2007 Looking Like 2003 So Far

Quinnipiac University just released a poll of Ohio voters on prospective presidential candidates. It's rare to get a poll tareted specifically at Ohio and covering the whole field. While the numbers are going to change significantly over the next year, they provide a good snapshot of where things are starting from.

One thing that is most clear -- candidates who have previously run for president or otherwise have a national profile tend to do well in early polls. So how might Dennis do? In a word, pathetically.

One candidate many Ohioans do know is Dennis Kucinich, the former mayor of Cleveland and a multi-term congressman. If the Democratic primary were held today, the poll shows, Kucinich would win just 2 percent of the vote. His unfavorability rating was more than double his favorability rating. This, in his own state.

Dennis also clocks in with a whopping 37% of Ohioans viewing him unfavorably compared to only 18% who have a favorable impression. Of all the Democratic contenders, only Hillary Clinton (38, but with much higher favorables) and presidential losers John Kerry and Al Gore do worse.

There are two conclusions a candidate in Dennis' positon could reach: 1) abort the run and serve your consituents in Congress, 2) or campaign like crazy at the expense of serving your consituents in Congress. I'd like to see #1, but I think will get #2 along with protestations that running for president is somehow doing good for Cleveland.

Dennis Says It Straight

If there is one thing I admire Dennis for, it is willingness to say certain things that are obvious yet no one else seems willing to say.

Each of us who are members of Congress has already faced this decision (on voting for/against the Iraq war) and let's look at how the others have made their decisions. I'm the only member of Congress who not only voted against authorizing the war but also voted against funding the war. Particularly when we came to understand that the war was based on lies.

There's no question where Dennis stands. And in the process he describes where many of the other presidential contenders stand on Iraq.

Now whether you think Dennis' or other candidates positions are admirable is obviously another matter that everyone can decide for themselves.

And the bit about everything being "based on lies" is the sort of thing you hear endlessly. But I do hope people make the effort to question whether the war really was based on mistruths. And, if so, whether anything really qualifies as a "lie." And, if so, consider what a long list of liars there must be, including most of the other presidential candidates.

Dennis to Seek Fairness and Neutraility on Subcommittee

The Presidential candidate said that the committee would be holding "hearings to push media reform right at the center of Washington.” The Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee was to be officially announced this week in Washington, D.C., but Kucinich opted to make the news public early.

In addition to media ownership, the committee is expected to focus its attention on issues such as net neutrality and major telecommunications mergers. Also in consideration is the "Fairness Doctrine," which required broadcasters to present controversial topics in a fair and honest manner. It was enforced until it was eliminated in 1987.

Well this ought to be fun. I'd like to point out that "net neutrality" is something to monitor, and it will be interesting to hear what this means to Kucinich. IMO, it means the government ought to take a hands off approach and not leglislate what people say and do online.

The "Fairness Doctrine," on the other hand, is quite obviously a wolf in sheep's clothing. In fact, on many television programs the quest for "fairness" leads to an endless jousting of talking heads representing extreme sides of an issue, and no one ever wins. Ever. That does no one any good, and probably dumbs down all debate in this country.

It also presents serious First Amendment problems because a person ought to have a right to watch Keith Olberman go off the rails or listen to Michael Savage spout off if that's the sort of thing a person likes.

A far better approach is for consumers of information to be smarter, to be better processors of information, and to be able to make judgements on their own. Create better consumers and you'll get an audience for better media programming. Create a smarter public and they will be more demanding and discerning. Because, after all, someday there might not be trustworthy politicians around to tell us what is fair -- we'll have to decide for ourselves. In fact, I'd argue that this is the state America has been in for quite a long time.

Dennis a Subcommittee Chairman

Dennis Kucinich is in line to be chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. What does that mean? First, it means he'll pass up the opportunity to chair the National Security Subcommittee, where he would have had a perfect platform to voice his anti-war positions. Instead, he'll chair the subcommitte that has "jurisdiction over all domestic issues and the Office of National Drug Control Policy." Kucinich feels he can wield more influence here.

