Dennis Kucinich

Transcript: Dennis Kucinich during the third Democratic 2008 presidential primary debate (June 28, 2007) (the All-American Presidential Forum on PBS moderated by Tavis Smiley held at Howard University in Washington, DC)

REP. KUCINICH: I want to share the remarks of Barack Obama, because the fact of the matter is that racial inequality is real, that it affects every area of our lives, as the Covenant pointed out. Now, it’s interesting the philosophy that’s guiding leaders at every branch of -- in the executive and the judicial branch of government, because they go out and tell people, 'Pull yourselves up by the -- by your bootstraps,' and then they steal their boots. (Laughter.)

We need to have a policy in education which first of all is guided by certain fundamental rights. Jesse Jackson, Jr., has a bill that makes having an equal opportunity for education a matter of a constitutional privilege. And with this Supreme Court ruling, it is imperative that we have a constitutional amendment guaranteeing educational opportunity equality. (Applause.)

Next, in the meantime, universal free kindergarten. Every child age 3, 4 and 5 should have access to full, quality daycare. Eliminate those disparities that we see early on in school. Eliminate No Child Left Behind, which is aimed at testing instead of improving children’s educational opportunity through language, music and the arts. (Applause.) And finally, we need to take the resources away from war and military buildups and assure that every child should have a chance for a quality college education as well.

MR. WICKHAM: Thank you, Tavis. This question is about the link between education and poverty. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2006 the unemployment rate of black high school graduates -- black high school graduates -- was 33 percent higher than the unemployment rate for white high school dropouts. To what do you attribute this inequity, which keeps many black families locked in the grip of poverty?

REP. KUCINICH: Dr. King recognized that when there’s a war, people of two countries suffer, because what he was talking about was the link between war and fear and poverty, as opposed to peace and security and prosperity. And so when we shift the paradigm of this country away from war, then we start to have the resources which must be there for education, for universal pre-kindergarten, for fully-funded elementary and secondary education, for college for all. (Light applause.) But we have to remember that with a nation right now that will spend anywhere from 1 (trillion dollars) to $2 trillion on this war, that is money out of the educational lives of our children. We need to remember the connection. (Cheers, applause.) I’m ready to see at least a 15 percent reduction in that bloated Pentagon budget, stop funding war, start funding education. That’s where we get the money.

MS. MARTIN: Thank you, Tavis. Good evening, Governor. Good evening, candidates. I’m sure you’ll agree there are a lot of beautiful young people out here in the audience today, and we’re very pleased to be here at Howard University. So you can imagine how disturbed we were to find out from the Centers for Disease Control that African-Americans, though 17 percent of all American teenagers, they are 69 percent of the population of teenagers diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Governor and candidates, what is the plan to stop and to protect these young people from this scourge?

REP. KUCINICH: When you think about the statistics that have been cited here, you realize that it’s time to get real about health care and education in America. We need to understand that the ability of our public schools to be able to communicate sex education as a priority at the early age helps children to understand the consequences of their action.

But there’s another dimension here, too, and that is we have a nation of such wealth, yet we have 46 million Americans without any health insurance, another 50 million underinsured. It’s time for us to make every American know that they should have access. It is a basic right in a Democratic society. We should be able to fund all those diseases where people are suffering and they need care, but we have to end that for-profit medicine. It is time to take the for- profit insurance companies out of the business -- (applause) -- Michael Moore is right about this, by the way -- and have a not-for- profit health care where everyone’s covered.

MR. NAVARRETTE: Thank you, Tavis. This week billionaire Warren Buffett said that the very wealthy aren’t taxed nearly enough. In fact, he noted -- (applause) -- in fact, he noted that he’s taxed at a lower rate than some of his employees, who earn much less. Do you agree that the rich aren’t paying their fair share of taxes? And if so, what would you do about it?

REP. KUCINICH: There’s three questions involved here: What are we taxed? Who is paying? And how are our tax dollars spent? Right now we know that those who are in the highest brackets are not paying a fair share. We understand that. And we also understand that a lot of these corporations are taking their business offshore so they can offshore their profits and escape paying tens of billions of dollars in taxation. And we also know that our tax dollars right now are being spent overwhelmingly on war and military buildup. I want to see a new direction. (Applause.) I want to see the wealthy pay their fair sure. I want to make sure that these corporations have to -- if they have an American name, they have to pay taxes here, and I want to see the end of war as an instrument of policy.

