Kucinich: ‘We Are Not Lapdogs For The President!’

[Purveyor]

In a recent House debate on the president’s war powers, Congressman Dennis Kucinich delivered a fiery, impassioned speech in support of ending the Afghanistan war, now the longest in America’s history.

“We are not lapdogs for the president,” Kucinich said, reminding his colleagues that Congress is a co-equal branch of government.

MORE...

http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/03/kucinich-we-are-not-lapdogs-for-the-president/

[cottonseed]

1. He can deliver speeches and frivalous lawsuits. But has he every delivered a piece of legislation?

Sorry, but when the most concrete thing you've ever done in government is to sue it for your own soft teeth, then I just tend not to take that person seriously.

[vaberella]

3. He has..however I don't think any has been succesful.

It was Kucinich who brought forth the single payer bill.

[FSogol]

9. He has not. From Govtrack.us:

Dennis Kucinich has sponsored 107 bills since Jan 7, 1997 of which 102 haven't made it out of committee and 4 were successfully enacted. (The count of enacted bills considers only bills actually sponsored by Kucinich and companion bills identified by CRS that were themselves enacted, but not if they were incorporated into other bills, as that information is not readily available.)

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400227
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=2010&cid=N00003572&type=I

When not bashing the administration, typical Kucinich bills include:

"Proclaiming Casimir Pulaski to be an honorary citizen of the United States posthumously" and
"To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 13301 Smith Road in Cleveland, Ohio, as the "David John Donafee Post Office Building".

[vaberella]

23. Oh good lord.

He's not very successful or productive, is he? Not very prolific if you count from 1997 until now---either.

[arcane1]

7. Yes, he has n/t

[mkultra]

12. i think they mean delivered as in completed

not as in submitted

[arcane1]

14. Ah, well that's a different story

and says more about congress than it does about DK

[Hippo_Tron]

36. No, it says a great deal about Kucinich as well

Nobody's faulting Kucinich for not being the primary sponsor of a giant piece of successful legislation like a single-payer health care system, major changes to the financial regulatory system, or a major change in energy policy. Most members of congress never play a lead role in any big overhauls like these, even when they are much more modest than Kucinich would like them to be.

However, most members of congress who have been there for as long as Kucinich have, usually have successfully sponsored smaller pieces of legislation that aren't earth shattering, but often do genuinely improve the lives of many people. For example, Paul Wellstone got the Mental Health Parity Act passed in 1996. Most people probably have never heard of it because it's not one of the five or six big issues that get tons of media coverage. But for people suffering mental illness, it was a big deal.

In order to get this passed, Wellstone worked with Pete Domenici, someone with whom he agreed on just about nothing else. Together they built a strong bi-partisan coalition and got the bill passed in a Republican congress. Now nobody was more of a champion for liberal issues than Wellstone and he was well known for throwing around plenty of fire. But throwing fire wasn't his sole activity in congress and when he saw opportunities to build coalitions to get things done, he did it.

The fact that Kucinich hasn't been able to pass any legislation during his years suggests that he doesn't do much other than throw fire. There's nothing wrong with sticking to your beliefs and speaking very loudly about them, especially when you think that it's something people need to hear. But if you're a congressperson and you spend all day every day doing that, you are missing a lot of opportunities to bring about change in smaller ways that could really help people.

[anAustralianobserver]

22. I doubt anyone accepts your apology.

[Avant Guardian]

39. The fallacy of ad hominem

[ZombieHorde]

42. Your claim is true, but your interpretation is off.

DK champion's most of our concerns. Of course very few will agree with him 100% of the time, but his positions are very close to DU's position; e.g., gay marriage, Iraq, marijuana, single payer health care, Olive Garden, etc.

The reason DK has difficulty getting his agenda passed is because most of his peers do not share our values. We need many more like DK, not fewer.

[vaberella]

2. Obama had no intention of continuing it and we were told troops would be comin out

starting this summer. Or was it only I who got this memo. I'm a bit surprised Congress didn't care so much when Bush was doing this.

[still_one]

4. Kucinich and certain Democrats did care when bush was president. The problem was that the repukes

never questioned the bush policy on wars, while the Democrats were always divided, that is why you get the impression that Congress didn't care when bush was doing this

The other point, which is major, is the MSM has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have a right wing bias

The way the media reports on this administration verses its reporting of the bush administration shows exactly what they are

[arcane1]

8. Exactly!

and the media portrayed them as buffoons for opposing Bush's wars.

[still_one]

18. Even the 500K plus demonstrations, the media found it convient NOT to report under bush. However,

when 100 teabaggers have a demonstration, the press has no issues reporting this

[Ter]

32. Proof that the sheeple will believe anything a good speaker will tell them

n/t

[sasha031]

5. thank you so much for posting

I have complete respect for Dennis.

