Dennis Kucinich

excerpts from the Iowa Daily Report

September 2003

… “Kucinich wants new direction for America” – headline from yesterday’s Iowa State Daily. Coverage – an excerpt – of Kucinich’s stop on the ISU campus in Ames by the Daily’s Jennifer Martin: “Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich campaigned on campus Tuesday and promised that if elected, he would take America in a new direction toward peace, jobs and justice. Kucinich, who is campaigning under the slogan of ‘The Progressive Vision,’ said this presidential campaign presents not just something new, but the possibility of reclaiming what the Founding Fathers had in mind for this country. Quoting playwright and essayist George Bernard Shaw, Kucinich asked, ‘Why not peace, education and jobs for all?’ Kucinich, who spoke to a crowd of approximately 125 in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union, said the Pentagon and the Department of Defense's budgets and policies are being driven by a fear of war and terrorism. He said he intends to implement a plan that would bring peace to the United States. ‘Americans should reject the lies that brought us into Iraq,’ he said. ‘America shouldn't be a home to fear.’ Kucinich questioned whether America was any safer, even with the amount of money being spent on defense. ‘We can't be secure by being an aggressor of the world,’ he said.”(9/4/2003)

… Kucinich’s Great Iowa Odyssey. The Quad-City Times’ Kathie Obradovich recounts Kucinich’s campaign effort, noting that he’s still engaged in a balancing act to attract caucus support. Headline from yesterday’s Times: “Kucinich has knack for beating the odds” Excerpt: “To the audience at the Iowa Federation of Labor’s first presidential forum of the year, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich was putting on a table-pounding show of union solidarity. Kucinich, who had only recently begun to introduce himself to Iowa Democrats as a presidential contender, was making a strong first impression on the union leadership. He held up his membership card for the Camera Operators Union and declared he would make the White House ‘the address of Workers Local No. 1.’ Speaking louder and faster than any of the other candidates in attendance, he shouted, ‘This election is about your right to have a government that you can call your own — a people’s president. A workers’ White House!’ Iowa Federation of Labor President Mark Smith, sitting behind the podium, could see that more than union spirit was driving Kucinich’s almost manic performance. After learning that the Adventureland Inn was ill-equipped to download and print his speech, Kucinich had perched his laptop computer on the podium. Smith said he could see that the diminutive congressman was struggling to balance the computer and that the screen kept him from adjusting the microphone. To make matters worse, the battery alarm had begun to beep, forcing him to speed-read before losing his text. ‘I think he yelled because he was further from the mike than was comfortable,’ Smith said.  Six months later, Kucinich is still engaged in a balancing act. Democratic activists say he’s hitting the right buttons on issues such as peace, economic opportunity and health care, but they’re having trouble juggling concerns that he’s too liberal or too quirky to win the nomination, let alone wrest the presidency from Republican George W. Bush. Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack admits that her first impression of Kucinich was formed by his antics at her husband’s annual fund-raising picnic. ‘I will always think of him as like, Rumpelstiltskin, because he was just waving his arms around and carrying on, because he really just got so emotional up there, so much that he burst into the Star Spangled Banner,’ she said. His campaign is as creative as it is low-budget. He’s known for handing out baseball cards featuring photos of himself and campaign issues that have become collectible memorabilia. His campaign office in Des Moines has corn stalks growing outside. Since he’s a vegan who doesn’t consume animal products, he held a campaign dinner with a vegetarian group. Some of those images have hurt Kucinich, political observers say. ‘In general, I think he’s among the best-loved of all the candidates, yet he is among those who they are least likely to caucus for. That’s kind of a conundrum,’ said David Loebsack, a Democratic activist and political science professor at Cornell College.”(9/4/2003)

