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Zeese VideosThe First Debate in Maryland Senate Race between Zeese, Steele and Cardin
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As Cardin and Steele battle, Green Party's Zeese takes on both |
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Friday, 13 October 2006 |
SUSAN C. INGRAM 11.OCT.06
When Green Party U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Zeese took to the stage at the Greater Baltimore Urban League for an unprecedented three-party debate last week, he raised the level of political discourse and lowered the comfort zone for both Republican Michael S. Steele and Democrat Benjamin L. Cardin.
Although Zeese, who is also endorsed by the Libertarian and Populist parties, has not figured in polls tracking the two major party candidates, he may be gaining favor with discontented and undecided voters.
"We want a government of the people . not special interests," Zeese said during the debate.
A recent nationwide Gallup poll revealed wide discontent among both Democrats and Republicans with their parties and representatives.
Although 21 percent of Democrats said they liked the Democratic Party because it "serves the common people," when asked what they disliked about the party 51 percent said that Democratic leadership was ineffective or poor.
More than one in five Democrats said they liked nothing about their party.
Thirty percent of Republicans said they disliked the Republican Party because of poor leadership and its pro-Bush stance. Nineteen percent of Republicans said they liked nothing about their party.
With that kind of dissatisfaction bubbling, third-party candidates such as Zeese can begin to see more voters turning their way.
"We are the majority in this country who oppose unnecessary wars of aggression - not only Iraq but also the talk now about bombing Iran," Zeese said. "That would be an even bigger mistake.
Zeese disagrees with both Steele and Cardin on Iraq.
"It's time for us to announce an immediate withdrawal of our military and corporations. It's time to give Iraq back to the Iraqis."
He said the Bush administration's strategy of rotating troops and sending more money isn't working. "It's the wrong way to bring stability to the country," Zeese added.
Although he took Steele to task for supporting the president's Iraq policy, Zeese didn't stop there.
He chastised Democrat Cardin, who says he is opposed to Bush and the war, for voting to pass more than $300 billion in spending bills to drag out the conflict.
He said Cardin has only cast "one right vote" concerning Iraq - the one he cast against authorizing the war.
"Everything we fear is made more likely by our staying there," Zeese said of Iraq. He pointed to terrorism, regional instability, civil war, theocracy and the loss of control of oil.
Zeese, a liberal whose positions many Democrats support, also took Cardin to task for his support of Israel.
"No one should support Israel when they bomb civilians in Lebanon," Zeese said.
Moderator Donald Morton "Doni" Glover picked up the Israel thread and said U.S.-Israel policy hasn't been a big part of the discussion in this election.
Glover asked Cardin why the United States should send money to Israel when millions of blacks here live in poverty and more money is needed to rebuild New Orleans, a majority black city devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
"Israel is the only country in the Middle East that shares our values," Cardin responded, adding that Israel is vital to United States interests.
As far as the war on terror is concerned, Zeese said, "we are creating more enemies faster than we are capturing and killing them."
He added that U.S. foreign policy "has been abusive for years," which he said answers the rhetorical question of "why they hate us."
Zeese said he supports a liberal democracy, individual rights and limited government. He said he only supports the use of force as a "last resort," and would rely primarily on diplomacy and negotiation.
He decried the rise of poverty and prison populations in this country and the low wages paid to many workers.
"What we want to be is a more perfect union," he said.
The Zeese campaign Web site is the only one among the three candidates to post a full-length video of the debate.
The Steele site has about two and a half minutes of selected highlights of Steele.
There is no video posted of the debate on Cardin's Web site, although his campaign spokesman Oren Shur said not to "read to much into it."
Shur said there would be another debate between the three candidates Oct. 25 on NewsChannel8 in Washington, D.C.
Also, a three-way debate is set for Thursday at 8 a.m. on the Larry Young Show on WOLB Radio 1010AM.
Shur said there are no plans for a Cardin-Zeese debate, and maintained that Zeese's attacks on Cardin were futile.
"Marylanders are really behind Ben Cardin because . he has a record of standing up to George Bush," Shur said. "The people of Maryland don't want George W. Bush in the White House."
He said a vote for Michael Steele would be a rubber stamp of Bush policies.
"That's what Michael Steele will give them," he added.
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