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brainwashed_youth Donating Member (640 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:37 PM
Original message
Why vote Kucinich
Awright, this isn't a hatchet job on Kucinich or his supporters. I actually like Kucinich. But here's my question. Like it or no, Kucinich is pretty much a joke candidate with a snowball's chance in hell of winning anything. Why do ya'll continue to support him? Wouldn't ur time be better spent supporting someone who actually has a chance of winning?
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Goldom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:38 PM
Response to Original message
1. In honesty,
If I were in a state with a primary, I would vote for Dean. Kucinich is my first choice, but more important to me right now is that Dean stays in.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:40 PM
Response to Original message
2. No.
My time would not be better spent convincing others to give up hope.
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brainwashed_youth Donating Member (640 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:43 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. but...
Edited on Wed Feb-11-04 02:43 PM by brainwashed_youth
you really don't have any hope. I mean, let's face it. Kucinich only has 2 delegate vote, Kerry has 516. Wouldn't it be better for Kucinich to drop out and endorse someone?
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tinanator Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:44 PM
Original message
for who?
please answer with why as well.
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brainwashed_youth Donating Member (640 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:50 PM
Response to Original message
10. let's see
Who should they endorse huh? Depends on what issue you feel stron about. If ur main concern is getting Bush out of the White House, then you should vote for Kerry. If it's the economy, you should go for Edwards. If you want someone a little more to the left than the other candidates, you should endorse Dean. Myself, I want Bush out of the White House. Kerry seems like the best guy to do it.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:53 PM
Response to Reply #10
14. Go here
read.

If someone tells you they're against 'free trade', but they won't repeal NAFTA and get out of the WTO, they're blowing smoke up your nether regions.
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goodhue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:55 PM
Response to Reply #10
16. Dean is not to the left of Kerry or Edwards.
You've been brainwashed so it appears hopeless.
But maybe there is still a chance to look at issues.
I suggest starting here:
http://www.kucinich.us/issues/
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Hippo_Tron Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 05:42 PM
Response to Reply #16
71. Agreed...
Dean, Kerry, and Edwards are all relatively in the same place on the political spectrum.
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Tinoire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 05:51 PM
Response to Reply #10
75. And if it's social justice? If it's peace? If it's anti-DLC/RNC crap?
And please stop painting Dean as Left of anything. Dean is a darn Centrist. The only reason certain people people paint Dean as to the Left of anyone is so they can paint Kucinich, the most "making sense" candidate up there, as an extremist.

You sound like one of them.



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Iverson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 06:03 PM
Response to Reply #75
81. impermissible focus
Edited on Wed Feb-11-04 06:05 PM by Iverson
Social justice isn't on the table for discussion. Peace is now constituted by voting for the IWR.

You really need to be quiet and vote for whom you're told!
:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

edited for extra crazies

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theoceansnerves Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:46 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. well
not that it matters, but your numbers are wrong. he has more than two delegates. and i don't really appreciate him being called a joke either.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:49 PM
Response to Reply #3
8. I do have hope. You may not, but I do.
The race is far from over.

For all I know people could suddenly wake up tomorrow and rub their eyes, and say to themselves', "what the f$&#?! NAFTA and WTO are the instruments by which corporations are taking over the globe! I'm voting for the only guy who seems to realize it! (or isn't in on it!)"

For all I know, bush could introduce CAFTA into Congress, and some noise might permeate the deafening roar of KERRY IS THE ONE long enough for people to see what an absolutely fundamental threat to democracies all over the world the WTO and these free trade (investor protection) agreements really are.

I do have hope.

