Where's the bold vision

Where's the bold vision?

I am a Kucinich delegate to the Democratic Convention from Alaska [Representative Dennis J. Kucinich is a little-known presidential candidate from Ohio]. I became involved in Kucinich's campaign once I learned of his strong and consistent position against the war in Iraq. I think the occupation and privatization of Iraq are the most important issues facing our nation, and I think the Democratic Party and the Kerry/Edwards ticket need to address it.

Every day the media reports growing opposition to the war; it is not just old-time peace activists like me who oppose it. The war has been a disaster. There were no weapons of mass destruction; there was no connection with al Qaeda; Saddam was not the culprit. Americans are deeply bothered by the prisoner abuse scandals in Iraq. We are embarrassed by the U.S. companies with no-bid contracts, which are reaping the profits of reconstructing the Iraq that we destroyed. The United States has lost its self-respect and the respect of other nations.

People want to have pride in the United States again. We want to not just vote against George Bush but to vote for a candidate and a party that stands for something admirable. We want a country that takes care of its people and doesn't waste our taxes on preemptive wars and weapons in space. We want the U.S. to be a world leader in providing jobs, health care and education for our own people and to stand for peace, fairness, integrity and mutual respect in our relations with other nations. We want to end the exporting of our jobs overseas to countries where workers' rights are not respected. We want to be the leader in fighting global warming, weapons proliferation and re-thinking international relations.

All across the country old and new Democrats turned out in record numbers at their party caucuses. Many gravitated toward candidates like Dennis Kucinich, John Dean, John Edwards, Carol Moseley-Braun, Al Sharpton and John Kerry because of their vision for a better America. We need to recognize and incorporate their ideas into a new democratic plan for our country.

This desire for a better country and for an end to the war is not a fringe thing. At the Alaska Democratic Convention in May, we voted overwhelmingly for this new vision. Our state platform now includes a clause rejecting the Bush doctrine of preemptive war. On the convention floor we adopted resolutions calling for the United States to turn the rebuilding and security of Iraq over to the UN; to repeal the Patriot Act; to sign the Kyoto protocol; to join the International Criminal Court; to ratify the Convention on Land Mines and the Convention on Genocide; to establish a cabinet-level "Department of Peace"; and to support a universal, single-payer national healthcare system.

The Democratic Party and the Kerry/Edwards campaign need to be bold and to provide people with a visionary, recognizable alternative to Bush's version of the U.S. If Kerry and the party provide this kind of courageous leadership, we can draw new voters, pull in the Nader supporters and the Greens, and win back the White House and Congress. I can't think of a more important time to get involved in making this happen.