Kucinich announces candidacy for 2008

[kevolution]

I happen to think quite highly of this man and what he has done for our community in Northeastern Ohio. Although his chances are slim of winning I love what he stands for and that he isn't afraid to stand up for what he believes in. Dennis was elected Mayor of Cleveland at age 31 in 1977, the youngest ever to lead a major American city. In his fifth term in the United States House, Kucinich has been a leader for Universal Health Care, a full employment economy, fully-paid tuition at public colleges and universities, repeal of the Patriot Act, the development of bio-fuels as alternative energy and restoration of America's basic manufacturing and infrastructure. He is currently leading an effort to support the role of NASA in the development of basic research for civil aeronautics.

Kucinich has promoted a national health care system, preservation of Social Security, increased Unemployment Insurance benefits, and the establishment of wholesales cost-based rates for electricity, natural gas and home heating oil. When the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory arbitration could be a condition of employment, Kucinich introduced a bill to reverse the Court's decision.

I think that the media and most republicans will laugh and poke fun at Dennis and he'll have a tough road to be elected in 2008. If Obama runs I'll probably roll with him, but Kucinich is smart and should be taken seriously.

And DK was also the 2003 recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award.

Do you like Dennis? If not who would be your choice for President?
Certaintly not another Bush!

 

[chiefwahoo]

Certaintly not another Bush!

That's all you need to say right there. It will be a major upgrade for the presidency just having Dubya out of office. I'm hoping for Obama, Richardson, or Edwards for the Dems. And I'd be OK with McCain or Guiliani for the Republicans. Just no more neo-cons in Washington. It would be so nice to actually have two decent choices running in '08 so I don't have to pick which one I dislike the least.

 

[crazedcav333]

With N Koria being bitches and testing Nuclear Weapons, the candidates approach to this will be a major factor and an important one for four years.

 

[James]

anyone but Obama and Hillary.

Obama is very young to become a president, he hasnt done much in office, hasnt proposed major legistlation, he is just a good public speaker. he could run in 15 years and be more qualified.

even tohugh he wont run, id love to see Mark Warner run for presidnet, he is a democrat from Virginia.

 

[Maximus]

I'd vote "none of the above" so far.

As for Kucinich -
Kucinich Selected as One of Ten Worst Mayors in History

Dennis J. Kucinich has been selected as one of the worst big-city mayors in American history. For this exhaustive study, Holli surveyed various experts and ranked the best and worst mayors based on certain criteria.

The survey was conducted over a five-month period in 1993 and consists of the answers of 69 experts in municipal government ranging from biographers, social scientists and urban historians as well as others. The results of the tabulation show that the experts chose Dennis Kucinich, who served as Cleveland's mayor from 1977 to 1979, as the seventh worst mayor in the period studied, 1820 to 1993. On the best mayor list, Cleveland's Tom L. Johnson (1901 to 1909) was chosen as the second best mayor.

An excerpt follows:

Only thirty-one years old when elected, Cleveland's "boy mayor" had failings that were not the sins of venality or graft for personal gain, but rather matters of style, temperament, and bad judgment in office. Kucinich earned seventh place the hard way: by his abrasive, intemperate, and chaotic administration. He barely survived a recall vote just ten months in office, then disappeared for five weeks, reportedly recuperating from an ulcer. When he got back into the political fray, his demagogic rhetoric and slash-and-burn political style got him into serious trouble when he stubbornly refused to compromise and led Cleveland into financial default in late 1978 - the first major city to default since the Great Depression. That led also to Kucinich's defeat and exit from executive office. Out of office, he dabbled in a Hollywoodesque spirit world and once believed that he had met Shirley MacLaine in a previous life, seemingly confirming his critics' charges that he was a "nutcake." After that, he experienced downward mobility, losing races for several other offices and finally ending up with a council seat; but more recently, he climbed back up to a seat in Congress. Bad judgment, demagoguery, and default also spelled political failure in the eyes of twenty-five of our experts, who ranked Dennis, whom the press called "Dennis the Menace", as seventh-worst.

 

[Mandingo]

Yeah i agree with Max, although i like DK's views i think his leadership would be on par with Bush.

 

[The Oi]

Colin Powell or Jesse Jackson. Those are my only choices.

 

[Hurl Bruce]

I always get a big laugh at the stupid things Kucinich gets involved in locally just to get his face on tv. Guy is a joke who probably believes in aliens and can do a spot on Mr. Spock impression if asked.

My real question is how did he get that tall red headed woman, who is relatively hot, to marry him?

 

[cavincali]

Colin Powell or Jesse Jackson. Those are my only choices.

what about luis pharacon??? :chuckles:

 

[Deadlock]

Kucinich sucks.. Lucky to even get 1% again.

 

[Maximus]

My real question is how did he get that tall red headed woman, who is relatively hot, to marry him?

It's a dude...

 

[kevolution]

The reason Kucinich doesn't suck is because yes Deadlock he will be lucky to get 1%, however the issues and his beliefs will push the other democratic candidates to step their game up. I am for bringing the troops home and the one thing you can't take away from DK is that when everyone was for the war in Iraq, he was against it, and he never changed his stance once. He even went further than any other politician trying to stop Bush. And that is good enough for me.

He may have sucked as a Mayor, but this is his 6th consecutive term in Congress and he won this year by a huge margin, so he is doing something right. And btw I'd rather have a dude that believes in aliens then a dude who is ignorant, not smart, and never wrong for President.

 

[Maximus]

and he never changed his stance once.

He sure changed it on abortion. His entire career he called himself a "proud Catholic Pro-lifer". In 2004 his presidential campaign was going nowhere and was the butt of many jokes. What did he do? Flip-flopped. The implicit message to Kucinich's flip-flop was not "I believe in abortion rights." It was "I'm willing to sell out my principles to survive."

He is in the back pocket of the AFL-CIO, that's why he gets re-elected.

Not to mention, he is nuts.
He believes in "chemtrails".
He hangs out with Shirley McClain.
He also says things like this:
"Spirit merges with matter to sanctify the universe. Matter transcends to return to spirit. The interchangeability of matter and spirit means the starlit magic of the outermost life of our universe becomes the soul-light magic of the innermost life of our self. The energy of the stars becomes us. We become the energy of the stars...Our vision of interconnectedness resonates with new networks of world citizens in nongovernmental organizations linking from numberless centers of energy, expressing the emergence of a new organic whole.":weirdo:

He'd have a great cabinet -
"Last year Kucinich spoke at an event hosted by the Institute for Cooperation in Space. The Institute's president, who had earlier arranged to have LSD guru Timothy Leary's cremated remains blasted off into space in 1997, is now working for Kucinich. She says she's "doing everything I can because I think he is the only chance we have got to enter into a new paradigm, or otherwise we are all going to die."

Another "close friend and advisor" of Kucinich, Chris Griscom, runs an institute described as an "enchanting center for spiritual healing and multi-incarnational exploration." Kucinich has Shirley MacLaine to thank for introducing him to Griscom. (Click here to hear MacLaine interviewing Griscom.) It seems that Griscom taught the starlet how to communicate with trees. And oh yes, MacLaine is the godmother of Kucinich's daughter.

 

[chiefwahoo]

and he never changed his stance once

I don't want to speak for Kev but I believe he was referring to DK's stance on the war in Iraq.

 

[Maximus]

I understood that, I was just making the point that he will change his stance on issues whether he agrees with them or not.