Speak for yourself.
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MuseRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:44 PM
Response to Original message
4. Ahhhh youth.
I am no longer young and have been voting for 32 years. I have never voted FOR someone, never felt complete trust in any candidate. Those are powerful things and I will not let this chance slip through my fingers. If you think that is a joke then I envy you your youth but I suggest you spend it wisely learning some more. Eventually you will be an oldie and be able to recognize a true hero when you see one.
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Nederland Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:05 PM
Response to Reply #4
35. Question
If you've become so wise in your old age, how come you have yet to realize the being condescending achieves absolutely nothing?
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brainwashed_youth Donating Member (640 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:08 PM
Response to Reply #35
38. somebody should tell that to Dean
calling Kerry a closet repub and such.
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MuseRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:16 PM
Response to Reply #35
44. Point taken
I did not mean to be condescending however the thread itself is condescending. Perhaps it is just from being over tired from answering these questions over and over. I just find it very odd that someone would start a thread with such a dismissing notion about a credible and good man and his supporters without knowing what he/she is talking about. So, I get your point but I also think at this point we should all know more than that before we take other people on in an insulting manner.
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Nederland Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:27 PM
Response to Reply #44
53. Fair Enough
Truth be told, I've had my own share of condescending posts here too...
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MuseRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:37 PM
Response to Reply #53
56. Now THAT made me laugh out loud.
I believe you and I have gone around a couple of times. It is easy to misinterpret and be misinterpreted in this form. I hate to be condescended to and to think I sounded that way to someone else just made me cringe.
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NashVegas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 05:46 PM
Response to Reply #44
74. I Didn't Think it Was Condescending At All
Condescending usually has a touch of "I'm better than you" about it.
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Desertrose Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 06:07 PM
Response to Reply #74
83. I didn't either....
not at all...

Peace
DR
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MuseRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 06:52 PM
Response to Reply #83
87. Thank you Crisco and DR.
It is easy to interpret things wrong sometimes. I would a thousand time rather apologize than have anyone think I was being condescending but I appreciate you both letting me know you did not see it that way.
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Madrone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:47 PM
Response to Original message
6. Because we BELIEVE.

We believe in Dennis, and his message. We believe if everyone that said "we WANT Dennis but..." would vote for him, he'd win. We believe Dennis is unafraid to represent us, the people. We believe Dennis would win. We believe not only progressives would respond to his message.

We believe in Dennis.

We believe in his message.

Dennis believes in us.
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info being Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:15 PM
Response to Reply #6
42. And its amazing he still believes in us
We don't deserve Dennis. He would do anything for us and we laugh at him.
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goodhue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:48 PM
Response to Original message
7. you are wrong
He is not a joke except to those who know little other than what they see in the media. Turn off your TV and stop the brainwashing.

IMHO, the Kucinich candidacy is fundamentally about reclaiming the democratic party by building a long-term progressive grassroots movement. The model is what the moral majority was to the Republicans in the late 70s, early 80s.

Reasons for supporting Kucinich are many and include promotion of single payer health care; end of multilateral trade agreements that benefit corporations at expense of workers; and abolish death penalty

No other candidate supports these positions. Folks who support Kucinich generally do so because of his stance on the issues.

Snowballs in hell, be damned.

Kucinich beat Edwards and Clark in Washington and Maine. The media have avoided pointing this out. In Maine he got over 15%. If Kucinich gets over 15% in some more states including on March 2, then he will receive delegates to the national convention.

Politics and government is not just about winning, its about promoting policy positions with which you agree.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:51 PM
Response to Reply #7
11. "Kucinich beat Edwards and Clark in Washington and Maine"
Edited on Wed Feb-11-04 02:51 PM by redqueen
The media are not pointing this out, and we're being told to stop supporting Kucinich.

Interesting coincidence? Or planned action & desired result?

Easy.
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Nadienne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 05:54 PM
Response to Reply #11
77. Sharpton's 3rd in NC, 10%
That got media airtime.

Kucinich, 3rd in ME, 15%... Did the newsies say something, and I just missed it?
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dawn Donating Member (876 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:50 PM
Response to Original message
9. Because people vote their conscience.
I think that's what supporters of all the other candidates should do. People can be ABB in November.
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Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:52 PM
Response to Original message
12. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:53 PM
Response to Reply #12
15. No. He did not.
*sigh*
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goodhue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:56 PM
Response to Reply #12
20. Cleveland was never bankrupt.
Again, you don't know the facts.
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MuseRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:56 PM
Response to Reply #12
21. As I said in my post above
do not waste your youth. Use this time to learn. This is incorrect information. Go to www.kucinich.us and look it up. You might want to hang around there for a while and learn something before you come out with pronouncements about joke campaigns.
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Madrone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:57 PM
Response to Reply #12
24. I get it now. You are asking us "why" because you really don't know...

