Kucinich Likely To Make Second Run For President

[JABBS]

Click here to read the whole story.

<snip>

Kucinich was a darling of the far left in 2004, for pushing hard to get the U.S. out of Iraq, an argument that has since become the majority opinion of Americans. At the time, his "U.N. in, U.S. out" mantra seemed politically naive, even if the idea of a short U.S. stay in Iraq had merit.

On the one hand, maybe Kucinich should get more credit for his stance -- rather than Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA), who is often given credit for helping change American opinion on troop redeployment. On the other hand, it's hard to fathom Kucinich improving on his woeful performance in the 2004 primaries.

[brooklynite]

1. Part of the game is having the right message.....

and part of the game is being able to deliver it. However you feel about Kucinich's ideology and position on the war, there was nothing about how he ran in 2004 that convinces me he could ever be a successful Presidential candidate.

[Bicoastal]

4. I concur.

The guy is fundamentally un-charismatic. More than ever, we need a president who plays politics well--especially on the international front.

[CountAllVotes]

9. actually that is exactly what we do not need

<a president who plays politics well--especially on the international front.>

What we need is Cong. Kucinich for President.

He said it would all come down to the war and he was so very right as us "DK" followers knew.

If he were President today, perhaps playing politics and working the international front wouldn't be nearly so important because America would be focused on restoring America to what she once was and working to help We the People!

& recommend too!

GO DENNIS KUCINICH GO!!!!!

[5X]

11. You obviously have never seen him speak,

he is one of the most charismatic and dynamic speakers I have seen.
He makes bush look like a total doofus.

[LWolf]

31. "Charisma" must be subjective, then.

I heard him speak twice in '03/'04, and spent some time talking to him one-on-one both times. If the combination of intellect, integrity, passion, courage, warmth, and consistency makes for charisma, he's got it in spades.

[Jcrowley]

19. What do you mean by "how he ran"?

Could you briefly explain the medias role in creating perceptions and how factions within the party seek to marginalize candidates in your explanation?

[nannah]

34. i was a kucinich delegate in WA

kucinich brought people like me into democratic party politics; we participated in precinct business to be able to represent him. i think that happened in many places. BUT, what didn't happen was that his name was never mentioned in or by the media. he was completely frozen out of mainstream coverage. in considering why, it occurs to me that of all the candidates, he speaks the most directly to the lives of the average person. perhaps he is blacked out of media coverage because he would be too effective if he were given a forum from which to speak.

[jus_the_facts]

2. I voted for him in the '04 primaries....

..and would do so again in a heartbeat...yet the Sequoia machine counts the votes here now...not always the way voter voted though....Kerry'd already been given the nomination before I ever got a chance to vote in the primaries...the MSM decides who the nominee will be...and Diebold and Sequoia do the rest.

[Indiana_Dem]

29. I did, too. Same situation. I live in Indiana. That says it all. nt

[Taverner]

3. He may have the right heart...

But his management of the City of Cincy was pretty bad...

[Bluebear]

5. Isn't he from Cleveland? nt

[Taverner]

6. Oh yeah - duh

Wow...think I win a stupid award there or something

[Bluebear]

8. nah...

just thought you were confusing him with Jerry Springer for a sec

[Zorra]

17. I believe you have been misled by RW propaganda. Please read this:

As Cleveland Mayor, Kucinich's Fight To Save Public Power

Cleveland Magazine offered this summary: "Kucinich refused to yield to bankers who gave him a choice: Sell the Municipal Light System to the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. or the city will go into default. The mayor said no."

When Kucinich refused to sell Muny Light, the banks took the unprecedented step of refusing to roll over the city’s debt, as is customary. Instead, they pushed the city into default. It turned out the banks were thoroughly interlocked with the private utility, CEI, which would have acquired monopoly status by taking over Muny Light. Five of the six banks held almost 1.8 million shares of CEI stock; of the 11 directors of CEI, eight were also directors of four of the six banks involved.

By holding to his campaign promise and putting principle above politics, he lost his re-election bid and his political career was derailed. But today Kucinich stands vindicated for having confronted the Enron of his day, and for saving the municipal power company. "There is little debate," wrote Cleveland Magazine in May 1996, "over the value of Muny Light today. Now Cleveland Public Power, it is a proven asset to the city that between 1985 and 1995 saved its customers $195,148,520 over what they would have paid CEI." He also preserved hundreds of union jobs.

