|
 Dennis
Kucinich
 excerpts
from
the Iowa Daily Report
July 2003
… Somebody
had to do it and it appears that Greg Pierce –
in yesterday’s “Inside Politics” column in the
Washington Times – did. Under the subhead
“Last-minute appeals,” Pierce did a
postmortem on the frantic efforts by the
various wannabes to inspire contributors
during the final hours before Monday’s FEC
deadline. Pierce’s report: “Several
presidential hopefuls in the nine-member
Democratic field sent out urgent pleas for
last-minute cash as the second quarter's close
approached Monday. ‘Only a Few Hours
Left,’ said a campaign e-mail from Rep. Dick
Gephardt of Missouri. ‘The clock is
ticking,’ North Carolina Sen. John Edwards
told prospective donors in another online
pitch. ‘There are only 12 hours left before
the critical June 30 fund-raising deadline,’
Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut senator,
wrote in an e-mail message. ‘Before 12
midnight (Central Time), please visit my Web
site and make a contribution to my campaign.’
Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor,
posted real-time totals every half hour on the
Internet and urged donors to ‘hit a grand slam
for Dean.’ Mr. Dean's overall total
of about $7.1 million for the second quarter
topped early estimates from other Democratic
candidates. Officials with the campaigns of
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Mr.
Edwards said they expected
second-quarter totals of about $5 million.
Added to their first-quarter figures of more
than $7 million, they could still lead the
early Democratic money race overall. Mr.
Gephardt was aiming for $5 million in
the second quarter, Mr. Lieberman hoped
for $4 million and Sen. Bob Graham of
Florida expected to report $2 million to $3
million in contributions, officials with those
campaigns told AP. Former Illinois Sen. Carol
Moseley Braun said she raised about
$150,000 during the quarter. Al Sharpton and
Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio did not provide
estimates.” (Iowa Pres Watch Note:
Other reports have indicated that Kucinich
expected to report “about $1 million” for the
second quarter while Sharpton
supporters said he would report receiving
about $100,000 in contributions.)
(7/3/2003)
… On the
road again with Wailing Willie and Dancing
Denny – Country music legend endorses radical
wannabe. Subhead from Greg Pierce’s
“Inside Politics” column in Thursday’s
Washington Times – “Fans of Kucinich”
Pierce’s report: “Rep. Dennis J.
Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat and presidential
hopeful, has won the endorsement of singer and
Farm Aid activist Willie Nelson. ‘I will
be doing all I can to raise [Mr. Kucinich´s]
profile with voters,’ Mr. Nelson said
in a prepared statement yesterday. ‘I plan to
do concerts to benefit the campaign.’ The
Kucinich campaign also played up a comment
that former Green Party presidential candidate
Ralph Nader made on CNN's ‘Crossfire’ this
week: ‘If Dennis Kucinich gets the nomination,
it'll be less reason to have a third-party
challenge. He's a very progressive Democrat.’…And,
a related report from AP’s Will Lester: “Country
music singer Willie Nelson will be on the road
again - this time holding concerts to help
raise money for Democrat Dennis Kucinich's
presidential bid. Nelson announced
Wednesday that he was endorsing Kucinich,
saying the Ohio congressman has a history of
standing up for heartland Americans who are
overlooked and rarely heard. ‘A Kucinich
administration will put the interests of
America's family farmers, consumers and
environment above the greed of industrial
agribusiness,’ Nelson said. ‘I will be
doing all I can to raise his profile with
voters.’”(7/5/2003)
…
Predictable outcome.
When the House
voted last night (7:18 p.m. EDT) to approve a
$386.7 billion defense bill – which also was
passed by a Senate Appropriations subcommittee
yesterday – on a 399-19 vote, the players were
predictable: Kucinich was one of 19 voting
“no,” all five IA congressman voted “yes,” and
– as usual – Gephardt was missing in
congressional inaction.(7/9/2003)
….
Kucinich plays fascinating endorsement game –
or is he just compiling a “who’s who” list of
American radicals? Headline from this
morning’s Union Leader: “Kucinich gathers
eclectic collection of political endorsements”
AP’s Malia Rulon reports from DC: “While
many of his presidential rivals are pursuing
endorsements from mainstream groups such as
labor unions, Democrat Dennis Kucinich has
cornered the market on eclectic endorsements.
