I haven’t been able to produce much new content here recently, so the Kucinich presidential campaign was nice enough to drop some in my lap, in a recent email about his recent ranking by union members at a candidates’ forum in Iowa. When I first received it, it was not yet on their website, so I had planned to copy it here with no pangs of guilt about plagiarism, since they asked me to circulate it to my friends, relatives, and co-workers. I notice that it’s on the site now, so I’ll just refer you to the link above, but I might as well throw in some comments.
First, I’ll have to say that this looks like typical political PR spin, making this seem more significant than it really is. In a confusing discrepancy, the copy I received said: “Dennis Kucinich was ranked number one by union
members at Saturday’s candidate forum in Des Moines at AFSCME’s national
convention.” The copy on the website says: “Dennis Kucinich was ranked number one by undecided union members at Saturday’s candidate forum in Des Moines at AFSCME’s national convention.” So does that mean that he was not highly ranked by those who had already chosen a candidate? And what kind of cross-section do you get with a focus group of 30 union members?
In spite of those doubts, there’s still some reason for encouragement here. I think it indicates that when people who haven’t already made up their minds listen to the candidates speak to the issues, they like what they hear from Kucinich. As an example of why I like this guy, I’ll throw in some text that was in the email but isn’t on the website:
Dennis Kucinich, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is leading
an insurgent campaign for President. He’s connecting well with those fortunate
enough to hear his message of cutting military waste and reversing tax cuts for
the wealthy in order to provide national health insurance for all, Social
Security retirement at 65, free pre-K to college education. He is for canceling
the so-called “USA Patriot Act” and he’s the only presidential candidate who
voted against it.On Saturday, a front-page Washington Post article accurately reported that
Democratic leaders, with one exception, are reluctant to confront President
Bush over the Iraq war, and the failure to find weapons of mass destruction:
“The only candidate making a big issue of the failure to find weapons stockpiles
is Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio), the fervently antiwar candidate. “The
basis of the war in Iraq is fraudulent,” Kucinich said in an interview. “They
misrepresented Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction. They misrepresented
the nature of the nuclear threat.”
He’s one of the few in Congress who have had the consistent courage and conscience to speak out against the flawed policies of the Bush administration, at a time when too few people seem concerned about the alarming trends towards fascism that this country is taking.
I had the opportunity to hear Congressman Kucinich speak at an anti-war rally in Lexington in March (and was the first person to shake his hand when he stepped off the stage). In this TV era when far too much attention is paid to a candidate’s physical appearance, Kucinich’s original impression is somewhat disappointing. (My first thought was “Geez, another Dukakis”). A shrimpy guy in a baggy suit with a boyish grin, he seemed almost the stereotypical image of the conscientious but hopeless nice guy struggling futilely to be heard as he tirelessly speaks out for what’s right and is continually ignored.
Then he started talking. WOW. This guy can speak. On an outdoor stage, with no podium and no notes, he displayed a passion and charisma that’s too seldom seen. Granted, I’m sure that speech was well-rehearsed, since he’s been fighting the good fight for a long time, but it was still impressive to see that performance compared with the shellacked candidates hiding behind their teleprompters. (In comparison, a recent NY Times article describes how Dumbya’s handlers have mastered the art of using slick packaging to compensate for an inferior product. It’s too bad that our population has been dumbed down to the point where such tactics are successful.
Realistically, I don’t think Kucinich stands a chance of being elected, or even of winning the Democratic nomination. And he probably doesn’t think so either. Some fringe candidates really do think they have a chance; most enter the race just to keep the mainstream candidates honest. And that’s an admirable motive. If folks like Kucinich can make folks like Gephardt and Lieberman realize that folks like me are rallying to a candidate with a conscience, maybe they’ll start listening to their own consciences (or at least pretending to). And if that’s all he accomplishes, it’s worth the battle. And if he’s on the ballot in the Democratic primary in Kentucky next May, he’s got my vote.