MR. WICKHAM: Okay. Okay, please stay with me on this one. According to FBI data, blacks were roughly 29 percent of persons arrested in this country between 1996 and 2005. Whites were 70 percent of people arrested during this period. Yet at the end of this 10-year period, whites were 40 percent of those who were inmates in this country, and blacks were approximately 38 percent. What does this data suggest to you?

REP. KUCINICH: As president, I’ll have an attorney general who’s going to be sensitive to the very issues that you raised. First of all, we need to seek to end mandatory minimums. (Applause.) We know who’s serving those mandatory minimums. Second, we need to have the emphasis, with respect to drug offenses, on rehabilitation, not incarceration. And third, as president, I’ll do anything I can to end the federal death penalty, which I’ve already introduced legislation for in the past. (Applause.) Because we need to have an approach that recognizes the discrimination which exists in our justice system.

MS. MARTIN: Congressman, would you support a federal law guaranteeing the right to return to New Orleans and other Gulf regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina, based on the United Nations Human Rights Standards Governing the Internal Displacement of Citizens?

REP. KUCINICH: Absolutely. What happened in New Orleans in the aftermath and how it was dealt with underscores everything that’s wrong in this country about race.

First of all, New Orleans wouldn’t have happened if the government had been more sensitive to make sure that those levees had been repaired when they were told they were supposed to be repaired. (Applause.)

Secondly -- secondly, New Orleans represents a hope also, because we have to make sure people have a chance to return, and they should be guaranteed that. They should also be guaranteed jobs.

I held a hearing yesterday in my Domestic Policy Subcommittee, which shows that people in New Orleans aren’t getting jobs. They’re hiring people from outside, and sometimes when they get jobs, they aren’t being paid.

MR. SMILEY: Congressman --

REP. KUCINICH: We’ve got to change that. We must change it.

MR. NAVARRETTE: A lot of Americans are concerned with outsourcing of U.S. jobs. Most corporations, I think it’s fair to say, don’t share that concern. In fact, they argue that we’re living in a global economy and Americans have to compete in that environment. Which side are you on? And if you agree that outsourcing is a problem, what’s your solution?

REP. KUCINICH: I’ve stood behind plant gates that were locked, where grass was growing in the parking lots, where they used to make steel, they used to make bicycles, washing machines. And now there’s grass growing in the parking lots.

I know what the solution is, and you do, too, and I want to challenge my fellow candidates.

One of my first acts in office will be to cancel NAFTA and the WTO -- (applause) -- and go back to trade conditions on workers’ rights, human rights and environmental quality principles. That’s what we must do. A Democratic administration started NAFTA. A Democratic administration will end it. (Applause.)

MR. WICKHAM: This question is about Darfur. This is the second time that our nation has had a chance to do something about genocide in Africa. The first came in Rwanda in 1994, when we did nothing as more than a half a million people were slaughtered there. What does this country’s unwillingness to move aggressively to end the slaughters that take place in Darfur today -- what does it say about our claim to moral leadership?

REP. KUCINICH: It’s time for the United States to stop looking at Africa as a place where our corporations can exploit the people and -- (cheers, applause) -- I mean, because let’s face it, let’s -- let’s face it, if Darfur had a large supply of oil, this administration would be occupying it right now.

MR. SMILEY: Congressman --

REP. KUCINICH: We need to -- (cheers, applause) -- we need to stop --

MR. SMILEY: Congressman, thank --

REP. KUCINICH: -- we need to stop giving Sudan a pass. They’re looking the other way --

Read Dennis Kucinich's transcript from the first primary debate here

Read Dennis Kucinich's transcript from the second primary debate here

2008 Democratic Candidates:

Joe Biden
Hillary Clinton
Christopher Dodd
John Edwards
Mike Gravel
Dennis Kucinich
Barack Obama
Bill Richardson