MD-2006: Kissin enters the race for House

Barry Kissin, lawyer from Frederick, has entered the race for the 6th District Congressional seat. He faces Andrew Duck (see Philo's profile here), Iraq War vet, in the primary. He is running on a platform of immediate withdrawal from Iraq and universal healthcare.

"Not one more American soldier should die or be maimed in Iraq. Not one more Iraqi citizen should die or be maimed because of our presence in Iraq," Kissin told supporters at the C. Burr Artz Public Library in downtown Frederick last week.
Kissin said the Bush administration misled the nation before the war and said it "was capable of manufacturing incidents" to justify the war in the future.

[...]
He also denounced the use of depleted uranium -- which is slightly less radioactive than purified natural uranium, according to the World Health Organization -- in armor-piercing munitions in Iraq. (Depleted uranium, also known as DU, is also used in commercial aircraft counterweights and in radiation shields used in medical offices, WHO said.)
If elected, Kissin said he would work to curb arms exports, push for universal health care coverage, improve education funding beginning with Head Start and leave Social Security as is.
"I believe in the innate goodness of human beings. I believe in the sanctity of all life. I believe we are at a point in history when we face cataclysmic catastrophe," Kissin said, adding, "We must harness the power of collective consciousness, the power of love, to survive."

Kissin supports:

• Ending the Death Penalty,
• Immediate withdrawal from Iraq,
• Expanding Medicare to all US residents,
• Repealing Bush's tax cuts on the wealthy,
• Closing loop holes for corporate taxes,
• Repealing No Child Left Behind,
• Paper trails for voting machines,
• Renewable energy,
• A living wage instead of a minimum wage
• etc., etc. etc.

Kissin's website is unique among campaign sites--it clearly defines his positions, philosophy, and beliefs in his own words. His positions are obviously his own and not the result of a consultant's prodding. This is a man of strong personal conviction. Seriously, go check out his issue page and tell me if you know of ANY other politician who so clearly stakes his place in the ideological spectrum on every single issue.
Some of his issue statements sound pretty socialist, even if they are grounded in American capitalism. At his announcement, a band played Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'."
That said, I'm glad his voice is in the race. He's got a progressive platform that I agree with and that I'd like to hear Duck and GOP incumbent Bartlett respond to.