When Kucinich re-launched his political career in the mid-1990s, it was on the strength of having saved public power. His campaign symbol was a light bulb. "Because he was right!" was his campaign slogan when he won his seat in the state senate in 1994. The slogan that sent him to Washington two years later was "Light Up Congress."

In 1998, the Cleveland City Council issued a commendation to Dennis Kucinich for "having the courage and foresight to refuse to sell the city's municipal electric system."

http://www.kucinich.us/peoplepower.php

DK's district consistently re-elects him by overwhelming margins for a reason. He stood up to the banks, they destroyed his political career for awhile, but then the people of Cleveland found that he had saved them hundreds of millions of dollars through his foresight and grit.

[Taverner]

21. That program was a huge success

But the management of the city as a whole was not done so well.

[Eric J in MN]

7. "darling of the far left"

That sounds like how a right-wing website would characterize it.

How about "popular with liberals" instead of "darling of the far left."

[Ignacio Upton]

10. Dean and Clark were the netroots favorites in 2004

While many will agree with DK, he can't win.

[TahitiNut]

26. It's a detestably condescending way of describing both him and those who support him.

What's even more detestable, imho, are those who are (either admittedly or not) in nearly total agreement with Kucinich but are apparently so cowed by the rabid right that they abandon who represents their own values best and join the appeasement middle. Based on numerous 'Political Compass' threads I've seen and countless discussion on the issues in the past five years I've been on DU, NOBODY comes closer than Kucinich on EVERY issue ... no matter what the vocal contrarians might allege in a flurry of minority contingent posts.

[porkrind]

33. I voted for him in the 2004 primary

and I'd do it again. Kucinich is great. As others have said, once you hear him speak, you'll understand the appeal. He brings up those "popular social democratic" topics forbidden by the Washington D.C. establishment like ending the war, taming big pharma, and single-payer health care. That's not to say the left doesn't have lots of other good candidates. The more the merrier, I say.

[GreenArrow]

39. man you nailed it!

[pop goes the weasel]

12. instead of writing him off

Perhaps the Democratic party and all would-be contenders should look at the rest of the platform he ran on. DK has a lot of good ideas, and if running for the presidency can get those ideas even some small notice, then he should do it again. I don't see any other Democrats with a broad vision for tackling the wide variety of problems this nation has, or for accentuating our strengths.

[Printer70]

13. Oh Goodie

Maybe he'll use a pie chart on the radio again. I really don't like this guy; I know some people do. I think he is the kind of person that will make recommendations that are either impractical or too far ahead of their time. The press and the Right will zero in on them (such as his order for the US to stop brainwashing through satellite communication) and equate his policies with those of the party. He is someone more effective as an outside advocate, not as a representative of the party.

[FtWayneBlue]

14. Dennis is a visionary -

Just one of his dreams - that of having a cabinet level Department of Peace - would be enough in and of itself to make him the most progressive candidate going - not to mention his stand on all of the other issues. I would vote for, and work for him again, should he choose to run.

[tabasco]

15. Kucinich never surrendered to the right-wing takeover!!

I am for Kucinich because he was for us !!

He is a man of humility and courage.

He would make a great President.

[nam78_two]

16. Good for him

He won't win of course :-/ (and I don't think he has illusions about that), but his messages will have a wider audience than usual again.

[IWantPeace]

38. He will win if we help him

We must take his message to the people outside of the blogosphere

Most folks these days already know about the corporate media lies, they will listen to this man of the people and his message.

[ritziecracker]

18. I been a good boy !!!!

Kucinich for President!!! That's what I want for Christmas!!! I already added that to my son's list to Santa...

[Zomby Woof]

20. I supported him through the '04 primaries

I don't regret it, but I knew it was a quixotic campaign with no chance in hell.

Why? Not enough money, not enough media coverage (and what he got was distorted in the expected fashion), and let's face it... he is too good for the office.

I will always have a place in my heart for DK, but come 2008 I am going to be solidly ABAROL (Anybody But A Republican Or Lieberman).

[eridani]

23. I agree that lefties don't have the institutional strength to elect him

But what about supporting him to advance his agenda within the party and make other candidates pay more attention to it?