… IOWA PRES WATCH SIDEBAR: Both House wannabes – Gephardt and Kucinich – were AWOL yesterday when the House defied a threatened presidential veto to lift a four-decade ban on travel to Cuba. By a 227-188 margin, the House approved the amendment – after AZ GOP Rep. Flake said it the Cuba travel ban was “not only ineffective, (but) it curbs the basic American freedom to travel and to export America ideals and values.” Although both Gephardt and Kucinich missed the vote, all five Iowa congressmen were on hand – GOP Reps. Latham, Leach and Nussle as well as Dem Rep. Boswell supported lifting the travel ban while western IA GOP Congressman King opposed it. (9/10/2003)

… Kucinich may have some explaining to do back in Ohio on abortion change when his presidential adventure ends. Under the subhead “A cautionary tale” in the “Inside Politics” column in yesterday’s Washington Times, Jennifer Harper wrote: “What happens if Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich fails to win the Democratic nomination for president? He may have some explaining to do. A lifelong Catholic, Mr. Kucinich has consistently opposed abortion during his four terms in office, and counts on Catholics for support as he also seeks a fifth term in Congress. But 18 months ago, the Ohio Democrat abandoned his position and now supports a woman's right to choose, according to yesterday's Des Moines (Iowa) Register. ‘It's just thrown everybody into total confusion over where he is,’ said Molly Smith of Cleveland Right to Life. ‘He's really damaged himself on this particular issue.’ Mr. Kucinich said his views have ‘evolved,’ but have nothing to do with his presidential aspirations. ‘It became clear to me that this wasn't only about the right to choose, that this was about a woman's equality in society,’ he said. ‘The years of discussion that I had with women in Congress, with women in my own life, suddenly began to click.’ Mr. Kucinich was praised by the local Planned Parenthood center. But Jim Trakas, Republican Party chairman in Cleveland and a state lawmaker, doesn't buy it.  Mr. Kucinich's switch, he said, was a ‘blatantly political move.’” (9/11/2003)

… Washington Post: Most Dem wannabes are haunted by their past records -- but Dean benefits since he’s the one without a voting record on the Bush agenda.  Headline from Friday’s Post: “Past Votes Dog Some Presidential Candidates… Democrats Defend Siding With Bush” Excerpt from report by Jim VandeHei: “Presidential candidate John F. Kerry is bashing President Bush's policies on Iraq, education and civil liberties. What he rarely mentions, however, is that his Senate votes helped make all three possible. The Massachusetts Democrat is not alone. Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.) -- who is calling Bush's Iraq policy a ‘miserable failure’ -- led the House fight last year to allow the president to wage the war without the international help the lawmaker now demands. Gephardt, then the House Democratic leader, also voted for the USA Patriot Act, which expands the government's surveillance powers, and for Bush's No Child Left Behind education program. He often criticizes the policies now. Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) is calling for Bush to enlist the help of the United Nations in Iraq, even though he, like Kerry and Gephardt, had the opportunity to vote against the war resolution and in support of one measure demanding U.N. involvement during last fall's congressional debate. Edwards is also calling for changes to the Patriot Act, for which he voted, and more funding for the education plan, which he voted to authorize. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) voted with Bush on all three, too. That these lawmakers voted with Bush on key issues is complicating their bids to win their party's nomination, as fellow Democrats demand explanations. As the campaign progresses, it also could make it harder for them to draw sharp distinctions with Bush on what are shaping up as among the biggest issues of the 2004 campaign, according to political strategists. Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman and Gephardt contend that their votes for Bush's agenda took place in much different political climates and were predicated on their beliefs the president would carry out each initiative in a different manner than he has. In Iraq, they say, they believed he would work harder to win U.N. assistance. On the Patriot Act, they believed the administration would carefully protect citizens' privacy and civil rights. And on education, they believed Bush would fully fund the program. Moreover, a large number of congressional Democrats voted the same way they did. ‘Your votes are your votes, and you need to stand and explain,’ Gephardt said. ‘You have to also describe changes you would like to now make and also be legitimately critical of where the administration has done something’ wrong. Still, their rivals are starting to use the votes against the lawmakers, especially Kerry and Gephardt. In Tuesday night's debate at Morgan State University, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio) -- the only House member running for president who opposed the Bush agenda in Congress -- and others repeatedly accused their rivals of trying to have it both ways, voting with Bush in Congress and bashing him on the campaign trail, especially on Iraq. The most stinging rebuke came when Al Sharpton turned Gephardt's new favorite phrase against the Missouri lawmaker, saying it was a ‘miserable failure’ for Gephardt and other Democrats to have helped authorize the war. The biggest beneficiary of all this appears to be Howard Dean, who as a former Vermont governor did not have to vote for or against the president's agenda, party strategists said. ‘He does get a break, because he didn't have to lay it on the line with a vote,’ said Gerald W. McEntee, international president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. This has freed Dean to become Bush's biggest critic of the war and helped distinguish him from the Democratic pack by allowing him to ridicule Bush's domestic agenda without having to defend a series of votes.” (9/14/2003)

