Why can't more Dems be like Dennis Kucinich?

[marmar]

This is some of the TruthDig interview with him. He actually has a pair.

Dennis Kucinich’s Showdown With the Democratic Leadership

By Joshua Scheer

Editor’s note: In an interview with Truthdig research editor Joshua Scheer*, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) criticizes the leadership of his own party for announcing Tuesday that it would support a massive increase in spending for the Iraq war.

Truthdig: What was the upshot of Democratic caucus meeting?

Kucinich: At this point the Democratic leadership—the speaker and the majority leader and Rahm Emanuel—are all recommending that the Democrats support the appropriation that is going to be brought forward in the spring, for the purposes of the war in Iraq.

Truthdig: Why do you think that is?

Kucinich: The leadership feels that they can bring about greater transparency , that they can bring special committees to look at what’s gone wrong with the war, and that there’s going to be improved oversight.

Truthdig: Were there dissenting opinions ... ? Do you think this will pass?

Kucinich: I think this is going to be a serious test of the Democratic Party. We were put in power because people expected a new direction in Iraq. It goes without saying that they expect greater transparency and oversight, but they also expect us to do something to bring the troops home. Now, if Congress goes ahead under Democratic leadership and votes to approve what some are now estimating as an additional $160 billion for the war in Iraq, bringing the total for the fiscal year to $230 billion, the Democratic Congress will have bought George Bush’s war. Now, who would buy a used war from this administration?

Truthdig: Weren’t the Democrats elected because of the war in Iraq?

Kucinich: The Democrats came to power because of a strong desire on the part of the voters to get out of Iraq. That’s why people voted Democratic. So now, with the Democratic leadership taking a position saying they’re going to approve the supplemental budget in the spring, this could be seen by many as a breach of faith.

Truthdig: What can people do?

Kucinich: People first of all need to know about this. People need to know that there is an attempt by our leadership to support the supplemental, and what the consequences are.... The most difficult part of the challenge is to get members of Congress to understand that they themselves voted for a bill which went into effect on Oct. 1 that appropriated $70 billion, which could be used to bring the troops home. Unfortunately, our leadership is saying they’re supporting the supplemental as a way of supporting the troops. So if we continue to ignore the money that’s there right now to bring the troops home, we’re losing an opportunity to bring the troops home now. People are now saying that they oppose the war, but they’re continuing to fund it in the name of supporting the troops.

They say they’re not going to abandon the troops in the field. We’re professing a strange love for these troops by keeping them there, because the money’s there to bring them home. So this is going to shape up as a major discussion across this country. People are going to want to know why Democrats would not bring the troops home now, when the money is there now.

Truthdig: For me this is really disheartening, because I feel like I have been lied to, and the American people have been lied to, because the Party was so against extra funds for the war. It’s almost like the party has done a bait-and-switch.

Kucinich: I think there’s going to be a concern around the country that this does represent a bait-and-switch. I’m hopeful that this position will be reconsidered and that the Democrats will not vote to keep the war going. But at this point, if the Democrats go forward and support a supplemental which by some accounts is now rising to $160 billion, they’ll be providing enough money to keep the war going through the end of George Bush’s term.

Now, this is a serious moment. I believe the public is largely unaware that this is happening, and I think a lot of people are going to be very surprised to learn that less than one month since this great realignment, that Democrats leaders, who came to power because of widespread opposition to the war in Iraq, are now saying that they will vote to continue funding the war.........

The complete interview is at: http://www.truthdig.com/interview/item/20061206_dennis_kucinichs_showdown/

[Atman]

1. I actually voted for DK in the 04 primary

CT was a "safe" state for John Kerry, so I could vote my conscience instead of voting the numbers, and Dennis consistently says the stuff closest to what I believe. He'd make a great president...if he weren't so, so...Kucinichy!


.

[Jon8503]

3. I agree totally, have always liked the guy, he has always been one of the

closest to my way of thinking as well. He does have a pair, I have seen him on interviews and nobody gets the best of him.

Wish I could vote for him or at least have someone in my district like him.

[marmar]

4. "Kucinichy!"