About the Cleveland issue, check it out:

Cleveland never went bankrupt. In fact, I ended up saving the people of Cleveland huge sums of money. Cleveland was in debt in 1977 when I was elected Mayor on a pledge not to sell the city-owned power system, Muny Light. Several banks -- interlocked with the private company that would have become a monopoly by acquiring Muny -- gave me an ultimatum: Sell Muny to that company or they would take the unprecedented step of refusing to roll over the city's debt. I refused to sell. I challenged an Enron-style takeover that would have left city residents powerless. I'm proud of having put principles ahead of my career. As President, I would do the same.

I lost my re-election bid -- but have been fully vindicated since. By saving municipal power, it's widely agreed that Cleveland residents saved hundreds of millions on their electric bills. In five winning elections since I reentered politics in 1994, my campaign symbol has been a light bulb. In 1998, the Cleveland City Council -- which largely opposed my Muny stance in the 1970s -- issued a commendation thanking me for "having the courage and foresight to refuse to sell the city's municipal electric system." As President, corporations are on notice that I will put the public interest ahead of corporate greed and power. Voters can decide whether they want a President who is on the side of the Enrons or the broader public.


Take some time on this link - by the time you're done, you'll know why we are voting for Kucinich.

http://www.kucinich.us/issues/
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IrateCitizen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:59 PM
Response to Reply #12
28. You really are brainwashed, aren't you?
You need to turn off your TV. You are seriously showing signs of really being brainwashed.

Dennis refused to sell Cleveland Light and Power to private interests during his tenure. As retaliation, the industrialists and financiers who wanted the deal to go through refused to roll over the city's debt -- and Cleveland defaulted.

Dennis was defeated in the next election. But the utility remained in public hands.

Years after this all happened, and it became clear that Dennis's refusal to back down to the pressure of private interests had actually saved the city and people of Cleveland millions of dollars, he was publicly recognized by the city for his actions.

What other politicians in the race would have sacrificed a promising political career for the sake of doing the right think like Dennis did? I think this one action speaks volumes to his character.
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theoceansnerves Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:59 PM
Response to Reply #12
29. NO NO NO
Edited on Wed Feb-11-04 03:00 PM by theoceansnerves
well someone already replied above so i will just reiterate you are grossly misinformed.
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tkmorris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:28 PM
Response to Reply #12
54. You see?
There ya go. This is proof positive that you have been "learning" what you "know" from mainstream news sources and the like. You really need to turn that stuff off and form an opinion that isn't being spoonfed to you from other sources, ones with agendas of their own which are highly unlikely to appeal to you.

I am sorry that sounds condescending. It cannot be helped, at this stage the truth is far more important than tact.
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Fovea Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 04:14 PM
Response to Reply #12
62. If you take the time to find out the whole story on this
you might just switch your candidate.
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Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 06:01 PM
Response to Reply #12
80. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
bobthedrummer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:53 PM
Response to Original message
13. Because he represents many of the issues that I've been working for
all my political life.
And I'm also the son of a truck driver.
Because he has been so consistent in his career in politics, and took a job as a teacher when he was out of politics for many years-we can all learn a bit from Dennis.
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IrateCitizen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:55 PM
Response to Original message
17. Because winning shouldn't involve selling your soul
Dennis Kucinich is the candidate who most represents my beliefs. Therefore, he is the one I support.

If I instead support a candidate based only on what OTHERS think, then how on earth am I remaining true to myself?

I'm not.

