Dennis Kucinich

Kucinich, with his (British) wife Elizabeth.

God, guns, and freedom U.S. Politics

Starting arguments over Thanksgiving dinner

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Persons of interest

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Dennis Kucinich (1946–) is a former United States Congressman who represented Ohio's 10^th District, and a former mayor of Cleveland. He was among the most progressive members of the House and opposed the Iraq War from the beginning. But, alas, times have changed, and his progressiveness feels like it only existed a whole lifetime ago, in a land far far away, never to be seen again.

Kucinich lost his Congressional seat in the 2012 election due to gerrymandering by Ohio's Republican-controlled state legislature, who redistricted Ohio's seats in such a way as to force their two least favorite members of the Ohio delegation, Kucinich and Marcy Kaptur, to run against each other in the Democratic primary. Kaptur's Republican opponent in the 2012 general election was none other than Joe the Plumber, whom she easily defeated.

Since leaving Congress, Kucinich has shifted towards conspiratorial views. In 2013, he became an analyst for Fox News (really), on which in 2015, he wrote an op-ed that warned Congress against giving the President Authorization for Use of Military Force powers against ISIS and advised supporters not to support Democrats who support war against ISIS. He has also become known for repeatedly defending Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. After two more failed bids - for governor of Ohio in 2018, and for his old position of mayor of Cleveland in 2021 - in both of which he failed to make it out of the primary, he resurfaced in 2023 as the campaign manager for the presidential bid of anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr..

2008 Presidential platform

On December 11, 2006, in a speech delivered at Cleveland City Hall, Kucinich announced he would seek the nomination of the Democratic Party for President in 2008. His platform for 2008 included:

• Creating a single-payer system of universal health care that provides full coverage for all Americans with the passage of the United States National Health Insurance Act.
• The immediate, phased withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq, replacing them with an international security force.
• Guaranteed quality education for all, including free pre-kindergarten and college for all who want it.
• Immediate withdrawal from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
• Repealing the USA PATRIOT Act.
• Fostering a world of international cooperation.
• Abolishing the death penalty.
• Environmental renewal and clean energy.
• Preventing the privatization of Social Security.
• Providing full Social Security benefits at age 65.
• Creating a cabinet-level "Department of Peace"
• Ratifying the ABM Treaty and the Kyoto Protocol.
• Introducing reforms to bring about Instant Runoff Voting.
• Protecting a woman's right to choose while decreasing the number of abortions performed in the U.S through indirect measures which will make abortions less of a necessity.
• Ending the War on Drugs.
• Legalizing same-sex marriage.
• Creating a balance between workers and corporations.
• Ending the H1-B and L-1 visa Programs. (Does that mean banning immigration?)
• Restoring rural communities and family farms.
• Strengthening gun control.

However, he dropped out of the race on January 24, 2008, largely because he was considered way too short to be taken seriously.

Let's impeach the president for lying

See the main article on this topic: Impeachment

On June 9 2008, Kucinich gave notice of his intention to introduce 35 articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush on the floor of the House of Representatives. He officially offered his resolution the next day and the Clerk spent just under four hours reading the resolution into the House record. After the Clerk had finished reading the resolution, Kucinich moved to refer the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee.

Calling it "a sworn duty" of Congress to act, Robert Wexler co-sponsored, and signed on June 10 2008, Kucinich's Articles of impeachment for President Bush, and stated: "President Bush deliberately created a massive propaganda campaign to sell the war in Iraq to the American people and the charges detailed in this impeachment resolution indicate an unprecedented abuse of executive power." Democratic leaders Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi opposed it and Pelosi announced that "she would not support a resolution calling for Bush's impeachment, saying such a move was unlikely to succeed and would be divisive."

Of course, the bill went nowhere, and Big Corporate Liberal Media ignored it. Kucinich also called for Obama to be impeached for bombing Libya without Congressional approval. The Big Corporate Liberal Media ignored that one too.

Moonbattery, wingnuttery and assorted other weird shit

See the main articles on this topic: Wingnut and Moonbat

On the other hand:

• Dennis Kucinich had a 100% "pro-life" voting record until 2004 when he suddenly reversed position and became pro-choice at the same time he announced his first run for the Democratic nomination for president. Must be, like, a coincidence?
• He claimed to have had an encounter with a UFO during a political debate.
• After losing his re-election bid as Mayor of Cleveland — over a refusal to allow private takeover of a Cleveland Public Power by banks holding municipal debt (a position for which he was later vindicated), he briefly went to live with New Age woo-meister Shirley MacLaine.
• He has introduced bills to ban exotic "radiation, electromagnetic, psychotronic, sonic, laser, or other energies… for the purpose of information war, mood management, or mind control of such populations" and "chemtrails".
• Fun quotes from Dennis:

The energy of the stars becomes us. We become the energy of the stars. Stardust and spirit unite and we begin: one with the universe, whole and holy. From one source, endless creative energy, bursting forth, kinetic, elemental; we, the earth, air, water and fire-source of nearly fifteen billion years of cosmic spiraling.

In our soul's Magnificent, we become conscious of the cosmos within us. We hear the music of peace, we hear the music of cooperation, we hear music of love. In our soul's forgetting, we become unconscious of our cosmic birthright, blighted with disharmony, disunity, torn asunder from the stars in a disaster.

• It is also remarkable that he has only sponsored three pieces of legislation that have actually passed. They involved allowing Ukrainian TV access to an American program, naming a Cleveland post office, and naming a dead man an honorary citizen of the US. He is possibly the least effective legislator of all time.
• Becoming a Fox News contributor. The Washington Post has stated that he actually represents Fox.
• As a Fox pundit, has adopted pro-Donald Trump views in recent years, such as e.g.:
  • Cheering Trump's inauguration speech — the "American carnage" one;
  • Believing that U.S. intelligence agencies forced Michael Flynn to resign as Trump's national security advisor;
  • Agreeing to Trump's claim that Barack Obama spied on the Donald, while also claiming that Obama spied on him (Kucinich);
  • Believing that the "deep state" is trying to overthrow Trump, so the US are "under attack from within" (Spooky!);
  • Criticising the Democrats for wanting to examine Trump's mental fitness;

(In fact, his sister Teresa Sikorski, who like her brother had been a lifelong Democrat and has also always supported Dennis, even changed parties so she could vote for Trump in the primary, because he supposedly looks out for ordinary people, unlike Hillary and the Democrats; Dennis however wasn't that happy about her turning coat Republican.)

• He has also defended Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad.

References

United States 2008 presidential election articles on RationalWiki

Topics: Debate:Religious beliefs and public office - Mission accomplished - Same-sex marriage - United States Electoral College - Values Voter Debate 2007

Parties: Constitution Party - Democratic Party - Green Party of the United States - Libertarian Party - Republican Party
Candidates: Baldwin (Con) - Barr (Lib) - Brownback (R) - Clinton (D) - Giuliani (R) - Gravel (D) - Huckabee (R) - Keyes (R) - McCain (R) - McKinney (Green) - Obama (D) - Paul (R) - Romney (R) • Running mates: Biden (D) - Palin (R)

Winner: Barack Obama