… Just in case Kucinich isn’t the Dem nominee, he’s already got an opponent waiting for him back in Ohio – who’s already blasting him for his unrealistic terrorism policies. Report in yesterday’s Washington Post by Juliet Eilperin: “Rep. Dennis Kucinich's ambitions are set on winning the nation's highest office, but the lawmaker from Ohio may need to turn some of his attention to keeping his House seat -- just in case he doesn't succeed in winning the Democratic presidential nomination Republican Edward Fitzpatrick Herman has announced he will challenge the four-term lawmaker. Herman was a corporate and government consultant before being called up to active military service in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. As a part of a military intelligence task force under Central Command, he interrogated dozens of al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan, according to his campaign.  ‘Northeast Ohioans deserve a representative in Washington who understands the importance of the war on terror,’ Herman said. ‘I am running for Congress because Dennis Kucinich does not appreciate the nature and magnitude of the threat facing America from worldwide terrorist organizations.’ Kucinich spokesman Doug Gordon countered that Kucinich -- a sharp critic of the Bush administration's handling of the fight against terrorism -- can withstand his opponent's attacks because he has a strong record where it counts: Ohio's 10th District. "He saved two community hospitals, a steel plant and reduced train traffic throughout the district. He is well known as a fighter for the little man," Gordon said. (9/14/2003)

… Kucinich: Wannabes will race all the way to the Dem convention. Headline from today’s New Hampshire Sunday News: “Kucinich in Manchester: Convention will pick nominee” Excerpt from coverage by Pat Hammond: “Under a tent in sun-baked Veterans Park, site of the Rolling Thunder Down Home Democracy Tour, a lady laughed as Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich swamped her in an impassioned embrace. ‘Please join me in welcoming one of the great Americans — Granny D,’ said Kucinich of the woman who has walked across the country to draw attention to campaign reform and other democratic issues. The Presidential Roundtable attendees cheered, as they had been throughout Kucinich’s upbeat talk in the Manchester park. All Presidential candidates, including President Bush, had been invited to the Roundtable; only Kucinich came, the participants were told. Clad in a light red shirt, tan slacks and brown shoes, the candidate held the attention of some 50 to 75 listeners, his microphoneless delivery offsetting speeches and songs spoken and sung over a microphone on the nearby platform where members of New Hampshire progressive groups pressed their messages. ‘In two Presidential debates, I have emerged as the single voice saying it is time for the U.N. to go into Iraq and the U.S. to get out,’ Kucinich, 56, told a cheering audience. He called for ‘no more Halliburton sweetheart deals’ and no more using political influence in deciding who governs the contractual process in Iraq.  ‘...The U.S. never had a pre-emptive interest in going into Iraq. It was based on a lie,’ he said. ‘This administration is seeking $87 billion as a deposit for more involvement in Iraq.’ Kucinich answered questions on how to pay for health care, trade, the death penalty, and the nuclear power industry. He favors universal health care with a single payer plan, he opposes U.S. involvement in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), he opposes the death penalty, and considers the nuclear power industry a ‘danger to America.’ Of the 10 Democratic candidates for President, Kucinich’s numbers have been at the tail end in polls. A man asked, ‘What do I tell someone who says: Why waste your vote on Dennis Kucinich?’ ‘You tell him, because he’s the only one that can beat Bush.’ Kucinich told a reporter he doesn’t believe any one candidate is going to amass 51 percent of the delegates; the party’s candidate will be determined at the convention, he said.”  (9/21/2003)

