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."