CLEVELAND (TDB) -- The chairman of New Jersey's Green Party is no fan of Cleveland U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, and is dismissing the Ohioan's 2008 presidential campaign as nothing more than smoke-and-mirrors meant to keep progressives in the Democratic Party.
George DeCarlo's assessment is a smack down that belittles Kucinich as a witting ally of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. DeCarlo told PoliticsNewJersey.com's Max Pizaro that the Clevelander was little more than a prop.
"Kucinich is there for one purpose. He's there to keep peace activists, greens -- note the small 'g' -- in the party. Kucinich is willingly being used. It keeps them there, but out of fear. Of course the nominee is going to be Hillary (Clinton), who voted for the war and is a top money receiver from the pharmaceutical industry."
The New Jersey Greens chief had a softer spot in his heart for Republican maverick Ron Paul, who also voted against the war. DeCarlo clearly has issues with the Clintons, saying Bill's economic sanctions on Iraq were deadlier than George Bush's war.
"Clinton killed more people in Iraq by the sanctions he imposed on that country. All this business about Bush being an incompetent failure, an idiot and a dope -- it's nonsense. Bush has done everything he said he was going to do."
In years past, Kucinich had friends among the Greens. The New Hampshire Green Party endorsed his 2004 presidential campaign, and said the Clevelander deserved the support of all who cared about peace, social justice and environmental issues. This time around, things are different.
** The Blogger has seemingly changes some wording as in changing dupe to dope. Is the policy of Kucinich operatives to act in this manner? They have also not included all the article from www.politicsnj.com.
ReplyDelete-- George DeCarlo 908-342-1275 (cell) Candidate for General Assembly 21st District in New Jersey
DeCarlo committed to the Greens, with Nader or without him
By Max Pizarro - July 24, 2007 - 11:10am
Tags: Ron Paul, Ralph Nader, George DeCarlo, Cynthia McKinney,
George DeCarlo of Berkeley Heights, chair of the State Green Party, says it’s likely Princeton graduate and public advocate Ralph Nader will again be the Green Party’s nominee for president in 2008, with former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia as the party’s nominee for vice president.
It won’t be official until February or March of next year, after the party’s national convention.
"I haven’t endorsed anyone yet," DeCarlo says. "I don’t know if the people running for president in the two major parties know how ridiculous they look up on stages right now playing into a system where money matters and issues don’t."
One obvious question for DeCarlo is why should progressives support Nader and not U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic candidate for president whose views on the War in Iraq, labor and trade, the environment and healthcare are similar to Nader’s?
And why should they back the Green Party when Nader’s vote share in 2000 drained votes away from Democratic Presidential candidate and environmental champion Al Gore, who was eventually bumped in a Florida cliffhanger by a U.S. Supreme court decision?
DeCarlo remains convinced the Dems are no better than the GOP, and says Bill Clinton was worse than Bush in some ways as a president and essentially a failure, at least in terms of what DeCarlo sees as Clinton’s finger in the wind approach to leadership.
"Clinton killed more people in Iraq by the sanctions he opposed on that country," says DeCarlo. "All this business about Bush being an incompetent failure, an idiot and a dope - it’s nonsense. Bush has done everything he said he was going to do."
As long as Kucinich is aligned with the Democrats he can’t help but be little more than a prop, says the Green Party chair.
"Kucinich is there for one purpose," says DeCarlo. "He’s there to keep peace activists, greens - note the small ‘g’ - in the party. Kucinich is willingly being used. It keeps them there, but out of fear. Of course the nominee is going to be Hillary (Clinton), who voted for the war and is a top money receiver from the pharmaceutical industry."
DeCarlo says he likes U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a Republican presidential candidate who voted against the war in Iraq, but who is ultimately harnessed to another party that has irreversible problems, in his view.
In the end the issue for DeCarlo is equal ballot access in New Jersey for Greens and other alternative parties. Right now the two major parties control the ballots and the arrangement of candidates on those ballots.
"Until we’re all (the Green Party and other alternative parties) in the lottery for a column we will continue to have disappointing results with the Democrats and the Republicans," DeCarlo says.