as it drives down
environmental and labor standards around the world. Unfortunately, most
Democratic presidential candidates supported NAFTA and/or the WTO.

We want a Party that says no to failed criminal justice policies such as the
racially-biased "drug war" that has depleted state budgets while fueling the
prison-industrial complex.

If you agree with us on what the Democratic Party should stand for, there is one
sure way of telling the world: Support Dennis Kucinich in the Democratic
primaries!

Dennis Kucinich is a unique and courageous member of Congress -- the first
presidential candidate to oppose Bush's war in Iraq, and one who has never
wavered in his opposition.

He's the only presidential candidate who voted against the "USA PATRIOT Act."
We know Dennis. We admire him. We endorse him.

If you agree with us on what direction the Party and our nation must take -- even
if you aren't endorsing Dennis yet -- please consider sending a donation to help
him spread his progressive Democratic message to more and more people.

Contributions are needed now, as the Sept. 30 is the financial filing deadline --
and your donation to the campaign is doubled thanks to federal matching funds.
It's quick and easy to donate. Please do so by clicking here:
https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php

Join us and Dennis in telling the world that only a Democratic Party with firm
principles can inspire and win.

Thank you,
Ed Asner, Ben Cohen, James Cromwell, Ani DiFranco,
Barbara Ehrenreich, Elliott Gould, Mimi Kennedy

For more information on Dennis Kucinich: http://www.kucinich.us
Please forward our email to others who share our concerns and values.

[renie408]

1. I wonder who Tom Cruise is going to vote for?

Ok, I am kidding...sort of. But Mimi Kennedy? Come on!!

I like Kucinich, but its weird, I just can't see him as President. Maybe I am as indoctrinated to who a President is supposed to be as anybody else. But its like we have a 'president template' and he doesn't fit. I am NOT saying that is a good argument against Kucinich, I really have no argument against him. It must be frustrating for his supporters to keep hearing people say that. I know that I want to run screaming through the house and rip my hair out when I hear people say, "I really like Edwards and could support him happily." But they don't.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. Thought you were "oughta here?"

Glad to have you back!

[renie408]

4. I went and took a walk

and came back with a better attitude. :)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

6. Good.

Warning: Look out for short piers!




(More is always better at DU. And better for it.)

[JohnKleeb]

3. no worries renie I understand

and thank you for understanding our frustrations it really is tough. Thanks again.

[DemBones DemBones]

7. AFAIK, Tom Cruise has never been politically active so who cares?

Ed Asner, Willie Nelson, Barbara Ehrenreich, Patch Adams are people known as progressives and activists so their support for Dennis Kucinich is meaningful.

I'd also suggest that NO candidate ever fits the "president template" because we mentally change the template after each election to accomodate the new man.

If it's that you, a supporter of the handsome Sen. Edwards, think Dennis Kucinich is too unattractive to be a successful president, I refer you to Abraham Lincoln.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Mairead]

9. Perhaps it's time to take another break? DB didn't deserve that from you

Nobody need care who Mimi Kennedy wants people to vote for. But some people probably do, just as some people probably admire Ed Asner's longtime dedication to the rights of working people and think his opinions might be as good a guide as anyone else's. What's wrong with celebrities lending their names to a position?

And you're right, Dennis doesn't 'fit the typical mold'. But no RC was ever elected before Kennedy. No Black person or woman has ever been elected. But one day someone Black or female or both will be.

Let's hope that people aren't so shallow that they can only vote for the mold, because people who fit the mold have been screwing us six ways from Sunday. We're on the edge of The Pit right now, so I think we should hope with every fiber of our being that we can persuade people that electing another member of The Mold People is not in their best interests.

[renie408]

10. Of course

it is unreasonable of me to take offense at the righteous post directed towards me. I should be humbly grateful to be castigated, completely without merit or evidence, as someone who is only voting for Edwards because he is goodlooking. Gee, what was I thinking to get irritated?? How, exactly, did anybody expect I would respond to those kind of comments?? They were not intended to be friendly, if you hadn't noticed.

Look, when I made the template comment, I was referring to the fact that Kucinich is unmarried and, to be honest, not your typical politico. Yes, a black woman will some day be elected President. But I don't think it is going to be next year. And not because I wouldn't vote for a black woman, but because there are millions of other people who won't. I am sure that you are clinging to that "Kucinich is imminently electable' thing, but I am not the ONLY person who does not see that. And it isn't my fault and you can jump of my back, but people ARE that shallow. God, do you honestly think that in a country where 'Jackass- The Movie' was a box office hit, that the people AREN'T shallow? I am not sayin it is RIGHT, but sometimes being RIGHT just isn't enough. You have to be RIGHT, married with the requisite 2.4 adorable children, and a white man. That is harsh and gross and I wish it were different. In another year, when the stakes are not so astronomically high and given a worthy candidate, I will most likely take on the status quo. But not in 2004. That is not the year to try to break the mold. There is simply too much at stake.

