Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, long-shot Democratic presidential wannabee, paid a visit to Laconia, NH on Sunday, and the GraniteGrok team covered the event. While Skip and I are conservative Republicans, we decided that when ANY candidate of stature comes to our neck of the woods, we should go see him/her, regardless of the party. And, since the local county Dems were gracious enough to invite any and all comers, we took them up…
Doug reports:
Say what you will about Mr. Kucinich’s worldview and beliefs, but the man is honest in those convictions. If I were an antiwar, socialized medicine (and everything else) kind of guy, Kucinich would definitely be my man. He claims no ties to corporate interests, and I believe him. He is, after all, ANTI-corporate, almost in the communistic sense.
He was a very good speaker, with far more charisma than one might have expected. He was engaging and, despite the most left-wing, liberal messages one can imagine, fairly interesting and pleasant to listen to. He was at his best was when he went after his main competitors in the Democratic field (as he imagines he has a real chance at winning)– Edwards, Obama, and Hillary. He accurately pointed out to the fifty-plus persons in attendance that while they voted to authorize the war, he remained true and opposed it then, as he does now.
To the delight of the collection of liberal Belknap county Democrat activists and many others in the room, Kucinich noted how Hillary and the others are claiming they now oppose the war, having been mislead and tricked by George Bush. "And now they want to be the President!?" He asked, eliciting laughter and cheers from the crowd, hungry for some raw, liberal meat. Taking a shot at Obama, he noted that his campaign is more than just "hope"– it’s about having been active and true to the liberal ideals they all claim to so dearly cherish.
Bottom line, watching and listening to Dennis Kucinich was not as bad as it might sound. What you see is actually something rare in a politician: no phoniness. Unlike Hillary, Obama, and Edwards, wholley created and reflective of polls and focus groups, he was the real deal. Of course, he would destroy the country if he was ever elected, which won’t happen. I hope the Dems do the right thing and nominate this guy to be their standard bearer. At least voters would know up front what he stands for because, unlike his opponents, he doesn’t hide or otherwise cloak what he truly believes.
Skip reports:
And yes, we did. I do have to say one thing – I do believe that Mr. Kucinich does believe in what he thinks….I just believe that it is wrong and founded on ill-concieved notions and logic. He definitely showed the bias that America seems to be the sole source of all of the evil in the world, especially the present Administration.
He does not believe in war. Period. And yes, he re-iterated his goal of establishing a Department of Peace – we need to talk to enemies. And talk. And talk. Diplomacy above and beyond all. We as humans have to get beyond the archiac notion of waging war – after all, this IS the 21st Century, right?
And yet, the cognitive dissonance that I saw is that while he believes that the American government is the basis of most of the problems in the world, he definitely believes that government has the ability to solve those problems – all of them:
Universal healthcare – he detests the fact that insurance companies generate profits, wants a "Universal Medicare" in which no medical person can privately offer services that would duplicate that of government. He would require a "minimal tax" of 6-8% on employers to fund it.
Minimum wage – raise it. Again.
A good line (paraphrased) – why would anyone want to vote for any of these candidates that are saying that they were fooled by George Bush….by George Bush ??? Why vote for someone that was fooled?
Ownership – He also seems to be against private ownership of energy sources, believing that they belong "to the people".
Voting – He wants to go back to paper ballots (I do agree that electronic systems do need a paper trail). Believes in conspiracy theories that the elections were stolen.
But again, he is honest….and even when warned about our presence (and we were on our best behavior, even thanking him!), took our questions.
Worst takeaway – at heart, he is a socialist, and believes in equal outcomes instead of equal opportunities.
We did tape the event, and we probably have to get some clips up with the good parts.