The latest came from Doris "Granny D" Haddock,
a 93-year-old New Hampshire woman who walked
coast-to-coast two years ago to support a
rewrite of campaign finance laws, and Arun
Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and
leader of the M.K. Gandhi Institute of
Nonviolence. Other endorsements for
Kucinich's White House bid: actor Ed Asner,
country music singer Willie Nelson, lifestyle
guru Marianne Williamson and author Studs
Terkel. ‘Maybe that is the real America,’
said Henry Graff, a presidential historian and
professor at Columbia University. ‘It might
help get a large body of young people that
often don't go to the polls ... a constituency
that would be more influenced by Nelson than
by other politicians.’ Kucinich, a
four-term congressman from Cleveland, is
considered a long-shot candidate among nine
Democrats vying for the party's presidential
nomination. He trails the pack in money raised
as well as name recognition. But the
lawmaker argues that this growing list of
high-profile support, which also includes
actors Peter Coyote, James Cromwell, Hector
Elizondo and Elliott Gould, could turn that
around.” (7/10/2003)
… Kucinich
gets nod from Vermont state poet. The
Union Leader on Saturday featured an AP report
from Montpelier: “State poet Grace Paley is
endorsing Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich for the
Democratic presidential nomination instead of
former Gov. Howard Dean. Paley, 80, of
Thetford, is an original signatory on the
Internet petition of a group called
Feminists for Kucinich. The writer and
longtime peace activist joined a number of
other feminists including author Barbara
Ehrenreich and scholar Angela Gilliam in
signing the petition, which had more than
1,300 signatures Thursday. ‘I talked to some
of my friends,’ Paley said of her decision to
back Kucinich. ‘I looked at what he was
about, and I liked what he said.’ Contacted
about the endorsement, Dean's campaign, which
has a commanding lead over Kucinich in both
polls and fund-raising, responded in the form
of a Haiku: ‘The campaign goes on…We will one
vote at a time…Take our country back.’
Feminists for Kucinich organizers say
the group wants a candidate committed to
working for peace, helping the poor,
eliminating discrimination based on sexual
orientation, defending abortion rights,
promoting universal health care, and fighting
‘the Republican Party's use of stereotypes to
spread division and fear," among other things.
While these are all Dean positions as well,
the petition noted that Kucinich has proposed
establishing a cabinet-level Department of
Peace, cutting the Department of Defense
budget and abolishing the death penalty.
Paley said Dean was the only other
Democratic candidate for whom she was willing
to vote.” (7/14/2003)
… Kucinich,
apparently unable to see Iowa’s corn and
soybean crops, brings seeds to Iowa.
Report from KTIV-TV (Sioux City) on
Kucinich’s weekend visit: “Ohio
Congressman Dennis Kucinich is arguably the
most liberal of the field. Saturday, he
met with supporters at the downtown library in
Sioux City. He handed out seed
packets, saying his campaign is planting seeds
of hope. Among his kernels of truth,
guaranteeing education through college,
repealing the Patriot Act withdrawing from
NAFTA and the World Trade Organization and
guaranteeing universal health care.
Kucinich also accused the Bush
Administration of lying about the
justification for war against Iraq.” Related
coverage: Associated Press reported
Kucinich, speaking at a Sunday peace forum
at Drake University in Des Moines,
criticized the Bush administration for it’s
handling of intelligence information in the
leadup to the war with Iraq. He also attacked
the administration for inflating the
Pentagon’s budget and heightening the nation’s
fears, which resulted in the Iraq conflict.
Kucinich quote: “I think the American
people are aware this administration has
engaged in a pattern of deceit.”
