Kucinich, why didn't he connect?

[Gadave]

I have been watching him lately, and it surprises me he has not connected more with voters. I guess I was ignorant of him myself, but it was the lack of access to information. I have not really seen him on TV much.

I really liked his comment about "Buy America, or bye bye America". Sounds like something Gephardt would say, who was my dog in this race.

To bad the elite media type roll their eyes and judge instead of giving everyone equal time.

EDIT: Corrected my bad spelling of Kucinich's name

[DoctorMyEyes]

1. He doesn't get a fair share of attention

and it's a real shame. DK is bringing a lot to the debates and the process (imho) - but he get's little media attention and when he does it's more of a "human interest" fluff thing that policy or ideas.

[Dover]

2. I talked to a young man whom I had heard was fairly savvy and

thoughtful about politics (though not an online political junky).

His only interest was who could win. That's it. He didn't care much about the details of each candidate. And what really shocked me was that he didn't know ANYTHING about Kucinich and kept having trouble pronouncing his name because HE HADN'T HEARD IT PRONOUNCED BEFORE. How can that be?

I was just shocked and had this sinking feeling that he might actually be the norm. No media coverage has that effect....

[Gadave]

3. That's a shame

It's another failing caused by TV. There was a time when people read debates in the newspaper. Now if they aren't pretty, no one wants to listen to them.

Maybe when whatever Dem knocks off Bush they will appoint him to something like Labor Secretary or something.

[MuseRider]

31. In many places it

is the norm. I have his sticker on my truck, on my instrument case, anything I am carrying. I have one on my coats. No one knows who he is out here but because people are somewhat curious they are beginning to hear about him. I am always willing to talk.

[lcordero]

4. the media has him on blackout

they are afraid that an overwhelming majority of Americans will think that he is an honest man.

[Desertrose]

5. the more attention he gets....

the more support he gets. He can connect if people hear about him.

Some big things will be coming his way soon, but the media really has "disappeared him" because he threatens the stranglehold they have on what we hear & see....Dennisis a truthteller no matter the personal cost...integrity to the MAX!

Dennis really rocks...check out his website...
www.kucinch.us

I've met him a few times and he is for real!!!

Peace
DR

[Kanary]

6. what big things?

I rarely read here, as I'm careful about what I "step into", but I'm very interested in what you are saying about "big things will be coming his way soon". Could you please clue me in? If not here publicly, for some reason, I'd like a PM. I'm outta the loop.

Thanks.

Kanary

[corporatewhore]

7. I was talking to one lady she said she was affraid to vote for DK and said

that alot a people were affaid of him because he speaks the truth and they would rather have their heads burried in the sand

[DFLforever]

10. Kucinich may speak the truth

but I have no conviction he could do the 'truth' he speaks.

I am usually drawn in by what DK says, but to me he seems more of a prophet than a president.

[Dover]

8. The ABB approach is dangerous imo. By doing that you forfeit

or at least diminish the process and one's own evaluation and contemplation of what one DOES want for this country. It's like being hungry and settling for fast food instead of a fine fresh home-cooked meal. "Winning" as the primary criteria is similar to the GOP's "any means to an end". Any candidate toward an end...

If winning is the ONLY criteria, then the media will be happy to make your choice for you.

[Gadave]

11. Well said

Saying someone is the best candidate and then saying he is unelectable is like saying you think your ideas are unelectable. We need to have more conviction in our views.

Its funny the more people attack him as being unelectable the more I like him. I am still 90 percent undecided as I like almost all the candidates. It's the main reason I think we need the primary process to continue. Although I would never use the "electable" argument for my choice for candidate, I would not vote for the K-man because as it stands, it's a 4 way race and I want to effect that outcome. Plus I still lean Dean.

[jmatthan]

9. What really surprises me is

that almost every single person of liberal repute that I have heard on various Talk Shows and liberal web sites, all regard Dennis Kucinich as the best candidate. But almost all, except for a few dedicated ones, such as Mike Malloy, carry on to say he is not electable.

Why would someone not support their best considered candidate in the election for the US presidency?

What Dennis Kucinich needs is the image of his "electable" Vice President at his side already in this race, and then things will start to change for him. Remember, he has no First Lady at his side. So he has to work on a different attack from the other candidates to get the voters to say he is ELECTABLE.

A dynamic Woman, no, not Hillary Clinton, possibly minority Vice President candidate, would turn his campaign upside down to the winner he should be.

Just thinking aloud in the interests of world peace.

