'Boy Mayor' Kucinich Took Charge in Utility Debt Crisis

[redqueen]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/latimes_ts/20040123/ts_latimes/boymayorkucinichtookchargeinutilitydebtcrisis

Dennis J. Kucinich's political career was extinguished like a burned-out light bulb on a cold winter night 25 years ago. Journalists came from as far away as England and Japan to record his demise.

As the clock ticked toward midnight — the moment Cleveland would go bankrupt if its mayor didn't surrender to the banks — a local TV station started a countdown, as though it were New Year's Eve.

The date was Dec. 15, 1978, and Kucinich — precocious, pugnacious and ambitious — was, at 31, the nation's youngest big-city mayor. He had won office on a promise to cancel the sale of Cleveland's municipal power company, Muny Light, to a competing private utility. But six banks threatened not to renew the city's credit on $15 million in loans unless Kucinich agreed to sell by midnight.

(snip)

"Two things about Dennis have never changed," said Jack Schulman, a Harvard-educated lawyer who worked in the beleaguered Kucinich administration. "One, he is absolutely honest and you never have to wonder whether he's taken a position because someone bought him off. Two, he's committed to working people."
--------

Kucinich is the real deal.

Light up America - vote for Kucinich

[MuseRider]

1. That really took some guts.

He must have seen everything he hoped for in his life disappearing before his eyes yet he stood fast.

"Two things about Dennis have never changed," said Jack Schulman, a Harvard-educated lawyer who worked in the beleaguered Kucinich administration. "One, he is absolutely honest and you never have to wonder whether he's taken a position because someone bought him off. Two, he's committed to working people."

Sounds like just the ticket! This is certainly what I have been looking for all these years.

[redqueen]

2. It's a fantastic article

In the LA Times.

This race has just begun! :D

[AP]

3. Everyone should know this story.

[blm]

22. If we had a real press corps, more people would know by now.

The public is just getting to hear about the other candidates the last couple weeks.

[goodhue]

4. nice article

Except of course that cleveland went into default . . . it never went bankrupt!!!

Orange County went bankrupt!
Not cleveland!

Why is this so hard to get right?

I guess most people don't even understand the difference between defaulting on a loan and declaring bankruptcy!?

Remember Cleveland defaulted because the banks called in their notes prematurely in order to force sale. That's called blackmail.

[redqueen]

5. Look on the bright side!

You're right, it's incorrect and such a common error, you'd think they'd have 'got it' by now.

But! This is a terrific reason to flood them with letters and phone calls! Let's spread the word and show them how much we love Kucinich!

[goodhue]

7. yes its otherwise great

thanks for the reality check

[goodhue]

6. upon reading it closely

Only the first paragraph mistakenly states bankruptcy, the rest of the article accurately describes the crises as a default. But I'm really sick of so-called journalists getting this wrong.

[redqueen]

8. Yes they have become very lazy

But hey... whatever the traffic will bear, right? :)

[goodhue]

9. most certainly n/t

[redqueen]

10. Oh yeah... that's what I'm talkin' about...

"You come to certain moments in your life, which are key and defining moments, which tell a lot about who you are," Kucinich told Cleveland magazine in 1996. "And for me, everything came down to that moment. Who I was. Where I'd been. Who I grew up with. How I grew up. What my aspirations were. What I hoped to do. What I hoped to be…. And it all came down to my saying, 'No, I'm not going to sell that electric system no matter what the consequences are to me personally.'"

[goodhue]

11. yes and we are at such a moment now

As you know, This Is The Moment
and We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For.

I really like this picture of Dennis & his Dad . . .

[Desertrose]

12. Isn't it just amazing....

that you can boil things down to a moment...a turning point in your life.

I am so beyond words impressed with this man....

if we blow this choice...we really do deserve whatever we get....and whatever we get won't be even close to what we could have had with this man.

I wish all Kucinich supporters could go to aplace where Kucinich is the accepted norm....man...I still have hope but its a tough thing to keep alive sometimes.
Still...I can see this happening

Thanks everyone for all the positive threads!

DK :yourock:

Peace & hope
DR

[Nederland]

13. Scary

I always wanted to ask DK if he would let the US government fall into default rather than compromise his principles...

[goodhue]

14. nonsensical

The federal goverment would never face the situation that faced Cleveland because the federal government has the unlimited capacity to increase the money stock.

In any event, unlike local government the federal government is free to run up huge deficits since there is no legal requirement to force a balanced budget.

[redqueen]

15. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Who's the world's largest consumer nation? We are.

Who's always right?

:D

[Nederland]

16. Question

Do you know what the debt ceiling is?

[redqueen]

18. Oooh! OOoooh! OOOOOH!

*sticking hand forcefully up*

I know! I know! Pick me!!!!

That's the thing bush keeps raising so he can keep charging tax cuts and wars to our kids and grandkids!

