Kucinich is a bit of a hypocrite regarding debates

[oberliner]

From April 2006:

Dennis Chickens Out

How to lay an egg with voters: For the second campaign in a row, Congressman Dennis Kucinich ducked out of the City Club candidates' forum, depriving area voters of the only opportunity to make a side-by-side comparison of the candidates seeking their votes on May 2 .

Kucinich canceled at the last minute a long-standing commitment to debate his Democratic primary opponent, Barbara Anne Ferris, at a scheduled candidates' forum. The congressman blamed an inadvertent scheduling conflict. He claimed that he was hosting two important summits at his Lakewood office on that day and, unfortunately, the meetings could not be rescheduled.

In the 2004 election, Kucinich skipped another City Club forum, leaving his two challengers -- Ed Herman and Barbara Anne Ferris -- to debate each other. Kucinich's excuse was that he wasn't making any appearances outside his district. Funny, because only two weeks prior to that debate, he addressed a Bellingham, Washington peace group.

I might understand the lack of reporting and/or criticism of Kucinich's "invisible man" campaign strategy if he were an effective, powerful representative in Washington, like, say, retired Rep. Louis Stokes or senatorial candidate Sherrod Brown, but unfortunately for us, he's neither.

Lawrence J. McDonald
Fairview Park

http://www.clevescene.com/2006-04-26/news/point-counterpoint/

Opponent Interrupts Summit After Kucinich Skips Debate

CLEVELAND -- A political opponent of Rep. Dennis Kucinich interrupted a summit hosted by the congressman after he failed to show up at the City Club to debate her, reported NewsChannel5's Brad Harvey.

With the May 2 primary election just three weeks away, the debate is heating up in the 10th congressional district, where Kucinich is seeking the Democratic nomination in his bid for a sixth term in Congress.

His primary opponent, Barbara Anne Ferris, felt that it was wrong of long-serving Democrat to skip the debate.

"I find it reprehensible and arrogant, particularly when he talked about on his Web site his belief in the power of open debate," said Ferris.

http://www.newsnet5.com/politics/8604065/detail.html