Jacob Matthan
http://www.findians.com/educated.html

[izzie]

12. I can not understand this either, he talks right.

:shrug:

[Rhiannon12866]

13. I agree with you, Gadave , and welcome to DU

Gephardt spoke to my head, while Kucinich speaks to my heart.:shrug:

[stickdog]

14. Because he won't attack the front-runner. (nt)

[MMT]

15. He does connect every time he meets people

But a lot of people are really afraid -and I'm not kidding about this- really afraid to go with their own judgement.

Not that long ago, people did things. Played baseball and football, made things, sang songs, danced, and played music even if they weren't superstars and nobody would ever pay money to be there while they did it. They even made their own political decisions. It didn't bother them that they were amateurs. Being an amateur was good enough. They were as good as anybody else they knew, so that was enough. The American way.

Now everything has been made "professional". People who still get together and do things in a bumbling, goodhearted way for the sheer joy of it are in the minority and considered weird. Now most people sit on their butts in front of the tv and watch people do it for money, instead. Whatever "it" is. Play sports. Sing. Dance. Play a musical instrument. Pick a president.

As long as Kucinich isn't willing to sell out -which means as long as he's alive, I think- the people who run things aren't going to sell him to us like a new car or breakfast food. Which means the only people he'll connect with are the ones who still make their own choices. And maybe their own music and sports and art, too.

[rpf113]

17. Oh that's a crock.

Kucinich has gotten an amazing amount of media coverage considering he is registering between 1% - 2% in the polls. He has had equal time at every debate. I have seen him get nearly as much time on Inside Politics (which I watch religiously) as Wes Clark.

The fact is people are not drawn to him. Superficially I think it was Jeff Greenfield who said he looks like an elf, and Joan Rivers who said he had the worst style of any of the candidates. Unfortunately that means a lot to some voters. He also has a tendency to scream a lot and go on tirades on rather silly things. You also have to admit that he is about as left as Ralph Nader, and therefore is getting about as much support as Nader got.

There's no magical, mystical fairy tail that explains Kucinich's last place in the polls. He's a poor candidate. Plain and simple.

This does not mean I do not like the guy. His message resonates with me just as much as anybody else. In a moment of heated argument in another post I said I didn't like him, and now i feel bad about that. I enjoy his tirades, but not everbody is as liberal as I am.

[cryofan]

20. Yep.. strange looks, strident voice, small, leftist

and having all the pundits label him as a longshot from the very beginning of the race pretty much sealed the deal.

[MMT]

22. Sorry, I'm afraid you've got it completely backwards

The lack of coverage causes the low numbers.

For it to be the other way around, people would have to be very capable--they all found out about Dennis on their own--but also very stupid--they don't realise that universal non-profit healthcare, a smaller tax bite, universal education, an end to the drug war, etc are all good things. That doesn't make any sense. Few very capable people are also very stupid--it's contradictory.

[Indiana Democrat]

16. Why didn't Kucinich connect?

The same basic reason this guy didn't connect with the pukes in 2000...

[rpf113]

18. Exactly...

Too extreme.
And weird looking.

[Nlighten1]

19. I think he did connect but...

the media took him down and marginalized him.

[rpf113]

21. Oh pleasee.

Refer to my post #17.

He's gotten way more media attention than he even deserves given that he can't pull in more than 2% of the vote in any poll.

[Indiana Democrat]

27. Please...

The BIG BAD "Media" hardly paid attention to Kucinich. Just like 98.5% of Democrats...Let alone the population as a whole.

[messiah]

23. People don't vote for "truth tellers"

they vote for snakes. It's scary when you think about it!.

[MMT]

25. Well, unless we can change that

we're screwed. To the wall. And the screw is made of gold.

[CWebster]

24. He has a juvenile, adolescent quality

and he isn't particularly warm or sympathetic. More of an idealogue who has already undermined his own purity with calculated political strategies to further ambition at the expense of the ideology of his supporters.

[Cheswick2.0]

26. He says thing like "I want to lay my hands on American and heal it"

Your analysis is right on CW. He reminds me a bit of Nader. He is a cold ambitious ideologue who will sell out his own supporters to further his ambitions.

[tinanator]

30. lol

there it is. now repeat it until it becomes the truth. Hurry, he's coming for your voters.

[CWebster]

32. lol-

Well...I actually like Nader. I grew up in the 60's and learned reverence for him at an early age. ;-)

[LWolf]

34. I'm guessing you've met him, right?

You shook his hand, asked him a question, talked to him for awhile?

