Category: politics

NPR : Democrats Drift Toward Kucinich:

On issue after issue, says Richard Wolffe of Newsweek, Dennis Kucinich’s views have gone from fringe to mainstream. That pattern became apparent again at NPR’s Democratic presidential debate yesterday, Wolffe says.

Kucinich notions that once seemed crazy to the Democratic Party ended up front and center Tuesday, Wolffe says, and NPR’s debate format gave the Ohio congressman a chance to shine. Kucinich is generally considered among the darkest of dark horses in the race. Yesterday, he spoke out about his opposition to liberalized trade with China and to the war in Iraq.

“We’re borrowing money from China to finance the war in Iraq,” Kucinich argued.

Can we who have been supporting Kucinich legitimately say “I told you so” now?

Apparently the Spanish Inquisition used waterboarding, and there are period illustrations of it. Search for “Tormento Del Agua” on this page, to see one. Here’s another one.

So it’s a favorite of the Spanish Inquisition as well as the Khmer Rouge, North Korea, the Nazis, the Viet Cong, Hirohito’s Japan, Stalin’s Russia, and… and the Bush Administration.

Bush is Godwin’s President. You can barely write a truthful sentence about his administration and its actions without finding yourself comparing it to the acts of an infamous dictator.

The Raw Story | Kucinich: Republicans ‘didn’t call my bluff’ on Cheney impeachment:

“There’s really, what, a handful of you who are really interested in this,” Smith added.

But Kucinich said his impeachment resolution had little to do with the lack of support he was receiving from fellow Democrats.

“Harry, you have to remember there are millions of Americans who are part of a national movement to defend the constitution,” said Kucinich. “And they understand that the vice president made a false claim for war and is trying to beat the drums for a war against Iran and they’re calling for action to be done.”

Impeachment, said Kucinich, was a move on his part safeguard the Constitution.

“It’s really abut the American people and their insistence that their government not be lost,” he continued. “People are worried that we’re losing democracy, and they’re demanding that the Constitution be protected. And that’s exactly what yesterday was about.”

Smith later asked the congressman if the impeachment resolution was all part of a publicity stunt in aid of his presidential campaign.

“The nay-sayers, though,” said Smith, “would say ‘Dennis Kucinich this is a way to get your name on — at least on page six of the newspaper and a failing bid to win the Democratic nomination for president.'”

Not so, said Kucinich:

“We have men and women with their lives on the line in Iraq, a war based on lies,” said the former Cleveland mayor. “Over 3,800 soldiers have died, over a million innocent Iraqis have died in this war. This is about our moral caliber here as to whether or not Washington can see the truth.”

“Let me tell you something,” concluded Kucinich. “In Washington, the truth is an unidentified flying object. And it’s time that someone stood for the truth. The American people demand nothing less.”

OH SNAP!

That was freaking brilliant. It takes the whole “he’s a crazy guy who sees things that aren’t real” and spins it as “in Washington, speaking the simple truth gets you branded as crazy” — which is dead accurate.

Brilliant.

Democracy for America » 2008 Pulse Poll:
It would seem that dedicated, net-connected, well-informed progressives have not accepted the media’s decisions about who they are allowed to consider a serious candidate.

How much will that affect the actual primaries? That’s a good, good question.

Glassbooth – Quiz to help you choose best 2008 presidential candidate:
It pretty much confirmed what I’ve known from other sources about Kucinich and Gravel being my top matches. Interestingly Edwards was third. Edwards is no Kucinich or Gravel, not by a long shot, but he seems like a pretty good choice from among the candidates that the media hasn’t already decided to laugh off the field.