And furthermore, I completely and utterly resent you calling him a "joke" candidate. I think you still have a thing or two to learn in the area of "How to win friends and influence people" if this is the way you usually address others.
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brainwashed_youth Donating Member (640 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:58 PM
Response to Reply #17
26. well, he is
I mean, you might as well be voting for the tin man. Look, I like Kucinich 2, I scored a 100% match with him on that presidential match website somone posted here awhile back. But, and I guess I'm a sellout or something, I don't like to fight a battle I know I'm going to lose.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:02 PM
Response to Reply #26
31. "I don't like to fight a battle I know I'm going to lose"
Edited on Wed Feb-11-04 03:06 PM by redqueen
Oh holy hell.

What if Rosa Parks had that attitude?

Why I oughtta....

You know which candidate you agree with. Many others do as well, yet they, like you, refuse to fight for their own ideals.

Those of us who support Kucinich are aware of his widespread support, and are fighting every day to ensure that as many people as possible take a stand for their own values (in the primaries, at least!)
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IrateCitizen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:03 PM
Response to Reply #26
32. Ask yourself these questions
Would the other candidates be talking so much about the problems of free trade without Dennis in the race? Who would be talking about the problems of "staying and winning" in Iraq without Dennis in the race? Who else would be calling for a long-term committment to rebuilding our national infrastructure without Dennis in the race? Who would be talking about single payer healthcare without Dennis in the race?

When, if not the primaries, is the time for ideas like this to be aired? There's a lot more to the primaries than simply selecting a Presidential candidate. There's also the process of debating and hashing out ideas.

Last I checked, the tin man isn't talking about any of these things.

When you are willing to stand on the side of what's right, you never lose. Plus, why is it all about you, anyway? This isn't a team sport or popularity contest, you know -- where the only thing important is whether or not you get the "big win".

Or is it for you?
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MuseRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:04 PM
Response to Reply #26
33. It is not always
about winning. Where would humanity be if everyone shared your fear of risk or challenge?
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GabysPoppy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:49 PM
Response to Reply #33
58. Not to change the subject
I would guess we were both out front fighting for George McGovern or Eugene McCarthy at one time. The country wasn't ready for George McGovern then and they are not ready for Dennis Kucinich today.

As bad as Richard Nixon was, the current resident is IMO at least 100 times worse. There is a time and place to stand on principal and a time and place to be pragmatic.

I would think our age and experience should be assets in this case.
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MuseRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:57 PM
Response to Reply #58
60. Age and experience are assets in this case.
I am not sure where you were going with this but I intend to caucus for my ideal but make no mistake, I intend to be pragmatic in the GE if for this one last time. Bush* IMO makes Nixon look like a amateur and has to go. I resist ABB for now, I hate to be a mass group joiner but come the election I will join. Then I intend to be a progressive who makes it my lifes project to see progressive issues on the front end of this party. If that does not happen and the movement fails I will leave the party. I am still trying to piece this all together in my own mind. Was that the point you were making?
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GabysPoppy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 05:20 PM
Response to Reply #60
69. I think we are traveling the same path
I may be hopping aboard ABB before you but we will be on the train together when the chips are down. There is just so much effort left in this body and conservation of resources during the primary season seems to be the most prudent course to take. I think we both agree that the nominee in the end will not have the name Kucinch, Sharpton or Lieberman pasted on the campaign buttons.

My concern is only with the "avid" supporters of any candidate being less enthusiastic during crunch time. They are another example of how we as Democrats have the ability to "eat our own". That trait might actually be our greatest problem this time.

I truly believe shrub is beatable, but it will take a 100% effort to send him back to the farm. Idle threats of third parties or sitting out the election in spite would be a crime against humanity this time around.

But I do believe we are on the same team and for similar reasons.

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MuseRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 07:01 PM
Response to Reply #69
88. Not Kucinich?
We are most likely on the same path but I do believe that Kucinich can do this and for now I will do anything in my power to make that happen.

Somehow I think this eating our own is just part of a big tent party. I think (but I do not know) that most people will pull together. I hate being forced to do that but elections always require that to some extent. Primary time is good for the squabble, I actually think it is absolutely neccessary.

