Does Dennis Kucinich have a chance?

[bamacrat]

Poll question: Does Dennis Kucinich have a chance?

I am a strong, no avid, no.... well I support Dennis Kucinich for President. But what do you think, is he too liberal, too hopeful for the future of the country for people to take the chance on him. I mean B*sh got RE-appointed.

[More Than A Feeling]

1. A much better chance than I do. n/t

[Larry in KC]

17. You're being too hard on yourself, Heaven and Earth!

Your chances are probably about equal. What's your platform?

[wetcanvas]

52. No

...but I love his forthright defense of socialism.

[burrowowl]

2. It is up to us to

give it our damnest!

[bamacrat]

3. Your right, I just hope enough of us have our heads OUT of our asses to make a difference.

[provis99]

4. no chance, even though he's my choice

DLC candidates Clinton, Obama, and Edwards are getting all the media time. God knows, Obama and Edwards are still worlds better than any Republican, but I still don't like the media taking its orders from the DLC dweebs.

[ruggerson]

5. Do pigs wear evening gowns and sing duets with Gwen Stefani?

n/t

[Bucky]

24. Sounds like a hell of fundraiser to me

I'd pay to see it.

[Greyhound]

54. See last night's Oscar show...

Sorry I just couldn't resist. :rofl:

[MannyGoldstein]

6. If He Comes Out Swinging in the Debates - He Has a Chance

Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama will be beating the snot out of one-another for the foreseeable future, while Edwards keeps trying to throw punches from the mezanine section of the twelfth tier of the stands in the master bedroom of his new "home".

But we still have more than a year to go before the election. They are all gonna' be lookin' awful after a year or so of scrappin'. I think that everyone will be sick of their BS by that point as well, and so Kucinich and the rest will have a chance - IF they kick butt in the debates.

[More Than A Feeling]

7. Do the debates matter that much?

If you are a low-information voter, tuning into the debates as your only exposure to the candidates, all the sides are going to sound good, and how will you know who is right and who is full of it?

[MannyGoldstein]

11. You May Be Right

I think that they're useful for getting a buzz going - if somebody really comes out looking good or bad. Most candidates stick to a tiny range of talking points these days, so there's not much drama. But if, say, Kucinich were to really go after Clinton and Edwards for being shameless tools of the Predator Class - and push for a Middle Class agenda - in a way that convincingly made the point - and keep hammering on it - I think he could get a buzz going.

It's really the only opportunity for candidates to be fairly compared, without benefit of their corporate warchests.

[flaminbats]

8. yes, Kucinich has a chance..

and I voted for him in 2004. That doesn't mean I think he is the best candidate running or that he will win.

[HughMoran]

9. Everybody knows he hasn't a snowballs chance in hell

The positive thinking optimist will say otherwise, but every single one of us knows in our gut he has absolutely no chance unless all the other candidates were to die suddenly.

[Evoman]

13. Even if all the other candidate rose back from the dead, and were brain eating zombies.

They would still beat Denny.

on edit: I would like to also say that I don't hate Kucinich. He seems like a good guy. But the guy can't win, man.

[stuartrida]

10. I wouldn't say he is too liberal. He was anti-choice up until a few years ago.

[StrictlyRockers]

12. Nobody thought Carter had a chance in early 1975, either.

SR

[skipos]

14. Kerry, Edwards, Dean, Clark and Sharpton beat him in 04

I don't know what would make him do better in 08. At least he beat Lieberman in 04 though.

[Stevepol]

15. Does peace have a chance? Single-payer health care?

It's not so important whether or not somethng seems to have a chance. It's better to support the people and organizations that reflect your real and sincere inner beliefs. The rest is out of your control.

[Berry Cool]

16. Trust me, you don't want Dennis.

Take it from people who have seen him in action for a long time and know. With him you get the worst of both worlds in one: all the spaciness of a New Age nutcase with all the bullheaded stubbornness and go-it-alone-even-if-no-one-else-agrees-with-me determination of a George W. Bush.

[AnOhioan]

18. Your post indicates you DON'T know Dennis

I worked on his '04 campaign and support him this time around...you use of the term "New Age Nutcase" and insinuation that he is bullheaded are way off base. Dennis is so much better than the current occupant of the WH, and he is more right on the issues tan most of the Democratic field. The media will ignore him, the talking head bloggers will ridicule him and the people who support him will continue to do so.

Another poster mentioned that Hillary and Obama will tear eachother up over the next year or so. They are the leading candidates right now, in February 07. The election is 21 month away....alot can, and will, happen between now and then.

Trust me when I say that Dennis' message will gain ground as time goes on. Will he win the nomination? There are no guarantees but it is not out of the realm of possibility.

