"I Am Leaving, I Am Leaving, But the Fighter Still Remains..."

I am leaving/I am leaving/But the fighter still remains

-Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer"

What better lyrics to quote than those immortal lines from Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon's "The Boxer" to describe a tragic defeat? The news from last night was not good. I'm not talking about the Republicans and Super Tuesday.

I'm talking about Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who lost in the Ohio Democratic primary yesterday to Mary Kaptur.

Since 1997, Kucinich has been a tireless advocate for the poor, minorities, working families and progressive reform. He has also been a voice for the voiceless: Animals.

Kucinich is the only vegan in Congress. Moreover, he has spent years sponsoring and supporting animal-friendly legislation. Kucinich has demonstrated "a career-long commitment to animal welfare and active leadership on these issues," said the Humane Society Legislative Fund, the lobbying branch of the United States Humane Society. (Source)

As the Cleveland Plain-Dealer noted:

The group applauded Kucinich for co-sponsoring a law that bans commerce in videos showing the torture of live animals for the sexual titillation of viewers, as well as legislation that would crack down on puppy mills, establish federal penalties for dogfights and cockfights, and phase out the use of chimpanzees in invasive medical research. Kucinich's wife, Elizabeth, who works as public affairs director for Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, has been an outspoken advocate of the chimp protection bill. (Source)

In the days leading up the primary election, record executive, humanitarian, vegan and GlobalGrind.com founder Russell Simmons offered the following impassioned plea for Kucinich:

While we watch the Republicans try to drag our country further and further to the Right, there is no other congressmember who fights for a more compassionate America than Dennis. He wants everyone to have healthcare, affordable higher education and quality, sustainable jobs. During his entire political career, he has been a champion for peace and a powerful anti-war activist. He has shown compassion for the planet and all of the animals that inhabit it. He has stood up for the gay community and other under-served communities who often times are forgotten about on the House floor. He has always protected the rights of African-Americans and Latinos, even when it wasn't in his best "political interests." Dennis Kucinich is the People's Congressman. He cannot be bought and sold by any special interest group or any lobbying firm. He goes to work everyday for the people of his district and of this great nation. He has never taken for granted the rights he was given, as he has always fought for the rights of everyone. (Source)

Representative Kucinich's defeat yesterday was indeed a depressing moment in American politics, but not exactly a surprise. The political landscape in Washington, D.C. is not always kind to genuinely humanitarian progressives and gadflies like Dennis Kucinich.

And his defeat comes at a bad time for animals, as more and more state legislatures are trying to pass "Ag-Gag" laws banning videotaping and photographing inside of factory farms and slaughterhouses.

But the fight goes on. Kucinich never gave up. We shouldn't, either. The stakes are too high. Human lives and animal lives hang in the balance. Kucinich understood that human rights and animal rights are two sides of the same coin. One without the other is meaningless.

He'll be missed. But his example will continue to inspire others. On his Facebook page today, Kucinich quoted from an old 19th Century treatise called The Scripture of the Serene Life (1857), by J.W. Lloyd. The words are worth repeating here:

Live truth, work excellence, reach toward your ideal, but trouble not your soul about the meagerness of material results, for all spiritual laborers work along invisible lines to unforeseen and universal results... they always seem to miss their aim and always hit a larger and more eternal mark. Let all things move freely around you, and float you, on eternal currents. (Source)

State of the Animal Union: Not Much to Be Thrilled About

U.S. President Barack Obama used his State of the Union Address to help heal wounds and bridge deep divisions in the United States. He emphasized America's gradual economic recovery, referred to a plan to help military families, and spoke of the need for Americans to rise above their political differences. The following passage was fairly typical:

Amid all the noise and passions and rancor of our public debate, (the Tucson, Ariz., shooting) reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater — something more consequential than party or political preference. We are part of the American family. (Source)

Obama has come under a lot of fire from his critics on the right, no doubt about it. Meantime, those on the other end of the political spectrum tend to circle the wagons around the president and praise his performance in the White House, warts and all.

There aren't many people who are taking the president - or any political leaders, for that matter, Democrat or Republican - to task over the federal government's terrible policies on animals. In fact, when it comes to the issue of animal rights, you'd have a hard time making an argument that one of the political parties in the United States is any better than the other.

Sure, you'll run into the occasional elected official who has made animal rights and/or veganism an issue. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) is a prime example. He's a vegan, and a very proud one at that. I'm sure if you racked your brain you could come up with some others.

But animals are not really on the agenda of either political party. The Obama administration has done no more to help (or hurt) animals than the Bush administration. Government subsidies continue to go to factory farms under Obama, just as they did under his predecessors. Meanwhile, the federal government is notorious for failing to protect animals. This is as true under Obama as it was under Bush. In many cases, animals are actually harmed by government policies. Take, for example, the announcement just a few days before Obama's State of the Union address that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) admitted it was responsible for poisoning hundreds of birds in South Dakota. The reason? The birds were targeted because they were eating food at a Nebraska feedlot and leaving their droppings there, too. (Source)

And then there's the Obama administration's policy of rounding up wild horses, which was noted very eloquently on the blog Straight from the Horse's Heart:

While thousands of Americans lost their homes and tens of thousands lost their jobs the Obama administration was spending millions of dollars chasing wild horses, killing some and penning up the rest with no regard to science, proper research or the bottom line.

Sad as it is to say, most liberals aren't any more "progressive" than conservatives when it comes to animals and their well-being. One would think that left-leaning folks, with their emphasis on the "underdog," would be natural allies for the animal rights struggle. Some are, no question about it.