I think Bush* is easily beatable if we can manage a fair election.
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GabysPoppy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 07:35 PM
Response to Reply #88
91. Damn my speling
We have to make sure he is beat despite the obvious fact that a "fair" election is probably not in the cards.

Then with a lot of hope, a "Kucinich" will be an electable candidate for my granddaughter's first vote.

(she's 4 years old)
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MuseRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 07:42 PM
Response to Reply #91
92. I am shooting
for now. Both of my boys are supporting him and hopefully your granddaughter and my future grandkids will live in a world where peace really matters.
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GabysPoppy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 07:52 PM
Response to Reply #92
93. Amen
n/t necessary
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Desertrose Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 04:19 PM
Response to Reply #26
63. Two things really tork me about this attitude...
...about "not wanting to fight a battle you *know* your going to lose" is this-

First...what is the point of *doing anything* if you know how its going to turn out?

and 2...I have no problem with you doing what you feel is right for you , but for those who don't want to fight and simply sell out, you take the rest of us with you.

This is what seems so simple & obvious to me- we all stick together and vote for the best man-he WILL WIN...but somewhere, somebody has succeeded in having us all go at each other over something as stupid as "electable". You are letting the media tell you who is the one to vote for.
Yes, turn off the damn TV!


Peace
DR
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:55 PM
Response to Original message
18. That's another extra $5.00 added to my monthly contribution
Let's see, I'm up to $50.00 extra right now, since there have been ten negative threads since revcarol made the suggestion. :-)

Seriously, why NOT vote for Dennis at this time? It's highly unlikely my supporting him in the MN caucuses will hurt Kerry. However, it is my way of expressing my preference for a more activist, more left-leaning party.

To do anything less during the primary season would be settling for less before I had to.

I am not a jumper upon bandwagons, and I never have been.
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cheezus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 04:52 PM
Response to Reply #18
67. when are the mn caucuses?
I live about 5 miles west of minnesota, and I was thinking of helping the kucinich campaign there.
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no name no slogan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 05:43 PM
Response to Reply #67
72. Go visit the MN for DK site for info
www.minnesotaforkucinich.com.

You can sign up on the site for the list-serv, and also get more information on the caucuses there, too. There's a lot of stuff going on right now, it's hard to keep up with it!

(Disclosure: I'm the one who did the current design and have been maintaining the site since last fall, but the site was originally built by DU's own "wheresthemind".)
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revcarol Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 05:55 PM
Response to Reply #18
78. I'm almost sorry I proposed $5.00 per snippy thread.
Dennis is going to get his $50.00, but how to pay for....?
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ThirdWheelLegend Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Feb-12-04 03:42 AM
Response to Reply #78
94. Revcarol, I was thinking that when I saw the premise!
I saw that you were doing the 5 dollars per anti-dk thread and I thought 'uh-oh'! LOL, Good for you and great for Dennis and all of us! :P

I need to get some more to him soon, but need to straighten the books a bit first :)

TWL
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Mairead Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:56 PM
Response to Original message
19. No.
Kucinich has a perfectly useful chance of winning.

All people have to do is decide that they want real change. That they want non-profit universal healthcare, that they want less money being spent to kill people and more to educate them, that they don't want the US to become the world's largest banana republic.

When people do that, they'll turn to Kucinich. Because he is the ONLY one offering that future.

I think a better question is: why does someone like you NOT want that future?
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Virgil Donating Member (410 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:57 PM
Response to Original message
22. I am voting for the best man
What we have is the Mindless Election of 2004 when we need a discussion of real issues and the Democratic Party says the only issue is electability. Now they even have doubts about the one that would they electability.

We see Kerry cannot even call for paper trails on election machines and it makes you think they funded new machines just to get rid of paper trails. Kerry and his kind have carried on a drug war that never mentions the path of harm reduction while the rest of the world scrambles out of a US led criminal justice approach whose main aim is just to keep prices high on what has to be the best sellers.