Or just went to hear him speak? Or paid attention to him talking to people in any format but the 8-9 person debates we've been watching?

Oh. You didn't. People who have know better. Dennis is the antithesis of your description.

[indigo32]

47. I have met him and talked with him

in Aug he came to St Paul for a State Party leadership meeting with most the other candidates. I couldn't steal away from work to meet Dean, but I was there at the right time to meet Dennis, shake his hand, and listen to him speak to a small group and sneak a few pretzels LOL.
I agree he comes across as very warm and personable, in person. A nice guy with ideas he'll never be able to get implemented. But he comes across poorly on TV and he simply can't meet everyone one on one.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

36. bwa ha ha

heh heh :evilgrin: yeah, whatever

[Terwilliger]

41. No, that's your Democratic party inspired view of life

Dennis gives a shit...that's what freaks people out

[tinanator]

29. maybe you should go see him speak sometime?

Because you really need to gather a few facts.

[tinanator]

28. he is connecting all right

Even my boss brought him up the other morning, said he really liked what he heard from him. This, the guy who started our first conversation with "So, are you a Clinton lover?" and boasted just about every stereotypical anti-union, right wing cliche you can find.
Ive known all along that DK will reach THOSE voters easily. The ones that refuse to recognize it are the more easily manipulated (by YEARS of anti-Nader/progressive rhetorical propaganda and LIES from the Begala/McAuliffe Madison avenue mind warping machine of the DLC)
"centrists" who feel they are "Democrats". The media has really only affected these folks. Fox watchers know what they are seeing is WWF news. From what Ive seen, even these folks can vote for Kucinich. If the Democratic Party doesnt get its shit together by the convention, they are headed for their final defeat.

[goodhue]

33. lack of media

no more, no less
most democrats still don't know who he is
if they can id him, its as that long shot who wants US out of Iraq

[LWolf]

35. Lack of media coverage.

And poor coverage when it happens.

[jsw_81]

37. Several reasons

He's too far to the left, too unknown, not enough campaign cash, only a Congressman etc.

If he should be elected Governor or U.S. Senator, he'll have a chance. Until then, no way.

[tinanator]

38. pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

he knows whats best for you...

[IrateCitizen]

39. Several reasons...

1. As much as I, as a Kucinich supporter, would like to think the contrary -- his message is NOT going to resonate with the American Public at large. Why? Because people don't want truth-tellers, they want to hear that everything will be alright. I think that DK's vision is something that is sorely needed in America right now -- but unfortunately, most Americans have allowed fear and national arrogance to cloud their reasoning, resulting in an embrace of a self-destructive imperialist (whether it is the hard imperialism of the neocons or the soft imperialism of the Clintonites) foreign policy and a reluctance to take radical steps to re-orient our national purpose toward PEOPLE.

2. The media truly has played the role of the "first filter" on him. Just look at the dressing-down he did of Ted Koppel and the fact that ABC pulled their full-time reporter from his campaign the VERY NEXT DAY. Additionally, when I have read the NYT campaign coverage, I have to admit that DK is mentioned -- but NEVER on the front page. The front page is all Kerry, Clark, Dean, Edwards and Lieberman. Kucinich only appears on the jump page. And as for the cable news shows -- only a small percentage of people watch them. He has to get the same mention on network news as the other candidates in order to be viable. In fact, the media dismissed him as "non-viable" from the get-go.

3. The appearance factor. If you think this doesn't matter, just listen to the way the talking heads discuss superficialities. It's just proof that adult life is really just a continuation of high school, and the pundits see themselves as the "in-crowd". Unfortunately, most of the voting public passively absorbs this mindset. Doubly unfortunate, Dennis's appearance is not something that is going to work FOR him in the race.

Facing these realities is not defeatism, IMHO. It is simply looking at the realities of the world in which we live, which is what is necessary if we are going to derive strategies to overcome these problems and help advance the vision of change and hope that Dennis embodies. I have donated more money to his campaign than any other electoral cause ever, and I would not change that for the world, for the reasons I just mentioned. His campaign is not about an election -- it's about building a movement to chart a new course for America.

[Armstead]

40. He faces two battles

1)His ideas

2)Being accepted personally as a candidate.

Unfortunately, he has to overcome both his personal eccentricities and the fact that he is proposing something dramatically different than the tepid "politics as usual." I admire him personally, but do not think he is "electable" as a presidential candidate. That's not to say that he is not a good candidate. Obviously he is very electable in his district...But the presidential campaign is a whole different ballgame.

He is trying to put across a different message in a different packsge and that is just too difficult for the average voter to accept.