(7/15/2003)
… Headline: “The
Onetime Boy Mayor of Cleveland Is Still a
Maverick After All These Years and Proudly
Wears the Liberal Label” The Los Angeles
Times profiles none other than wannabe
Dennis J. Kucinich. Excerpt from Times
profile by David Lamb: “Opening day,
Cleveland Municipal Stadium, April 1978. On
the mound, to toss out the ceremonial first
pitch, the 31-year-old maverick mayor and
enfant terrible of Ohio politics. He is
wearing a bulletproof vest. Police
sharpshooters ring the ballpark roof. Dennis
J. Kucinich looks up at the crowd. When he
is in attendance and Indian fans yell ‘Kill
the bum,’ he knows they aren't talking about
the umpire. His appearance on the field brings
a chorus of boos from 75,000 fans. Kucinich,
who had just fired the popular police chief
live on TV, on Good Friday, adjusts his body
armor. He winds up and fires a waist-high
strike to Indians catcher Gary Alexander. The
catcalls give way to scattered applause and
cheers. Politics and sports, he thinks: They
are fickle businesses. Kucinich lasted only
one term as the nation's youngest mayor of a
major city. During that time he narrowly
survived a recall, made as many enemies as
headlines and presided over the first
bankruptcy of an American city since the
Depression. ‘Dennis the Menace,’ as the press
labeled him, was trounced in his bid for
reelection. A political cadaver, he packed his
bags and headed west to reevaluate his life.
Now, 25 years later, on a Saturday morning
in June, Kucinich is stuck in freeway traffic
outside Los Angeles. A vegan, he is in the
back seat, drinking apple juice and eating
pita bread loaded with hummus. It is his
10th campaign trip to California, and a few
miles away, at Taft High School in Woodland
Hills, 500 people are waiting for the comeback
politician — a four-term Ohio congressman and
one of nine candidates vying for the
Democratic presidential nomination …Though
the national media have paid scant attention
to his longshot candidacy — ‘That's OK, I'll
benefit from exceeding expectations,’ he says
— Kucinich's grass-roots, underfinanced
campaign has attracted more than $1 million in
individual contributions (corporate donations
are eschewed) and enthusiastic crowds,
particularly among the pro-labor, antiwar core
of the Democratic Party. The Bush
administration, he tells audiences, ‘led the
nation into war based on lies.’ He finished
second to former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean
in a recent poll of 317,000 Democrats by
MoveOn.org, a liberal online organization.
Dean got 43.9%, Kucinich 23.9% and
Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry 15.7%
‘More folks than I thought are jumping on
his bandwagon at this point,’ said David
Loebsack, a political scientist at Cornell
College in Iowa. ‘I think he's tapping into
many of those who would normally go with Dean.
It's the angry crowd, the Democrats who are
almost as mad at Democrats as they are at
George Bush.’…Kucinich drew
standing ovations and cheers as he quoted
Emerson and Churchill and outlined a
progressive platform: Repeal the USA
Patriot Act (for taking away civil liberties),
nullify NAFTA, halt antimissile defense
technology development, transfer money from
the Pentagon to education. He supports global
nuclear disarmament, universal health care,
setting up a Cabinet-level Department of Peace
to make nonviolence a cornerstone of domestic
and foreign policy. A Catholic, he wavered
on abortion before taking a solidly
pro-abortion rights stance. Kucinich
stands 5 feet 7 in shoes with thick soles and
weighs 135 pounds. On the desk of his
Washington office is a portrait of Lincoln and
in the closet, a dummy named W.C. that
Kucinich, an amateur ventriloquist, uses from
time to time to delight children. With net
assets listed at less than $32,000, he is one
Congress's least affluent members. He still
has a $40,000 mortgage on the modest Cleveland
home he bought 32 years ago. When people talk
about inner-city poverty, he replies, ‘I know
the territory.’”(7/17/2003)
… The
“NAACP Three” attempt to salvage their
black-voter support. Gephardt and Lieberman
are trying to save their South Carolina (and
other) campaign efforts, but what’s Kucinich
doing there? Headline from this morning’s
Union Leader – “Candidates now sorry for
snubbing NAACP “ Excerpts from AP
report from Miami Beach by Ken Thomas: “Three
Democrats apologized to the NAACP convention
Thursday for skipping a presidential forum
earlier in the week as the candidates sought
to mend fences with the nation's oldest civil
rights group. NAACP leaders had lambasted
the three - Joe Lieberman, Dick Gephardt
and Dennis Kucinich - as ‘persona non
grata’ for failing to show for Monday's
session. Determined to repair the political
damage, the three changed their campaign
schedules to offer their contrition to the
convention delegates. ‘Anyone aspiring to
leadership - particularly the president of the
United States - must believe that the causes
that he or she fights for, the stands he or
she takes, the decision he or she makes are
right,’ said Lieberman, the
Connecticut senator. ‘That's leadership. But
leadership also means being able to admit when
you are wrong. And by not coming Monday, I
was wrong. I regret it and I apologize.’