The entire system is corrupt and DK leads the way in saying the obvious. The question is not why do I support Kucinich, the question is why should I support anyone else.
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charlie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:57 PM
Response to Original message
23. For one thing, it's because we're in the primaries
where you can vote for who you truly agree with without drawing recriminations for being a "spoiler."

Also, a vote for Kucinich let's the party know I'm here, that the issues he champions has adherents. Otherwise how would they know? A marginal presence is leagues better than zero presence. If I tossed my lot in with an electoral "winner", the party could claim uniform consensus on positions I disagree with.
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rucky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:58 PM
Response to Original message
25. If he's a joke, what's the punchline?
he loses?

where will his ideas go? if he dropped out, we'd all lose.

We'd never be talking about:

universal, single-payer health coverage
getting out of Iraq ASAP
getting out of NAFTA/WTO
cutting the defense budget by 15%
universal child care

how funny is that?
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RichM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:58 PM
Response to Original message
27. No, because if unusually progressive candidacies like DK cease to
exist, people will soon forget what a progressive platform even looks like. Then all we'll get is business-as-usual agents of the status-quo. That's the same as losing your imagination; losing your entire vision of how politics could act as a tool for encouraging healthier trends in society.

This is perhaps not the best comparison, but consider baseball. Suppose that year after year, the NY Yankees win the World Series - mainly because their owner can always afford to hire all the best players. The idea that the only important thing is always to "root for the winner" would mean that year after year, you always root for the Yankees. After a while, you even forget that anyone else can win, and you begin to think that people who root for the Cubs or Red Sox are fools. Then the whole part of your life that has to do with baseball life gets kind of sad - it loses its spirit of hope and imagination.
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brainwashed_youth Donating Member (640 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:04 PM
Response to Reply #27
34. makes sense
but when there is a president as destructive and dividing as bush in office, the main focus should be getting Bush out of office. There will be a time for the unusually progressive candidates to return to office, but that time is not now.
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goodhue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:07 PM
Response to Reply #34
36. This Is The Moment
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MuseRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:07 PM
Response to Reply #34
37. Are you sure
it is not time? The anti Bush* IS the progressive candidate.
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brainwashed_youth Donating Member (640 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:13 PM
Response to Reply #37
40. im sure
just look at the polls. America does not want someone as progressive as Kucinich YET. There will be a time in the future, but not now.


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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:14 PM
Response to Reply #40
41. Were the polls in Maine showing he had 15.7% of the vote?
Think about this. Hard.
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brainwashed_youth Donating Member (640 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:17 PM
Response to Reply #41
45. *is thinking*
he just got lucky. that's the best answer i can come up with. the same thing happened to john kerry in Iowa. However, unlike kucinich, kerry was able to carry that momentum with him.
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goodhue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:21 PM
Response to Reply #45
48. DK just got lucky in ME?
Now that's a joke.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:25 PM
Response to Reply #45
50. How do you know Kucinich will not be able to carry that momentum?
There have been exactly two primaries since then, in the south (ahem).

Let's wait until CA and NY and IL have had their say, shall we?

Lucky... *shakes head*
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goodhue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:18 PM
Response to Reply #40
46. polls reflect media coverage
It is the media and the insiders who do not want someone as progressive as Kucinich. And they never will. No point waiting. The future is now. We are the ones we have been waiting for.
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IrateCitizen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:20 PM
Response to Reply #40
47. Well, Bush was polling over 50% for quite a while...
Since that obviously showed that the rest of America wanted Bush, does that mean you would have voted for him?
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brainwashed_youth Donating Member (640 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:27 PM
Response to Reply #47
52. my theory on that
That was wafter 9/11 and the Iraq War. In times of fear and war, the American population(most of it) will embrace it's leader, reagrdless of political affiliation.

Also, for awhile, the democrats had no clear cut candidate they could look to. Now that it seems Kerry is going to be our nominee, more and more democrats, independents, and pissed off repubs are throwing their support behind him.

that's just my 2 cents
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IrateCitizen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:31 PM
Response to Reply #52
55. Then your reason for NOT supporting DK is eerily similar
In times of fear and war, the American population(most of it) will embrace it's leader...