… FoxNews online is carrying an AP story, “Kucinich: The Lifelong Candidate”. Excerpts: “It was October 1967 when a college sophomore with an eye toward the presidency leaped into the game: Dennis paid $42.50 and declared himself a candidate for the Cleveland City Council. He lost that race. Two years later, he was back -- and he won. At 23, the 5-foot-7 man with a boyish face and shaggy hair donned a trim black suit and ascended City Hall's marble steps with a cause: Champion of the underdogs. Now he's among nine other Democrats hoping to get their party's nod to run against President Bush in 2004. Kucinich started as a fiery liberal, supported a Republican mayor for two years and emerged a self-described "urban populist" who could mobilize Cleveland's ethnic, blue-collar vote. At 31, he became the youngest mayor of a major American city. At 33, he earned the dubious distinction of being mayor of the first city since the Great Depression to go into default. Cleveland became late-night comedy fodder and the young mayor tread carefully -- even in his hometown. At the Indians' 1978 season opener, Kucinich wore a bulletproof vest when he threw out the first pitch before thousands at Municipal Stadium. In a recall election, he barely escaped. The next year, Kucinich was out, losing to Republican George Voinovich, now Ohio's junior senator. In one of life's second acts, Kucinich won a House seat in 1996 and has been re-elected ever since. Friends say Ohio's four-term congressman, now 56, has mellowed since his mayoral days and selectively picks his battles rather than making every issue "us vs. them." "Dennis would probably be the first one to tell you that as mayor, he made some mistakes. He's grown and matured, and he's a totally different politician today," said former Rep. Louis Stokes, a Democrat who served in Congress with Kucinich and whose brother, the late Carl Stokes, was mayor of Cleveland when Kucinich was a councilman. Kucinich's battle now is for the Democratic presidential nomination, a long-shot bid against nine hopefuls. He has received scant media attention and raised just $1.7 million, but he has attracted enthusiastic crowds and won some eclectic endorsements, including country music singer Willie Nelson and lifestyle guru Marianne Williamson. Some political observers say Kucinich is running to solidify himself as the national leader of the left. Others say he's more interested in someday taking over consumer group Public Citizen from longtime friend and supporter Ralph Nader. Kucinich wants to be a "people's president." He says he would create a "workers' White House" that would offer peace, universal health care and repeal the North American Free Trade Agreement. Political insiders who have seen Kucinich go from "boy mayor" to "comeback kid" say anyone who doesn't take him seriously doesn't know him. "He likes to do things that people tell him that he can't do," said Jerry Austin, a longtime Democratic political consultant. "If you go back to the 1967 race for city council, which he lost, I think his whole intent was running for president someday." The eldest of seven children born to a Croatian truck driver and Slovenian homemaker, Kucinich was thrust into a position of leadership early. He scrubbed floors so he and his younger siblings could attend Catholic school and taught his brothers and sisters to read.Before he turned 18, the Kucinich family had lived in 21 apartments, homes and cars. He says their frequent moves were often for the same reason: Too many kids, not enough money. Kucinich moved out when he was 17. He rented a $50-a-month walk-up with a view of nearby steel mills, enrolled at Cleveland State University and worked as a copy boy at The Plain Dealer. Kucinich was competitive in everything from a gum ball catching contest to downing 10 martinis in 27 minutes on a dare. "He was always the underdog," said Tom Andrzejewski, a former copy boy who used to drive Kucinich home after work. "His district has a lot of people who see themselves as underdogs, and Dennis appeals to them." At the paper one evening, Kucinich answered a phone call from a drunk proclaiming that he was running for the city council. Kucinich says that's when he realized that anyone could run for public office, and he decided to do just that.  (9/29/2003)

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