I suppose none of this is suprising, as, despite his notoriety as the "peace" politician, Kucinich is clearly more interested in domestic matters.

So Mr Kucinich one thing ought to be clear: After a decade in Congress, you can reasonably be expected to get actual leglislation passed into law. Now that you have the power, I expect you will do more than grandstand.

Kucinich on Conservative Radio

Mr. Kucinich is to be commended for appearing on conservative talk-show host's Hugh Hewitt's show for a short interview (audio here). That took some guts. Unfortunately for Dennis, he did not come off very well. That's an understatement, by the way.

In the course of the interview he was unable to explain how to prevent a chaotic Rwanda-type situation following an American withdrawl, unable to name the supreme leader of Iran, and was unable to say anything but "We should talk to them" when asked how he'd confront a leader like Khamenei, among other things. He also flatly stated his faith in the accuracy of the Lancet study that claimed 650,000 Iraqi civilians have died. It's a short interview that does not do justice to the serious topics, however. It would have been nice to hear Dennis answer more questions on his proposed handover process for Iraq and the impact of it.

But beyond the content of Kucinich's words, a more revealing image of his personality emerges when he seemed unwilling to acknowledge that he might not know something. It's understandable he'd be very embarassed to not know who the Ayatollah of Iran is. But he didn't have reason to feel embarassed if he didn't know who the Kuds are. Yet he refused to just say, "No, who are they?" Instead he paused, hemmed, hawed, and got prickly...

HH: Congressman, do you know what the Quds forces are?

DK: (pause) I'm sorry?

HH: Do you...are you aware of the Quds forces?

DK: What are you talking about?

HH: The Quds forces from...they're an arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Are you familiar with them?

DK: (pause) Go ahead.

HH: Are you? Because I don't want to pursue it if you're not.

DK: Well, go ahead. I want to hear what you have to say.

I'd try and blog more in response to this interview, but this interview has left me speechless.

Give Peace A Chance and a Donation

Yes, your donation is very important. Not only will the generous donations of you and all 100 of your friends and family enable Dennis to fly around the country attempting to gather more than 1% of the primary vote, it will help ensure Northeast Ohio does not have Congressional representation for the next two years. Please give generously.

Not.

(SIGH)

Since Dennis is quoting John Lennon in his fundraising slogan (that's Kucinich's image above, not mine), I thought I'd suggest another John Lennon quote that is perhaps more applicable to both Dennis' plea for donations and his claims of having a better way forward in Iraq:

You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can

Check out Dennis' personal request for cash. No attempt was made to address the concerns of Kucinich's 2004 supporters who are more skeptical this time around -- such as why donate when in 2004 Dennis ultimately threw his support to the "pro-war" Kerry. But Dennis does detail how he spent the past Sunday and Monday working on his presidential campaign in New York and Washington instead of representing Northeast Ohio during the new Congress' "First 100 Hours" flurry of legislation. Apparently items important to NE Ohio either won't be included on those 100 hours, are just don't require the presence of our Congressman. Cool! Thanks Dennis!

Dennis On Broadway

You may ask yourself, what did Dennis do in New York City the other day? Well, he was there to sing his tune to Jesse Jackson's 10th annual Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Wall Street Project Conference along with Hillary Clinton and other Democratic presidential hopefuls. As the Plain Dealer describes it, Dennis got "mild approval near the end of a long, somewhat rambling speech." Well isn't that nice!

Part of Dennis' tune was a suggestion that after America withdrawls from Iraq, we should pay reperations to Iraqis "because the United States prosecuted an illegal war." Then he talked about his domestic plan. And "The audience grew fidgety. Then he sang. The audience settled down."

Dennis surely thinks it was a productive way to kick off a sixth term in Congress.