Pre-Caucus Review

In the News: Or not? many claim that the media decides the frontrunners for presidential elections, and they may be right; still dragging in the polls (except if you are a Virginia Democrat), Kucinich's coverage has been minimal, even with the release of his new autobiography, The Courage to Survive. Talking about the campaign trail, perhaps? After being left out of the Des Moines Register's debate for failing to meet their "criteria," to being teased about his alleged UFO sighting by the Dallas Morning News, the Congressman from Ohio has decided to bunker down in New Hampshire to weather out this pre-primary storm. But not before throwing out a few more barbs about his fellow presidential hopefuls' foreign policy credentials, bringing up (again) Iraq War voting records and comparing that to Pakistan's political turmoil (in the same breath - quite an acheivement). Also regarding Pakistan, he has accused Huckabee's non sequitor comment linking Bhutto's assasination to immigration a case of ethnic profiling, calling them "egregiously provocative and dangerous," and "to be silent would be the worst kind of the betrayal of the public trust."

Lonely, Kucinich?

Over the last week, Kucinich seems to have hit a rather large snag on his campaign trail. As his poll numbers have fallen, Democratic nominee Dennis Kucinich has found himself dead last in the Iowa polls, sadly leaving him to be excluded from one of the most watched Democratic debates. Due to the fact that his poll numbers have been so low, as well as the technicality that his campaign did not rent office space in Iowa, the Des Moines Register (who is sponsoring the debate) has decided to exclude Kucinich completely.
Since the conclusion of this debate, Kucinich's Campaign has had a minor lash back at the Des Moines Register for their assertions that Kucinich was not a credible candidate in the state of Iowa, and for removing him from the debate based on the aforementioned technicality that his campaign head in Iowa was not working out of rented office space, but was working out of his home, instead.
According to CBS news, this action has left Kucinich pretty well out in the cold, his campaign describing the exclusion as "arbitrary and unreasonable."
While it may be true that Kucinich is a long shot to win the presidential nomination, it is clear that his exclusion from this important democratic debate has hurt his ability to show in the primary process as well.

Kucinich 12/3-12/9

In the news: Kucinich visited Reno and gave a speech explaining his stances on presidential issues such as the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act. He also mentioned that he might bring a document to the House in an effort to impeach Bush. In another speech in Albemarle County, Kucinich preached the ethic of peach at a fundraiser in front of more than 500 people. Also, Kucinich is expected to participate in a conference call with various members of the American Medical Woman’s Association in order to talk about his health care plan. Furthering his campaign trail, Kucinich is starting a two day campaign in Los Angeles and will be attending various fundraises such as the Peace Expo in Baldwin Hills. Closer to his hometown, Kucinich plans to run for re-election in the 10th district of Ohio despite being a presidential candidate; this will mark his seventh term in office.

Elizabeth Kucinich’s activities: Elizabeth Kucinich spoke at a small meeting at the Democratic Party Headquarters about various election issues including public funding for elections. Also, she called for a resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney and said that voters in the January caucus need to be able to have a choice between a Democrat or a Republican candidate.

Endorsements: Academy award winning actor Sean Penn endorsed Kucinich for president.

Iowa-New Hampshire Season

The Race is On: Presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich has spent his time drumming up support in New Hampshire and Iowa. His first stop this week was at Philips Exeter Academy (NH) for a student-run forum (Mr. Romney attended a similar event in October). Over the weekend, Kucinich fought past a nasty snowstorm and into Des Moines, Iowa, where he joined some of his colleagues for a populist-praising forum. Here, Rep. Kucinich stated "You can sleep in the Lincoln bedroom [if I am elected]. Come on in - it's your house."

Hmmm, is Mr. Kucinich trying to create a new campaign issue?

Polls: Depending on which poll source used, Kucinich is either riding high with 4% support, hanging in there with 2-3% support, or falling off of the wagon with 1% support.

Reaffirming Stances: Addressing the DNC on Friday, Kucinich reiterated his plans for universal free not-for-profit healthcare, universal free education (pre-K through college), 100% employment (gvmt insured), guaranteed social security (no privatization), ending Free Trade (NAFTA, WTO), aggressively supporting workers and unions, ending the Patriot Act/wiretapping, impeachming of VP Cheney ("for lying to take us into Iraq"), and that he is preparing Articles of Impeachment for President Bush. His "campaign represents a reconnection with the basic values of the American people."

Bridging the Party Divides?

An interesting move for near-stereotypical "Strength Through Peace" Democrat nominee Dennis Kucinich: contemplation of a Republican running mate. While many of us may see this as a terrible idea- the thought of constant clashes due to ideological differences weighing heavily on us, the concept behind it is interesting. While Kucinich is running the election to- more or less- gain name recognition- as he is currently a long shot candidate (His claims of seeing a UFO certainly aren't helping him in the poles, methinks...) his tactics in his consideration of using Republican Ron Paul are interesting. The idea of creating a balance of power, more or less another system of a check and balance between the parties, has merit in much the same way that communism looks good on paper.
Although this strategy in the split President / Vice President party runners is interesting, history tells us that this sort of a setup has not worked well. Before the running mate system had taken its hold, when the second place candidate for President became VP, it became abundantly clear that having different ideologies in the top levels of the government brought about nothing but trouble. Constant disagreement in the upper level of the government may seen nice as a form of checks and balances, but it is these same checks and balances that would prevent a government from getting anything done.
IF (In the rare, rare chance...) Kucinich were to run on a platform of split views between the President and Vice President I would predict him losing a large amount of both parties votes. Let's see how this one turns out, Kucinich!

[Source: http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2007/11/if_kucinich_wins_nomination_ro.html ]

Dennis Kucinich: 11/2-11/18

In the polls: Dennis Kucinich currently sits between 1 and 4% according to Pollster. Regionally, Kucinich averages at about 2% in Southern States, 1.5% in Western States, 1.9% in Red States, 2.7% in Blue States, 2.3% in February 5th states, 1.8% in Midwest states, and 2.9% in Northeast states. In the first poll of active Democrats, Democracy for America, Kucinich beat other candidates in 47 states including Iowa and New Hampshire. Kucinich is also seen by 35% of Democrats as the most liberal candidate. However, 45% of Democrats do not know enough about him to form an opinion. Also, along with Gravel, Kucinich has filed paperwork and paid the $2500 filing fee with the secretary of state in order to appear on the February 5th ballot in Arkansas.

In the News: Kucinich has called himself the “long-shot candidate” in an interview with ABC News. He also said that his rivals have given in to health insurers and big corporations, while he has remained out of their control. Also, in a debate in Las Vegas , Kucinich challenged the front runners on issues such as Iraq, foreign trade, and health care. In talks with the National Latino Congreso in Los Angeles, California and with the AFL-CIO State Convention in Seaside, Oregon, Kucininch linked economic and immigration problems with free trade. In addition, at a Los Angeles forum on global warming, Kucinich, along with Clinton and Edwards, talked about their plans to combat global warming and promote energy independence.

In other news: Kucinich spoke at the 18th annual protest against Fort Benning, a school that trains Latin American soldiers, police, and government officials. Kucinich believes that the mindset that prompted the school relates to the mindset that prompted the Iraq war. Also, Kucinich backed funding for the Palestinian Authority which is led by the terrorist group Hamas. Kucinich believes that the isolation of the PA has caused much of the violence on the Gaza Strip.