One Week Ago Today
By Chuck Hyde, Editor of StandBesideHer.com
One Week Ago Today
One week ago today our nation solemnly remembered the victims and families of victims of the murderous attacks of September 11th, 2001. Also one week ago today, I wrote a column on this site expressing the hope that our politicians could put aside petty politics and memorialize this day as Americans and not as Republicans or Democrats. Dennis Kucinich, Democratic presidential candidate, clearly does not share this sentiment.
On September 11th, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on a nonbonding resolution establishing the day as a day of remembrance, memorializing the families of the victims, and honoring the men and women who serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. The vote on this resolution was 334–1. 98 members where absent due to 9/11 memorials, attending a funeral for Rep. Paul Gilmore, or other commitments. The lone vote against was, you guessed it, Dennis Kucinich. Mr. Kucinich voted this way to protest the war in Iraq. I do believe he has the right to be against the war, and I believe he should vote his conscience on the House floor. It is horribly insensitive though to hold the families of this horrific tragedy hostage to score political points. Obviously the families got the resolution honoring them but it would have been nice to have a unanimous show of support. Mr. Kucinich released a statement later saying that he really did respect and honor the victims families but he had to vote against the resolution. In my mind this statement rings hollow.
This follows Mr. Kucinich’s appearance on Syrian television attacking the U.S. and the war in Iraq. Syria is officially listed as a sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. and actively supports terrorism against the U.S. ally Israel. Not only did Mr. Kucinich’s actions in Syria border on treason, he was clearly being used by the Syrian government as a PR prop. His stunt in Syria easily draws parallels with a young Bill Clinton protesting the Vietnam war in the Soviet Union while our troops were dying in the war. Mr. Clinton’s election and subsequent reelection even though his time in the Soviet Union was common knowledge gives the impression that this type of behavior is celebrated in the Democratic party.
This tolerance within the Democratic party for attacking the U.S. brings me to the point of this article. It would be easy to dismiss Mr. Kucinich as a nut or a goofball (I know I do) and to ignore his candidacy because the voters, if the polls are any indication, seem to be doing this also. The real issue here though is the Democratic party. The Democratic presidential candidates have been quick to attack each other on any little misstep but their silence on the recent behavior of Mr. Kucinich has been deafening. The Democratic party is so strongly beholden to the extreme left anti-military wing of their party that they are afraid for their political lives to take a stand defending the troops or the U.S.
Maybe I’m just cranky this morning, but I am mildly surprised that Mr. Kucinich isn’t doing better in the polls. With the Democratic party’s history of tolerance for, among other things, Bill Clinton’s protesting and draft dodging, protesters spitting on returning troops during the Vietnam war, John Kerry’s frequent and disconnected ramblings against the troops, and Code Pink’s protesting wounded soldiers across the street from the Walter Reed army hospital, I would think that Mr. Kucinich’s virulent anti-troop statements and anti-Americanism would make him the ideal Democratic presidential candidate. That’s what’s on my mind.
Editor’s note: We have to give a dishonorable mention to MoveOn.org. This article is actually a week old. I was so angry when I heard about Mr. Kucinich’s “protest vote” I immediately sat down and wrote the article and saved it for this week. Since then General Patraeus testified before Congress and MoveOn.org ran an ad in The New York Slime calling the honorable General a betrayer. While attacking a man who has spent his career in faithful service of our country is obviously a horrible and despicable act, I don’t really care that MoveOn.org did this, it is expected from them. They have made their disdain for America and the military abundantly clear and anything less than a cheap, disgusting attack would be the surprise. What I think is relevant is the lack of response from the Democratic party on the whole and the Democratic Presidential candidates in particular. Not only have they not distanced themselves from MoveOn.org ad, several prominent Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, echoed the sentiment. I would like to thank them for helping to prove my point about the ideal Democratic candidate.
About The Author: Chuck Hyde is editor of StandBesideHer.com. He is also a husband and father of two teenage boys and a younger daughter. His family lives in the northern Midwestern rural United States, where they enjoy camping, fishing, and other outdoor activities together. Chuck is a Registered Nurse in an inner city emergency room and has had a lifelong addiction to politics.
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