Kucinich At War
Posted by Adam Graham in : Presidential Race 2008Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Oh.) has gone on the warpath against his Democrat rivals after John Edwards and Hillary Clinton were overheard in an exchange they’re both backtracking from:
In an exchange captured on camera and open microphone by broadcasters after an NAACP forum in Detroit, Edwards approached Clinton onstage and whispered in her ear.
“We should try to have a more serious and a smaller group,” Edwards said, and Clinton agreed.
“Our guys should talk,” Clinton said, complaining the format had “trivialized” the discussion.
Hillary, for her part showed the same sense of moral uprightness and personal responsibility, you’d expect from the Clinton Administration, while Edwards suggested he wanted to split the candidate up into groups of four. Whoever is buying that let me know.
Dennis Kucinich has thrown down the gauntlet:
Now that it has become abundantly clear to the American people that some of our colleagues prefer to shut off debate about the crucial issues facing the next president of the United States, I respectfully challenge you to a formal public debate.
My proposal is that we engage in a direct one-on-one debate on the most critical issues facing the American people: the war in Iraq; healthcare, trade and the environment.
Rather than a mere forum restricted to 60 second answers that must avoid any critique of the history and positions of other participants, I am challenging you to a debate in the classical style. With America’s constitutional democracy shaping and defining the essence of our government, the American people deserve no less.
I wouldn’t expect any takers. No, it’s not just because Kucinich is far behind them in the polls and they don’t have to. They don’t want a “serious debate” in the sense Kucinich is writing. They’d like a stage with three candidates on it, so they have more of a chance to sell themselves.
The media wants a few sound bytes for the evening news. Could Hillary Clinton or John Edwards or Barack Obama even explain why Kucinich is wrong? They can’t. The fact is that your average Democrat is closer to Dennis Kucinich than to either of the big Democrat candidates and they couldn’t take Kucinich down to size without alienating their base. And that’s the truth.
Comment by Gwen
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INDEPENDENTS ACTION ALERT!
Keep Independent Voices in the Debates
At the conclusion of the July 12th NAACP candidate forum in Detroit, Senator Hillary Clinton and former Senator John Edwards “privately” discussed their interest in narrowing the participants in future debates. This exchange took place after a forum in which former Senator Mike Gravel delivered a sharp critique of the role President Bill Clinton played in enacting NAFTA and Congressman Dennis Kucinich criticized the “top tier’s” record on issues of voter fraud.
Watch the Clinton/Edwards interchange at http://www.independentvoting.org (You Tube video)
The exchange between Clinton and Edwards in which they discuss the need to eliminate “unserious” candidates from future televised debates has become news. Fox has done a televised segment, and an AP story is circulating widely.
Now it’s time for the voice of independent voters to be heard!
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has scheduled a debate every month until the end of the year. This is an important moment for independents to let DNC Chair Howard Dean know that we do not want him to eliminate the independent voices from the presidential debates!
Here is how you can take action:
1. Call/E-mail/Fax Howard Dean (and please cc national@cuip.org on any letters you send) to let him know that you support the continued participation of ALL the Democratic candidates in the debates. Below is a sample letter and information on how to contact Dean.
2. Sign up at http://www.independentvoting.org to be a part of the independent movement and receive regular e-mail updates.
Sample E-mail, Fax, or Letter
Dear Chairman Howard Dean,
I am outraged at Senators Clinton and Edwards’ conversation at the close of the NAACP forum about narrowing the field for upcoming debates.
In my opinion, candidates such as Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel play a very important role in broadening the debate on crucial issues. Their exclusion would be bad for the democratic process and would shut down important conversation.
I urge you to make sure the debates remain open and inclusive of all the candidates.
Your Name and State
To contact Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee:
Email: Deanh@DNC.org
Phone: 202-863-8000
Fax: 202-863-8174