Teehee. :)

[puebloknot]

22. He's not very tall, but he gives good hugs!

I had one. I'm not very tall either!

He also has a great smile, a wonderful speaking voice, in person seems as tall as any man I've ever looked up to!

And then, damn, he went off and married that gorgeous young English lass with the long red hair.

Oh, well, I'm older than he is, anyway, and he and his new bride seem to be laboring under some feeling that FATE brought them together.

I heard her speaking with him on a radio interview recently. She is no slouch in her own right. Very well spoken, very dedicated to working for peace. Naive? Maybe, but I'll go for that over cynicism, any day!

"Kucinichy"? It's a good thing! :)

[Atman]

27. "Kucinichy" is a good thing IF you're not a 'Murkin sheep

You know, the ones who say they vote for "warm" people like Rudy Gulliani, or who voted for Bush because "he's a guy they could have a beer with." IOW, the ones who base their political thinking entirely on commercials and pollsters instead of ability and experience. If anyone would give Kucinich half an hour, they'd get him. The guy is briliant, and seems to have a real grasp of the entire world situation, as well as the one here at home. But he lacks most of the "star power" the us dumbass moran 'Merkins tend to use in selecting our presidents.

I can only hope that after the catastrophic result of selecting a candidate we'd like to drink with, as opposed to one who can actually demonstrate some knowledge and ability, that maybe we'll see past that shit next time, that maybe we've learned a collective lesson. But I don't hold out much hope, especially when it is actually Tweety and Russert and the brass at GE/ABC-Disney/Time, etc, who will ultimately select our candidates.

.

[puebloknot]

28. I also don't hold out much hope...

...that most of America will appreciate Dennis Kucinich, or *anyone* who causes them to feel small.

America rose up on November 7 to say they don't want this damned war, but that's not the same thing as saying they want to "do unto the least of these, my bretheren" with kindness and compassion. That's *Socialism*!

[info being]

14. We got him 10% in the Washington primary ;)

[annabanana]

2. "...fund it in the name of supporting the troops."

The same mobius strip that trapped us in Vietnam for all those years. How blind ARE these guys??

[FreeStateDemocrat]

5. Sad fact is that a majority of Democratic congressional members are corporate whores.

RFK,jr. puts Democrats controlled by corporate America at 75% and pukes at 95%. Problem is we can't accept that bitter truth and start to hold the bastard sellout's feet to the fire.

[puebloknot]

24. This is a thought that has been going around and around in my head!

Really tough investigations, leading to impeachment and/or criminal charges, might just be opening Pandora's Box.

We're worried that we "don't have the votes" among the Republicans? How about whether we have the votes among the Dems to clean house in DC?

I can rant and rave and worry and fret, but I swear I don't know how we're ever going to get our country back!

Still...we have to try!

[LWolf]

6. Some possible reasons:

1. They are owned by corporations.
2. They are more concerned with their own power than the lives of the people they represent.
3. They like the current class structure and want to maintain the underclass and preserve the position of the "ruling" class.

[marmar]

10. All very true....

:think:

[Greyhound]

11. Hammer, meet nail.

We have bought into this system of "deniability" that protects the ruling-class warriors from us. Dennis and a few others are held up for the "see, we're good guys" moments while they are shunned by the "leadership" and relegated to relatively powerless powerless positions in Congress. They are the facade the poltiwhores hide behind.
:banghead::grr::banghead::kick::banghead:

[donkeyotay]

17. Tokenism

It's alright to have a few voices of dissatisfaction, so long as they have no real power.

[LWolf]

26. Yes. I notice, though, a slight shift lately.

He is standing up publicly and calling for party integrity. He has always been a loyal democrat. Too loyal, in my opinion, considering the way he has been treated by his own party, as you note. In recent weeks, he seems to be publicly holding the party to a higher than the "business as usual" standard.