[Autumn]

6. Kucinich is right.

Congress is a co-equal branch of government. K/R

[Bodhi BloodWave]

11. If they are, maybe they should bloody well shape up and start acting the part then n/t

[young but wise]

16. +1

[FrenchieCat]

10. No....some are the Lapdogs for the Republicans!

Cause they don't need much....
just enough of us dogging out the President
for them.

[polichick]

13. And for the mic.

[Drunken Irishman]

20. Damn you. You beat me to it.

[CakeGrrl]

15. Cool...this oughta get him another guest spot on Fox News!

[uponit7771]

17. You don't have to be an asshole to him either

[Drunken Irishman]

19. He's right. He's a lapdog for the Republicans...

[LaurenG]

21. Meh it's true we shouldn't have to be. I like him. nt

[texshelters]

24. So, y'all want to damn the messenger, Kucinich

but do you really support the war in Afghanistan? Isn't Kucinich right, again?

So he doesn't have a great record, or any if your reports are accurate, passing legislation. However, isn't he on our side more often than most in Congress? Then why disparage him? Is it fun to attack a person that sticks up for you? Why not spend time going after the real criminals like Walker, Paul (Rand), Beohner, Bachmann and the rest of those attacking the working classes?

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[cottonseed]

26. How is parading around and opposing his own party at every turn "sticking up for you"?

That's akin to attributing my basic freedoms to a clown at a circus.

[texshelters]

28. Back up your statement with some examples

How is he "opposing his party at every turn". Was it supporting Wisconsin workers that pissed you off? Please tell.

Clowns? Who sent in the clowns? So, are you for the war? You ignored the main thrust of the statement Kucinich was making. It's okay if you DO support the Afghan war, but don't make it Kucinich's fault.

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[cottonseed]

37. I don't support war. And I believe Kucinich is a clown.

Are those 2 things mutually exclusive?

Also.. I can't back up the statement that he's opposed Democrats at every turn. I concede to that. I guess his calling for a Democratic President's impeachment on Fox News got me a bit riled up.

[crickets]

27. Well said, texshelters. -nt

[texshelters]

29. Thanks Crickets

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[bvar22]

25. I'm certainly NOT a lapdog for ANY president who wants to:

*continue the transfer of wealth to the already RICH

*Expand "Free Trade"

*Increase Military Spending

*Dismantle the Public Schools and give that funding to Corporations

*Privatize The Commons

*Use the military for ANYTHING besides defense

*Assist the Union Busters

*Protect and Enrich the parasitic Health Insurance Corporations

*Give War Criminals & War Profiteers a Free Pass

*dismantle the New Deal

*further destroy the Safety Net

*Sanctify Ronald Reagan

*"Save" Wall Street, and tell Main Street we have to compete with Slave Labor for our jobs

Thats just a few,
but there are a bunch more things I won't help ANY president do.



Who will STAND UP and FIGHT for THIS American Majority?
Platitudes, Rhetoric, Empty Promises, and Excuses are meaningless now.

"By their WORKS you will know them,"
And by their WORKS they will be held accountable.

[fried eggs]

30. when did president obama call him a lap dog?

is he projecting again?

[jefferson_dem]

31. RIght Kooch.

You're a lapdog for ... http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4GGHP_enUS419US420&q=kucinich+fox+news&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1259&bih=517

[Ikonoklast]

34. He'll need the gig after he gets re-districted out of a seat.

Don't think DK isn't above doing a little disaster planning.

Fox would love to have another 'pet liberal'.

[Ramulux]

33. How dare he

I think hes a secret conservative who wants Sarah Palin to be president. That is the only logical conclusion I can reach.

[NorthCarolina]

45. That's the ONLY conclusion you can reach?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Too bad for you.

[treestar]

35. True enough

That is why Obama did not get everything he wanted out of Congress.

Of course, a President is not Congress' lapdog either.

[Skip Intro]

38. Wow. That's pretty damn awesome, whoever the president is.

[AtomicKitten]

40. I like Dennis Kucinich.

He rocked the Dem convention in 2008:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv0smG7ptcM

I'm still mulling over whether he's being helpful or not. Watch this space.

[hulka38]

41. Maybe it's time for another flight

on Air Force 1.

[fujiyama]

43. Nobody expects a lapdog

and it is very legitimate to debate the process by which Obama pursued military action in Libya.

But Kucinich's problem is that he automatically resorts to outrageous rhetoric, alienating everyone else from his party, then gets defensive, and solicits donations for a seat that while likely gets eliminated. He may talk a lot, but I have yet to see him find ways to get actual legislation passed that helps people in substantive ways.

[vaberella]

44. You're right Kucinich! B/c if you were, we'd have Gitmo closed, an HCR w/ PO, etc.

However, we do not which corroborates your claim of not being a lapdog of the President.