[stuartrida]

19. I could live with his anti-choice, anti-flag burning roots

but he has proven to be a better legislator than an executive. I feel there is a pretty big difference.

[MonkeyFunk]

20. How has he proven to be

a better legislator? What's his record of success? How many bills or amendments has he gotten passed?

[MonkeyFunk]

21. according

to the "Power Rankings" at congress.org, Kucinich ranks 391 in "power" out of 435 congresspeople.

His "score" is 7.19.


http://www.congress.org/congressorg/power_rankings/party.tt?ch_party=HD&submit=GO

[stuartrida]

22. Yes, but he was a horrible mayor.

[AnOhioan]

28. Were you in Cleveland at the time?

Or just parroting what you have heard from the MSM and closet righties?

[SaveElmer]

31. Kos...closet rightie...or MSM member?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/23/113236/176

The 1999 book The American Mayor by Melvin G. Holli, ranked Kucinich the 7th worst mayor in the nation:

Only thirty-one years old when elected, Cleveland's "boy mayor" had failings that were not the sins of venality or graft for personal gain, but rather matters of style, temperament, and bad judgment in office. Kucinich earned seventh place the hard way: by his abrasive, intemperate, and chaotic administration. He barely survived a recall vote just ten months in office, then disappeared for five weeks, reportedly recuperating from an ulcer. When he got back into the political fray, his demagogic rhetoric and slash-and-burn political style got him into serious trouble when he stubbornly refused to compromise and led Cleveland into financial default in late 1978 - the first major city to default since the Great Depression. That led also to Kucinich's defeat and exit from executive office. Out of office, he dabbled in a Hollywoodesque spirit world and once believed that he had met Shirley MacLaine in a previous life, seemingly confirming his critics' charges that he was a "nutcake." After that, he experienced downward mobility, losing races for several other offices and finally ending up with a council seat; but more recently, he climbed back up to a seat in Congress. Bad judgment, demagoguery, and default also spelled political failure in the eyes of twenty-five of our experts, who ranked Dennis, whom the press called "Dennis the Menace", as seventh-worst.

This survey spanned mayors in the United States between 1820 and 1993. Notching the "7th Worst" slot was a serious accomplishment.

There is alot more!!!

[AnOhioan]

34. The post by Kos has been sliced and diced.....

in two other threads here, I will not go into the time to refute it point by point. I will say that Kos seems to think very highly of himself. A legend in his own mind maybe? Talk with someone without an agenda or better yet, visit DK's website and decide from there.

[stuartrida]

40. Yes.

And you will find thousands of other residents that think he was a weak mayor too. You can try to convince yourself that they are all "parroting MSM" if you like.

[AnOhioan]

41. Reallly? I too was and still am, In Cleveland,

And I can find many, many people who are grateful that Dennis was Mayor. And yes, the ones who buy into the "he was a bad mayor" meme are the same ones wh0 watch Faux News and think the chimp is the next coming.

[stuartrida]

44. So the tens of thousands of people who voted for Kucinich's recall,

which he only escaped by a couple of hundred votes, were Fox News watching idiots? In 1978?
Ok. :rofl:

[AnOhioan]

45. Nice try

I was not referencing 1978. I am talking about 2007. And in 2007, one can find more who realize that true history of the events of 1978 than not.

Thanks for playing.

[stuartrida]

46. I am not "trying." The people of Cleveland "tried" to recall him for being a crappy mayor

and came within a couple hundreds of votes of doing it.

Good luck with Kucinich in 2008. Hopefully he can break the 1% ceiling!

[AnOhioan]

51. Yeah you are "trying"

and may I say failing...

Your "insight" is appreciated...but our conversation serves no purpose in being continued.

[cali]

23. No, I don't think he's too liberal. I think he's not a very good

candidate, with an uninspiring legislative career. And he's not a serious candidate. He's becoming the Harold Stassen of the 21st century.

[Ninja Jordan]

25. No, and I wish he would drop out.

[LWolf]

36. Heh.

Do you wish all of those he brings to the table to exit with him?

Or do you wish we'd just shut up, hold our nose, and get in line, regardless of whether or not your choice offers us anything on our list of priorities?

Just wondering.

[Dracos]

26. I just don't see it happing.

but I think he would do a good job.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

27. If everybody who said, "I love Dennis, but he can't win" had had the guts

to vote for him in the primaries instead of voting for who they thought other people might like, who knows what might have happened?]

"He can't win" was the meme that the corporate media drummed into people from before the Iowa caucuses.

[MonkeyFunk]

32. I think most

people who see Kucinich can arrive at the conclusion that he can't win without the media telling them that.

