Dennis Kucinich Cosponsors Weaker of Two Military Commissions Bills. Why?

H.R. 1415, the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007, is a bill proposed in the House of Representatives to repeal many of the authoritarian, anti-constitutional features of the Military Commissions Act. If passed, some of the main acts of H.R. 1415 would be to:

1. Restore the right of habeas corpus for people detained by the U.S.
2. Narrow the definition of the MCA term “unlawful enemy combatant” to individuals who directly participate in attacks against the United States.
3. Let United States detainees invoke the ethical codes of the Geneva Conventions again.
4. Let U.S. detainees obtain a civilian lawyer for their defense.
5. Prohibit the use of evidence garnered through torture.
6. Prohibit the use of hearsay, upon the discretion of a judge.
7. Let juries know how statements were obtained from detainees.
8. Permit federal appeals courts to review the decisions of military commissions.

In short, if passed H.R. 1415 would restore respect for the Constitution and human rights to the government of the United States.

H.R. 1416 is a weaker version of H.R. 1415. If passed, the only act of H.R. 1416 would be to:

1. Restore the right of habeas corpus for people detained by the U.S.

Until this summer, Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, also a Democratic party candidate for president, had cosponsored neither bill. I see that last month he took affirmative action to cosponsor H.R. 1416. Kucinich has not, however, cosponsored H.R. 1415.

Dennis Kucinich’s gave a fiery speech on the floor of the House against the MCA in 2006 on issues not limited to habeas corpus, restated in a June 2007 speech that “It is time to cancel the Military Commissions Act. It is time to reinstate the Constitution.” Given this, why has Dennis Kucinich chosen to only cosponsor the bill that most weakly addresses just one aspect of the Military Commissions Act? I am truly puzzled by this.