[OzarkDem]

7. He makes some excellent points

"Kucinich: I think this is going to be a serious test of the Democratic Party. We were put in power because people expected a new direction in Iraq. It goes without saying that they expect greater transparency and oversight, but they also expect us to do something to bring the troops home. Now, if Congress goes ahead under Democratic leadership and votes to approve what some are now estimating as an additional $160 billion for the war in Iraq, bringing the total for the fiscal year to $230 billion, the Democratic Congress will have bought George Bush’s war. Now, who would buy a used war from this administration?"

Now we need an ADDITIONAL $160 BILLION????? Where the hell will that come from?

[nealmhughes]

8. To answer your question: because Dennis cares about people and not money and power.

Isn't it obvious that the Corporatists are people of pretty hair and expensive suits and basicly just the country club playing legislator?

That is why DK and Bernie Sanders, Paul Wellstone, etc. were/are viewed with such disdain by the "usual suspects": they don't care about their status in the Corporate World, rather their delivery of statesmanship.

[rman]

9. They're either ignorant or they prefer money over morality,

or a bit of both. Save for a very few exceptions.

[Greyhound]

12. To the greatest with you.

:kick: & R

[wyldwolf]

13. Why did he avoid the question, "Were there dissenting opinions?"

[JudyM]

15. This upcoming vote needs to get a lot of press. nt

[cosmicdot]

16. knr

I proudly voted for him in the 04 primary.

[Greyhound]

18. K & R

[leftofthedial]

19. Because the RW assassinates most of them as soon as they threaten to take power

[eridani]

20. Because his supporters are mostly people who have stayed out of--

--electoral politics until very recently. As a result, we don't have the organizational strength that is the only thing which can possibly overcome MSM and the money machine. I have one finger pointing at the forum here, and the other three are pointing back at me.

When I naively jumped right from the peace vigils to his campaign in 2003, I thought we might just have a chance. He carried the three counties in NC where he personally appeared, so that meant all we had to do was to get him or us as surrogates into about 2/3 of the nation's counties. With an almost entirely volunteer campaign organization. With around $10 million. Easy enough to say "Yeah, right" in retrospect, but the only way to learn this is to go through the process.

[puebloknot]

21. Too many people think Dennis is some kind of wingnut peacenik...

...when in fact he is exceedingly intelligent, focused on real issues that real people are concerned about, and unabashedly devoted to bringing peace to this world in very practical ways.

I heard him speak in Santa Fe, during the 2004 primaries, and I was frankly a little skeptical about his Department of Peace idea, thinking it was foolish idealism. He can turn you from that misperception in a New York -- scratch that -- in an Ohio millisecond! :)

Dennis Kucinich truly has the courage of his convictions. You can't be in his presence, hear him speak, without acknowledging that. I truly wish I could say I feel that way about our new Democratic leadership. Dennis alludes in this piece to the fact that they appear to be planning to play along with the war, knowing they could bring the troops home and get us honorably (well, with *some* honor, anyway) out of this hell that GW, et al. have created. Instead, it appears they are holding a wet finger to the wind, calculating how things will be for Dems in 2008.

I sincerely hope I am wrong about that last statement. I'll recant a million times if I am!

[Douglas Carpenter]

23. issue by issue Mr. Kucinich is a mainstream Democrat

Unfortunately we have a body politic that wants to concentrate on media imagery that resorts to name-calling and stereotyping. And positions on issues are treated as almost irrelevant.

The reality of the matter is that, if not the clear majority,a very significant section of the Democratic party agree with Mr. Kucinich issue by issue. I guess that means somewhere between 45% to 60% ( a conservative estimate) of Democrats are fringe lefties.

[puebloknot]

25. Yes, he is. He has practical answers to a multitude of...

...pressing issues. He hangs out with some "New Age" people, and pundits love to land on that. He also hangs out with the kinds of working people with whom he grew up.

Who gives a flying fu*k if he is a vegan, meditates in the desert, does who knows what else? Freedom of religion? Remember that concept?

When he is allowed to actually get his thoughts out, rather than being shut down for a commercial break, he can hold his own with anyone I've ever seen him engaged with.

He has provably workable plans for national health care, improved education for all, and on and on.

I'm probably just preaching to the converted here. The world has always ridiculed people who are genuinely idealistic.

[goodhue]

29. kick

[oasis]

30. kick