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Democratic presidential candidate Dennis J. Kucinich speaks outside Springfield City Hall on Feb. 25, 2004.
(John Suchocki)
Dennis Kucinich, a former Democratic Congressman from Ohio who had been one of the House's most left-wing members, endorsed Massachusetts State Rep. Carl Sciortino in the 5th District congressional race on Thursday.
“The people of this district have a real opportunity to elect not just a worthy successor to Sen. (Edward) Markey but someone who’s been tested in the Massachusetts legislature on a wide range of social and economic issues, which resonate at a national level,” Kucinich said on a conference call sponsored by the Progressive Democrats of America.
Sciortino was not on the call.
A frequent critic of foreign intervention in Iraq and elsewhere, Kucinich was a leading voice against the use of U.S. military force in Syria. Sciortino was the first of the 5th District Democrats to come out against intervention in Syria -- although all the candidates ultimately opposed military intervention.
Kucinich praised Sciortino’s decision to speak out on Syria, “to see through misstatements about America’s true interests and take a stand at a time when it was necessary to say something.”
Kucinich cited Sciortino’s work in the state legislature to raise the minimum wage, close corporate tax loopholes and to pass a law, which is currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, establishing a buffer zone around abortion clinics.
Kucinich also stressed Sciortino's concern for civil liberties. Sciortino has spoken out against the National Security Agency's surveillance of Americans, arguing that the country has gone too far in violating Americans' civil liberties. Kucinich has been a vocal critic of U.S. Patriot Act, a bill that gives the government broad power to conduct surveillance of terrorist suspects.
One of Sciortino's opponents, State Sen. Katherine Clark, was criticized by another progressive group for a bill she sponsored in the State Senate updating Massachusetts's wiretap statute. Several top law enforcement officials in Massachusetts say the change will help law enforcement by allowing wiretapping to investigate crimes that are not connected to organized crime. The American Civil Liberties Union has criticized it for allowing wiretapping for a broad range of offenses. Kucinich said he is concerned that the Massachusetts bill "broadens the reach of police at a time when we should be actually be very careful about any kind of expansion of wiretap authority."
Kucinich served in the U.S. House for 16 years and ran for president in 2004 and 2008, although he never came close to getting the Democratic nomination. In the House, Kucinich introduced resolutions to impeach both President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, arguing that they lied to the American people and made other missteps relating to the Iraq War. He is a strong supporter of single-payer, government-run health care – something Sciortino also supports.
Sciortino has been getting help nationally from progressive organizations and politicians. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee endorsed him and raised $21,000 for him from its supporters, according to the group. U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, a Florida Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, a California Democrat, both leaders among progressives in Congress, have endorsed Sciortino.
It remains to be seen whether that will translate into support in the 5th District. One of Sciortino’s opponents, Democratic State Sen. William Brownsberger, criticized Sciortino during a recent debate for raising much of his money from outside the state.
The primary is Oct. 15. In addition to Sciortino, Clark and Brownsberger, the Democratic candidates include State Sen. Karen Spilka, Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, Martin Long and Paul Maisano.