What I'm hearing you say, OTOH, is that America isn't ready for a progressive candidate, and that we need to beat Bush no matter what.

There's a familiar refrain there. That refrain is FEAR. You're so terrified by what another Bush term might mean, that you're willing to embrace anybody or anything that you think might beat him. You reject as a "joke" Dennis Kucinich simply because, in your state of fear, you do not believe that he can do this.

In short, you are allowing fear and overwhelming concern with "what others might do" dictate your own actions.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:45 PM
Response to Reply #52
57. So you're supporting another candidate
for the same reasons most Americans supported bush?

We're done for! ;)
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MuseRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:22 PM
Response to Reply #40
49. But we are not sure
that the time is not now. We think that now is the perfect time.
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Desertrose Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 04:25 PM
Response to Reply #40
64. if you don't know an option is out there...how do you know
whether or not you want it?

I don't think saying America does not want Kucinich is a fair question ....

Peace
DR
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:10 PM
Response to Reply #34
39. Some of us think Kucinich is the best candidate against bush
I don't agree with you that the goal of ousting him in any way collides with my supporting Kucinich.

Conversely, I think that the other 'me too just not as much' candidates will be weaker against bush, precisely because they are not too much different (support the war, free trade, private for-profit insurance sucking the life out of Americans, etc.)
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Virgil Donating Member (410 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:49 PM
Response to Reply #39
59. There is no Left, left in the Democratic Party
There is a good article at CounterPunch on Kerry and what you just said. It says Kerry will take us to the same place only slower, because he is concerned with the wealth of the few and not the needs of the many- http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn02112004.html
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 04:04 PM
Response to Reply #59
61. Didn't you get the memo?
Counterpunch is bad - baaaaaad.

Aren't you happy we have the thought police to keep us all in line?

;)

Thanks for the link!
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charlie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:16 PM
Response to Reply #34
43. "That time is not now"
So how is a vote for Kucinich impeding the effort to get Bush out of office? If we voted for someone other than the nominee in the GE you'd have an argument, but we're in the primaries.
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GreenArrow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:27 PM
Response to Original message
51. No
.
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WarNoMore Donating Member (530 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 04:48 PM
Response to Original message
65. Dennis Kucinich has the most integrity
Edited on Wed Feb-11-04 04:50 PM by klutz
of almost any candidate I've known. This baby boomer has had enough of the BS that has passed for policy and politics in the last decades. Dennis is the *only* candidate that I trust **unconditionly**. edit for spelling
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 04:52 PM
Response to Reply #65
66. Thanks
Many people realize this as well, which is why his support only grows. :D
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republicansareevil Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 05:13 PM
Response to Original message
68. As Sherlock Holmes says...
When you eliminate the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, is the truth. Kucinuch may be an "improbable" candidate, but many of the others are impossible for some of us to vote for.

I'm not fully committed to Kucinich yet, but more and more options are disappearing for me. I cannot support Kerry or Edwards after the way they trashed the Constitution by voting for IWR and the Patriot Act. I can forgive a lot of political compromising and capitulating, but there comes a point where compromise just isn't an option. You have to make a stand even at the risk of your own political future. Kerry and Edwards chose not to make that stand.

Nathan Hale, at the age of 21, was sentenced to death by the British during the American Revolution. He said "I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." By contrast, Kerry and Edwards sent hundreds of American soldiers to die for no reason because they were not willing to risk losing political points. Now they want to be rewarded for that with the highest office in the land. And don't start talking to me about Kerry being a war hero. He made a great sacrifice decades ago, but that Kerry apparently doesn't exist anymore.
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dfgrbac Donating Member (378 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 05:38 PM
Response to Original message
70. Electibility is political propaganda.
This word is one of those key words that are used to control people and their votes. Just like the polls, they guide us to the preferred candidates of the Corporate Military Empire called the USA.