In my opinion, if a candidate with the conventional strengths and "electable" persona, like John Kerry, were to aquire some gonads and adopt Kucinich's basic ideas and message, that would truly be a winning combination.

I am one of those who believe that DK is the most honest -- and realistic -- candidate in the race in terms of his critique and his proposed solutions. DK's platform is generally very mainstream, in terms of confirming what people really want if they are not hard core conservatives or corporatists. DK's core platform is basically an updated version of the Demoicratic icons, in terms of social justice and economic conditions.

Even his call for universal healthcare. That's what most people really want, but they are afraid of changing the system. And the right-wing and corporate interests have associated it with "socialism." But it really is just a logical extensoin of mediacare and otehr programs people take fopr granted.

The problem is that both his message and his persona are not what peopel expect in today's "politics as usual." Unfortunately, people have been conditioned not to expect what they want. They expect compromises and corporate whores from both parties.

So Kucinich resonates with people individually, but they cannot conceive that it would resonbate with enough otehr people to be possible.

DK's problem is compounded by his personal style. He is handicapped by the fact that he is so New Agey and a vegan and looks different and is somewhat eccentric by conventional standards.

And frankly, Dennis's strengths may also be why he probably would not be a good president. His role is more suited to a leadership position in Congress or some other role.

[Endangered Specie]

42. Even If people liked/knew of him (no thanks to the media there)...

THey would be extremely concerned about his electability, after all he is by far the most liberal and progressive of the bunch, a bit out of the 'mainstream' so to speak.

[tinanator]

44. wrong

the ONLY ones concerned about his "electability" are "centrist" Democrats who cant see past the hoodline of their Lincoln Navigators at the men and women who have given up all hope waiting for an honest politician to come along and drag them out of this hell that bipartisan corporatism has put them in. I have already HONESTLY recounted TWO seperate, unexpected mentions of respect bordering on support from conservative observers. DESPITE the shenanigans of corporate media that cause supporters of Dean and Clark to find solice. Kucinich is SO much the real deal, it is only a question of really fighting the Democratic Party's entrenched corruption and conservative nay sayers who have the power to get him in place as the nominee and then as the landslide victor. Oh the hypocrisy.

[goodhue]

48. no

his issues are very mainstream bread and butter issues. it is the media and the elite that are out of the mainstream. unfortunately, they control much of the political discourse

[Hep]

43. Because we live in the realworld

And we know a little something about feasibility.

[tinanator]

45. prove it

back that ASSertion up.

[rucky]

46. How's that been working out for ya?

[Terwilliger]

50. aren't you a Dean supporter?

what do you think about his gaffes and flip-flops?

[Terwilliger]

49. People require someone who has a better handle on things

and someone that has substantive answers to hard questions

[zulchzulu]

51. He's not "presidential looking" and has a screechy voice...

...let alone the fact that his plans on leaving NAFTA and WTO (which would wreak havoc on the Latin American, Canadian, American and European economies) as well as his plans on turning tail in Iraq make for a completely unviable candidate.

[TucsonGreen]

52. The REAL problem with Kucinich

...is that he fools lefties into thinking that the Democrats are something other than the pro-corporate, centrist party that they've become. He gives the Democrats cover...They can't be total sellouts with Kucinich in the race, right?

Problem is, the Democrats, under the leadership of Terry McAuliffe and the DLC, HAVE become centrist corporate sellouts. They are no longer the party of the people. By staying with the party and attacking movements like the Greens, lefties like Kucinch prevent any REAL opposition party from challenging this centrism. If Kucinich and his supporters LEFT the Democratic Party and worked on building the Greens, one of two things would happen: A) the Democrats would have to move back to the left to remain viable or B) the Green Party would replace them. Either way, we'd end up with a REAL party for the People, instead of the Repuke-lite party we have now.

Don't get me wrong...I'm voting for whoever the Dems put up in November (unless it's Liberman...just can't go there) and am not suggesting anyone do otherwise. But by joining and building the Green Party locally, leftists will have more impact on the direction of the Democrats AND the country than by continuing to support the Democrats and trying to move them left by running candidates IGNORED by the party establishment.

(And before anyone posts the usual response about why am I posting on a Democratic board, let me tell you this. I AM A DEMOCRAT. I still believe in the values the Democratic Party has sold out on. It's the Democrats who turned into Republicans and forced me to support the Greens. I will be happy when the DLC and those who follow them come to their senses and rejoin me on the left, fighting for the people, where the Democrats SHOULD be.)