[Mairead]

11. Yes, I think it was unreasonable of you to take offence

when it was you, not DB, who brought up Tom Cruise. As for you having been 'castigated', I think you missed seeing the 'if' in what DB wrote. Take another look.

You don't think a non-Mold Person is going to be elected next year. I think that as long as we only vote for Mold People, a non-Mold Person is never going to be elected. Being elected requires that people vote. But it doesn't require anything else! So if we vote, it could be next year. We won't know til we try.

If we count on people being shallow, then we might as well throw up our hands and drink the kool-aid right now. Because Rove and SmirkCo are already pandering to the shallow. They've got a lock on the shallow, the bone-ignorant, the mean-spirited, the people who are pleased when someone takes a photo of them and their sign that says 'moran'.

But people stay home in droves precisely because they're NOT shallow, and they refuse to be treated as though they are. They want a reason to stand up. If we give them a reason, they'll stand up. Saul Alinsky demonstrated that.

I'm not going to settle for less than what we need. If not enough people agree with me, so be it. That's democracy. I will have done all that one person can do.

[renie408]

12. I respect how you feel

But I don't think I AM settling for less. I genuinely think that Edwards is a good candidate with good plans who will make a good President. I also think he is very electable and will hold mass appeal for a wide audience.

Isn't part of being a good politician being able to make your message and your plans available to the most people? To be able to work within the system to effect change or to help the country? If Kucinich is considered 'unacceptable' to a large group of people (even if it is a subconcious intolerance for his falling outside of the typical-politician-mold), then how can he be an effective national leader? He has to have NATIONAL appeal on a broad spectrum to win a NATIONAL election.

Please understand that I am NOT saying that you should do anything other than follow your conscience. But don't sneer at the rest of us because we don't follow YOUR conscience. Maybe that is not what you or your fellow supporter intended to do, but that is how it feels. I am sick and damn tired of Edwards getting blown off as a pretty boy. He is a damn good candidate with a lot to offer. It is juvenile and obnoxious for anyone to suppose (even with an 'if' thrown in) that the only reason people are interested in the Edwards message is because of his looks. And you can read that post with as technical an eye as you would like, the inference was pretty apparent.

[diamondsoul]

13. *hugs* for Renie

Hey, I admit it, I like watching Edwards as much for that brilliant smile as for his platform!

At the same time, I think there is something to be said for beauty coming from within. I enjoy listening to and watching Edwards, and I admire him for his life history. I hate to say it, but my admiration for Kucinich is stronger, therefore so is my attraction to his physical appearance. I LOVE to listen to him speak, and I LOVE to see him smile.

I genuinely admire the fact that he never gives up, that after two failed marriages he decided what was right for HIM and has stuck to that, that he isn't trying to cater to the whims of superficial shallow people when it comes to matters that have nothing to do with his ability to run a nation effectively.

The appeal is in the message. If Edwards' message is more appealing to you, then I fully support your choice. IF you support Edwards because he appeals to others, THEN I would ask you to reconsider your support.

I think the intent behind the reaction you got was the implication that because these are famous actors they are mere faces with no substance behind their support of Kucinich, and just how nasty that comes across. I don't know that you meant it that way, but I was a little surprised when I read it.

What happened was that you got back what you APPEARED to be dishing out. For my own part, I wasn't prepared to assume it was a deliberate insult (because I think of you as a genuinely good and sincere person), but it does appear that way to some. I think we should all try to stop taking some of these comments so personally, so I'm making a strong effort toward that on my own end. All I can do as far as others is make the suggestion.

Take heart. I like Edwards quite a bit, and the more I see the stronger that gets. You've made a good choice, and I won't insult you over it.

[Mairead]

15. What Di said...including the hug

[DemBones DemBones]

17. Personal attacks like this are STRICTLY against DU rules.

[Mairead]

5. y'beat me to it :-)

[rbnyc]

14. I was just coming here to post this.

I just love Ed Asner. He spoke at my college once and I'll never forget it. I was very glad to see these names associated with Dennis.

[JohnKleeb]

18. you know the Warden in Green Mile he supports DK too

I love that movie part of the reason I oppose the death penalty, and I often listen to the main theme on my iPod it interestingly enough makes me think of our struggle that is the struggle to implant progressivism back and the movement for DK. I am weird like that guys.

[dpbrown]

16. Hell, yeah!

It's our party!

Let's take it back from the corporate apologists who've hijacked it!

Dan Brown
Saint Paul, Minnesota