Right? Right? Am I right?

Do I get a cookie?

:)

[goodhue]

25. It was $6.4 trillion.

But didn't Congress raise it again last May?

[Nederland]

33. Yup, They did

And what would have happened if the President vetoed it?

[redqueen]

35. Uhhhhh

What in heaven's name makes you think he'd veto it?

Maybe you have him mixed up with someone else?

[goodhue]

41. If your fishing for default . . .

You won't lead me there because, as I said above treasury monetary policy will always be able to prevent such an occurence.

But in terms of the debt ceiling they would have had to raise more through taxation or scale back on spending, which wouldn't be to hard given the bloated pentagon budget.

[Terwilliger]

21. there you go DK supporters

just another reason for you to realize that Dennis' ideas are a joke to most of the party

[redqueen]

23. Are not.

:)

Seriously. The vast majority of Dems I hear say they love his platform and wish they 'could' vote for him. I keep wondering, as I'm sure many do... what's stoppin ya?! Then I remember - FEAR.

[Freddie Stubbs]

31. Fear of losing in a 50-state landslide

Mondale came within 4000 votes of losing all 50 states. Kucinich probably couldn't even win Ohio.

[redqueen]

32. Yes, that fear.

It's sad, because this is the same kind of fear that will keep a free animal from walking away on its own because it's been in a cage so long.

:(

[plurality]

34. too true

read Gerry Spence's "From Freedom to Slavery", his number one point, was free societies succumb to tyranny because freedom is scary and it better to have someone telling you want choices to make, people feel more secure that way. It's a damn good read and I highly reccomend it.

Kucinich is 'radical' and he represents unknown territory so he's scary. The media tells us Kerry, Dean, Clark, Edwards, and Lieberman are secure and that makes us feel secure so many go towards the safe candidate.

[redqueen]

36. Thanks very much for the reference!

I'll be sure to read that one.
:)

[plurality]

37. no prob.

and for a frame of reference, if you don't know who Gerry Spence is, he was the attorney in the Silkwood case. He's spent the last 30 years fighting corporations that fuck over regular people, and he's also wrote a few books about his experiences doing it.

[redqueen]

38. I knew that sounded familiar!

Cool. :)

Actually I goofed on that analogy, because I heard that about elephants, I think. That after being chained down for a long time, they'll stop trying to leave. Sad sad sad.

[Terwilliger]

40. FEAR

you hit the nail on the head, rq


Dennis would be great IF

#1) People didn't fear terrorists or other external threats

OR

#2) People in our party were afraid of Dem chances against Bush

If if if if....

[plurality]

24. considering the equivalent would be like

If China came to the president and said, "Give us control over your nuclear power plants or we'll default your loans." I'd hope that he'd tell them to fuck off and let the government go into default as opposed to letting a foreign entity control vital infrastructure. Anyone who would do otherwise is a fucking traitor.

[redqueen]

26. *applause*

Not only that, but look at the reality on the ground. Would China piss off the customer for all those stuffed animals, cheap tennis shoes, and billions of other products?

Nuh uh. :)

[plurality]

27. actually we might not be that far from it

Have you ever wondered why so many 'nature preserves' also have large energy deposits like ANWR?

It may be kind of tinfoil, but I heard a theory that Nixon created the federal reserves over oil and mineral deposits because our debt had grown so large our creditors began to demand collateral for our continued deficits. Could be out there but it still makes you think, I never would have figured Nixon for an environmentalist, and who would keep financing our deficits without some kind of collateral?

Just some food for thought.

[redqueen]

28. Very interesting!

I'd never heard or thought of that, but it is an interesting theory.

[plurality]

30. neither did i until i saw the maps n/t

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

17. That's called leadership, people

There is a reason DK is co-chair of the Progressive Caucus:
http://bernie.house.gov/pc/

[Edge]

19. This is why Denny K. is my candidate...

he stands up for his beliefs and doesn't give into anyone. We need a guy like this.

Go DK!

[blm]

20. Schulman got it exactly right. Dennis is absolutely honest.

He FOUGHT the corporate mindset to protect the people even at the expense of his own career and ambitions.

Unlike the corporatist politicians who PUSH the corporatist agenda and even try to deregulate electricity while pretending to be Democrats.

[bigtree]

29. Municipal Man

:7

[plurality]

39. kick for evening crowd

[Logansquare]

42. They laughed at him back then

I grew up in Ohio and I remember him being called "Dennis the Menace." But hell, he was right about Muni.

[ThirdWheelLegend]

43. City of Cleveland awarded Dennis for his foresight

In 1998 the city awarded Kucinich for his decision.

TLW

[goodhue]

44. Indeed

They named a building after him!
Which of the other candidates have buildings named after them?

[snoochie]

45. I'm shocked

I can't believe a major news outlet actually told the rest of the story.

Great news!

:D