[SaveElmer]

33. Kucinich hasn't done anything to indicate he would be a good President...

Or that he could even handle the job...poor mayor, accomplished nothing of substance in Congress...flip flopped on abortion, stem cell research, and flag burning just as he was getting ready to run for President

He is a living laundry list of issues that folks on the left want pushed...by that standard 95% of DU is qualified...

[Zorra]

39. Wow, right wingers really seem to hate DK.

What a surprise.

Must be because he orchestrated the House Democratic Caucus vote against the IWR. Or is it because he would like to end corporate control of our government?
:shrug:

[SaveElmer]

53. Are you calling me a right winger...

Do you know me? Of is it the typical cheap shot from the intolerant left wing that cannot abide dissent in any form?

[Forkboy]

62. "the intolerant left wing that cannot abide dissent in any form?"

Pot.Kettle.Black.

[Freddie Stubbs]

55. How successful was he is stopping that resolution from passing?

:shrug:

[Bronyraurus]

35. In this case, it's often said because it's true.

He's a bigger joke than Dukakis.

[featherman]

29. Last I checked the same media conglomerates that crucified

Al Gore as the "boring, nerdy know-it-all that you hated in high school" and lionized George Bush as the "cool, in-crowd guy that you wanted to be pals with" are still in place... if fact more concentrated and openly right wing than in 2000.

Dennis Kucinich as DEM nominee would be ridiculed unmercifully as a "dweeb" or something similar by about 90% of national media outlets in a national election. Sorry... but that's reality in this superficial media age. The very nature of our national election system makes these superficial perceptions about "personality" count far more than ability or competence or policy positions or even ideology.

If our national leaders were chosen under a Parliamentary system, then a Kucinich type might rise to a leadership position (ala Nancy Pelosi) and be selected as Prime Minister. But Dennis Kucinich has not even achieved that as yet in his Congressional career. So I would say his ambitions to be nominated and elected in our system are largely delusional.

[CatholicEdHead]

30. Realistic chance, no

But he is a voice to bring other issues onto the front-runners' platforms.

[Greyhound]

37. Provisional yes, of course.

As you can tell, he is my first choice among those running. After examining his history and career I've concluded that he has a very good chance if he can accomplish __ things.

Forget the traditional path to the nomination, it is quite clear that those that control the Democratic Party would rather see another re:puke: administration in the White house than a liberal. There will never be any support, moral or monetary, from that element, so fuck them. He must leverage technology and the true American majority, the non-voters, and the minorities, to spread his populist message and anti-corporate agenda.

He has to stop playing nice. His "no-strings" tag line is a start, but only a start (and for god's sake stop with the twirling, it is just begging for ridicule), take it further, much further. He has been inside the beltway long enough to know how the sausage is made and who has put what into it, including himself. Use that information, pull out all the stops, name names and go on a slash and burn campaign to either force The Party to change or destroy it. He seems to be hesitant to make that final commitment, and he just has to decide if he is wants to be President or if he wants to maintain his career as a low-level, liberal prop, for The Party.

If he does these things, it then becomes is vital that he gets out in front of all his negatives. He will simply have to make up his mind to take the whole system on as they will come after him with everything they can find or make up about him. The only strategy that will work is to just get all the shit out there, suck up all the free press it will generate, and take their ammunition away. Then he better get a whole lot of the best security available because they kill him if they can.

[k_jerome]

38. no. but because of our shortcomings. not his own. nt.

[AtomicKitten]

42. No.

[Elidor]

43. There is a critical mass in politics

And much as I wish he had it, he doesn't. He is a good man, but the way the system is set up, he will never get the nomination. More's the pity.

[Colobo]

47. Nope, he does not

Let's be realistic.

[PresidentObama]

48. In reality, he doesn't.

I still enjoy his voice in the race though!!

[Debs]

49. He doesnt

I am a HUUUGE Kucinich supporter, but he doesnt. Is part of my liberal curse, any candidate I just love, doesnt have a chance

[manic expression]

50. No

thanks to the system in place today. No one who refuses to serve at the pleasure of the bourgeoisie is flush out of luck.

[Madspirit]

56. snowball in hell

He is my favorite but he has no chance whatsoever.
Lee

[lovuian]

57. One for Kucinich I feel people totally underestimate him

in a debate it will be interesting

[AshevilleGuy]

58. If we win, he would be great in the Cabinet.

State? Health and Human Services?

[Hippo_Tron]

59. Not if he continues to hire amateurs to run his campaign

[smalll]

60. If he looked like John Edwards, he would.

And if John Edwards looked like Kucinich, he'd be polling lower than Dodd. Especially with that house. :hide:

[PhilipShore]

61. No: But miracles do happen from time to time N/T