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Position: Secretary - Defense

The secretary is the civilian head of the Defense Department, the largest department in the federal government and is responsible for overseeing the United States military. The secretary makes and executes national security policy and is responsible for keeping the U.S. military in peak shape. The secretary, along with the president?s national security adviser, is the key adviser to the president on matters of national security.

Type of Appointment/Position: Presidential with Senate confirmation    

Sen. Carl Levin Rate this Nominee   Current Rating: click to rate
Nominee's Background:
Levin's reputation as a lawmaker who puts principle before politics has earned him the respect and affection of not only Michigan's voters but also his colleagues in both parties. The Oakland Press got it right when it described Carl Levin as a Senator "who is far more concerned with making the government effective and efficient than with partisan bickering." The Detroit Free Press has called Carl Levin "a sterling example of why longevity in office sometimes is good for the state and the country." And the Kalamazoo Gazette summed it up with these words "Carl Levin simply is one of the nation's most conscientious, thoughtful and principled public servants."

Carl Levin was first elected to the United States Senate in 1978, after serving as President of the Detroit City Council, and is now serving his fourth term. He is the senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he has earned a reputation as a strong advocate for the men and women of our Armed Forces and as an effective waste fighter. Levin is a member of the Small Business Committee. He also serves as the ranking member of the Government Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, as well as of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Nominating Speech:

To research this nominee, please look for them on the Wikipedia website or at Google.
Progressive Criteria:
The Defense Department will:

Recognize that as the most powerful country, the US must lead in international cooperation;

Instill and preserve a high level of compliance with all treaties such as the Geneva conventions;

Remember that the USA is a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Will not manage Defense as either a jobs or a corporate welfare program;

Work to restrain the international arms trade and reduce arms and nuclear proliferation;

In keeping with our desire for a world of law, will work to make sure that our armed forces get no preferential treatment such as immunity from the International Criminal Court or the land mines ban;

Strictly limit privatization and outsourcing of military duties.

Comments so far:
February 25, 2005 Mort Potter - Senator Levin has made this left-end Democratic Michigander proud throughout his 26 years in the Senate. As ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, he has fought Bush's unilateralist agenda; leaving the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, deploying an anti-missile defense system. He is both a fighter and uniter (the only Detroit councillor trusted by both whites and blacks in the early 70s, after the riot). On the Armed Services Committer, he was also a key (and nearly the lone) supporter of President Clinton's efforts to end the ban on gays in the military. Other than serving us all in the Senate he was the general counsel for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission (1964-1967) and President of the Detroit City Council (1970-1977)
added link: Link to Senator Levin's website


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