I thought Dennis Kucinich was going to be just about the best Democratic congressman I’d ever come across. He was straightforward, told the truth, said all the things I wanted to hear (different from the things most Americans/Democrats want to hear)…. until he started talking about aliens. I was beginning to forgive and forget, let him maintain the best congressman award in my mind, until I heard about Ann McLane Kuster.

Kuster, candidate for the Representative of New Hampshire’s 2nd district, came to speak to a packed Class of 1930 room at the College Democrats meeting last Monday. A quick pre-meeting browse on her website piqued my interest: it looks as though it were designed by whoever created barackobama.com, and she has the support of both EMILY’s List and NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Turns out she was an Obama delegate at the Denver DNC, and is pro-choice! (No, like she actually says she is pro-choice and doesn’t skirt around the issue with vague and contradictory statements) She is of course opposed to the Stupak amendment, advocates for a public insurance option, and if elected, would insist that the banks pay back the bailouts in full.

To the Class of 1930 room crowd, she said we “[have] two wars we never should have been in”— a more direct and honest statement from a politician than I have heard in a while. A second look at her website, however, left me a little confused. Her issue statement on Afghanistan maintains that we are at war with Al Qaeda, and seemed to form a strong link between our military presence in Afghanistan, and our security at home. I imagine (or hope, rather) the first to be a more honest comment, and the second a “necessary” statement required to gain the votes of Democrats.

While there seem to be a few contradictions, and a few statements obviously devoted to gaining support of moderate democrats on her webpage, she seems more genuinely liberal than any candidate I have seen in a while (since Kucinich, or Barack Obama). What she will do if elected, no one can tell. Despite this, hearing her speak made me willing to once again support a progressive candidate and hope that they will live up to their liberal values, and not let me down.