Congressman Kucinich needs our help to keep his seat

chknltl

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Thu Feb-28-08 03:41 PM
Original message

Congressman Kucinich needs our help to keep his seat

Edited on Thu Feb-28-08 03:56 PM by chknltl

(Forgive me ahead of time for any bumblings in this thread, I am a bit new at posting editorials such as this.)

Since leaving the Presidential run, Congressman Kucinich has focused his efforts on keeping his congressional seat as he is up for re-election. The right wing attack machine has determined to take that away from him with a well paid, well strategized attack. From what I understand his Cleveland area is being bombarded with Swift Boat ads railing against him, his opponents are accusing him of dereliction of his district while he was off running for President and even rush limbaugh has joined in on this feeding frenzy to knock him off his seat for a repuke.

Dennis may be short of funds from his national run, from what I can tell by this link at any rate:
http://www.Fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/mapHSCandDetail.do?detailType=cand&cand_id=H6OH23033&category=stateH_dem&stateName=OH
Last night I heard Dennis Kucinich on the Sam Elliot Show detailing these attacks. It sounded like he is in a pretty desperate battle against a barrage of Swift Boat ads and a co-ordinated attack by the right wing. He is trying desperately to counter these ads with his own ads and has been forced to post a you-tube ad calling for financial help to keep his anti-Swift-Boat ads running:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us1GQI70h7U

I know I once advocated for Dennis here, many of my fellow DUers did. We know that while he was still in the Presidential run, he was pulling our party a bit further to the left than it was ready to be pulled at this time in America's history. That with his defense of the American Constitution is not a crime in my book. I see him as someone who gave up much to defend and support our democracy. I believe we NEED the likes of Kucinich in Congress right now continuing that pull.

Perhaps some of you who once supported him have not kept track of his doings since he dropped out of the Presidential race, I know I had not so perhaps, like me, this is new news to you. I am hoping that we DUers can find a way to spread the word of Dennis Kucinich's plight and get him what help we can offer. I am by no means in any position to do this but I am sending Kucinich $100. I feel that even though I can not afford to do this, my country can not afford to lose this patriot even more-so!

Is it possible that the DU admin can help too? Could we hold some kind of a fundraiser or something for
Dennis Kucinich. Might that not be something of a catharsis for us to rally around after all this fighting and raging over Senator Clinton and Senator Obama? Better yet: Dennis Kucinich is also from Ohio...wouldn't it be a good thing for our two candidates to come together in Ohio, pooling a small portion of their resources to aid a fellow Democrat who was once a rival? Maybe they could get together to run an advertisement for Kucinich. THAT imo would elevate BOTH candidates equally in Ohio as well as help Kucinich. (Not to mention the boost it would give our party nationwide in an election cycle where the voters are flocking to the candidates who they feel do not represent "politics as usual"...an advertisement such as that might even be felt by those voters to be a moment such as Senator Clinton had just before New Hampshire!)

Deep in the back of my head, I fear that Kucinich may be being targeted like Siegelman was. Is it possible that we may find him forcibly removed from politics and eventually placed in prison too, all because he had the balls to stand up to the right wing, all because he tried to show We The People how we could reclaim our democracy with our embattled Constitution, all because he sought to fight for our democracy as he watched it slip from our grasp? No I have no basis for my fear...but then I look at what happened to an Alabama Governor and I worry: Could it be happening again?

Our country has been slowly slowly moving to the right since President reagan. We have moved so far to the right that the progressive message Dennis Kucinich offers us seems off track and yet it represents our traditional core progressive values from a time prior to ronald reagan. America just isn't ready for a quick pull back to the left. It will take years for that pendulum to swing back that far. Senators Obama and Clinton represent a halt in that drift to the right and perhaps a small shift back to the left. What Kucinich did with his run was to pull our candidates slightly more to the left than they may have wanted. THAT WAS HIS CRIME???? Dennis fought for US...now he needs US

I know that there are some of you who absolutely despise Kucinich. I am not here to fight with you nor am I one who is even able to put up much of a fight. I am trying to aid a fellow Democrat, one many of us admire. Please let me do just that.

Here is the link for those of you who may wish to contribute: www.kucinich.us

Thank You
c