[bananas]

22. He should run with Willy Nelson for VP. nt

[eridani]

24. Why do people on a supposedly Democratic forum--

--keep on using RW bullshit talking points like "far left"?

[Bjorn Against]

27. I am far left, and that label does not bother me one bit....

although I will agree that in certain contexts the term can be nothing more than a right wing talking point. I certainly think Kucinich could have some appeal well outside of the "far left" so I don't like the term being used that way in the OP, but at the same time I see nothing wrong with being far left.

[eridani]

30. Would you be mildly center-left in Europe?

Why participate in tagging opinions shared by the majority, such as universal health care, "far left"?

[Bjorn Against]

35. That is why I say context is important

No, calling universal health care a far left position would not be appropriate because there are many people all over the political spectrum who support such a position.

Myself however I am pretty far to the left, and I don't see anything wrong with that. However, that is a label I only give to myself and other people who are willing to wear it with pride. I understand some don't like it so I respect that and don't describe them that way even if they do share the same views as me on most issues.

I just don't like seing the words "far left" being made into dirty words so when I am speaking for myself I will use those words.

I do understand the point you are making, I just want to take the stigma out of being a leftist.

[eridani]

36. I see what you mean, but--

--the term is stripped of all meaning by applying it to people like Nancy Pelosi. On DU I've seen it applied to the likes of Mondale and Dukakis and Hillary Clinton, of all people ferchrissake! I'm probably far left myself in terms of the American political spectrum, but using the term to apply to anybody a teensy bit left of of Eisenhower is profoundly stupid and counterproductive.

[Bjorn Against]

44. I would agree with you there

There is absolutely no way in hell that Hillary Clinton is far left, and yes it would be stupid and counterproductive to insist that she was.

[Pale Blue Dot]

25. He got my vote in '04.

Of course, I lived in PA at the time, and my candidate, Carol Mosely-Braun, wasn't even on the ballot anymore.

As of right now, however, Kucinich would be my choice, and I'd work hard for his campaign, even knowing that it would be a "lost cause".

As a famous fictional Senator once said, "Lost causes are the ones most worth fighting for."

[rainy]

28. If nothing else, adding him to the debates will enrich us all as

human beings. Is is a visionary.

[fujiyama]

32. What can I say

He's absolutely right about everything related to Iraq.

I wish he would run for a statewide office (like senator - when's Voinovich up for election?) and win. Then I'd have more confidence and consider voting for him for president...

However, if by the time the campaign rolls around to my state and Hillary has the thing in her pocket, Kucinich has my vote.

[IWantPeace]

37. Kucinich is the best the Democratic Party has to offer

Sure, his campaign sucked last time- but he had everything against him including and all out media blackout.

If WE THE BLOGGERS help him- he will make a much better showing. That and the fact he has been right about everything, and has the best platform to help real Americans...his legislation for Universal Health Care alone can swing the majority voter. Everyone is affected by our current health care system.

here's a great W vs Dennis debate
http://ftp.radio4all.net/pub/archive/05.29.04/dk-w-whos...

and Dems on health care in the 2004 debates
http://ftp.radio4all.net/pub/archive/05.29.04/cnn_debat...

[Earth_First]

40. I went to New Hampshire for Dennis in 2004

Cannot wait to go again!

[IWantPeace]

42. excellent!

There is a special energy surrounding Kucinich supporters- and an incredible feeling when you know you are working for truth and justice!

This country desperately needs a leader like Dennis.

[Gman]

41. Let the next round of the DU Primary Gang Wars begin!

Where your presidential candidate avatar will be your gang color.

[NashVegas]

43. Kucinich Supporters Need to Face Some Political Realities

Kucinich is a shrill, authoritarian without a chance in h-e-double-toothpicks of winning a popular election. Nonetheless, he will allow himself to be used as a tool to attack, from the far left, any viable candidate the DLC isn't very fond of.

He and his supporters did that to Howard Dean in 2004 and I have no doubt they'll try it again in 2008, to whomever that primary season's Howard Dean-type candidate is.

In 2004 I didn't speak one word of criticism towards Kucinich, soley because I knew he wasn't capable of winning the nomination and it was pointless. But because some of his supporters on DU went out of their way to completely trash other, viable, candidates, I hope to be one of the biggest assholes on DU in 2008, should he run again.