Kucinich, who missed the session Monday
for votes in the House, said he felt an ‘an
obligation to be there to protect the
interests of the American people to try to
keep Medicare from being privatized. Now I'm
here to let you know that while I have a 100
percent voting record, I'm also 100 percent
for the NAACP.’ The Ohio congressman spoke
about his opposition to the war against Iraq
and the need to rebuild the economy. Following
his five-minute speech, the moderator goaded
him to offer an official apology, saying: ‘We
have heard the explanation, does the
congressman need to say something else?’
Kucinich replied: ‘I'm very sorry I wasn't
able to be here, amazing grace, how sweet it
is, once was lost, now I'm found.’
Gephardt was then introduced to the
audience and quickly offered his regrets.
‘I'm sorry I was not here when you had the
joint appearance the other night,’ the
Missouri congressman and former House Minority
leader said. ‘I had a long standing conflict
that I could not get out of and I apologize to
all of you for not being here and I thank you
for letting me be here.’ He received applause.
Gephardt then stressed the need to ensure
voting rights for every American, maintain
affirmative action and build a better health
care system. On Monday, the other
Democratic candidates shared the stage with
four empty chairs, each labeled with the name
of a contender who did not attend -
Lieberman, Gephardt, Kucinich, and
President Bush.”(7/18/2003)
…
Kucinich may
be the real “Mister
Sandman”
in the race for the Dem nomination, but denies
he fell asleep during Tony Blair’s
congressional appearance. Ohio Wannabe says he
could be the next notebook-obsessed Bob
Graham.
Headline from
the DRUDGE REPORT – “Kucinich
Denies Sleeping Through Blair’s Speech To
Congress”
Excerpt from Drudge’s report: “During
British Prime Minister Tony Blair's speech to
a joint session of Congress, a television
camera appeared to catch Rep. Dennis Kucinich
(D-Ohio), the anti-war presidential candidate,
snoozing away!
But
Kucinich
called Roll Call's Ed Henry to ‘insist he
wasn't sleeping and stressed that there's
another side to the story.’
It turns out that
Sen. Bob Graham (D- Fla.) isn't the only White
House candidate who carries around a notebook.
'Let me just tell you, it's stupid,'
Kucinich
said Friday of the speculation that he had
slept through the speech. 'I heard this same
thing on the floor today from a Republican
Member.'
The
Congressman insisted that he was buried in his
notebook.
'When
I take notes my head is down, just like
reporters,' he said. 'In fact, during every
State of the Union I've taken close notes.'
Then he added slyly, 'I actually have notes
from the last State of the Union -- they're
annotated about a lack of proof [on WMDs].
Anyone who cares to can come read the
notebook. It's pretty interesting.'