There is only one way to attack corruption. The majority of the people have to decide that is what they want to do. The Dennis Kucinich campaign can educate the population if they are given the resources. Indeed, as people look at Dennis and listen to what he says, they begin supporting him. It is like a snow ball rolling down hill. If 10 million voters decided they want Dennis, and sent his campaign as little as $5.00, he would be unstoppable.

How many Americans are willing to put their money where their mouths are? That is the only way to beat corporate power!

When you know what is right, you must fight for it!
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Hippo_Tron Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 05:46 PM
Response to Original message
73. Kucinich is actually leading on the issues while everbody else follows...
Dean, Kerry, and Edwards all have to move to the left and criticize more Bush agenda once Kucinich points it out.
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revcarol Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 05:51 PM
Response to Original message
76. Why would I not vote for the person most UNLIKE Bush?
Can't you see the debates with some candidates?

"Er, yes, I voted for IWR, but..."

"Er, yes, I voted for the Patriot Act, but..."

Above all, Dennis is a people person. He is proposing and has acted on, in Congress, things that help PEOPLE, ordinary garden-variety people.

Bush is a CORPORATION and WEALTHY PEOPLE person. His policies are designed to benefit the few.

Why would I NOT vote for the person must UNLIKE Bush?
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Iverson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 06:00 PM
Response to Original message
79. uhhhh, cuz y'agree wivm?
Although astonishly counterintuitive, some freaks express democratic choice that way! The simpletons!

Let us meet in the Lounge and scoff on Thursday from 2:00-2:30. Is that a good time for everyone?
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Tinoire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 06:04 PM
Response to Original message
82. For someone who "actually likes Kucinich"
Edited on Wed Feb-11-04 06:04 PM by Tinoire
you're doing a very poor job of showing it.

Not that anyone believes it anyway...



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Iverson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 06:07 PM
Response to Reply #82
84. can't agree
Our friend of brainwashed youth fame is giving Kucinich more and better coverage than the major networks and New York Times. His "snowball's chance in hell" critique is friendlier than the DLC comparison to Donald Rumsfeld.

I think we may be dealing with a closet lefty!
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Tinoire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 07:08 PM
Response to Reply #84
89. Lesser of 2 evils philosophy?
You're a more tolerant man than I am!

This is the 3rd time I've seen this conversation from a young Kerry supporter with the same sound-bites. I'm losing all sense of humor for tired gum-chewing cheekiness.


You're a good man Iverson!
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boobooday Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 06:17 PM
Response to Original message
85. Because he's not a joke
He's a U.S. Congressman, and one of only a VERY FEW who had the cajones to vote against the war and the patriot act. He has a platform that represents a return to FDR style liberalism.

Because I am tired of us letting the media tell us that someone is a "joke" and "unelectable." Listen to him speak, read his platform, and then tell me why you think he is a joke.

Because Kucinich has held real jobs, and faced the real hardships that are the norm for most Americans.

Because he wants universal health care, and I have a chronic disease. Okay? That's selfish, but frankly, I can't afford to be me anymore. If Bush wins, I will probably have to sell my house to buy insulin. And I don't think any "corporate democrat" is going to help me.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

Jeanette
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genius Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 06:35 PM
Response to Original message
86. It will encourage others to stand up for us in Congress
He has been on our side all along. Let's show him that it was worth his time and set an example that will encourage others to follow his lead.
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hippywife Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 07:30 PM
Response to Original message
90. Because he was right...
back in 1977 in Cleveland and against Bush in February of 2002 when he made his Prayer for America speech.

Because he doesn't back down from what he knows to be the right thing to do. Because he is the only one who can't ever be bought. I've never seen a politician like him because he isn't a mere politician...he is a true servant of the people.


If you've only seen him in the debates, you have no idea of what he is really about because he is always so marginalized by the moderators. Really, really check him out and you'll see why we are so excited and so loyal. Listen to what he has to say:

www.kucinichwatch.com


Someone like this doesn't come along often.

And he is the candidate that can stand against Bush because he does have the integrity and the track record:

http://www.kucinich.us/kucinichright.php


Because he stands for equal rights for all, not just a select few.

Because he is who he is and makes no excuses for that.
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