Dennis Kucinich (Democrat)

Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich's main focus in his platform is "to re-establish America's place in the world. Diplomacy and a return to statesmanship as the path to strong international leadership. A new policy of investing in our communities and our infrastructure. A new policy of Strength through Peace."

Competitiveness & Innovation

Kucinich has stated that as president he would end American participation in North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as well as the Word Trade Organization (WTO). He has spoken against outsourcing of American jobs, and argues that multi-national corporations "ship American jobs overseas, turn a blind eye to human rights abuses and hide behind their lobbyists in Washington."

Rep. Kucinich believes that H-1B visas have been used by large corporations as a tool for cheap labor, and has advocated greater funding for visa enforcement as well as investigations into visa fraud and possibilities for new policies on the immigration of people with specialized knowledge or unique skills.

Kucinich has proposed several technical initiatives in the areas of renewable energy, pollution control, and open source software and media.

STEM Education & Workforce

Kucinich prefaces his education platform by stating that the current Administration "wants to box our young people in with standardized tests and a limited focus on math and science." He instead proposes to broaden educational systems by:

• Expanding public education to include pre-kindergarten beginning at age 3, as well as tuition-free college for eligible students
• Repealing No Child Left Behind
• Emphasizing art education
• Providing federal funds to school districts with after-school programs

On workforce issues Rep. Kucinich has spoken out against H-1B and L-1 visas, which he argues have taken jobs from Americans and forced down wages.

Better Health for Americans

Kucinich favors universal health care and has proposed expanding Medicare to cover all Americans. Kucinich supports federal funds for embryonic stem cell research.

Energy & Environment

Kucinich has stated that as president he would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the climate while reversing unsustainable actions in five key areas: (a) energy consumption, (b) economic and tax policy, (c) land and water use, (d) environmental policy, and (e) military spending.

Specifically he plans to:

• Sign the Kyoto climate change treaty
• Double U.S. renewable energy resources by 2010
• Create a "Works Green Administration" in order to create jobs through environmental initiatives
• Implement a "Mission to Planet Earth" through NASA to spur research and investment in alternative energy sources
• Work towards clean, affordable and accessible drinking water by, among other things, protecting water from "commodification" and exempting it from all trade agreements

National & Homeland Security

Rep. Kucinich frames energy independence as a mechanism for peace, stating that it would remove Middle East oil interests as strategic and military targets. He has argued that there is a link between American foreign policy and environmental policy—between "global warring and global warming"—and says the U.S. should lessen its reliance on oil and coal and move toward reliance on wind and solar power. Kucinich argues that the greatest nuclear threat to Americans comes from "the nuclear industry, not terrorists." Following with Kucinich's message of "strength through peace," he has three times introduced legislation to prohibit the basing of weapons in space by the United States and to move toward global treaties on the issue.

Link to Candidate's Official Site

http://www.dennis4president.com/home/