Kucinich stressed
that his jottings are different from the
Graham notebooks, which chronicle the
Senator's daily life, including such minutiae
as what he had for breakfast.’”(7/22/2003)
… A real –
and longtime – Iowa City liberal draws
comparison between Kucinich and RFK. Former
FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson says that
Kucinich supporters “aren’t kidding” in an
“Iowa View” commentary in yesterday’s Des
Moines Register. Excerpt from Johnson’s
column: “Unlike the others, Kucinich's
positions are a stark contrast to Bush. He
is the only one advocating defense-spending
cuts, single-payer health care for all, public
education pre-K through college, public
funding of campaigns, signing Kyoto and other
treaties, and repeal of the death penalty,
NAFTA and the Patriot Act. He organized the
two-thirds House Democratic opposition to the
Iraq war resolution Congressman Dick Gephardt
drafted and most of his Senate competitors
supported. The media think former
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is ‘liberal.’ But on
some issues he acknowledges he's to the right
of Bush. Both support the death penalty and
defense-spending increases. Both like
profit-driven health-care systems. Dean's
‘opposition’ to the Iraq war was his proposed
60-day delay before attacking. Will a majority
support all of Kucinich's positions? Of
course not. The majority of Iowans didn't
support all of Gov. Harold Hughes’ positions,
either. So why was he so popular? Iowans knew
he spoke from the heart and admired his
honesty. If Democrats would unambiguously
serve their natural constituency - those
earning under $200,000 - they could win in a
walk, say Kucinich backers. They say
Democrats need to energize the non-voters. Is
it possible? In 1984 and 1988, Jesse Jackson
registered 3 million and Democrats won back
the Senate. The Kucinich supporters’ secret
weapon, they claim, is their candidate. They
say, ‘A Dean supporter is a Democrat who
hasn't yet heard Dennis speak.’ Those who
are often moved emotionally. They comment
about his courage, compassion and commitment -
and their hunger for his vision of hope and
inspiration. I haven't seen anything like
it since Robert Kennedy. What if they're
right, and thinking outside the box is the
only way to get inside the White House?
Those trying to trivialize and marginalize
Kucinich do the Democrats no favor.”(7/22/2003)
… He’s
never going to be president, but Dennis
Kucinich has to be recognized for a)
determination, 2) political insanity, or 3)
wasting his contributors’ money. Kucinich
demanded Cheney explain his “role” in Iraq
intelligence issue – and called on GWB to
immediately withdraw American troops.
Headline from this morning’s The Union Leader:
“Kucinich wants Cheney to explain his role
in flap” Excerpts from report by
AP’s Milia Rulon: “Democratic presidential
aspirant Dennis Kucinich is calling on Vice
President Dick Cheney to explain his role in
how the now-disavowed claim that Iraq was
seeking uranium in Africa ended up in
President Bush's State of the Union address.
In a letter sent to the vice president, the
Ohio congressman and two members of the House
Government Reform subcommittee on national
security, emerging threats and international
relations asked Cheney to explain his multiple
visits to CIA headquarters. ‘These visits
were unprecedented. Normally, vice presidents,
yourself included, receive regular briefings
from CIA in your office ... there is no reason
for the vice president to make personal visits
to CIA analysts," said the letter, which was
sent late Monday. Kucinich and Reps.
Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Bernie Sanders,
I-Vt., posed 10 questions that they want the
vice president to answer, such as: ‘Did you
or a member of your staff at any time direct
or encourage CIA analysts to disseminate
unreliable intelligence?’…’This
administration, whose entry strategy was based
on falsehood, with no exit strategy, has
trapped our troops in Iraq and exposed them to
greater harm,’ Kucinich said in a
speech on the House floor.” (7/23/2003)
… Mark it
on the calendar now: Willie Nelson-Dennis
Kucinich duet set for Labor Day show in Des
Moines. KCCI-TV (Des Moines)
reported that country singer Willie Nelson
will host a benefit concert in Iowa for
Democratic presidential candidate Dennis
Kucinich, campaign officials announced
Tuesday. The location of the concert has yet
to be determined, but it will be on Labor
Day in central Iowa, said John Friedrich,
Iowa director for the Kucinich
campaign. The concert will honor of workers
and farmers, Friedrich said. Kucinich,
a congressman from Cleveland, is one of nine
candidates for the Democratic nomination for
president. Nelson will play three concerts for
Kucinich. The other two will likely be
in Cleveland, Kucinich’s hometown, and
Madison, Wis. (7/24/2003)
…
Kucinich, who apparently has never seen a
federal budget cut or tax cut he likes, says
cutting Pentagon budget by 15% would provide
the $60 billion he needs for a universal
preschool program. Excerpts from coverage
– in this morning’s The Union Leader (New
Hampshire) -- of Kucinich’s turn
yesterday at a Harkin-sponsored forum
in Ottumwa by Associated Press’ Glover:
“Rep. Dennis Kucinich called for a $60
billion effort to provide universal preschool
and proposed paying for the plan with a 15
percent cut in Pentagon spending. ‘The
Pentagon budget has just gone through the
roof,’ Kucinich said at a forum on
Sunday. ‘We need a critical analysis and a
real effort to claim back money from the
Pentagon.’ The Democratic presidential
candidate from Ohio didn't specify all the
spending cuts he would push, but did single
out a missile defense program that would have
a dim future should he win the White House.