But many aren't. I read a dreadful piece in the left-wing Nation magazine last month, written by Melissa Harris-Perry (professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton), about football player Michael Vick, notorious for his involvement in a dogfighting ring. Oddly, Harris-Perry used her bully pulpit as an opportunity to slam the Animal Rights Movement for not being sensitive to racial issues. At one point, Harris-Perry wrote:

Not only have animals been used as weapons against black people, but many African Americans feel that the suffering of animals evokes more empathy and concern among whites than does the suffering of black people. For example, in the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina dozens of people sent me a link to an image of pets being evacuated on an air conditioned bus. This image was a sickening juxtaposition to the conditions faced by tens of thousands of black residents trapped by the storm and it provoked great anger and pain for those who sent it to me. (Source)

The column was a cheap shot, obviously written by someone who has no awareness whatsoever about the Animal Rights Movement, or the fact that it has numerous African American adherents, both famous and not-so famous.

In December, when Obama gave the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles a high five for giving Michael Vick another chance, the president of the United States made a very deliberate decision that sent out a clear message. The message: Obama doesn't care about the dogs that Vick abused. By extension, it could be argued, he doesn't give much of a damn about animals.

There are some people who are hoping Obama will experience an epiphany or a change of heart on the issue. In Utah, kind-hearted Francis Battista runs the Best Friends Animal Society, which took in many of Michael Vick's traumatized Pit Bulls. The caring folks at Best Friends are now rehabilitating these amazing dogs back to good health and wholeness. The photo (above) was taken at the Society and originally appeared in USA Today. Volunteers at the Best Friends sanctuary have taken to calling the sweet and inspiring rescued Pit Bulls the "Vicktory Dogs" (a play on Vick's name). Battista announced in December that he is waiting for a telephone call of support from Barack Obama, in the wake of Obama giving the Philadelphia Eagles owner the high five. As Battista noted:

While we no longer wait by the phone for a call from Mr. Vick asking after his dogs, the likelihood of a call from the president has brought new esprit to the switchboard team and I've put together some notes on those we call the Vicktory dogs in case someone puts the historic call through to me by mistake. The conversation will go something like this: "Mr. President, what a surprise! Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to commend us for giving the Vicktory dogs a second chance. Sure, I've got a few minutes to fill you in..." Kind of a presidential briefing, I guess. (Source)

Here it is, late January, and that phone call hasn't come yet. If I could give one piece of advice to Battista, it would be this: Don't hold your breath.

Pro-Animal Rights Conservatives: An Oxymoron?

Is it a contradiction for conservatives to be pro-animal rights?

That's a good question. Today, I was reading a an article on Salon.com about longtime St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who says he likes certain things about the Tea Party Movement and supports Arizona's tough immigration law. Yet the Salon article refers to La Russa as an "animal rights crusader."

Actually, if you read the article carefully and you're at all familiar with the animal rights movement, I don't know if it's accurate to call La Russa an "animal rights crusader." He runs a shelter for abandoned animals called Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation. It's a wonderful group that does a lot to help animals. Its mission statement reads:

ARF saves dogs and cats who have run out of time at public shelters and brings people and animals together to enrich each others lives. ARF strives to create a world where every loving dog and cat has a home, where every lonely person has a companion animal, and where children learn to care.

I don't know if I'd call that exactly a militant animal rights organization. It's a far cry from the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). But it is great to see La Russa active, engaged and saving animals.

Generally speaking, I think most animal rights activists tend to be either lefties or else apolitical on other matters. But I have noticed on Facebook a growing number of pro-vegan, pro-animal rights types who identify their politics as "conservative" or describe themselves as Republicans.

If you think about it, there isn't anything inherently right-wing or left-wing about animal rights. Some elements of it dovetail quite nicely with leftist politics - its focus on helping the "voiceless," liberating animals and the dignity of all living creatures. There is also a strongly anti-corporate undercurrent to the movement, especially in the way it attacks businesses that exploit and commodify animals.

But there are also aspects of it that fit in quite nicely with a more conservative agenda: the emphasis on each individual animal, on the sanctity of life (appealing to pro-lifers) and ending cruelty - which is something that can appeal to all people across the spectrum.

So it doesn't really surprise me entirely to see some vegan and pro-animal rights Facebookers listing their political beliefs as "conservative" or "Republican."

That said, if I had to take a guess - and I do not have any hard evidence to back this up - I would say that most pro-animal rights folks are either on the left or centrist on other issues. Some animal rights leftists insist on linking the cause to issues of human rights, the economy, globalization, other protest struggles, etc. A perfect example of this type of individual could be found on the streets of Toronto in late June protesting the G20 Summit. These folks sought to link animal rights to other issues (globalization, poor people's movements, the environment, etc.).

Then there are the more cautious, single-issue types - moderates, centrists, etc. - who don't wish to muddy the water by introducing issues that seem to them to have little to do with animal rights.

When it comes to politics, I've always been a left-libertarian coalition builder. I believe you have to unite different types of people - left, right, center - around a shared agenda and common concerns. So I welcome conservatives into the animal rights fold, even as I disagree with them on a multitude of other issues. I imagine most contemporary conservatives - at least in the United States - are probably like Sarah Palin: they love their meat and dairy and other animal products and do not wish to give all that up. And believe you me, I have seen the way PETA types routinely get skewered on the Fox News Channel. It ain't pretty. Trust me.

Still, anyone who sees the light should be welcomed into this movement. It is a big tent. And the struggle for animal rights needs all the support it can get.