He promised broad cuts. ‘I'm not talking
about trimming around the edges here,’ he
said. Kucinich, who said he would
reverse that trend of cutting funding for
education, called for a new care program
for children 3 to 5 years old to help prepare
them for school. He said his plan also
would ease the financial burden of working
parents bearing the high cost of day care. ‘I
intend to put forward a plan for universal
pre-kindergarten, a day care program that
would provide quality day care five days a
week, year-round,’ he said.” (7/28/2003)
… Just
what the Dem campaign needs – as aspiring FDR.
Kucinich urges New Deal-like programs to get
economy going, but concedes his name is “not
yet a household word.” Headline from
yesterday’s Quad-City Times: “Kucinich
calls for new New Deal” Excerpt from
report – datelined Ottumwa -- by Times’
Todd Dorman: “Democratic presidential hopeful
Dennis Kucinich said Sunday he would
use New Deal-style programs to kick-start the
U.S. economy while also slashing defense
spending to pay for universal day care.
‘This election is really about, and should be
about, deep, fundamental change,’ said
Kucinich, a congressman from Ohio, during
the latest in a series of ‘Hear it from the
Heartland’ forums sponsored by U.S. Sen. Tom
Harkin, D-Iowa. ‘As you can tell ...
I’m not talking about trimming around the
edges, oh no,’ he said, arguing that his
campaign’s hopes hinge on his ability to draw
sharp contrasts with President Bush’s agenda.
He appeared before a crowd of about 150 likely
Democratic caucus-goers on the Indian Hills
Community College campus. Many wore
Kucinich stickers and T-shirts. ‘Kucinich
is not yet a household word; I understand
that,’ he said. …Kucinich said that if he
is elected, he will slice the Pentagon’s
budget by $60 billion, or what he said amounts
to about 15 percent, to provide
pre-kindergarten day care to all American
children. He said he would slice the
defense budget, in part, by canceling plans
for what he contends are an unproven missile
defense system and unnecessary new nuclear
weapons systems. Kucinich also is
championing the creation of government
programs that would provide health care and a
college education to all Americans. ’People
will say, well, that’s going to cost a lot of
money. Yes it is,’ Kucinich said. ‘I’ll
tell you where I intend to get the money. ...
This defense budget has just gone through the
roof.’ Kucinich also argues that
efforts he would mount to ‘rejoin’ the
international community would make those new
weapon systems unnecessary. ‘As we do that, we
don’t have to be worried about being armed to
the teeth,’ he said. Kucinich said he would
fire up the economy by pursuing a massive New
Deal-style public works initiative to rebuild
and repair the nation’s highways, railroads,
bridges, public schools and water systems.
He argues such an effort, which he compared to
the Depression-era Works Progress
Administration, would create millions of jobs
and revive an ailing industrial base,
particularly steelmakers. The congressman also
blamed the loss of industrial manufacturing
jobs on treaties such as the North American
Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. He argues
those pacts have made it easier for large
corporations to move jobs abroad and crush
unions at home. Kucinich said he would cancel
NAFTA and pull out of the World Trade
Organization if elected.”(7/29/2003)
…
Today’s question: Is Kucinich for real?
Excerpt from item on James Taranto’s “Best of
the Web Today” rant on OpinionJournal.com: “Is
This Guy for Real? Rep. Dennis
Kucinich called for a $60 billion effort
to provide universal preschool and proposed
paying for the plan with a 15 percent cut in
Pentagon spending,’ the Associated Press
reports from Ottumwa, Iowa. OK, we've
gotta ask: Is Dennis Kucinich a real
person? Sure, Democrats take some pretty
loopy positions at times, but the idea of
compromising our national defense in order to
waste $60 billion on nursery schools, of all
things, is just too over the top to be
believable. Could it be that some
conservative satirist -- Chris Buckley? P.J.
O'Rourke? -- has taken up ventriloquism, and
Dennis Kucinich is his dummy? “(7/30/2003)
Kucinich
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